Sew Happily

Allison Glass Mini Quilt 2

2015-07-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, I shared with you the mini quilt that I made for Stephanie! Today, I'm sharing the second mini quilt that I made for the Allison Glass Mini Quilt Swap on Instagram. Why two? Sometimes in swaps, people have things come up and swap angels are needed. I volunteered to be one! Usually, when I sew for swaps, I like to take my time and really delve into my partners likes and dislikes. But, since I was making as a swap angel, I really had to be pretty decisive with my planning and making.

I ended up using this fabulous quilt as my inspiration, made by Owen's Olivia.
My partner didn't specify any favorite colors so I looked through my stash of Allison Glass fabrics and settled on a color palette of blues, greens, and yellows. She did say that she liked low volume fabrics so I picked out a fun arrow print for the background fabric.

The finished mini measures 22 inches square. Each of the half square triangle units were 2 inches. The flying geese were 2 inches by 4 inches.

For the backing, I used another low volume print and added a rainbow of squares along one edge. On the back, you can really see the quilting stitches. I used an Aurifil thread in 40 weight in a green color that perfectly matched the greens in the AG fabrics. I mailed it off last week and I'm anxious to hear how my partner liked it!

Take care yall!

Alison Glass Mini Quilt{s}

2015-07-11T08:06:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things to do is to swap mini quilts!! It's such a fan way to stretch myself as a quilter!! This past summer, I signed up for the Alison Glass mini quilt swap on Instagram! I had so much fun with this swap. It was hosted on Instagram by.... If you're unfamiliar with the way swaps work, you get assigned a random partner who you make a mini quilt for. Someone else makes a mini quilt for you!

My partner to make for was the lovely Stephanie of Modern Sewciety. She does podcasts with all the famous bloggers, fabric designers, shops, and companies in the quilting and sewing world. I was a wee bit nervous making for her but ... that's okay! I ended up settling on making her a rainbow based mini quilt. I choose to use a paper pieced star design called... by Don't Call Me Betsy. I love her paper pieced designs!

Each square was a 6 inch block - for a total of 12 blocks in the mini quilt.
The final quilt measured 18 inches square.

I recieved a lot of positive feedback on Instagram via our swap hashtag about this quilt, which made me feel a whole lot better about making it for Stephanie! She has already received it and loves it!

I received this GORGEOUS mini quilt from Ann at Run and Sew. Seriously! It's gorgeous - and she got Allison Glass to sign the label on the back of the mini. How cool?!! Plus, Ann put together the most amazing extras for everyone in my family. I was totally spoiled this swap!! I love seeing it hang in my sewing space!

Insta Happily: June Edition

2015-07-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! I'm late... again... but better late than never, right?! Heres a snapshot look at my June!

Follow me on Instagram for more on our life of four and my fabric fun!
See my January, February, March, April, and May posts too!

Me Made May 2015

2015-06-15T07:45:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! I'm still catching up on different things that are on my blogging agenda - but I wanted to share with yall my Me Made May pictures!

If you're not familiar with Me Made May, you can find more information out about it here. In a nutshell, it's a chance for all of us who sew to challenge ourselves to wear what we have made in real life! Each person makes their own commitment - whether its wearing completely handmade garments, a certain number a week, or work on making more handmade garments. So Zo hosts this every year - and I'm always impressed by what everyone wears and how many handmade garments they have!

I participated last year, too (check out my posts here and here).

This year, my goal was to wear 3 handmade garments a week, or 12 total. Since this was just after I gave birth to Alex, I knew most of my handmade clothes might not fit so I thought this might be an optimistic goal. I ended up wearing a total of 14 outfits with a handmade garment over the course of the month. I was pretty pleased with this!

Reagan's wearing two handmade dresses.
In the left photo, Joy by Violette Field Threads and in the far right, Desert Rose by Caila Made.

Some trends that I noticed with my handmade clothes:

I make a lot of black, white, and mint. I also wear these colors a lot.
I need to make more separates, despite the fact that I love wearing dresses. When I'm not at work - I don't wear dresses as much, so I'll get more bang for my buck if make more separates, even if they aren't all that exciting.
I love to wear knits. Seriously - they are super comfortably.
I like to wear pieces that layer up, which ties into making more separates.
I'm also pretty obsessed with my "Sewing Mama" tee shirt by See Kate Sew. It's super soft and I love the statement it makes. Seriously - I wear this almost every week.
Also, I look pretty darn good in a tee shirt with a maxi knit skirt.... just sayin'.
I need to NOT take pictures in the mirror with my iPhone. A tripod might be in order soon.

