Some Blankets Revealed

I've been thinking about my poor little blog. I've sadly neglected it over the passed few months, and I really want to fix it up. I hate not having the Internet because I can't do the things I want with my blog through my iPhone. As Puss would say, "it's a curse on my life!" My phone, not my blog. Have you seen Puss in Boots? I really enjoy that movie, so when Amelia asks to watch it for the millionth time I don't roll my eyes and reluctantly say yes like I do with other movies. Such as Alvin and the chipmunks. I wake up to feed Alyssa with those songs swimming around in my head.


She had a small accident the other day. Fell nose first onto the driveway while chasing bubbles. Luckily it's only scratched. When I saw her after it happened I freaked (without causing a scene for Amelia's sake). Her nose was swollen and red but she didn't seem to notice. I asked if it was broken and should we take her to the ER. I touched her nose and she didn't pull away other than in two year old fashion, so I let it go, but still! That kid has more face injuries than a hockey player. And last night she slammed her head on her headboard while jumping on her bed. Resulting in a nice bruise. Ugh!


So because I've been busy lately (I can't imagine with what :-)) I never got the chance to show you my finished projects! I set out to finish certain things before Alyssa was born but some things still didn't make the FO pile. But Elliott's "anniversary" blanket did.


This thing is pretty big, approximately 64"x78". Please excuse the random clutter on the floor. I love the granny stripes! After finishing this I regreted that my blanket was a ripple instead of a granny stripe because it's so heavy and warm and cuddly.


It got Amelia's approval for sure.


This is the ultimate test. I always lay out my finished projects and if either Amelia, Tonka, or Mabel come to sprawl out on it I know I've done a good job. That or they all just do it to get in my way because they want my attention, either way, it's all golden.


I even went ahead and used Lucy's trim idea too. Lucy, from attic 24, is who inspired this creation. Well, actually all of my big projects right now are taken straight from Lucy's tutorials. The granny stripe, the ripple, and the hexie. I owe her. Elliott loves his blanket and takes it with him everywhere he goes. No joke! He sleeps with it at night and then pulls it downstairs with him in the morning and warms up with it in the green chair while Amelia eats pre-breakfast, and I get to catch up on some sleep. I love that he loves it.


And this quilt I finished in Three days, beginning to end. I made it for Meg's little princess for her birthday. I actually finished it the morning of the party and didn't get to wash it before the party. It was well liked at the party and princess M seemed to like it a lot but because it's been so warm I'm not sure if she's used it yet. But soon enough!


It's just shy of 40"x60" and really fun!


I really enjoyed making this quilt, it was fast and relatively inexpensive for a quilt.


Amelia has fun at the party with princess M.


A little too much fun really.


Then I finally finished Amelia's scrappy heart quilt. It had been basted since before Christmas, wait even before Thanksgiving!


I quilted it with two rows of hearts on the top and two on bottom and random squiggly lines in between. I didn't like the hearts because they were super wonky. But once everything was said an done Elliott told me he really liked the quilted hearts, and so did I. They were endearing and lovely really. But it all worked out in the end and it turned out great!


You can sort of see one of the hearts in the bottom right corner. There are five different shades of purple on this quilt. It's rather lovely, if I do say so.


It shares the same green strip that the anniversary quilt has too. A baby quilt an a parent quilt. Cute!


Someone likes it.


She drug it into the kitchen and laid it out to play on it so that's a clue to her liking it so much.


And she well should. It's a nice quilt. Made with a ton of love! I actually really liked this quilt in the end, because as you can remember I didn't always love it.


And the mostly most important thing I had to finish before Alyssa got here was her bobble blankie. She sleeps with it in her bassinet and I tuck in the sides so she can't pull it up over her face. Though that doesn't seem to be the problem, she loves to kick it down.


