Baby quilt

I finished the polka dot quilt for little Knapp #2 last night. We're pretty sure we've decided on a name, but we're not telling anyone. I embroidered on the quilt tag, so I can't show you that part. Although, I suppose, I could always re-stitch it. I used a lot of pieces of old Heather Ross prints. I didn't buy any new fabric for it, just used what I had in my fabric cabinet. Oh didn't I mention I now have a fabric cabinet? I can now see ALL my fabric! Pictures soon, swearsies. 


I used the mini quilt pattern from Purl Soho, but adapted it to be bigger than a mini quilt. I don't really understand the point of mini quilts. Seems like a lot of work for something that's not functional. But I'm also not the quilt on the wall type either. I sort of wish I'd done the quilting in white, because it was difficult to sew perfect circles, and you can really see the mistakes, but I also like the little bit of brightness the orange brings. I just have to accept that I'm never going to be a super neat and tidy seamstress.

I also finished the curtains for Jack's room. They took 5 minutes a piece. I used sarongs from Anokhi that I bought online. It's impossible to get their sarongs here in the states. I've bought a ton of them from Simrane in Paris, and I guess they have a store in Japan. BUT, I found a source on ebay (ragarags), who travels to Jaipur a few times a year. I happened to catch her over email the day before she went to the shop in India, and was able to ask her to get me 3-4 blue or green ones to go along the with green ones I had already sewn last year when we moved him in there. I needed more coverage so I can make some blackout curtains to go behind them. The good part of living on top of a hill having second story bedrooms is a great view an bright sunny bedrooms. The bad part is that at sunrise, it's like high noon in there. 

Ok, so I'm not totally finished, I need to sew the blackouts (one straight line across the top). The measuring and cutting will take longer than the sewing. And then I need to put up the new hardware (HI, Nipper Knapp). 

I just have the sew some cute appliques onto the white pottery barn kids sale cloth fabric in the baby's room, and put some artwork up on the walls, and the nursery will be done! 

I saw the doctor last week and she said the baby is really big. Now I know those measurements and not really reliable, but I'm hoping for maybe a little bit of an early due date. Not like 2 weeks, but maybe 1? Jack came a week early (good boy). A girl can dream...

Cribs

The fabric is Michael Miller Zoology Flannel in Sea

I don't want to blow your minds or anything, but I just sewed a crib sheet! It only took an hour, and though it's not perfect, it's pretty darn cute. I googled "how to sew a crib sheet" and used sort of an amalgam from all the different tutorials. I ended up cutting the fabric (which is the standard 44/45" wide) to 70 inches, and I think it's about an inch or two too long, but I'd rather have it be too big and tuck it, than not big enough. It's also not as tight around the edges where I sewed the elastic as I'd like, but...I SEWED ELASTIC! I did the four corners method, not the pocket method, and it was easy as pie. 

I'm totally going to make another set for the little man, with the Central Park Zoo Fabric I got. I was going to repaint the nursery, but that required, you know, painting, and moving furniture, AND, the Pels are loaning us their glider rocker, which is dreamy, but is pale green, and goes perfectly with the aqua walls. So, instead I've opted to make some new crib bedding, curtains, and decoupage his dresser, like I did for Jack before he was born. I even have leftover fabric from the sheets to make throw pillows for the rocker. Who needs new paint?! 

Can you tell I'm kind of nesting?

Kate Spain Central Park Zoo - How cute will this be as a crib sheet?!

LIGHTBULB!

So, I'm 5.5 months pregnant and the nesting urge is redonk-a-diddle. I would like to apologize in advance for any kind of cutesy or irritating language contained in this blog. I'm not responsible. It's the hormones! 


I want to re-do the nursery. When I asked Nipper Knapp if he thought we should repaint the baby's room, he said "I don't know, do YOU think YOU should repaint it?" Ok, I get it. Since baby #2 will also be a boy, he's going to be the hand me down kid, so, at least I can start him off with a fresh room, right? Whatever. I NEED to feather my nest. 

I've always loved this Marimekko Pikku Bo Boo print. When I was a kid my friend Jessica's little brother had this wallpaper in his room, and even then I knew it was cool. I was thinking of painting one wall navy, and the rest of it white, and then doing a wall with this wallpaper. BUT we have texture on our walls (blurgh, thanks tacky flipper), and wallpaper is a nightmare. SO I had a brainstorm. I'm crafty right? (shudder)


I am going to repaint the room white, maybe one navy wall, and then on the big wall (I use this term loosely, the nursery is smaller than most people's bathrooms) I'll make stencils from the pikku bo boo fabric, and PAINT it on the wall. OMG HOW CUTE AM I?! (sorry) That's shouldn't be too hard, right? 

