Finished sewing project line up

I could write about someone's first birthday, a slew of summer visitors, our fabulous vacation or a new virtual quilting bee that I joined.  But I have some very important, yet unfinished business to attend to today.  I'm overdue in properly introducing you all to Margene.  She and I have been busy ever since I asked for some help in naming her.  The photos below are my finished sewing projects for April and May.  June's sewing will have to wait for another day. 

First up is the Best Bib pattern from the JCasa *handmade.  I tried the pattern because I thought it would be a great way to practice quilting techniques.  Then I got completely hooked on bibs and on quilting.

These bibs were for a charity auction for Womancraft (awesome organization--really, go check the link).

These were for gifts.

(Two of these bibs were sent to two wonderful mothers that donated some breastmilk to Henry when he was about six months old.  I send yet another "thank you" out to them.) 

I loved making these rag quilt letters from a tutorial on Happy Together.  This bright set was a gift for one of Henry's internet baby friends.  ::waving::  Hi Scout!

I hope to make another set for Henry to play with soon.  This has been his favorite book for months now. ("I'm a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuss, as you can plainly see.")

And this was a gift for Scout's mom.  The quilted photo album cover was a pattern I made up myself.

This may be my favorite bib to date.  It is a first birthday bib for Henry's friend River.  (She came to visit recently, so you'll hear more about her soon.)

And last, but not least, a gift potholder for my sister-in-law.  I absolutely love how this turned out and I want to make another just like it for me.












Check out the labels I made recently.  The bibs have them, too.

So a couple of months ago I had a grand plan to make Margene a nice sewing machine cover to keep the dust off.  But she rarely has much downtime, so I'm plugging away at the rest of my sewing list instead.

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I did it!

On Saturday I made it through my first triathlon! 

The swim was crazy tough and a lot of people passed me, but I still beat my own swim time by 2 minutes!  The bike ride was hilly but exhilarating.  Unfortunately I can't say the same about the run, but I can say that I finished the whole thing in about 2 hours and 9 minutes.   

There may even be a next time and it may be in late July.  We'll see.

For now, I can entertain you with silly photos of Ben and I.

Before:

After:

And the best pit crew and baby watching team ever:

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Seeing Red

Everywhere I go today:

Red, red, red.

I never buy strawberries at the store.  We wait for the local season, pick a few flats ourselves and then I can jam, freeze some berries whole and freeze some sliced and (barely) sweetened.  I also eat as many as I can stuff myself with while they are still fresh.  So, today, we indulged in waffles stacked high with berries and whipped cream.  (They were devoured too quickly for photos though.)  We also had berries for late lunch and after dinner and we'll have more tomorrow for breakfast. 

This is my favorite local eating quote from Barbara Kingsolver's fantastic book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  Please note that I'm substituting strawberries for asparagus.  I think it still applies:


"...[Strawberries] seem like a good place to start.  And if the object of our delayed gratification is a suspected aphrodisiac?  That's the sublime paradox of a food culture:  restraint equals indulgence. "

So, my hands and counters are dyed pink, but the freezer is flush with berries to be enjoyed in another season.

Picking season photos are a wonderful way to show how time passes.  There is no way he'd fit in a flat today.

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Picture that smell

Ben was mowing the lawn tonight while wearing Henry in the Ergo carrier.  Both guys came back in the house during twilight and the little one was just inches away from sleep.  He needed a new dipe before bed, so Ben was changing him and I took the opportunity to smooch Henry's eyespot.  (In case you don't know, the eyespot is that lovely bit of skin between the outer eye and the temple.  I adore that spot.)  Henry had this magical scent combination of cut grass, a fresh orange peel, sunshine and fresh air.  Can you picture that smell?  Really it was heavenly and I wish I could bottle it and wear it all of the time.  Since the boy was so sleepy, I got a few more good sniffs in until I felt a little drunk and then Ben whisked him off to bed.

I guess bed is where I should be headed now but I keep breathing deeply trying to find that scent again.

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Stripping Paint

 
This is what our sun room looked like when we first moved in, four years ago.  That dreadful rust color is crackle paint.  Can you believe someone did that on purpose?  We also had dark brown crackle paint upstairs, brown and white crackle paint on the fireplace and green and gold Packer crackle paint as a decorative touch on the broom closet door.

(remembering all of that makes me shudder now)

Well, we only have two crackle paint doors left in the whole house.  Henry has recently been picking at the paint on the door to the basement, so.... I'm finally getting around to stripping it.

Working in the driveway or the garage:

And here it is without any finish.  It is still in the garage.  I have to work during naps or when Ben has Henry, so I still have to do the other side of the door.

It feels good to make progress, even four years later.

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Rounding out the days nicely

I've been posting here lately about craft projects and garden projects and I have more posts like that up my sleeve, but I thought I'd say a little about the other things that happen in between the many projects that are brewing around here.  

Henry is nearing numero uno and he has a long list of favorite things that we play during the day.

Peek-a-boo is a huge hit and he loves pulling a blanket over his face and then lying very still while I ask, "Where is the baby?"  Then he continues to stretch out the dramatic pause, and then he starts kicking his legs and when he just can't stand it anymore, he flips back the covers with a huge laugh.

We do a lot of spinning.  He loves doing it so many times until I nearly lose my balance, and then he holds himself really close like a baby monkey.  Sometimes he just looks up at me and grins.

There is a fair quantity of upside down tickling or just dangling.  (I think he's almost ready to learn some yoga inversions.)

Singing is a big hit.  The "Bubbaloo" song that I made up for him is the most popular, but nearly any song will work and short youtube video songs are especially popular.

When the weather is nice, Henry and I go out to the patio swing at least twice a day for a 10 minute "settle down."  And then we do it again with a couple of books before bed.  Dr. Suess ABC rhymes on warm spring evening with a baby in jammies on the patio swing is just about the best thing ever.

Another popular outside activity is eating mud and grass.  I don't participate myself, but it is very popular with the household members under age one.  He's also gotten a little sneaky about it.  Whenever he has a stick or leaf or maple helicopter in his mouth, he gets very quiet and then turns away from me when I come near him.  That's the signal that I have to dig something out, so I do.  He's also learned that it is much easier if he then opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue because I'll chase after him anyway.

Lastly, Henry loves to watch the cooking on the stove.  That is particularly so if Ben is cooking or if we are over at our friend Paul's house when he is cooking.  I love that he admires guys in the kitchen already.

So, there are some days that the creative projects take much longer than they used to and it can be frustrating at times, but our days are much richer with our babe.


Henry, I'm proud to be your momma.  Thanks for being such a great guy.