Thimbleanna – Page 24 – My little online diary.

A Baby Shower

25 Comments / May 5, 2016 May 5, 2016 / Baby Oh Baby, Family

Hi there! Boy, my blogging sure has slowed down in the last few months. There’s always Just. So. Much. To. Do! I can’t keep up! And who stole April??? It zipped by in a haze and I can’t believe it’s May already. Another busy month with quilt market coming up! (Yipee!)

Anyway, MyDadLovesMeBestSister had a beautiful little baby shower for SweetiePie a week and a half ago. We were a small group but we had a good time and the shower lasted almost 2 hours longer than I thought it would!

MyDadLovesMeBestSister always does such a beautiful job decorating. And, of course, the theme of the day was PINK!!! Here’s a partial shot of the gift table – notice the little peek (in the bottom right-hand corner) of the adorable garland of baby socks that are hanging on the front of the table. Too Cute! And pretty pom poms lining the fireplace.

We ate first and the food was delicious. Hot chicken salad, a pear walnut salad, croissants, lots of fruit, cheese spread and crackers, chocolate dipped strawberries, and a beautiful little cake. After lunch, we dismantled the pretty table setting so that we could make baby headbands (and eat pink candy!). It was really fun to sit around and work with our hands while we were visiting. It was a fun surprise for SweetiePie and I think she liked it!

These are just a few of the finished headbands – I didn’t remember to take a picture until most of them were all packed up.

After we made headbands, we tied a few baby quilts, but we’re already picture heavy, so I’ll save that for another post. In the meantime, the chalkboard from the shower is now out of date – only 39 more days until the due date – Eeeep!

XOXO,
Anna

Boppy into Spring

21 Comments / April 24, 2016 May 5, 2016 / Baby Oh Baby, Sewing

Ooooh, sorry about that post title. I couldn’t think of anything else. But, if you can get past it, I’ll show you this pretty picture of the phlox at the end of our driveway. Spring is finally here with the first little blooms, buds on all the trees, and a robin building her nest on top of one of our downspouts. I haven’t seen my favorite DuckCouple yet, but I’m holding out hope! Anyway, it was a stunning weekend here — perfect, sunny temps all weekend — just gorgeous!

MyDadLovesMeBestSister had a b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. baby shower for SweetiePie yesterday, and as soon as I sift through the pictures, I’ll give you a peek. Think Pink! ;-D In the meantime, here are a few pictures of another present I gave SweetiePie last week at the Baby Shower that her family had for her. I purchased a Boppy and then made a few covers for it. For the first one, I used a pink polka-dotted Robert Kaufman cuddle fabric on the top side. Oh man, is that stuff ever soft and cozy!

On the bottom, I used a little pink and gray fox print. And a really long zipper. ;-D . For the pattern, I purchased a cheap little cover at our local Meijer and used it as a model. I discovered that the pre-made ones are made out of such cheap cotton, and they make them large so that they’ll still fit after they are washed. Therefore, I had to make mine a little smaller than the sample cover.

For a fun little touch, I inserted Riley Blake’s Mini Pom Poms. SweetiePie loves her some pom poms!

I also made a second cover (in more neutral colors in case there might be a little boy some day ;-D) because, well, in case of a spit-up (or worse!) emergency. I love that cute little alphabet cuddle print!

Boppys are a pretty cool idea — I wish we’d had them when we had babies. They’re great for the mother to use when nursing that new little babe, and later, they provide nice padding for a baby learning to sit. I pressed Teddy into demo service, but he’s pretty short waisted, so the boppy almost swallowed him.

So, another fun baby project completed. I should just apologize for drowning you in baby makes, but a) I’m having so much fun sewing for baby, and b) hopefully it won’t last too much longer (except for the occasional gift as the baby grows, of course ;-D!)

More to come — I know you’re waiting on the edge of your seat LOL. Have a great week!
XOXO,
Anna

Baby Swaddles

23 Comments / April 17, 2016 May 5, 2016 / Baby Oh Baby, Sewing

SweetiePie and FinallyAGirl had their first baby shower yesterday and we had a lot of fun. SweetiePie’s family went all out on the baby shower decorations and food, and everything was just perfect! And now that she has received her gifts, I can show you a few of the things that I made for her.

I raided all the double gauze in my little etsy shop and made some baby swaddles. Back in the day, we used to wrap our babies up (but not as tightly as they do now) and we just called them receiving blankets. As far as I can tell, it’s pretty much the same thing, except that I made my little receiving blankets with two layers of fabric instead of one layer. Swaddles are so easy to make — I just cut big squares (50″ for the plaid swaddles and 43″ for the other two) and folded the edges in twice for a nice, neat edge.

