Pictures of the bag...

My latest project

Peanut and I are taking a trip from Illinois to Baltimore / Virginia this weekend. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy her a seat. What was I thinking!? Flying solo (Mister's staying here) with a toddler on my lap? Who will want to nurse at every opportunity since the proximity will remind her constantly... Note to self. Spend the money next time! Of course, I'll have to since we have no plans to fly again before her 2nd birthday, but still!

I was envisioning this trip last week and realized that my diaper bag, as much as I love it, was not big enough to contain snacks for two flights, books, a dvd player, changes of clothes for both of us, sippy cup, enough toys to distract her, etc... So I made a new one. This was my first bag, and definitely a challenge for me. I'm usually a curtain sewer, with the occasional venture into baby clothes.

I learned a lot of new things in the process: fusible fleece is awesome, magnetic snaps are easy to install and look cool, bias tape isn't that intimidating as long as you have the proper width for your project, and a heck of a lot about why my threads were looping. It didn't usually mean that I needed to adjust my tension, it meant that I threaded my machine with the presser foot down! How did I not know that you weren't supposed to do that? So I really got past something that had been bugging me during my last few projects. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty pleased with it.

It has oodles of pockets - one for:

• sippy cup (outside)
• cell phone (outside)
• travel placemat
• wallet
• medicine (velcroed)
• binkies (velcroed)
• diapers
• diaper changing kit
• sunscreen / bug spray
• and a key fob!
  

Want to see pictures? There's a little handsewing that needs to be done, but that will happen on the couch next to Mister tonight as we watch a silly movie. Sounds like a dream evening to me! I've had a sinus infection for (let me count) thirteen days now and it's finally starting to recede, just in time to fly. So a silly movie and my Mister sound good to me!

Hmm. Blogger isn't letting me upload the pictures. I'll try again later!

Notebook Experiment: Joining Fabric Strips

I'm an avid reader of MomAdvice, and especially love her Notebooks, and the resulting Notebook Experiments.

She opened up the Notebook Experiments to anyone who wanted to join in, and I couldn't resist! Here's the first one that I tried... Amy from Mom Advice listed it in her 6.26.08 Notebook, and the original post is from Laughing Purple Goldfish Designs.

I told you that I am in the middle of making a tshirt rug, which entails cutting up dozens of tshirts into long strips, sewing them together, winding them into balls and then crocheting away. I've tried a couple different techniques of cutting them, but many techniques left little flaps on the strips when I turned corners, and then those flaps stuck up out of my rug. Not exactly what I was going for! I came across this technique of cutting diagonals and I'm sold! I'm using a rotary cutter so it goes even faster...

Here's some pictures of my "yarn" before and after it gets rolled into balls. I'm also including a picture of the flaps on the "yarn" that are now a thing of the past... and for kicks, a picture of the rug in all it's tininess. =)

grown men crying...

So were any of you touched last night by Michael Phelps's quivering lips as he heard the National Anthem?

Yeah. The Olympics make me so darn emotional! I've always been so moved by the National Anthem being played for gold medalists... and the emotion on the athlete's faces. Like when the American women swept yesterday's fencing event and the gold medalist was crying so much that former President Bush had to give her his hankerchief? Classic Olympic moment... =)

On an unrelated note, I thought I'd share with you a craft project that I've undertaken. Our new house has a fairly standard design on the main level with a kitchen, formal dining room, formal living room and informal family room. Well, we said "heck with having both a living room and a family room." Who really uses two sets of rooms with couches and coffee tables? If we're having people over, we will invite them back to the fireplaced, comfortable space we enjoy. So we said to ourselves "what can we do with the front room that's so formal with this beautiful hardwood floor?" We've turned it into our "study," and it's lined with our big wooden desk and seven wooden bookcases. Our collection of diplomas are hanging on the wall, and there's a comfortable old wooden rocker over by the bookcases to curl up in if you find a book to read. But that's a lot of wood, and a lot of empty space in the middle of the room.

So I am making a rag rug for the middle!! I'm estimating I'll need about a 6'x9' rug, which is actually immense when you're crocheting it... and to add to the project, I'm doing it with strips that I am cutting from old tshirts. So I have to find tshirts in my color palette, cut them into strips, sew them together, wind them into balls, and THEN I get to start crocheting! I've already finished about 8 rounds on my oval rug and LOVE the way it looks so far... but I am running out of tshirts and I have a ton more to go. Let's just say I'm going to be hitting up some garage sales this summer!

ravelry

Okay, so I joined. (lifeasamama)

For you experts out there, what are some good places to start looking around? It's so big...

does it really say that?

