kirstencan

I done good.

I haven't been able to go yard-saleing (sp? since that is a made up or new word, i have no idea how to spell it! :) much this summer, which is okay, as there is less on my 'list' this year to keep my eyes open for.

Today I decided to stay really close to home, and be back in 45 minutes.

I hit 2 sales.

I scored.

First up, this cute quilt (Target, I think) for Thomas' bed.  $5 including matching sheet.
It's already been washed, dried, (rolled on) and put on the bed.  Love it. I almost didn't even ask how much it was, as Aaron's mom (quilter extraordinaire) is planning on making him one, but for $5 this can be the spare/extra/rotating quilt.

Sorry for the next photo - it's hard to get good pictures when the kids are trying to grab everything.  I snapped this quick and then threw everything in the wash.

Gymboree swimsuits for the kids (+coverup for Princess), sweatshirt and gymboree jacket for Thomas, and one of the best finds, 4 black leotards (Capezio and Bloch!) for Princess.  She needs them for the fall, when she goes back to a more classical dance program.  I was way excited about these.

Another perfectly timed find:  quilting rulers!  Sadly, I just broke both of my rulers.  Serves me right for keeping my crafting area so messy.

These are the exact sizes I had and needed!  Woo hoo!

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Next is a cheapo digital kids' camera.  Which is also kinda odd timing, because last week Aaron came home from the library with two books for kids about photography.

Needless to say, Princess is thrilled.

Now here's one of the only drawbacks of being a total bookworm.  I found some great books today - but we had most of them already.  But I mean, Princess Academy - how could I leave a 25 cent copy of Princess Academy?  or brand new - probably never opened copies of The Quiltmaker's Gift and Olivia (Olivia!).  It would be like leaving good friends on the side of the road.

I couldn't do that, now, could I? :)

Alright, so I did good, right?  Finding stuff I actually need is the best.

Finding everything above in only 45 minutes for a grand total of $14.50 - that rocks.

Recent Mail

Well, I picked up my camera last night (hooray!), so I can show you some of the goodies that have arrived in my mailbox recently:

Mirre sent me some lovely tissue holders, flower, and check out her cute moo card!
Thanks!

On the right, cute pink tree fabric from Tasha (Thanks!  Did you all see her sale?  Too fun.  Now if only Ali hadn't bought the last of the car fabric! :) and the other three pieces are from nuno+ (an eBay store).  And since I couldn't wait to use them, and at the same time am having a hard time cutting them...

I made some more pillowcovers for the couch.  The feet are Thomas'.  He likes the pillows.
I like the added whimsy of these fun prints, but as much as I love the numbers print I'm not sure how well it goes.  But that's okay, It's a big piece, I can totally use it for something else if/when I change my mind.

I used a stripe for the back of both, one that matches enough yet mellows the bright prints a little.  I like that.

And I have some plans for the pink trees fabric as well, but I couldn't wait to use it so I patched my jeans with it!

The legs here belong to Monkey.

Too bad Japanese fabric is pricey.  I want to use it for EVERYTHING!
Cute overload.

Teacher Gifts

I have a trillion projects due this week.

Seriously, a trillion.  I counted.

And I actually finished a good part of that list yesterday, and have nothing to show you.

Nada.

I forgot my camera at my mom's house last week and am going crazy without it.

(Aaron:  Yeah, cause if you don't take a picture of it, did it really happen?)

Whatever, wise guy.

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Thomas' last day of school was today, and I got to hang out in his classroom with him.  It's fun to do that, although I've only gotten a chance to visit once or twice.  He usually tells me to go home, but today seemed happy to share school with me.  I like watching his interaction with others.  Today it was fun watching him sing 'Fire Truck'.  In a class full of boys it is a very popular song/book.  Last year he couldn't sing it well, he just couldn't get the words out, this year he can sing the whole thing.  It's good to have a chance to notice progress.

Anyway, for his teacher, I made a tote with a matching zip pouch (full of chocolate).

More zip pouches for the aids in his class, too.  I used what I had, and made 4 different ones.  They turned out pretty cute, you'll just have to imagine them all lined up, with little ribbons and tags tied through the zipper pulls.  The aids were happy to see the chocolate, too. :)

                            

Just a little something to thank these marvelous ladies for being so amazing with Thomas for the past year and a half.  We were so blessed that he got the classroom/teachers that he got.  It's been a really positive experience for him.

And, no, these photos have nothing to do with this post, but they're from a couple of weeks ago when Monkey tried his very first piece of watermelon (while wearing robot pants and monster shirt, in case you didn't notice :).

Unsure at first, but he's a fan now.

One Year

I just realized that it was a year ago today that I wrote my very first blog post.  A whole year!  I guess it's my... blogiversary?  (Who made up that word?)

266 posts later, and I'm writing another one.  Wow.  What a great year! 

I have nothing profound to say.  I love blogging, I love the friends I've made here and the comments you leave.  I love the happy mail, creative motivation and the virtual hugs.

Thank you so much for listening!

Here are a few posts that probably most of you haven't read.  Just a few of my early posts I think are kinda fun.

So, if you have a few minutes, read on. 

