Silliness

The other night, Caleb was reading a story to Connor. I got out the camera to snap a picture, and the boys decided to start acting silly. I took a bunch of photos -- they came up with the poses. Here are a few for your enjoyment:











Things are NEVER boring around here.

Delectable Mountain Baby Quilt

I finished the quilt top for my nephew over the weekend. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. The back is going to be the green w/dots fabric, and I'll drop it off for quilting in the next few days. The binding is going to be plaid, and I think I'll use wool batting.

I love how young children always copy everyone, and want to be just like their parents or older siblings. Connor always likes to 'help' when I sew. Usually that means he's standing behind me on the chair trying to push the buttons (grrr!!!) or trying to help the thread along, but yesterday he decided to 'cut' some quilt blocks instead. Don't worry, the blade is retracted on the rotary cutter!


After 'cutting' his block, he had to try it out on the design wall. I have found that if I'm cutting a quilt, I can give him all the little scraps to play with, and he has quite a good time arranging them on the wall. That's good for a few minutes of peace. :)

Next on the agenda are some diaper covers, as Connor has pretty much outgrown the size Mediums we have. The boys are in VBS every morning this week, so I also hope to get a skirt made from New Look 6596. I have a darling Amy Butler print to make it from, and I'll line it in ambiance.

Boys, Boys, Boys!!!

The testosterone levels are getting way out of balance in our family!

We went back to Chicago on Wednesday so that Caleb and Calvin could meet Pablo. They marveled at how little and light he is (both remember Connor as a newborn, and he was 2 pounds heavier at birth). They enjoyed holding him and feeling his soft hair.

Calvin played "This Little Piggy" ever so gently. He likes to play it a bit rough with Connor, but he informed me since Pablo is new, he needs to play extra gentle. I think it is so neat how the kids just know to be gentle and soft with babies. Calvin also had brought the video camera to record Pablo's every move; it'll be fun to watch his 'movie'.

We are going to have a great time with "Cuzzy", as Calvin has dubbed him. :)

Beautiful Baby Boy

Look at my new little nephew! Isn't he just perfect? I was honored and delighted to be asked to come and help my brother and Julie with their first night home with Pablo. Connor and I went down Sunday afternoon, brought supper, and helped them get settled. I changed diapers, helped with nursing, made breakfast in the morning, and got a lot of snuggly baby time in. :)

He's a little peanut, but that'll change fast, as he is nursing like an old pro already. It was so fun to hold a new little baby again, and one of the great things about him being little is that he'll get to wear all the really cute tiny clothes longer. He had a wonderful first night home, waking up to nurse 3 times, and loudly fussing and protesting his diaper changes, as most newborns do.


Connor thought he was pretty cool, and seeing that Pablo and he are not even 2 years apart, I'm sure they are going to be good friends. I'm looking forward to cousin sleepovers in the future. :) Connor kept telling us the baby was sleeping (Baby nigh-nigh!) or that he was nursing (Baby mao!). He would smile and giggle when Pablo stretched or made faces.

We're going back to visit on Wednesday, with all the boys, as the older two haven't met their new cousin yet.

IT'S A BOY!!!

Peter Pablo II
6:03 p.m.
6 pounds, 7 ounces
9 days early

I'm sure he's perfect and beautiful. Congratulations to my brother and Julie! I can't wait to meet and hold my new little nephew.

Shoes

I love shoes. Being short (5'2"), I especially love heels. Being a SAHM, heels are impractical, but that doesn't stop me. :)

Every season I have a shoe quest. Last fall/winter, it was brown suede boots (no luck, didn't find anything that fit my vision). This spring/summer, it's wedge espadrilles. Tuesday I found some that fit my vision, from Franco Sarto. Aren't they great? I was --->this<--- close to buying the red ones instead. (I already have about 4 pairs of red shoes!) The black is more versatile for me right now. Anyway, I think these are going to be great for this summer, with either skirts or pants. Being wedges, though, they don't sit well on my shoe racks.

