Just a little something.

My mom was going through all the leftover wedding things from my sister's wedding this past May. I brought home several white pillar candles which I've been enjoying the glow of in the evenings. Though they needed a little dressing up for the bedroom, so I grabbed some scraps, and my fabric glue and came up with this. Looks really pretty. It would be a great way to gift up some otherwise dull looking candles. Great way to dress-up a center piece for any holiday too.

It's A Girl!

I had my 20 week ultrasound today (19 weeks 4 days) and we found out we're having a baby girl! She's due to arrive January 23rd. We couldn't be more excited! Our first baby girl, who's now the big girl (soon to be 5) has two little brothers and now a little sister who'll she'll get to share her room with and teach her all about horses, Star Wars, and Scooby-Doo :). While going through all my scraps to start my first quilt, I set aside these lovelies in case we ended up having a girl. Looks like I'll get to make it after all (Send any great baby quilt tutes my way) ! Baby girl looks healthy. She's pretty active already. I've been feeling movement for a few weeks now. Everything is looking great. Even though this is pregnancy #4 it never ceases to amaze me that a person can be created and grow inside of me! So excited for this new little edition to our beautiful family. It's so fun to see all their different personalities develop and interact. Love my kids!

W.I.P.

Work In Progress for sure. I've started my very first quilt! I've only got some of the cutting done (567 2.5" squares) but am looking forward to laying out pieces and trying to nail down my design and process a bit. I'm referencing this tutorial, kind of a scattered nine-patch. I'm going to be using white and natural linen for the solid squares. I'm hoping to kind of alternate bands of white and natural in the midst of the colored pieces, if that makes any sense to anyone but myself. In the end, if I'm successful, my husband and I will have a lovely summer quilt for our queen size bed. Sorting through all of my fat quarters and scraps was fun. At first I thought I'd just do a scrappy quilt and then I started sorting into color stories and now I have three other stacks waiting to be made into quilts as well. If baby #4 ends up being a she, I have a lovely pile of pinks, oranges, and yellows that may just interrupt the quilt I'm making for myself. We shall see. Either way, this one will take some time and I'll document along the way and share my progress. I'm kind of working through this blind, so if anyone out there has any great online resources for first time quilters I'm all ears...and eyes I suppose :).

*I've broken in my new rotary cutter and mat. I think I already need a new blade, and I think I need to start doing thumb exercises. Mine were pretty sore from holding down the cutter with one hand and the straightedge with the other. Cutting quilt squares is not for wimps!

More gift card fun.

I received another gift card for my birthday, turning 26 really boosted my stash :), this time from JoAnn's. I had fifty bucks to do with what i wanted. My first priority was a rotary cutter and mat. I got lucky and they were half off which opened up the door to much more possibility. I found some great fabric in the clearance section—some embroidered trim cotton, , a cute cotton print, a couple knits, and some fun cotton lawn. After getting my fabric cut I noticed that the McCall's patterns were on sale for a dollar! Naturally I had to browse the book to see if anything caught my eye, ended up with a few of those as well. All this time my wonderful husband was occupying the kids so that I could play :). I checked out with 82 cents to spare. Maybe I'll buy a button or something.

Vintage lace.

Another great vintage find while in IN—only this one came from my husband's granny's attic :). She had several boxes of ribbon and lace that she let me rummage through and I thought I'd share a bit of what I came home with. I never thought I'd be much of a fan of lace but I LOVE crocheted lace and the other was just too pretty to pass up. I'm sure I'll be able to use it somewhere on something. I have no idea how old some of these trims are. Granny just turned 86 this week and she sewed a lot when my mother-in-law was young, so perhaps some of these came from the 60's and 70's. Their attic is like a time capsule and treasure trove, full of antiques and odds and ends. It was so fun to climb up there and sift.

Vintage eye candy.

I found this Simplicity Sewing Book at a used bookstore while in IN. It's copyright date is 1970 and it's got some really fun photos in it. The details and colors are great. Lovin' the rounded pockets, with the flap and button detail. Bonus, it had this giraffe plush kit instruction sheet slid under the cover. I think the shape is really cute. I'm sure I could make a pattern on my own to try and replicate. Totally worth $4!

Lovely surprise.

My family and I just got back from a road trip to Indianapolis last week. After two nearly 12 hour days in the car with three small children and three months pregnant with the fourth it felt fantastic to make it to our pretty little house in Colorado. To make my home coming even better these two lovely sets of thread were waiting for me. A few days before we left I had won a give away through Sew, Mama, Sew! I was super excited about these beautiful cotton fibers made to coordinate with Butler and Fassett collections. The colors are gorgeous, can't wait to use them!