New Job!

Yep, that’s right, I have a new full-time job….I’m a stay at home mom! I “left” my old job last Wednesday and have yet to look back. I say “left” because there’s more involved, but one thing is for certain….no more yucky-traffic-light-filled-stop-at-dunkin-donuts-drop-the-bub-off-at-the-babysitters-commute! Woo woo!

There’s been a lot going on since my last post, so I’ll give you some quick snippets of September…

We threw Bear’s mom a surprise birthday party on Labor Day – it turned out so well and she was so surprised! I didn’t get many pictures, but I thought this one was cute. This is our friend’s son, Zach and his little toy car. Lila hoped on and Zach pushed her around for quite a while, but you could tell he was straining pretty hard! Later she put her feet up, sat back and relaxed while he pushed! Too cute! It’s not the best picture…it was an overcast, rainy day.

We headed to the beach- Assateague Island to go camping, didn’t work out quite as we planned, but we made the best of it. If you look close, you can see all the water in the background, most of the campsites were flooded and it was quite windy and chilly. The campsites were so flooded that most didn’t have a spot to put a tent, we got lucky and found a semi-dry one.

So we came home and went to a local beach instead – Lila doesn’t know the difference, she just likes to play in the water.

We had our county fair – I won 3 ribbons! A first place for her strawberry dress – and second place ribbons for her Boheme and Sheep Sweater (pictures of each project are on my sidebar). Pretty exciting! Lila was too thrilled this year with the sheep or goats, but she was quite fond of the cows and piggies!

I attended two Cookie A. knitting classes. One was Traveling Stitches held at the very beautiful Maples in Solomons and hosted by Marie, who is so lovely! And the other was hosted by my LYS Crazy for Ewe and was absolutely wonderful as well. We had a fantastic lunch at Cafe des Artistes and following was the Intuitive Charts Reading class. Whew – that was a lot of info at one time, but I think it all sank in and I was quite impressed with the amount of new knowledge I took home – not to mention I learned how to quickly (and safely!) cable without a cable needed! I didn’t take any pictures, but if you hop on over to the Crazy for Ewe blog, Ellen took a few that day.

And as for this week….busy so far as well. We headed to the National Zoo on Monday. What a blast! Lila loved the aminals as she calls them, but we definitely missed the hippo. She asked for him all day, but I guess he was inside because we never saw him.

They are a doing a lot of renovations, but we still go to see most of the animals. There was a baby gorilla born in January who was absolutely precious! I wanted to take her home to be a playmate for Lila!

The weather was perfect, she was a great kid, and other than one wrong turn in DC (totally taking credit for that mishap) we made out okay! But a side note…flamingos stink, bad!

And coming up Thursday is Leprechaun Lilly’s. One of my favorite days of the year. I did my volunteer hours yesterday so I could shop early and I’m so excited! This was by far the best idea anyone has had a in a long time, and it makes so much sense! Everything I’ve gotten from there has been name brand, quality clothing that has been either brand new with tags, or barely worn. It’s fantastic! They are even doing one this year for women’s clothes, called Elly’s Closet. Unfortunately, I will be out of town this year and unable to attend…maybe next time!

It’s a cool, rainy day so I’m looking forward to settling down today, getting some of my domestic duties (hehe!) done and enjoying my daughter!

Too busy to blog – Part 2 – Knitting

Whew – surprisingly I have been doing a lot of knitting lately! The summer is usually very busy for us, but with frequent trips back to WV, I get 10+ hours of knitting in the car time, plus about 3 hours when my husband is boating, and countless other hours too. It’s a good deal!

So, I’ve finished a few things lately and am chugging away at others. Nothing for me yet though, I’m getting there.

My favorite is her new Boheme. Very cute pattern,but I needed to size it up some to about a 2T. The only thing left is to find some buttons.   I used Cherry Tree Hill Supersock colorway Jewels.  I was so worried I wouldn’t have enough of this gorgeous yarn, but I just knit and knit until I ran out. Apparently this must be a one of a kind skein because I have gone to the end of the internet (and Ravelry) looking for another one, and I cannot find anything even close. I wish I took better pictures, the colors are amazing. It’s very mulberry, dark and light brown and light pink. Whenever I get around to dyeing, I will definitely try to replicate these colors! I was left with about 9 inches of yarn when it was all said and done.  I did the picot edge, but modified it some so I would have enough yarn. I really love how this turned out! She won’t model it though, way too hot around here!

And Lila has two new shrugs / boleros – both for the fall.