The patterns that I wore this month during Me Made May were:

Anima Pants by Papercut Patterns
Hazel Dress by Colette Patterns
Date Night Dress pattern (hacked into a top) by April Rhodes
Undercover Hood by Papercut Patterns
Alder Shirtdress by Grainline Studios
Ecualypt Tank by Megan Nielson Patterns
self drafted maxi skirts
self drafted maxi tank dress
Washi dress by Made by Rae
Southport Dress by True Bias

All in all, a pretty successful Me Made May! I'm super happy with how it went. Next year, maybe I can bump up the number of outfits per week to five per week. Or, maybe I'll focus on wearing different designers or something.... who knows?!

Alex's Newborn Pictures

2015-06-11T07:45:00.000-04:00

This week, Alex is 7 weeks old!! Hard to believe my little man is almost two months old!! We did his newborn photos when he was two weeks old. I'm super excited to share them with yall today.

I had Candice of Candice Leigh Photography do his newborn photos. She did our family photos last fall when I was 24 weeks pregnant! We loved how they turned out, and I was excited to have her do Alex's pictures. Candice did such a great job - she took a little over three hours to do his photos!! I was amazed at all that went into making these gorgeous photographs. It was hard to pick my favorites, since Candice sent us over 75 photos!

This little hat was a gift to us when Reagan was born - and both kids wore it for their baby pictures!

I love how dapper he looks in this outfit!!

Just as a little note - I added my own logo to these photographs since he's my naked baby! I'm sure yall understand!

Insta Happily: May Edition

2015-06-09T07:45:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! I'm slowly starting to get back into the swing of things - or rather, adjusting to life as a family of four! Last week, I went back to school for the last week. It was great to see my kiddos and my coworkers but oh boy, did it wipe me out!

So, for a glimpse of May via my Instagram...

Seriously, though, this past month has just flown by! I seriously do not know where the time went.... besides baby bottles, diapers, preschool for Reagan, trip up to my parents' home, and just ... surviving (in the best sense). I'm so thankful that we were able to take that time - and am looking forward to my summer break, too!

Oh, and as a side note, I'll be featuring all of my Me Made May Instagram pictures in a separate post.

Follow me on Instagram for more on our life of four and my fabric fun!
See my January, February, and March posts too!

Mini Capsule Wardrobe: Fabric Selection

2015-06-05T07:45:00.000-04:00

Hey yall! I hope that everyone is taking care - and enjoying this beautiful weather! The heat has definitely hit South Carolina, and this girl is happily enjoying the air conditioning. On .... I shared with yall the nine patterns that I choose to use for my Pattern Review Wardrobe pieces. I'm super excited to show you my fabric selections today for those patterns.

Most of the fabrics were ones that I had in my stash - the tan animal print is from A Fashionable Stitch, the white and black animal print and white linen are from Joann Fabrics, and the gauze mint is from Fabric.com. It was really fun to dig through my stash and see what I had that would work with my wardrobe planning and for the patterns I selected!

Mini Capsule Wardrobe: Pattern Selection

2015-06-03T07:45:00.000-04:00

So, to continue our discussion of my mini capsule wardrobe... Today, I'm sharing with yall the patterns that I selected to use in the beginning of my capsule wardrobe.

Just as a refresher, the contest that prompted this required that each participant sew up four tops, three bottoms, and two "sewists' choices" - which could be dresses, cardigans, etc. All of the pieces have to coordinate together, meaning that all four of the tops need to be able to be worn with all three of the bottoms. You are allowed to repeat a pattern one time - and I did choose to do this with one of the bottoms patterns.... and when you see how I made it up, you'll understand why I did this!

The patterns that I selected are:

Tops (left to right):
Coppelia Wrap Top from Papercut Patterns, Undercover Hood from Papercut Patterns, Vanamo Top from Named Patterns, and Ruched Top from Burdastyle Patterns

Bottoms (left to right):

Anima Pants from Papercut Patterns, Charlotte Skirt from By Hand London, Anima Pants from Papercut Patterns

Sewists' Choice (left to right):

Out and About Dress by Sew Caroline and Hazel Dress by Colette Patterns

I'm really excited about the patterns that I selected to use. A few of them are TNT (tried and true) patterns for me, like the Out and About Dress, the Charlotte skirt, and the Anima pants. The rest of them are patterns that I have had sitting around for some time that I have been wanting to sew up. It was a lot of fun selecting patterns that could mix and match - usually, I'm more of a sew up dresses kind of girl. I love the flexibility that this will give my wardrobe.

Be sure to stop by later this week when I'll share my fabric selection for these patterns!

Insta Happily: April Edition

2015-05-30T15:11:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! Clearly, I am a bit behind in posting my April Instagram favorites. I can't imagine why I'm a bit behind... ;) But, better late than never. And April's Instagram photos show some major changes in our happy home.

We spent most of April waiting anxiously for the arrival of our little man - and he showed up right on time, on his daddy's birthday! We are all so smitten with him. It's so hard now to imagine our home without him in it.

Follow me on Instagram for more on our life of four and my fabric fun!
See my January, February, and March posts too!

