How to Make a Toddler Belt

This project was really seriously the easiest craft project that I've done in quite some time.  It's almost not even blog worthy....  But to step back for a minute, I figured why not share it.  It might inspire someone else to make their kid a belt.  OR maybe even make one for yourself (which btw is on my list of things to do).

How to make a Toddler Belt.  I purchased 1 yard of belt material from Joann's.  This particular print features turtles!  They had a few other prints, cute fish and something pink and of course the nostalgic rainbow flavor that it seems we all had as kids in the late 70's/early 80's! 

So with two little guys in the house, I decided 1 yard of belting and 1 pack of D rings (they come 4 in a pack) would be sufficient.  To make the belts I cut the yard in half, rolled one end and stitched it down.  placed the D rings on the other end, folded the end under and machine stitched it down.  Seriously folks, each belt was made in under 2 minutes. 

Both kids like them.  I will admit they are a little difficult for the boys to use and we had one bathroom accident occur because of the belt.  They do in fact hold up their pants so I'm happy about that!  And they love the little swimming turtles - you can see in this photo one of them is doing the back stroke - which just cracks me up!

As for future use of this project.  "I" happen to need a belt too.  I however do not need rainbows and turtles in my wardrobe so I'm planning on purchasing some plain cotton webbing and enough ribbon to stitch onto side one and up the tail end (inside) by about 6-8 inches.  So that when the belt is on the inside part of the tail that folds over and is now exposed has some fancy ribbon on it too.  Look for photos of that project in a few weeks.

Do you have a diy project to share? Share it at A Soft Place to Land to win!

A New Job for an Old Wool Sweater

Sometime during the early to mid 1990's my brother purchased a kelly green wool sweater for me for my birthday.  It was from the Gap, and was a basic crew neck sweater.  I wore it a LOT... and LOVED the color.  Soon it became quite sloppy and just not very stylish due to it's large size.  It followed me all the way through college, to my apartments, our first home and now here.  Along the way, it made friends with a few moths and they loved it so much that they did a little munching damage... mostly just a few little holes large enough to squeeze my pinky finger through it if I felt the need... I saved it knowing that someday I would find a use for it again. 

Enter: Sewing Green: 25 Projects Made with Repurposed & Organic Materials by Betz White.

This book is fantastically inspirational, the photos are bright and vibrant and really help to kick-start your creative juices.  I've made a few other items from this book, the Easy, Breezy Skirt was my first project. 

My most recent crafting project involved the above mentioned kelly green sweater and was also my first attempt at machine felting.  HOW FUN!  I cut up the sweater as per the instructions in the book, and tossed it into my washer.  Two cycles later, and a spin in the dry and I had the softest wool felt to work with.  I followed the instructions completely and even used the optional extra sole and the gripping material for the bottoms.  I did stitch the extra sole directly with the outer sole for stability and I used left over micro suede from a head board that I made a few years ago for the grippers.  The micro suede doesn't act like real suede or leather would but it does cut down on the slippage. 

I'm quite happy with how these turned out. They were easy to sew together, are very warm, and they breathe with my feet.  I also love that they are made from a favorite old sweater. Tricky parts were maneuvering three layers of felt under the presser foot.  But we managed and I think they look pretty alright!  I also opted to do the "finishing touches" blanket stitch detail on the outside seams.  I felt that without this, they looked unfinished. I used a little bit of left over yarn from these.  More photos of my new slipper friends can be found here.


* I received no compensation for mentioning the author or the book.

New Space

One of our err Chris's big projects to accomplish over Christmas break was to rearrange the 3rd floor office space. It's been over three years since we've last organized it, probably closer to four actually. Since that last organization, a LOT has changed with our companies and our family. Read: our needs have changed. He spent two days cleaning and moving and reorganizing this space.

It was quite cramped with too much furniture and our desks were facing each other in the middle of the room. There wasn't much room to spread out and work or play. It was very unfriendly to the kids too with lots of accessible cords and plugs.

This floor is quite functional, it's where our photo editing happens and is also used for equipment storage. I also have my craft area up there.

