love in stitches.

It's so nice to know that while this sweet little babe in my belly has plenty of hand-me-downs coming his way, he'll have a few things that were made just for him. Ok, more than a few. Maybe his grandma and I have gotten a little carried away. That whole thing about babes being super easy to shop for? Well, the same applies to knitting. :)

All of the details of these projects can be found on my Ravelry page, with the exception of the ones that were knit by my mom. The orange vest in the top right corner is the Milo, the light-colored soaker lying next to it is the Curly Purly and is knit with Lion Brand Fisherman's wool, and lastly, the super sweet tiny yellow/orange hat and vest set in the center are the Baby Cable Singlet and the Swirl Hat.

No doubt, this baby is loved.

:)

thanks, anna.

Here's a dress I made a few weeks ago. It may be the most comfy piece of clothing that still fits over my giant self. Possibly even more comfortable than my striped skirt. I used the tutorial for Anna Maria Horner's Museum Tunic, with a few minor changes. While I LOVE her fabric for this dress, I opted for a super light slub-knit jersey, which I double-layered over the whole dress. My fabric piece was long enough that I didn't have to sew the shoulder seams, the dress is basically just two long skinny rectangles sewed together with an opening in the middle for the neckline and some elastic shirring below the bust. I sewed the back of the neck closed, but left the front a deep V. I worried that the solid color and casual fabric would make it look too nightgownish, so I paired with an elastic belt I recently scored at Ross. I think it helps. And even if it doesn't, at least my belly isn't showing! ;)

Don't worry, I'm not giving anyone the death-stare in the next photo. Turns out, I am often unaware of my facial expressions. Until someone catches them on camera (thanks mom).

I'm excited about this dress, not only because I made it weeks ago and it still fits, but also because I think it has some serious potential for post pregnancy wear as well. I'm thinking the deep V will come in pretty handy for nursing.

:)

felt beads!

Here's a crafy idea! Why not spend your first few days of Fall making felt beads? Mad and I actually did this during the last few weeks of Summer, if you're going to be picky about the details. It turned out to be a super fun project, and the products will probably be transformed into Christmas gifts in the very near future.

We made ours outside so I didn't have to mind where the water was dripping. I wasn't sure if Maxi would join in on the fun, so I wanted to be prepared to have a totally two-year old safe craft. Turns out felt bead-making is totally two year old safe, but not nearly as interesting as shooting at bugs with homemade water pistols, or seeing how far felt beads can fly when being flung into the air when no one is looking. Good thing he's cute!

There are so many good tutorials on how to do this that I couldn't choose just one to link to. Go ahead and google search felt bead tutorial, and click on whichever sounds good. It's a pretty easy art to master. I actually learned how to make them when I was in middle school and my brother and I were briefly involved in a llama 4H group... but that is another story for an entirely different time!

;)

long time gone

Wowza! I can't believe I've nearly let the whole month of September fly by without a single post. We've been having computer issues, and though my mom generously loaned us an extra laptop, it's slower than I'm used to and doesn't have the same photo editing software I've been using... and since it's not my computer, I've been reluctant to upload photos from my camera onto it... but mostly I've been l a z y. I'll do my best to catch us all up since beginning of August. And then maybe I'll start posting regularly again. :)

First, Little No. 3 is still in my belly, as you can see. Yet, that fact doesn't stop me from "trying on" the latest knits he'll be forced to wear. It's funny to me when I think about the differences between my first and third pregnancies. With Mad, I couldn't wait to be DONE being pregnant. I just wanted to meet the little being growing inside of me. Whenever I was asked how far along I was, I could tell you down to the hour (haha!) how much time I thought I had left. This time around, though I am equally excited to meet this little guy, I have my other two keeping me so busy that I feel like the end of my pregnancy is beginning to sneak up on me! We have the crib set up in Maxi's room, but have yet to do much else to prepare for this sweet one's arrival. And for some reason the list seems to be growing as time is running out (set up the cradle in our room, sort out all the newborn baby clothes, get cloth diapers ready, buy baby wipes in order to avoid running in a panic to the store when we run out, sew diaper pail liner, sew more nursing pads, finish baby's crib quilt... and the list goes on!). Whenever I get started on the list, my brain automatically inserts "take nap" between each item. Good for my body, not so good for productivity.

Mad turned 5 since my last post. She also started school. Kindergarten. All day. I am absolutely amazed to see all that she has already learned and the amount of social growth that has taken place in just a few weeks since she started. Five years ago, this stage in our lives hadn't yet crossed my mind, so it feels weird to say I'm surprised by how much I am enjoying it. Watching these babes grow and seeing what comes next is such a blessing and a learning process, and I'm honestly loving every step.

And last but not least, my big guy is getting bigger. And more stylish, obviously. I have fixed his hair cut and put away the too small "horsey boots" since this photo was taken. I'm thinking these ones might have to show up under the Chrstimas tree this year, since my kiddlets have such round little foot-tops, and owning a nice pair of "horsey boots" is as close as they'll ever get to their dream of someday owning a horse (how do I make them understand we must first own a farm?!). And by the way, that Mtn Dew bottle became a cowboy pistol, which apparently makes a "pew-pew" sound and is useful for shooting sisters, bugs, and chalk grafitti.