another baptism!

Bernie Boy got baptized last weekend!  The gown was all ready to go, just needed his name added. Good thing it's so long - we will probably need all of that space for future generations!

 It was a beautiful day, inside the church and out!

 

Happy Baptism, little man!

family baptismal gown

My Grandma Jeanne made this beautiful gown for my brother's baptism in 1975.

Since then, 11 babies in the family have worn it.  This Sunday, Henry will be #12!  Every child's name and date of birth is embroidered along the bottom.  So this week it was my job to a) make sure the gown actually fit my Chunky Monkey before trying to stuff him into it during Mass and b) stitch his name and info onto the gown.

(there's me!)

(front)

 (back)

 

(Henry's the first one on row 4!  Please excuse this terrible photo.  Shooting white-on-white is tricky, and a pro photographer I am not.)

Let me tell you that it was no easy task to dress my chubby baby in this extra-delicate family heirloom, making sure not to rip, tear or smudge the fabric and trying to keep him from shoving handfuls of the garment into his mouth every five seconds.  But, luckily, it fit.  I do have a few more things to say on the subject:

1. The tear on the left sleeve was already there (not my fault)
2. Elastic is an invention that should be celebrated by mothers everywhere.

So yes, sadly there were a few rips and seams unraveling.  My conscience wouldn't let me just leave them, so I did some fix-ups oh-so-carefully because

3. Few things are more terrifying than partially dismantling an extra-delicate family heirloom with the intention to "fix" it.  *furrows brow and says 10 Hail Marys*

Luckily again, everything went as planned.  I fixed the rip on one arm-hole and even added tiny elastic pieces should there be some future babies with body-builder biceps.  The top snap also need reinforcing along with the binding near the neck.  If I kept looking I probably would have found more ways to give it love, but I had to draw the line, because nap-time was about over.

So the garment is ready--all that remains on this list is: keep baby from expelling any bodily fluids on it.  I'll let you know how that one goes.

phoebe bag

My good friend Morann's dear sweet Pheobe was born a few weeks ago, so I made her this little bag.  If you're child #3 in the family, you need make sure your stuff is accounted for, so the fact that her name is right on the bag may prevent her brother or sister from swiping it. :)

The first letter is machine-stiched and the rest of the name is hand embroidered...

 It's reversible!

 I've been wanting to offer these in my shop as mini diaper bags - and finally got it listed!  Thanks Morann and Phil for the opportunity to make a sample!  Go see it in my shop, why don't you?

keep calm and . . .

Well, I've fallen victim to the "Keep Calm" craze.  One of my fabulous customers wanted a bag with this saying.  How could I say no?  The customer is always right. :)  It did turn out pretty cute.  Designed by Tori!

grandma's comfort quilt

Love for quilts and quilting goes back several generations in my family.  The "Comfort Quilt" gets passed around the family to anyone who needs it.  We are the proud holders of the comfort quilt right now!
According to family legend,
"The darker blocks were found embroidered, along with all the other patterns in Jeanne's house in 2005.  Carrie finished the project that was probably started by Grandma Becker in 1930."

  Carrie Druffel - my aunt

 Jeanne Becker Druffel - my grandma

Maggie Moser Becker - my great-grandma

These pictures do not do the beautiful embroidery and quilting work justice.  You are going to have to take my word for just how amazing this quilt is!

Plus, it is super warm and VERY comforting.  I am doing my best to not spill anything on it or let Henry unleash any bodily fluids on it.  Comfort Quilts must be used, right??

 

Our Happy Family

H is for...

 Henry! That's what we've decided to call our sweet baby boy.  Today I made this wall-hanging for the nursery.  It's been swimming around in my imagination for a few weeks and it was #1 on my to-do list today!  Not to brag, people, but no Pinterest was needed here...this one was all me!

I started with a 18"x18"canvas - on sale at Joann's when I bought it!  First I sewed on the big "H".  I just printed an H on paper, trimmed it, traced it on gray fabric, and used Heat Bond Lite to adhere it to the background fabric in right spot.  Then I used my sewing machine's zig-zag stitch to sew it down.  (The Heat Bond Lite really helps to keep clean lines and prevent future fraying - love that stuff!)  Then I printed and traced "enry" onto the background fabric (I always use these fine point water soluble markers for marking designs before embroidering...the marks disappear immediately when you apply a damp cloth.  Magical!)  Then I stitched it with dark gray embroidery floss.

