for now

Peeking in to say "hello!" Thank you all for your well-wishes re: the wee. We're all settling in pretty smoothly, and I'm feeling great. My days are spent nursing and reading. Finn now refers to his favorite books by title (or most of the title - for example, Eric Carle's The Very Quiet Cricket is simply The Cricket), and he brings me books to read to him while I feed the wee. (Myself? I'm reading The Night Circus and enjoying it immensely.) Our sofa has turned into a nest full of baby toys, blankies, board books and sippy cups, a couple of wee sweaters I'm knitting and my Kindle floating around in there also.

So folks have been asking for a pattern for the Modern Drunkard's Path quilt. I wrote up a pattern for a smaller version (crib sized) for the class I taught at gather here. I just need to tidy up a few things on there before I release it for sale. Or maybe it'll be a free pattern. I haven't decided yet. I went balls out on it with very detailed diagrams and such. BUT.... If you absolutely, positively *must* make one for yourself right this very moment, it's pretty easy. Just draw a quarter circle template, cut, and sew. Alternatively, there are a ton of quilting sites that offer templates for a drunkard's path block and tutorials on how to sew them. As for the palette, I used 24 colors sorted in groups of 4 in the 6 following families: reds, oranges, blues, greens, warm purples, cool violets. I think gather here still has a couple of the bundles that I put together for them available for sale - one in a rainbow of prints, another exclusively solids. You can also play around with color and make a monochromatic one like this beauty that Abby made or make a totally scrappy version. It's up to you. I plan to have more info soon. Right now, though, I'm just kinda taking this all in:

the latest addition

Meet Dahlia Grace, born January 5th at 12:48 AM. We're all pretty crazy about her.

the Finbear's lair

One big thing I needed to cross off of my to-do list was to finish the kiddo's room. You would have thought we would have done that when he was born, but no. We figured he would sleep in the same room as us for the first year, and so we weren't rushed to do it. Over the last year, we have been chipping away at the contents of our walk-in closet in order to turn it into his room - stuff we dumped in there when we moved in almost six years ago and totally forgot about because we never ever use any of it - giving away what's in great shape and throwing away the rest. We finally cleared the last of it away just a few months ago. Even then, other projects came up that took priority over making the room all pretty. As long as the kiddo was able to sleep in it, that was all that mattered. After all, we had to get him acclimated to sleeping by himself in his "big boy bed" before the really wee one gets here. We painted the walls, ceiling, and trim, built his bed, and then took our time with the rest.

In the meanwhile, I had been amassing ideas for how to decorate it on pinterest. From palette choices to cool artwork to using Ikea spice racks for bookshelves to painting a dresser ombre, there was a crazy abundance of ideas to explore. So far, the room has really come together, and I'm extremely happy with the results. All we have yet to do is hang the artwork, which we'll do as soon as the pieces are matted. What's more important is that the kiddo loves it and seems to enjoy having his own little space.

easy transformations

In my current whirlwind of last-minute nesting, I am going through my list of little projects to make for the new wee (due a little sooner than expected) and happily crossing items off of that list at a rapid rate. I'm pretty sure that's because most of these projects entail little more than sewing a straight line here and there, which is fortunate because I really waited until the last possible minute to get this done (remember - cholestasis, induction, yadda yadda, so time is not on my side any more). Though it's not a high priority project, I decided I wanted to make some baby leg warmers because a) they're damn cute, b) if you're into baby-wearing, they come in quite handy, and c) it's always a good idea to carry an extra pair or two. Trust me on that last one. Being as I already had these $1.99 knee-highs from Target that I have never used, I thought I may as well take a swing at this tutorial here.

Oh my god, easiest project EVER. They took me maybe 15-20 minutes to make, and that's only because I tried to zig-zag the seams closed after I sewed the straight seam. I didn't like the way the zig-zag stretched the knit and made the seam bulkier. Hence, I ripped it out in the end. The tutorial itself only calls for a straight stitch, and that's good enough for me for now. Also, can I just say that the tutorial is so clear, concise, and beautifully photographed, it is one of my favorite tutorials ever. Thanks to the awesome blogger at Sew Much Ado for putting together such an excellent tutorial!

happy new year (from the surliest little ewok)

Let's be honest here. We all knew the minute I made this:

that someday I would make this:

If not for my own kid, then for someone else's, but clearly at some point or another it was bound to happen.

Hey, did you know it's hard to photograph a toddler when they're watching "Yo Gabba Gabba?" There's some unspoken rule where one must not interfere with their DJ Lance Rock time. The whole time I was trying to photograph him, he kept looking over me or around me instead of at me. I might have had an easier time when photographing the dog. He did give me a different pose at one point though:

I should note that this is not my own design or invention. I saw this woman's awesome baby cowls on pinterest and had to have one right then and there, so I made one. I do not have a pattern for this; I just winged it. I do not plan on making a pattern for this because that would be seriously undermining the original designer who makes these custom order on her lovely etsy shop. Besides, hers are a million times better than mine as she has perfected the process by now. Mine took a bit of trial and error and still fits the kid a little snugger than I would prefer. Also, please note that she does not have this available as a pattern, and I don't know if she has any plans to release one. I just feel the need to put that out there. Sometimes people ask about patterns. Sometimes I have answers, and sometimes I don't. This is a case of the latter.

