Emilina

As some of you already know, a good friend of my husband is having a baby in May. They have chosen her name, Emilina. I think that it is a pretty and interesting name. I don't think that any other kid will have it which makes this little girl, already unique. The baby shower is coming up soon and I feel like I haven't done much for the baby. I have made a couple of things for her but the big project is the ladybug blanket.

Which, I have made some progress on. This is how far I am as of yesterday:

 It is only about half of the width and most of the length. I only have three more squares at the bottom of the blanket and I will have my length. I am completely finished with the yellow and white. I have four more squares to go for the dark purple. I didn't think that I would enjoy making this blanket because it really is over 300 squares that I have to make and put together. However, I have always loved puzzles and I love seeing progress in my projects. Most blankets that I have made, I have needed to stop and take a break, work on a small project, several times. I have only worked on small projects once since I have started this and that was the day I heard about the baby shower. I wanted to make sure that I had something ready for it, if this blanket wasn't finished by then. I would say that this blanket is about 30-40% finished. I have a ziploc bag ful of squares that  have made, they just haven't been sewn together yet.

For the baby shower, I experimented with buttons, again. I am getting better about keeping the buttons secure. For my small projects, I made a baby hat and a headband with a daisy.

 

Both of these patterns were free on Ravelry.com. They were both very easy to make and super cute. The hat did not call for a button, but I wanted to add one. I think I may make another hat and a couple more headbands with different flowers or accents on them.

That is my update for now. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment below. I do enjoy hearing from you. Also, if you like, you can subscribe to my blog and get notifications whenever I post.

Stay healthy, espeically in this flu season.

You are beautiful, and well loved.

Who's got the button?

 

I've found a few projects that I think would look super cute with buttons. Some projects actually called for buttons (like the diaper wipe cover). I didn't have any buttons and my husband strongly advised against ripping the buttons from my cardigan. I don't think they would have matched anyways. But, I went to JoAnn Fabric's, with a mission to find some buttons for these projects that I'm working on for Emilina, who will make her apperance in May.

I have a difficult enough time choosing which applesauce or toothpaste, I want to buy. When I was buying makeup for my wedding, I had a panic attack from the overwhelming choices of mascara, eyeliner, foundation and all other makeup needs. I never learned to apply make up or where to put half of it before my wedding day. I feel safe with eyeliner, now. But makeup is temporary and is kind of like coloring.

Now imagine my anxiety when I need three buttons to finish a project. I have never bought buttons before. I have never sewn buttons on anything before. Craft store button aisles I think have more of a selection than the makeup aisles at the local drugstore. I searched the walls finding buttons that I thought were cute but would probably not match the pink and brown diaper wipe case. I found ladybug buttons, baby buttons, and regular buttons of various colors. Each packet had maybe ten buttons and the cost was around $2-3. Then I found this Button Bargain box that has 10 oz (283 g.) of random buttons for $6. Some of the buttons are pictured above. There are tiny ones, big ones, bear buttons, flower buttons,triangle buttons!  

So, now instead of having a panic attack in the button aisle, I can sort through the buttons and my button anxiety from the comfort of my living room with hot chocolate in my hand. 

I did find three buttons for the Diaper Wipe Cover.

This is the finished product and my first attempt at sewing buttons on anything. I do hope that the buttons stay.

Do you know how to sew buttons? I'm not sure if there is a way you are supposed to. If there is a wrong way, I'm probably the person who would find it. I just don't want the buttons to fall around a baby who (from my experience with babies) will probably want to taste everything in sight.

Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

Have a beautiful day!

Oh Baby, Baby!

Hey there!

I am so excited! We just found out a couple of weeks ago that our friends are having a little girl! So, of course, now that Christmas is over I needed some projects and I have been hard at work, trying to make somethings for their precious one who is due in May.

So far, I have thought about some things to make, but with working, I haven't had time to make them all yet. Here is what I'm thinking:

-Baby Blanket, I have already started this. It is going to be a blanket that has six lady bugs and a tulip on it. It takes over 300 little squares and I have only made 40-ish. So, at least I have 10% of it done. Right?  Here is a picture of what I've done so far:

-Baby wipe case. This I have finished, except for adding the buttons. (I really need to learn how to sew buttons). It is mostly pink with some brown and it fits over the travler baby wipe containers. I will post a picture of this soon.

-Baby Bib. I made one that has a pouch at the bottom so it can catch the food. I'll post a picture below.

I know baby booties and scratch mittens are probably a good idea, but I need to find some light weight yarn for them. She is going to be born in the start of summer. Other than that, I am not sure what to make her.

If you have any ideas, please comment! I would love to hear all of your ideas. Whether it is a craft idea,color combination or patterns, I love to hear from you. And, I am open to ideas because I really don't know all that much about babies.

Have a beautiful day!

New Years Resolutions 2015

I have never been big on New Years Resolutions. In fact, there are a lot of things about the American New years that I do not understand. I mean, really, what is the point of watching a ball drop. That is what everybody (okay, not everyone but a lot of people I know) looks forward to on New Year's Eve. It doesn't even drop fast,or explode. It is very anti-climactic in it's slowly dropping, color changing that I get way too bored and I don't see what the hype is about. If anyone can explain this American Tradition,to me, please...leave a comment because I truly don't understand.

Although I do not understand the whole, ball dropping thing. I do like that New Year's drives people to make goals to better themselves in some way or another. I think that it is important to have goals and so I made a small list of ways that I would like to improve.

1. I would like to be a better wife. I want to communicate better with my husband and show himthat I love him in a way that he understands. Our "love languages" are just so different but I really want to try hard to show him I love him. We don't see each other much since I have started working, which only means that I need to work harder at communicating.

2. I want to be a better sister to my brother-in-law,sister-in-law and brother. Most of this has to do with communication, sending letters,emails and actually getting gifts out on time. My sister-in-law is not at home and I have neglected talking with her because I didn't know what to say about some of the decsisions she has made for herself. My brother and I don't really talk much and even though I have tried, I know that I have not tried hard enough.

3. I want to be a better aunt to my niece and nephew. This means being a part of their life, somehow and getting gifts out on time.

4. Communicating better with my family. I am terrible about not sending e-mails or calling my family. Not because I don't like them and being busy isn't an excuse. I have actually written on my calendar a sort of schedule to get me started with e-mailing my family and keeping in touch. Most of my family is out of state and the closest family is a few hours away, so frequent visits are not always an option.

5. I would like to read more. I would like to read more professional literature so that I can stay caught up in education.

I think that these goals are a good start. I didn't do it just because of New Years but I did need to start making some goals. The big trend seems to be communication.  I made sure to specify how I know I have reached these goals because things like "Lose weight" doesn't have a number so if that was my goal and I lost two pounds, I would have reached it. I find that it is better to be sepecific in goals.

What are some of your New Year's Resolutions or goals?  Please, feel free to comment below.