Merry Christmas

A Little Catch Up

Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, this post ought to catch you up to speed! 

A couple weeks ago some very wonderful friends threw me a sweet baby shower. We had a great time celebrating the upcoming arrival of our new baby!

Me and my best friend Tiffani

Some sweet booties my friend Rachel knitted, with a matching hat

My long time friend Martha, who is also expecting, in May!

I made this zippered pillowcase as a thank you for Martha.

I would love to make a whole quilt with this pattern, it came together easily and I love the jewel tones.

For Tiffani I made this little mug rug. (her husband's name is Marc, hence M+T)

I included one of my favorite mugs that she has been eyeing for a long time now.

At care group last night, Tommy told the Christmas story to the kids using Daniel's Little People set. I was surprised how well they listened, because he didn't give the abbreviated version. 

We let the kids make trees from waffle cones, green icing and candy. Tommy scooped some icing on each kid's plate, and gave them a knife to ice their cones. Daniel however, went right after that icing with his hands like it was playdough! 

Yesterday I had some maternity pictures taken, and I can't wait to see them and share them here. We are looking forward to meeting our new little guy in two weeks or so, and are excited for everyone to meet him!!

Thanksgiving

I thought I'd sneak in a November post!
On Thanksgiving we enjoyed some yummy food and great company. Both my and Tommy's parents were able to come visit.

I have been doing a decent amount of sewing lately, which I hope to share soon. Getting ready for the baby has slowly been moving up the to-do list also. Five weeks still seems like quite a long time to figure out what all needs to be done and to do it. Though the weeks do seem to be picking up speed!

WIP Wednesday

There are quite a few things I'd like to make as well as finish up before the baby comes in about 11 weeks, so I was happy to finally cross one thing off my list.

I used this tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew and knocked this cover, and another for my niece out in no time. I knew Tommy would like the orange, since that's what he was vying for when we registered for the car seat over 4 years ago.

Also from Cluck Cluck Sew is the pattern I used for this baby quilt. It doesn't get any easier than this! I cut and assembled the blocks in less than a week, only working a little here and there. I hope to have the blocks sewn up and the top finished by the guild meeting on Thursday. I am so loving these colors together!

I have also been thinking ahead to Christmas; how could I not when I came across this super cute fabric in JoAnns? I hope to make this into a pillow.

This is another embroidery that's only about half finished. I am not entirely sure what I'll do with it when it's done.

And here is the baby's Christmas stocking, less than half finished. I don't think he'll be here in time for Christmas this year, but figured I'd be much more likely to get it done before he's here than after!

And here is the top of Daniel's big boy quilt. I have the back finished, and the batting ready, just need to baste, quilt and bind! Hopefully soon since we moved him into a twin size bed this weekend! I debated for a while what kind of quilting to do, and settled on straight lines. Since the pattern is so busy, I didn't feel the need to mess with complicated quilting.

On my list still to make is: a nursing cover, a changing pad cover, an embroidery of Psalm 133:1, and some pillow cases. And some Christmas goodies! 

What are you making?

A Few for Friday

I started cutting fabric for the baby's quilt.

I also made the baby a carseat cover.

We have been enjoying the not hot weather lately.

Daniel eating squash. Something I never did as a child.

Embroidery. Thinking ahead to Christmas!

Bump!

Isabel Grace's Quilt

My niece was born this past July and of course she needed a quilt. Due to lack of funding, I challenged myself to make it entirely from my stash. I even sketched up a pattern to use them in. 

I added some mitered corners, which look especially fun when you use stripes.

In this picture and the one below you can see the quilting I did. It was sort of wavy lines with little loops. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it went. Granted, baby quilts go fast in general, but this seemed to blow by. I will definitely try this, and other variations again.

I wasn't able to finish it until after she was born, but to my credit, she did come 8 weeks early! Tommy brought it down to her earlier this month along with some other goodies. Girls are so fun to shop for! I had hoped to make some other things for her, but my own pregnancy exhaustion was in full swing.

Here is Isabel in the NICU with my mother in law. Isabel has been at home for quite a while now, and is doing great! We are so thankful to the Lord for his care over her and his kindness toward her mama's family.

Isabel with her mama.

Four for Friday

My dad, cooking us pancakes for dinner. A pillow I made for the guest room. Daniel's first day of Wee School. Daniel using skittles as body paint, courtesy of Aunt Linda.

Happy 4th Birthday Daniel!

Daniel's birthday started with Tommy taking him to get donuts! The lady at the local donut shop is a little overzealous and gives tons of free donuts!

Then once home, he got to open his presents from mom and dad. Puzzles were a big hit this year.

He also got a backpack to take into big church with us on Sunday mornings. Now that he is 4, he will be sitting in service with us.

That evening we went to a local church for a Seeds Family Worship concert. Daniel didn't know what to make of it at first, but he warmed up quickly when he saw his friend Olivia dancing.

On Saturday we had a party with his friends at a local park. Daniel requested a Spiderman cake! I did the white icing, and Tommy did the rest!

We had a simple lunch and enjoyed our time with friends.

It has been so nice having my cousin close by at DBU. We have gotten to see alot of Kaitlin and her boyfriend Jesse over the last month.

Daniel was very excited to open his presents! I think we're about to have a hot wheel recruit. We probably have close to 100 cars, and I think not all of them will make the cut!

Daniel also loved this Cars sticker book!

Happy Birthday Daniel! We love you and we thank God for bringing you to our family!

It's...

Another Boy!!!

We had a sonogram about a week and a half ago, and found a healthy little boy in there!

We went out later that night to buy his first outfit and a Little Brother shirt.

And I dug out some of Daniel's old clothes that will work for this baby too. I'm glad I ended up keeping them. It is sweet remembering when he wore the same outfits and thinking about how tiny he was. Even though I feel like my bump isn't all that big, I keep imagining this baby as nice and fat!

Anna Rae's Quilt

My sweet friend Rachel recently had her first little girl, Anna Rae. I made this quilt for Anna and actually had it delivered before she was born!

I used this Charming Stars Quilt pattern and left the sashing off. I was able to make it all from my stash, always nice! My grandmom gave me a stack of charm squares, though very few (if any) were actually squares. I don't know where they were from, they don't seem to be from one line, even the textures and types of fabrics are different. The backing fabric was also from my grandmom, and I still have a good bit of it left. Unfortunately I neglected to get a picture of it, but it was not pieced, which was super nice.

I've been brushing up on some embroidery, and really enjoyed stitching each of these blocks. Here are some up close:

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,

    and its people are like grasshoppers. 

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, 

    and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

Big Brother's hand!

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

I am so excited for Rachel, and look forward to watching Anna grow!