To help us gain more usable space, we moved things to the outer walls and ditched a huge couch. We now have the creative side and the storage side. This leaves the majority of the room open. There is enough room to have two little boys run in two separate circles at the same time and not have them collide. I've seen it with my own two eyes! Another permanent fixture is the kids' easel with crayons. Also, a small square ikea end table which doubles as a perfect kid-sized table.

Tonight we decided to move 'after dinner family time' to the 3rd floor. Each kid brought up a few toys. They played, we all played, Chris had some photos processing while he built a tent, the kids played together, he blogged, I chatted with a friend, I played. And just like that, it was kiddo bedtime! It was beautiful.

We are happy to have a new space to play and live in.

Here's a view of my new ginormous working/crafting area. In this photo, I am sewing the capes I last blogged about.

Super Heros

Hello and Merry Christmas Everyone! The semester is complete! I've passed my classes and I am satisfied with the outcome! I've baked all that I can manage to bake this year, including a new cookie called Orange Slice Cookies that include little cut up pieces of orange slice candies. They are different, tasty, but quite sweet... even for a cookie. I also made my usual Reese' Peanut butter cup mini cups, Peanut Butter Cranberry Cereal Bars and two loaves of Orange Cranberry Bread that were specifically for Max's pre-school teachers. I also bought the ingredients for my Macaroon recipe with the mini chocolate chips... but I have run out of baking motivation.... I'll be baking off some of these in the near future though because upon announcing to Chris that we would not be having any for Christmas, I got quite the showing of the pouty bottom lip... and something was muttered about them being HIS favorite cookies... blah blah blah.... Guess I'll need to rectify that in a few weeks.

If I can manage to get to bed soon... (I had plans to hit the sack 2 hours ago in hopes of not seeing the clocks change to the next day AGAIN...) we will have two nights until our visit from the jolly old elf himself. I'm feeling pretty relaxed about that after axing a few things from the MUST DO list (sorry Max, no hand knit stocking this year :( But you and your brother will both have them for next year.) All that is left on my to do list is wrap gifts and I also have an early morning trip planned to Market District for some yummy anti pasta makings for Christmas Eve. Chris and I will share wrapping duties Wednesday night together with some wine. There isn't anything to assemble so it should be pretty easy.

Today, I finally found the time to sew up some adorable gifts for my little guys... I'm ashamed to admit, I've never sewn anything for them *gasp* I really do feel terrible about this... Needless to say, come Friday morning they will be the proud new owners of two ADORABLE little super hero capes! I'm very happy with how they turned out. I did a google search for cape sewing pattern and this was one of the first few links to pop up: http://pukingpastilles.com/?p=57

After looking through her post and directions I quickly realized that her pattern was basically just an enlarged baby bib. Using her measurements I drew my own cape patterns out and went to work. I cut the pieces out during nap. Drew out the letters and cut those, and began attaching the letters to the circles and the circles to the outer cape layer. I got one cape sewn together and ready to be top stitched before it was time to put all projects on hold until after bedtime again. After the boys went to bed, I think I spent another hour finishing the two capes. I want to say the total time spent on TWO capes was 3 hours. It was VERY easy and I'm more than pleased with how they came out.


Again, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year! (oh and happy birthday to me lol).

Smashing Smock: New Owner

Smashing Smock found a few loving owner today:

Enjoy it Carrie!

Follow this link for my review of the Smashing Smock Pattern. 

Smashing Smock: Following Directions

I have ventured into the world of sewing women's apparel. My first pattern to follow is from Anna Maria Horner's book titled Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing. I followed the pattern almost to the T. I did add an extra inch of width to all pieces and i later found that i need to add way more than one lonely inch... her book has lots of "how to's" regarding apparel adjustments. So making the proper adjustments to make one to fit ME will not be difficult.

Materials used:
One queen sized top sheet purchased for $.48 at the thrift store.
Coordinating thread I had in my crafty corner.
1 Matching vintage button from this excursion.


Aside from the size issues.... I am very happy with the end result. Plus, I worked out the kinks on this trial run so that with version 2.0 I should have zero hiccups. (there were a few and an experienced seamstress would be able to point them out in a flash. But to the general public, the shirt is a smash!