The three plaid swaddles are from Riley Blake fabrics and the other two are Japanese fabrics. The Japanese double gauze is a little more expensive, but it’s thicker and a bit softer — it was interesting to compare the two types of gauze for quality — they’re both just great, but a little different.

After hemming the first swaddle with just a plain straight stitch, I got a little bored, so I decided to play around with some of the stitches on my sewing machine. I love the little pink hearts, but I really love the simplicity of the little wavy line on the gray plaid swaddle.

Since we don’t have any babies here yet, I asked Scruff if I could practice wrapping him in a swaddle. He retreated to his favorite cardboard box.

So, I decided to wrap up a teddy bear. This almost Grandma clearly needs swaddle wrapping instructions!

So, one fun little baby project all done and checked off the list. There are more to come and I better get crackin’ … sooo, see ya later Alligator!!!

XOXO,
Anna

Six on Saturday

24 Comments / April 9, 2016 April 9, 2016 / Chat

1. Well, Hey Ho! Another week has whizzed by! I didn’t get a whole lot done, but I’ve been making lists and preparing. Does that count? The next two weekends will see baby showers for FinallyAGirl and this Grandma has got to get her rear in gear. I have lots of plans. I’ve been pre-shrinking fabric and now I’m ready to get some sewing done. Here’s proof — the piles of fabric all ready to go!

2. Have you guys seen the Rowdy Flat Library Quilt? {SWOON!} It’s a new pattern by Susan Smith and it looks like it’s going to be gorgeous! I first saw it on Nicolette’s and Emily’s blogs and it’s going to be so fun to watch their progress. I loved making The Aunts’ Quilt and I’d love to start another applique quilt. I’m SO tempted to jump in (because hello. BEES!) but I think it’s going to have to wait for awhile — waaayyyy too much to do in the near future. {And it’s all wonderful!} (Here’s a picture I found on pinterest.)

3. Anyone have the spring cleaning bug??? Nah, me neither. Haha. Just kidding. This place is a sty and I really need to get some cleaning done. Maybe after the baby showers. Just a little cleaning though — we don’t want to hurt ourselves or anything. If you can get past the sales pitch, I found a little kitchen spring cleaning list here. Maybe that would be a good place for me to start.

4. PSA: It’s time for the annual Vera Bradley Outlet sale in our little hometown. Anyone out there coming to visit during the big event? I”ll probably zip by, even though I don’t need a darn thing. If you’re a knitter, don’t miss our great little yarn shops, Simply Socks and Knitting Off Broadway. If you’re a quilter, you’re SOL. But, we do live fairly close to Shipshewana, so you could swing by Yoders and Lollys on your way back home. ;-D

5. Lots of new Liberty fabrics in my little shop this month. There are a few more from the Children’s collection that aren’t in the picture below because I haven’t added them to the shop yet. I’ll be cutting into some of those pinks soon though. Because, you know. FinallyAGirl.

6. Longtime readers know of my love for the humble Rice Krispy Cookie. There’s a new batch in the kitchen just waiting for my marathon sewing this weekend. Don’t those fabrics make them look pretty???

That’s It! I’m Outta Here! Cookies and Fabric are waiting. Have a great weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

April!

18 Comments / April 1, 2016 April 1, 2016 / Chat

Well. Can. You. Believe. It??? April! How can it be? Maybe the big secret about April Fools is that it’s such a surprise that April could be here already? Did you play a prank? Or get pranked? If so, I hope it was a good one! (And I’d sure love to hear about it — I LOVE a good prank! You seem to hear less and less about good pranks, as someone usually gets in trouble. {Sigh.}) I feel like I’ve been pranked. All of a sudden the days are longer — both in the morning and at night. Just yesterday, I was going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark. I’m so happy to see spring just around the corner here — good riddance you sad, boring {awful} winter. YAY to shutting the door on winter this year!

I’ve been trying hard to work on some projects but it’s slow going. I’ve been spending a little quality time with Sweet Wolfie and his Lil’ Red friends. I foolishly thought big stitch quilting would be quick — I think this little project has been on the frame for almost two months. That’s ridiculous! I’m hoping to get him off the frame and prepped for binding by the end of the weekend. Fingers crossed!

I’ve also been knitting but can’t show you yet. A certain little expectant mother pops in here on occasion, and I don’t want to ruin any surprises. I’m almost ready to start another little project too. You seasoned knitters out there can probably guess what it is from this picture. Another surprise, so I can’t spill yet.

I do love a good variegated yarn. Let’s hope this won’t be a mess like the Lorna’s Laces socks. This yarn is Koigu, so I’m pretty sure I won’t have the pooling problems. It’s always fun to see how a variegated yarn develops. I hope this one will be pretty.

So. Happy April! I hope it’s beautiful weather in your part of the world!

XOXO,
Anna