Mini Capsule Wardrobe: Silhouettes

2015-05-29T07:45:00.000-04:00

Hey yall! Today, we are continuing on my adventures in creating a mini capsule wardrobe. If you're just joining the party, be sure to check out my first two posts here and here. Today, I wanted to share with yall the silhouettes that I have selected as the basis for my capsule wardrobe.

I've been sharing how the Wardrobe Architect series by Coletterie has been super helpful as I began planning the beginnings of my handmade capsule wardrobe. One of the weekly exercises focused on finding a silhouette the works for your body type, your work, etc. For me, this was one of the more fun exercises to complete. They really stress the importance of overall lines of an outfit (minus accessories) and balance.

I settled in on five basic outfit silhouettes.

For me, I selected five different silhouettes that I felt comfortable in. Because I am so short - five foot one inch - I wanted outfits that would help me look and feel a little bit taller. I also have an extremely short torso, which can make some outfits look less polished on me. For example, the skinny pants and tunics outfit is probably the most casual outfit silhouette on my list for that very reason. Tunics often drown me, so I have to be extra careful with those. When I say tunics, I really am talking more of a longer blouse than a full on tunic....

The rest of the silhouettes all emphasize an hourglass figure - which I most definitely have. The good Lord blessed me with lots of curves, and I really love being able to show them off in a fairly modest way. I like to wear belts and have close that nip in at the waist. I also like clothes that help my hips look more in proportion to the rest of my body - that's probably the area that I am the most self-conscious about (my hips and thighs), so I like clothes that create more balance with those areas. I hate wearing shorts for those exact reasons.

I created an inspiration board with some outfits that fit within each of these five silhouettes.

Pencil Skirts with Loose Blouses / Layered Tops

For these outfits, one of the things that I noticed is how they are all styled with the blouse tucked in. Usually, either the skirt or the blouse is a solid. I also love that there are no sleeveless blouses here, yet the look still feels sexy and professional.

Fit and Flare Dresses

Granted, fit and flare can mean a lot of things, but to me, it means a dress that comes in at the waist and has a fuller skirt. I love that you can belt these types of dresses really easily. I also love how the top left is styled with a cardigan. As a teacher, my school can be really cold inside so having options to layer dresses is vital.

Skinny Pants with Tunics

Again, as I mentioned earlier, this look is much more casual to me. I love it for jeans and weekend wear, more than anything. It also seems more fall and winter suited to me, although the look on the right feels more summer. With this look, it seems really important to have a looser look on the top, although these are not super long tunics by any stretch, so they would work on my petite frame.

Trousers with Fitted Blouses

Oh, wide leg trousers, I love how you lengthen any person. Again, with all of these looks, the top is fitted or tucked in, which makes the legs seem to go on for days! I really love how bold the red and pink is together - perfect for summer. There is also lots of potential to layer on top for warmer months, and opportunities to belt (can you tell its a favorite accessory of mine?).

Fitted Dresses with Belted Waistbands

With these dresses, I like that they still have the hourglass shape but they tend to be more structured and a bit more architectural.

So, those are the silhouettes that I choose to be the focal point of my capsule wardrobe. Nothing too earth shattering but it has definitely made me evaluate what clothing I have and what I tend to reach for. Do you have silhouettes that you tend to favor for your clothing?

Mini Capsule Wardrobe: Core Style

2015-05-27T07:45:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! The other day, I shared that I am working on my mini capsule wardrobe! Being pregnant and only having so many clothes to work with has really taught me a lot about my personal style preferences and how to maximize a smaller number of clothing items. I've been intrigued by the idea of creating a smaller wardrobe that has greater flexibility and is more true to my personal style. For me, creating a capsule wardrobe is also about creating a more thoughtful handmade wardrobe. I love making my own clothes, and now that I have been sewing for over three years, I want to be more purposeful in what I make. To that end, I really sat down and thought about what defines my personal style - and perhaps, more of what I like to wear.

I am so guilty (as most women are) of seeing what others around me are wearing and thinking that I need to dress as them. Here in the South, that often translates to pastels, pink and green, Lilly Pulitzer, pearls, etc. While there's nothing wrong with those clothes, it's taken me a while to realize that I don't fit precisely in that monogrammed mold. And that's completely okay!
Coletterie (the blog behind Colette Patterns) has had a fabulous two year series called "The Wardrobe Architect". I haven't fully completed all of the exercises but I found it really useful in thinking about my own style aesthetic. I really love how they take you through a series of thought provoking exercises designed to help you create a wardrobe based off of your own life - a core style that works with your figure, coloring, job, home, and more.

The Wardrobe Architect series asks you to think about words that define your style, silhouettes that fit your figure, style icons that inspire you, color palettes and pattern styles that you like. For me, this was such a fun way to start to examine my own core style. Here's what I came up...

