weekly shop update

How have you been? Wonderful, I hope :)

Things around here have been wonderful, exhausting, exciting, busy, sometimes overwhelming (okay, overwhelming more often than I'd like to think), but wonder-ful.

 With scenes like this, how could it not be? :)
Olivia just turned 6 weeks old {where did those weeks go?} and has begun to laugh a bit. Little things like a baby's laugh can really brighten your day when you're covered in said baby's spit-up. :) And the other two are still completely smitten with her!

 But this post is supposed to be a shop update, not a baby update {but baby updates are a bit cuter and sweeter, yes?} :)
 So .... did you see on the facebook page that I've put the silhouettes back in the shop? If you were wanting one (or more!) and didn't get it before I discontinued them, contact me and we can talk about it.
As long as I'm talking about the facebook page, have you been seeing my updates in your feed? Chances are, with the changes facebook has been making, you might not ... so, if you'd like to change that {you would, right? :)}, after you "like" the page, hover over what is now the “liked” button, and select “Get in news feed.” That way you'll be able to see when I post new things like coupons{!}, flash sales{!}, or random photos of a cute little baby. :)

 screen shot of the work in progress

Next up - our brand new web site {coming soon to a computer/mobile screen near you!}!
My sister {who is really gifted when it comes to tech-y things} has been helping us put together our own web site. It should be ready to go live in another day or two, and I'll let you know when it does. It will be an integrated shop/blog, a site that has all of our web stuff on it {even Instagram pics :)}. We are working to make sure that when you head here to the blog, you are automatically re-directed to the new location, making the transition as seamless as possible. Oh my, I'm so excited!

There are some other things I was going to tell you, too ..... but I can't remember right now. Oh well, they can wait until next week. :)

<3

p.s. can you believe it's just a month until Valentine's Day? I'd better start helping the kiddos make their cards and gifts for the grandparents {things like that can take a while when they are more interested in cutting up the finished products than in the idea of giving them away}!

announcing ...

Happy Sunday everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebrating your blessings! We celebrated by finally welcoming Baby (thank You, Lord!) into our family on Friday morning:

- Olivia Jane -

6:47 am

8 lbs, 4 oz, 20 1/2" long

Everything went really well! We delivered at home and it may have been our best birth yet - only 5 1/2 hours from when I woke up I was holding her in my arms. :)

I'll be adding lots more photos of our new darling on Instagram (you can follow me here). We love her so much already!

My sister is helping keep the shop up while I'm recovering and soaking in Olivia, so remember to stop by early tomorrow morning for your Cyber Monday coupon codes! The link will be here and on the facebook page so you won't miss it :)

her own blankie {and burp cloths, too!}

I've made up a baby blanket for both Emma Grace and Ian using the Scallop Quilt "pattern" from Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol, and so of course I wanted to make one for Baby, too. :)

I've been making up the "just for her" things in shades of gray and pink, and was able to find some lovely polka dot gray quilting flannel and pink and gray paisley cotton at JoAnn. I love how they complement each other, sweet and feminine without being too babyish.

I machine quilted a few of the center paisleys to provide a bit more definition. I love how it looks .... maybe I should quilt a few more of them? :)


Now, after having 2 babies, we have plenty of burp cloths. But there were some fabric scraps left over from the blankie .... and I had a few plain diapers left .... and Baby #3 needs to have something special, too, right?

This vintage lace was a gift from one of my lovely customers - who just happens to live in France. :) Fun!
I sewed it over some gray grosgrain, which I then layered over some pink satin to get the look I was going after.

And there you have it - a bit of a layette for Baby.


Remember to stop by the Facebook page next Monday morning to get the sale code!

And have a lovely, relaxing Thanksgiving!


<3

more knitting for Baby - a cuddly cocoon

So, the up side of Baby delaying is that I've been able to get some of the things I had planned for her finished. :) Such as this sweet Baby Bunting:

Specs: Button-Up Baby Wrap, free Ravelry pattern
size 19 needles
triple ply yarn
The yarn is similar to Bamboo & Ewe and quite yummy. :) 
A pair of vintage buttons - they seem to be similar to Bakelite, but I'm really not sure what their made of. Fun though!

