Going Sew Crazy

Getting The Perfect Christmas Photo

Getting The Perfect Christmas Photo
Originally uploaded by GoingSewCrazy

Lots of work, but very worth it. I know I have already missed some days of my challenge, but here's hoping I do better.

Have a great day ya'll!

Decorating...Paige's Room

I have been so excited about decorating the new house. I have always wanted a house to decorate and paint to my specifications. I don't know what has stopped me before, but there is something about a new, fresh slate.

 

(Please excuse my elementary-ish drawing)

I have been going back and forth about if I wanted to make bed sets for the girls or buy them. I decided to do both. I am making Paige's and am using Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson. I love the aqua/orange look and it ties in well with their bright orange bathroom. I also want to throw some linen and pink in too. She has some recessed lights and this chandelier:

 

Brice's guy put this up today and I didn't know the crystals weren't already on. The thought of these big, slightly rough looking men putting crystals on a chandelier made me giggle. Kelsey has the same light, but we are painting it first.

I haven't gotten as far as actual room decor yet. If you have seen anything, please let me know. I am open to most anything. The list below includes things I can't afford. If you see something similar, again, please let me know!

Things I like/that are inspiring for this room:

-Lamp

-Bookcase

-Pillow

-Pillow Inspiration

-Would love to make one of these for each girl

-a whole group of color inspiration

Tomorrow, I'll be talking Kelsey and Finley's rooms.

Have a great day ya'll!

Sorry 'bout that!

I didn't mean to take a break, but the sinus fairy came to visit and I have pretty bad. All the "extra" time I have had has been spent picking lights, cabinets, tile, hardwood, etc. for the new house. I can't believe it is almost done, but will be so glad not to have to make so many decisions when it is over. I have been so tired that I have had a hard time getting into the holiday spirit. I have been watching lots of Christmas movies and am starting to feel a twinge. Hopefully it will grow.

 

The girls were getting along so well this afternoon I had to take pics. Finley is 3 months old today! Time flies! She is cooing and smiling so much lately. She also likes me! Both Paige and Kelsey preferred Brice from day one. It is so odd to be the one favored! Kelsey is my mess. I don't know what to do with her. We have always been more lax with her, but she gets into trouble with such style! We have a hard time laughing when we should be disciplining. My grandmother always worried about her being the middle child. I always told her she doesn't have the attitude to be looked over. And Paige, she is the biggest helper. She is so smart! At the age of 7, she has read most of the Little House books and some of the Harry Potter ones. If she isn't taking care of the baby, she is reading or drawing or begging me to teach her to crochet. I need to teach her to single crochet. She got chaining down really quick!

 

Speaking of crochet, this is about the only crafting I have done. I have mad a lot of progress since I took this pic. I can't wait to show it off more.

I have challenged myself to blog everyday in December. Some may not have pics, but I am determined to do it. I think tomorrow I am going to blog some about decorating the new house and what I plan to make.

Have a great day ya'll!

Lots and Lots and Lots

Lots of stuff to blog about. A list may be in order.

 

- Look at my baby! Finley is 2 months old and weighs 10 lbs.

 

-My other babies with Brice's aunt on Halloween. Better late then never, right?

 

-The new house. We are planning on moving the week after Christmas. I get more excited every day! You can see more pics of it here.

 

-A sneak peek of my STUD swap. This is the first swap I have participated in since the first of the year.

I want to thank all those who signed up for the block swaps. I was worried about getting enough people signed up for one, and ended up with enough for two! Yay! I can't wait to get started!

Have a great day ya'll!

Bib Pattern

Sorry it took so long!

GoingSewCrazy’s Bib Pattern

I came up with this pattern after not finding any cute ones in stores. I mean, what better way to show off cute fabric than on a cute baby, right? This pattern uses a small amount of fabric and can be customized many ways, which I will go over after the general instructions.

Supplies Needed

-Pattern
-Small amount of fabric for the front and back. This pattern uses less than a fat quarter.
-Small amount if batting or fusible fleece
-Snaps or velcro

Cut bib pattern from paper. Using this, cut a front and back from fabric, and a piece of batting or fusible fleece.
Fuse the fleece or baste the batting on the fabric for the front. Quilt now if you so choose. Also, apply velcro now if you are using it.
Pin the front and back together right sides together. Sew using a 1/4in. seam. Leave a small opening for turning. Clip the curves to make it lay better after turning.
Turn the bib. Topstitch around the outside turning the opening in to close.
Apply snaps.

See, wasn’t that easy! They are super quick and very customizable too!

These are some examples of bibs I have made using this pattern.

-You can make a patchwork bib by sewing the fabrics together and then cutting the front of the bib.

-You can add embroidery for a personalized bib or just to give it an extra something.

-You can add ric rac around the edges.