I loved the challenge of having identifying words for your core style - initially, I had about 30 words that I liked but pared it down to these seven words. Ideally, these are words that I would love to have define my personal style. The Wardrobe Architect series encourages you to have three or four power words - and I guess if I had to select them from my list of seven, they would be feminine, sophisticated, structured, and simple. To me, that's where I would like my style and wardrobe to be.

The next couple challenges focus on color and fit. This was a bit of a challenge for me because I LOVE color. As a quilter and a sewist, I see colors and patterns - and its exciting! BUT - after reading through the exercises and thinking about my own frustrations with my wardrobe in the past, I really came to understand the importance of a color palette.

I realized that I love and am drawn to the neutrals as my wardrobe basics. But, I definitely need color mixed in. I picked my three favorite colors that coordinate together and with those basics. Cobalt blue is, and probably always will be, one of the best colors that I can wear. I love pinks of any shade, and they look good on me, so naturally, that had to go in there. Mint has been more of a recent fixation, and I love how its a bit more subtle but still provides a lot of color. Patterns were a lot easier because of the color palette that I selected. Most of the patterns that I selected were fairly basic but you'll notice that they are not large scale patterns. My petite frame just can't handle big patterns. I left out a few that are fairly on trend right now - floral and tribal. While I love them on other people, I can't help but feel out of place in them. I love a hint of tribal but I can achieve that with accessories rather than the actual wardrobe pieces.

So, if you made it through this long winded post - CONGRATULATIONS!! I guess I wanted to 'plain my thinking! If you're interested in more of what I find fashionable, be sure to check out my Pinterest Board on Fashionable or my Pinterest Board on Fashion Wardrobe!

Alter Your World: Social Media + Education

2015-05-14T21:48:00.003-04:00

This post is part of a promotion of Alter Your World, an Alt Summit project aimed at celebrating actions, big or small, that focus on good in the community.

One area that I don't blog about as frequently is about my role as a public school teacher. Sure, I mention it in passing but it's not the primary area of my little blog. However, as an educator, I have been hugely impacted by the role of social media. When I began graduate school in 2009, social media was still a small growing area of technology. Blogs were out and prevalent ... Although they certainly looked different... And Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter were nonexistent and/or just beginning. Today there are more online resources for teachers than anywhere else.

Personally, I rely heavily on social media for my planning and preparation for my first grade classroom.

I use an online teacher planner called www.planbook.com. I found out about this through various teacher blogs about four years ago. Since then, I have shared this tool with other teachers that I Have worked with.

I regularly read teacher blogs, follow other teachers on Instagram (#teachersfollowteachers), and search for different resources on Pinterest. I utilize the amazing website called Teachers Pay Teachers to find resources and prints less for my classroom. I belong to a closed Facebook group that is specific to my grade level (first grade), where we discuss teaching strategies, struggles, praises, and more. They are my people.

The use of social media has allowed me to expand my resources, my sounding board, and my strengths as a teacher. I'm amazed each day how I rely on it ...and enjoy how it has shaped who I am as an educator!

Mini Capsule Wardrobe

2015-05-06T08:45:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! Hope that everyone is enjoying the beginnings of spring!

One project that I began on my maternity leave is a small mini capsule wardrobe. If you're unfamiliar with those terms, it's basically intentionally planning out your wardrobe so as to create a seamless wardrobe that works with lots of pieces in your closet. It's something that I've been really interested in for quite some time. Some of my favorite online blogs and resources are listed here if you are interested in more information about capsule wardrobes.

I have been mentally playing around with the idea of creating my own capsule wardrobe but had kind of put it off since I have been pregnant for the last nine months. However, Pattern Review and Fabric Mart put together a little contest, "The Wardrobe Contest", and I thought it might be fun to have a starting point on this little journey.

So, one day, I sat down and sorted through my various Pinterest boards, my sewing patterns, and my fabric and created a game plan for my mini wardrobe. Basically, the six week contest challenges you to create "an organized closet where one can pull an outfit together at a moment's notice."

The Wardrobe Contest required the following garments:
4 tops
3 bottoms
2 sewists' choice

All of the garments have to be able to mix and match together - so all of the four tops have to match the three bottoms.

Pattern Review has very specific guidelines as to how to enter the contest, so I will be sure to share my entry with yall when it is finished! In the meantime, I wanted to go ahead and start sharing with yall my mini capsule wardrobe! Stay tuned this week as I share my Capsule Wardrobe process and garments with yall. Take care yall!

Alex: 1 Week

2015-05-04T08:30:00.000-04:00

If this first week is any indication, my little guy is going to be one before I blink!! Babies sure grow fast - and this time around, it seems even more quickly! I thought I'd share my little guy's 1 week old pictures!! We didn't weigh him at 1 week - but we were at the doctors office two days later, so we'll use that weight.

