one cool dude

Too bad he doesn't realize how cool he looks in his new shades.  :)

Vacation Projects Revisited

Well, I had better show what I worked on.  I promise that I didn't sleep or play on my kindle that much while we were in the car.  :)  It was a little tricky to stitch, however, when I needed to put my feet up because they were swollen...my belly really got in the way!

1.  Baby quilt - done!  I finished the binding on Sunday, day one of the trip.  Hooray!  It got washed and dried at my parents' house, so it is ready to go for baby.

2.  Knitted baby blanket - done!  I worked on this in the evenings at my grandma's house after putting Timothy to bed.  I also worked on it a lot on day 1 of the return trip and finished it at the hotel.  I still need to tuck in a couple of knots and then wash/stretch it, but hopefully that will happen later this week.

3.  Quiet book - I got some handstitching done, but it proved to be really difficult to work on in the car.  Jared is out of town for the rest of the week for the district convention in Sioux Falls, so I am putting this on the priority list for the next couple of evenings.  I was able to sketch some things out and cut felt pieces at my parents' table, so now it just needs to be put together.

4.  Dishrags - I didn't start on any until yesterday, but I finished one and started another.  Completing the second is going to happen as soon as I finish this post and will take about 20 minutes.  Then I need to tackle the dishes before diving into the next project.  Sigh.

Trip to Michigan

We made it to Michigan and back all in one piece!  What a great trip - we spent lots of time with family and friends, didn't run into any bad weather, introduced Jared to Frankenmuth, celebrated with Amy and Brian with a baby shower, and had safe travels.  Here are some highlights:

 playing with grandma, grandpa, and the dogs

Frankenmuth

Amy and I at her shower - somehow I way bigger but 2 weeks behind her...

Best purchase:  the dvd player for the van.  We swore several months ago that we would never buy one for our vehicle, but when faced with almost 2 days in the car both ways with a small child, we crumbled in fear.  It ended up being a lifesaver - we only used it when it was the end of the day and we really needed to put in another hour on the road and Timothy had had enough.  We listened through the baby signing videos several times, but it was much better than the alternative of Timothy whining.  Next time we go to Michigan, we will have 2 small passengers in carseats, not just one...crazy to think about!

The vacation projects

The thought behind this post is that I'll be motivated to work on the projects I am taking with me on our trip so I can update my progress when we get back.  :)  We'll see if I don't sleep/play games on my kindle the entire trip...

1. Bug Quilt.  I made this when I found out that I was pregnant with Timothy.  I had the back yarn tied on, the binding sewn on the front, and half of the hand stitching on the back of the binding done.  And then we moved to St. Louis.  And then I found out that I was having a boy.  And that was that.  

Well, fast forward to 2 weeks ago when I was going through my baby box in the basement and I pulled it out.  This pregnancy is a girl.  And I now know how to machine quilt.  And I realized that I did a bad job on the binding.  So, I pulled the binding off a few nights ago, cut all of the yarn ties out, put a new back on it (it was a really stretchy fleece), quilted it, and reattached the binding (correctly this time).  

My goal is to finish sewing the binding on the back in the car and then it will be done.  For real this time.   :)

2. Knit a blanket.  Remember that teal blanket I started for the baby after Christmas?  Yep, I burned out on it and it is still halfway done.  I am hoping to finish it on this trip.  Which means I need to print the directions out again because I forgot the pattern...

3. Hand stitch a quiet book.  I was hoping to get all of the fabric elements sewn on before the trip so all I would have is the hand stitching to do, and then I could come home and just sew it together.  HA!  I do have a few pages done, so I am hoping to get the embroidery done on those and the front cover at least...

4. Knit dishrags.  Because you always could use a couple more and they make great gifts when paired with other kitchen supplies...

Can I accomplish all of this?  Of course!  Will I?  Time will only tell...your prayers for my husband's patience would be appreciated.  :)