Buses and Bearhugs

Military Brat

Great-great-great-great

Geographical Orphans

100th Post

Camping

Going for a walk

*p.s. These photos are from our last trip to the botanical garden, mentioned here.

tooth fairy

Princess lost her tooth in the car (number four, I think)!  She had her doll with her, so she put the tooth in Emily's smock pocket so that she wouldn't lose it (See? They're practical!) - and then when we got home we collaboratively whipped up a little tooth fairy pillow.

The tooth is a little pocket, and Princess stitched the mouth on it.  The pocket is just big enough for 2 quarters.  That should help out the tooth fairy quite a bit!

Last time she lost a tooth, I think the tooth fairy gave her $0.78.  Or $0.83, something like that.  The tooth fairy was tired and didn't count the change correctly...

When she hung this little pillow up on her bedpost she giggled and said "Hmm, I just had a funny thought:  maybe you guys just sneak in here, take the tooth, and leave money!"

I couldn't keep a straight face, which lead to her saying "You DO??!"  I decided I could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the tooth fairy.  It's not a tradition I'm overly 'into', yet I don't want her to lose her belief in magic and fairies.  I made up something about how it's fun to believe in fairies.

Oh, well.  Anyone had a similar experience and have a better answer than that?

Autism Moms

I had to go to Thomas' new school today and register him for next year.  The parents organization there was selling these cool shirts that had some drawings from children in the school, plus this excellent definition of autism on the back:

Autism n. [see different] 1. unique, one of a kind, special, quirky, phenomenal, cute, amazing, fabulous, exceptional, super duper, cool.

Love it.  I bought three.

While I was there I also saw a couple of kids wearing shirts that said:

"I have Autism.  Be nice to my mom."

HA!
I need that one!  Maybe I'll make one...

M is for Monsters

**edited to add:  Hey, I'm on CRAFT!!!  Wahoo!  Thanks, Sarah!**

This striped shirt of Thomas' has been calling for a monster.
Just calling, I swear.

(Laura, please note the stripe + plaid combo - although they go surprisingly well together in this case...)

Pretty fun, and of course, Monkey wanted one, too:

I like his better (and the one eye was easier to sew than three!).  The boys love them.

They were fun to put together, so I made a couple more for the shop:

(sized 4T & 5T(sold)- I love the stripey one, I think it's my fave.)

Ah, monsters...

And then I decided to do a little shop update, too.

A new batch of brooches:

A new bunting:

There's also some new magnets, in case you're interested.

And I've been getting a lot of "Where do you find the time?" comments lately. 
Two words:  Nap Time.
Most of my projects are done in stages, not all at once.  Also, most of my projects are fairly little/quick!  I swear I'm not as productive as I sound! 

I'm fortunate that Thomas still takes a good nap every afternoon.  Don't know what I'd do without it!

Misc. Projects

A few more goodies sent along with the quilt:

A card made from a favorite illustration from Richard Scarry's 'Is This the House of Mistress Mouse?' sewn onto the paper that we used for some craftiness at Kris & Jenn's wedding.

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A card for baby Samuel (because sewing on paper is addictive!) from a Mother Goose book:

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More goodies for him: a favorite book, a shirt from my shop, booties and bibs.

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A library tote made for a new friend who turned six this weekend (my helper here is Monkey, who loves wearing his swimsuit, which is why he appears to be sans clothes).

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Turning a couple of flats of strawberries into 50 + jars of strawberry jam!

Aaron did at least half of them.  Strawberry freezer jam is one of his all-time favorite foods.  Ever.  I wish I could share some with you, but he just won't allow it! :)

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Whew!  Now on to the other 50-trillion things on my project list!

Wedding Quilt

Let me take you back in time.  It is February, 2006 (not far back, but still).  My brother is getting married, and I am helping to plan the wedding dinner. They have chosen dark brown, cream, and a rust-red color for their colors.

We decided to put brown squares of fabric over the tablecloths.  I decided to get the fabric (and some coordinating ones) from the quilt shop so it would be good quality fabric to make into a quilt after the wedding.  I liked the idea of reusing the fabric, plus I thought it would be cool for them to have something made from their wedding decorations (I didn't tell them this, so they weren't waiting for it.)

Nearly a year and a half later, it's done!  This quilt is completely random.  I started out planning to use all the same blocks (simple, brown squares with scrappy sashing), but added a couple of stack 'n' slash blocks for variety and really liked it.  After that I just made several kinds of blocks and put it together however I wanted.

Here's a (bad) shot of (almost) the whole thing - it is REALLY hard to get a (good) picture of an entire quilt!  Even if it's just lap-sized.

The back and binding are tan flannel, and the quilting is one continuous line starting in the middle to form concentric squares.

The border quilting is two sets of two interweaving lines.  Machine quilted, of course.  I used cotton variegated thread (brown, cream, rust - perfect!) for all the quilting, and I really liked how that turned out.

My first goal was to have it done for their first Christmas.  Then, by their first anniversary.  Finally, I said that it had to be done before their baby was born.

Well, I finished it May 28th, the day before my SIL went to the hospital, as little Samuel decided to come nearly a month early!

Whew! I just made it!  Mailed it off this week, so they should have it by now.  I hope they like it.

Better late than never.

Splashing

It is amazing to me how much fun can be had with just four inches of water.

Have a great weekend!