One Week Until June?!? (Part 1)

So, here we sit on May 24th...seven days until the start of June!  I can't believe how fast time has flown by this year!  Of course, June marks more than "Summer" and "half-way through 2012" this year...it also marks the half-way point through our pregnancy!  June 6th will be my 20 week mark (although half-way for me, since I'll be having a C-section at 37 weeks will be at the 18.5 week mark, which is this Saturday)!  We have our Ultrasound scheduled for June 8th (and a trip out of town that evening)!!!!

 

I have really been dragging my feet as far as diaper making goes...I hate, hate, hate cutting out fabric pieces!  I do have a ton of super cute fabrics to use though, just need someone who's good at cutting them out to come over and help (Mom)!  

That doesn't mean I haven't been crafting though, oh no!  I have had a very busy week in my "crafting world"!  (I know, I'm using way too many explanation points, but I'm excited...)

First, I picked out a new yarn, not because I "wanted" to, but because I had started a crochet project and run out of yarn.  I went looking to purchase more of the same yarn, but sadly...I cannot find it anywhere in Spokane!  So, I picked up a couple "big" balls of Bernat Pipsqueak yarn in "Baby Baby Print" color with the idea of using it with the same pattern I had been using.  Bernat's Pipsqueak yarn is super soft and has an almost "new terry cloth" feel to it, I really love this yarn!  It's the same stuff I got to knit my sister's cowl that I gave her for Christmas last year, only in different colors, obviously.  The variegated I got for this project is mostly white with pastels in blue, green, yellow, and pink so it will fit well for a boy or a girl.  The pattern I had been working on turned out to be too difficult to work with this yarn though, so I had to go off searching for another pattern to use.  Each one I found though did not work well with the yarn, until of course, I went to Bernat's own site for free patterns!  There you can search their free patterns for the type of project you want to make, who you intend to make it for, your skill level, the type of work you want to do (crochet, knit, or non-needle), and you can even search by yarn type if you're like me and buy the yarn first!  Of course, the pattern I chose called for Bernat Baby Blanket yarn, not the Pipsqueak yarn...but it worked and looked pretty!  I also modified the pattern slightly to fit my own needs/wants, The pattern calls to change colors every other row, but I chose to use a single color (this saved on the amount of yarn used overall too, the pattern calls for 3 balls of 100g each of one color and 2 balls each of the other 2 colors...7 balls of yarn!  I did it in less than 2 250g balls.)  In case you're wondering by now, I chose the Bernat Baby Blanket From the Middle Baby Blanket (to crochet).  It even worked up to exactly 36-inches square!  Basically, it's a big granny square, but the double crochets all line up right on top of each other.

The next project I picked up at WalMart the other day.  I was browsing through the crafting aisles and wandered in to the counted cross-stitch.  This is one of the first crafts I ever picked up with much passion, I love doing counted cross-stitch!  Mostly though, I love doing the tiny projects...you can pick them up at WalMart for around $0.97 usually (sometimes they're as much as $1.25) and they generally work up over the course of just a few hours!  They even come as a kit so you have a finished project ready to hang!  Of course, I haven't gotten "that" far with my latest creation...but it is stitched up and ready to iron!  I went today and got two more of these little "kits", one is another set of baby feet (with pink and blue thread so it is customizable) and the other is a rattle with some cutesy saying on it.  I also picked up a low-temp glue gun and a small package of glue sticks to put these all together with.  (The glue gun was $1.47, so I didn't really break the bank with that impulse buy.)  I really had to reign myself in though when it came to the set of quilt blocks!  It's probably a good thing they were stamped cross-stitch (something I cannot get the hang of to save my life but that Garrick's mother does all the time)!

After semi-finishing the counted cross stitch, I was in a "thready" mood, so I broke out the crochet thread (used to make doilies and such) and found a cute pattern for a Peplum top for Barbie (thank you Kathy's Kreations).  I worked this top up in the course of one evening save the frilly trim at the bottom, I finished it the next morning though in about 20 minutes.  I do still need to add a small button to the back to keep it closed, but that is just waiting on me to go down stairs and dig a button out of my sewing stuff (that recently got moved downstairs so it wasn't taking up a large portion of our dining room).  I was going to attempt a straight skirt to go with this top (like it shows in the photo on the website), but I really like the length of this top for a short "spring time" dress for Barbie!  I mean, come on...Barbie has awesome legs (especially for her age)!  I love crocheting for my dolls (I have two of them after getting bit by the bug last winter and not having anyone else to make cute doll clothes for, since we have 5 nephews)!  I also started another dress for them...the newest dress has a very similar bodice to this one, but the skirt is very "frilly" (each row is basically a chain 3, sc in next ch-3 space).  For this next one, my plan is to give it a full length skirt, mostly because everything else I have done has been super short and my favorite Barbe outfit I had as a kid was a purple variegated long dress that my Mom crocheted for me.  I actually have a ball of purple variegated thread, but I haven't found a good dress pattern to use it with yet!  A longer skirted version of that Peplum might look awesome in it though...

I also bought myself a "sewing related" present last week...I first saw these at Hancock's Fabric when they first introduced them (for $35-50) and loved them then, just not enough to pay that high price for one! So, when I was there looking for my yarn last week (and picking out 7 yards of clearance fabric), I picked up not one, but two of these bad boys!  They were on clearance for $7 a piece, if I thought I could resell them and make a little profit, I would have bought all 4 they had left!  But, one will do me just fine...and the other is a "birthday" present for my Mom (she already knows about it because she started talking all crazy like about going to the Hancock's near her house to see if she could pick one up for herself).  It's a battery-operated drum that spins the pins into a slide, pinhead up.  Then, you just tap on the winged thing and up pops a single pin!  How cool is that?  It even came with a little paper funnel thing to use to reload the drum.  I'm keeping mine in the box for now, but hopefully when we get the offices moved, I'll be able to actually set up a nice little spare room/craft space!

