It's not a girl!

My friend had a baby boy so I was forced to put away all of the great pieces of pink fabric that I had pulled out for her quilt. I was really looking forward to sewing for a girl...so much more frilly and fun. Maybe I just wanted her to have a girl so she could experience the sheer joy of a girl, knowing that she's not planning to have any more kids and she already has a boy. Back in April I found this awesome lamb fabric (and she LOVES sheep), and not knowing if it was a boy or girl, I got pieces of the cloth in both pink and blue. Looks like the pink is destined for another project. A long sigh, and I was off to finish her gift. It's a quilt, but it is smaller so it could either be hung on a wall, as she did with the one I made 2 years ago for her first baby, or it could be used for a carseat/stroller.
Here's an interim picture - quilting and binding are not quilt finished. It is modeled after a quilt I saw at Darcie's blog (though not sewn quite as well).

On another subject, my Hungry Caterpillar quilt is done!! It's donner than done. It's ready to go. I love it. Oh wait, I just remembered it needs antennae on one of the caterpillar, but essentially done.

Baby Fairy, Where are You?

Dear Baby Fairy,

I am not sure where you are, if you exist, or what you may look like. But I really need you right now. My good friend & former colleague is 39+ weeks pregnant and I need her to birth this kid! Yes, this post does come of selfish motives. Sure, sure...she wants the alien out of her too, but I have a legitimate concern.

This is the weekend. I get "unlimitted" (choke, ha ha) sewing time on the weekend. As any of you know, my weeks are rather hellish with chasing a nearly walking baby, my pain-in-the ass middle kid that prefers jumping in bed to sleeping, and the rigors (choke) of a new job. But, again as I said, it is about me, not the about-to-pop mother to be. I have plans for potentially making her something for the baby, but I can't until it shows us it's gender.

I can hardly fathom this still being pregnant at 39 weeks. Mine could practically crawl by that point. Actually, the 3rd one was born right at 39, but the 2 boys came out 1&2 weeks before that. They knew the meaning of "The lease is up: Come out!"

OK, so I have actually started sewing something but I can only do small parts of it without knowing more. I knew the gender of all my kids in advance. It was one of those secrets in life I saw no need in having. It was convenience being able to get clothes & the nursery ahead of time. I know that she is reusing her older child's nursery. I just really don't want to be confined to the boring blue and green again...(boo hoo!>...-just kidding LCC). The nursery is very beautiful. As a mom of a little girl, I so hope she has a girl so that I can sew with some PINK! Oh, yea...I mean so that she has the joy of a little girl & a boy!

So, baby fairy, please....and I am begging because I do not get adequate sewing time during the week...Please make her belly start contracting!!

Smocking Complete

Here's the front of Sophie's Christmas dress...very old fashioned; I love it. Sure hope that there really is enough scraps of this fabric now to make up the dress!

My Baby will be Darling for the Holidays

I had a little material left over from the dresses I have mostly finished making for the neighbor girls. So I have decided to whip (this is where you choke a few times and laugh loudly) one up for Sophie. She only needs about a yard of fabric, maybe a touch less since this is wide. That of course assumes that I don't have to cut anything out twice :-) !!! The dress will be smocked on the bodice. The sleeves will be the creamy heart-floral like the under dresses for the older girls are. I just don't have enough of the red. I will also do a ruffly crinoline-style bottom for the dress of the cream floral, maybe with ivory eyelet too. She'll be pretty and fancy for Christmas, or Valentine's Day depending when this gets finished.

I did the smocking different from the last few projects. At first I was unsure because the diamonds were very simple, maybe even bland. But then I took a giant leap (as recommended here) and added the bullion roses (thanks EST for directions!). And then bland is very Baby-Beautiful. I do like the simpler smocked bodice.


I still have a trillion bullion knots to finish, and a bottom wavy border, but I think you can get the idea where this is going. ...very vintage baby

Other Progress

There has also been tremendously painful and slow progress on the dresses I am making. By that I mean, it is like 2 steps forward, 900 steps back. Makes me cringe at the thought of working on them, but I know I need to get them finished. Both now have finished bottom hems with ruffle, bindings on the pinafore arm holes are finished. This should read "Some dumb bozo put them in once and did a quilter's seam allowance. For kicks her 5 year old son tried on a dress, and she realized the arms were too snug at the pits. The Bozo stood back, rumpled her nose, said a few obscenities, and realized the mistake. Bozo proceded to cut off bindings and start over". The dresses going under the pinafores are making good progress too. 15 of 16 buttons and button holes are complete. And sleeves w/ unfinished cuffs are set in too. There may be collars but Bozo keeps forgetting to wash the material.

On another project (yes, the unfinished list does go on...)
The Snuggly Hungry Caterpillar quilt is looking AWESOME. Pictures will come soon, promise. It's mostly all quilted, all by hand. Needs a few things here and there and it's done. I'm still pondering how to bind it - namely what color(s). Have to procrastinate somehow.

Last Friday my mother andI started another quilt for the project Linus book-blanket challenge. I'd been wanting to do a quilt with her all summer, but it never happenned. She's supplied my dining room (ha ha - that's the pit of a room that has fabric strewn everywhere) with lots of fun materials, but I haven't done too many quilts this summer. I designed a very simple blanket of a bunch of fishy fabrics. The book is Curious George goes Fishing. She's adding a fleecy George onto it. It'll be cute.

More Other...
Still pondering a couple more winter quilt projects. Need to get some good train materials for my son's new bedroom - 3 year old appropriate.

Oh well...dream time is over since the baby is awake from nap and I have work to claim to need doing.

Fall Quilt

All done except for the label...

The hearts are supposed to look like falling leaves as the title of the quilt is Falling in Love with Autumn.
...and the back sans label.

A hippie?

You Are Grass Green

Down to earth and a bit of a hippie, you are very into nature and the outdoors. You accept the world and people as they are. You don't try to change things. You are also very comfortable with yourself, flaws and all. Optimistic about the future, you feel like life is always getting better.

What Color Green Are You?