lucky me

i'm so lucky this week! first, i won this dress:














sorry for the crummy photo - taken with my daughter's playskool camera! she was so excited to get mail, and even more happy when she saw it was a dress! i love it, very pretty!

next, i won a yard of ugly fabric! hooray! (i think!) vacuumqueen made a mistake or two when ordering her fabric from spoonflower. now, i personally didn't think the fabric was so bad - but i haven't seen it in person yet! stay tuned to see what i make with this!

finally, for a chance to win some super cute japanese fabric, go see fat-connection, browse her etsy shop, and post your comment!

mommy helpers

yay me!

be sure to check out the online craft show "i heart handmade"! lots of cool shops and they are giving away prizes every day! i actually won already, an adorable girl's dress! go to pick your pocket and see all her cute dresses! it was hard to choose one, so i picked something to match her new blue-grey mary janes. it will be my daughrter's easter dress, i'm so excited! i asked heather to put emma's name on the address, so she can get her first package in the mail.

i also finished up two projects last night - these have been lounging around my table for months, but no more! pj capris and another apple picking tote. i whipped out a few more crayon books, and tonight i am hoping i will get some baby blankets cut out. i'm feeling a bit run down though, so i may crash on the couch, crocheting flowers - my new fave thing to do while i watch telly.

want a reuben? please?

two more list takers - but these are gifts, so if you want one for yourself, just let me know! i made one for my sis-in-law's birthday out of a heavyweight print. i love this fabric! i made pillows for my bed out of it too. i bought quite a lot of it, planning to make a window seat cushion, but decided that the print is too busy for such a large space. i want to make some totes and such with it too.

the second list taker is made out of the first charm pack i ever bought, heather bailey for freshcut? it makes me happy and i love the colors and the button. i like the fabrics i chose to go with her prints, i think they work well. and the patchwork inside is a cute surprise. downside - i used a thin lime green for the lining, which got all wonky on me when i topstitched, and the button is waaaay to heavy for this. when you open it it goes thunk! so for now, i am keeping it for me. unless my friend joy steals it for her birthday gift.

and i made a crayon book for the small fries. i actually have several ready to stitch, mostly boy prints but a few girly ones as well. i'll give these as gifts and probably list a few in my shop. i am having trouble finding inexpensive 3x5 note pads - any leads? i'd prefer unlined pages.

hmm, what else have i been up to? oh, st. pat's, i made my first corned beef ever! i fell in love with reuben sandwiches while pregnant with my oldest, and now i order them every time we go to a restaurant that serves them. i thought i would try out making them at home, and it was super easy! the only problem being that NO ONE ELSE around here would eat it with me. "i don't like sauerkraut!" "this bread is yucky!" so i have been forced to eat an entire corned beef roast, whole can of saurkraut, and a loaf of rye bread, all on my own. since tuesday. and yes, i have almost completed the challenge. don't be sickened by my appetite. it's a curse. today i actually had two reubens, one for lunch and another for dinner. i doubt i will order them the next time we go out.

selvage salvation

i've purposely avoided writing about selvages for the simple fact that everyone else is - and i doubted i would ever tackle a selvage project myself. but modalissa is giving away a giant ball of selvages and i decided that if i win it, i will jump on the old bandwagon and create a selvage project myself. hmm, what to make...

temptation

i finished up another list taker, and it's been added to my etsy shop. i really hate to part with it, though. i never realized how hard it would be to make things and then have them sitting here, off limits! i wanted to toss it into my bag and write my grocery list in it! sort of like my scarves, they've been begging me to wear them out and about. i decided that anything that doesn't sell by the time the listing expires is fair game.

hungry for hippos

badskirt is having an amazing giveaway! i almost hate to tell you about it because i am hoping i will win, but please go check out her cuties. stay away from lollie, though - i want her!

i'm hooked...

(insert groan here) remember when i said one of my goals for 2009 was to relearn crochet? well, i've been trying it out for the last week or two, and it sort of clicked this weekend, and i think i've got the hang of it. i still prefer the look of knitting as a rule - but man, is crochet fast or what? and so i've been using up all of my variegated cotton for dishcloths - another plus for crochet! the var. yarn looks better in crochet than in knitting, at least in my opinion. i like the blocks of color you get, and the subtle x pattern too. i haven't tackled any stitch patterns yet, other than the basics, but i am having fun and am thinking that a little sweater for emma might be coming soon.

and in other exciting news, i made my first sale on etsy! i am so very new to all of this, so there was a teensy little mixup and i'm in the process of sorting that all out. but i can't stop grinning! someone out there likes my stuff! hooray!

my first swap! i'm so proud!

so everyone needs to run over to swap-bot (sign up if you're not already) and join my first novelty square swap! it's super easy, send 10 6 inch squares to two different people, and get 20 back! hooray for fabric! i am planning i-spy quilts for each of my kids. but you can do all kinds of things with them, patchwork, scarves, bean bags, softies - whatever your little kiddo's heart desires. sign up by march 15th, ok? and if this goes really well, i will plan one a month, so please play along!

fifth time's the charm

so i finally knitted a hat that would actually fit an adult! it came out just like i wanted and so it will be on it's way to my swap partner tomorrow. i used the cecily beanie pattern from knitting daily, and even though it has a seam i still think it came out really nice. i also made her a dishcloth. sent it along with some rub on transfers, and one of my new business cards! love those. now i have to finish my mobile - which is so close to being finished that i should be working on it right now! good night, more finished projects on the way tomorrow!