New Friends and Old Friends

Good morning! Sorry to have taken an unscheduled, untold break from blogging last week. I forgot what the days were and when it dawned on me it was blogday Monday it was too late by Tuesday I didn't have enough energy to write out something I wasn't feeling. So instead of halving it, I wholly didn't do it! I hope you understand!

So much has happened this passed week! I saw a lot of people this week and a half, last Saturday Little A, grandma and I met our second cousin and her mom from Oregon, this Thursday was a playdate with my friend down the street, Friday was an old friend I haven't seen in over a year with her new little one, Saturday was a visit with Grandpa (Little A's), Sunday I went to visit a friend in the next town over, who I missed her baby shower and finally got to formally meet. Then Sunday evening was a family get together. *Deep breathe, sigh* What a busy time, no wonder as I write this (9am) Little A is busy sawing logs still! 7:30a is our normal wake up. But having seen those good friends, old and new, I can reveal to you what I've been waiting to show you! Wait for it...


Here it is! The other quilt I made!


Tonka likes quilts, what can I say?


And crochet blankies! Little A's sweet hand too. That's a pattern of my own making.


And just a recap, though you've seen this one. I unfortunately did not get a picture of the other crochet blanket. But that's ok.


The outside tells us that spring has left us behind for more winter (it snowed again last night!) we've been pretending it's spring. My allergies are running wild and there's a lingering pressure in my head, but if the sun is shining and little A is smiling, it's spring inside at least!


That's a photo I pulled off Google images.
As Easter draws ever closer, I have some big crafty plans! Oh yes! Maybe too big you might ask? Ha! Nah! I've decided to make Little A's Easter dress! I have the fabric and the excitement for it. Have my own pattern in mind and am ready to go for it. I just hope it turns out as good as it looks in my head. But the picture above is what I have in mind but with different fabrics and such. I'm also making something special for Easter baskets, I can't show you! So don't try to make me spill the beans! It has to be a complete surprise! But I'm making two additional ones for my niece and Little A's friend. You're gonna love it too!


Speaking of old friends, Mabel and Little A playing in the shower. So cute! But that tutorial I've been saying is coming, is coming today! It was much harder than I imagined it would be, I had a hard time finding the words to explain what was going on! That and little A kept running off with my yarn! But it's finally done! Next time I won't tell you anything is coming until it's almost done!


Little A and Virginia in the car.
But anyway, I have one more picture to snap for the tutorial and it is all yours!

Until next time!

Things We Want

(Above: Little A eating her first dum-dum)

As many of you know, this passed Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. It's a fasting and abstaining day that is followed by a Mass in which the priest marks the people of the church with the ashes from the previous year's burned palms from Palm Sunday. The ash is placed on the forehead. This is a tangible way to remind us that we come from ash and shall return to ash one day. If you didn't already know that. That marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a time for setting aside things that distract us from spiritual growth and prayer.

This year I gave up the biggest distraction for me, Facebook. That's right! I moved the app on my phone to the back page so I wouldn't be tempted, which happens to also be by a rosary app, and everytime I feel the urge to fb I say a prayer or read a passage, or sit down and say the rosary. It's been good so far! But it's only been 4 days. For personal growth I gave up pop and cursing. Only one of those has been accomplished.

Now that you have the back story I can tell you what I mean to tell you. Wednesday, we didn't go to mass because it was being held right at A's bedtime, we got fried shrimp from the local burger joint and all I could think about was a frosty Dr. Pepper to go with it. I'm a sucker for it! Just like a little child I yearn for the things out of my reach. I get cranky and the thought of what I want stomps all other thoughts. The same thing happens when I feel the urge to crochet or quilt and have no time or supplies with me to do so. But this is exactly what God is jealous for. I'm not a religious fanatic, but I am spiritually rooted. God wants our thoughts to be centered around him and The Word and not more on worldly things. Anyway, I know you didn't come reading to get preached to, but just thought I'd share my thoughts.


Speaking of things we want... Thursday little A would not nap in her crib. I had to go in there and lay her on my chest in the recliner we have in there and try to get her to sleep. The eyes told me she wanted to go to sleep but just couldn't. I pulled the red blanket over my head to make a little tent to block out the sun. She fell asleep within five minutes. The whole time we lay there (an hour and a half) my stomach grumbled and protested against the lack of food to bully. All I wanted was a sandwich and an ice tea maybe a little crafting too. But then I looked at her sweet sleeping face with her half open mouth and her slack cheeks and pink eyelids, her button nose, and sweet breath. How a mother's heart yearns for moments like these. I was exactly where I wanted to be. Even if my arm was tingling from the weight of her head in the crook of my arm. I took a picture and sent it to E and he said, "Aw! She just needed her mommy!" And we all know need is great than want.


But this little adventure required a solution. Though I thoroughly enjoyed that tender time together, I know she sleeps better in her crib, so we took a trip to our favorite store... HOBBY LOBBY! I used my best Oprah voice for that, I hope you noticed.

Little A helped me pick out the perfect fabric for her curtains.