And there you have it! It was a quick knit, and fun to see it make up. My first project on needles this large, too!


And remember to stop by the facebook page early Monday morning to get the coupon code for 30% off of the shop!

<3

new items in the shop :)

Happy Monday everyone!

To kick off the week I've got some new things in the shop to show you .... more bags!
This time I had a bunch of fun styling some baby boy and girl themed ones. :)

It was fun to pull together all the baby things I've got in the shop right now - banners, "BABY" cupcake toppers and "IT'S A BOY/IT'S A GIRL" ones, too!

But all those extras weren't the focus of these photos, nope! The reason for these were the new pink and blue sets of bags - aren't they just so sweet?!

I hope you love them just as much as I do :D

have a wonderful Monday, and a wonderful week, too!


xo

more knitting for Baby

The next installment in Baby's mommy-mades :)

I've had this pattern pinned on my knitting board for a while, and finally got it made up! It was the sweetest thing to work, and now I want to make another .... maybe after I get a few other things made up first, though?

 I knit it up using some lovely gray wool, and I have no idea which kind! The label has been off of it and missing almost since I brought it home :)

 The pink stripe is leftover from the little sweater I made her, and there's just enough left of that pink to do a matching hat with a stripe for Em (matching hats for the little girlies - how fun!).

 The pattern is a freebie called Bananahead Baby Hat and features a cuffed 2x2 rib brim with two little I-cords on the top to tie into a bow. :)

Now, it just needs a baby girl to arrive to fill it with chubby sweetness. You can come any time you're ready, Darling Babe!

knitting for Baby

 I've finally been getting some little mommy mades ready for Baby #3! One of the sweaters I had been wanting to make for her was the Puerperium sweater that I found on Pinterest, and when I found some sweet colored yarn to make it with it was only a matter of getting started (which is no small feat sometimes!).

 this little buddy is sooooooo excited to meet his baby sister :)

 I used "I Love This Cotton" in Rosy by Yarn Bee, knowing that it was heavier than what the pattern called for and would turn out just a bit bigger than the 0-6 weeks size the pattern was written for.
Well, it did turn out bigger. Probably about a 3-6 month size?
I'll let you exactly how much bigger once she's here to try it on. :)

 The buttons are vintage ones that I found at in a big jar at a yard sale a few years ago. They're wood look-a-likes, but probably out of some hard plastic.

This sweater is so soft and cozy! I can picture it with leggings over a long-sleeve onesie with her rolls of baby chubbiness ...... oh, can hardly wait!

If I have time before she arrives, I'm hoping to knit up another (with long sleeves) somewhat closer to a newborn size. It's such a sweet and easy pattern, and goes quite quickly (once you actually start .... :D)


<3

shop (and family!) news

drum-roll .... thank you.

You can now use your own credit card to purchase items from the shop! Yippee! This means that you no longer have to use Paypal if you don't want to.


and now for the family news ....

 yep. (If you've been following me on Pinterest, you might have guessed.)

We are expecting # 3 to arrive the second week of November! We were a bit surprised, but are totally thrilled! Although it can be a little difficult to be excited about it when I'm worn out with exhaustion before the kids are even ready for their naps. : ) So far I'm feeling pretty well most of the time, which is such a blessing!

There are so many projects for this baby that I'd love to do and we are trying to decide if we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl. If we don't, I think I might do a bunch of knitting and sewing for him/her in gray. And white!

And I have to decide what I'll be doing about a maternity leave from the shop. It's still far away (well, 28 (+) weeks away), but it's coming up! I certainly don't want to leave you wonderful friends and customers in the lurch through Christmas, but know I'd hate every moment I was away from the new bundle of sweetness. So, lots of thoughts! I'll let you know once plans for it are solidified. : )

Love to you all!

Sweet Hearts

I just added a new item to the shop - Heart Cupcake Toppers!