Debbie Bliss’s Baby Shrug

Yarn – Joann’s Sensations Tesoro – not a bad yarn, could be softer though. I had it laying around and have been stash busting, so it worked out.

Sizing was way off on this, so I did some measuring and made her the 9-12 month size, and it’s just about right with a little room to grow.

The other one is this pattern from Sirdar. I used Elsebeth Lavold’s Bambool and loved it. This yarn has a great feel and look, just a little bit of sheen, very sophisticated looking. She has a little more room to grow in this one, I made the size 2-3. Hey, I’d much rather it be too big than to small, she’s not shrinking anytime soon!

You might notice a difference in my bubby girl, she got her first hair cut on the 15th.  It was hard on me, but it’s super cute now!

I’ve casted on for a new pair of socks too. The Faceted Rib Socks from Little Box of Socks. I’m trying to use up some of my stash, so I picked this one. The name “Colorful” is so appropriate, very short color repeats – with lots of different colors! I think this pattern is perfect for it. I’ve just about got one cuff finished, but it’s been on hold for a while now.

My Coraline has also come out of the bag recently and I now have 2 completed sleeves and a body, now to join the sleeves and start the fun part, the yoke! I really hope to have it done by the time the weather turns cooler. I guess that all depends on how the smocking pattern goes!

Too busy to blog – Part 1 – Sewing

I’m become obsessed – okay, not really, but all I can think about lately is sewing! I’ve got tons of things in mind, and just not enough time to even get started!

It started with having a daughter who is now wearing 24 month clothes – apparently, they stop making clothes with diaper covers somewhere around 18 months. Yet, not very many kids are potty trained and in big-girl panties at this age. So, alas, the need for diaper covers arose.

4 pairs later….

The pattern is McCalls M5367 which is now out of print. I don’t plan on making any of the little dresses, just the diaper covers. I had to modify the pattern a bit after the first two pair, which is why the bottom two look a little smaller. This was my first time working with bias tape – on the inside cuff of the legs. I thought it was a smart design, and it turned out pretty well.

Three of these are for everyday wear under skirts and dresses that didn’t come with covers, the red polka dot one goes with this dress….


(I need to tack that ribbon down – I thought it needed more stitching, but the pattern didn’t call for it, but it keeps riding up)
I absolutely love how this turned out. A friend gave me the pattern, Simplicity 4246, I think it’s out of print now, but interestingly enough, the print on the front of the pattern was almost identical to this fabric! You can see it really well on the link if you zoom in on it. I must admit, the bodice lining almost got me, and it was my first time gathering, but all in all, I’m so happy with it!
And, to top it all off, we had recently ordered this strawberry barrette from etsy, prior to the dress, but it goes so perfectly!

I also finished a simple little skirt for her, two fat quarters, cut into 2″ strips, and sewn together vertically, hemmed at the bottom, elastic at the top. Simple as pie! And oh so cute – it’s her bedroom now and she’s sleeping, so no photo op’s for that one!

What are the chances?

Okay, so not only did I win during Sew Mama Sew giveaway day a while back, but I also won another giveaway over at BabyKDesigns! (And I’m just now getting around to blogging about it – I’m terrible!) The amazing all-things-baby-hair-accessories maker, Veronica, was hosting a giveaway for one of her Personalized Initial Hair Clips. And of course I had to enter, I had just purchased one and loved it!!! What little girl doesn’t need more gorgeous barrettes in her hair?! Anyways, I found out about BabyKDesigns from January One and hopped over and made a few purchases myself. I got Lila one of the personalized clips, and then these adorable little butterflies. And I must say, I love these barrettes, and Lila must to because she never bothers them. I keep promising Veronica a picture of her with them in, but she’s 20 months old, there’s no keeping that kiddo still – everything is an action shot!
See – I almost cut her head off!

This is as still as she would sit for me. But you can tell, that barrette is holding on to that super thin and fine hair very well!

Cutest kid award!

I definitely would win the cutest kid award – I mean seriously, look at that face!! (I know every mom thinks that, so don’t slam me – just let me adore my little darling!) By the way, that’s Ted Bear and blankie she’s got the death grip on…she loves her Ted Bear.

And it doesn’t hurt that she is sleeping in BIG TIME today! It’s 10:30 and she’s still not up – so mama got lots done this morning, but I am so ready for her to be awake – it’s playtime! I even made her blueberry muffins for breakfast!

My blueberries were HUGE, so they are so gooey and yummy! Some have a crumbly topping, but not all, and now there’s one missing!

