Flower and Flour

With a little dusting of snow outside today I thought I would talk about flowers (and flour).  Exactly 0 of our tulips that we planted last fall have started to come up in the garden.  I have a feeling they either weren't deep enough or were eaten by the squirrels.  

But, my Amaryllis is blooming for the 2nd time in the house and putting on a big show.  I was about to put it in the basement and saw another little bit of green poking out.  I'm glad I kept it out!  

Eliot has been helping me make bread - which basically means we measure and put it in the bread machine. I am enjoying tweaking recipes and he enjoyed taste testing the flour. He was making little puffs whenever he spoke it was pretty funny.

I'm also working on some more felt flowers.  They are so fun to do and very similar to making standing wool rugs.  I think it would be fun to make a flower rug out of them!  Perhaps another project to work on...

Walk in the Woods

Enjoying the last of the melting ice and snow in the woods.

New Clothes

Trying my hand at baby clothes again. I haven't made anything this small in a while. These are the reversible pants from this book. I found the directions to be a little hard to follow but I tend to have a hard time visualizing in 3d anyway. I keep making things with these two fabric combos. They are light and soft and contrasting.

Some booties to match from the same book. These took me FOREVER to make. They are cute, but I deviated from the pattern at the end because I just couldn't figure out what she meant for directions. There is a nursing shirt I'd like to try from the book but I am a little hesitant after making these two items. I will probably make the pants again, though. A little bit of buyers remorse considering there are so many cute and free booty and baby patterns on the web.

Springing

The weather here, like everywhere else, has been amazingly warm. My garden is popping up everywhere - even my perennial herbs are popping up. I saw these the other day and couldn't remember what it was until the leaves started to unfurl. We will be enjoying rhubarb soon!

Eliot and I decided to let one of the bunnies come out and enjoy some of the green grass coming up. This is Rosie the more outgoing and friendly of the two bunnies. Smokey is very sweet too but Rosie has taken the spot as favorite for Eliot. It is a little silly to see a bunny on a leash but it certainly makes me smile! Kevin has really been the main bunny keeper of the house. He is so good at brushing them and cleaning their cages. Hopefully, I will learn to spin one of these days.

Eliot declared that he wanted to learn how to play chess a couple of days ago. So, we took a detour to goodwill yesterday and found a chess board/combo game set for a few dollars, plus I scored a couple of pieces of maternity clothes, whoohoo.

He really likes the idea of the battle and strategy. He stuck with it for a good hour yesterday. It reminded me of learning how to play against my Dad when I was a kid. I was even in chess club!

So, here's to warm weather and spending more time outside. Eliot is off to play golf with my mom today!

Stenciling and Spring Peepers

I have started another Alabama Chanin project. I certainly won't be fitting into it for a long time with the growing belly but I figure by the time I can fit into it I will be finished. Plus it will be good motivation to get back to my pre-baby size a little faster than the first time.

I'm working on the Quilted and Inked Camisole Dress. The pattern is from her 2nd book. I also got some supplies to make a skirt from her 3rd book after the dress is done. I received a ton of 50% off coupons to the fabric store so I couldn't resist.

I had cut out a smaller version of this patter for the tunic shirt I made a while back. I had cut it out on paper so it really didn't last. This time I am using vinyl that I was able to find by the yard. Hopefully that with some spray adhesive will do the trick when stenciling this dress.

The birds are back around here in full force. Along with the bugs and butterflies. I have been thinking about making (or having Kevin make) me a feather stamp/lino block print to make some custom curtains.

This is a special day too as we heard the peepers for the first time this year last night! That is always my first indicator of spring. I even slept with the windows open!

Jess Brown Knock Off

I fell in love with Jess Brown dolls after seeing them in Martha Stewart magazine a few months ago. So, I promptly started making my knock off version. It is pretty much an exact copy but it has been fun to figure it out as I go along. I've added some of my own little details such as the felted flower in her hair.

She has been a good way to use up some leftover fabric I have had lying around.

Her dress should be done this weekend if all goes as planned. Her whole spindly self is very cute. She is definitely staying in the family.

Meet Lucky

We have all kinds of new members of the family coming along of the furry, feathered, fishy and human kind. Soon I will share some pictures of the two Angora bunnies we rescued. At the end of June I will share about the one in my belly but for now I've got the newest member of the menagerie, Lucky.

Eliot and I happened into a pet store a while back and he became enamored with the parakeets. So, he immediately started saving, quarter by quarter, to earn one. We spent time reading lots of books and learning about parakeets and their behavior. Then we happened to find a bird rescue that happened to have exactly what he wanted. We spent a lot of time talking to the woman who runs the facility and we took home Lucky. He is still getting used to us but he lets Eliot pet his head and step on his fingers already.

He is so colorful and likes to chirp at the birds that come to the window feeder, especially the Cardinals. He is a sweet little guy, I am looking forward to watching his personality develop.

Felting

I have been trying my hand at felt flowers on and off over the last few months. My craft room has been dissasembled and dispersed around the house as we are slowly redoing our upstairs. Small projects have been my crafting outlet - although my sights have gotten bigger.

This is a Dahlia that I sewed together after being inspired by some pictures I found online. I didn't glue them together as suggested but hand sewed them instead. It was moderately time consuming and not as stable as I might like but it looks pretty on a wreath I have hanging in my kitchen (picture forthcoming).

These are also so nice and portable to bring around and work on here and there while waiting around. My favorite flower inspiration is Heather her flowers are so pretty.

Good to be Back

It is good to be back after such a long hiatus. My old computer was just too slow to edit images and post anymore. My Mother bought a new computer so I was able to trade family portraits to clean it out and speed it up and boy is it speedy!

So much to catch up on. I will start with a family walk that we took today. The weather has taken a turn towards spring around here. I don't hold my breath that we won't get another big storm or a good frost but with 70 in the forecast for next week it is hard not to get out in the garden and start digging!

Still a bit of ice and snow around here and there along the edge of the pond.

Little treasures found along the path.

A family portrait that has been a long time coming. I can't remember the last time we all had a picture together!

This face has changed a lot since the last time I was here. He is stretching out and becoming quite a little man.

I look forward to being here more often, see you soon.