Monday, October 22, 2007

Tagged-

Cara tagged me to reply to a few questions about me. So here it goes...
Jobs I've Had
1. Babysitting for a few families
2. Petsitting while family friends where on vacations
3. Student Aid in the Classics Department at Duquesne University
4. Kohl's department store, check-out girl and then professional jean folder in the young mens department. I can fold jeans better than anyone else.
5. Internship at Mellon in the EDM group
6. Internship turned full time, I support a software application.

Places I've Lived
1. Crafton, PA
2. Baldwin, PA

Foods I Love
1. Sushi
2. Lucky Charms
3. Pancakes
4. Gummi Bears

Places I Would Rather Be
1. Camp
2. Home

TV Shows I Watch
1. Desperate Housewives
2. Heroes
3. House
4. My Name is Earl
5. The Office
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. Simpsons
8. Family Guy

Books I Love
1. Where the Sidewalk Ends
2. Lafcadio
3. Mason Dixon Knitting (my most knit from knitting book by far)
4. Baby Bargins- I would have been lost without it.
5. Those LifeSavers sweet story books they make for stocking stuffers.

I tag Amy and Maria (provided she reads this!)

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Crib Skirt- Finished!!

This past weekend we bought a crib, and got it set up in the nursery. It was so exciting seeing this empty blue room turn into a nursery with the addition of one piece of furniture. This was all the motivation I needed to get to finishing up the crib skirt sewing project that had been on hold for a few weeks. There wasn't much left to do, just a few hours worth of work and I am just so pleased with how it looks. I could sit and stare at it all afternoon. So please allow me to overload you with pictures... you can click on these to see larger versions if you want.
Full view of the crib-
Crib with skirt
Close up
Crib skirt close up
A view from above, with the scalloped blankie from Cara-
Crib skirt and scalloped blankie
Close up with the rail lowered-
Crib skirt with rail down

Now, of course you must imagine a mattress resting above the skirt with a pink sheet to get the full effect. Plus as sproggy gets bigger the mattress platform will be lowered and more of the skirt will be visible below the side rail.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Showered with Handmade Gifts!

Yesterday was my first of two baby showers being held to welcome little Sproggy into this world. It was a beautiful day, and I am really speechless over the generosity of my family and friends. My mother and sister Julie really worked hard to make sure everything was just perfect and it showed. My mother had been quite a busy lady making "boo-boo bunnies" as favors for our guests. If you are not familiar, a boo-boo bunny is a terrycloth rabbit shaped ice cube holder.
Boo boo Bunnies Boo boo Bunny Side
Darling right?

As I mentioned we really did receive so many wonderful gifts, but I thought this was a good place to gush over the beautiful handmade gifts. Cara was inspired at the last minute to sew a beautiful blanket from Bend the Rules Sewing. I am grateful that she found this inspiration, because look at how great this blanket turned out.
Blanket from Cara
Yes, she was able to find the fabric I am using for my crib skirt sewing project! She has a detailed blog post on her experience with this sewing project as well, and another photo there too.

The next hand made gift was quite a surprise to me. Annie knit me a baby sweater! Not a surprise because I didn't think she was capable. She is a very talented gal. However I was not expecting the hand knit gift from her. She is very good at keeping secrets!
Sweater from Annie
It is knit from a soft gold yarn, and if you look closely (or click on the picture to see an enlarged version) you can see the detail of the eyelet pattern and the little cable stitches in the ribbing along the button band and bottom of the sweater.

Blogless Erin also knit for Sproggy.
Knitted gifts from Erin
In the package there was two burp cloths from the Mason Dixon Knitting book, a button down sweater knit in a soft green and purple variegated yarn, and a tiny little hat and sock set knit up in a sock yarn.

And finally there are the gifts from Amy. More beautiful hand knits.
Knitted gifts from Amy
The baby sweater is knit in a heathered green yarn and has the sweetest heart buttons to hold the top together. She also knit two MDK burp cloths and a double-sided washcloth proudly displaying a K (for our last name).

I just wanted to take time and brag about what great and talented friends I have. I feel like I now have crafty debt to each of them! Not a terrible thing to owe someone in my opinion!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

The tale of two hobbies...

Well, I am happy to report that my Baby Moderne blanket is coming along quite nicely despite my initial set backs. That is not to say there have not been additional problems along the way, but you can assume they where minor enough to allow me to fix them and move past the set back quickly.
Proof:
Baby Moderne Progress
I am working on block 7 right now, the pink block along the top of the photo. When finished it will be 36 ridges and as wide as the brown and blue blocks already completed. Still have a while to go, but I am knitting away! One more photo, to help with estimating the blankets size thus far...
Mo and Baby Moderne
Special thanks to Mo who was kind enough to take time out of his busy day to stand on the blanket.

Second on my things to talk about list was I am gearing back up to sew again. The crib skirt project has been on hold due to sewing machine relocation issues. Well finally Taylor has a new home in my craft room.
Taylors new home
The table is from Ikea, and as you can tell from the photo it is wall mounted and can be folded down. I was a fan of this one because it was in the budget and I didn't have to worry about blocking the cold air return vents along the wall. Also I think the work surface is just the right size.
Taylors new home 2
The fabric shown is part of some secret sewing, which I will not be blogging about for a while. I am anxious to get it started...but have decided the crib skirt takes priority right now.