Reusable grocery bags

We bought some reusable grocery bags at Walmart awhile ago and I wasn't impressed with them. They were flimsy and just didn't seem like they would last too long. Yes they were inexpensive, but was it worth it if you would have to replace them often? Then when the cat had a UTI she used them as a litter box and gave me a good excuse to get rid of them.

Since then I have been trying to find a decent bag that was sturdy and strong. I wasn't having much luck, but then I started cleaning out my fabric stash and found some duck cloth (a canvas like fabric) that I had bought for a project long ago. As I was sitting up feeding Colton one night it hit me that the duck cloth would make the perfect grocery bag.




After a few trial and errors the prototype was made. This one is pretty close, the only thing that I really need to change is that I put one handle on backwards.



Because they are stronger than plastic you can fit quite a bit into them. I just put a few things in that I had downstairs to show the size.

My UFO list

One of my "resolutions" for this year is to get caught up on my unfinished projects. I went through my huge bag where I had them all stored and figured out which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I had moved on from. I am hoping to have the majority of them done by the end of June. There are a few bigger projects that will not get done before then, but at least I will have a start.



The list as of now is:

- green and yellow potholders

- patriotic pot holders

- penguin pot holders

- nautical pot holders

- folded ornaments

- Snoopy baby blanket

- Diagonal Paths quilt (long term)

- Cotton Reels quilt (long term)

- Kaleidoscope quilt (long term)

- big embroidery floss holder

- travel embroidery floss holder

- fall tablerunner

Advent tree

Here is our Advent calendar for this year. They boys are loving it. It is a great way to countdown to Christmas and give them a little treat too.



Here is the tree all set up with the boxes.

Each individual box. I got the idea from here (http://comeandpeek.blogspot.com/2008/07/favor-boxes-how-to.html)

And here is the inside of each box. There is a piece of candy for each boy and then an ornament to replace the box so their tree stays decorated.

Other than that not much going on here. I am officially overdue and I'm ok with that. I'm hoping he will hold out until Friday. My friend Jen had her baby last night. I was hoping to get to the hospital to see her, but with only a half day of school I won't be able to. I'm sure she is enjoying her new bundle of joy though.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Ours was nice and relaxed which is exactly what this pregnant woman needed. I am feeling pretty tired lately and ready to be done though I want him to hold out a few more days so that I don't have to stress about who is going to take care of the boys.

Here are a last few craft pics. I have one more project that I need to get done, but there is no rush on it and it is super simple.




Little baby booties. I am so happy I finally figured out this pattern. I love how they turned out and I will probably be making a few more pairs for the little guy.

Here is a Christmas gift all rolled up.

And here it is all opened up. It didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, but it is functional and cute so it will work.

Here is the baby blanket. It turned out really nice and cuddly. We will use it on the floor and probably over his car seat when it is really cold.

Lots of pictures...finally

I finally found the camera cord and had time to sit down and download the pictures. It has been a crazy week here with strange schedules, lots of appointments, and just stuff going on. I have been trying to work on my to do list and getting things crossed off. Only a few more weeks before this little guy makes his entrance and I am starting to get worried that everything isn't going to get done.

I have made some progress on my craft projects. I am happy to say that I only have a few small things left to do. I'm hoping to get them mostly done by the end of the week. Of course that assumes that everything goes as planned and I know that won't happen around here!






This isn't the best picture of my blanket I made for my friend's baby, but I forgot to take one before I wrapped it up.




This is a table runner I made for my grandma. She is such a hard person to buy for and she doesn't have a lot of room for knick knacks. I figure this will look great on her coffee table.


Here is the back. I'm not in love with this fabric, but it does fit in with the leaf/flower theme of the front fabrics.

Here is the front of little man's birth announcement. You can't really tell from the picture, but the Welcome is printed on the computer and the baby is a stamp that I embossed. It is a blurry on the one edge because I smudged the ink. Also, there is a line of swirls and dots that I embossed with clear powder so it just gives it a little sheen.

Here is the inside. Obviously our last name will go where the white box is. The name isn't set in stone, but it is what we are leaning towards right now. The stats are just place markers so that I could get all the spacing right. There is a be a wallet sized picture next to the stats when they are all finished. I am really happy with the way it turned out. Now I just have to actually make all of them!

Here is a hat that I made for the baby, but it turned out too big so Cooper has taken it. I love the colors of this yarn and will definitely be making a smaller one for the baby.

Here is the same pattern, just in a different yarn and definitely smaller.

And finally...

the dreaded Christmas present quilt. This thing has been a thorn in my side since I started it. I love how it turned out and am really happy that I did it, but man was it a long process.

