Still here!

Sorry y'all ... I have not posted much at all lately, though I'm napping less on most days. Of course, every time I say that, I end up taking a 2-hour nap the next day!

There have been a few small projects and a very awesome tote bag in the past month or two, none of which are posted yet. A cute baby project for a friend is in the works. Miss E has snagged some new fabric at JoAnn that we probably will turn into a doll blanket, and I finally used a cute pink bird print for two mini placemats for Miss E's play kitchen. More on that one of these napless days.

However, my time over the last week has been spent starting my very first quilting project. It's a very simple quilt. Well, two of them, one for each girl, from the Amy Karol book. I got most of the fabric that I had cut, though I realized just how big they were (45 x 60 inches doesn't SOUND so big ...) and decided I'd better halt and buy more fabric, much to my DH's chagrin, I'm sure. But ... it's for the girls, right? And before #2 is born, I really want to get them done since I've been holding onto the fabric for over six months now.

So, the next round of beautiful Sandi Henderson fabric is in the mail and should be arriving soon. And then I cut more, the slow part of any project. The fabric, if you're wondering, is what I used for her giant birthday cupcake and more from the Ginger Blossom line. So absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to see the next batch in person. It's that crazy fabric obsession I have ... and Miss E has the gene as well. Another day or two and I get to touch it!

Hang in there; the posts are slow, but I'm still sewing, despite being 33 weeks pregnant!

Birthday cupcake

Miss E had a birthday this past week, too. In some ways it's hard to believe she's 3, and in other ways it just seems normal. In any case, I have a very unfinished felt birthday cake hiding away upstairs that will be given to her when it's completed. I tried to get it done for three weeks and am still working on it. So on her birthday, we started a new project, a giant cupcake. I had ordered Sandi Henderson's cupcake pattern, so I cut out all the pieces to make the hi-cal version (6 by 6 inches!), deciding it, too, would make a sweet birthday "cake" for the birthday girl's overflowing play kitchen. I sewed it up over the next two days, marveling at Sandi's creativity in the design. I see now why it took weeks to work out the details -- but it's perfect and the pattern was simple to follow. Last night, I finished it up and Miss E was delighted. "Can I sleep with it?" Of course. "Can I hug it?" Yep. "Can I play with it?" Yeppers. She rushed off to show Daddy, shrieking, "Daddy, look at my giant cupcake! I love my cupcake!" And it's huge, alright. And gorgeous!

I should mention that for her 3rd birthday, she received one beautiful handmade apron (using an embroidered pillowcase), a pastry chef hat and apron with potholder and oven mitt, and a set of two handmade (and gorgeous!) potholders and an oven mitt from my creative sister. And a ton of stuff from Ikea: a baking set, pots and pans, tumblers and wine glasses, ice cube trays to use as cupcake pans, and a tea set. My sister got her a tin tea set (yay -- one that is unbreakable!), and my brother got her a stand mixer. She has mixed up a hundred cakes, pies, and I'm not sure what else. My inlaws got her a coffee maker, tea kettle and toaster. Her kitchen is fully outfitted for a very creative little baker, and she just loves it!

In addition, I had to buy her a realistic play iron from Braun. It looks so much like my iron (though mine is not from Braun), and she was so excited to put it to use. "Mommy, I'm making you an apron!" she said as she began ironing one of hers. Her creativity amazes me every day ... in the kitchen, with sewing, with Play-doh, with clay, with crayons and markers. She spends as much time as she can MAKING things, and I love it!

Mermaids and cupcakes oh my

Post-vacation has been a bit of a blur for craft projects and sewing, and I've been sew busy (ha ha) that I haven't really blogged at all! But then, maybe no one is reading! So what was I up to, you ask? For starters, I had to make more baby gifts, this time for my friend Anita's shower last weekend. I didn't have a clue what to make, so the Sunday before, I started looking at fabrics and remembered the Heather Ross Mendocino collection I'd seen. Finally found a fat quarter bundle of very aqua and orange mermaid, fish and sea life fabrics from the collection, and got the fabric two days prior to the shower. Yipes!

I've been itching to make a rag quilt, so again, I dove into Etsy for some inspiration and found a baby quilt I loved. Yes, I used the layout and tag idea, but it's not for sale, so it's justifiable. They are so simple, so soft, and so perfect for a baby gift that I can't wait to make another one! And those fabrics are just the right match for my most swimmingest friend, who is decorating her baby girl's room in orange and blue with a sea life theme.

I also did a twist on my normal dolls, making this one a semi-swaddled mermaid girl. Her arms are free to paddle through the sea as she sleeps, and that makes her just the happiest little mermaid you've ever met. She's got some ribbons to play with and a few different fabrics, and Miss E gave her the thumbs-up. (As well as many hugs.)


In addition to the doll and quilt, I made the cupcakes for the shower, and the recipe I used rocked. It's from a book called simply "Cupcakes" that I found at Barnes & Noble on the bargain books aisle last spring. I made the white chocolate mud cakes, and the chocolate ginger cupcakes. Delicious, if I may say so, particularly with the addition of some rich buttercream frosting. Ah ... and yes, Miss E helped with the cupcakes. You bet. She and I had so much frosting the morning of the shower that I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into some salty chips and crunchy carrots!

New cupcake

I got a bit more crafty post-dress and made a fabric and felt cupcake. I wanted to try making one that used fabric to see how that worked for a cupcake wrapper, and I rather like it. It's about three inches in diameter, fitting perfectly into two little hands. The frosting on top of the chocolate cupcake is also fabric, in a flower shape, sprinkled with embroidered, uh, sprinkles. I added a nice dollop of frosting on top, with some french knots for anchors and additional sprinkles. (I asked Miss E if that was frosting or a berry, and she said, "Duh, Mommy. That's frosting. Yummy!")

Whaddya think? Is it too much like a pincushion, or cool enough for a child's tea party? Feedback would be great! All of the others I've made have been 100% felt.