So I have ventured into the dizzying world of making bows for little girls' heads. Well, not just any girl. Just Peanut. I have no visions of starting my own bow-making business or anything like that... there's plenty out there already!

I picked up a couple small rolls of ribbon yesterday at Hobby Lobby, along with a low temperature glue gun. I already had a few dozen alligator clips... I made a couple this morning, and they're adorable! After finishing them, I was cleaning up my craft desk, and was going to throw out the package to the glue gun... when I saw this:
Well, I should hope so! I don't plan on putting glue in my children. :)

Lent? Already!?

Wow... seriously, it feels like we just took down our Christmas tree. That liturgical year sneaks up on me everytime...

This year I've decided to try something new. Each week, I'm going to add something to my Lenten practices, whether that be making another sacrifice or adding something to my routine. That way, by the end of Lent, it should be pretty intense, and should really make me aware of what's happening.

I'm not sure what each week is going to look like yet, but this week (and then for all the remaining weeks), we'll be returning to our practice of a daily Rosary. We are normally horrible with this, and many months can go between our family Rosaries. I have to say, with Peanut around, it's a lot harder. Last night, she just wouldn't go to sleep (darn those late afternoon inadvertent naps when she just falls asleep on the floor!)... and so we ended up going to bed, turning out the lights, and praying in the dark, hoping that the repetition combined with the dark and cuddling with Mama in bed would put her to sleep. Basically, she just flipped out. Mister got to lead the prayers while I was on containment duty - she was more spastic than I've ever seen her! (Of course, she fell asleep moments after it was done. Darn kid!)

So. Daily Rosary. Next week, I'm going to return to my daily gym routine. Oof. This is one that knocks me right in my lazy patootie. So we're starting out with spiritual and physical discipline. Who knows what's coming next??

On a completly unrelated note, I'm very busy with my project for the Baby a Baby swap - and can I say that I am thrilled with the way it looks? My craft night buddies are loving it, too...

what i've been up to this morning...

so i've recently become addicted to the site diaperswappers.com, and they have a great "for sale or trade" forum. i'm participating in my first trade, and wanted to show you what i made!

in exchange for a beautiful silky cart cover that looks like this:

i made a ring sling that looks like this:

and because it took a little too long, i made this rather primitive looking teddy (but Peanut loved it, so i'm hoping that her baby likes it, too!):
Mister doesn't really see how sewing / crafts can be so much fun... although whenever he goes out with the chainsaw, i don't get it either. i had a ball today doing these... and as soon as Peanut wakes up from her nap, i get to go send them off in the mail! i think it's kinda cool that someone halfway across the country, whom i've never met, will be using / wearing something i made for her. this is a first for me, can you tell?

new crochet project

i've mentioned before that i am a member of a Monday Night Crochet Group. i usually crochet, but there's knitting, scrapbooking, crosstitching, etc., going on as well as crocheting... i'm excited, because tomorrow night, i'm going to begin this afghan as a project for a dear friend's wedding present. i have a tendency not to like patterns, as i make stuffed animals, clothing, afghans, etc., all without any direction. this will be an exercise in patience.

i'm all about stretching myself in crocheting - i can get in ruts where i'm only comfortable doing the familiar. this will be a very good opportunity to teach me some discipline in crocheting. freestyling, or designing as i go, has its place, but not everything needs to be done that way!

plus, this new afghan is a great excuse to buy new yarn!

poncho

one of my recent crochet projects was to make a nursing poncho, large enough so that i could nurse discreetly underneath it, have it breathable for Peanut, but it had to be cute! it was fun to make, but it just wasn't cute on me - it ended up being too bulky and made my nursing-chest look even bigger than it was. fortunately, i have a slender cousin who looks great in anything, so she inherited a brand-new poncho!

5 minutes for mom

i've decided that is a verra fun website. they're having a new contest, even though i'm still wading through the blog party posts!

i have a niece that would just go into joy-shock if she received one of these adorable dance skirts from katchy kids... oh my goodness. if i don't win this contest, i may just get her one anyway - imagining the look on her face is so much fun!

i know i've been quiet lately - we took a trip this weekend that has me in rehab today. travelling with a almost-4-month old isn't quite like hopping in the car with DH and just driving off into the sunset. it was wonderful, but i am so sleepy. and dopey. the house is absolutely trashed, but my Monday Night Crochet Group is coming over tonight. (so much fun - women, yarn, talking about babies and husbands / recent dates, etc.... )

must clean. do you think that will help work off all the kajillions of calories consumed this weekend? and today's the feast of St. Joseph (a personal favorite), which means that my Lenten sacrifices of no sweets and nothing to drink except water are out the window today. actually, that's kind of a nice way to transition back to being home. mmm. maybe i should go eat some chocolate before i clean. :)