Here it is all quilted. You can sort of see the little squares in the middle. I stitched in the ditch around the two squares and then did a smaller square in the middle.

The backing is a really big four patch. I couldn't decide which fabric I liked better so I used both of them. I like how it turned out because now the quilt is actually reversible.

And a close up picture of the binding that was the bane of my existence for hours and hours. I hate hand sewing, absolutely hate it. Unfortunately, hand sewing the binding looks 1000 times better than trying to use the machine so I sucked it up and did it. YUCK!

I still have to finish my mom's chicken picture I am making, make a few more hats for the baby, and I am hoping that I can figure out the baby bootie pattern that I found. I am almost done with his baby blanket too.

Updated to do list

A little while ago I posted a crafting to do list that seemed overwhelming. I figured now that I am under 50 days till this little guy comes I would see where I stand.

- the Christmas quilt. I have the top done, the back done and it is ready to be basted. Then it is quilting and binding. Right now I am about 1/3 of the way done hand sewing the binding down. I am hoping to get it done in the next week.


- baby bibs. I have been looking for bibs that have terry cloth on the back because they absorb so much better, but I haven't had any luck so off to the sewing machine I go. I have one done except the Velcro and another cut and ready to be sewn. I have two bibs done. I am not in love with the fabric, but I have two to get started with and I can make a few more later.

- baby blankets. I have the fabric to do both mine and my friends, but haven't started working on them yet. I am still trying to get all the red dye to bleed out of the fabric. Once I get that done I will be ready to cut. Luckily these don't take long to put together.

- car seat blankets. I have some fleece to make a small blanket to wrap around the babies legs when we are in the car this cold winter. Two done, maybe one more to go. The two that are done are for me. I might make one for a friend, but depends on time.

- a punch embroidery chicken wall hanging. I have maybe 1/32 of this done for my mom for Christmas. I was making progress on this until my punch needle broke. I bought a new one so hopefully will be making progress on this again soon.

- a crochet hook holder. My MIL wants a roll up crochet hook holder for Christmas. Right now I am in the planning stages of this. I need to find some fabrics that I like for this. I've got the idea all laid out, just need to pick fabrics. Luckily I don't think it will take too long to finish.

Right now I am ignoring the rest of my list. I have a million things to accomplish over the next few weeks. We are going Christmas shopping on the 25th of this month. It seems so insanely early, but in order to get everything done and wrapped I need to get started.

Baby crafts

Saturday morning hubby took the boys for the morning and I got so much accomplished. I have had this pile of things I wanted to do for the baby and I actually got most of them done.

Right now I am soaking the fabric for his blanket and waiting for the stupid other computer to run virus scan so I can work on his announcements. I know what I want to do, just have to get it to work out. Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of them this week. I am still plugging away on the Christmas quilt, but right now I am getting frustrated with how slow it is hand sewing binding so I am taking a break for a few days.





These are little car seat blankets that I made. I wanted something warm, but small to wrap around his legs since he will be born during winter. I love how they turned out.



I have been looking for bibs that have terry cloth on the back for awhile and I haven't had any luck. So I decided to whip some up. I'm not sure I am loving the lady bug fabric, but it was what I had on hand at the time. I will probably make a few more before he comes.



Here is a little crocheted hat that my mom made for him. I want to make a few more because I know they will be needed here. I plan on getting some warmer ones too. I might even try making one out of fleece, but not sure if I will get there or not.



This is a breastfeeding cover prototype that I made. I love using receiving blankets as covers, but they were always falling down and with two kids climbing all over me I needed something that would stay put. I have to get some new receiving blankets and make a couple of real ones.

When will I learn??

When will I learn to not start 10 projects at once???

Right now I am working on:

- the Christmas quilt. I have the top done, the back done and it is ready to be basted. Then it is quilting and binding.

- baby bibs. I have been looking for bibs that have terry cloth on the back because they absorb so much better, but I haven't had any luck so off to the sewing machine I go. I have one done except the Velcro and another cut and ready to be sewn.

- baby blankets. I have the fabric to do both mine and my friends, but haven't started working on them yet.

- car seat blankets. I have some fleece to make a small blanket to wrap around the babies legs when we are in the car this cold winter.

- a punch embroidery chicken wall hanging. I have maybe 1/32 of this done for my mom for Christmas.

- a crochet hook holder. My MIL wants a roll up crochet hook holder for Christmas. Right now I am in the planning stages of this.

Somehow I have to get all these done plus all the other pre baby stuff that needs to get done. Yeah I'm in for a busy few months. Hopefully my nesting instinct will kick in soon!

