detail shots

I finally got Maxi to take his "new" jacket off long enough for me to get some better photos of the embroidery. It's SO easy to do it. If you've been dreaming about attacking something with embroidery floss, children's clothing is the way to go. Get creative and have fun!

mama's boy jacket

I am always so inspired by Anna Maria Horner and Jenny Hart and their ability to stitch anything they want on nearly anything they want flawlessly. I often daydream about embroidering random pieces of fabric/upholstery, but always panic at the thought of ruining something perfectly good to begin with it. When I pulled this little jean jacket out of the closet for Maximus a few weeks ago, I've been thinking ever since how cute it would be to embroider it. It took me quite a long time to have an idea that wasn't super girlie though (I can't seem to get Day of the Dead-inspired floral designs out of my head lately), but I finally figured out the perfect design for my sweet little mama's boy. 

And look! He approves! (Tough guy took a serious spill on his bike yesterday and has some road rash on his face to show for it.)

Honestly, I'm not sure why I've been afraid of ruining things all this time. I did mess up a few times and used a seam ripper to tear out my stitches, and you can't even tell. You can almost see in this photo the design I just drew straight on to the jacket with an orange colored pencil. It wasn't just hard to photograph, it was hard to see! I need to find my white sewing pencil thing for next time. Anyway, I have full confidence now that I couldn't have ruined this jacket. Even if the design were a total failure, I could have just ripped out the embroidery floss and tossed in the washer, and no one would be the wiser. Total confidence boost!

 I think this is the best photo I got of the detail. It does actually say "MOM," but I couldn't get a great photo of it with my always-on-the-move two year old! (And he didn't take it off until bedtime).

And look! He's finally mastered big boy undies. This Mama is all kinds of proud!

:)

baby knits!

Here are a couple of baby knits I've been working on for my little number 3. The wool soaker is the Milo soaker pattern from Vintage Baby Knits, and has been a work in progress for quite some time. Mostly because I saved it for a doctor's office knit, since the waiting room at my doc's office is a nice and quiet place to fit in a few stitches. I knit it in some Lion Brand Fisherman's wool (which I love!) that I had leftover from Maxi's sweater last Fall. 

I absolutely loved knitting this sweater. I used a Knit Picks cotton, just because it's what I had, and I think it turned out pretty cute. The pattern is Puerperium Cardigan, but I chose to knit it as a pullover since I didn't have enough matching buttons for the whole thing. It is so darling and I can't wait to try it on the babe this fall.

The sweater knit up so fast, it is perfect for a last minute baby gift, and it has instructions for short or long sleeves (I decided on an in-between) so it works for any time of year! I think I might knit up a spare to have on hand. :) I'm also tempted to knit a bunch of the soakers up, but I've never used wool soakers before and am not sure how these ones will fit. Anyone have experience with them or a favorite pattern to share?

And there you have it. Now maybe I can move on to finishing the baby quilt I've been working on since long before this babe was even on his way.

:)

maternity shirt (refashion!)

 I found this bright orange men's extra large muscle tee for just a few bucks a few days ago while I was out shopping, thinking I could try to turn it into this or this, but it turned out to be not quite enough fabric (apparently my belly circumference is a whole lot closer to men's XL than I thought!). So instead I just cut it up and played around with it, until it turned into this:

It's not exactly how I imagined it at first, and there are a few funny puckers around the belly and on the back straps where I put some shirring, but overall I think I surprised myself. I'm pretty sure I'll be trying this again with a few thrifted T-shirts I have to see if using a thinner jersey material will help make it more flowy and less puckery.

:)

I made a purse!

Way back in November, my Aunt sent me one of her husband's ACU shirts from Germany and a link to this website for inspiration. I'm still not sure why I told her I could make her a purse from his uniform. I had never made a handbag before and didn't have a pattern for one that seemed fitting for this material. Also, do you know how hard it is to cut into ACU? I went through rotary blade just on this project, even though the shirt was worn thin in spots. I couldn't imagine trying to cut up a new one! But all that aside, this probably has be the project I'm most proud of to date.

I finished it in December, after procrastinating when I realized how much this would challenge my sewing skills. But I didn't blog about it back then, because I wanted to make sure a) she really liked it first and b) that it wouldn't fall apart the first time she used it. I'm glad I waited to show you all, because it looks WAY better now that she's used it and put all his patches on it.

