This is the baby quilt that I made for my friend Claudia in Michigan. She's due to have her 1st, a girl, in about 3 or 4 weeks (maybe sooner--I guess Elsa is a rather long baby). At any rate, though, I'm really happy with how the quilt turned out. It's only the 2nd quilt I've done, and the 1st one was a rag quilt, so I'm quite proud of myself. And yes, normally my blog posts are a little wittier than this, but I'm 5 days away from my own due date, and I'm huge and tired and I can't think. So there it is. Yay me.

Labels: projects

It truly was--there were so many cool things about this past week! Where to begin?

Well, 1st off--the baby's room and our master bedroom are officially DONE! And they both turned out so good! Kenn got the transition pieces of pergo (the go-betweens from the pergo to the carpet/bathroom laminate) put into place, and they look perfect, and that was really all that was left. We are so happy, I can't wait to get all the baby clothes and crib and everything into the baby's room and really see it come together, and our bedroom feels like a hotel room, without the weird smell and uncontrollable room temperatures.

Wonderful thing #2--"Breaking Dawn," the 4th and supposedly final book in the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer, came out Friday night! And being the geek that I am, I finished reading it yesterday afternoon and started reading it AGAIN last night. :) Yes, I thought it was that good. I love to read... :)

#3--I got baby gifts! The reason this is so especially wonderful is because I haven't really been expecting baby gifts, considering I'm having my 2nd boy. I already have tons of boy clothes and burp cloths and crib bedding and all that stuff, but my fantastic friends are very cool, and gave me things I didn't have for Caleb. My friend Nicole got me this super cool nursing cover (mine will be the kensington print) and my friend Carrie MADE me a baby sling! She and I went to this cute quilting store, and I got to pick the fabrics and she came to my house and sewed it together for me that afternoon. It's gorgeous, with a large-paisley print in a darker cream on a cream background on one side, and the other side is chocolate brown with a smaller cream-colored paisley print. As Carrie said in her blog, the fabrics are "neutral, but still have a girly look to them." That's what I go for. :) So yah, I've got some pretty fantastic friends here in Texas, I must say.

#4--We're finally cleaning our house! It's been a shambles since we started redoing bedrooms, and since we're done tracking sawdust and whatnot into the house, we finally started deep-cleaning everything, and I gotta hand it to my darling husband Kenn--that boy can vacuum like it's nobody's business. He doesn't just vacuum the carpet and call it good--he busts out the hoses and attachments and cleans off ceiling fans and under furniture, and corners, and baseboards and stairs, and...yah. He's amazing, and for that I am grateful. I don't vacuum like that even when I'm NOT pregnant, so it's nice that he does. :)

I'm sure there were a bunch more wonderful things this week, but these were really the top picks. The cleaning is still going on, as Kenn's best friend Jenn and her little boy Azure are coming to visit us this week from Las Vegas, but we should be able to get it all done and have the house looking spectacular. Then we get to go crazy and have fun for a few days, which I am really looking forward to. I can't wait to take Jenn to Rudy's for some sweet BBQ, and we might even finally take a trip to San Antonio while she's here. It's about time, right? We've lived in Texas for over 2 years now and still haven't gone.

So yah, that was the week. It was a good week. And it got me to write on our blog, so hooray for that.

Labels: family, home, projects

It's uhhh...it's finished, people. The cross-stitch. It is really and truly done. I finished it tonight at about 5:36pm, while Caleb asked repeatedly to go in the car, and Kenn played Mario Brothers 3. I literally almost cried when I realized I'd stitched the last stitch, and now I'm just in a bit of disbelief. I'm debating whether or not to wash it, because I'm sure I should but I'm so afraid of ruining 5 years of work, and I will definitely iron it, and maybe for Christmas it will get professionally matted and framed (hint hint, kenn). Once it's cleaned/ironed, I'll try and post a picture. I guess that should happen pretty soon, because now I've got all this free time on my hands.

Except for the guest room needing to be painted. Hmm.

Labels: projects, random

It has taken me over 5 years to get to this point, the point where you can seriously tell what my cross-stitch is (Greg Olsen's "O, Jerusalem"). I can now honestly, seriously, say that it is almost done. When we moved to Texas 2 years ago, all I had was the yellow and gray above Jerusalem, and the trees and bushes behind the Savior. Since then, I've done EVERYTHING else. I finished all the basic cross-stitches a month or so ago, and started the overwhelming task of outlining. Now, I've finished everything on the main cross-stitch key (which is good, because it was really falling apart) and all that's left is 3-D stitches of bushes and outlining the city of Jerusalem. I am FLOORED that I'm really so close, and the hope is to finish the entire thing before this baby is born in a little less than 3 months. I also have to make a Christmas stocking for the baby, and finish reading "Gone With the Wind," and read "Breaking Dawn" once it comes out. Oh, and let's not forget that we actually have to paint and redo flooring and replace a ceiling fan in the guest room for the baby.

But seriously, the cross-stitch comes first. It's been staring at me for so long, and vice-versa, I am psychotically devoted to being done. Kenn thinks I'm crazy, but I think he's secretly very impressed that I've come this far. He's proud, I know it. :)

Labels: projects

I guess I knew there was a reason that I picked boy fabrics, although I told myself it was because of Caleb. :) So I'm quite happy with how this blankt came together, and I definitely learned a LOT about good and bad ways to make a rag quilt. I cut individual blocks of batting and the backer-fabric for each piece, but I think next time I would just piece the front fabrics and do a solid batting piece and solid backer instead. I probably will give this blanket to Caleb for his 2nd birthday, because it's kind of big for a baby, but looks about right for a toddler bed. Plus, the frayed pieces of batting might be of some concern for a baby, but I think/hope that Caleb will know not to eat them. At any rate, I'm quite proud of myself. I think it turned out really cute.

Labels: projects