Quilt Top - Check

So in the middle of monsoon season (ok, maybe not SEASON, but day), I got to working on finishing up the quilt top. Little Miss was gracious and played on her own for a bit this afternoon while I worked on it, and did so again in the evening so I could finish it all up.

It definitely has it's "homemade" look in places . . . not quite "wonky", but not quite "not wonky" either. I feel good about it. Once it's all quilted and snuggled up with Kee-ku, I hardly think it will matter.

I knitted a blanket for Little Miss when I was pregnant with her, which she is still sleeping with every night even though it is a) not perfect and b) it is currently super hot and humid weather.
I swear, she roasts under the thing, but it's her "special blanket" and she always wants it on her when she goes to sleep. The thing is hefty and dense . . . great for keeping out the winter chill or keeping in the summer heat. Lately, when she wakes up she is drenched in sweat under the thing . . . it makes her hair super duper curly. I don't know, she doesn't seem to mind it. I am hoping Kee-ku will be as accomodating with this blanket's flaws.

I suspect that will be the case.

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Quilting

I finished cutting all the pieces out last night for the quilt (except for the binding). My quilt pattern did not specify the seam size . . . super annoying, because I definitely guessed wrong and had to rip out a bunch of stitching. Oh well. Live and Learn. Even with the continual sew, rip out, sew again groove I'm in with it, I'm still having fun. The nice thing I'm finding with quilting is that you can do a block and feel accomplished about it. Unlike other projects sometimes that depress you if you can't finish it in one sitting. Each block is like its own little project so with my little spurts of time, its almost like you get to see a new finished product each time. Yay for instant gratification! I've already made some mistakes with it that I can't really fix (or maybe I could, but the mistakes are not big enough that it would be completely worth it). I'm kind of ok with that. I correct what I think is worthwhile and feasible and I'm not sweating the rest. It's only my first attempt at a quilt after all.

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On the Fly: Changing Pad

The other day, I splurged on a new baby purchase. I'm realizing that with Baby 2, there is a lot less hype about all the gear (probably because I've already got it - right?) and the prepping. Not that Kee-ku is any less important, but I've got an easier feeling about what we really need and what is just extra and superfluous.

Anyway, all this to say that I got myself a new diaper bag (the Haiku To-Go bag). (I know I know . . . more for me than for the little one.) My favorite part about it is that it is NOT a diaper bag. It's roomy and has pockets (I love to have things in their little places so I don't lose stuff or have to do much digging around for what I'm looking for), but it is smaller than my previous diaper bag. That is something I was definitely in the market for. I kind of hate lugging my bag around everywhere . . . sure it holds everything, but since when do I need to have EVERYTHING with me at all times? I cleaned out my old bag to put stuff in the new bag and realized I didn't even know half the stuff that was in there was even in there, and that when it came down to it I only really used/looked at/needed about 30% of what I was carrying around. No wonder I hated schlepping it from place to place.

And yes, yes. I realize that I will have 2 kids now to tend to . . . which would seem to necessitate a bigger bag rather than a smaller one. But I figure I still have the big one for when we're going out for longer outings. And when I'm not using it, I can have extra supplies packed in it in the car rather than on my person.

The only thing about getting a diaper bag that is not really a diaper bag is that there is no changing pad. So yes. Of course, I made one. :) I already had the patterned fabric in abundance and picked up some clear "cover your lacy tablecloth so the kids don't get it messy" plastic from JoAnns, some plain brown easily wipe-able tablecloth fabric for the backing, and because it was there, some green bias binding to make it ever so slightly coordinate-y with the diaper bag. Because I'm just like that.
Now that I have that little sewing zing out of the way (took very little time to whip it up), it's on to Kee-ku's baby quilt. I've already started cutting the pieces out . . .

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A Mailbox Full of Goodies

A little bit ago, I ordered a few things from Etsy. I had been ogling a few necklaces I had found on there, and my husband told me to pick out my favorite one for my anniversary gift. It came all the way from Canada and I was so excited to get it.

Something that I never had a problem with pre-pregnancy was TMC (no, not Turner Movie Classics . . . Too Much Cleavage). Sorry if that's TMI, but I found these little T-lets on Etsy as well that are great for making something that has become not so modest, moreso, while not adding extra layers for these hot summer months. I have been thrilled with my purchase of these as well.

Awhile back, I discovered that Andover Fabrics was making Brown Bear fabrics (a la Eric Carle . . . one of Little Miss' favorite books of all time). I also discovered a quilt pattern that I thought I could tackle to celebrate the arrival of our little Ke-ku. Can you believe these all came in the mail the same day? I was elated!

But there was one other package in there. A delightful and unexpected one. A fat one.

Can you guess what was inside? Because I had no idea.

My dear friend sent me a special little Fly package filled with a sink-shining lover's dream: 7 Days of the Week Flytowels. Sounds dorky to be excited about towels, but they're pretty darn awesome I must say. They really are putting my other towels to shame. Which is really something considering I just purged a ton of towels not too long ago. :)

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