It's soft and bright and 34"x37". Perfect for a nappy. I've tried covering her with other blankets but she definitely prefers this one. I've managed to squeeze in some hooking on my hexie, about a row and a half, worked about a hexagon at a time, randomly when I can. I've also determined where the end shall be for my ever growing ripply blanket. I'm very excited for that! It's currently downstairs in it's bin and I have a beautiful sleeping babe on my lap, so you'll just have to take my word that it's beautiul too.


Besides all that, we're ready for Alyssa's first Easter. Store bought dresses and all. Hopefully next year I'll make the girls dresses for Easter. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter filled with family, friends, and food.

Happy days!

Little Treasures

Three weeks and one day have passed since I became the lucky mommy of two little girls.


How is that possible? Time moves by so fast and no matter how hard I drag my feet in the dirt, it's not slowing down.


And this one! She says some of the funniest and craziest things and has the biggest personality that will fit in her little body. I frequently tell both my lovies how much I love them and I'm surprised they haven't drowned in all my kisses yet.


Amelia put herself down for a nap on the couch the other day. I just helped cover her with her blanket. I cracked up while watching her fall asleep, then marveled at how lovely she truly is, especially while sleeping. ;-)


And I love snuggling with Alyssa in the new Moby Wrap. She hates her carseat and I bought this the day we ventured to the grocery store for the first time as a foursome. She cried for a few minutes in the store but then fell asleep in it. I'm getting really good at putting her in it and tonight she fell asleep within five minutes.


But my greatest treasures, are these two and Elliott. As long as I had Elliott, Amelia, and Alyssa with me, I know I could face anything.

Please Welcome...

I'm sure a lot of you are wondering the same thing. Did she have that baby yet? Why yes, yes I have. :-)

At my 38 week doctor's appointment we talked about induction dates because though I was progressing roughly a cm a week I still wasn't having regular contractions. Then I told my doc I thought I was leaking fluid which launched a whole other thing and he said at my 36 week scan my fluid was borderline high and was worried about my water breaking randomly. So we set the date for March 8, at 7 in the morning. I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to go on my own because I was also induced a week late with Amelia, but not disappointed because I was going to meet my babe a week early!

Lovely right? We got to labor and delivery at 6:45am and the nurses told us they weren't ready for us yet and to wait in the waiting room. We got up there at 6:50 and waited. Waited. Two couples came in after us and went right in. Good thing I wasn't in labor. Then I called on the phone that gets you to the nurses' station and the night nurses didn't tell the day nurses we were out there. No biggie, this was going to be a great day! They got us set up in bed and got my IV going with pitocin (I was having contractions, but not regular) and my doctor came in and broke my water about 8ish. Joked with me about how he almost wore his leather jacket that I once dreamed he wore to one of my appointments, then everyone left us to our thing. 8 to about 10am was a breeze, then my contractions started getting way stronger and I was feeling them in my back and that's when I told Elliott I'd like my epidural. My nurse came in and ordered it for me.

The anesthesiologist came in and asked me some questions, one question was "how tall are you?" I told him 5'2, and that I married a tall guy so my kids would have a chance. Elliott is well over 6'2. He laughed and said his wife didn't get so lucky since he was on the shorter side. It was all a good time until the actual epidural part. With Amelia my epidural wasn't painful at all, with this one he had to reposition it once, so I had to get it twice. I had the most awful pain shoot down my right hip both times. It was a mix between metallic pain and pressure. It made me shake and I wanted to pull away so bad but sat still. The nurse made Elliott sit in front of me when what I really needed was for him to stand up so I could lean into him. Whatever, the nurse went from strange to batty to rude by the end, and I have no idea why.

After my epidural was finally in everything was numb from my belly down and everything was so itchy! But then I had a band on my lower belly where I could still feel each contraction. After rolling around and getting repositioned I was so tired and took a nap. About 12:30pm my nurse came in and asked how I was, I told her I felt some pressure but was still feeling really good. She said she would just check me real fast and from the impression I got she didn't expect me to be much further than the 3-4 cm I was before my epidural, especially since when she checked me she said, "I'll be damned, you're ready." Elliott then rushed out of the bathroom to be with me and text my mom who was watching Amelia for us that it was about time. The nurse set everything up before she called my doc and got me in the stirrups. I was so nauseous and I hate throwing up but Elliott came to my rescue with a cool wash cloth and ice chips which helped a ton! He was such a steady rock for me through all of this, just as he was with Amelia's birth.

