Prayersolutions

Its that time of the year to look back and reflect at just how God worked in my life last year....

For the year of 2011

Lord,

You know about how hard this last year has been for myself and Matt as we moved our lives in faith that this unknown was in your plans. You know past, present and future all at once. So it is of no surprise to you about what looms later on this year for me. I am afraid and jostles a few of those closest nerves that I long for security of. I ask of you to come down and heal me of certain imperfections which weigh me down so greatly so I may arise in your strength and bring glory to your name.

This is a hard one to say. I think I've grown, but then I think other people have grown too in this strength and refining process. With some time and relationship building, its certainly helped the transition if things.

What a blessing it has been to know I am with child. May Eliza really be Eliza and perhaps be the beacon of peace among the present storm and the crashing waves in which beat upon us. Please keep us both healthy through out the rest of this pregnancy and a safe arrival of your child into our arms, entrusted to raise her in your ways and truth.

God really did give me a good pregnancy. There were no real complication except for having to be induced. With all the hardships going on, Eliza has been the jewel found in the muck. She brings us so much joy and happiness in our family of 3.

Here I am asking again for my husband and his employment. As our family is about to grow, we need his job to grow right along with it. You know of the jobs in which he has gone through the interview process. Jobs which we know he wanted very much as they have been in the direction of ministry. Even though it has broken our hearts in not being given these jobs, we can't help but wonder about when the right one will come our way. One which will give the ability to have time off together and be there for Eliza.

God has provided for us, but not exactly in the ways we were expecting or wanting. With Mr. G's unemployment, it allowed him to be there before me giving birth and my whole maternity leave. Having him home and my mothers long visit was awesome. He was blessed to have a long temp assignment that we really needed after my position was cut to part time and a new position. As expensive as the time off has been, we were also blessed to make it to Grandma and Grandpa's for Eliza's first Christmas.

As our child's birth comes each day closer, please help direct and provide a way for childcare to be made possible after my maternity leave ends. This has been a frequent thought and concern about how this will be made possible. 

God took care of us in this area with two wonderful individuals. One being full time when we needed it, and the other part time and more convenient for our daily schedule. Not to mention the benefit of being around other little ones to play with.




For 2012


Lord,


I ask that you make it clear as to where we are to live this year. Are your plans to be where we are, or is there another move in the works. IF we are to move, please help me with this transition as you know I struggle with these things. May it be close to some sort of family and opportunities to build new friendships in and outside of work. Not to mention all the logistics of moving with a new member of the family and resources needed to make it happen.


Its been a tough several number of years in the job department. Please provide a good job.....the RIGHT JOB for Mr. G so we can reduce debt, be covered by benefits and have something left over after all the bills.


Please, help us find medical coverage. I grow nervous about needing some assistance with my health needs and it stresses me out. I praise you for giving us help with Eliza. 


Lord, you know how much I have struggled with this one and the future plans we believe you have for our lives. Please speak to us about the future family member that we know we desire. We love Eliza and want her to benefit from having a little sister or brother. Yet this requires health insurance and stable income to feel like a responsible parent.


Please, please help us make forward progress with our calling. We've hit so many road blocks and I can't help but feel discouraged and defeated in the process. Mountains need to be moved in order to get there, which I know fully you are capable of.


Please help current relationships and friendships grow and blossom. I have many friends but not very many that are close. You know how much I miss the ones in the west and would love to have the opportunity to visit with them this year and introduce Eliza in person before she is all grown.


As Eliza grows, keep her healthy and happy. Help me be content with her constant growing up. I hope I can still see the little peanut I held when she grows up to be a God fearing young woman. I love her spunky spirit and smile that could light up Las Vegas.


When my mother who doesn't know you Lord, with her visit coming up in April, may our actions be a light to her and what a REAL relationship with you is like.

Oh so much stuff at Christmas

Well, we are finally back from visiting grandma and grandpa's house for Christmas. Even though we didn't spend it at home, this house has been an unholy mess since returning.