Date: April 29th, 2015

Weight: 8 pounds 4 ounces

Height: 19 inches

Sleeping: Mostly 3.5 to 4 hours at a time. At night, he's sleeping from about 11 p.m. to 3:30/4 a.m. and then until about 7:30 a.m. I'm amazed at how he's sleeping so solidly. We have definitely noticed that he sleeps longer when his little tummy is full. He likes to sleep snuggled up on someone's chest.

Eating: Between 2 and 3 ounces per feeding. He eats in between naps, and is a great burper! He is a noisy eater, which is really funny to listen to. Right now, we are using Avent Natural Bottles with the Level 1 Nipple, designed for newborns. We tried a level 2, for one month olds, and while he did okay with it, we were worried that he was eating too quickly. He also takes the opportunity while he's eating to take care of pooping! It's so nice that he doesn't do that while he's napping.

Development: Right now, he mostly sleeps, eats, and goes to the bathroom. He is able to lift his head for brief moments, and can already move it from side to side.
Concerns: At his initial checkup with our pediatrician, we found out that Alex has a small hole in his heart. It's a VSD - a Ventricula Septal Defect. It's fairly common in newborns, and usually they close on their own within days of birth. His hasn't closed completely yet, but we are just keeping an eye on it at this point. But, we did have to go get an echo scan of his heart.

Reagan: Still loves being a big sister!! Truly, she has adapted so well to having Alex home with us. First thing she does when she gets home from preschool or when she wakes up is to check on Alex. Anytime we change his diaper, she is right there, wanting to help. She loves to go and get a bottle out of the fridge for us or get his pacifer or blanket. She loves to give him kisses, and likes to 'read' to him. I love seeing how much she loves being a big sister! I'm sure it won't last or be consistent all the time, but it has been a great start for our family of four.

Just for fun, this is Reagan at about 8 pounds on the left and Alex!! I love how they look alike - and I didn't even realize it until I saw my Timehop!
Firsts: This week, Alex got to ride in his daddy's brand new truck. We think he liked it - although he slept through the whole thing.
Favorites: He loves his pacifier! We have been using it after he eats, and it really helps him clear out his mouth of any formula. It also really soothes him when he's going to sleep.
Cuteness: All the time! Seriously - he's plain ol' adorable. I love how he wrinkles his forehead when he's sleeping. He gets these three adorable lines across his forehead, and raises his eyebrows.
A Day in the Life: Right now, life is pretty chill for Alex. He eats breakfasts, snuggles for a while, and then naps for three hours in the morning. Then, he eats again, and is more alert and awake.... usually for about an hour before he falls asleep for a couple of hours. He takes another bottle, and usually falls right asleep after that feeding. Mid-afternoon, he takes another bottle, and has another period where he is more alert, for about an hour or so before falling asleep until about 6:30 or 7. He eats again, and sometimes will stay awake for a half hour or so before sleeping until 10ish, when we feed him and put him down for the night. We have been doing tummy time when he is alert and awake.

My little man is such a blessing - I love being his mommy!! I always pictured having a little boy, and he has brought so much joy to our family.

Introducing Alex!

2015-05-01T15:15:00.003-04:00

He's here!!!!

I'd like to introduce yall to my little man, Edmund Alexander IV - or Alex!!!
Born on April 22nd, 2015 at 1:36 p.m., weighing in at 8 pounds 1 oz and 18.5 inches long.

We are so in love with this little man. He truly completes our family! Alex is named after his daddy, but we are using his middle name. He and his daddy also share their birthday! That's right - he came on his daddy's birthday!

From the beginning, everything about my little man has been so different than our experience with his big sister. My pregnancy was so much easier, and we made it full term! I was 39 weeks and 2 days when he arrived. I'm so thankful for a 'normal' pregnancy - as my OBGYN joked in the operating, I behaved and followed directions! The day of our c-section, we had a nice leisurely morning with Reagan. We dropped her off at preschool and then headed over to the hospital. We had a scheduled c-section with Alex. Due to the emergency c-section we had with Reagan, I could not go into full labor and medically required another c-section. Truthfully, I was okay with this because I really wasn't looking forward to the whole pushing and major contractions part. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a couple weeks prior to his birth, and had some regular contractions in the five days prior but nothing full on. We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 - and leisurely walked up to the labor and delivery wing. Because I had pre-registered online (who knew you could do that?), all we had to do was fill out 1 paper and we were escorted to the labor and delivery area. The charge nurse got us mostly ready - did our family background intake and got my IV in. My mom and mother-in-law arrived, and the four of us had plenty of time to relax while they were getting things ready for our 1:00 delivery time.

