Sweetheart dress

Look at the beautiful quilting job the quilter did. She had made a few suggestions when I sent it to her, but I never expected anything this beautiful. The binding is made, I just need a little help with the trimming and learning how to attach it. Will it be done in time for Christmas? I sure hope so.

And as promised, here is the sweetheart dress that I adapted from the romper Savannah wore on her 2nd birthday.

Ok, so here is the deal with this dress. (Why it took me almost all summer) I decided that it makes more sense to sell my patterns than sell the dresses themselves. I just do not have time to make bundles of dresses for my Etsy shop. So as I was making the dress I was trying to write up the pattern to be home stitcher friendly. The way I cut the pattern, I had no choice but to add a partial placket to the back for buttons, but I wanted it to somehow be elastic so The dress could fit different body shapes. I stewed over this for at least a month because I do not want to add the partial placket in the pattern. Back to the drawing board with that one. But I am able to sell this one, so it should be up soon.

Still having problems with pictures on the macbook, I loaded them all on and sent a few from my phone but it took me hours just to get this far.

Quilts

I have been so busy working on my quilts that I haven't done much in the Children's clothing area. I thought I could hear my sewing machine calling me yesterday, poor thing is so lonely. 

My first quilt ever is this applique tree bells quilt. I really enjoyed the applique part once the millions of little pieces were cut and folded and bonded. That stuff was a pain in the butt. The tree bells quilt is ready for me to piece the back, I just need my mom's help with that, then off the the quilter for the batting and quilting. I might actually have it done in time for Christmas.

The next quilt I have started is the Crabapple Hill A to Zzzz Christmas quilt. It is hand embroidered which I am enjoying a ton. Again, not a huge fan of the tracing process. I worked on my first square while vacationing in Maine.

We had another great year at the cabin in Maine. Jake got to do a lot of work on the cabin (he actually enjoys this) and I got a good amount of sewing done. The kids had fun, they wen't canoeing and swimming, and fishing. Nolan was loving all the rocks at the beaches and Savannah and Jake even went into the ocean at Roque Bluffs (way too cold for me). The weather was cool, which was a really nice break from the hot humid Jersey weather. 

Bad Little Falls, Machias

Bog Brook Cove

Roque Bluffs

Eastport

Tree Bells Quilt

Happy New Year! 

Our new year has started out pretty rough, but I guess the rest of the year can only be good in comparison right?

Nolan got a bad cold for Christmas, which kept getting worse. He had a fever for over a week, became lethargic and was not getting any better. We took him to the doctor and she sent us immediately to his Hematologist. After checking his blood work they found his hemoglobin levels were dangerously low about a 6.2, not too abnormal for him. The told us if it didn't get any higher within 24 hours he would need a blood transfusion. Scary thought for me, he's so tiny. They put him on antibiotics which cleared up the problem, but then found out he is allergic to them.

A few days after all this craziness I tripped and fell in my basement (Jake wasn't home) and broke head of the Radial bone in my right arm. After going to urgent care the next day they told me I should move it around so my elbow doesn't lock up but follow up at an Orthopedic. It was the most painful week before I got to see the Ortho. Needless to say, he called the urgent care doc an idiot, I was not to move it. I was put in a splint for 2 weeks, then a sling for 2 more. I have been free from these annoying and restricting devices for a week now and the pain is finally ceasing. I will be allowed to lift again in about 2 weeks, pending doc's approval.

Now to get to the fun stuff. I bought a quilt pattern about 2-3 years ago. Yup... I'm just now getting to it. I have never made a quilt. It is called Tree Bells and it has a lot of applique (which I have also never done) It's going well, just lots and lots of little pieces and I get about 1 panel of the applique done a day. 

 Below is some of the finished "Bells"

 I had to figure out how to arrange this on my own. It made my brain hurt.

I have also been on a weight loss journey. I have the MyFitnessPal app on my phone, it has helped me so much. It was an eye-opener when I started looking at how many calories I was consuming every day and how surprising the sugar and fat content of some foods were. I have lost 10 pounds in 70 days. I am not going crazy trying to lose much, I have just altered my food consumption, making healthier choices and I exercise when I can, not as much as I would like but it is working regardless.

Savannah was helping me ice my arm after I went to urgent care. She is starting pre-school in the fall (I can't believe it) she will go 3 days a week 9-1. She is waaaay too excited. She is a master at puzzles.

Nolan is walking/running everywhere and getting into all kinds of trouble. He breaks everything or dunks it in the dog water, when he isn't breaking the bowl. He has started self feeding and he's a little pro of course. He is also a total cookie monster. I have been working on my baking skills (which stink) and he asks for cookies all day long. This picture was taken this morning after breakfast around 8 am. Yup, cookies for breakfast, hey they were oatmeal.