New Years will be here soon!

Wow its hard to believe that this year has gone by so fast. This past year has been so busy that I am not sure where all the time went. We celebrated so many 1st for Logan including his first birthday this year. We also celebrated Keith retiring after 20 Years in the Navy and shortly after that welcomed our precious Grayson to our family.

After a day full of celebrating together as a family I was cleaning and thinking about New Years and whether I wanted to make any resolutions. This year is going to be extremely busy as Keith has accepted a job in Colorado, meaning that we will be planning a big move hopefully sooner rather than later. His new job also requires him to deploy over seas which we are not looking forward to but know that in the long run this can be a good thing for our family. So rather than making a resolution that I probably wont be able to keep I am just going to set some goals that I would like to work towards:

1. Be strong for my little boys. Daddy being gone is harder on them than it is on me.
2. Strive to teach and nurture my little guys even if I don't feel like it.
3. Continue to make things for my little guys that will make time together special as well as make the pictures for daddy memorable.
4. Kind of off the wall but make at least one thing every month for our Christmas 2014. New house, New adventures, Christmas 2014 will be one to remember even if Daddy is deployed I vow to make Christmas in our new home special.

This year we didn't do much for Christmas because we didn't know if Daddy was going to be able to come home to spend it with us. We had all the gifts and goodies for the boys but there weren't many decorations around the house due to a busy mommy of 2 under the age of 2 that didn't feel up to digging through storage to get our decorations.

Next year will be different. I hope to be more organized and have things planned a little better.

I hope that everyone has had a Merry Christmas and wish you all the best in the up coming year.

Play Time...

While cleaning and re-organizing Logan's room I found some hand puppets that I had stitched out for him I believe shortly after he was born. At that point we used them to get him to smile but when he started crawling he wasn't really interested in them.

Recently Logan has become interested in his puppets and will even let you put them on his hands to play. So with that in mind I have moved to the top of my list More hand puppets for Logan. Here at Too Cute Embroidery is where I found the designs for the first couple that I have made.

An Update and Modified Bed rest.

Well it has been a long time since I have posted and not for lack of wanting to. Things have just been crazy around here. Keith retired a couple weeks ago and is home with me and Logan. It couldn't have come at a better time. Just a few days before his ceremony we recieved a call from the Dr telling us that I had become very anemic and even though I had been taking the supplements they weren't helping. We were scheduled for iron infusions and just finished those up last weekend.

We have an appointment on Friday for a check up and to ease my mind that this little guy is ok. We have six more weeks until our new little one is supposed to make his debut but we have our doubts that he will make it that long. Keith takes care of Logan most of the day and lets me lay down so that we can keep the Braxton Hicks at bay.

I wish that I could say that I was doing alot of sewing but I haven't done much of anything. I did learn a new 10 minute block from my friend Karyn that is amazing. Here is a video:

I have a few more blocks to finish and then sew the center diamond down. I can't wait to finish. I put that on the back burner to finish up some golf towels for Keith that a coworker has paid him for. Then I hope to get some things done for Logan and his little brother.

Lucky Momma

I am such a lucky Momma! I have finally gotten around to sitting down to write a couple blog posts to thank people for some gifts that I have won through blog land. I have not forgotten, just have been a little pre-occupied with other things. My little guy has figured out that he can get on the couch all by himself. So alot of my day is spent trying to keep him from climbing off the couch head first and then the resting to keep braxton hicks contractions at bay. There hasn't been much in the way of craftyness.. though the thoughts are there as I am laying down resting.

Back in March Kelly over at I have a Notion hosted a Machine Embroidery Blog Hop sponsored by Anita Goodesign (who designs some of my favorite embroidery designs). After visiting every blog on the hop and entering the give away at all of them I was the lucky winner at Cheeky Cognoscenti of one of Anitas Special Editions. I choose Oriental Day Dream.

I will be super excited to get this in the mail! Keith likes the Oriental designs and I have so many ideas for this.