My OBGYN arrived and came to chat with us for a few minutes, and we also talked with the anesthesiologist and the nurse anesthetist. At about 10 till 1, the staff got Edmund some scrubs so he could be in the operating room, and I WALKED to the operating room. Yup. I was super excited to get to go in on my own two feet. Such a difference from being wheeled in from the ICU. At about 1:00pm, I received my spinal and the staff starting getting things ready. I felt really calm and excited going in to the operating room but as the spinal began, I started getting a little anxious. I must've asked for Edmund four or five times... he's my rock and really calms me down. The nurse anesthetist told me she would go get him, even though it was a little earlier than when they usually go get the daddies. Edmund told me later that she came over to get him, and said that he was needed now... He came in and I immediately started to calm down some. My OBGYN let me pick the choice of music in the operating room, so we jammed out to country music throughout the delivery. Again, totally different than with Reagan's birth.

I managed to cry throughout the entire delivery. Yup. Such a range of emotions that go through you. My OBGYN and the delivery room staff were fantastic - they kept me informed throughout the entire process without overwhelming me. The nurse anesthetist was the one who talked to primarily throughout the c-section and she was super calming. I held Edmund's hand pretty much the whole time.

At 1:36 p.m., our little man arrived - hollering loudly - to David Lee Murphy's song, "Dust on the Bottle". My doctor held him up over the screen so I could see him and give him a kiss - and then they got him all cleaned up. Edmund went over and got to hold him skin to skin right away - and brought him right back over by me. I got to hold my little boy's hands while Edmund held him. It was .... incredible. There are no words for how I felt at that time. After about 5 minutes or so (maybe a few minutes longer - time seemed to stand still), Edmund and Alex left the operating room so the pediatrician could do Alex's apgar and initial tests, etc. The staff finished up with me, and at precisely 2:00pm, I was wheeled into recovery where Edmund and the grandmas were waiting with Alex. Within minutes, I was snuggling with my little man.

Right off the bat, Alex has been an eating champion. He had his first bottle around 2:15 - and took to it instantly. We were wheeled over to the 'nesting place' - basically, the recovery ward for new mommas and babies right around 3pm. Over the new 48 hours, we both handled our recovery well! The care we received was wonderful - and I loved that we were given the option to go home on Friday since we were both doing so well. From start to finish, we were literally at the hospital almost exactly 48 hours.

Everything felt so relaxed and calm throughout the entire birth. Both Edmund and I commented on how this must be what it's like for most people - and truth be told, I don't know that we would have valued the calmness as much if we had not had such a complicated birth situation with Reagan.

I am so blessed by the birth of my beautiful baby boy - and so thankful for all that my little family has been given.

Zip Zip Zippers

2015-04-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! Does anyone else ever have just a short amount of time at their sewing machine - and you just want to finish something? Some days, I only have a few minutes to sew and create.... and I find it harder to pull out those bigger projects on those days.

With a couple of swaps coming up, I have been wanting to practice making some fun zipper pouches to send along with my main swap items. I used this tutorial by See Kate Sew as my starting point for both of these pouches.

For the first pouch, I used the same measurements that Kate suggests - even though I had to trim up my pretty patchwork blocks. While I LOVE how it looks, its pretty lightweight and I am not sure how long it will hold up. I'm using it in my purse to hold all my lip glosses, etc. that I seem to collect.

The patchwork blocks are only on one side - I used the Raspberry Kiss block from Wooden Spoons Quilts. I adore this block and will probably end up using it several more times!

When I made the second pouch, I made a few modifications to it, and I am really pleased with how this one turned out. It's much sturdier and I think it will probably be better suited for daily use.

I used the Simple Heart block by Cluck Cluck Sew for both the front and back of this pouch. I choose to keep the pouch the same size as the block - although I did end up trimming it down just a smidge. I love how this block has a frame for the heart - and around Valentine's Day, I saw several really cute projects using this block. I have a few ideas in mind that I'm adding to my "someday sew" list!

The biggest change I made to the zipper pouch (aside from changing the size) was that I added interfacing to my pouch. I used Pellon SF 101 and interfaced each outer panel as well as each lining panel. It really makes this little pouch sturdy! I think when I make some for my upcoming swaps, I will probably only interface the outer panels.... that might be a happy medium.

This might be my new favorite thing to sew! They are a quick sew and such a fun way to play around with fabric!

Easter Memories

2015-04-08T07:45:00.000-04:00

We really enjoyed celebrating Easter with our Reagan this year! It was her first time dying Easter eggs - and she had such a blast! We kept it pretty simple with her, and I'm glad we did. It was just right!

We did a kit for the dye, and just used the pastel level (where you dissolve the tablets with water instead of vinegar). She loved putting the eggs into the dye.... I think she had the most fun watching the eggs spin in the colored water. Her first color pick was the orange!

On Sunday, we did our Easter egg hunt after church - and she had so much fun! My brother hid the eggs out back, and she was really quick to find most of the 11 eggs. She only needed some pointing for a couple of the eggs. After she found them all, Reagan wanted to hide them again so she could find them! It was so adorable!