Sorry for the red eye, but these pictures rarely happen with all 3 of us

We reached a few milestones while away...


Full blown crawling. There is no stopping her and she continues to use me and anything else to pull herself up on. If I sit on the floor though, she is up my butt and hard to not have her clinging to me all the time.

No purees. All she got was table food and enjoyed everything. Not one thing was refused. Must be taking after daddy! They included spinach, pork, various pancakes, scrambled eggs, mac and cheese, Yorkshire pudding and green bean casserole to name a few.

Going to town on spinach 

Teeth. Another top tooth cut through and a second one is going to be here in a few days. This will make for 6 teeth thus far.


Family

Grandma and Eliza with her "Eliza" doll

Story time with Grandpa

We were blessed to have been able to introduce Eliza to her uncle Jim and aunt Polly who were visiting from San Diego. They are from Grandpa's side.

Uncle Jimmy

Toys

Oh did this child get spoiled. Not exactly by mom and dad, but relatives. We had to construct a little play corner at home to give Eliza a place of her own. Lots of new "big girl" toys to explore and grow into. Mommy loves her little talking tea pot and busy ball popper the most.

Oh Christmas Tree

.....Oh Christmas Tree Baby, oh Christmas baby.......how we adore thee. Or something to that tune. I never claimed to be musical, except in the silly sense. Momma got to being creative this afternoon and tried out the new lights. With this being the month of December, I felt they should at least be themed and done right if I am going to go to all that trouble.

This is the first time I've done pictures with a naked baby in the studio. Since I didn't have a red cloth diaper, it only made sense to go in the buff. After all, time is floating away where I can get away with getting these shots, hehe. I luckily avoided a lump of coal (if you get my drift) right before hand, thus not needing to do laundry afterwards and hold up the shoot.

Feel free to try out any of these ideas. All I did was dip into the Christmas decoration boxes for on hand props. I did try a string of lights, but due to them being LED, their glow is different and the green wire just doesn't compliment with all the white.

Our tree garland

The only cuter baby than this is Jesus (in my humble opinion)

Inexpensive Big Lots stocking that had been gifted to us on our first married Christmas

Borrowed plastic bulbs

Diaper rash came free of charge ;)

Its like...

Christmas!


After all the waiting, dreaming and anticipation, my new light kit with *gasp* soft boxes has arrived! Mr. G was the one to accept the delivery, otherwise I would have kissed the UPS guy.


Now I am plotting my next test shoot with the cutest little model I've ever laid eyes on. But I guess I'm kinda partial ;)


Check back to see what come out of it (sorry if I steal a few ideas off of you and you know who you are)

Pillow Case Dress

I was crafty for work sake. We had some donated white pillow cases left over from doing trick or treat bags that I wanted to find another use for. Then I noticed we didn't have any dresses for the play pretend area.

Ding!

Here is how you do it

1 pillow case

1 cheap fitted bed sheet

Recycled elastic from fitted sheet

Fold pillow case in half long wise. Then make cuts for arms and collar. This should give you a tank top looking fabric.

Cut bed sheet the desired length you want and make sure there is enough width so it will go all the way around. Hem bottom and top, while leaving room on top hem for elastic waist. This will ensure that the dress will fit a variety of kids who want to dress up in it.

Use extra fabric to create your bias tape to finish off the cuts you made earlier.

Viola! One easy fun dress to go have fun in....er....I mean the kids of course.

Total time taken from start to finish for semi beginner sewer was about 2 hours. This was my first attempt at something wearable.

Proof

Oh, and by the way....guess who has started to pull herself up and stand! Daddy is right now dropping the crib a level after tonight's protest of going to bed.

All I want for Christmas.....

.....is my two front teeth. Well they came a little early. Top teeth certainly look different coming in than the bottom two. Yet this time, the ride was MUCH easier with their arrival. So here is the score-


bottom- 2 at 5.5 mo
Top- 2 at 7.5 mo


Pictures to follow when she is in the mood to show them off without me getting bit.


In Other News


At times I envy my husbands hair. Mainly for the fact that its buzzed and doesn't suffer the fist fulls of mine being yanked/pulled by my neck. Sigh, when does this phase end?


I am sad to say that I have officially put away Eliza's crib bumpers. It came down to her trying to use them to pull herself up while throwing a fit about going down for bed. Then when angry crying fit was over, I would find her face almost smooshed up against the bumper. This made mommy a little worried. Now her crib looks so....barren. The rails look much more prison like (glad we don't have a black/gray crib). Maybe I should get her a sippy cup to clang against the bars and a pocket mirror ;)


Recently I tried my hands at making some DIY Baby Legs. Not bad for my first attempt, but needing some longer socks that go above the ankle. Maybe I'll find something cheap at Wally World that isn't hideous.


To say that she is crawling is hard to say. She gets around, but in her own VERY unique way. Although I think she is proud to get into the sitting up pose from laying on her tummy and does is all the time besides trying to pull up on the furniture.

Seat Cover

After finding that our daughter can be talented in decorating her chair seat on her own.....mommy could see that a cover was going to be needed. What I love about being able to sew is finding easy and cheap solutions for our family. Especially when it means saving me time and being fashionable at the same time!

JoAnns has been having some great sales and I got this flannel fabric for 3.50 a yd. Its brown with aqua vines. Something perfect to help hide breakfast :) I especially love this chair too. It will grow with her and doesn't look like another giant piece of baby gear, but more so furniture. Plus this was the same cost as the plastic and metal varieties.

Pass the Bread Sticks

 I think its safe to say that spaghetti in this house will continue to be a favorite among us. We've been doing light finger foods here and there, but nothing to this extent. Now if mommy only remembered about her white pants on after cleaning her up.


The neat thing about this was, we were able to video chat while she ate with grandma and grandpa on the TV screen.

Mind Marbles

In cleaning the bedroom, I came across an old positive pregnancy test. So I showed it to my husband but didn't say anything. His reaction was priceless!

If I thought that keeping my own socks in order was hard, I have MANY singles looking for the right pair.

In how tight things are for our family and a lot of income going towards the baby, I have this huge desire to want to buy something fun for myself. Yet I would also love to buy a Christmas toy for baby girl and struggle in waiting until Christmas morning.

With life and its uncertainties right now, I struggle in coming up with something interesting for you few loyal readers. I blink and most of the week has passed. Sure, things are going on, but who has the time to photograph the demo project?

Really upset that the new photo equipment has been put on back order from the manufacture. Arg....can't win....

As of Late....

Eliza is 7 months old now...wow.

Feeling even more proud of myself for making two more baprons but with clear vinyl over the cute prints. The first one took longer and isn't my best work. After sewing the plastic sheet to the cut of fabric, we were finally in business. Now all I have to do is make a clean swipe and hang dry!

Earlier in the week, mommy and baby had their first fall together. NOT FUN. Hated seeing her head hit the floor and bounce up. I think I was worse for the wear.

We had our first real dumping of snow on Friday. Glad it didn't shut any schools down. But I did hold off on going grocery shopping with a baby. Wasn't feeling like having a crying snow suit baby.

Don't do the grime if you can't do the time! Lately Eliza has wanted to grab the spoon and feed her self. Needless to say, a lot doesn't go in the mouth on the first try. At least she is eating though!

Success

Well, I got crafty at the sewing machine once again! Here we have the Bapron! I feel quite proud of myself with making my own bias tape. This will hopefully help cover Eliza's pants when eating. The underside is done with a soft pink flannel fabric that came from my mother's old fabric hoard back home. I think there will be a few more of these in my future :) 

Seriously Kid?!