I still need some summer shoes that will be practical for everyday wear. I plan to make a few skirts from New Look 6354 or something similar (I don't like shorts). Suggestions anyone?

State Fair

The Wisconsin State Fair Premium Book has been available online for about 2 weeks now. I haven't decided what I'm going to enter yet. I enter stuff every year, but last year (and this year so far) was pretty slow for me, sewing-wise. The quilt competition is really heavy, so I never enter quilts (besides, I usually don't quilt my own quilts, so I don't think they are eligible anyway). I can use this as an opportunity to finish 2 UFOs: my pink tweed jacket and a red silk duppioni La Fred Europa blouse.

I usually enter a few things in the food categories as well. Strawberry jam is always entered (less than a month until strawberry season! We so need it -- we ran out of last year's jam about 6 weeks ago), sometimes peach, and usually a mixed fruit jam. Sometimes I bake (have never placed, though), and sometimes I make regular food (mac-n-cheese, mexican rice).

Entries need to be postmarked by July 1, so I have a few weeks to decide yet.

Blocks Finished!

40 Delectable Mountain blocks are DONE! Tomorrow I'll arrange them on the design wall and then stitch the top together.

Baby Quilt Progress

(Don't read this, Julie, if you want to be surprised)

On Tuesday I started working on the baby quilt for my brother and SIL. Baby is due in about 3 weeks -- it's about time I started! This block pattern is called Delectable Mountain, and I'm using 5 different fabrics. I have been making a few blocks every night, and figure that I need about 35 blocks.



I've been putting the finished blocks on my design wall as I finish them. In the final quilt, I'll have the blocks mixed up, not matchy matchy like this. I think it's turning out quite nicely. I hope to have the top done by the time the baby is born. I still need to get backing fabric and maybe an outer border fabric.

Flowers in the garden

Here are some of the flowers blooming in our yard at the moment. The dianthus seeded itself from last summer, and I love the color. The delphiniums are little -- they are only supposed to get to be 10-12" high, and the color is so light and fresh. The iris came from my mom last year, and are double bloomers. I should get another set of blooms in fall. She is planning to divide a bunch of other iris in tons of colors (white, peach, tan, black, purple, yellow, and combos), and so I hope to get those planted along the garage. I cannot wait, they are all so pretty.

The peony should be blooming next, within a week or so.

Boxer Bonanza

A few weeks ago I made a pair of boxer shorts for Calvin, using the First Choice Boxers pattern from Timberlane Press. I compared the pattern to a RTW pair he has, and decided on tracing off a size 2 (yes, a size 2 for an almost 7 year old!). They fit well, but before I made up a bunch (because he'd rather go commando than wear regular underwear, and we can't find RTW ones small enough), I wanted to try them again in a size 4. I figured if they were just a titch bigger, he'd be able to wear them longer.


Saturday afternoon I traced off the size 4 and made a pair up. I also increased the waist elastic 1" from the previous pair (but still quite a bit smaller than called for in the pattern). They fit great! He loves them, and now I need to get a production line set up and start a Boxer Bonanza. I'll do some in cotton, some in flannel, maybe some in knit, and he's requested a silk pair as well. HA! A six-year-old with silk boxers! :)

Oh Baby!

We went down to Chi Town yesterday for a baby shower for Julie. This one was for family. It was a fun time. The boys were excited to feel the baby belly. Only three more weeks to go! I gave Julie some of my favorite baby creams: Weleda Diaper Care and Calendula Baby Oil (it's fantastic for after baths or in baby wipes). She was also to get a Calendula Baby Cream, but Connor had gotten a hold of it the night before and tore it apart!

Only three (or five! ~G~) weeks to go, and we'll find out pink or blue! I'm thinking pink, personally. Perhaps it's just wishful thinking, but that's my gut feeling. Now to get started on the christening gown!