Be prepared for a sob fest post on Wednesday...my baby is starting Kindergarten.

Sorry I haven't updated lately, but between going to the state fair and trying to get everything in order for Cody to go to school I haven't had much spare time.

We had a blast at the fair even though it was HOT! The boys loved all the animals. The only part that sucked was Cooper couldn't ride hardly anything. I have no idea what was up with the quacks that ran the show, but it wasn't very kid friendly. What really got me was when one of the guys running a kiddie game had a shirt on that said "I'm not mr. right, but I'll f*** you until he shows up" It is just wrong! I know that most kids playing the game couldn't read, but the parents and older kids could. It was disgusting.

The cutest thing was the banana races. They had little capuchin monkey riding dogs. It was really cute. The boys thought it was hilarious. We also saw the Pirate high flying act. It was cool, but kind of scary. Those guys had no fear.

I finally finished the top to my christmas present quilt. I went to get the backing ready and realized I don't have enough. Hopefully I will be able to get to the store this weekend.

Other than that I am dreading Wednesday. My baby starts Kindergarten. It just can't be happening already. It is sad, but he is really excited and ready to go.

Blogger isn't playing nice so I will post pictures later!

I haven't had a chance to do much in my sewing room the past few days. We've been doing stuff around the house and finishing up some errands. I did get a chance to run to the fabric store and pick out some flannel for our baby's quilt and our friend who is also having a boy. I think we will keep the trains since my boys are obsessed with trains and give the fire truck one. Once I get some more progress on the Christmas quilt I'll start working on these.




I did sneak in some time to make a little drawstring bag for our camera. I hate big bulky bags for my tiny camera. We are headed to an amusement park soon and I wanted some to keep the camera safe. It isn't my best work, but it will do.

Hopefully I will be able to make some more progress on the Christmas quilt tomorrow. Depends on if the boys are better than today!

Life here has been pretty much confined to the couch the past few days. Morning sickness is kicking my butt. I shouldn't be surprised since it has with my last two pregnancies too, but you always forget about the cruddy parts.

All this down time does have its advantages. I have a few ideas for a new purse I want to make. Just have to figure out all the logistics of it. I have also been in search for a pattern to make my SIL and BIL a quilt for Christmas. There is also a cross stitch pattern I want to finish for my grandma for Mother's Day. Luckily all I have left is the backstitching so it should get done. Once I am finally feeling normal again I plan on spending a lot of time in front of my sewing machine before I get too big.

Not much else is going on. I did make an awesome cheesecake for hubby's birthday. The only problem I had is the dang thing puffed up and spilled over in my oven. Luckily he doesn't care about looks, but it was UGLY, but really yummy. Even to my finicky, sick tummy.

Hopefully I will have some crafting to share soon.

Things have been super crazy around here. I was hoping for a nice relaxing weekend and some good family time. Instead I got two cranky kids, a sick mom, and a house that looks like a tornado went through it.

Cody has double ear infection yet again. Friday he said his ear hurt, but really didn't complain about it too much. He slept a lot and we figured he was just over tired. Saturday he was a little whiny, but didn't complain about pain or anything. Sunday he was supposed to go to a birthday party. Hubby took him in and about 10 minutes later came back out with him. There were these loud air guns and it freaked him out. He came home and slept the rest of the day. That night he had a fever and was really restless. We took him in on Monday and as suspected he has double ear infections. The worst part is the kid HATES taking medicine. I mean like kick, scream, throw himself on the ground, pretend to throw up, the whole nine yards. It sucks! The good part is he is feeling better and was able to go to school today.

There are a few other things going on, but can't discuss them just yet. Hopefully in a week or so.

I haven't had time to do much crafting. I did sew a few rows on my latest quilt block, but that is it. I am also trying to find a pattern for a purse that I can customize. I am so sick of just throwing stuff in my purse. I want one I can make pockets for my cell, Cooper's EPI pen, my keys, etc. We'll see if I come up with something.

I'm not sure when I'll be back to update, but I promise I'll be back.

Car Seats...

These are the things that have been keeping me from working on new projects.



They are car seats for my FIL's Gremlin. Someone else will actually put the seats together, but I had to sew the detail stitching on. It hasn't been too bad, but definitely time consuming. I have one more to go which hopefully will get done tonight.

This is what happens when your 4 year old get ahold of your camera. He took about 80 pictures, most of which were of the TV. It is interesting to see what things they capture though. I could watch almost a whole episode of Reba through the pictures he took!



I'm hoping to have some new things to share soon. The weather is going to be cruddy again so I'll be stuck at home. If the kids actually cooperate and take a nap I plan on making a good size dent in my to do list.