The doc came in and said, "oh, look at all that hair. Looks like another red head." All I could do was laugh. With everything in place, the nurse telling me when to push (because I really could feel nothing) our little baby was out in five pushes.

Alyssa Jane was born at 1:12pm at 8 lbs even and 20 1/2 inches long. Her ears were slicked to the side of her head with a head full of red hair. Amelia was about 5-6 months old before she had that much hair. Who, if you were curious, was 8.5 lbs and 20 inches long at 40 weeks 6 days.

She has Elliott's ears, eyes, nose, chin, fingers, and toes and my legs. I was mostly just the carrier for this babe, but I'm alright with that. :-)

Birth is such an amazing experience, and though I wouldn't want to do it everyday I still enjoyed both of my experiences.

Amelia loves being a big sister and is always kissing Alyssa and asking to hold her. She is also a great binky holder/putter backer.

Daddy (who is Alyssa's twin for sure) is in love with his two little girls and has taken on a lot of the morning chores so mommy can sleep a little longer.

And mommy is in love too. Who knew you could love two just as much as you loved one? A heart knows no boundaries.

We all couldn't be happier. More rested yes, but we're all still smiling.

Quick Hello!

Hello! Hello! I can't believe it's been almost...well basically a month since I last posted anything at all. I apologize. To tell the truth I just haven't had the energy to post. I didn't have the energy to type on my little phone and try to get it just right, because it's become such a pain anymore. So, Elliott and I are seriously considering getting Internet at home, finally. Maybe getting rid of our iPhone too. But who knows, only time will tell. I'm over at Nana's house typing on her computer, it's funny how fast typing comes back to you after so long. The last time I was actually on a computer to type was two years ago. At one point in my life I was actually recorded at typing 95 words per minute. I'm sure it's considerably less now. Sorry, just a little ramble. I'm still waiting on baby AJ to make a debut, still very, very pregnant. Thankfully the swelling has staved off so far, well until today, I had a little bit of swelling in my feet.

SOO... My little Amelia turned two on the 11th. I cannot believe it's been two years since I held that little baby on my chest trying to sleep in the hospital. She's so big now and is talking nonstop. We actually had her birthday party on her birthday, which was exactly how I wanted it to be this year. Since next year it'll be on a Monday because of Leap Year. If AJ comes before the due date I hope it's not the 29th. There is just something about a Leap Year baby that freaks me out. Only 19 days to go! But I got Amelia's tutu from a lady I know through Facebook, her shop is called Ashley's Headbands & More and Amelia just loves her tutu! She wore it in Wal-mart yesterday and got so many compliments on the the tutu and about how cute she was.

Her birthday party was a blast and everyone we invited came! Which is always nice when you already plan for them to be there (foodwise). We had it at a little indoor gym place where the kids just run free and jump and swing and slide to their little hearts' content. Though after bites Amelia wanted to go back out. She was stopped by her presents though and was thrilled by all the gifts that she got.

We all had a blast, but we were all very happy to go home and have a little rest. We were going to take Amelia out again for dinner, but she really didn't want to go out again, and I don't blame her, it was nice to stay home that night. She got some really neat things too. Thank you to everyone who came (if you're reading this!), we're very happy that you could make it. Well, anyway, we have a birthday party to go to, Amelia's friend's birthday party, and I made Little M a quilt for her birthday and I actually got it pieced and quilted in two days. Now I just need to get the binding put on. And washed... It's going to be a later night, I was hoping to go to bed early, but that's ok. I also have three other quilts that I'm in the process of quilting and I can't wait  to share them all with you! So, now I have you caught up on some things, but just wanted you to know that I'm still baking a baby and hanging out with my Little Boatie. I hope you're all having a great week and I hope you have a happy weekend! Also, I can't wait to show you what Elliott has been working on this last week.