Also this week, my kitchen window got a new buddy and a little planter update!  As for the "new buddy", while I was out observing the chickens the other day, I found another Hazelnut tree growing near the coop!  I gently ripped it from the ground  and brought it inside to join my other tree growing in the window (I realize these will grow into huge trees that cannot live in my house, but for now at least that is the safest spot for them)!  I had to trade out the short little red plastic glasses for tall milkshake glasses because the root systems are getting so big that the little red cups just weren't tall enough anymore!  These are way prettier though...at least in my opinion.  Also, you may have noticed that my Rabbit planter is missing,  the planter was just taking up too much space on the sill!  So, I found a set of 3 mini planters at Joann's for $5!  They had a 50% off all planters sale last week (no promises as to if it's still going on)!  I only needed one planter, but the set of three had the best price and was the right size for what I wanted...the other two are cream and pale green.  I'm still looking for a decent planter for my fern/palm thingy there and I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my Sugar Bush this year, but it sure has done better in the window than it ever did outside!  I may need to add hooks to the window and forgo a kitchen window curtain all together!  The Sugar Bush (Stevia plant)  has vined up and covers most of that left panel of the window anyway!

So, I did a little "baby shopping" last week too...first I went to my new favorite resale shop (Sweet REpeat Kid's Resale Boutique)!  Of course, today, tomorrow, and Saturday they are running a 25% off sale (even on cloth diapers)...but I don't think I'll be able to make it down there.  Like them on Facebook though if you are interested in cheap clothes that are in awesome shape for your kiddos though!  Anywho, last week I picked up three nice looking KCK all-in-two diapers for $9 each (new these retail for around $19 (from the gal who sold them to this shop) or you can order "kits" direct from the company, Kalya's Cloth Kits, for $23 and you can cut/sew your own, for that price you can  make 2-4 diapers depending on the size you need).  These use a microfleece towel (like I use to clean with) as a liner...you can get a dozen of these in a pack at WalMart for around $10, talk about cheap inserts!  Each diaper I got came with one "liner". 

I also picked up another all-in-one diaper in size small.  This one appears to be a very well made "home made" diaper, with a size tag and everything, but I have been incorrect about that before!


And, because it was only 69 cents, orange, and cute...an orange onesie that says "Quack" and has a ducky!

I also did a little online shopping too...I really love the idea of the nursing "capes" (okay, nursing covers), but they just looked too small!  At least, all of the ones I had seen in the resale shops looked too small anyway.  But, given the chance for a "free" one, I signed right up!  Udder Covers sells these for $34.95, plus $11.95 shipping.  If you are signed up for all the cool free baby stuff through a number of websites, you should be getting "spammed" a code to get one of these for free though!  You just type in the "offer code" and they knock $35 off the price!  So, not really "free" since you still have to pay $11.90 to get it to you...but what a deal!  I got mine in "Porter"...mostly because I really like the fabric and figured if I couldn't use it as a cover (or cape), I could always sacrifice it to the sewing gods for something.  I got it in the mail the other day though and it covers everything up while I'm sitting!  Of course, that's without a little one under it too...I may need to use this in conjunction with a light jacket or something once baby gets any sort of heft to him/her just to keep my side boobs from flashing anyone.  I don't plan on sitting at the local Starbucks nursing while I sip a latte either though...this/these (I want several of these) are more for when family/friends are over and I don't want to be sequestered off in another room of the house or while sitting in the car while "out and about".  Also, with the purchase of the Udder Cover, they give you another "offer code" to get a "free" Sling and a car seat cover as well!  I opted to not get the sling...I wasn't sure what size I'd need and even with adding the extra $3.50 "insurance" so I could exchange it, you only have 2 weeks to return and exchange!  I'm also not a huge fan of the sling carriers anyway, so no big loss there.

I did order the car seat cover though...I got the "Reagan" from that "site", but the site says it is on back order until July 6th (when I placed my order it was back ordered until May 21st, so I hope I got one of those)!  This was another "free" offer, this time you select your pattern for $49.95, plus $12.95 shipping and they take $50 off the total price.  I love the look of the covers (car seat canopy), I made a no-sew fleece one for my sister's last baby (Nephew #4).  Again, variety here would be nice just in case it gets dirty...I know, babies/kids never get anything dirty...but why tempt fate!  Ha!  The interior of the cover is a grey minky fabric.

All three "offers" come from the same parent company, Mother's Lounge...they also sell Milk bands.

Speaking of free stuff...I got a post card in the mail a few months ago from the "good folks" over at Similac inviting me to join their website!  In exchange for allowing them to email me me every once in a while, they sent me a 4 ounce bottle for free!  Totally and completely free even!  Of course, the bottle is designed specifically for formula fed babies, but free is free none the less and I'm sure it can still work for "Mom milk" too.  The bottle is BPA-free (my favorite trait since I did a Chemistry project on it, it's nasty stuff!), has a cool locking system for the cap, and a little rubber thingy that kinda floats in the bottle (attached to the side) to reduce bubbles in the bottle.  They also sent me a coupon for $2.50 off more of these bottles...I'd rather have Born Free Glass Bottles (but the plastic ones would be great too) though.  When I did my research for our chemistry project several years ago, I spent a good deal of time researching that company (mostly because it was right before the big push to get BPA plastics out of infant & child feeding devices).  I really like the idea of using glass bottles as opposed to plastic, even BPA free plastic, because I know I can get it truly clean if there's a bug going around or something.  Plastic can't withstand as high of temperatures as glass can...  If anyone that works over at Born Free sees this, I'd love to do a review for you (hint, hint...wink, wink?)!

Continued in next post...