Same thing with the yellow whale...which doesn't show up that well in the pictures, but you can see it better in real life!

 

Then I wrapped the whole thing tightly around the canvas, using a regular stapler to tack it into place...

 ...and finally, gave the back a finished look by hot gluing (new hot glue gun!  Can you believe I didn't own one for the last 10 years?) a grosgrain ribbon all along the back edges.

Ta Da!

more monograms!

My shop is on vacation, but these monograms are for my last order that got in under the wire. It's a good thing it's closed, too, because it's been homework 24/7 around here lately!

Besides having a homework day today, I did find time to
a cake today! I know, I know, I should have already learned my lesson about spelling things out with my monograms. Happy Monday!

dug out of dark places...

I've been trying to resurrect old projects (like the crocheted bracelets). It drives me crazy to leave something incomplete, so I usually stash it away. Out of sight, out of mind! It's really bad. I don't dare to venture an estimate of stashed projects in my craft room.

SO, I dug these out of some random drawer hoping that the light of day shining upon them will magically help me find some inspiration. Just some stitching!
What to do???

crafternoon revisited

yesterday we had a sweet crafternoon full of girls, food, drinks, and crafting, obvs.

I f i n a l l y initiated the much-anticipated cross-stitch project. I thought I would get more of these "flowers, straight and tall" (from this book) finished in the 2 hours of work, but I was sadly mistaken. I did get more finished than you see in this picture though. The tricky thing about needlepoint is that it makes your fingers hurt. :(

My mom is in town! She was working on a knitting project...

Emily was working on the stinkin' cutest decopage project ever. I'm sure she'll blog all about it, so I'll just say that her papers made my heart go pitter-patter.

Other activities included...

Heidi: Photo organization

Shannon: Knitted Jar Cozy

Karen: Adorable embroidered cloth napkins and knitting project

Ann: Handmade leather tote and pouch projects

(why didn't I take more pictures? why?)

my creative space

Remember this post? Yeah, the one where you're supposed to post about what you're up to and what's on your desk. Hm. Guess I fell of the bandwagon! I popped over here and it looks like "On My Desk" has morphed into "My Creative Space." . . .fun!

So, this is one of my pending projects...a little nameplate to adorn one of my baby blankets, TBE (To Be Embroidered). I'm hoping that by posting this it will inspire me to actually finish, you know, before the child turns 15.

...and this, my friends, is my new pair of scissors. If there's one thing you should know about me it that I REALLY appreciate a good, sharp pair o' scissors (right Em?). Are they gorg?

More Stitching...

Remember these tea-towel aprons? Well, I still had some tea-towels on my shelf, calling my name. Can you see me stitching in my parents' cozy living room? So very quaint.

So here are the aprons, now available in my shop:

ps. did you notice the bias tape?? :)

Back!

WOW! I knew I was neglecting my little blog, but I can't believe my last post was SEPTEMBER 14. Hmm. Let's just pretend I've been here all along, shall we? Mkay!

Here is something I was excited to post...um...two months ago? It is a craft fair apron. One really must have a specialized craft fair apron for the craziness that is Craft Fair. I made this out of one of those little tea towels I still had lurking on the shelf (remember this post?).

Pre-embroidery shot:Did I set the self-timer on my camera to take this picture? Yes, I did (nerd alert!).

Post-embroidery shot:I only had 2 craft fairs this season...thank God. I have been busy with Etsy orders and getting ready for Christmas - can it really be a week away??

busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy

Gaaaa!

I guess this didn't turn out to be the super relaxing summer I thought it would be! Not that I am complaining. I have been working at turbo-speed lately. I have been trying to get more and more organized in order to have a handle on this business when school starts again. It's crazy though...the organization is just as much fun for me as the sewing/creating!

But I HAVE been doing new things in the midst of maintaining order. What do you think of my new totes?

Most of these got snatched up at the festival last weekend...except this one:

Goal of the weekend: finish pending projects!!