Baby H's Quilt

Again, I apologize for the crappy cellphone pictures. It was like 11 at night, and I forgot to have my mom hold it up the next day for pictures.

Stats:
1 charm pack Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hooey
Sashing and backing is Kona Medium Gray
Binding is Sherbet Pips
Pattern is a modified Charm Squares baby quilt by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson!

Baby H - I hope it's ok I didn't make you a Christmas themed quilt, even though you are going to be a Christmastime baby. I figured you'd get enough of that in your life. I can't wait to meet you little girl. See you soon.

Receiving Blankets

(Bean's quilt, Baby H's receiving blanket, and Bean's burp cloths)

I've made two of AMH's receiving blankets so far; one for Baby H, and one for Bean. I'm not wonderful at sewing the binding on properly (I can't get both sides to be straight!), but I'm overall quite happy with how they've turned out!

Unfortunately, I only have a picture of Baby H's, as Bean's is packed snugly away in my hospital bag to bring to them when K has the baby. But something is better than nothing, right? Of course right!

I gave H's blanket to my step-sister D on Labor day. D and I have had an interesting past; as kids we didn't get along. As teenagers, we had a distant respect for each other. When we were forced around each other, we were friendly. Sometimes we spent some time together. But we were always STEP-sisters. I never felt close with D, or like she ever really considered me, my brother, and my mother to be part of her family.

But as soon as she had L, everything changed. She's loving, she's gracious, she's wonderful to be around. I genuinely enjoy spending time with her. I love making things for her; both her and J absolutely gush over anything I've made, thanking me 1000 times for the thought, using whatever it is as often as they can. For the AMH blanket, D&J have both thanked me at least twice, and commented to my mom how wonderful the blanket is and how much they appreciate it.

My mom says it's hard not to love someone who loves your kid so much. We definitely love L. He's basically my favorite person. Seriously, how can you not love this?

L, can you give Auntie a big smile?

So There's That

Today, I called my mom, got in my car, and drove to Joann's. There, I picked up a pattern (Simplicity 2274), a half yard of DS Quilts cotton (the name escapes me... Kitschy is involved, I think), and I bought a new sewing machine.

My old Kenmore was just that: old. My step-aunt bought it at a yard sale for 20 bucks. It was kept in her (Hoarders-esqe) house for x amount of time, then she gave it to me. It was a lovely, lovely thought. But it was not good. The tension was always off, it wouldn't pick up the bobbin thread any longer. I'd abandoned it a few months ago to go back to hand sewing.

But the influx of nieces coming my way has made me despair at the thought of two quilts to hand-sew, two receiving blankets to bind by hand, two of everything. And I'm sick of looking at all my quilt-y blogs and being unable to keep up. And so. My new sewing machine is here. Hooray 3 paycheck month.

For those interested (if any): she's a Singer Talent. Not the cheapest model, but very, very basic. I don't need much fluff, just something that can keep up. So far she's bound Baby H's receiving blanket, sewn 5 more rows onto Bean's quilt, and made a burp cloth for Bean.

Here's hoping there are LOTS more projects in my near future :)

Updates. Life Happens.

I know I post these "I'm around" posts every few months. But that's because I am.

It's really hard to motivate myself to craft with no sewing machine. It's such a production to get all of my hand sewing things out, and it's such a mess.

So, here are my updates:

• Nannying is over. I'm now a cubicle jockey. I'm so thankful for a job, but it's definitely not what I was planning on when I got my education degree.
• Moved into my parents house after nannying. A few months later, and I moved into my own apartment. Which is awesome. And soooooo small.
  
• Moving into my own apartment has shed some new light on things for me. First things first, closets. are. AMAZING. I've never really had a closet before. Oh man. One side is for my clothes, and one side is for my never worn clothes/ WIPs.
• Two rooms and a bathroom = no room for a desk or a sewing machine.
• Sewing machine doesn't even work. Need a new one. SO BADLY.
  
• P&K are having a baby girl, named O (I call her the Bean). I'm making her a quilt, and a receiving blanket made from AMH flannel and voile. That is, I will be once I find the motivation/4 hours to hand-stitch the binding on. Le sigh.
  
• D&J are also having a baby girl, named H. L's going to be a big brother! Of course this Baby H is also going to be getting a receiving blanket and quilt. Just need to figure out the logistics.