-I haven’t done it yet, but plan on using bias tape around the edges. To do this, just pin the front and back together wrong sides together and apply bias tape or binding.

-Use appliques.

Let your imagination run wild! Feel free to email me at goingsewcrazy@gmail.com if you have any questions. Enjoy!

Spooky and Wonky

We had so much fun yesterday carving pumpkins. This is a tradition I love! Going clockwise we have Kelsey's, Paige's, mine and Finley's complete with pacifier. I am glad we did it yesterday because today everyone is feeling kinda crummy. But, I am sure that will change before tomorrow night when we go trunk-or-treating. We also have a Halloween party this weekend. I can't wait to show pictures. Brice and I are even dressing up. We borrowed this costume from his cousin thinking it would be perfect for an electrician.

But, onto crafty things...

I am trying out the wonk. I have never been good with improv quilts. I feel like I am doing something wrong by not having straight lines, lol. So, I decided once and for all to cure myself of this. I decided to  just use 2 fabrics and white borders and go for it. I have to say I really like how it looks. Here are the blocks I managed to do today:

 

 

 

And altogether now:

 

I have some more cut out, but may not be able to get back around to it until next week. Any tips for improv quilts are welcome!

The bib pattern should be up tomorrow or Saturday. I know that will get sone this weekend. The instructions are written and I just need to go scan and add the image, which is on my to do list for tomorrow.

Also, thanks to everyone who e-mailed about the quilting bee! So far if you have sent an e-mail, you are  in. I am sending out e-mails and invites to the flickr group later. We still have 1 maybe 2 spots open, so join us! We have a lot of really talented ladies signed up!

One last thing, I was thinking about starting a Stocking Full O'Cheer Swap 2. Info about the first one is here.Is there any interest. I would need to get this started soon if there was.

Have a great day ya'll!

ETA I have been replying to comments the wrong way! Sorry! I think I fixed it :)

Looks like late night blogging from now on.

That seems to be the only time I get some "real" computer time. I'm not complaining, it's so worth it to hold a warm little baby.

I am so excited about this post! First I must show off what I have been working on since I last blogged:

Bibs!

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of bibs! Miss Finley will be so stylish with these! I am working on a pattern and instructions for these. I just have to scan the pattern and convert it to .pdf. Hopefully, I will have that done by the end of the week.

I also added a little felt flower to a $1 hat from Walmart for hat day at Paige's school.

 

Super quick and easy. It looks great on!

Speaking of Paige, I don't think I could have a better helper than her. She is the ULTIMATE babysitter. She makes bottles, changes diapers, feeds and burps. She loves it too! I don't know how I did without all that before. Kelsey helps when she wants too. She likes to hold her and talk to her. I have been telling people that they used to fight over toys & books, now it's their little sister!

Last, but certainly what I found most exciting, is that I have decided to a quilting bee. I don't have a name for it, suggestions VERY welcome! Basically we need 12 people to participate. When it is your month, you will send out enough fabric to everyone to make two 12.5 in. squares in a theme of your choice. The fabric would need to be sent out by the 15th of the previous month. Fabric is cheap to ship, especially the small quantities needed. When it's not your month, you will use the fabric sent to you and some from your stash to make the blocks. I think this will be a great way to try some new techniques and have a quilt top when it is all done. This would start in January, with the fabric for that month going out December 15th. Requirements are simple. You must have a flickr account to join. Please take into consideration that this will be a 12 month commitment. Please no flakers! E-mail me at goingsewcrazy@gmail.com with your name, address, and flickr account and/or blog URL. If you have a preferred month, please include that and I will try my best to match that up. If you expressed interest in the previous posts' comments, you have first dibs.

That's it! Remember to check back for the bib pattern. Have a great day ya'll!

Lots of thoughts.

Thank ya'll so much for all the well wishes and sweet comments. Miss Finley and I are still doing great and she has integrated so well into our household. I expected more jealousy and tantrum from P and K, but they are truly the best big sisters. P especially. She changes diapers, burps, feeds, and entertains. I wouldn't have any time without her. 

I would probably do best to arrange the rest of the thoughts in a list kind of way.

-I have had a lot of people ask about the doll heads for the clothespin tutorial. I found these in what I call the wood aisle of Hobby Lobby. The same place the wooden dowels, letters, and unpainted doll house stuff is.

-Am I the only one who has an unhealthy addiction to That 70's Show? My new late night hours have made me an addict. Great lines like, "We are a team. That means you do everything I tell you to.". Also. I am loving Flash Forward. Great way to pass the time until LOST comes back in January.

-I have skipped Halloween crafting and skipped right to Christmas. This makes me a little sad because I love Halloween, but just don't have the time.

