cozyblue

67/365

more embroidery work-in-progress

48/365

i made this camera strap!
i'll be putting this to good use soon on our raleigh museum trip.

 

361/365

i finished up this baby quilt today, for another special friend, who is having her first baby any day now...  so exciting! 

another whole cloth quilt, with the same wonky chevron quilting as the last one.  girlish, but not too super-girly.  i hope she likes it!

355/365

another quilt!  this one is for matilda.
yep, my cat.

(thanks griff!)

352/365

318/365

i made a quilt!
i found this great world map fabric, and knew it would make a great whole cloth quilt.
some machine quilting along the lat/long lines, cotton/poly batting inside, and a nice bright blue binding (handstitched on, and totally worth it).

i love it!  i think this might be the start of something...

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a new skirt for me!  it's about time too.  i bought a couple of t-shirts for this project way too long ago, and finally got around to stitching it up yesterday.  it's my new favorite.  it's blue, it's super comfy (it's a t-shirt!), and i'll be wearing it again tomorrow.  and probably the day after that too.

a heart full of love

thanks, everyone, for the well-wishes and happiness about adella's first day of school!  it means a lot to us to have folks rooting for us.  i'm thrilled to report that adella LOVES school!  she has come home happy each day this week.  she is confident, proud, and excited, and we couldn't be more pleased.  her teachers have all remarked about her enthusiasm, and boy does it show.  she is so happy, and that makes me so incredibly happy.

i've gotten a few emails asking about the heart necklace she is wearing in the 'first day' photos....  the night before her first day, i decided she needed a little something more, to send her on her way.  i thought about several different ideas that didn't seem quite right (stuffed toy/backpack charm, brooch/pin) before this one sprang to mind and immediately clicked.  just a simple fabric heart with some handstitching, a button, and a cotton cord.  i stuffed it with wool yarn ends, many of them snipped from the woven ends of sweaters and hats i've made her before.



the next morning she saw it and immediately loved it.  yay!  i told her it was a reminder to take with her, to remember how much mama loves her. (*sniff, sniff*)

after that first day, she told me later that, though she had "a super-great day at school," she really really missed me, and at rest-time she cried because she missed me so much.  i wasn't anticipating that (i don't think she was either)...  so i reminded her about the heart necklace and told her a little secret:  when i made it, i stuffed it FULL of love and kisses, so she could take them with her when i wasn't there!

well, she loved that.  ever since i told her that, she's been holding that heart, squeezing it, and just loving it so much more.  she's been saying the sweetest stuff like:

"i'm going to hold my necklace right here on my chest so i can feel your love...
i can feel it draining into my heart!
it's like 106 buckets of love and kisses!
i can feel it!  i feel the love dripping into my heart!"

and this:
"and, if you turn it this way, the love comes to everyone else!"

i swear i am not making this up, people.  it's the sweetest thing ever.  i never anticipated how much this little heart would mean to her.  i hoped it would, but i wasn't really expecting so much sweetness.  she's been wearing the heart each day, and each day i refill it with lots of kisses, and then send her off.  rest-time has been no big deal, since that first day.  and i can see how much this little love token helps her.  it's a big step she's taken, going out into the world without me there to guide her.  it's been a big step for me too, and it helps to know she's armed with lots of love and sweetness to help her on her way.

last-minute school crafting

adella starts kindergarten tomorrow!  i can't believe it.  i'm feeling so many different emotions these days, but mostly pride.  my little girl is growing up and she is SO excited to jump right in.  i'm so happy for her, and i can't wait to see where this year takes her.

i realized today that there were a few more things that she needed before her first day.  so instead of tackling the stack of forms i need to fill out, finishing the laundry so she'll have clean clothes to wear, and (geez) figuring out what i'm going to do with myself after i drop her off tomorrow, i decided some last-minute crafting was in order.



first, some fabric labels to iron/sew into her coats, hats, backpack, rest-time towel, and whatever else.

and, a pencil case to hold (yes, pencils) her markers, crayons, and other supplies:




adella picked out the fabric -- one of my favorites!  gotta give those pencils a fancy home, you know.

now if you'll excuse me, i'm off to spend some quality time with my big girl!

crafty round-up (or, what i've been doing to avoid packing)

we're getting ready to leave for vacation tomorrow, bright and early!  so naturally, i spent most of today sewing and crafting instead of packing as i should have been.  (stig came home early, though, and we ended up getting everything but some last-minute things into the van and ready to go, so i don't feel guilty showing you all of this crafting i've been doing.)

first up, some things for adella:

another pillowcase dress (also seen above) and a new sunhat, just in time for the beach!  made with vintage thrifted fabrics, using my favorite dress pattern and this fun hat pattern.  super cute!

this morning i made her another dress, with some cotton woven fabric i found on sale at hancocks:

and, another sunhat.  this one for griffin:

oops - and i almost forgot this one (adella's).  i made it several weeks ago (same pattern, again) but i can't remember blogging it.  anyway, here it is - and it's hanging in a window, so it appears more see-thru than it really is:

also, a couple of new skirts for me:

using some super-fun FOE (fold-over elastic) for the waistband:

for stig, a thrifted shirt re-style, with some fancy machine stitching:

and last but not least, some blank books for adella and griffin to bring on vacation:

super-simple -- cardstock, some white paper inside (trimmed a little), machine stitch the center, and some cloth or duct tape along the spine.  easy peasy!

i'm hoping they fill them up with some amazing memories of our beach vacation!

well folks, that wraps up my crafty show-and-tell.  stay tuned!