To make things more fun Kelly tossed in a $25 gift certificate to her shop IHAN for anyone that advertised the hop on their blog, face book or twitter. Guess what I was the lucky winner there too!!! Yeah me. I'm so excited. I haven't used the certificate yet because I just can't decide what to spend it on there is just too many great things.

My most recent bout of luck was on the IHAN blog. Kelly wrote all about how to use Transfer Artist Paper you can check out her post here. C&T Publishing gave away a 5 pk of the paper and I was the lucky winner. I have some military photos of my husband and I and am trying to decide what I want to do with them.

So BIG, THANK YOUS to Anita Goodesign, Kelly and the IHAN crew and to C&T Publishing.

Do you ever feel like the cleaning is never ending??

I DO!! I have been despirately trying to re-organize my sewing/craft room so that we could convert it into the guest room. The guest room will then be cleaned up and decorated for our new arrival to make his debut the end of July.. Though we don't think that he will wait that long.

I feel like my sewing room is strewn through out my house and that is never what I wanted. I have again this AM started washing fabrics that belong to my guild as they were donated and smell like dust and smoke. It is not easy to get that smell out. I was trying to iron them to perfection so they were ready to use but just can't do it.. the more I stand behind the ironing board the more I swell and then have trouble chasing Logan so I choose Logan.. Smiles. His smile makes the discomfort just a little less noticable.

Today we will be turning Comfort Quilts back over to the guild. I wanted to be the super quilter and super mom but being pregnant with a second its just not happening. It was fun while it lasted but I have to admit it will feel good to just let go. One less thing for me to worry about outside of the house and let me focus on the things that I need to get done here.


So today I am saying good bye to Comfort Quilts and hello to the space in the garage to organize some other things, and to the piece of mind that the other ladies in the guild will be able to do a better job at getting quilts to the people that need them.

A Check up and 1 year shots...

Well we may have found the cause of the crankies.. at least for Mogie any way. He is usually so happy but lately he's waking in the middle of the night and is cranky on and off through out the day. The dr today says he may be getting his incisor teeth on the top and that he may also be cutting molars.. WHAT? Molars already? Then to top it off he got 4 shots. Poor little guy.

He and I didn't sleep well last night and he really didn't nap all that well today either, meaning my nap was non exhistant as well. Oh well how can you be upset at a little guy who keeps standing on his head and looking at you through his legs.. Smiles.

I had thoughts of sewing today but just couldn't get it together. I ended up working on cleaning up my little corner here at the back of our kitchen table.. re-organizing my threads to figure out what colors I am low on things like that. I need to make a list of the threads I need and get a order together before I run out in the middle of a project like usual.

Above are the threads that I have yet to rewind and see if there is actually a labeled space for them in my box. I have put on the list of things I want a thread organizer to hang on the wall but due to the fac that we are moving the sewing room (ok probably packing it up) we will have to re think that.

Do you have a special way to display your threads?

Organizing for Baby...

Today I found myself very frustrated with the fact that I have yet to get things organized for the arrival of little guy #2 as well as wishing that my munchkin's closet was more organized. We have found that we put him in the same clothes all the time and miss out on some really cute outfits. So as I was folding some clothes that I got from my brother and sister in law I decided that I need to make better use of my closet organizers and hangers.

I have decided to make new size organizers for Mogie and little guy #2. In the past I made some for my nephew Noah but have never made them for us. So this has been put on our list of to dos before #2 gets here.
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The designs that I used to make organizers for my nephew can be found here at Designs by Sick.

They were fast and easy but I want ours to be different than theirs. I think I may use some that can be found at NewFound Applique at least for one set and then I think I may change it a little so that I can make them different for both boys.

What did you stitch today?

CTTY embroidery...

Well with a new outlook on the week and my heart set on completing goals this month, let me tell you about CTTY. I joined a group call Christmas Through The Year (CTTY). Each month we have a goal of completing one item to put in our christmas box whether it be decorations for your house or gifts for your family and friends. These goals are set in the hopes that there won't be marathon sewing taking place christmas eve night and that you too can relax and enjoy your holiday.