More photos from this project can be found here.

new bag

This is my new bag, the outer fabric is something i purchased at the Salvation Army's 21st Annual Fabric Fair, the buttons are too. It's lined with traditional linen and i used cotton flannel as a stabilizer. The pattern: MY VERY OWN! yay! it's simple, it was easy and i plan on making more. I also plan on figuring out what sort of stabilizer and interfacing i prefer. While the flannel creates body, it's not as stiff as i would prefer. I'm thinking about trying flannel and sew-in heavy duty interfacing. I also am going to stay away from linen as often as i can manage to do so. It's NOT fun to cut. I swore quite a bit while cutting out the lining and the strap parts...

Details to note: there is an inside pocket large enough to hold a cell phone, business card holder, pack of gum, pen, mp3 player and lip gloss. There is also a magnetic closure so that everything stays put if it's upended. More photos found here.

Oh and one more thing, this one is for ME! Yay for selfish crafting!

buttercup bag

we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday over the weekend. i had decided a few weeks ago that i was going to sew a bag for her. i had intended on making another one of these. i had purchased khaki linen to use as the main color. i had a black fabric with little circles and tiny flowers to use for the pleats and lining. i started to cut the fabric one night, i made a mistake due to tiredness and put it aside for another day. the next day i came across this blog. she had recently posted this free pattern for the buttercup bag. and i was hooked. her pattern was simple to follow, i cut the fabric and sewed it together throughout the day and into the evening, during nap and after bedtime. then i completed the strap the following afternoon. total construction time took maybe 3 hours, maybe....

this is the outcome:

button detail - vintage button purchased at Collection Antiques in Trumansburg, NY - it's black mother of pearl and i have 5 more for other projects

finished bag

i added a few structural items, i added cotton flannel to the inside as a stabelizer and did the same with the strap. i didn't want a completely slouchy bag, i like my bags to have a bit of structure, this helped perfectly. i also completed ironed pleats, next time, i'll only iron the tops so that the pleat bottoms pop out a little more.

my week in review - a bit of a hodgepodge

eta: as michelle kindly pointed out in the comments, yes in addition to everything below andy managed to sit up yesterday completely on his own, he went from being on his back to his side to supporting himself with one arm but sorta still on his side to sitting! it was really funny to watch :) i had never seen him do that before and was quite thrilled to witness it! and so was michelle!


this past week, (definition of "past week" last wednesday july 30 - today august 5th) has been a long 7 days.... chris was (and is still) out of the country for work and is returning tomorrow, aug 6th. i was home alone with the kids. the beginning of the week was the roughest. max was not very cooperating and andy was giving me fits. i was nervous and cranky about having to put two kids to bed at the same time without any help, not happy about having to deal with mealtimes alone and jealous that i had to be a single parent while chris was out traveling the world, without me.

i had a TON of help from MY family, however we're 7 days in and still no phone calls what-so-ever from the ils.... not even to see if i've heard from chris... so strange...

anyways, my brother and his wife came over one night with pasta and homemade sauce! that rocked! my parents had us over a few times. i managed to cook a few times too, very proud of that, and ordered pizza only once! i also tried to plan as many things to do outside of the house as possible. we went to target twice... we went on a playdate with blogless lauren and her little guy leo, we went to the zoo with our cousin elizabeth and her twin boys, and today we had an impromptu play date with michelle and amelia which was very nice! max showed a very sensitive and gentlemanly side to him that i've never seen in my life! it was so darling! he was sharing everything he owned, held her hand and gave everyone kisses before they left :)

i have also managed to keep the house in relatively neat order. i have some cleaning to do upstairs tomorrow but i've kept up with the housework more this week than i normally do when chris is out of town for short trips. about mid-way through the week i got the hang of everything. meals were fairly smooth and bedtime was a breeze. i love, i mean LOVE, dvr. really i'm not sure how i would have done it without this new gadget. bedtimes consisted of cleaning up the toys while andy rolled around on the floor and cried and max sorta helped me. then i got him some milk and a snack and put him in his folding nemo chair and put on a curious george episode. i took andy upstairs got him ready for bed, fed him and put him down (awake i might add!!!) and then went back down to watch the rest of george with max and maybe even another episode if it was still early. then off to bed with him too. it was beautiful!