Stash Enhancement

Today was the last day that my favorite fabric shop, The Cutting Table, was open. :(

Last week the boys and I went when everything was 60% off. All of these except for the asian print are going to become boxers for Calvin. He picked the brown flannel himself. The minimum cut allowed was 1 yard (I only need 3/8-1/2 yd for boxers) so I might try and come up with some sort of cowboy quilt with the leftovers. The asian print had 4 yards left on the bolt, so I took the whole thing (natch!). It'll probably become the back of a quilt. All in all, I got 12 yards of fabric for $39.

My mom called me on Tuesday to see if I wanted to go back and check things out, at 70% off. Go to a fabric store? Don't have to ask me twice! Actually, it was pretty picked over, and I only found these pieces. The red/black print was tucked in with the 30s prints, and I bought the whole bolt (4.375 yds). I'll find something for it, it's kinda cute. Calvin picked the soccer players for another pair of boxers, and the FQ is just plain cool looking. I only spent $16 this time. I will miss the shop so very much, and am really sad to see it closing. I did my best to keep them in business, trust me. ;)

I hope to get in my sewing room this weekend, to at least get the next pair of boxer shorts for Calvin made (I'm going to try a size 4, to have more grow room). Lots of yard work on the schedule too, plus a trip to Chicago for a baby shower.

ack! I see I just broke 100 yards 'in'!

Flowers, Sweaters, and Teeth

The iris are in full bloom just outside the kitchen. I love seeing them out the window when I come down in the morning to make David's coffee. I think our yard is going to look pretty nice this summer.

Look, I finally finished this sweater for Connor! It actually got finished during the Winter Olympics, but then languished in a bag because I don't like seaming. My friend Beth took it for me and finished it this past weekend. I like it, but the neckline is a bit wide. It's a Debbie Bliss pattern, which I lengthened, but I also should have done another row or two of decreases at the neck. Next to knit is a hooded sweater, from a different Debbie Bliss book.

Calvin lost a tooth on Sunday! This is lost tooth #3, and I still need to get over to the bank and get a golden dollar for him. I didn't even know it was that loose, and all of a sudden it was out! He looks pretty cute with a 'hole' in his mouth. :) The 'matching' tooth on the other side is loose as well.


Connor is kinda sick. He coughed most of the night, and is still coughing today. He's quite clingy, so we'll be making much use of the sling.

UnGala

David and I attended the Congregation Shir Hadash UnGala on Saturday night. I had hoped to make Vogue 2711 to wear, but due to life in general, I didn't get to start on it, and just decided to save myself the stress of finishing it on time (I really don't do well with deadlines), so I never even started it. Instead, I wore this sparkly nursing top (OOP KS 2643) that I had made for Christmas 2004, with a black skirt, and my black satin heels. We had a lovely time with good friends and good food. It was really nice to be out with my husband -- alone -- and dressed up.

More Yard Work

We've had a lot of rain lately, and so the ground is pretty wet. It's been good for working in the yard, which is pretty much what I've been doing every night.

I wrote last week that a friend gave me some plants from her garden. Here is where I planted the stuff. You can see that the peonies are doing well. I think only the large bush will bloom (it's the only one that wasn't moved), but they all look healthy. Over to the right, just out of the picture, I planted two red climbing roses. The tree is lovely, isn't it? It's a redbud tree (Cercis canadensis), and is 20 years old.

The iris are starting to bloom. This one is right outside the kitchen door, and part of a large clump. I'll need to thin them out later this summer. I also have a white one shooting up buds in a far corner of the yard. I don't think the rest will bloom this year, as they've been moved. I also have a nice patch of strawberries here.

My big project has been getting rid of weeds and bushes in the back, and laying mulch. This is what this area originally looked like, and here it is after we cleaned it up a bit more. Caleb has been helping me. I really enjoy doing the yard work with him; we have some really nice talks. The back fence is going to go along the line made by the mulch. I need David to help me move that last large rock (it is REALLY heavy). We also plan to put a gate here in the back.