When I read about this my thought was "Count me in". This last year I was extremely sick for the holidays trying to make the best of Logan's first Christmas. This next year will be our new little ones first Christmas and I really want to be able to wake up Christmas morning and feel as rested as you can with an infant and toddler in the house but know that Santa came to visit and mommy didn't have to stay up all night helping him.

So in an effort to work on my sewing/embroidery goal of 50,000 stitches and CTTY for the month of April. I decided to work on some of these:

We are not sure if we will have company for Christmas this year but I want to get some special things done that can be used for stocking stuffers for the women of course. I don't think any of the men in our family read much of anything other than magazines.

Case of the Mondays...

I woke up this morning feeling Blah!! I have had several nights in a row that I have trouble sleeping. Then of course the animals realize that I am awake and want attention so they won't leave me alone meaning even if I could fall back asleep they aren't going to let me.

I'm sure some of the problem is pregnancy anxiety and the thought that Mogie's birthday and Easter had to be perfect. Well now Easter and his birthday are done. Some things didn't turn out the way I expected but all in all it was perfect and we have tons of adorable pictures to cherish.

I could not believe what a good sport Mogie was. He wore his crown several times through out the day and never once complained. Knowing that and seeing his reaction I think that there will definatley be other hats and costume type things on my "To Make" list that can be put away for special play times and rainey day fun (Not that we get a whole lot of rain).

As a Machine Embroiderist do you set your self goals as to completed projects or estimated completed stitches per week/ month? I am finding mysef more and more closing my eyes at night and thinking that I wish that I had turned the machine on and done something. I have tried to document my stash several times and well have not been sucessful at all. This weekend I did a lot of marathon stitching to get things done for Logan's birthday and Easter. It felt good to stitch both embroidery and regular sewing even if some of the projects didn't work out.

So todays Monday as well as a new month. I am going to start fresh. Being a busy mom to a toddler it isn't always easy to get to the sewing or embroidery machine but I am going to try. I have set my self a goal of 50,000 stitches a week on the embroidery machine. To some that may seem like alot but in the word of machine embroidery its not really that much. I have tons of projects swirling around in my head as well as some that I started and need to finish. Any one else want to join in?

 This Anita Goodesign "Christmas Town" is one of the many things that I have started and didn't get to finish due to health issues before Christmas. I don't think that it will count for "Christmas Through the Year" until the quilt is done but it would do wonders for my stitch goal as well as complete a UFO. I think I can manage one block a week or maybe 2 a month. Then maybe it can be displayed this year.

Until Later .. Happy Stitching

Easter Sunday.. Bright and Early

Well the Easter Bunny was up bright and early this morning. This is what he left for Logan:

As I was up at 4 am and couldn't seam to get back to sleep I decided that I was going to try to do a little stitching to maybe get some little things to put in Mogie's Easter eggs. I was able to get 5 of these Easter hats completed. I'm not happy with my stabilizer but they will do this time.

I am going to leave it as is this year and just use the motivation that I have now to stitch to get some other projects that I have been wanting to finish done. Here's one last picture of our birthday boy!!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Un Productive Saturday.. Ugh

Well I had alot of things that I wanted to get done for Mogie for his birthday and Easter and they just aren't working out!! I had to run to the store to get some things like bobbin thread and grommets. When I got home I figured "I'm set!!" Lets get this stuff stitching.

As of 930 I was no closer to getting anything done to fill the easter eggs, and hurts so much from leaning over the sewing machine that I decided to just go to bed.

So I leave you with Mogie's completed birthday crown:

More Party Hats...

Earlier I mentioned that I bought a design set at Embroidery Library called Party Hats. I have already completed the sheriff's hat for Logan's birthday but, couldn't resist the birthday crown that said "It's my birthday!!" So after I finished the first hat I immediately loaded the machine with the second. It's Mo's first birthday and we are going to have lots of fun!!

While the second hat was stitching I was able to finish up the banner for the highchair. If you missed my first post on this you can find it here. The first post will tell you were I found all the designs to complete the banner. All in all I am happy with the way it turned out it looks really cute. We are going to hang it up in his room after his birthday.