Anyway, back to the cowl itself.... It's a little snug. I kept going back and forth, crocheting a few rows then ripping them back until I found the right width more or less. I used Quince & Co. Osprey in Twig with the accents in some leftover scraps of Chanterelle, I really really REALLY love this yarn. It is so squishy and dreamy and knits/crochets into such a soft, dense fabric. And the colors are just so beautifully nuanced. Not that he necessarily appreciates the same things I do about it, but the kiddo seems to enjoy wearing it:

that is until he decides it's time to get back to Gabba Gabba. Then I just get his best "Bitch, PLEASE!" face as he tries to wedge himself between the TV and me:

Happy New Year, people!

the year end review (or something like it)

Apparently, this was the year of the quilt for me. In addition to the ones in the mosaic above, there are two more tops that didn't get quilted, one in the process of being quilted, and two more tops in progress. (And a partridge in a pear tree!) I only knit three things, two of which were worsted-weight socks and one just a wee baby sweater. I think I crocheted a couple of things, but other than the hand-warmers, I can't remember what I hooked. I started teaching at gather here, which has been a wonderful experience, and I hope to continue in the new year. I've got a ton of new quilts planned for classes! As for my other crafty endeavors, I released one softie pattern, but I have a few more that I only need to polish up & release. Maybe I'll finally get to that in the coming weeks since I don't foresee too much sewing getting done. Right now, I'm in a frenzy of nesting. Matt & I are putting the finishing touches on the kiddo's room. He is successfully sleeping by himself there through the night. We're tying up all our loose ends and getting ready for the New Tenant to join us. Fortunately, there isn't much that's left to do, just little last minute things like washing all the crib bedding. I have no idea if this will be my last post for the year or not. In case it is, I want to wish all of you a very happy new year full of love & laughter & all that good stuff. Happy New Year to you all!

über-last-minute holiday gift

Hope you all had an awesome holiday! Yesterday was so full of everything, and I am content and exhausted now. Before we went in for the family festivities, I decided to bang out a quick gift for my brother-in-law just because.

There are two things my brother-in-law is completely in love with - trains and maps. Any combination of the two brings him immense joy. Usually I just get him books or posters related to maps, subway maps, trains, or subway art. This year I was inspired to do something different. It all started with the fabric. I had bought this fabric months and months ago with the intention of making something for him this Xmas. I debated whether to make him a shirt but figured he would never wear it because that would be too flashy. He's not into ties, and I really couldn't think of any other form of apparel to make for a dude.

Thanks to over-thinking this and then becoming hugely distracted with other projects and life and stuff, I found myself wondering what to make for him just a couple of night ago and on a whim decided to go with pillows. There really isn't anything exciting to say about these pillows. They're just super easy envelope pillows I was able to whip up in about 15 minutes. Really, the appeal is in the fabric, so hooray for Timeless Treasures for printing this!

Funny thing, it took me longer to find a solution for wrapping them than it did to actually make them. In the end I just used some leftover binding as a ribbon. Didn't make for much of a surprise when presenting it as a gift, but meh, it's pretty.

happy holidays!

Why look at that! This year we hid our tree's shame with a stripey tree skirt I whipped up for a class at gather here. I'm rather fond of it, though I will say I should have made the center hole much narrower. That would have provided us with a tidier skirt with a smaller circumference. It would have also involved a lot less panels of fabric and made for an even quicker, easier project. Now I know for next year. I'll just tweak it to reflect these bits of trial and error and come up with a better, more badass skirt (to hide the tree's shame, of course!).

I know it makes me such a mega-nerd, but really, nice corners please me to no end.

Once again, I machine-bound something, and I did not want to stab said project after I was done. Hooray! I'm getting better at this thing. I like that the print I chose for the binding is kinda subtle and doesn't overpower or compete with the pretty saturated prints I used to the skirt itself. Funny thing about this binding, too. Originally, while sewing at Stacie's, she made 5 yards of binding for me while I worked on something else so that we would have time to play Settlers of Catan because Stacie is awesome like that. The thing is that I needed bias tape but did not communicate that. I just said binding. Derf! It's gorgeous, though, and I know I will definitely use it (for my current project, actually). Thanks again, Stacie! During class I made bias tape for my students hoping I could make mine work for the demo, but of course it didn't really work with the curves because, well... it wouldn't. Way to go, me! So Virginia made the bias tape for me seeing as I had just made yards and yards of it and must have looked like some defeated schlump when I realized I had to make more. Thank you, Virginia! Seriously, I am so grateful for these ladies. Also, talk about a close call - I had this much tape left:

I *just* made it.

The basic stripes in this design work well with our tree's decorations which consist mostly of little old painted wooden ornaments, a couple of my softie ornaments, wee fabric stockings, and these glass ornaments I took with me when my sister decided to throw them out. She thought they were old and tacky. Maybe they are, but they're shiny and remind me of some of the happiest time in my childhood. Therefore I love 'em.

Happy holidays, folks. Hope you have a wonderful time filled with laughter, surrounded by the people you love.

last-minute non-holiday projects

Forgive me. I've been a little distracted these days. I finally got around to making those Anna Maria Horner voile blankies I had been meaning to make since the fall. It turns out the baby might come a little sooner than expected. Blah blah cholestasis. Blah blah induction. I don't want to think about it much less talk about it. I'm hoping everything will be ok.

It was my first time using a serger so my edges are far from perfect, but they'll work. I have to say it was actually a lot of fun to get behind one of those machines. I'd love to get more practice in. ZOMG! It might just open up the doors to garment sewing for me. It's totally a gateway tool.

simple holiday stocking

For tomorrow night's class at gather here. If you're in the Boston area and looking for something fun to do, this quick and easy holiday project might be right up your alley. So come join us! There are plenty of spaces available.