There are a lot of babies soon to be born, in our family and a lot of friends as well. So, with this in mind I am trying out a few different things. The first topic being an area that I have wanted to get back into for a long time…. The Handmade Dress’ Samantha  did a lovely post on the topic of Heirloom Sewing.   Just look at her photo’s, her work is exquisite.  I know when my first daughter was little I took a class at a local sewing shop, on smocking.. at the time I just did not have the time and patience to stick with it.   Now that I am older, ahem, well, I am back interested… especially after reading this blog! 

Here is my little ode to heirloom with a bonnet made from cotton sateen, entredeux, and a finely crocheted shell edge. I spent time with this book for inspiration..

  Please note that spot appears to be on my lens, I had to go and do a double check on that, but no it is the lens thankfully!

  ~little birdy applique with some embroidery..

  There are so many different post’s on the applique, I have no idea where or when I saw this.. but it is made from a lovely flannel called Nursery Time, appliqued with wonder under and then zig zagged around. On a baby kimono shirt..

     All babies need burp cloth’s… I used Juliette’s tutorial  the only change I did was not use the birdseye diaper, mine was the premium 6ply super absorbant diaper, it had the thicker middle.. and it seems as if I did see this made with that kind of diaper, but I can not remember for the life of me where. However~ with this is what I came up with.. I am just loving that fabric..

More to do, but this is what occupied my time over the weekend.   Hope yours was all that you wanted it to be..

this is so cute!  Love this dress!

If you have a little girl look  at this…. it is so so cute!  Grosgrain is at it again! Good luck!

Lot’s of little baby girls on the way at my work, thinking of  this ~ talk about cute!! Here is a cute little shoe pattern that totally makes the outfit…

If your little girl is a little bigger then here a bigger version of the dress.

On one more note, I found this so inspiring… I am crazy about this quilt.. seriously! I love it and I don’t want it to get too far from my mind. So, I am linking it for future reference.

What’s on your mind?

Currently this little view into my bathroom is making me so happy!  I just freshened this room up a few days ago by changing my curtains to the white cotton tab curtains,  new little sink skirt,  and a cleaned up dresser top with a little lamp.  A few simple changes are all it takes to freshen up a room…

My old fashioned sink… it is difficult yet charming..

but I love the little sink skirt.. it just makes it look a little more polished..

I am on a crochet kick, so there you go with the washcloth’s..

 note to self: get cute soap dispenser.. seriously that is out of whack!

 I just feel calm when I look at my dresser top.. it is clean and spare.

I love peeking into the bathroom as I walk by and seeing  the soft glow…   Seriously it doesn’t take much…

one more view of my flirty skirt….

Here is a wonderful site I stumbled upon the other day… and now a giveaway! Grosgrain a really cool mama/artist whom I found via Amanda her site is very inspiring to me. I love her sense of style, clean and fresh.. whose site I found via Hilliary/Wee Wonderfuls gosh that is a whirlwind of creative energy.. Since I have started blogging it is amazing to me how many creative artistic people there are in the world whose sites are so inspiring.  The creative energy that sparks from one site to another is amazing.  I feel this  energy  helps to feed the artist in me, to improve my mental health allows me to share a piece of myself with those that I love.  So, thank you all you creative bloggers… you all inspire me!  There are so MANY creative artist’s out there in blogland!

So here is the current link to the giveaway  from Grosgrain this is the cutest little caplet, if anyone has a little girl this is just too cute! It makes me think Little Red Riding hood or some such wonderful  thing!

 
MK Carroll, Anne’s crochet scarf pattern…

I am still loving the crochet… It has been a while since I have had  time to make anything.   The other day I found this cool pattern  and I just love it!  The pattern was exceptionally easy and very quick to make up. 

Not only is it pretty but  I do think the Lily cotton yarn in Creamsicle makes it just a little more special.

It is so pretty and the form is truly a piece of art ~ 

We have switched to using all cloth napkins and dishtowels in order to eliminate  paper napkins and paper towels. It has gone surprisingly well so far.  Now, if I can just stop collecting the plastic bags, I would feel much better…  Back to the hyperbolic dishcloth, great pattern, super fun.  It took less then 1 ball of yarn.  Cost $1.69 for yarn, I guess less then $1.00 for this dishcloth.  I do not think I could get 2 whole clothes from this ball of yarn, however you can combine leftovers… or use for other projects of course.  The solid color Lily yarn would easily make 2 I believe.  

My hubby’s favorite pie is coconut cream pie…  I made one for him for his Birthday a little belated.  It was well received nonetheless. I used this recipe   from Southern Living Magazine.  It was quick and easy. I love making pies.. especially when real whipping cream is called for.   Southern Living is always a great resource for these classics’s.