They are so sweet, and would be darling to use for birthdays, wedding baby showers, a special tea with friends .... or just to dress up your morning muffin. : )

I have plans to add ones made from music paper, red ones and maybe more - I'll keep you posted!

Thank you so much for following along with me here on the blog. I haven't been the most regular of bloggers - leaving you hanging for weeks on end sometimes - but I do deeply appreciate all of you who click over and read occasionally. : )

Also, the shop has had almost 300 orders (I can barely believe it! God has been so good.) and to thank the person who places the 300th, they are going to get free shipping on their order! (the shipping fees will be refunded once the transaction has cleared)
Please feel free to share the news with your friends! :)

dolly diapers

Emma Grace is in sweet stage where she loves her dollies. She loves taking care of them, making them "talk", holding their hands and making them "walk", asking for treats (real ones) for them to eat (and she then finishes what they don't, of course). 

And of course, diapering them. It was getting to the point where she was using more (real) diapers and wipes on them than I was on her some days! So, now her dollies have their own special diapers and wipes which are reusable (and so much cheaper!). :)

I found the pattern for the diapers on Skip To My Lou, and got the idea for the wipes over here. I used flannel for the wipes (which I haven't taken a photo of) and just zigzag stitched the sides.

It's so sweet to see her lay her baby doll down for a change and then talk to her all the while. : ) Maybe someday I'll get a video of it so I can remember ... : )

sewing for babies

Babies seem to be popping up all over this year (what joy!). It seems that every week I hear of someone else who is having a baby. :)
Our family circle is adding two - John's brothers are each having a boy. Emma and Ian are getting their first cousins this Spring! Of course, I have been itching to do some sewing for our new little nephews. :)

One of the things that was on my "Ideas" page was this tutorial for embellished burp cloths on Diary of a Quilter.  I (kind of) followed it to make a set for each new nephew:

burp cloths for baby Owen, whose nursery is animal themed with bright colors

burp cloths for baby Brett, whose nursery is elephant themed with pale greens and blues

Each baby is also getting some of Ikea's wooden child size hangers. I bought some when we were expecting Emma Grace and have loved them ever since! They are really classic feeling - and they never break (a huge plus!). One of the last things I did before we left Cincinnati was to stop by Ikea and buy some for each baby (and their mommies). :)

There are a few days left to enter to win the CSN Stores gift card. If you haven't yet I highly recommend it!


And you'll be seeing this (and a ton of other people's crafty Spring ideas) linked at a few of these blogs (click here) - you might enjoy checking them out!

Ian's Hat and Sweater

 

A few days back I mentioned that I finished making the hat and sweater that I had started for the Kids' Clothes Week Challenge. So, here's the promised post (albeit a few days later than I had planned :)).

I made both the sweater and the hat using Caron Country Merino Blend in "Silver Service" on size 6 needles. The patterns for both are from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies by Erika Knight.
Although Ian is only five 5 months old, he is a, ahem, large baby (routinely weighing and measuring in the 98th-100th percentile), so I made the Classic Cashmere Sweater in the 6-9 month size and did the math to increase the Baby's Beanie Hat to a 12 month size. They both fit!

A few things about the sweater pattern - the sleeves are made to be rolled up, so are an inch to inch and a half longer than regular sleeves. If you would prefer to have regular sleeves you would need to do the math to figure out how many rows to leave off.
The sweater pattern includes a few rows of garter stitch at the bottom hem to prevent rolling, and it really works! I've put the sweater through the wash 3 or 4 times since I finished knitting it on Halloween, and it still looks like new. No need to iron down the hem. :)


I love how the gray looks on him. So classic, so boyish, so him.




Remember to check out the sale at the shop and enter the giveaway for the CSN Store giftcard!


I'm linking this post at some of these blogs - there are some really wonderful holiday ideas being posted. :)

I did it!

You know the "Ideas" page on the blog? And how it's getting rather, well, long?

Well, I finally made something from it!
I found the Heirloom Cut Chenille Baby Blanket on Aesthetic Nest a while ago and immediately knew that I needed to make one - or maybe more? - for my little ones.