-I think I want to start a quilting bee. Like one of the ones where each month a member sends fabric and instructions for a couple of blocks to all the other members and they mail it back. In the end you have a bunch of blocks from various quilters in your theme to make into a quilt. Any interest? I think it would start in January if there is.

-I haven't attempted to reply to all my comments. I got behind and catching up is so daunting. Will reply to all of them from now on.

Great. I have had most of this on my mind for awhile and it feels good to get it down.

Now to the crafty stuff.

I haven't had tons of crafty time, but Miss Finley has finally gotten into a schedule and I have crafty time again! Yay!

 

I made this to go in one of the girls' rooms at the new house. This is the first time I have framed an embroidery with the hoop. I really like it!

 

The new house is coming along great. All the walls have been given a first coat, the trim guy is working his magic, and the porches have been poured. We are planning on being in it for the new year. I can't wait!

Have a great day ya'll!

A Quick Birth Story

Finley Anne
Originally uploaded by GoingSewCrazy

We have had an amazingly lucky past few days. I know I haven't been blogging or crafting much lately, but the last few weeks of pregnancy were spent cleaning and sleeping. Mostly sleeping.

Tuesday, September 1, I started feeling a ton of pressure on my c-section scar. I called my mom and we thought it best to go to the hospital. I was scheduled for my repeat c-section for Thursday, and both Brice and I figured we would go in and be back home in a few hours. We got our things together quickly, called my dad to watch the girls, and off we went.

When we got there they monitored me for about 5 minutes. Then all the chaos happened. I got very sick and Brice went to get a nurse. When she came back, 15 more came with her. We were quickly told that I would be having an emergency c-section because the baby was in distress, and they started prepping me. I was getting an IV on one side, having my blood drawn on the other, drinking the pre-op stuff and answering the anesthesiologist at the same time. I glanced at Brice and he looked about as scared as I felt. We never got to say anything to each other and everyone was in such a hurry that we didn't fully understand what was going on. It hadn't dawned on me yet that I was going to be put to sleep and Brice wouldn't be able to be there.

I was wheeled to the operating room and finally figured out that this wouldn't be the "normal" c-section delivery I usually have. They put the oxygen mask on and.......

a couple of hours later, I came to. Brice and my mom were there with their "It's a Girl!" buttons and when my mind cleared a bit, I made sure to tell them I told you so. I had been predicting a girl for a while. This is when i got the full story. Apparently, there is a disk that holds the umbilical cord to the placenta. Mine had torn and the baby was breathing the blood I was losing. I lost a unit of blood. Baby, whose name is FInley Anne, didn't cry for a full 4 minutes and had to be given oxygen and taken to the NICU. I was so glad I was knocked out when this happened, because I don't know if I would have handled this well. She was born at 11:03 pm. (about 15 minutes after we arrived at the hospital) and weighed 5 lbs. 15 oz. and was 18 in. long.

Brice showed me a picture and they said we could see her before going to my room. They took us down and we got the above pic. Finley spent the night in the NICU and was transferred to the normal nursery the next morning.

The rest of the hospital stay was fairly easy. I was able to walk the next morning and the Dr. agreed to let us go home Thursday night. While taking on the late night shift, I googled palcental abruption. Only then, did the full weight of what happened hit. I cried because I felt so lucky and Brice and I finally got a chance to discuss the night the next day. He had been extremely worried and freaked out.

It has been nice to be home. The girls especially are thrilled with their new sister and have been excellent helpers. Paige is especially looking forward to a long weekend playing big sister.

I hope to be crafting soon, and can't wait to make tiny baby things.
Have a great day ya'll

Going Quilt Crazy...

Can you believe that school starts back tomorrow? I have been busy all day getting things together so Paige can start the 2nd grade! Kelsey is a bit sad to see her go, but glad to get a little one on one time too. She had better enjoy, because I only have 28 days to go until new baby gets here! Time has never went so slow. Not knowing the gender is making it go slower too. We still need a boy's name!

Meanwhile I went into a sewing frenzy last week. I was determined to make new baby a quilt, but didn't want to make a gender neutral quilt. The only solution was to make one for a girl and one for a boy.

The girl's quilt was made using Far Far Away by Heather Ross and Denyse Schmidt's Single Girl pattern. The only thing I added was a patchwork border. I think this is the best and my most favorite quilt I have ever made.

The boy's quilt was made with Goodnight Monkey by Erin Michael. I could not get a good full pic of this, but the front is a "braided" patchwork strip inset off center on brown. I quilted it in blue. It turned out really well I think.

I also finished a string quilted pillow. I love the look of these and am thinking of making some large ones for the new house. I used this tutorial.

And last but not least I quilted the spider web quilt I started on month's ago. It wasn't getting any bigger and I think I like it this way.

I must also rave about the new crafty book I just bought. Melly & Me's Kaleidoscope. SO cute!

Have a great day ya'll!