Updating Peachy's Room

A while back I stumbled across this picture from the Real Simple website.

Isn't that a great way to jazz up a nursery room dresser? 

I had to give it a try in Little Peachy's room. 

Here is Peachy showing us the before.

Here is the after with new knobs and ribbon. (I ran out. Bummer. Don't worry I'll buy more and finish the project soon.)

Here is a close up of the ribbons. (I decided to cut mine shorter than the RS picture out of sheer practicality.)

Here is what Peachy decided to do while I switched out the knobs and added the ribbons. Yes, she is stuck in a wooden close rack. Yes, she removed the items that had been drying on the rack. Yes, I got my camera and took pictures before rescuing her. Yes, she amuses me too.

New Room for New Little One

Since it takes a baby over nine months to grow and mature before it is ready to live outside of the womb, why should it take any less time to prepare their room? And, if their room is all ready to welcome them, shouldn't they come out to see it? Some deep thoughts for you on this Tuesday morning.

My parents were here this past weekend and brought with them the finishing touch for the nursery, a beautiful, hand crafted crib. (When we first told them that we were expecting, my dad asked if he could make the crib for us. Who could say no to something like that? And with kit in hand, he created an heirloom sure to last generations in our family.)

Something so special and lovingly made deserves another shot, don't you think?

And with the crib in place, the remainder of our nursery fell into place as well. Here is the closet all stocked and ready for baby. (Look at all of that yellow and green!! You would think that I root for THAT team, but I don't.)

And the curtains that I thought were crossed off of the to-do list so long ago, but took several tries to get just right. Ah, it is good to have them done. (Oh wait, I still have to finish the tie backs. Well, someday . . .)

And the corner with the crate/shelves and dresser/changing table.

Now all we need is the baby, right?

Move Over Petunia

I am not the kind of person who sticks her nose up in the air when it comes to handmade gifts. Quite the contrary. When I receive a handmade gift, I know that much love and thought went into it. I make many things myself and know that just because something is handmade, does not make it inferior to any item that is mass produced. It does my heart good to see sights like Etsy flourishing. I think that Americans are finally realizing that handmade in America trumps mass produced in China in many cases.

I have been busy putting my time and love into handmaking many items for the baby. Part of this comes from frugality. If done correctly, a handmade item can be produced for a lesser price tag than a store bought item. I also like the flexibility handmade items offer. I was able to decorate the baby's room just how I envisioned it by creating my own accesories. I may not have been able to find just what I had wanted in a store.

Okay, I will get off of my soapbox now.

I am not the only one who has been handmaking for this little one. My family has also been hard at work making special little items to welcome this special little child into the world. Currently my mother-in-law is refinishing a rocking chair that we will use to rock the babe back to sleep.

Almost as soon as we broke the baby news, my own mother asked what she could make for him/her. I immediately thought of a diaper bag. I love the new designer diaper bags out there, but I don't love their price tags. (Just Google Petunia Pickle Bottom and you will get the idea.) So, mom went to work and created this fab diaper bag just for me.

She also created this Hungry Caterpillar Quilt.

(Look at the adorable quilting!!)

We came back from Easter with quite the haul. (Or should I say that the baby came back with quite the haul?!!) My mom made the baby this bunny basket for Easter.

My sister created this Darma Initiative-esque onsie.

And my sister-in-law knit this cozy and color appropriate blankie.

Yup, this baby is definitely loved.

Keepin' On Keepin' On

We are doing well here. The Lord was truly holding his hand of blessing over our community throughout the past week and a half. There is still a long way to go, but everyone is cautiously ready to move on. We are collectively praying that the miracles here continue as they are predicting the that the river may crest again well above flood stage in the middle of April. So, dikes and levees are remaining up as we wait to see what happens over the next few weeks.

The sun was shinning today and spring was truly in the air. The snow was melting, slowly, which is just how we want it to melt right now. I will have to show you what I did to prepare our house for spring later. By the time I finished, it was too dark to take a decent picture.

I did snap a picture of my other project of the day. I have the curtains and the valance sewn for the nursery. We haven't installed the rods yet, so this is just a sample of what is to come. It is so much fun seeing the nursery all start to come together.

When Life Gives You Flood Days . . .

make a baby quilt. With the entire week of no school, I needed to find something to keep myself busy and from going crazy. In the process of moving our downstairs to the upstairs I made sure to keep the sewing stuff for the baby's room accessible. Since Friday I have been working on the crib quilt and today I finished it!!

Here is what my initial plan was:



Here is the sketch I made before beginning:

And here is the finished product:

I am fairly happy with it. The only bummer is that not all of my rows lined up. I seem to have that problem when it comes to quilting. I am just not precise enough. I don't think that the baby will mind. This is probably the best binding job that I have ever done, so that redeems me to some degree.

I am hoping to work on curtains this week, too, and maybe a few other projects.

Our Weekend; Part I

Remember this clue?

Here is M, busy at work.

And here is the finished product: