Christmas Crafting

I made these little hand warmers for the nieces this year. They are filled with rice and there is one heart for each pocket. You just microwave them for a minute and you've got warm hands!

Robb's Secret Skills

My one contribution to the project—the labels.

I just have to show off these rice sachets that Robb made for Christmas gifts this year. Start to finish, he did all the work. It is so great on a cold evening to have a nice hot pack for your shoulders. He even smashed up cinnamon sticks to put in them, so they smell super when you pop them in the microwave. What a man...

Tying Flies and Baby Ties

Zeke tries to get in on the action.

Cheris has mad sewing skills.

The fly tying instructor at work.

Craft Night—the brainchild of Corren and Cheris—was absolutely awesome. We all gathered our crafting/sewing/fly tying supplies and headed over to the Crawfords. Ezekiel surprised us by actually falling asleep in his travel crib without too much fuss.

Cheris and Nelita dressed up some onesies for little Baby Boy Crawford and I worked on some decorative bow ties for his room. The guys were remarkably focused on their tie flying endeavors. Who knew they had such focus. I think we'll have to try this again soon.

Curtains at Last

A couple of old shots of the kitchen.
This was before Robb put in the new flooring and light fixture.
And before Johannes made our window seat box.

I almost feel guilty that we've lived here since 2006 and I finally got around to making some curtains for the kitchen. It took me so long to find an idea that I liked and then procure the right fabric. By the time I finished clipping threads and ironing them out I was so anxious to get the curtain rods up. I actually made Robb put them up before he even had dinner last night.

Baby Buff

Robb has been shopping for a buff recently. (If you don't know what one is, you really just have to see the demo video.) He originally wanted to have me sew him one, so I did a "rough draft" in some leftover material. This is Zeke modeling it for us on the way to the fabric store to look for some cool, manly fabric. (We didn't find any, so Robb is just going to have to order one.)

I can't decide if he looks more like a little denizen of Tatooine or a baby shepherd from a Christmas play...

I Heart Quilting

Laying out the strips.

Slicing up the sewn sections.

Finished squares, ready to piece together.

Pinning the back and front together.

Easy quilting, that is. This is the baby quilt that I made for Sherisa's little girl. I found a roll of 2-inch strips that were super cute and had to try another quilt. It was pretty simple, so perfect for my second quilting attempt.

As it turns out, Sherisa was also making Ezekiel a quilt and it is way cool. She found a faux-chenille pattern that is brilliant. I have to try it once I get my courage up.

Pirate Nursery

Robb made dozens of these little origami fishes for Zeke's mobile.
Grandma Marie is the artist behind the the ship painting.

Honu guards Zeke's pirate treasure.
(Finishing the treasure chest will be my next project!)

I'm so excited to finally have this room done (for now, at least). Since this was still our bedroom when Ezekiel was born, it took awhile. In fact the only thing I did to get his room ready before he came was to make the nautical pennant. Zeke's favorite part is playing peekaboo behind the closet curtains.

Happy Birthday, Annaliese!

Today Annaliese turns 4! Here is the apron I made for her that she'll get when they show up tomorrow. I think we'll throw in some frostings and cookie decorating supplies as well. Happy Birthday little one.

Happy Birthday, McKenna!

Today McKenna turns five and I put together a little pink cupcake baking kit to celebrate.

Along with a mini cookbook and decorative sprinkles, I made the apron using some great fabrics from Stash and a vintage pattern borrowed from Darla.

Store I Love

Stash! This place has the most beautiful fabrics. They are fresh and I can't wait to make all sorts of beauties from them. On my first visit, I actually won some fat quarters. I made the cutest little purses for McKenna and Annaliese.

Mission Accomplished

Since Robb was gone last week and I couldn't make myself go to sleep, I finally finished this suit. This is the first time I've ever been able to do something as complex as a jacket. It turned out to be an incredible amount of work, but totally worth it.