We are so blessed by this vivacious little girl!

Easter Joy Dress

2015-04-06T07:15:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter to all of you!! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday celebration with family - and with a focus on the real reason for this special day.... the resurrection and hope of our Lord Jesus Christ! We were fortunate enough to celebrate with both of our families with an Easter dinner on Saturday night! While we didn't get a lot of pictures with both families, we did get some great pictures of Reagan in her new Easter dress!

When Violette Field Threads put out one of their new 2015 spring patterns, I couldn't resist! I absolutely LOVE this dress pattern! Reagan's Easter dress is fittingly from the JOY pattern. I made a 3T straight from the pattern - and didn't make any modifications. Next time, I will probably add some additional button holes on the back strap to make it a little easier to get on and off for Reagan.

I used a combination of four different fabrics for this dress:
a purple linen from my stash
Cotton and Steel basics for the straps
Heather Ross Far and Away Unicorn in the purple print
V and Co Simply Style yellow and white print

She loved her new dress - she has been wanting to wear it for quite some time. I love that she is so into looking girly and wearing dresses! She had so much fun twirling in it!

Happy Easter!

ALYOF: April Goal

2015-04-03T07:15:00.000-04:00

Hey yall! I'm back again to link up to A Fiber of All Sorts and Bittersweet Designs fun linky party called "A Lovely Year of Finishes". Each month, you start out at the beginning of the month listing a project (or projects) that you hope to complete prior to the end of the month. Then, at the end of the month, you share that (ideally) completed project. It sounds like a great way to be kept aiccountable!

This month, since baby Alex will be joining us, I think that my only goal will be to finish up my Allison Glass mini for the AG Mini Quilt Swap that I am participating in.

Right now, I have 1 of my 9 blocks completed with all of the fabrics cut for the rest of the blocks. These blocks are 6 inch blocks - I'm using Don't Call Me Betsy's Icicle Star paper pieced pattern for this mini quilt.

It's a lot of fun to paper piece but definitely a little more time consuming!
Go here to see what everyone else is sewing up this month!

Insta Happily: March Edition

2015-04-01T07:45:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! Happy April Fools Day!!!

Another month has come and gone - this year is certainly flying by! I guess with working full time, a busy three year old, and a baby almost here, it makes sense. I love sharing some of my favorite Instagram moments with yall - its such a fun way to look back through the month.

Take care yall!!
And in case you wanted to catch up on 2015 with me, here are January's post and February's post.

Mary Mary... How Does Your Garden Grow

2015-03-30T07:45:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I shared with yall the beginnings of a baby quilt! Today, I am excited to share with you the finished quilt!

This is such a sweet quilt and every time I look at it, I can't help but think of the old nursery rhyme:
Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row!

In the end, I used three different solid fabrics and twelve prints for the front of the quilt, plus the two prints for the backing and the binding. The backing is a Jennifer Paganelli print from Joanns that I had leftover from another project (yet to be shared), and the binding is from Riley Blake - I think its the Shuffle print.

I love how using the three solid prints for the background helped create a secondary pattern on this quilt. It ended up making the corners where the blocks join have a fun look!

I quilted this using a light pink Aurifil thread in 40 wt. with a curvy stitch in a simple cross grid design. It really pulls out the addition feel of the quilt without detracting from the overall play of fabric. It also helps this quilt to feel nice and cozy.

I hope that this quilt ends up being a loved baby quilt for my sweet friend and her precious little girl!

ALYOF: March Finish

2015-03-27T07:15:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! Hope everyone's March has gone well - this month has just flown by for me.... Not surprisingly, with baby Alex coming next month!

So, at the beginning of the month, I linked up (link #37) to Fiber of All Sorts and Bittersweet Design's linky party called "A Lovely Year of Finishes". This year, they are challenging us to have one goal per month to work on. My goal this month was to finish my Farmers Wife Quilt! And guess what, after two years, I finally did it!! WOHOO!!!

I quilted this using a soft pink in Aurifil 40 wt thread. I kept the quilting simple, using an overall grid pattern, and I really feel that it complements the sampler quilt. If I was better at free motion quilting (which I am NOT), I probably would have stipple quilted this ... but since I am not, a simple grid would have to do.

When my mom and I started out working on our Farmers Wife quilts, we choose Jeni Baker's first fabric line "Color Me Retro" to be our primary fabric choices. While I absolutely adore the fabrics in this line, they probably were not necessarily the best choice for this project. When we started, we were both literally just learning how to quilt and didn't know any better! In retrospect, I wish we had picked different fabric, but I do love the overall cohesiveness of using fabric from the same line.

Obviously, I am a bit of a rebel when it comes to the layout of my Farmers Wife quilt. The directions call for the blocks to be placed on an angle and all blocks on the front with cornerstones and sashing. However, I wanted mine to be straight lines and used a bunch of blocks on the back too. The backing fabric is from Ikea - the famous Bitten numbers fabric. I used a Michael Miller polka dot in black for the binding, and the sashing is from Timeless Treasures, the black hatch print.