It looks like either one or both things are correct in this video:

1) The kitchen sink is going to be soon short lived.

2) This child refuses to crawl and insists on trying to walk.

Not quite yet to 7 months, which makes me wonder what is head....

Randomness

Thinking to myself a few mornings ago: I don't want to wear those jeans, they're mom jeans. Oh wait......I am a mom. How did I make it to this point?


Was blessed with a gift card to Target and I thought that a new bigger girl toy was in order. Thought the Fisher Price musical popping dino would be a fun new addition. Turns out its quite obnoxious with the constant banging of the mechanism that trampoline springs the balls out of the contraption if they don't find the chute to the mouth where they also go all over the place. Returned it and instead got this . Eliza has much more interaction with it and the music isn't all that bad. Even though the age is for 9 mo+, she got the hang of it real quick. There is more for her to do with out zombing out to a light up musical box.


LOVING peppermint Oreos right now.....


Why do I always get the motivation and energy to clean the house at the end of the weekend? Then only to lose said enthusiasm during the week. Hrmph!


After 3 months, getting your hair cut at the salon feels wonderful. Otherwise my hair was looking on the side of dead, dirty, old.


Would love to make a Bapron on the sewing machine (A bib / apron) Might work better at meal times and the sake of Eliza's clothes. Yet that pesky thing of time and motivation goes missing. 

Cloth Diapering

For those who don't know already, we cloth diaper in this house. When I talk to friends or co-workers, I get a lot of reactions, saying "Wow, that's hardcore." Then I state to them that they have come a LONG way from rubber pants and prefolds.

The kind we use are Bum Genius 4.0 one size pocket diaper with snaps. Before I made the investment, I talked with several mommies about their experience using and if they were happy with the system. I didn't get a single buyers regret. This took me to Craigslist to see if I could find any used. Turns out, it was hard to find any of the one size modern day kinds. This showed me that mommies use them and love them over and over from kid to kid.

Investment
The retail cost of one of these is 18.00. This shocks a lot of people. Yet if you calculate the money spent over birth to potty training, these will pay themselves off by the first year (all depending how many are in your stash). Then you can reuse them for the next child! I love not having worry about running out of diapers in the middle of the night or the chunk of money being taken out of our grocery budget. Not to mention the fewer cases of blowouts and rash issues. There are other cheaper alternatives out there. This is just what we knew about at the time. It all depends on your preferences, family needs and lifestyle. Not to mention them being daddy friendly.


Commons myths

I don't have the time to be doing all that extra laundry
       1 minute spent loading diapers into machine for cold water rinse
       30 sec spent adding special detergent to hot/cold cycle with second rinse
       1 minute spent loading into dryer

What about those poopy diapers?
       The wonderful invention of the diaper sprayer! When solids are introduced, removing the waste is needed  
       before washing them. All you do is take to the toilet and use the sprayer which attaches to the back of the
       toilet plumbing and spray it off. This takes all of 1 min to complete and we do it after each poopy.

What if you are away from the house?
       We use a "wet bag" which is a nylon or plastic coated bag for storing dirty diapers or even for accident
       ridden clothes.

How To Be A Mom Monday

When changing your child, they might find it to be the perfect time to exercise his or her talents of artistic expression. Pallets may include your long sleeve shirt sleeves.

Nuff said

Tea for One

Here is a photo opt that I haven't seen done much. At least with an infant. After all the work done in the studio, the weather cleared up and on impulse grabbed a tea cup and very soft blue blanket (it had rained a lot of the week prior) I guess you could say that I am trying to get as much mileage as I can out of this yard sale tutu. Now watch my daughter turn into a tom boy just like her mother and have to wait till prom to get her in a frilly dress! 