Make that two!

I won!

Can you believe I actually won something during the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day? I entered over at Little Blue Cottage for her beautiful fat quarters and a copy of Stitched in Time.

And can you believe, out of 575 comments – I win!!! And it’s funny because I was so bummed that week because I was way too busy to enter in a lot of giveaways. I got to maybe 15-20, but all it took was one! And truthfully, I really had my eye on this one! And I must say, rightfully so, Stitched in Time is an amazing book and I cannot wait to start on so many of the projects (one at a time though!!)

Baby Girl Giveaway!

So everyone knows giveaways are all over the place lately right…well here’s another one that is definitely worth entering!! I just ordered one of these for Lila, but, a little girl can never have enough adorable hair accessories right!!

Head on over to Baby K Designs and check it out! She has the cutest little girl hair accessories, and keeps posting more! (I already see more I want and I just ordered last week!)

Pretty Little Butterfly

Well, I wouldn’t call it pretty, but at least I can call it done!! This thing was definitely more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Something about that bottom left wing kept messing me up! But anyways, it’s done, and although I’m not 100% happy with it, I’m happy that Bubby seems to like it.

My only problem with it is the size of the top wings, they are just huge in comparison to everything else, which means they are super floppy. And I can’t really think of any safe, toddler-friendly way to make them sturdier against the body. And here’s a shot of the back of the wings.

Pattern: Butterfly by Zoe Mellor
Yarn: Cascade Sierra – mostly leftovers from Bubby’s Turtle

Grandma’s

What happens at Grandma’s, stays as Grandma’s!!
Bubby Girl doesn’t get a whole lot of sweets at our house, but we let her indulge a little at Grandma’s. Thankfully this time she didn’t act like a crazy little banshee!

And here’s my latest quick little knit, minus a face. The details always get me! She’s not afraid of it, but it’s definitely not the lovey I hoped it would be!

And for a great maternity giveaway – head over to simple for a chance to win a very cool maternity shirt from JellyBean Apparel. I’ll have to remember this site in the future….just in case!

Busy, busy, busy!

Wow – it’s been a while since I had a “real” post! There’s been so much going on lately so I’ll update you little by little -
But first, here’s a few recent pics of my girl!
I don’t know if you guys have ever heard of Silly Suzy Goose, but Lila adores this book. We read it every night before bed. And I don’t know if anyone remembers that sheep in the background – I can’t seem to find the original post on it. But it’s a rocking chair that I found a few years ago, before I was even pregnant I believe and I fell in love with it. Now Lila loves it and can finally sit down on it! And check out those pigtails. Occasionally I can get them in and they stay for a few minutes!

And here’s her first look at dyed Easter Eggs. Of course she didn’t care about dying them, that was left to me and mam-maw (Lila’s pronunciation of grandma) but she loved cracking them!

And one more – it was a gorgeous day on Sunday, so before heading home from WV, we headed outside. Lila loves being outside! (Sorry for cutting your head off honey, I’m still not that great with the camera!)

Knitting - I’m working on a few things right now *gasp*
- I’m still chugging away at Coraline. I’ve got the lower body and one sleeve done, and I think she’s going on hold until the fall. It’s turning out gorgeous though, I can’t wait to do the detail on the yoke.
- I’m 99% done a springy scarf in this gorgeous and soft yarn, just in time for Easter! I’m using a Feather and Fan pattern, and although I wasn’t too hot about it at first, I’m loving it now.
- I just started this cute little guy for Bubby Girl. I really need to do more quick projects like this one! I’m using the leftover Cascade Sierra from her turtle, and I have lots of small projects planned with this toddler-tolerant yarn!

Reading - Yes, I’m actually reading a book, it’s been a while. I’m hooked on Manhunt – the 12 day chase for Lincoln’s killer. Wow, this is a good one. I live pretty close to Dr. Mudd’s house (if you don’t know Dr. Mudd, he’s the one who set John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg a few hours after the assassination. Interestingly enough, I toured Dr. Mudd’s house a few years back and what I learned then, and what I’m learning now with this book are two totally different things. I’m afraid to say I don’t think Dr. Mudd is as innocent as his family members (the curators) of his house make him out to be. But I’ll leave it at that. If you want some gripping reading, check out the book. It’s fascinating to say the least!

Okay, more pictures and stories to tell, but the bread is almost done baking and I’m in the middle of sewing a row on Julie’s stocking (took a break to check on the bread – busy day!)