garden treasures

One of the unexpected joys of buying our house in January has been watching what plants have been popping up in the front yard this spring. There is an azalea blooming, and irises and peonies have emerged from the cold, hard dirt. Perennials amaze me that way.

 

We have a landscaping request in to the Architectural Planning Committee of our HOA, but in the meantime, I'm weeding. As it turns out, the previous owner had some creative garden decor ideas. These are the treasures I've found just below the surface.

bread

You know it's been a productive day when you run out of counter space and leave bread to cool on the kitchen floor.

baby shoes

I've been following Shwin & Shwin, a blog about kids clothes for a while now. There are a lot of sewing blogs out there, and a good number of blogs about sewing kids clothes, but this blog has patterns and tutorials and all kinds of detailed info. It's not just a place where the creator posts photos and brags, it's actually helpful! Also, the stuff they make is really well designed. I especially like that the boys clothes are just as unique as the girls clothes. It's easy to add ruffles and other embellishments when you're sewing for a little girl, but I'm more impressed with the details they put into the little menswear.

I made the shoes below for friends who just found out they are expecting a little girl. The pattern is based on this one for newborn mary jane shoes. I love the little pleats and comfy felt lining. My first attempt I cut along the line that is apparently supposed to be the seam allowance, oops, and they ended up doll-sized. I made another pair of the mary janes and forgot to take a picture before giving them away. This pair I skipped the strap and went with the ballet slipper look. Ta da!

a quilt for Baby E

Our dear friends Blake and Sarah are expecting their first child any minute now. In fact, she's more than a week past her due date, and I'm hoping for her sake she's experiencing early signs of labor at this very moment.

I finished their quilt last weekend. Here it is!

Patrick found this verse from Proverbs, and it seemed appropriate for a baby blanket.

 

I had doubts about the colors when I ordered the fabric online, but I'm pleased with the outcome.

Letterpress is a hobby and the nursery has an alphabet theme.

I couldn't resist making "quick change trousers" from Handmade Beginnings with extra fabric.

One Lovely Blog Award

My good friend Katie (soon to be Katie Lovely) over at Katie Jacobs awarded me this honor. Thank you, I am so flattered! Katie is a costume designer, and when you pair that with an interest in historical reenactment and a whole lot of talent, it makes for some beautiful things! She blogs and has an Etsy shop and is pretty much amazing. 

1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Add the ‘One Lovely Blog Award’ image to your post.
3. Share seven things about you.
4. Pass the award on to seven nominees.
5. Include this set of rules.
6. Inform your nominees by posting a comment on their blogs. 


I thought coming up with 7 things about myself would be easy. A few years ago I did that popular list of 25 things on Facebook. I even read my old list to help me get started, but not a lot seems relevant any more. Here goes the new list:
1. I'm a stay at home mom. It's the most challenging and rewarding thing I've ever done, and my responsibilities are scheduled to double in the not so distant future.
2. My husband and I are new homeowners. We bought a townhouse in January and are consumed with house related projects.
3. I consider the DC metro region one of the least friendly places I've ever lived, but that said, I have a remarkably loving and supportive group of friends.
4. I used to be an avid reader, but chasing a toddler all day leaves me with only enough energy to watch tv.
5. I'm careful not to over-share in social media, but my online presence is such that I get very uncomfortable when I Google myself.
6. This award just might revitalize my poor neglected blog, which I haven't posted to since mid December.
7. I dream of someday owning and running a Bed & Breakfast. It would be quite the career change, but I love the idea of making hospitality in a home setting a vocation.

It has been over two weeks since I received this award, and the only reason I haven't yet posted is my inability to choose blogs to nominate. There are several blogs that I read very regularly. KidFriendlyDC is informational, and Honest Toddler is entertaining, and Momastery makes me laugh and cry and borders on spiritual. However, I can't bring myself to award them because it would mean notifying them, and I just don't have that confidence right now. So for the sake of completing this task at all, I'm cheating a little and moving forward with three very special nominations for three very special friends:

• Christine is a creative genius who documents calligraphy, culinary skills, and new motherhood on her blog Ink Lemonade.
• Krystle at McLaughlinJOY posts wonderful photos. She covers her family's day to day as well as maternity and newborn portraits she does for friends.
• Sara shares stories related to her journey in adoptive parenthood at Savoring Every Moment. I find it interesting and meaningful that in almost every post I can learn something about adoption and simultaneously relate to her experience as universally human.