We have been busy bees around this house getting things in order for Baby G. Today, Baby G is considered full term!
We've put together a pack n play (which our orange, fluffy cat Aggie claimed as his own new bed right away), swing (our tabby Tweak tried to jump in and got the rude surprise that it moved), bouncer (no cats have tried to jump in there), and installed a ceiling fan. We still have the car seat to install and the mobile to hang. As soon as we get the mobile hung, I'll take pictures of the nursery and post 'em. I've been working on a knitting project and a crocheting project, but haven't finished them for pics and posting. Hopefully, I'll finish them up here soon because time is running short.
We attended our last baby preparation class last night. It was 2.5 hours on Baby Care Basics. Sitting still in a chair for 3 hours while 8+ months is not fun for your back. It was informative, but I'm glad to have all the baby classes completed.
Here is one pic from the nursery just to hold you over:
Leaf out.
Baby G has had two baby showers thrown in his honor. The first shower was in my hometown with mostly family, and the second shower was in the town where we live with mostly friends.
Several people made us gifts for our little guy so I thought I'd showcase them here. Ready?!
First up is a baby blanket that my Aunt Sandra crocheted in pastel yarn:
My cousin Heather made Baby G this adorable little hat in blue and white:
My friend Alison over at Crafty Weeks made a neat diaper bag with an attached, fold-out changing pad. Here it is with the changing pad folded up and velcroed:
And here it is with the pad folded out:
Love this fabric! She also made a pacifier clip to match...it's sitting on the changing pad, but it's blending in because it's the same fabric. See if you can spot it...
One of the ?L's motorcycle friends (yes, the ?L is in a motorcycle gang) crocheted us a baby blanket in blue, yellow, and white:
My friend B* made us a cozy hooded towel with matching washcloth:
I'm not 100% positive how she made it (I forgot to find out her secrets), but it appears that she took a regular bath towel and sewed a hood made out of a matching hand towel onto it. The washcloth has a cute dinosaur fabric on one side and the matching terry on the other side.
And last, but certainly not least, my friend EG made us this awesome quilt using Moda fabrics:
You can see the reverse side here:
Check out those leafies and mushrooms! The colors are just great. I am always astounded by quilting. I've never attempted it myself. I should really quilt something. Perhaps that will be my next crafty endeavor.
Thanks to all you ladies for such wonderful, crafty gifts!
In non-crafty news, I found out that I don't have gestational diabetes! No pricking my fingers! That was a relief. The due date is getting close now!
Leaf out.
I don't have a whole lot to share from this week as the days have been filled with childbirth classes and doctor's visits. Don't you just love going to the dentist? I don't detest it like some people do, but I don't exactly look forward to it either. No cavities though! Hooray! I was instructed by my hygienist to either bring baby pics next time I am due for a cleaning OR bring Baby G himself ;) This morning I had to get up bright and early for a 3-hour glucose test (the test for gestational diabetes for those not in the know) because I failed the 1 hour test last week. It wasn't horrible, but getting stuck with a needle 4 times over the course of 3ish hours is not at the top of my list of fun things to do. I don't know my results yet, but hopefully they'll be results I want to hear.
I did however do something fun last week. I drove to Charlotte on Tuesday to hang with my in-laws including my sister-in-law, her husband, and our two adorable nephews. The other reason I went to Charlotte was the Inspired. craft workshop. I was not one of the attendees (mainly due to the event fee), but Mom G and I got to peruse the vendor fair they had at the event. There were maybe 8 vendors so it wasn't very large, but they had some good stuff to check out. The highlight of the workshop was that we got to meet and chat with LOLLYCHOPS! LollyChops was one of the featured designers/instructors, and you can check out her account of the event here (and the super-awesome inspiration piece she made for her class). She's the sweetest, most inspiring, crafty person I know (I guess I can say I know her now that I've met her ;) ). Be sure to check out her blog if you haven't already!
Leaf out.
I couldn't think of a clever title for this post so I just went with the obvious. Pregnancy brain is in full effect.
I found this tutorial online for making a breastfeeding cover. I had purchased some fabric (30% off!) at my LYS a while ago for some unknown project so I decided to use it for this. Here is a close-up of the fabric (please excuse the wrinkles; they refused to leave despite my pleading):
The cover:
The reverse side has a pocket and a rectangle of terry cloth:
Pocket:
Terry cloth:
It was pretty easy to put together with it being just a large rectangle. I started to line it, but didn't have enough of the fabric to do so. I suppose I could have used a different fabric to line it, but in the end, I just decided to follow the tutorial instructions. I've tried it on, but the true test will have to come after Baby G's arrival :)
Leaf out.
Happy Friday! I hope you have had a fantastic week! This week marks the last week of my second trimester so I'm in the home stretch now. That is a little scary, but also pretty exciting. We're halfway through our childbirth classes. I think we've both really enjoyed going to them and meeting some new people. Baby G has been moving A LOT. I think I experienced his first hiccups yesterday morning :)
Down to crafty business! Back when I found out I was pregnant, I found a pattern for a baby cocoon on Etsy here. I actually made the cocoon a while ago, but kept putting off crocheting up the hat. I can't believe I procrastinated for so long because the hat pattern has 10 rows. That's it! I finished it in about 45 minutes. Here's the set:
I used Lion Brand Homespun yarn in pesto. I have some blue/green yarn too so I might crochet up another one. The big wooden button is from Joann's. I have another pattern for a sleep sack/hat set from Bernat's website. It's a knitting pattern and is striped. I love me some stripes. So that's next in the knitting/crocheting queue.
Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!
Leaf out.
Alright people, the sweater is finished!!! I worked on the finishing touches last night and blocked it overnight.
I love the color and the buttons :) I think it turned out quite nicely. I might start on another one in a larger size so I don't forget how to knit it up.
I can't wait to get the dresser finished so we can figure out where we are putting all the furniture in Baby G's room. Then, we can hang everything and sit back to wait for his arrival. Well, I guess we need to do a couple of other things like set up the monitor and get the car seat and bases installed.
Have a great weekend everyone! It looks like it's going to be a beautiful one :)
Leaf out.
I had another 11 x 14 canvas from the pack of 2 I bought to make the tree canvas. The Gnome likes animals stacked on top of animals so I figured I could do something along those lines. I started by painting the canvas with tan acrylic paint. Then, I searched my Cricut Give a Hoot cartridge for animals I could use. I cut some shapes out of patterned cardstock, but it looked too busy. So I decided to stick with solid, textured cardstock for our forest friends. I used some dimensional adhesives to pop the animals up off the canvas a bit. After adding some coordinating buttons from my grandmother's collection, I called it done!
Yes, that is Mr. Prickles again :)
I'm still working on the baby hoodie. I'm on the second sleeve though so I should be finishing it pretty soon. I just have to knit up the front bands for the buttons and buttonholes, and then I'll be finished with my very first sweater. Hooray!
Leaf out.