Isn't it pretty? I splurged a little on this though, it was a seasonal fabric and not on sale, but it was the one she liked best. I got a dark purple to go behind it too and made them from my own measurements and preferences. The two fabrics were hemmed sides first then bottom. It's a double fold hem on the bottom measuring appr. 2". Then I made the tabs for the top and pinned them between the two fabrics and sewed the tabs and two fabrics together to form like an upside down V. So if you look at the curtain it looks like two curtains but it's just one. It's not pitch black in her room with the curtains drawn but it is very dark. E asked me to make some for the rabbit/spare room too. He must like them. :-)



I am still waiting for my official followers to tell me where to send their little cosmetic bags! They're free to you, no cost of shipping or anything! Just let me know where to send them.


And look! It's your tutorial! Coming later today! I have time because E is at the dentist and I have nothing to do, well not really, nothing that can't wait until tomorrow! So..

Until then!

Please Hurry!...

(Pictured above: Little A enjoying the spring like weather Kansas teased us with) This morning all I could think about was the phrase, "please hurry up spring!" Mostly because I woke up with a scratchy throat and stuffy ears and little A has had a snotty nose the passed three days and coughs every morning due to drainage. E, has had a rough winter too and is sick about every other week with some kind of cold. So, Spring, you're only 13 days away an your good buddy The Groundhog told us you were on your way, please don't be late!



Speaking of please hurry... Voilà! Here it is! One of the boxy pouches I'm making as a gift to you guys for following my blog! Let me tell you, they're cute but they're not perfect, I'm not a professional seamstress! But they are handmade! Just send me an email (tabbysorangemarbles@hotmail.com) or send me a message on FB and let me know where you want me to send your gifty! And also, thank you for following! :-)


Another Voilà! This is a baby quilt I made at the last minute before a baby shower. It took me 7 1/2- 8 hours to make! It is only 25"x25". We were planning to go to the shower at 2 but little A took her nap from 11:30-1:45 and woke up with a snotty nose, so we didn't want to risk going and giving whatever this might be to anyone else. But it is finished, laundered, and ready to be giving away!



March is national craft month! I do some kind of at least once a day anyway but now I have an extra excuse to give E when he asks me what I'm doing. It's for National Craft Month! Duh! Silly husband! But it also doesn't give me any excuse not to finish my brother's Christmas present. That's Christmas '10 not '11. So that's my goal for this month. Seeing as how there only 50 more rows until it's finished it's a very achievable goal.


I've been quilting a lot more than crocheting recently and I've been missing it. Another of my goals for this craft month is to do some cleaning of my yarn stash, the upstairs closet is full of half used and new skeins of yarn and it's a little embarassing because there is SO MUCH YARN! Everywhere! It's a yarn-catastrophe! You may think I'm joking or exaggerating, but I'm really not. So keep me accountable!


But anyway, I know, I really know!, I've been promising a tutorial for crochet so look for that in the next few days. Because it's really coming! Pinky swear! Until then, enjoy a photo of little A enjoying her first dum-dum sucker.

Until next time!

What a week...

If this looks like a tired baby, that's because it is! Last Monday night into Tuesday morning little A woke up with a fever of 101.3, this little girl never gets sick and the only time she's run a fever was the first two days she was on the outside. Her little fever drug on for three days, it never got over 100 again though. Her eating suffered, along with her usually pleasant attitude and sleep. We ended up taking her to the doctor but nothing was wrong in the ways of illness. My friend Megan told me her daughter (who's a year older than A) does the exact same thing when her teeth are bothering her. Low and behold, the next day I stuck my finger in her mouth and looked around and found that one molar had poked through and I could see more quivering with anxiety just below the suffer of her gums waiting for their turn to pop out! She seems to be feeling better though. I hadn't seen her sweet smile for a few days then it came back with everything else (appetite and good sleeping) the day before her party.


Happy first birthday (party) little A! It was a lot of fun! She had a blast with her cousin and friend. They all played with the toys in her toy box and ate chips and cupcakes.


Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of pictures of the party or the decorations. See, as this was my first party I didn't realize time speeds up within a few hours of the party and when you think you have two hours left before it begins in reality it's like 30 minutes. You have to get it done while you have the time! I don't have all the mom super powers yet (which I'm sure will come I'm time?) and I thought I had plenty of time. Wrong! There was still much to be done and by the time I realize it, it was 2 and the party was at 2:30. But everything did get done and everyone had a great time, I just didn't get many pictures. I DID get video of the cake smash though. I'm not that bad of a mom! ;-)

I know I promised a project reveal but with little A being sick I didn't have a lot of time to work on things. But I have some things in the works, along with a tutorial for crocheting letters into your project. Seeing as I don't have any followers yet, I am willing to bribe you all! I know you're out there reading my blogs and I am willing to reward you for following too. Let's say the first, say 5 for now, people to sign up to follow my blog will "win"...


THIS! Well, not this exact object, this is a picture of the finished project from a tutorial by Three Bears. Found at:
http://threebears.Y.com/2007/10/15/little-boxy-pouch-tutorial/
Sorry, I don't know how to link yet from my app for blogging.
I saw this tutorial and have yet to try it. But I'm going to get fabric for it this week and make it. I'll also be making 5 extras to give away to my first 5 followers. Then, once every couple to three months I'll have a drawing for some new (probably small) project I'm working on, to give away randomly to one of my blog followers. Who doesn't love free homemade goodies?! I know I do! But anyway, that's my bribe/reward to you!