I just made up my own pattern for the bag based on the size she wanted, and the size that would be most logical. I used the front of the shirt for the front of the purse, which put some great pockets and the name tapes right on the front. I wish I'd have been brave enough to put a zipper into the purse, but I think I would have needed a stronger machine, or at least way bigger needle. The fabric is seriously so tough! But I found some large snaps that match the look of the bag, and work just fine.

I used the shoulder pockets for the sides of the purse, which worked perfectly for the dimensions of the bag, and just sewed a single strap. Which I love! I was so happy to see that she came over using it, as I was a little worried at first that my maybe I was way over my head with ambition that didn't match my actual skill level. Yay! that it hasn't fallen apart. :)

I'm definitely not itching to make more of these anytime soon, but I am so glad I made this one. It really makes you stop and think when you're holding a shirt in your hands that has been to places you can't imagine going. 

what a lovely week!

This weekend marks the end of a busy, but fantastic week. We welcomed some family members "home" after living in Germany for the last three and a half years, though they won't actually be to their new home until their drive over to the mid-west in a few weeks. My kiddos played with (second) cousins they didn't even know they had, and Mad got her wish for a sleepover (finally!!) for three nights in a row. We came to the realization that we'll have to begin to prepare for this babe growing inside me sometime in the next few months, otherwise it will end up sleeping in a drawer somewhere. ;) (The bigger my belly grows, the older my babes on the outside seem too.) Maxi has started speaking in full sentences (mostly about robots and robot-bunnies), and Mad has learned to ride a bike (without training wheels!). She then proceeded to ride a a whole mile the same day and has since earned some pretty sweet "bike-riding blisters" on her thumbs to show for it (we credit the "balance bike" method for her quick learning). 

But it turns out baby-growing requires more energy than I have left, so I'm going to follow this lovely week with a weekend full of nothing but knitting and napping. Hope you have a restful one, too! 

:)

this moment.

inspired by SouleMama.

crazy colors crochet!

One of these days I might have a finished project to show you. I do finish things sometimes, I promise. But for now, I want to show you what I most recently started. It's a granny stripe baby blanket for my babes. I'm making it large enough in hopes that all three of my babes will enjoy snuggling with it on the couch. Being mostly a knitter, I'm always surprised at how fast it seems crochet projects go. I only started this blankie two nights ago and already, it's a third of the way done. Loving it!

The colors in the first photo appear a little brighter than they actually are. It's a bright, colorful blanket for sure, but many of the colors are a little more muted than they actually appear. The yarn I'm using is a Knit Picks yarn called Crayon, which is a soft cotton yarn that's fairly cheap (which is why I had enough in my stash to make a whole blanket long before I had the skills or desire to do so. ;) )

this moment.

inspired by SouleMama

my funny girl.

This girl, who loves to smother her brother with love, is growing up much too fast! She is far beyond her years in so many ways, that I love to savor the moments in which I am really reminded she is still just my little girl. Madelynn has recently (as in the last six months or so) taken interest in telling jokes. Knock-knock jokes are her favorite. So we told her an old joke that I figured would be easy to remember. This is the joke she told my mom a few days later. 

Mad: "Knock knock!!"

Grandma: "Who's there?"

Mad: "Salad"

(By now I was already trying not to laugh!)

Grandma: "Salad who?"

Mad: "Let me in, it's cold out here!!"

Of course, Lettuce is the one that was supposed to be knocking, as in "Lettuce in, it's cold out here!" I'm sure she'll start to catch on to punch lines soon, but for now her jokes are funny for other reasons. Another funny was just today when she ran into my room with her nose plugged and was frantically telling me that "Max ran out of gas!!" it took me much too long (I hadn't yet had my morning coffee) to realize she meant that Max had passed gas, which was definitely important information to pass along since Maxi has been working on potty training. I think she feels more let down by accidents than he does (though she's careful not to show it), since it was Mad who first started potty training him by sitting him down on the potty and sternly instructing him to "get busy!" just as Aunt Sami does with her guide dog puppy in training.

Oh my, am I ever blessed to be the mama of these sweet little ones!