It took me what seemed like forever (Ian has learned to sense when I'm sitting down at the machine and then decides that he needs to eat right NOW and that the blanket can wait!), but it's finally done!

 I used cotton seam binding instead of the satin blanket edging that she recommended since I wanted the whole thing to be 100% cotton, and I really, really love it. The "flat" side of the blanket is a light moss green with cream dots, and the chenille side is made of light green, yellow and cream. I've washed it a few times since it's been finished (it is getting used!) and it gets a little softer each time.

Can I say again that I just love this blanket?


I'm linking to a few of these great craft blogs - head over and check out the creative ideas!

off the needles

The baby cardigan that I was working on for Ian is finished and ready to wear. It turned out sooooo darling.

I made it in the 3-6 month size, but it already fits him! Of course, Ian is a big boy (he was 9lbs 7 oz at birth and now is around 14 lbs). I also didn't take the time to knit up a swatch before I started, so it may have turned out a bit smaller than the one in Essential Baby. But I love it anyway. If it doesn't get cool enough for Ian to wear before he grows out of it I may give it away.

Or then again, I may just hold onto it. :)
The yarn is some soft cotton stuff that I saved when I unraveled one of my old ones (and has been used for so many baby things already).

linking to these parties.

a blanket for our little one

I made a blanket for Ian using the Scallop Blanket "pattern" (it's actually more like illustrated instructions than a traditional pattern) from Bend The Rules Sewing. If you haven't seen Bend The Rules yet, I highly recommend thumbing through a copy. My mother-in-law gave me the book for last Christmas and I am loving it!

Even though I didn't get an ultrasound during my pregnancy with Ian I was fairly sure that we were having a boy. So for his blanket I pulled out the yard of this airplane fabric that I had bought at Hancock when I was pregnant with Emma.
I already knew we were having a girl when I got it, but it was so sweet and classic, and, well, that ultrasound might have been wrong! Now it seems as if Hancock has discontinued the print, so I'm glad I went ahead and bought it instead of waiting until we had a boy.
The blanket has cotton flannel on the back to make it a bit more snugly. :)

Since I used a light color for the backing and the stitching was clearly visible (and since Ian was taking his time coming - he was a week overdue) I took the time to quilt four airplanes in the center squares. They are "flying" around the center in a circle and add a nice bit of detail.

making room - turning a corner into a nursery

Ian has been sleeping in our room since he was born on June 8. We have a two bedroom apartment, and, while Emma Grace has enough space in her room for a bassinet/playpen, she is still only 16 months and wakes up pretty easily.
I knew that we could easily take care of one crying baby at night, but wasn't so sure about two!

So, towards the end of my pregnancy I spent some time making a spot for our new little one along a wall in our master bedroom.
I wanted our new baby to have a special space just for him, but also wanted to avoid making our room look like a nursery!

Before I started rearranging the room the wall had a collection of frames with photos from our wedding and of Emma, some meaningful notes that John and I have written to each other, and a couple of shadow boxes with some flowers and a pair of my mom's baby shoes.

(after)

I took those down and moved them to the wall above the dresser, and, with this canopy idea that I had seen on design*sponge in mind, made up a wall hanging to define the space.

I really loved how the canopy made the other nursery looked, kind of tailored but not preppy, and could see it working really well in our room. So, I went to the fabric store looking for some fabric similar to the material that was used for the hanging in the article.
The only fabric that they had that was even close was pretty pricey and available by special order only. I am a huge cheapskate (if you've been reading the blog a while you might have picked up on that!) and was really hoping to get the project done without spending large amounts of $$$. So ............. I looked on the clearance table!
This fabric was $1.99 a yard (I bought 4 yards) and I already had the brown that I used to edge it on hand from an earlier project.

the banner I was working on

We have since moved the playpen into Emma's room and have a Moses basket that my mom gave us in ours. (Ian starts the nights in his basket, and John and I often move him into our bed part way through the night.)

I found that, because the playpen was up against the wall and it seems so far from the bed in the middle of the night, I was never using it.

We'll probably move it back once Ian grows out of the basket, but for now we have a few extra square feet of space. :)