To end my rambling is a picture of my traveling yarn. I have idle hand syndrome, as I call it, and always have a project close at hand, including in the car, to help ease my need to create. Poor E, everywhere he looks there's a pile of yarn. He's so tolerant. Until next time!

Feet and Stashes

So this is my fourth time writing this blog post. The first three times were on Blogger+, which is a completely worthless app for the iPhone! It works great, in theory, but if you actually want to use it to post your blog don't hold your breath! Because you'll die! But besides that, it was a pretty good week. I got new summer socks! I'm a HUGE fan of socks, E gets me new socks for Christmas every year and they're probably my favorite present. But I did lose track of my days and thought I was a week ahead. I was pretty glad to get that week back.


The other day I went to Hobby Lobby, one of my favorite places, and stocked up on some fabrics for a new project. I can't tell you anything about my newest project because it's a secret, a present for my niece for her birthday. I don't quite know how E feels about another crafty stash hanging around the house, I think he has a mental block about the whole thing. He gets the garage for all of his goodies and I get, well I get the whole house, save the kitchen and upstairs living room.


I'm working on a few projects that I can't reveal yet because I don't want the persons they're intended for to see them. So I supplemented a picture of little A laying on Tonka's dog bed with her quilt and my pillow. The one project is for a friend of mine for her baby shower and the other is for my brother for Christmas '10. He's a patient guy, but I promise it's worth the wait! My favorite part about gifting home/handmade gifts is the reaction of the person receiving the gift. I made E a huge granny square afghan for our bedroom in our favorite colors and he got teary eyed when he opened it. Don't tell him I told you!


There it is! For your viewing pleasure. It's extra large and fits perfect on our king size bed.


Another thing I'm super excited for is the change of weather. When it changes so do my shoes. Summer is flip-flops or no shoes if I can help it, fall is chucks until about November-ish because my feet get so cold, winter I wear my boots, and once the weather starts turning spring like I switch back to my chucks. This particular pair has been a work in progress for about two years now. Those of you who wear or have worn chucks know they take a little time to be exactly what you hoped they would be.

Well, that's about it for now. Next week I'll try to have a reveal of something to treat your eyes, and next Saturday is little A's first birthday party, so wish me luck!

Fun Things that I Love

My mom, Little A, and I ventured to Wally World this passed Sunday, the day before St. Valentine's day and there was Twink walking around. I was looking for tasty things for A to eat and my mom was walking with Little A, who has been walking for a month now. All the sudden I hear, "Tabitha, Tab! Come here!" I look over and realize A is bravely walking up to this giant Twinkie with a cowboy hat. This little girl was scared of Santa, so seeing her reach out and touch this character was really funny.

This are our first piggy tails. We were getting ready to leave for the grocery and I thought I would try them out. I didn't think that, either 1) she wasn't going to hold still long enough for me to do it, and/or 2) she was going to pull them out as soon as I wasn't looking. Neither happened and I even got a compliment from a passer-by about how cute they looked. I was pretty happy.

This is my newest project. Pink, purple, and tan wavy blanket for a little girl. (not my little girl this time)

I'm making it with Lion Brand's "Hometown USA," which E laughed at when I told him the name. It calls for size N hook, but the N hook I have doesn't tickle my fancy, so I'm using a M hook. I much prefer the Susan Bates flat head aluminum hooks because I like the way the grab and hold onto the yarn better. I love the way this pattern looks and the yarn feels amazing to work with and in blanket form. I think this little baby will love it as much as I do.

A First for a First

My baby girl A's birthday was this passed Friday and I made her this quilt for her birthday. This was my first quilt and I wanted to give it to the most important person in my life. Next to my husband, of course. It's not perfect but it's perfect for A. She carries it around with her, hugs it, runs her hands over it, and smiles everytime she sees it. Nothing makes me happier than to know that she loves it almost as much as I do!
She also got her first baby doll from her Grandpa, who shares her birthday, from the American Girl store at the mall. She tottled into the store (because it's the first store on the left as you enter the mall) and the ladies all jumped to help the beautiful birthday girl. Her shirt proudly said, "Birthday Girl," on the front with her name and the number 1 on the back. Grandpa asked her which doll she might want and the ladies showed us the "Bitty Baby" dolls. The first one she picked up looked just like her, had blue eyes, reddish hair, and pouty lips (like the ones she got from her dad). It was almost creepy.
Her grandpa, without skipping a beat, said, "we'll take one." My dad loves little A so much. Grandpa/granddaughter love is such a sweet love indeed and even her Papa (E's dad) has that same sweetness with her, but in a different in a way. Grandpa secretly hid his birthday from the public at the mall until I told whoever wished A "happy birthday" that he turned 50 today, the day she turned 1. How special is that?
We all had a great day on Friday and a great weekend. Happy first birthday, Little A!