Love of Sewing: 2012

Friday, July 6, 2012

Book Review: How to Make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt

I found this book online one day and fell in love with this type of t-shirt quilt. It's not your standard 12 t-shirts all lined up nicely in a quilt. I love the variety and the number of t-shirts that you can incorporate in the quilt. I was pleasantly pleased with they way Andrea T. Funk explains the entire process of making a t-shirt quilt. She does a wonderful job describing in detail each step from picking out the t-shirts or non standard shirts all the way to different quilting options. I believe even someone new to sewing could put this quilt together after reading this book. Andrea also has a set of rulers that I highly recommend buying with the book. The rulers are cut from plexiglass with a laser and they have a nice smooth lip on them. I had decided to be frugal and have a big hardware store cut my rulers for me with the measurements that Andrea gives in the book. The plexiglass cuts were very jagged and would have ruined my rotary cutter blade within seconds of attempting to cut. To save yourself time and money I highly recommend you purchase the rulers with the book. You can purchase her book and rulers on her website.

*Special Note: I did use interfacing on my t-shirts because I wanted to quilt it on my home machine.

Rulers prior to taking the paper off of them and the book

T-shirts piled up and ready to be cut

T-shirts all cut out

T-shirts laid out prior to sewing together

Sewn t-shirts

Backing, batting and top laid out

Everything pinned together and ready to quilt

Finished Quilt

Thursday, July 5, 2012

4th of July

I have always wanted to make the girls 4th of July outfits and have never gotten around to it. This year I decided to quickly whip up some skirts. The girls put on their swimming suits and then the skirts over top and we drove by WallyWorld to pick up shirts on our way out to our friends. As soon as we made it to our friends I promptly took a few photos of them and then they whipped off the outfits to go swimming. They were in the outfits for a total of 30 minutes (most of that was in the car). They looked cute for the 30 minutes that they wore the skirts but I think it was an epic waste of 2 hours of my morning. They will most likely never have homemade 4th of July outfits again. =)

Bad idea to take a photo with them looking into the sun.... =)

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Potty Training Pants

Within a couple of weeks after Maddie was born Josie decided that it was time to start potty training. I say Josie decided because it was not part of my plan to have a 3 week old baby and start potty training a 22 month old. Josie has never liked being in a poop filled diaper but about a month ago she started telling me yucky when she needed to be changed. After that she wanted to be changed after every time she went potty in her diaper (which starts to be a bit expensive). I decided to put the potty chair out where she could use it and something clicked and she took right to it. We had a few accidents and no one likes to clean up puddles on their carpet/floor so I decided to make her some of the training pants that I found a tutorial about on Pinterest. It's been a month now and I love these panties. They don't hold all the pee but I no longer have a puddle to clean up as they hold the majority of the pee.

Gerber training pants with flannel sewn into the inside and PUL waterproof lining sewn to the outside.

Playing outside in her new training pants!

Monday, April 9, 2012

April 8, Week in Review

Buz was off on spring break this week and we had plans to get a lot done in the week to prepare for Maddie coming. We cleaned out the toy room once again, we had cleaned it out this past summer but toys seem to multiply over Christmas and birthday's so it was on the priority list. I started to clean our laundry room/back enclosed patio area, this is where everything that doesn't have a home goes (goodwill items, broken toys that need to be thrown out but there isn't enough room in the garbage can, anything that needs to go to the un-organized basement, etc. I am sure you get the picture). I was able to clean the laundry half and wash the windows but I am still working on the other half. Buz and our friend Chad thatched and aerated our lawn. Buz replaced the door to our girl's room and we made Josie's crib into a daybed. Buz and the girls planted seedlings. I was able to complete the top of a t-shirt quilt and make a car seat cover. As a family we were able to go to Riverfront Park with the cousins and have a ton of fun. Ellie also took a week of swim lessons. We enjoyed Easter with the cousins and Nana Kook celebrating that Jesus had risen!

I hope you all enjoyed a great Easter weekend also!

Enjoying a run at Riverfront Park

Airplane ride at Riverfront Park

Aunt Nelly and Josie on the carousel

Ellie, Seth and Josie looking at the river

Ellie and Seth checking out what's in the tree

Josie enjoying running at Riverfront

Toy Extravaganza

Ellie at swim lessons

Josie and Daddy planting seedlings

Ellie and Daddy planting seedlings

Josie chilling at Riverfront

Aunt Nelly and the cousins going on a ride

Seth on the airplane ride

Cousin Pyper and Ellie on the airplane ride

Coloring Easter Eggs

Josie being cute while coloring Easter eggs

Easter Dresses

Car Seat Cover I made

Aunt Nelly, Ellie and Pyper

Uncle Ben and Squish with a random child on the Ferris Wheel

Getting ready for the Easter egg hunt in the yard

Daddy helping Josie with the egg hunt

Pyper finding all the eggs hidden up high

Josie playing and Pyper's full basket of eggs

Pyper and Ellie frosting the cross cake. Ellie grossed out Pyper and was made to get a new spatula before she could finish helping.

My huge prego belly (only 2.5 weeks to go).

Seth and Ellie after decorating the cross cake.

Ellie and Josie reading quietly this morning (my little bookworms)!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

March 30th, Month in Review

Life has been a little crazy around here! Our computer screen went belly up last month and it took a while to figure out what we were going to do. We were blessed with a "new to us" computer that works well for us and now we are back in the age of technology!

Josie is talking a whole lot more lately! I love hearing her try new words. Our neighbor boy's name is Bohdi and she calls him Bobo. If she sees him out the window she gets very excited and will just keep repeating Bobo, Bobo. She also has learned from her sister how to cross her arms and give the stink eye. She loves babies but must be reminded to be soft.

Ellie is growing up quickly and loves to do school work, read books, craft and has started to play with her sister more. She loves playing with her cousins and talks about them constantly. She looks up to her cousin Pyper and emulates everything she sees Pyper do or say. She also loves playdates with friends, going to the library and Mobius.

Maddie is just under 4 weeks from making her grand appearance! We will finish getting ready for her this next week while Buz is on spring break. We are already madly in love with her and can't wait to see who she looks like and what kind of baby she will be!

I am still feeling good, getting a little less sleep but really nothing in comparison with the lack of sleep I had when I was pregnant with Josie. I still have energy (not as much as pre/post pregnancy) but enough to get some stuff accomplished!

Buz is amazing. He has been so helpful with taking the kids and giving me a break and he is an amazing father. I am looking forward to spending next week with him at home!