Cute things

I think I'm beginning to figure out the cause of my crafting obsession. Like most deep and profound things, though, it will be long-winded so I'll save that explanation for a post composed at an earlier hour of the eve.

For now, please gawk at this beee-ootiful nursing cover I finished today. I made another one with the same fabrics but flower on top, dot on bottom for my sister, except I made hers first and it took about seven times longer because I was figuring out how to make it as I went and ended up un- and re-stitching approximately 100% of the project. I LOVE these two fabrics together but everyone I know (myself included, heh heh) is birthing boys these days, so I wasn't sure what baby gift I'd make with them. Then I figured a nursing cover is a fashionable extention of MY wardrobe, not the kid's, so pink ribbon totally works.


My other major sewing time-suck has been that set of sister aprons... (murmur, murmur)... They are not my best friends right now. It has taken probably three hours just to figure out which fabrics will make up which parts of the five aprons (I'm sure it doesn't look complicated at a glance of those four cute fabrics featured below, but actually it's so complex that if I tried to explain, none of you would "get it.") And then there was that teeeedious ironing, tracing, and cutting. So, I haven't completed a stitch yet on those but I'm choosing to shelf them for a while for my own sanity (as well as Kyle's) and maybe they'll resurface in time to make it as Mother's Day gifts.

I'm really excited about starting felt food tomorrow. I'd been waiting for felt to go on sale before I stocked up, but turns out all they've done is raise the price of felt so I used a whole sheet of 40% off coupons and bought 9" x 72" (1/4 yard) strips off the bolts. Ellie and I started a pb&j sandwich tonight and plan to make a meat & cheese one soon, and maybe some pancakes, fried eggs, and bacon, depending on how ambitious we feel in the coming days. Erik's favorite toy (besides anything with wheels) is a cheap, plastic toy food set we got him for Christmas, so I'm pretty sure he's gonna gobble all this up, too. If you're struggling to visualize the insane cuteness potential of felt food, check out www.umecrafts.etsy.com for starters. Ridulously cute, I know. My favorite is probably the basket of potstickers or the fruit that you can cut into slices, but of course we're too cheap to purchase her patterns and instructions, so we'll just work our way up to the deluxe box of chocolates and ornate sushi set.

Speaking of sushi, I can't handle it in felt just yet, but the real thing turned out quite scrumptious at Kjerstin's a couple days ago. Feel free to note the contrast between Kjerst and Bob's creations.

But then she gave him some technique pointers and Bob admitted that when it looks like it's supposed to, it actually tastes better, too.

I don't make cute things ALL day long, though, people. My life still very much revolves around the care of this sweet little girl who calls the new baby Charlie and whose favorite time of the week is Sunbeam class at church...

And this funny boy who refuses to sleep in a crib (but he's doing great staying on his blanket on the floor all night/naptime!) and, thanks to Leapfrog's Letter Factory video, knows the sounds of almost all the letters in the alphabet. Not that it will be useful for a while, but it's actually peaked his interest and ability to sit through reading an entire book, so I am well pleased.

And then there's this one who, although according to Baby News (or whoever sends me those weekly updates on the size of my fetus, always relative to a vegetable) is only the size of a cauliflower, appears from the outside to be more like a watermelon. (But that's not a vegetable, I know.) I waddle like I'm ready to deliver any day now, and yet three months remain...