Christmas Cards

In case you haven't noticed......but Christmas isn't all that far off. From planning what family will travel to who, winter breaks for the kiddies and a list of "to do" adding up; its hard to find time in getting those pesky Christmas cards out in the mail. Now I have no problem with the traditional card sent, but after opening it and maybe placing it up on the wall for a brief time.....there isn't much incentive to hold on to it. This is why I LOVE the photo greeting cards. Its a great way to get a new picture of the family or loved ones that you can stick on the fridge all year long. Then you can save it for the photo album (if those still exist).

Here is an example at what I am pretty sure will be sent out this year. It would be the first time doing it for our family. I have taken the liberty of making my own template instead of paying a lot more money for the panoramic pre-designed ones offered at various photo depts. If you don't have a design program, simply take a  4x6 card and cut/paste your photos and use festive scrap booking supplies to make it your own. Then take, get scanned....viola!

Fun in the Studio

Well, Momma had some fun in the studio this Saturday with tutu in hand for the 6 months shoot of little Eliza. What a difference 3 months is when trying to get a smile out. No problem this time! And with only a few breaks in between to check lighting and change clothes, I would say it was pretty successful.

Here is my little rolly polly at the last shoot.

Search me for a content heart

We all go through different seasons of life at different times than others. Some good.....some not so good.....and some last longer than they would like.

You could say that my thoughts and feelings lay with in the that latter. Working in ministry comes at many hidden costs of ones life. When those who reached Jesus and asked to follow him, he obliged. Except there were matters they wanted/needed to take up before following. Not too many would argue their reasons for requesting a little more time to take care of these matters. Yet we are called all the same to give up all our personal desires in order to fully follow.

My moving around has required me to leave some pretty awesome friendships/relationships in a long distance category. Sure there is Facebook, but it doesn't measure up to in face person to person time. I miss my church college group dearly. We've moved on from college, into careers and marriages and yet they still meet up in a new group each Sunday after the main service. It was still a cost when living on the west coast, but much less inconvenient to make it happen.

Then there is my creative side. I have many interests in different art medias. From oils to photography, I find the skies the limit in what can be created and captured. A lot of my recent work has been centered around my daughter. In capturing children the challenge is getting a fast enough shutter speed in relation to the amount of light available. I have not been able to make much of any real investment into my camera gear since living in California. To this day, I still use the first hot light set bought in my early college days when needing to get a Fila shoe product shot for Ad Campaign I. When I look at pictures taken in studio, I can tell the difference compared to a newer light kit. Not to mention many pictures deleted because of an overall blur or blurred body part. Frustration abounds.

If only I could be blessed with enough work to allow me to invest in updated equipment. If only we had the extra income to make traveling a more regular thing of vacations where I could have that quality face time with those I still love and still want to be a part of the new seasons they are embarking upon. If only my husband could be blessed with an awesome job with great benefits and our debt could start melting away like an ice cream cone on a hot summers day.

It makes me wonder when the break in the storm will ever come.

And in the midst of this all, I know I am still blessed with so much despite these situations. So I pray for contentment for this season of life.

6 Months!

Oh how the time flies! Here we are sitting on our favorite chair for our month by month picture. Mommy will break out the fun costumes and camera equipment this Saturday on her day off. Otherwise doing a shoot by herself after going to MOPS and working is just a bit too much for one day. Here's hoping the weather cooperates for a few out in the yard.

Enjoy our happy half birthday!

How to be a Mom Monday

Lesson:
When laying baby on your stomach while laying in bed....turn head towards husbands side of the bed. Or be prepared with a burp cloth between your boobs and around your neck. Multiple burps prior does not mean you're out of the woods!

What is on and off the menu

Solids for the most part are going quite well. After finding a solution to the carrots (mixed in canned pumpkin), she has taken to them with out a problem. Even when mixing them in with other foods like cooked apples from our visit to the orchards.

After I've cooked the large batch of a particular food, they go right into the freezer in ice cube trays. I highly recommend OXO Ice Cube Tray with sliding lid. After frozen, they are popped into freezer bags with a label and date. This makes it easy to mix and match different flavor combinations. When ready to serve, microwave a few cubes for 30-40 seconds until desirable temp is achieved.

