What's bugging you?

I recently turned out some soft bug books on "craft night". Craft night is supposed to be every Wednesday. It ends up being about every other Wednesday due to sickness or general fatigue. But the idea is that instead of turning on the TV after babe is abed, hubby and I each go off and work on our own creative pursuits. It is nice to look forward to that time even if all I do is arrange fabric into stacks, rearrange those stacks into other stacks, and eventually shove it all back into the drawer it originally came out of.



I'm not sure blog land is good for my mental health. On the upside, reading everyone's blogs on my way to and from work each day makes the bus ride more palatable. On the other hand, it leads me to compare myself to others. On some days it seems like everyone is doing this parenthood thing so much more gracefully than me. I have to remind myself: I'm working four days a week. We have no family in town. We make the time to make healthy dinners at home instead of takeout. It's ok that the quilts are few and far between.



I talked to my grandma recently and she reminisced about a family member who would respond to the question "what are you doing lately" with "oh, just watching the children grow up!". That sums it up for most days. In an effort to get more sewing done I am baby proofing the craft room so the little one and I can both play in there. I also recently had a night of sewing at a local sewing studio with the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. I hope to make it back this weekend again. Being around other people who are excited about sewing and setting aside the time to focus on sewing is so infectious!

So what's bugging you lately? Do you compare yourself to other bloggers? And how do you mama quilters get it done?

And a little knitting

Every three months the clinics close and all the clinicians gather for a day long meeting. I bring knitting to keep me sane! This is a pattern from a book called "Baby Beanies", knit in Karisma superwash wool.

I guess I have done some sewing

While putting away laundry it occurred to me that I have sewn a couple things in the past months. This is a pair of baby pants crafted from two sweaters. They are nice and thick for cold days.


I also made this shirt by starting with a onesie, cutting off the snaps, adding the sleeves and the rose applique. I am always happy to see her wearing these little presents from me.

A year and some

Besides getting this spirited little one to her first birthday,



I just turned my fourth loaf of No Knead Bread out of the the oven tonight. I'm in heaven with the smell of bread all through the house. I would have tried it earlier but I received a Le Creuset dutch oven for Christmas and finally have a way to bake in a covered pot!

Little miss goes-to-bed-at-nine doesn't leave me with much time for sewing or blogging but maybe I will start blogging a bit more about daily life given the lack of quilts assembling themselves under our roof.

Bits o' Fabric

Just thought I'd pop in and share the little bags that I carry my breastpump parts in. I do love having pretty fabrics around me at work. Please enjoy the extreme rumpliness that comes from being ignored in the dryer for far too long.



And a pic of the babe in a decorated-by-me onesie. That she now can't wear because her perfectly fat little thighs rub against the fabric and create an awful looking rash. It only took me 6 weeks to figure out it wasn't the diapers. Oh well, shirts and pants from now on!

Mama Made

How time flies in the summer! The garden needs tending, berries need freezing, cherries need cooking, and laundry and dishes pile up a bit faster with our loving houseguest, Ellery's aunt. She helped us out in the gap between me going back to work and Ellery being able to enter daycare. I'm back at work four days a week and routinely cursing the inconvenience of breast pump parts and public transportation, all the while knowing I am blessed to be employed and producing enough milk for my little one.

I keep offering her summers best produce, carefully pureed, but she'll have none of it. Blueberries from the garden were a little tart, as you can see! She has started crawling though! A bit early, and thankfully she's still slow about it, because we sorely need some childproofing.

Daddy has taken to buying expensive onesies for our daughter. I keep meaning to sew some instead but she still has a tendency to stay awake until 9 or 10, and that doesn't leave much time for diversion. I did manage to applique this onesie with a felt branch and leaves. I also wanted to show off some cute burp cloths I made before she was born. We use them all the time and it delights me to see some of my favorite fabrics.

Thanks Alice for checking in and reminding me to tend my neglected blog and reassure worried readers!

Crafty Friends

Ellery received some adorable handmade gifts that I just can't let go unmentioned.

Laura made us a hat


and dress


and bib


Our neighbor Dana made some cute bibs too!


Thank you crafty ladies! I am getting dangerously close to sewing again. The lint is about to fly, in no small part because of the impending arrival of an auntie for two whole months! Hooray for the whole family!