 

I am just a multi tasker today... I started scrubbing the tile floor today I have about a 3 foot area cleaned up.. Shh.. don't tell Keith he will be upset with me.. I started on my hands and knees but it just hurts too much so I am going to cheat and go get the stiff bristle brush from the garage.. that way I can try to finish before Keith gets home.

Early Morning Friday...

Not sure what was going on but this morning I woke up at 3 am and as soon as the cats realized I was awake they wanted attention. After kicking two of them off the bed about 8 times all I could think about was the long list of things that I wanted to get done and how I was so far behind. Needless to say I was not falling back to sleep. I was up just before 4 and decided to get working.

First things first I made the mistake of starting a load of laundry last night that did not include Keith's new dress shirt that he wanted for the Job fair today. So I washed and dryed his shirt and hung it up. I checked out some embroidery sales and my email only to find that YIPEE Embroidery Library is having a "Love to Stitch" sale. I watch for their sales on Tuesdays and was hoping this last Tuesday that they would have a sale because I really wanted the Party Hats and Cone Hats Design Pack and I didn't want to order them seperately. I was a little bummed when there wasn't a design pack sale because I didn't plan far enough in advance for Logan's birthday. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw my email.

Embroidery Library Party Hats

This is the first Hat that I had started stitching for Logan. I have at least one other one planned but it all depends how on task I stay today. We have an appointment this after noon and have no idea how long it is going to take.

 

 

Here is the completed hat. I think its Logan approved. It consisted of over 36367 stitches according to my machine. Not a bad start to the day if you ask me. There are still thoughts of finger puppets and toy stuffies running through my head but I don't want to get to ahead of myself..

Thursday Already??!!

My goodness I can't believe that it is Thursday already!! Where did my week go?? I had so much to do this week and it doesn't seem that I have gotten anything done. Mostly because I tried to do to much at one time and ended up having to rest but still I have a list 100 miles long. Logan's 1st birthday is this weekend as well as his first easter that he is able to some what understand what is going on and I have nothing completed that I wanted done.

On top of that, I wanted things to be clean and tidy so that Keith could come home and relax this weekend and not spend his weekend helping me to clean due to nesting and having the overwhelming urge to clean EVERYTHING and well that just hasn't happened. Ugh.. Well I guess its time to choose my priorities and I am going to have to say that Logan having a great weekend is number 1.

What are you working on today? I have spent most of the week searching for the perfect embroidery designs to finish a project that I have had in my head for ever and have not acted on. Needless to say the last minute searching has not turned out as I had planned so my project has changed a bit.

Here is a sneak peek of the banner that I am working on for Logan's high chair birthday banner.

 

The pennant (triangle banner) I found at Yummy Factory. I started with the High Chair Banner, trying to find the perfect embroidery designs to put on for our little cowboy but couldn't find a design that I liked that was small enough. I was using fabric from stash and we didn't want the designs to get lost in the print of the fabric. I ended up deciding to use the full size Birthday Banner for the pennants so that the perfect #1 would fit on the banner. The #1 can be found at Applique For Kids.

 

 

 

While trying to turn the pennants right side out I couldn't find my trusty Purple Thang (yes I have more than one but can never seem to find them when I need them) So I resorted to Keith's Chop sticks. They work perfectly and I know that I can always find them in the silverware drawer.. Smiles.

Stay tuned for the rest of the banner.. and any other birthday/ easter goodies that I can get made for Logan last minute..

Sunday Cleaning...

Well today I did a whole lot of cleaning of my kitchen. Before the kitchen though I wiped down the master bath cabinets with my trusty Murphy's Oil soap prepping the bathroom so that Keith could do the down and dirty scubbing. You should see the shower doors they are all shiny and clean!!

I decided that all my appliances needed some scrubbing. So I scrubbed the dishwasher, Stove/ Oven and then the microwave. If you have never done it boiling a cup of water in the microwave with a little vinegar does wonders. It loosens the grime and then you can use the hot water to wipe it all away. I also used the hot vinegar water to wipe down the stove. What a difference it made.