~toasted coconut makes the perfect topping with just a little crunch.

Just for fun, I made 2 pies…. I mean I had that extra pie crust just sitting there. Besides, I have lost many leftover pie crusts wrapped in foil in my freezer.  I always mean to use them up, but I do forget once they enter into that freezer top/ back shelf domain.  Might as well go ahead and use it up while it is fresh….

  ~ yeah, it was a splurge, but when your husband has a Birthday, you just have to rise to the occasion.

  The story of our Kitty…

our daughter wanted her own cat.. we got her a rescued kitten found under a porch after the feral mother was killed or run away by dogs.. We bottle fed this fellow until he learned how to eat.

     
It was a challenge at times, but he quickly took to his favorite Kitten food.

He received a lot of love from his “Mother” Olivia…  He required a lot of sleep time to let his little body grow….

Much sleep….

  
He was so cuddly… and sleepy!

Soon, he learned how to play…

and play….

that little fellow loved to play..

In the meantime we tried many different names.. but when you have 3 dogs, and one Kitty… well, Kitty just seemed to stick. He stood out in the crowd…

He was special, he was unique….

He only went potty outside,  becuause sometimes we think he thought he might be a dog.  He just followed the crowd and did his business with the gang….

He really loved to sleep…

He loved the garden, he new every corner and kept it free of voles or moles or somthing of that sort…

He was serious about those unwanted critters…

 We lost our dear Kitty one week ago Thursday from a perforated colon. We don’t know what happened or when, but he did not make it after he had emergent surgery. We have lost our dear sweet Kitty. It is just not the same without him. He was taken too soon.

  Kitty we miss you and we will love you forever.   

Here we are in June…  it is hot, it is buggy and kind of ughh.. but since it is not even Summer yet…. I better hush.  The flush of spring roses has come and gone. I am always sad when that time passes. It is magical to me.  Winter blah is swept away with the promise of better times to come.   After the roses, we still have some plants to enjoy and these are dependable plants.   They prove themselves each year..

    ~Gardenia, 3rd year in a pot. It is a smaller variety. I can’t remember the name right now.. but it smells wonderful!

   ~ the first time I winter sowed, I sowed hollyhock seeds, 4 years ago? I have had them ever since.

   ~ bee balm, from mother in law, it has been with me since I first started gardening… 1994 or 95.. love it.   So do the hummies!  You can use the leaves and flowers to make tea. Lovely!

  ~Malva Zebrina wintersowed that one winter… still going strong. Reseeds readily.

  ~ Black and Blue Salvia, once established is almost a thug.   I love it though, and so do the hummingbirds. Great plant to share!

   ~ each year I grow to love the hydrangeas more and more.  If you can get them to make it one  year, then they are good to go. In our area the summers are so hot and dry that it can be a challenge to keep newly planted plants alive. However, if they make it through one season to the next year, that is usually enough time for them to get their roots estabished. It is better to plant these thirsty plants in the fall. 

  ~ Endless Summer Hydrangea, gets better each year.

  ~ I just can not remember this one, but it is taking off like a rocket.  2 of these in pots beside my garden bench, and early in the season I planted them in the ground…. man they needed that.  They exploded!

Finding dependable plants is so important. We all need dependable rocks and go to plants… these are some of my no fail winners.. along with bulbs, you just won’t be let down.   That is an important part of my overall plan.  Finding plants that are tough and can stand the test of time.  I delight in seeing my little plants come back year after year.

 I found the best little cookbook for kids…. called ~

    ~note it says for kids 8 and up.. they are not much into it, but I am.

I have made a few recipes, they are all really good so far.  I loved the chocolate cake bake in the pan recipe, it was really rich and chocolaty… vegan, and really good.   Then this weekend I made up the crust recipe for home-made mini pizza’s.. man they were good.   I used whole wheat flour. The recipe makes six little pizza’s. We had 4 one for each of us.  I froze the other 2 and we made them tonight to go with our ravioli…

here is the recipe …

 pesto base, cheese and cracked pepper… with whole wheat crust~

 baked and yes,  it rocked!   We loved it!

On a deeper note~

  We had a very sad loss earlier this year..Here is a very precious quilt passed down to me by my mother from Phyllis…this precious quilt is one of many in her collection. How very sweet it is. I know we will enjoy and treasure it and remember dear Phyllis. She was a sewer, quilter, crafter, painter and so on from way back when. Her hands were never still and she did beautiful work.  She will be missed by us all.

   I did a little more sewing and I found a  super cute pattern from The handmade dress it is so cute. Easy easy easy. Very fast to make.

   It is cute, not the best picture, but really cute on and in person!!

     ~one more shirt from that darn kat… round neck top pattern, still love it!

Hope your week is great!