Check out this fabric!!!

A while back I was working with a customer on a custom nursery bedding project and in the process of scouring the lands for fabric, the customer actually introduced me to a FANTASTIC designer! Emily Burger is talented artist creating adorable prints for children's rooms...she uses this talent to create incredibly cute organic fabric prints. You can check her out here Etsy site here and you view all her fabrics on flickr here
Right now she is offer up one fat quarter to each of 4 winners on her blog...check it out here.
I love her fabric and hope one day soon to be able to create a customer nursery utilizing her beautiful organic prints.

Knits!!!!

So I tried my hand with knit fabric for the first time...for some reason it is a very intimidating fabric, but Patty Young came out with a line of designer knits for Michael Miller and I just couldn't resist. My friend's daughter had a birthday this month, so it was the perfect excuse to get my hands on some of this super cute fabric and jump in with both feet. I followed a tutorial for a yoga skirt that she authored on the Sew Mama Sew blog and then used an existing toddler t-shirt for a pattern (and cut it in a little for a fun shape) to make the shirt to match. I also tried a lettuce edge for the first time and LOVE it! My daughter has one of these in her future....

Modern Vintage

So a while back I was browing blogs and came across a tutorial for doing cathedral windows. I'm not a quilter...I have done a few pieced items and quilted oven mitts, but that's it...but since this design is technically not quilting, I thought "Why not?". So I started thinking about it...and thinking about it...and building it in my head for a while. Then I got busy with this custom order and that custom order and so on and started sewing each night in my dreams! I couldn't wait to pair this very traditional design with bold modern prints. I had some Amy Butler scraps that I had been saving for a rainy day and they suited this project perfectly. Now I have to admit, I didn't use the traditional method for creating the cathedral windows (in that I did absolutly NO hand stitching), but it still took more time than I had anticipated and I think looks amazing. I was so inspired, that I started making a crib set using this same design...that's all I'll say for now, but I hope to have it finished by the end of the summer (although it may have to be backburnered until school starts). So without further ado....

My poor neglected blog....

poor thing...this all but forgotten blog needs a little attention, although, admittedly I'm not feeling very inspired at the moment. However, last week cooking dinner one night I was very inspired by the color on my grill...check out these photos.

Spring Is Here!

...and in my home once the snow is gone (or mostly gone) my hubby and kids can NOT be kept inside! Hubby loves to work in the yard and as a result we have the best backyard in the subdivision (I am by no means biased ;-). This spring's big project was replacing the outdoor garden canopy that was wind wrecked last summer in a storm. I found one that I really liked at Menard's and my husband the carpenter said "I want something that is going to stay put!" So we worked together to compromise on a design. It's very simple...very in keeping with our Prairie style house. Large posts and beams are stained dark, almost black, brown while understated decorative arches are left naked. A medium brown fabric cover coordinates nicely with the dark and naked wood and our existing outdoor furniture. He did the woodworking and I sewed the cover. So, eight 6x6, four 2x10s, 5 yards of out door fabric and about 80 grommets later we have a masterpiece! Tell me you don't agree....

Another Giveaway!

Well...that new blog I found, "I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts", has revealed the last giveaway for his Monthlong Giveaway! It is two $25 gift certificates to Fat Quarter Shop.com. Last week it was Hawthorne Threads and this week is just as awesome! My only regret is that I didn't discover this until halfway through! Keep your fingers crossed for me this week and head on over to http://www.ryanwalshquilts.com/ and Fat Quarter Shop's site and try for yourself!

Giveaway!

I just discovered a new blog: Ryan Walsh, I'm Just a Guy Who quilts
And the best part? He's hosting a giveaway to my absolute favorite fabric site, Hawthorne Threads!
So head on over to Ryan's blog and check out Hawthorne Threads and maybe you could win!

Boody Babies Bedding

Boody Babies Bedding is officially open! After several custom requests for crib bedding, I decided I really enjoy making it. However, I did so few and far between that potential customers would have to search long and hard, sifting through page after page of previous sales for examples of my bedding work. So I decided to open up a second shop dedicated solely to crib and nursery bedding and also toddler bedding. I'm really excited and a little nervous, too! Wish me luck and if you know anyone in need of nursery or toddler bedding, send them my way :0)!

Oops!

Well....I tried my hand a creating a new bag and ended up with a really cute oops for myself. Don't get me wrong, it's not ugly and totally functional, but I had a few design issues that had to be worked out which resulted in a little wonkiness that I just couldn't pass on to someone else. So I now have a new bag and I love it!

Our Family Vacation

Well we did Disney! I had a blast. It was my first official visit (hubby and I spent half a day at Epcot once killing time between a cruise and our flight home 12 years ago, but you can't really count that). I think I had just as good a time if not better than the kids (both of whom got sick, ran fevers and coughed while we were there). Magic Kingdom is by far my favorite.
I didn't get a picture of the bag in action, but it served it's purpose very well travelling everywhere we went and allowing us to bring everything we needed. The only thing I would change would be to have not done the interior in black because it was difficult to see things when I wanted to.
The other thing that saved the trip was the KinderKord. I have always been kind of anti-child leash, but baby boy has such a mind of his own and when he sets it on something he goes and doesn't care if I am in his line of sight or not. So, when hubby bought the KinderKord I was somewhat skeptical. The KinderKord was invented by Joan Lunden as an alternative to traditional child leash/harness/backpack. It's less conspicuous, less restricting. I am getting way off on a tangent here...hubby bought a rather pricey lightweight stroller in anticipation for the trip (he would be the one carrying it on and off the buses/boats and in the event that baby boy got out of the stroller). Just in case he also purchased the KinderKord. Travel day came and baby boy rode in his nice comfy stroller all through the air port; we had a two hour wait so hubby hooked him up to the KinderKord so they could explore and kill time and that was pretty much the end of the stroller. My VERY independent two year old boy would have nothing to do with the stroller from that point on (so we did Disney at a two year old pace :0). But the KinderKord was great! I looks like a watch, which he LOVES to where watches, so getting him to put it on and keep it on was a piece of cake. The cord is retractable...one cord from dad's wrist band and one from the boy's and they hook in the middle...it gives about 3' so he can walk along side and I can look at all the scenery that big sis is shouting "look at that mom" without worrying that he'll get lost in the shuffle.
All in all it was an amazing trip and I can't wait to back.

New Bag!

With an upcoming vacation to Disney World, I wanted a bag that could go all day and help us keep the kids going all day...so I needed something convenient to carry but big enough to keep the kids content. So I came up with a Round Bottom Drawstring Bag...I LOVE it! I put in sooo many pockets that I can keep everything in it's place and within reach. The single strap makes it easy to throw over my shoulder and the drawstring gives me easy access. I also put on a cell phone pocket on the outside and a mini wallet that clips to the side on the inside so I don't even need to bring my big bulky wallet.
I'd love some feedback from those of you who can look at it objectively so let me know what you think!