after the kids were both in bed, i then watched a few movies on ondemand this week. a quick review:
1. The Ex with Zach Braff and Amanda Peet. cute movie, a few funny scenes and a few new parent jokes. i enjoyed the baby/parenting dialog the most. wasn't a waste of time.
2. Moving McAlister with Mila Kunis from that 70's show and a guy that i've never seen or heard of before and that guy from napoleon dynamite. eh, so so but sorta cute. i watched the whole thing, enjoyed parts of it but it wasn't the most entertaining movie. cute story line though and the ending was nice. wasn't a complete waste of time but sorta almost was...
3. Definitely, Maybe with Ryan Reynalds and that girl from wedding crashers who was the younger sister who was maddly in love with vince vaugh and a few other female actresses. anyways. this was by far the best of the bunch! very entertaining love story that is creatively told to his young daughter. there are some sad parts about divorce but they are overshadowed by the happy parts. definitely NOT a waste of time and i'm glad i watched it even though the title alone annoyed me and i didn't think i would like it one bit.

knitting, i've done nothing.

sewing, i finished everlasting and started a few others...
i sewed a handle onto my everlasting bag, i'm quite happy with how it turned out:

another photo here.

i started my grocery bag beautification project, inspired by this blog, i pinned this fabric onto one side of this bag from giant eagle MONTHS ago... so long ago that i've never been able to use this bag at the store for actual grocery toting... i have only covered one side. the other side also has a logo on it so it's getting pinned and sewn up tonight. i have at least one other bag to pin and sew as well. i thought we bought three of these things but apparently we either lost one or only bought two... i'm not certain.... anyways, here's the outcome, i'm pleased with this as well.

the fabric i used on this one is one of two vintage napkins that were my parents. my mom gave them to me and i wanted to find a good use for the fabric as i have no use for two fabric napkins.... i absolutely LOVE this fabric and wish i had a big piece of it because i could totally wear a skirt with this print.

i'm really looking forward to heading to the airport tomorrow night. i miss chris a TON and i know he misses us. i've been talking up his return to max so he's getting excited too. overall, this week hasn't been too horrible. i've managed to at least shower a few times, we had some fun outside of the house and now we're looking forward to chris's return home :) and i'm looking forward to a visit to the salon all by myself on thursday! ha!

crafty updates

i broke in my new machine over the weekend. i completed 4 of the 5 curtain panels needed for the bedroom. i didn't get all 5 done because the fabric is a bitch to sew, it's faux suede and annoying as heck... so instead of being pissed about my sewing i made some coasters.

they turned out ok, they are just for us and were my first attempt at making coasters... i used some of the fun stitches that my new machine can do and frankly i was tired and didn't really consider how to negotiate around the corners with said stitches... so the top two turned out the best, the bottom two are a bit messy but still will act as coasters :)

i also went shopping, and bought this:and this:
the squirrellie fabric with the chenille will be used to make two scalloped blankies from bend the rules sewing. isn't that fabric fun? considering i have never made ONE DAMN THING for maxwell, i figured a blankie would be a good place to start. so i'm making two, one for him and one for andrew.

the bottom fabric will be a set of place mats and coasters for my mom for her birthday. i will be using the place mat pattern from bend the rules sewing for those too.

on the knitting front, i have bootie number two almost finished, i need to knit the straps then sew it together and weave in the ends and sew on buttons. i STILL have not picked up Baby Moderne in way too long. someone needs to kick my ass into major knitting gear.... this gift is due in TWENTY-FIVE DAYS and i'm still only in section 4....

i wanted to share this link with my crafty friends

i saw this linked from another blog and i had to check it out. i'm going to be making some of these items for gifts, just not sure what yet :) thought you guys might be inspired too :)

http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=263 this offers an explanation of what their blog will be offering for the month of november.