I have a little of the bo boo fabric leftover from the vintage sheet set I bought on ebay for $15, but it's not in the best condition. I used part of it to make Jack's school nap blanket. I looked for more today and the prices are astronomical. $245 for barely 2 yards. EEK! Someone is selling another sheet set for $65, but the material isn't all that nice and snuggly. I think I'll use what I've got left to make some accent pillows and maybe a stroller blanket with a minky back. 


I also think we've narrowed it down to two different names, but I've been sworn to secrecy. 

bobsled to hell

Ok, so I think that the decoupage might be where I slid down the slippery slope of nursery decoration into a dark world of crafts, and jo-ann fabric visits. Did I ever mention my fake band? I mean, it's not like I was I was in the The White Stripes or anything, but at least there was this thought of something cool. I mean we played the kibitz room (sort of).

Before we got pregnant, we lived in this loft downtown. It was great to have a space for my photography, and my good friend (and fake bandmate Sadie) lived right down the hall. But once we realized we were going to be parents, the truck wash downstairs, and the hooker corner outside the parking lot, seemed less than family friendly. Plus, I like to sleep. I like quiet. We quickly realized, that the wall free, concrete box, that was our haven, would soon be echoing with the sounds of a crying baby. I was going to need to shut the door on that mess.

SO we started looking for a house, and in the meantime, I started nesting, or pre-nesting. And it started with this little decoupage project. Making matters worse I found the templates on Martha Stewart's website. I don't care if that mean lady went to jail, she's got mojo. I got the paper from paper source. The dressers that were intended for the baby's someday nursery, I got at Ikea. I don't think they have this exact dresser anymore, but they always have something similar. These were unfinished and the perfect size to double as a changing table.

I like the way they turned out like an orange creamsicle. But I've noticed that since that project, I've been frequenting places where the other shoppers are frightening to me. I was in a Michael's a few weeks ago looking for linen embroidery thread, and all of a sudden I was overcome with panic. "THESE ARE NOT YOUR PEOPLE!" What was I doing there; in this place where people were buying dusty fake flowers, and WICKER baskets? I am a wicker free zone. Sure I could lie to myself and say, "You're not like them. You're just here for your very cool, totally normal, embroidery floss. These people are clearly losers, who live in sad rentals, with bad lighting, and haircut model posters". But then came the tutu project, which required 4 visits to Jo-Ann fabrics, and that's when I realized, I was lying to myself and I had hit rock bottom.

Jo-Ann fabrics is the kind of place I wouldn't have deigned to visit three years ago. It's low budget, low brow, low rent, it's the Netherlands of fabric stores, low, low, low. On each of my four visits, there was a mother and daughter couple there shopping together. These pairings unnerved me greatly.

"Mom, did you see everything on the notions wall is on sale?" the daughter would bleat with a thick Fargo accent.

"Oh sure. And did you see this pre-smocked dress fabric, that is just darling, and so practical!" the mother would respond.

"Just ignore these manatees" I'm thinking. "Just block them out". "YOU are nothing like THEM. Losers. Stupid, fat, tacky, boring, slow witted, buffet pants, comfortable shoe wearing..." and then they turned on me.

"Oh! What are you going to do with all that tulle?"

And suddenly, I'm gushing. About making tutus, for all the neighborhood girls, and my son, and how my husband doesn't really approve, and I'm breathless, and they're smiling politely, and OH MY FUCKING GOD, WHO AM I???

My eyes were bigger than my bed

So, uhm, I was at the nursery, and thought, I have this HUGE raised bed, and I have to fill it with wholesome organic goodness. So I bought one of everything. I've got three types of tomatoes, two types of blueberries, two types of raspberries, three kinds of peas, pickling cucumbers, strawberries, two types of pepper (habanero, and thai) rosemary, sage, thyme, basil (genovese and thai) dill, lemon balm, and fennel. Oh yeah, and CORN!!!! I bought 24 corn plants, and then realized that realistically I have room for about 6, so I gave one pack to Roberto, the guy who does everything around here, and one pack to Brenda, our life saving babysitter. I'm going to give the last pack to my friend Sadie to plant in her new garden. 

I have a feeling in about 3-4 weeks, I'm going to have to move a few things into pots of their own, or fly old Peepaw out here to build another bed. Even in they're plant infancy, they are looking a little crowded. I also realized that I completely forget to get peppermint, and cilantro. How will we ever go on??? Dad, start looking at tickets to LA!

I tried to get Jack to help me plant a few things, but mostly he was interested in shaking the dirt out of the empty pots, and filling his dump truck with stuff. SO much for botany 101. Now he'll never get into college!!!