I'm renaming this blog "Baby Blankets Inc."

Guess what everyone, I made another baby blanket!  *gasp*  I should really start an esty site or something, babies never go out of style apparently.  I had less than a month to throw this one together so I thought the quickest way would be quilting.  The great thing about lazy quilting is that most craft stores sell pre-cut fabric.  No measuring, no windmills or bonnets or other quilting terms, just sewing the shit together.

So this is the piece work I did, but I soon realized that I wouldn't be able to finish my project on my own.  The last time I quilted, I just ran that sucker through my sewing machine and it turned into this mess of threads and knots.  I did figure out why, after the fact of course.  I didn't have a walking foot for my sewing machine.  A what?

It looks like a medieval torture device.  The added dilemma seems that you can't readily buy one in town, you have to order online, and being as I was in a time crunch and had no idea how to judge which of the many models to buy I cheated.  I called Mamaw up for a favor.  My mamaw is a Sewing With Nancy fanatic, not to mention she has every fancy sewing, embroidery, and serger machine you can have.  I sent my little project down to Mamaw's to have her finish and voila!  A blanket was born!

Special One Leidner, I hope you are into black lights because that was my inspiration for your blanket.  Now hurry up and say hi already!

Dinner Experiment

So last night my plan was to use something from the garden for dinner.  The mom-in-law gave me a giant zucchini, which is awesome, but the manfriend typically hates zucchini.  Dilemma!  Fortunately I have a great recipe for zucchini lasagna for those no carb days.  I've made this before and it was pretty good, but I wanted to up my game a bit.  We ate at Tony BoomBozz the other night and had the artichoke spinach dip appetizer....yum!  Guess what I did.  I made the filling of my lasagna spinach and artichoke dip!

I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried how it would turn out.  If you've never dealt with zucchini or spinach, those puppies can hold a LOT of extra water.  But I sliced my zucchini really thin using my mandolin slicer (which is ah-mazing, btw) and sprinkled it with salt and let it sit on paper towels for about 15 minutes.

Presentation was a little lacking, and it was soupy as all get out, but it tasted so good!  And we got dinner wrapped up and put away in time to hit up the free movie screening of The Princess Bride in the park.  I love that movie!

The night was clammy, the benches were really uncomfortable, and after that lasagna I might have made Wayne lactose intolerance.  Still, it was a great night!  Have I mentioned I love this movie?

It's been a long time comin'

Do I feel like a horse's ass!  I remembered I had a blog and decided to revisit it... I have to say I'm ashamed I haven't contributed in almost two years.  What?!  I've accomplished so many things in that time that I haven't shared.  What's wrong with me?  Oh wait, laziness.  Boo-yah.

Among getting married, turning thirty, and inheriting a dog, a lot of things have changed since last I posted.  I've also cut my hair.

No false promises this time, I'm not even going to fake you guys out like that, but I am going to try and be better.  To make up for lost time I'm going to revisit the past year.  Why not, right?  It's better than the facebook.  I kid, but not really.

I finished another baby blanket!

So I'm back on the baby blanket makin' wagon and this time it's a knitted lace blanket.  It was a fairly simple pattern to follow but the biggest issue was my hands kept cramping, gross. 
My grandma hooked me up with some very pretty, very soft and most importantly FREE yarn but I found out about halfway through that the little bundle to be is a girl.  Whoops!  It's a pretty blue, so I'm not sweating it too much.
I'm gonna take a short break from baby things but I've got a quilt in my mind I'm itching to start on.
Ps, so I'm cat sitting for my mom and I start watching TLC A Baby Story and I'm seriously get choked up every other story.  Wtf!  Hormones are a dumb, I'm gonna drink a beer to balance it out.

Patio Beautification

Lately Wayne and I have been trying to make the backyard a little nicer to look at while we drink our coffee and stare at the dog.  We've been working on this great idea of using all the cinder blocks that we found in the garden and making a kind of wall for plants and our knickknacks.  

 

I have to give Wayne all the credit for lugging those heavy ass blocks around.  I was in charge of planting all our new flowers.  I bet you're curious about the egg shells.  It's a pet project I'm trying.  I got the idea off Boing Boing and I figured I'd give it a shot.  So far, it hasn't been too successful but I also don't have a very green thumb either.

If you look very closely, you can see a few little sprouts.  This is my second go at using egg shells as planters.  My first try I planted marigolds because I thought those suckers were impossible to kill.  Guess again!  I forget what I planted this time, but maybe if we're lucky we might find out!

this better be worth it

This is rather late in posting, but better late than never, right?  Here is a video I made of my cross-stitching project that I worked on this past winter.  

I've been keeping myself rather busy lately.  I should have some pics up soon of some of my latest projects.  And a side note, my friends have been at it again....more baby blankets!

Success!

Over the past few years I've had several friends who have had babies and I always like to try and make the presents myself as oppose to buying baby clothes that they puke on and grow out of it.  I've crocheted and quilted baby blankets but my biggest problem is I never start the project in time.  One such instance, I blew off starting until the day of the baby shower.  Oops!  Sweet Emmaline didn't see her present til she was three or four months old.  (Unfortunately I lost the pic of took of this project)

My next attempt was with quilting.  My first practice blanket turned into a pillow after the seams went from parallel to intercepting.  Don't ask, I'm not sure how I managed that myself.  Around this time my coworker announced that he and his wife were expecting so, of course, I had to put my skills to the test!  I bought squares and arranged patterns, re-arranged patterns, started sewing...and then put it down for months.  I still have not finished that blanket but luckily I had a spare that I had made that worked out beautifully.  Enjoy Eveline, the sweetest baby who NEVER cries. 

 

My latest project I returned to crocheting because, let's face it, it's a helluva lot easier and quicker than quilting.  I borrowed the idea from my sister who was also making a blanket but I finished mine first, haha!  The original pattern pertained to potholders, but I just made a bunch of blocks and pieced it together like an afghan.  One of my favorite things about this blanket is the name of the yarn color, Earth and Sky.  I also finished and delivered this blanket with three weeks to spare before lil Griffon is born.  Woot!

And, yeah yeah, to anyone who thinks skulls aren't appropriate for a baby blanket... this kid is gonna be hard as shit.