http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/ this is the main page to their blog.

so far there are some great gift ideas that seem fairly easy to sew up.

i'm curious to see what they have in store for ties and belts on the 10th and warm those toes on the 15th plus others of course. i've pulled my dad's name for christmas this year so i'm trying to go the crafty and creative route. so far, i've he's getting lemoncello and i need a few more smaller items. i hand sewn tie would be great! and he would totally wear it!

i'll keep you posted on what i decide to create :)

inspiration - scalloped baby blankie

ok, so last post i was all nutty blogging at crazy ass hours of the night and not able to sleep because i was feeling so creative and needed to get some of it out in order to fall asleep.

well, the following morning, i *sorta* went to my meeting... we won't get into details as to how i *sorta* went but after that "meeting in the parking lot with my cell phone while i called a few people and got caught up a bit (not the sort of meeting that i had intended but...ehh)" i went to joann's with my mother in law. she's a sewer so i figured she would be able to help me with fabric choice or at least with distracting maxwell while i did some shopping. we started looking for two fabrics, one pink, one brown to coordinate with Amanda's baby bedding that she is sewing. i had a few options out, but really wasn't feeling it with any of the selected fabrics and neither was my mother in law. UNTIL, i found one of the fabrics that Amanda was using for her project. this find made me realize that they had purchased the other fabrics here too so i kept looking for the brown fabric that she was also using. BINGO! found it! i put everything i had chosen prior away, and went with her exact fabrics. off to the cutting counter i went :) very very excited and home we went.

i traced the scallop pattern onto some pattern paper that i purchased because i am intending to make a few of these for a few friends so i figured having an actual pattern would be a good thing to have. then it was time for max to wake up. ... so the project was shelved until he took another nap later that afternoon. this took about 15 minutes, but i'm not really counting it towards the entire project time table because having this pattern template drawn out will just make future projects much quicker.

during his nap later that afternoon, i cut my fabric and started to pin it together. this took about 15 - 20 more minutes. project shelved again, i had some household duties to tend to.

max went to bed by 8 that evening. i quickly finished pining and up to the machine i went. by 11:30 i had my finished blankie. and was VERY happy with the outcome:



the pattern is the scalloped baby blanket from amy karol's Bend the Rules Sewing. her directions were very easy to follow, especially for a novice sewer who has never followed a sewing pattern (at least since 8th grade home-ec class). there are many more projects in this book that i will be creating, along with this one again for another friend and her baby.

to review the blankie, it not only looked great (if i do say so myself) but it felt great too. in fact it reminded me of my blankie that i had as a kid, it's not puffy in the least bit, it's quite thin, but it's got weight to it from the interior layer which is flannel. it's cozy, and cool to the touch and snuggly. perfect blankie criteria :)

i can't wait to go shopping for more fabric and i plan to do so within the next few weeks... i'm itching to sit back down at my machine again and be creative :)

i have been inspired

i can't sleep... it's 1 am and i have to be at a breakfast meeting by 7:30 am (today!!) and i'm blogging instead of sleeping... go figure.

my mind is racing, with lots of inspiration. which, i figure, is a good thing. i just wish my mind would keep these racing thoughts in check and only have them during daytime or awake hours. instead of having them at 1 am....

anyways, my cause of inspiration? a new book. THIS new book, Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. there are so many projects in there that i will be making. at first i thought i would try my hand at sewing in a zipper... thus making the small pouches, the first project listed in the book. then i got further and further in and really i think i'm going to make a bunch of them. for one, i'm making max an elf hat for no good reason other than to embarrass him in year to come. but really, i have a moth munched on kelly green wool sweater that is just screaming to be repurposed, and this is a perfect reposition for it. max will look dashing in a green elf hat :) i'll have to find some fun way to decorate it, something tells me a little flower isn't appropriate for my little guy. maybe just some large bold colored buttons. we'll see.

