Jacob opening presents

Here is Jacob "discovering" some of his presents. He actually looks interested in them. He was actually more interested in the big boxes for wrapping paper and ribbons. There he is diving into one of the boxes.

New Mexico Christmas

What nice family! Here we are in NM for Christmas. This is Jacob's first time having Christmas there. We didn't get a white Christmas, but he was enjoying the luminarias... until he did a face plant on the cement.

Christmas birds

I haven't been blogging much this month,but that doesn't mean that I haven't been crafting. It's just that most of the stuff I have been making is not able to be posted until after Christmas. I think it's safe to put these birds up. I made these ornaments to give away, but a couple have stayed with me. In the original pattern they were meant to be part of a mobile, but I thought they would make great Christmas ornaments. They were pretty easy and fun to make. It's a great way to use those leftover scraps of fabric.

I have been working on a few other fun projects, but those will have to wait until after Christmas.

Strawberry Knit Winter Baby Hat TUTORIAL

Strawberry Knit Winter Baby Hat TUTORIAL
For all you knitters out there --a fun tutorial from Grosgrain. This will be perfect for Christmas presents for babies.

Sleepy Owl Vintage

I have an etsy shop! I finally started it and now it's open. It has taken a little while to get all the bumps smoothed out, but I have already sold one item. Yeah! Here are a few of the things I have in my shop.

Appliqued onesie

I finally made an appliqued onesie and it wasn't as bad as I thought. After reading many tutorials, I decided to use Steam-a-Seam 2 for the applique and it worked really well. I only had to iron once, when the image was ready to be placed on the onesie. Other methods I have tried for affixing thermaweb have not been as easy, and especially not for small pieces. This worked well and the material stayed put. Then I finished it off with a small zigzag. Done. And, I also got to draw the whale, not hard, but it made me feel like my BS in Studio Art was not entirely wasted.

Little bear grows up

Here is Jacob on the actual night of Halloween. He was really tearing up the treats. I had to give some drooly candy bars away. I hope no one noticed. He had fun seeing the kids walking around. The next two shots are of him having breakfast this morning. Nate was trying to get him to feed himself. He looks pretty good at it in these shots. We might keep trying it. He's still not ready to feed himself a whole meal with a spoon, but he's getting the hang of it.

Another Refuge House Quilt night

Here we are hard at work again. I love the look of concentration on Amy's face. The pincushion shown is one I got at an estate sale a while back. I love how much character that little thing has. There's a rare shot of me sewing, but oddly enough it's not on my sewing machine. I have 3 sewing machines, 2 of which are regularly used for quilt nite, but this was was someone else's. It's funny using another person's sewing machine. It's sort of like driving a different car. The levers have the same functions, but they are in a different spot. My Kenmore is a lot like my old Toyota Corolla. Dependable and simple without a lot of power. My Bernina is more like an old school diesel Mercedes. It has HORSEPOWER and it's strong. The last picture is of the variety of quilt strips we have. Most of those fabrics are from this rummage sale I went to a few weeks ago. The lady was selling bags of her stash for $1 a bag. We also get our fabrics from a discount fabric store or garage sales. Coming up soon-- a few of my favorite squares.

See Katie Sew: A giveaway for two

See Katie Sew: A giveaway for two
Check out this blog if you are interesting in seeing a fun blog plus getting a chance to win some beautiful fabric..(Jen--you might be interested)

Pay it Forward Giveaway!!

I just received my Pay It Forward Giveaway stuff today. Mint Basil was the wonderful giver. I already made something cute with some of the fabric she sent me--which might be included in my giveaway.

So this means that it's my turn to Pay It Forward. Here are the rules:I agree to send something fun, cute, and nice to the first 3 blog owners who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and so on. If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 blog owners to leave a comment! International readers, feel free to comment too!You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link to me, and then send something to the first three people who comment on your blog so that this continues. When the first three have commented I will email you a request for your shipping address and I will send out something that I hope will make you smile!

I will keep the posting open for a week until midnight Monday November 3rd. (The night before our fateful election day)

Jacob and the Jack-o-Lanterns

Here is our little bear exploring the Jack-o-Lanterns that his daddy and I carved. I think it might have been the first one I've ever carved all by myself. I don't know, I might have done one or two before, but this one was memorable. I really tried hard. It has to do with Jacob's nickname. Extra points if you guess what it is. We carved them at an Autumn party where the categories for best pumpkins fell into, scariest, most original and most Martha Stewart. Nate's won in his category.

Little Bear

Here is the little bear foraging for food. I love how his costume is about to pop off of him. It's a 6-12 month and he's 15 months. Oh well, at least he can be crammed into it for one day. I think it adds to the little bear quality. I love the ears and tail.

Jacob's 2nd Halloween

Jacob's favorites

Here are a few "after" shots of Jacob, plus some of his new favorite things. He LOVES bathtime. Here he is trying to get into the bathtub fully clothed even when it's not bathtime. He will go up to the tub and try to pull himself in and point at all of his bath toys. He also had developed a liking for brushing his teeth. I couldn't find his baby sized toothbrush, so we've been using mine. At first I did it for him, but now he likes to brush his own teeth.