Sweet Potato & Pumpkin
Carrots & Sweet Potato
Apple & Carrots
Apple & Oat Meal
Oat Meal & Sweet Potato
Apple & Pear
Pear & Cereal
Pear/Apple & Cinnamon
....and the easy favorite: Mashed Bananas!

I hope to introduce green beans by the end of the week. Although feeling a little discouraged after the Gerber Garden Vegetable was given the "ick" face. I don't blame her, as I don't like peas either.

But the biggest fight as of late would be taking the bottle for me or my husband......

Last night, after fussing and fighting with the bottle before bed, I walked to the front door, said good bye, opened and closed it and pretended to leave the house. By leaving I mean going off to the office. After some more crying and throwing on Veggie Tales. she took it.

Now if ONLY we could get her to take it in the night from my husband so mommy could actually catch a break.

Something tells me weaning her from the boob is going to be quite the challenge!

Apple Picking

I couldn't resist posting this after we went to Windy Hill Farms for some fall apple harvesting. We of course forgot the child carrier, but in the end we spent a good chunk of the time taking pictures of her enjoying the grass and apples. The weather for this fall thus far has been quite nice. At the end, we were hot and sweaty after all the walking around and hauling our loot and baby. Homemade apple sauce and other treats will be in the queue of my baking for sure if we are to use our half bushel of apples.

Baby Food

With the introduction of solids, we have ventured outside of rice cereal and into some new tastes. This has prompted me to get creative and bring down the costs of having a baby by making my own.

Funny thing is, once you get started, its hard to stop. Yesterday it was apple sauce and pears. Next I want to try sweet potatos and maybe green beans. After my notions of her getting tired of the rice, I switched to oatmeal which seems to be a winner.

What else have you made/tried with your sweet peas?

Teething

After a week or so of awful sleep, we've recently discovered that our little girl has decided that now would be a good time to start cutting teeth. Great for her............sucky for us.

All the tale tell signs were not very apparent in showing up. There wasn't any real excessive drooling, no diaper rash, non stop chomping or fever. Yet with a sleep pattern we have never seen before with multiple night feedings and fussiness of going back down, I had to see if there was any sign.

Low and behold, one tooth on the right had broken the surface. Just a tiny slit and an opaque white tooth top. I would take a picture of this, but in order for me to see such a tiny thing, its a matter of wrestling with her mouth to get any sort of glance. After a few tries with baby Tylenol, I broke down and got some Oragel  to work its magic.

With this blog entry, I leave you with a happier baby than the one we've been introduced to as of late.....

A new milestone

Today we celebrate a five whole months old! This child loves to pose. The middle shot was of her learning to sit up with out a tripod position. It's almost saying, "Here I am!" Yes, you are here baby girl and we love you so very much. And so does all your extended family on both coasts.

This milestone also is met with first solids. Its been the traditional rice cereal with breast milk. At the time we tried, she as fussing due to hunger. Man, did she throw her self on that spoon! We couldn't get the food to her fast enough as she cried in between spoonfuls. Its going to take some practice learning how to get the coordination down with the spoon and getting more into her mouth than outside, but so far so good.

Sitting Up

Now we aren't at full blown sitting up yet, but she seems to have the tripod down for a long length of time until she gets tired or frustrated. But not that she certainly doesn't try to go all the way. Shot these last night as we practiced sitting. Maybe mommy will get her wishes and have her sitting for her 6 month pictures. Time will tell!

A lesson in Supply and Coordination

Now I haven't started solids yet with Eliza yet, but boy I can't wait! Its more about trying to make it to the 6 mo mark to help avoid developing any food allergies. So either 6 months or sitting up, which ever one comes first to mark this life event.