as for other projects on my list. i've been so inspired by one of them that i am planning a stop at the fabric store tomorrow morning so that i can start it right away. it has a due date of this saturday and the recipient reads this blog so i can't go into any more detail. just know that there will hopefully be some photos and a blog entry to follow this coming weekend. i'm so excited to make this and i sure do hope it turns out as giftable :)

i have finished (all but sewn on the buttons) booties for a friend. i need to cast on another pair and buy some fabric to match because, again, i've been inspired to sew something to go with the booties for another friend. i might wait a few weeks on that project though because hopefully by then she'll have found out what sex her baby will be and i can find appropriate fabric for that certain sex.

as for me, i'm feeling great and feeling lots of movement, especially in the evenings and early morning. such a great part of pregnancy.

as for max, he's getting sooooo close to walking. he took a half step to the couch on sunday and did about the same thing today. he mostly has found that being upright is much more fun than on all fours. but instead of taking that full out step he'll be more willing to just launch himself towards whatever it is he wants to walk to... thank god those things are usually not much further than arms reach for him and he ends up catching onto those things, couches, chairs, mommy's arms etc.... before falling face first to the ground. i however am not rushing him in the least bit :) i know he'll take a step and i know he'll do it on his own terms.

as for everything else... i think that's it.

again, please don't forget to read and sign the petition that i have listed in my post below. i don't want that to get burried just yet. it's for a really important cause and these folks need your help. go here for lots more information. and thank you for helping them out.

ok, so let's hope that posting this blog has put an end to my insomnia for the evening and that i will be asleep by 1:30.

show and tell

here's a photo of my relic, it's a Singer model no. 237 from 1968.


it works well for what i need it to do at this time but it needs to be serviced in a big bad way. a major cleaning would be part of that servicing. but that means that i have to have chris transport it because it's got to be more than 40 lbs. it's a beast! but i love how heavy and sturdy it is. it is all metal except for the base and the cover (cover not pictured but are both the base and cover are hard plastic.) i would like to start sewing more and would love to make clothes for me (i'm envisioning some super cute maternity shirts) and i think making children's clothes would be great too! i think i would need an upgrade though before i jumped into all that :) (hint hint chris! - chrismas and my birthday are both in a few months, no time like now to start shopping :) )

note to amanda over at ajknitting - i'm totally jealous of all the different stitches and buttonhole options that your machine offers, see how many mine offers? FIVE, yep five! yours has like 500 or something! i can't wait for a review once you've finished a few projects.

note to jen over at seedling of knowledge - let's see your machine!

and not to leave anyone else out, if you read this blog and want to share your machine, please feel free!

new bag... new baby stats... new found love

my mother in law reupholstered a wing back chair for me a few months ago (love it!) and she had some left over fabric that she gave to me. i made some pillows but i still had a pretty big piece that was screaming at me to make something out of it. the fabric is bright and cheery but not crazy. it has my favorite colors reds, oranges and pinks. so i decided to make another bag for myself. this time i bought some hefty interfacing to help it keep it's shape, it was the sew in version... next time i'm going to try the iron on kind to see how it makes a difference. i basically made two bags, each with it's own interfacing layer sewn to it, i turned one bag inside out and sewed the edges together, then attached the magnetic closures, folded the top into the inside of the back and pined the straps into place and sewed up the top. it's very thick, very sturdy and i love the shape. i did some basic measuring to keep everything even but i didn't use a pattern, same as last time.

here's a photo:

i attempted to take some photos of the inside but my batteries died :( i found some new ones, i uploaded all my photos to flickr then i realized that i really wanted to take an inside the bag shot but again, as i got all set up outside, my new (but used - thanks for lending them to me max... you won't notice that that crazy toy doesn't make those whacked out noises anymore will you?) batteries died again... sorry... there is one other photo on flickr if you want to check that out.

max turned 9 months over the weekend! he's crawling like a uh, i dunno, baby? ha! anyways, he crawls like mad, he loves it! he had his 9 month drs visit yesterday he weighs 19 lbs 11 oz and is 28 1/2 inches long. he is right on target for growth and a little bit advance in the skilz department! lol he also has been given the green light for eating meat. so last night chris made some sweet and sour chicken in the Pressure Cooker (segway into "new found love") and we gave max some of our chicken all mushed up, he liked it but it was a little dry for him... we're just happy that he can now start to eat what we're eating :) how fun is this going to be?