Birthday Cake

Click on any picture to see it full size

This is our traditional birthday cake for both Caleb and me (Calvin takes after his father and prefers chocolate). He usually gets raspberry, I usually get strawberry. It's a great summer cake, as it's 'no-bake', and very refreshing to eat. My mother made this cake for my very first birthday, and I've pretty much had it ever since. :)

1 pkg flavored gelatin (usually same flavor as frozen fruit)
1 c hot water
1 10 oz pkg frozen fruit
1/2 pint whipping cream (the kind you have to whip yourself)
powdered sugar and vanilla to taste, if desired
1/2 angel food cake, torn into bite size pieces


In a small bowl, dissolve gelatin into hot water. Add frozen fruit, and place in refrigerator until congealed.




Once gelatin mixture is congealed, whip whipping cream until fairly stiff, adding a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla if desired.




Add gelatin mixture and mix just slightly. You want sections of just gelatin and sections of just whipped cream.




Add torn up angel food cake and mix to coat.





Pour into 8x8 pan (or, if you are like me and have broken your pan and keep forgetting to buy a new one, use a pie plate), cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Serve garnished with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Don't forget to lick the bowl! :)

Usually I match the gelatin flavor to the frozen fruit, however, I have made it strawberry/raspberry (or vice versa), and strawberry kiwi (strawberry/kiwi gelatin, frozen strawberries, garnished with sliced kiwi). You can easily double this recipe and then pour it into a bundt pan. Unmold and serve right away, though, because as it warms to room temperature, it starts to 'melt'.

It's almost always a big hit with the kids. :)

Finished quilt

I finished stitching the binding on this quilt over the weekend. The pattern is Strait of Georgia from More Fat Quarter Quilts, by M'Liss Rae Hawley. My friend Sarah, in Iowa, sent me the packet of FQs early last year, as they reminded her of me. If you don't know me well, just know that I adore animal prints. I switched the b/w zebra stripe FQ out and put the dark greenish one in its place. The pattern was easy, though I did have to piece some of the light green patches. I guess that particular FQ had been cut skimpy. I like the way the skinny orange border looks, and the wide border is a really neat looking fabric.

I had the local fabric shop do the quilting, and chose a wool batting. Wool batting is my favorite batt to pick, it's so soft and drapey. We've already put the quilt to use, and it's very cozy. Looking at the photo of the full quilt I think I should have arranged my blocks a bit different, like going from dark to light from the center out. Either way, I'm happy it's finished and that this quilt is for my own family. I will think of Sarah every time I use it, and that will make me smile. :)

A CPF Music Mix

This is the music mix Caleb put together for his birthday party:

1. Axel F -- Crazy Frog
2. There's A God In My Garage -- Benjamin Antell
3. Coffee House Disco (Groove Mix) -- Electro Morph
4. Cold Feelings -- Social Distortion
5. Devil's Nightmare -- Oxide & Neutrino
6. Get Bizzy Time -- Voight Kampff
7. Illuminati -- Fatboy Slim Featuring Boosty Collins
8. La Bomba -- Ricky Martin
9. Lola, Lola -- Ricky Martin
10. Mambo Swing -- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
11. Right Here, Right Now -- Fatboy Slim
12. The Rockafeller Skank -- Fatboy Slim
13. Youth Of The Nation -- P.O.D.

Yard Work

We've been working on the yard the past few days. A friend of mine gave me some plants from her yard, so on Saturday I cleaned out some more of the flower beds and planted some iris (no idea what color), asters, bee balm, and something else that she couldn't remember the name of, but the flowers are yellow. Sunday we bought 2 climbing roses, so I planted those by the neighbor's fence. I think they are red. The peonies I moved look healthy. I think only one will bloom this year, but at least they all are growing.

Monday we had 5 yards of red cedar mulch delivered. David and Caleb spent almost all of Monday evening spreading mulch along the side yard. It looks so nice and clean and fresh! I also spread mulch where I had done my planting.

