i worked up this little chevron striped quilt for my niece.  i have only made one other quilt before, so it's definitely got its flaws... but i enjoyed making it, and i think it turned out pretty well.

i made this little dress for my midwife's baby that is on it's way.  when i finished it, i showed paul and asked him what he thought.  he hesitated for quite awhile and then said carefully, "is that for hudson (our baby)?"  when i told him it was a dress, he let out a little sigh of relief and gave his stamp of approval.

i finished one for my new little niece, evie, as well...

 i made a new necklace design for my etsy shop.  want one?  stop by my store...

so, i'm back... maybe!  i have been crafting some and have taken pictures of my projects, but my last step of blogging has not been happening lately!  i did look at my august list i posted on here and was cracking up... here are my results:

august goals:

• write at least one more blog post (completed)
• finish dresses for my upcoming niece spawn, evie (finished one out of three)
• read a book... any book that is not about birthing, breastfeeding, or babies!  (did it, did it!)
• scrabble wall art  (i cut the wood out... that counts for something right?)
• geometric painting (done done done!)
• cook a couple of meals (more than a couple)
• trim the bushes...  (yeah.... still didn't do this... and they are looking pretty bad....)

but i have done some other things since then too, and i am scheduling them in for upcoming posts, i'm writing them all today so there are some guaranteed posts coming up!  here's what i have actually done crafty wise:

• made two paintings
• finished evie's quilt
• made a baby blanket
• did some applique on a onesie
• made two baby dresses
• made a necklace
• and filled tons of orders for my etsy shop

i also set myself some goals to help me out.

• spend way less time on facebook
• work on one, and only one, project at a time so my house doesn't get so trashy
• hire someone to clean my house

we'll see how october and november go!  more posts to come!

i have been seeing some great stuff on etsy lately, so i'm saving my nickels and dimes for:

this lovely ring:

this print:

and this necklace:

oh, and if i didn't know that i would just kill them, i would want these sweet plants:

i also have been salivating over everything in this shop:

i was really hoping i'd be able to do at least one post a week post-childbirth, but i do not think that is going to be happening for awhile!  july flew by and here we are in august.  i have started some crafts, written down some craft ideas, but have finished very few crafts this month!  however, i have really enjoyed my time at home with my new little critter and i am headed back to work on monday, so we'll see how life's balance continues!

i did see this great set of alphabet rocks on etsy, so i made a less fancy set for my friend's son.  i think they are pretty cool, and i'm thinking a boy might like to learn the alphabet with rocks, right?

 august goals:

• write at least one more blog post
• finish dresses for my upcoming niece spawn, evie
• read a book... any book that is not about birthing, breastfeeding, or babies!
• scrabble wall art
• geometric painting
• cook a couple of meals
• trim the bushes...

 

when my brother and sister-in-law were here visiting over 4th of july weekend, becki and i each made mobiles for our babies.  i had seen a similar one to this on etsy and liked the idea of using paper circles.  we set off to cutting out tons of circles and sewing them onto ribbon.  i just got it hung up yesterday, and i used a plant hanger to mount it...  i think it turned out pretty well and it felt good to accomplish something crafty.  i mounted it with my cordless drill and the baby strapped onto my chest in a moby wrap, it felt funny to use a power tool while holding a baby...

well, i took a look at my ambitious list for june... i had written it thinking my baby might come late, so i wanted plenty to do to keep my mind off things.  so that list kind of flopped!  but here's what i did do from my list:

1.  made a blanket for my incoming (or outcoming?) niece, evie.

2.  made the quilt top for evie that matches her room,  but the quilt back and binding has not been started (and i don't even have the fabric for it yet)

3.  read the shack... my opinion?  eh. 

4.  birthed a happy, healthy child in the comfort of my home.  he came a week early, which is why i didn't get most of these projects anywhere near done... not that i would have finished them all in a week...

welcome to the world, hudson!

dear july,
i hope to survive you and enjoy you, even with minimum amounts of sleep.  if i manage to make something, i will feel an extreme sense of accomplishment.  i'm not making you any promises. 
good night,
alyssa

if i had $675 to drop on a lamp, i'd snatch up this handmade beauty:

love. 

it's the end of may... i really did not do a whole lot of crafting this month!  i did a lot of resting and a lot of working, but other than that, i have been a bit out of the loop with making things.  but i have some big plans for june.  i found out my brother and his wife are having a girl (evangeline) due in october, so now i can start making things for her.  i have some things in the works.  and i need some things to keep myself distracted while i'm waiting for this little baby to decide to pop out.  here are some of my goals for june:

to make:

*a blanket of this style- i've made several like it before because they are so quick and easy, but soft and pretty.  i love making them in bright colors like this one.

*a zig-zag quilt from this tutorial that my friend, sarah, showed me- i want to make it bigger and in the colors of evie's nursery

*a pinafore dress- i absolutely love these and love that they can be a dress for a little one, but a top as your kiddo gets bigger.  and they can be reversible!  even better.  here is a pattern for one that i'm going to use.

*i also bought some fabric to make one of these pillowcase dresses for the charity Dress a Girl Around the World.  here is a tutorial if you want to make one too, but they are really simple, if you sew, you probably don't need a pattern for these.  below is a picture of one made by one of my favorite sewing bloggers, emmyloubeedoo.  i first heard about this charity on her blog.

*make a good stock of my vintage beaded necklaces so i can continue shipping them out quickly once i have a little creature needing attention.

to read:
*a little history of the world by e. h. gombrich
*the shack by william p. young (so i can finally give it back to my dad when he comes next month)
*jane eyre by charlotte bronte (off the 100 books to read before you die list that i saw on sunday morning sugar)
*the stack of magazines sitting on the floor by my favorite chair

alright, now that it's in print, maybe i'll be more likely to get this stuff done.  the whole reason i blog is to keep myself motivated, so i'll let ya know what happens!