With this being said, getting a little taste here and there has been explored. With the help of those netted food pods with a handle, Eliza got to experience some Water Mellon. Boy did she LOVE it! So much in fact that she got frustrated when her excitement sent her arms and hands to not cooperate in getting said food to mouth. Then when I would try and teach her to use TWO hands at holding, this just would not do. Much to daddies wishes, she still isn't holding her bottle for more then a few seconds on her own.

By the looks of her shirt, I think much fun and delight had been had. All depending on what is in season and on sale, we shall see what else might be in store.

YoYo's

After going to Michael's one evening and stumbling upon their attempts at taking some market share away from Joanns Fabric, there was a take and make item. Basically you were buying the fabric patterns and where to cut.  After being confused at the lack of good instructions of how to make them, I took to Google. Turns out they are called YoYos. What I like so much about them is how they look like cloth fabric flower heads. Just slap a button on in place for the pollen and viola!

Crawling

Well, Eliza has embarked at not even 4.5 months old the beginnings of crawling. After feeding her on the bed, I decided some improptu tummy time was in order. Now I am use to her rolling around and wiggling. Yet to my eyes I whitnessed her get knees under her and push forward. Almost like a bear crawl with her armspushing herself up, but stretched out wide. Wondering if this was a fluke, she continued this motion.

Something tells me......

We're in trouble now.

Eggs and Bacon

At work we have a play kitchen for the kids. You'll find a variety of plastic food goods that undoubtedly get thrown EVERYWHERE in that area and then beyond. After looking through most of it, the only real breakfast item is a lone waffle. This just should be the only option. After finding unused felt, I got to cutting and hand stitching some fried eggs and bacon. The kids don't return until next Thursday, so we will have to see what they think of my efforts.

I'm SEW Excited!

With a recent birthday coming and going, I was blessed with the opportunity to add to my fabric stash. While on vacation, its been my creative outlet to sew quilts and car seat covers. Now my husband is happy that I am happily engrossed into my sewing, but not so happy when it comes to what trips to the fabric store cost him. For me, I love to search the red tag clearance sections. Joanne's has quite the nice selection where as Hobby Lobby is limited to one rack give or take.

Here are my Hobby Lobby finds. (L) 4 dollars and (R) 5 dollars and is canvas like material

Now I can't remember what each one cost a yard, but with the exception on the very left (love 50% off reg price fabric) were all 6 and under with the lowest being 3.

Then throw in ribbon for 1 dollar each from Michaels

As a designer, going to the fabric store is like eye candy for me. My brain starts buzzing with excitement and I want to buy it all! Despite not feeling confident to start buying fabric patterns, I've tried using free online ones to print and assemble, hence the car seat covers

.

Over all, I have been quite happy with my beginning experiences with sewing. If you are interested, I can give you an invitation to Pintrest.com. Its an idea board to share your projects or to post other creative en devours for inspiration you've found on the net. There are lots of different categories, so its not just limited to sewing, ie photography, home decor art work in various medias etc....

Anyone want to go to a fabric store?

So it looks like I've been bit by the sewing bug! I've expanded in making a second quilt which by the way is a MAJOR improvement. Then I set my eyes on what had really inspired me to want to sew......a car seat cover.

Back when we were setting up the registry for baby, I thought I would be money smart and get something gender neutral. Now I can't stand the green plaid. Then I thought that perhaps I could just order a new cover. When I couldn't find that to work, I turned to Etsy to see what was out there. Well, I did find what I wanted, but not at the 90$ price tag! I could buy a new seat for that price.

With the confidence increased with accomplishing two quilts and finding a free universal seat cover pattern....I ventured into new territory.


First attempt. Not bad but not 100% happy with it



Attempt number two. I love the corduroy pattern and much more polished.

I haven't been brave enough to take apart the original canopy and try to get the pattern from it. But I am content enough with it for now. Maybe I'll make one of those tent cover thingies in its place. Yet I wonder how much longer I will be dragging that seat in and out of the car.


Here is Eliza modeling the first quilt...