a little inspiration

You: : snuggle into bed every chance you get. : sleep like an inchworm and wake up because you have inched off the bed. : want to go up and down stairs all day. : bite. A lot. Stop that. : chatter on and laugh hysterically at the dog. : keep grabbing the dog and cat. The cat purrs and comes back for more. I can't believe the dog hasn't eaten you yet. Stop that. : squinch your nose up and breath funny ("he, he, he!") when you think we said something funny. : are eating just about everything. : love when papa gets home. : love the playground and are starting to go down the slides yourself. : always want to push the stroller. : make us chase you for diaper changes. : have bath time in a bucket since you insist on standing. : have a whole new arsenal of sounds which are higher pitched and slightly nasal. : take steps when you are too distracted to notice we aren't holding on to you. Sit down right away when you do. : are pretty loud. {28.5 inches and...

I fixed the machine. Don't ask me how but it is running again. To make sure it was working I put together all the strips for the top of the quilt. And then finished this skirt. Yay! The skirt has been floating around in my head for a while. It is super simple which means it isn't the most flattering. I used a peice of stretch knit for the waist band and then just cut a full width of the floral (which is a swiss cotton dot lawn that is so nice!) and sewed them together. So the skirt gets fuller right on my hips (the unflattering part I mentioned). The main part of the skirt is lined with another bit of the knit. Once I had that together I felt like it was too short for everyday wear so I added the ruffle. I love it. It was hard to gather that much fabric in one go (I used two widths) and next time I will gather each side separately. With the ruffle I can sit down or squat to play with the Bug and no one has to see my under bits... Next time I make it (I have another ...

Today I cut out an entire quilt in a nap. I even had time to begin to organize the blocks. This was largely thanks to the template that Senor cut out of acrylic and brought home for me. When you don't have to measure the cutting is so fast! Yesterday I had ironed all of the fabric. It is amazing what I can get done with the sewing machine broken... The machine is still down. I need to go try a couple more things but am hesitating and I am not sure why. I really don't want to find out that it is broken for real I guess. I need to find a good repair shop anyway and just suck it up and pay for regular tune ups. *Le sigh* Senor was gone all weekend so I was in single parent land. Wow, single parents are rock stars! I have been away with the Bug before but always to see people who really want to play and help with him (like grandparents) so getting a shower or making food was never an issue. Not that I don't do those things often enough when it is just the two of us...

Where have I been? Enjoying the sunshine and playground and parks! Making things I should be talking about more. Making things I can't talk about yet... Enjoying just being with E and enjoying getting away from him as well. Planning birthday party fun and future changes. Teaching crochet classes. Watching the bug paint. You know- living. :)

I have been in Baltimore ten years today. E likes to push the stroller. He is currently napping and I need to wake him but just can't- look at that sweet face. One year ago I wrote this .

This is the completed block for the first month of the swap. I was really lucky because it worked out I was making the first one for my mother. Since the theme was "home" and I know what her home is like it was really easy to figure out what to make. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the Jefferson National Forest. You could have guessed right? :) I have this book and get completely obsessed with a different quilt in it each time I open it. This technique is cutting curves with your rotary blade and then putting them together to form your blocks. Each cutting should give you two blocks which are the inverse of each other. I wanted to practice sewing curves and give this a try. I couldn't help the embroidery. It was itching to get out of my fingers... I want to improve my skill with this type of work but I really do love the little wonkyness of only loosely drawing what I am going for. I like that it looks hand drawn and handmade. I am betting that the Co...

You: : want to hold fingers and walk everywhere. : want to push the stroller. : are learning about tight spaces. : are learning about stairs. : have to be chased down for a new diaper. : are spending lots of time with fingers in the mouth. : love the swings. : are starting to climb up everything. : sometimes let go and stand up for a few moments unassisted. : love to be outside. : are trying to switch to one long nap in the middle of the day. : love curry and homemade veggie burgers. : sit in the ergo on mama's back while she makes dinner almost every day. : cry a lot more from frustration. : sleep best in inchworm position. : sleep crawl and move all over in your bed. Sometimes we find you half on, half off. : have four teeth! { if you click on the picture you can see the other picture I love right now. I sort of promised myself not to use any naked baby butt pictures on the blog out of deference for the young man he will someday become. I feel like this is a good compromise. ...