new found love... my Rapida Pressure Cooker. Number one reason, chris cooks with it! number 2 reason, it's fast and super tasty food! we received this as a wedding gift almost 4 years ago and we had one failed attempt at using it to make some beans... we are not back on the pressure cooker wagon with a vengeance. AND, i'm going to attempt to use it soon... it scares me for some reason... but i WILL figure it out. chris has made three totally yummy things in it. the first was beef in an onion raisin sauce, the 2nd was rice pudding with dried cranberries! (he's made this twice actually) and the third was the sweet and sour chicken. one thing that we need to work out is the timing. it's very easy to over cook things, then they turn out kinda dry but still tasty. it's a work in progress.... stay tuned for more fun food stories surrounding the rapida pressure cooker! i like the name rapida.... it makes me think of mexican food! mexican food that's FAST! Rapido!

spring cleaning

it's monday, we changed the clocks forward two nights ago. yesterday, FLEW by... today, i'm a little groggy and so is maxwell but it's not too bad, i'm actually motivated more than anything. the cats don't seem to notice though....

yesterday chris and i spent most of the day spring cleaning the office. my desk is (for the first time) totally clear of clutter! no magazines, no papers, no random items that belong elsewhere in the house. i threw out, i reorganized, and i cleaned. the only thing left to do is vacuum which we couldn't do at 11 pm last night because max was asleep... and i didn't want to chance it. on a whim the other day, i bought some of those little magazine organizers at IKEA. we have a lot of magazines, they are mostly photography related and need to be kept. i also don't want to get rid of my Real Simple magazines because they have so many great recipes in them that i've never ever made... my thoughts are that if i know where they all are, then i'll reference them more often. wish me luck :)

i also made a list of "to do's". it's not an unattainable list but a reminder sort of list. i always say, OOh, i'm going to make this or do this or that... then i promptly forget... until the next time i'm motivated and think, oh yeah, i was going to do this last year.... i'm going to do this NOW... and then promptly forget... this list will help me stay on track. one of the first items on the list was to clean and reorganize the office AND set up a sewing station for me. i had been "storing" my machine in the dining room on the floor next to the buffet. that's not acceptable. i would then have to set it up at the dining room table when i was working on a project. that takes up the entire table and i am sick of that... so we moved it upstairs. and put it on our old kitchen table that had been up there and was just a resting place for items that didn't have a proper home. now those items do have homes and so does my machine! (i even cleaned it!) i have a few items that i need to get to further organize that space but for the most part, i'm on my way to having a crafting corner :) yay!

I made this last week:
it's my first attempt at a tote bag. see, i had this diaper bag but i have since grown out of it. since i now have to bring food items with us everywhere we go, this small bag just doesn't work well.... we were bursting at the seams and i needed a little more space. so i created this cute bag. it's perfect! fits everything we need to have with us and has a little extra room for whatever else might need to come along as well :) here are more photos. i didn't use a pattern, i simply bought a yard of fabric that i liked, cut it in half, did some trimming and basically put a bag inside a bag, it's lined, has a small inside pocket for keys and my phone and has a magnetic closure to keep all of it's items inside... there's even room for a small knitting project if need be :) spectacular!

i'm almost finished with the knitted bibs... i didn't get much knitting time last week since chris was out of town. but i'm planning on finishing the 2nd one in the next few days so that i can get them in the mail. photos of those to come soon.

other than that, spring/summer is on it's way! chris and i sat down yesterday and went over our weekend schedules for the next few weeks and we realized that we've got 6 weekends go go until he's finished with the semester. then we'll be able to kick off our summer with a PROPER trip to NYC. and have the rest of the summer to be pretty much carefree (for the most part) we're so excited to spend time with max as he is starting to so much more aware of his surroundings... he's standing (while holding on of course) like a champ. we both think he's going to bypass crawling. i'm also convinced that he said his first word the other day, it was "hh" which is "hi" he is waving too - it's adorable.

ok, i'm off to conquer mt. laundry - it's a very steep peek!