We found a nest of bunnies while working in the yard, so Calvin has been going to check on them a lot. He knows not to touch them or bother them, and we rescued one from the dog. As of yesterday, they haven't been around. We went to the library to find some books about wild rabbits.

Quilts and cars

Here are my fabrics for my 'Red Onion' quilt. They look pretty nice in my bedroom, which is painted purple (Martha Stewart's Thyme Flower, to be exact). I got out my copy of The Quilter's Pocket Reference last night, and figured out that if I want to make this a queen sized quilt, I need to have 63 blocks. Hmmm. We'll have to see.

Every night I've been trying to stitch at least one set of blocks. My homework is to have 36 blocks done by Tuesday. The technique is the same as it was for the Stack and Cut quilt I did in February. So far I have 22 done. I have enough fabric to do 63 blocks, and I am one third of the way there ....

On to cars. I mentioned last week that we bought a new car:
Brand-spankin' new! I've been driving it this week, and I must say, it is really nice. I'm still getting used to backing out. All the other cars I have had the mirrors automatically tilt down when you go in reverse, so you can see by the tires. I didn't realize how much I depend on that until now -- in the Honda, the mirrors don't tilt. It is nice to drive though, and doesn't feel huge.

The boys love all the room, and yesterday, they figured out that if they put down the third row of seats, and turn on a CD, they can have a dance party in the back. Caleb has been making playlists on iTunes and burning them to discs. Since he's really too tall to be dancing in the back, he is usually the DJ. I'll have to post some of his "CPF Music Mixes" for fun someday.

Viva Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexican Independence Day (that's September 16). Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican victory over the French in Puebla. Go celebrate with a margarita (I prefer strawberry) today! :)

Plans and upcoming projects

It seems I always have 18 projects going on at once. We got invited to a "UnGala", and I need a pretty outfit. Vogue 2711 popped into my head, because I want to use up stash, and I already have the pattern. The plan is to make the blouse out of a leopard print silk chiffon, and the skirt (shorter version) out of a brown moleskin. I'm keeping the option open of making the skirt from brown satin. I need this done by May 20.

I started a quilt class on Tuesday, called the Red Onion. This is a quilt from the book Stack A New Deck, and I'm doing mine in asian fabrics (naturally!). My homework for this week is to have all my blocks done (36 of them), and being the person I am, I plan to make my quilt bigger. Actually, as I was preparing all my fabrics, I realized they look pretty nice in my bedroom, so I might try and make enough to have a queen size quilt. We'll see.

Sadly, my favorite local fabric shop is closing its doors. The Cutting Table is liquidating their inventory, with a final date of May 26. I am going to miss them so much. I love the ambiance of the shop, my boys loved going there and playing in the little play area, and I learned how to quilt there. If you are in the area, everything is on sale: 30% off this week, 40% next week, 60% off the third week of May, and 70% off the last week in May. They are not open on Sundays. This week I purchased a bunch of fabric (hence the large jump in $ spent and yardage in stats), and so now I have everything needed for baby quilts #2 and #3. The babies are due in June, and at a minimum I'd like to have the tops done by then.

I also have planned more boxer shorts for Calvin. He won't take the pair I made for him off! Flattering, for sure, but stinky too. :) Then there are clothes for me -- I always have ideas for clothes whirling around in my head. I think I'll be putting in some late nights these next few weeks.

Diez Añotes

(Obviously there is something yellow on the scanner. I have no clue as to what)

Caleb is TEN!

10 years ago.












He is such a fun, wonderful kid.
















A handsome young man.












Time has gone by fast.

Later on tonight we'll have his favorite supper: pork roast, mashed potatoes/gravy, peas, butterflake rolls. We'll also have his traditional birthday cake: raspberry jello-cake (recipe to come later). Right before bed I'll tell him his birth story and all about when he was a baby.

Happy birthday kiddo! I love you bunches.