Sew Mama Sew Giveaway prize

Sorry I am a little late. Here are the pictures of the pincushion I am giving away. It is the pattern from Anna Maria Horner's book Seams to Me. I made myself one a few weeks ago, and I love it. So nice for carrying around with you while you are doing some hand sewing. It is nice and big too, room for lots of pins. I am including a pack of turquoise head pins with the cushion.

Everyone who responded to the previous post will definitely be included in the drawing : D

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am participating in this. Will be back later today with pictures of the goodies : D

Mother's Day in Cajun Country

Down here in South Louisiana we celebrate Mother's Day a little differently ; ) We had a crawfish boil. My Mom and Dad came over for the day and we boiled mud bugs. The girls had a good time taking pictures, there were over 190 taken on my camera.
We had 60 pounds of crawfish total, and this little ziploc bag was all that was left! Yeah, we are some pigs. I know Austin ate 10 - 15 pounds by himself. This is the sort of thing I eat until I am sick. We only eat it 3 or 4 times a year, they aren't cheap, so you have to get your fill when you get the chance lol


We also boiled potatoes, corn, onions, mushrooms, sausage and garlic. I ate half a head of garlic myself. Chad said I finally smell normal this morning : D lololol

My mom had also made two banana puddings for dessert. Let's just say I didn't bother eating dinner that night. I probably ate enough to last me the week. The kids had fun swimming and the guys watched golf. It was a very nice and relaxing Mother's Day.

The crawfish were HUGE, here is Savannah holding a couple up for the camera.


Paw Paw (my Dad) playing with Sam and Ava.


Samuel and Ava playing in the blowup kiddie pool my Mom bought for them.


Sydney Claire is such a cut up lol


A couple more random pictures of the pigout lol

Weekend Sewing

After seeing all of the great projects from the book Weekend Sewing, I broke down and bought it. I don't buy many sewing books, I would love to, but it isn't usually in my budget. This book was well worth the money. There are at least 6 projects in there that I plan on making. My first project was the Trapeze Sundress. Except, I shorted it to a tunic. I just took 8 inches off the bottom of the pattern. I did have to shorten the pockets after doing this though, because they stuck out from the bottom of the shirt.

I am not sure if I made an error when I was copying the pattern or it is just the way the top fits, but I had a problem with the top gaping badly. I just put a box pleat in the middle and that seemed to solve the problem. I had to make a size large *gasp* to fit around my chest, which made it very tent like. This is fine right now, since I am pregnant lol However, if I was making this when not preggo, I would narrow the sides down a little. Of course, if I weren't pregnant, my boobs wouldn't be so darn big and I would probably fit in a medium lol

These pictures are not so great, I took them at the end of a long day. I was tired and not in the mood, which shows on my face lol Also, pictures kind of freak me out right now, I don't realize how *full* my face, chest and arms are until I see a picture of myself. I probably should have just left my head out of the shot, but Sydney didn't listen to me, and I didn't feel like cropping. I actually wore a white cardigan over the tunic, but wanted to photograph it without. Here is another belly shot, I am 21 weeks. ( Oh, and please excuse the crap under the patio. This is what was in the garage and it is being stored here until dh can build a new shed. Our old one was crushed by a tree in Hurricane Gustav. Sydney wasn't supposed to get this in the picture either.)

some sewing and knitting

Time sure flies by, I can't believe it has been over a week since my last post. I really have lots to blog about, I just have a hard time getting around to actually blogging it. Really, my problem is getting the pictures taken and uploaded to the computer. I have a million ideas of projects I want to do running through my head. It doesn't help that I am hooked on knitting again. I have quilts, clothing, and knitting I want to get done LOL Not to mention that I want to make some heirloom clothes for this baby girl, I love delicate little clothes with hand embroidery on them.

Here are a couple of completed, or mostly completed projects. I made the pincushion from Anna Maria Horner's Seams to Me. I have had this book for awhile and this is my first project. I love many projects in this book, so I was glad to get one finished. Mine came out a little wonky, but I think it is because I got the wrong interfacing. I was in a hurry to do it, instead of waiting to get the right stuff. Overall, though I am happy with it. I love this design because I am always doing handwork and this pincushion is perfect for toting around everything you need. I have my embroidery scissors, thread or embroidery floss and anything else I need tucked nicely into the little holding spot in the middle. The only problem I had with the pattern is she says to sew a 3/8 inch seam for the patchwork around the middle. I had to sew a 5/8 inch seam to get my round outside part to match up with my middle tube. She does say you may have to adjust it, so just thought I would mention the difference if anyone decides to sew it.



I am also finished with the knitting for this baby's first little sweater. This is a pattern from a Debbie Bliss book I checked out from the library. I started it before I knew whether this little one was a boy or girl, I figured grey was a good neutral. I used a Rowan 4ply Merino wool. I had *just* enough yarn! You see the piece coiled up at the bottom? That is what was left! LOL The sides still need to be seamed up and the buttons sewn on. Also, I think I am going to add a picot edging around the bottom and sleeves in pink to make it look more girly. I just love little baby knits, I have already started a little hat and have plans for another sweater and several pairs of booties. I also want to make some daygowns and a quilt for this baby and about a dozen other things LOL I have about 20 weeks, I had better get moving! (click on the picture for a better view, knitting is so hard to photograph.)



I also bought two more books. Material Obsession, which I saw on Amber's blog, and just couldn't resist. When I went to Amazon, you could get Weekend Sewing with it for a discount. Well, with all the buzz about Weekend Sewing, of course I bought both LOL I already have all the pieces cut out for the Trapeze Sundress, but I am making a tunic instead. I saw one on Made by Rae and she is pregnant too, so figured it would work for a maternity top. I should have it finished today. I love that book, so many great patterns! It is the first time I had to trace my patterns from a pattern sheet with all of the patterns superimposed over each other like that. My eyes kept crossing trying to keep straight which piece I was tracing lol Not my favorite thing to do , but very worth it, I am sure.