Together Keith and I changed beds (Which was on my list for tomorrow) so we will start off the week with clean linen, clothes, and a sparkling bathroom. Yeah

My evening ended with some searching of Embroidery Library for single designs that I couldn't live with out and had to use my Happy Hour Coupon on. Couldn't pass up 10 designs for $10. Here is just one of my many treasures:

 

 

I was thinking this would be a great gift for the Grandparents when the new baby is born. Better than a birth announcement. So these are on my list to do.

 

Since Keith helped me to do some of the tasks that I had planned for Monday then I will have time to do some stitching. Yeah!! As long as I can sit in the chair by the machine.

The Easter Bunny.

Well today was a wash. Logan had a rough night I was up rocking for him for over 3 hours becuase he just didn't want to sleep. We weren't sure if it was because of the trauma on thursday or just a rough night. So momma slept in a little and then we started our weekend errands.

After grocery shopping and a nap we took Logie to see the Easter Bunny.

He had a blast. Wasn't scared at all. He is so adorable and I have lost track of all the cute pictures that we have taken of him catching him doing things that I think are absolutely amazing.

One of the first pictures that I sent Keith was a picture of Logan and the Easter Bunny when Logan was just 5 days old. I can't believe he is going to be a year old. Where has the year gone?

Until later,

Embroidery Sales and a trip to the ER..

I wish that I had something spectacular to show you today but I am exausted and just haven't had time to stitch anything today. I started off the day reading the blogs along the Machine Embroidery blog hop. What a great bunch of bloggers! If you haven't checked it out you should the hop was put together by Kelly from I have a Notion and is sponsored by Anita Goodesign.

If you have never stitched an Anita embroidery design I highly reccomend that you do. They are great!

While I was reading and watching my little guy be silly running around with his toys I watched him fall down.. Not usually a big deal you pick him up tell him he's ok kiss his boo boo and he's off and running. Not today the scream was diffrent.. I sat down with him to try to console him and noticed that there was blood coming from his mouth.. then I realized I had no idea whether the toy he was carrying was actually in his mouth when he fell or just hit him in the face.. He wouldn't let me look in his mouth. I could tell his bottom two teeth were ok but I couldn't get his mouth open far enough to look at the top one. Yes, being a first time mom I panicked and ran out to the car and rushed him to the ER. Turns out he bit his lip and his tongue... he stopped crying and started jabbering at me half way to the ER but I had to know that his teeth were OK. They tell me to give him tylenol and popsicles to help the pain. Im not sure he's really in pain being that I caught him licking the railing on the crib.. LOL.

 

Alright so in closing I just wanted to let you know that Julia's Needle Design is having a great $2 sale. She has some adorable designs. They are worth every penny even when they are full price but I always say if I can get more I want them all. Smiles

Also Stitch Delight is having a great $1 sale on all sorts of wonderful designs. If you are by chance working on your Christmas Through The Year box they have some great free standing lace ornaments, stockings and things like that. Enjoy!!

Logan's 2nd Easter

Well by default this year will be Logan's 2nd Easter. He was actually only a few days old last Easter so it really didn't make any sense to put him on the Easter Bunnies list for a basket and Easter Egg hunt. But this year is different. Though I am sure he doesnt remember Logan helped me pick out the plastic easter eggs a couple weeks ago and I have had projects on this list to make for months.


Easter happens to fall on Logan's birthday this year so we will be doing alot of celebrating. Today I pulled out fabrics to make a Zippered Easter Egg Pouch using a machine embroidery design that can be purchased at Embroidery Garden. The designs are reasonably priced and always stitch out great! Keith makes jokes that some of my fabric is girlie and Logan is a boy but really it doesn't matter. Logan plays with everything, is facinated by all and I'm sure will love what ever he is given.

Here are the fabric for the first pouch (depending on how long it takes me I may make more and in different sizes) Stripes for the outside and green feathers/grass for the lining.

After a power outage and a few mistakes because I didn't take my time and re-read the directions here is the finished Zippered Egg Pouch And though this pouch is not perfect it was approved by Logan who is facinated by zippers.

I will make another couple before easter to actually put in his easter basket with felt bunnies and other things to go with them. The plan is to make some finger puppets and things like that. Until the next time...