Honestly, I finished this up really early this month, and have really enjoyed having it out and about in our home. It doesn't really match anywhere in the house, so it will probably end up staying up in the frog where I sew but for now, I have had it out in the family room. My mom just finished quilting her Farmers Wife, and I can't wait to see the finished product - I'll be sure to share that with yall too!! :)

Go here to see what else everyone else finished up this month!

I'm also linking up with:

and

4 Years of Wedded Bliss

2015-03-26T07:45:00.000-04:00

Today, hubby and I have been married for four years!

It has certainly been a busy four years for us - in that time, we've lived in three different homes, bought our first house, and (almost) two children. We've had several job transitions between the two of us. We have certainly grown and changed a lot over the past four years... and realizing that we have actually been together for the last seven years - it makes seeing how we have grown and changed even more substantial.

Through it all, it has been a fun and crazy wild ride. Here's a fun look back at us through the last seven years!

I am so blessed to have this man to do life with!
Happy Anniversary babe! I love you!

Fantasia & Class Picnic Tunic

2015-03-25T07:15:00.001-04:00

Today, I'm sharing with yall a fun dress that I made for my little peanut!! I'm super excited about this dress and how it turned out - and I think Reagan was just as excited!

The lovely Sara of Sew Sweetness sent me several fat quarters of her newest fabric line for Art Gallery Fabrics called Fantasia. I personally adore these fabrics - and the totally suit my wild child Reagan! They are the prettiest combination of unicorns and whimsical forest drawings in a lovely teal, pinks, oranges, and yellows.

I have been wanting to mix my two sewing loves - garment sewing & patchwork - for a while... and this fabric line turned out to be the perfect way to go.

I used Rita's (from Red Pepper Quilts) tutorial for checkerboard quilt blocks to make the top front bodice piece. I had such a blast playing around with these checkerboard blocks. I made one of the smaller sizes (the 1.5 inch finished squares) that Rita shares at the end of her tutorial. I paired the Fantasia fabric with a teal swiss dot voile from my stash for both the patchwork and for the rest of the tunic.

The dress is an Oliver + S pattern that I have had in my stash for.... oh, about three years. I bought it from a quilt shop near my mom that had paper patterns on sale for $5 each! That's a great bargain. Of course, it's been sitting on the shelf for some time waiting to be sewn up. Reagan is wearing a 3T these days, and so I am in a hurry to sew up all of the patterns that I have that end at a 4T.

It's the Class Picnic Blouse pattern in a size 3T. I extended the length on the blouse by about two inches so it would be more of a tunic length on Reagan. Since she prefers leggings all the time, I like her shirts and dresses to be a bit longer so they are more modest. For the most part, the pattern was fairly easy to follow. I like Oliver + S patterns because they always teach me something but with this one, I really did not care for the insertion of the elastic at the top of the sleeves. Otherwise, it was a super easy sew!

Reagan was really excited when I showed her the tunic. She insisted on putting it on right away - and wanted her picture taken! I guess she is *finally* starting to get used to me taking her picture! I love when she likes garments that I make for her.

Congratulations to Sara on a beautiful fabric line! I cannot wait to see what the sewing and quilting community make with it! I personally am looking forward to ordering more of this gorgeous line!

I'm linking up with Sew + Show!

36 Weeks

2015-03-23T07:15:00.000-04:00

Hey yall!! Guess what? Today, I am 36 weeks pregnant! WOHOO!!! I am so excited to be this far along with baby Alex.... we are in the home stretch of this pregnancy. With only a month to go, I think we are mostly ready for baby Alex.... My grade partners at school are throwing me a little shower at the end of the month, so we may still have a few things left to pick up. Otherwise, I think we are fairly ready.

His nursery is done.
A new carseat has been ordered.
The diaper bag is packed.
My hospital bag is (mostly) packed.
We have emergency plans for Reagan in place.

What more do we need, right?!

This pregnancy has - from the beginning - been very different from my pregnancy with Reagan. For the most part, it has been smooth sailing, although, not without some difficulties. At 30 weeks, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. So much fun. Luckily though, I have been able to control it by watching how many carbohydrates I eat a day and eating from a very strict diet. Of course, this has also meant that all those fun pregnancy cravings have gone... unfilled. Bummer. On the plus side, I have only gained 13 pounds total (to date) with baby Alex... and some parts of my body actually look skinnier than they did before I got pregnant.

I'm so excited for this last month of my pregnancy with Alex - I'm hoping we'll make it close to my due date but in reality, any time that he comes after Easter will be a huge blessing! The closer we get, the more excited and anxious I become to meet my little man!

Go here, here, here, and here to read other posts about baby Alex!