Until next time!

Yarny and Sewy Talk

Good day to you! I hope you're having a woderful week! We are but I'm a little bummed because this winter, if you want to call it that, has been so dry and we've only seen snow twice. Both times weren't even enough to cover the ground! As long as it doesn't blizzard on the day we need to go to the hospital, I guess I shouldn't complain much. Though this morning was really foggy!

So Sunday it was a gray day in Kansas (in my part anyway) and my little Boat (that's what we call Amelia) was sick to her tummy. That was the bad part. But the good part was mommy and Amelia cuddled together in bed watching movies! I hate when she's sick but I love how cuddly she is when she doesn't feel well. She camped out between my legs with her head on a pillow, of course with Daidai by her side.

I would have posted last week but my phone, still our only source of interweb, is being a big dummy. I was halfway through my post and my app shut off. Without saving my writings. Ugh! I was just so mad I just gave up. It's been shutting off all my apps lately for no reason. I'm starting to regret having this phone. Oh well. I'll try again, but doing something different.
I've been busy crocheting and sewing trying to satisfy my own goal of getting all my current projects, which are all close to being finished, done before the middle of February. That way everyone has their goodies and I won't have to worry about it when AJ gets here. 48 days to go!

I found a tutorial on Oh, Fransson!'s blog (http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2010/02/crazy-ninepatch-lattice-quilt.html) on how to make the wonky nine-patch square. I tried it her way, messing up the order of fabric flipping, and I ended up with the same fabric in each square more than once. And my seams didn't match up enough for my liking, so I slept on it.

I came up with this! I cut out a square from a soda can box that was the same size as my starting squares and then cut it into three pieces.

I would line each cardboard piece up with each fabric and cut.

It was a lot more cutting this way but I was dedicated to making it work better. In the end my seams lined up much closer but I still did something wrong and ended up with two of the same fabric in each square, as to where you are supposed to have nine different fabric pieces in one finished square. Oh well! It looks better to me than my first try. My first attempt is the one pictured above.

That's my bump and the blanket I'm working on. I've mentioned this blanket before but didn't share the link. I found it through one of my favorite blogs, tangledhappy.com, when Sara shared it. The orignal blog is, http://www.mooglyblog.com/2011/09/21/free-pattern-blackberry-salad-striped-baby-blanket/, I still can't link on my phone, so sorry! :-/
But I'm hooking it up with I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby in such fab colors! I'll have to share the actual color names later as the skeins are perfectly nestled in a bag and I don't have to move any around but just pull on the ends and stitch away! It's very convenient!

Amelia has been super kooky lately. Well, when she was feeling well enough. She just cracks me up!

Did you know her second birthday is only days away! So super sad that it's been two years already! We've just had so much fun that it feels like it's gone by in the blink of an eye. But once her birthday party is all wrapped up I don't have much to do but wait for baby AJ. Haha, I didn't realize I would have basically a month to do nothing but wait for this babe! Unless an early arrival is in the stars for us. Doubt it! Amelia was six days late.

Oh! My friend Meg made something like this for her front door and when I saw it I knew I wanted one for our door too. Elliott picked out the colors for all of it and I simply love it! It was less than $5 because I had everything at home except the P, and it took less than 20 minutes! What a way to satisfy your need to make something! I'd love to make one for AJ and Amelia's doors too.

Besides all that we've just been hanging out and trying to keep ourselves busy. I have another quilt in the works for AJ but I'm keeping it under wraps for now. Then Elliott's anniversary blanket is just about finished! I couldn't get away with two skeins of each color so I had to bite the hook and buy a third skein for each color. I'll have enough to do a border though! So, win-win!

I don't believe I've shown you this! I made this for Amelia for Christmas but she refuses to wear it. I wrote down the pattern as I worked it out and I'm thinking of sharing it but definitely making more! Maybe someone will like it enough to wear. Anyway, I've gone on too much! I hope you all have a fabulous week!

Until next time!