New goals for National Sewing Month

Hey everyone!

It's September!

Happy National Sewing Month!

Thank you for all the well wishes on the birth of my son! There has definitely been an adjustment in our family life since he came, but I am grateful for every small milestone. Namely, a little one who is sleeping more at night and giving sweet smiles during his more alert moments. Oh, and finally settling into his car seat! It's the little things that make a big difference lately.

4 weeks old. He is now 7 weeks, and much chunkier, lol!

So, now that I have been able to get a breather, I am looking forward to participating in my MAGAM group again. For the month of September, in honor of National Sewing Month, we are encouraged to pick a garment and sew 30 minutes a day until it is finished. Essentially, committing a small amount of time each day.  This is perfect for me! I have already started yesterday, and will continue throughout this month. Somehow, even when I have had a long day, putting aside 30 minutes doesn't seem overwhelming at all.

I haven't chosen my patterns yet, but there are some I am considering for fall sewing:

First is a pattern I never finished, Love Notions slim style pants. It turns out when I tried these out before, I ignored a lot of wonderful features that make this one a user-friendly sew. The patterns are trimless (yay), you can modify the .pdf to print ONLY your size, and you don't have to print all the pages of the pattern, only those designated for your view. I did not know this the first time around because I was treating this pattern like others I had downloaded online before. Well, it pays to read the instructions!! LOL! So, I am hoping to revisit this one again--with much less stress.

Love Notions also recently released the Canyon Cardigan. I love the options for cardigans! So, yes, I have already purchased this one. Personally, I wear a lot of cardigans during the fall, and enjoy collecting different colors. Having a basic cardigan is great, but this I like that this one has a lot more personality! Here is the pattern illustration:

Another option I am looking at is a Mimi G pattern.  It is an adorable shirtdress that can be paired with tights or leggings. Being postpartum, leggings are now a welcome treat. They are most comfortable, and appropriate for my body at the moment. They will also continue to fit great even with losing weight over the upcoming months.  

Lastly, I am considering creating a duplicate of another garment I have. I've never tried this before, but I have a tunic dress top that I love to wear, and would like more of.   The silhouette is simple enough, so that should help me figure it out (that and helpful Youtube videos).

These are some of the ideas swarming around in my head these days. For now, I am focused on establishing a daily sewing habit.  

Stay sew-filled!

He is here!!!!

Hello everyone!! 

My son has made it into this world!  These last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity since he has gotten here--doctors' visits, meeting older brother and sister, resting and recovering after a long labor, and all the other things that go along with receiving a precious newborn baby into your life!

Here is a photo of him, the day after his birth:

This is baby "J," born July 14th in the morning. He weighed 6 lbs 12 oz., and measured 19 1/2 inches long. Out of all of my labors, his was the most challenging, AND most fulfilling.  Why? I pushed for ONE HOUR, 45 MINUTES in order to get him out!! Yes!!! Halfway through I thought he would never come out.  My husband lovingly stood by my side, and encouraged me to keep going. He even used an analogy to help.  He told me to remember what I do when I hit a wall when running. Remember that I don't give up, I just keep on going.  Somehow, that helped me to push through. That, and strength from God because I was TIRED!!!!

Anyhow, when I finally saw our son, I just cried and cried. They were tears of JOY, of course, but also tears of accomplishing something so great! He was worth every difficult moment, and has proven to be such a treasure to our family.

Since his birth I have been recovering physically, as best I can. I must say I honestly forgot about all the aches and pains that you have postpartum! So, I am definitely taking it easy, and getting my rest in where I can.

My kids have been amazing, though. They help out a lot more than I thought they would. It has been sweet to see how tender they are with their little brother, and the awe and wonder they have concerning this new life.

It has been a major change for all of us, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Stay sew filled!

Nursery Decor

Hello everyone!

Happy 4TH of July!!

Is anybody putting hamburgers on the grill?  Well, we are!  I usually associate the 4TH with grilling out, and this year is no exception.  My hubby will be handling the BBQ, while I put my feet up, lol!

I decided that come July 1st was my goal for having all things ready for baby.  That meant packing my hospital bag, putting away/organizing items, and decorating the nursery/boys' room.  In fact, that is what I am showing you today...

I tried my best to get great photos, especially this panoramic view.  In reality, the room is a bit larger than what is shown here, but this give you an idea of what we did. The theme is NAUTICAL, and since that has been on trend lately, it was super easy to find a lot of items that would work with the room.

Since my oldest son will be sharing this room with the new baby, I had to figure out ways to create a room that would honor both age ranges. The left side of the room is appropriately infant, with its bright colors, and functional furniture for the little one.  The decal on the wall came from Lovely Decals, a wonderful company that lets you customize colors for wall decals.

This corner "nook" is my favorite!! It will be where I do a lot of nursing, I am sure of it.  The lamp emits the right amount of light for late nights, and the glider will keep baby and me comfy. 

The right side of the room is my oldest son's side.  His bed has a beautiful shelf headboard, filled with various seaside artifacts.  There are also drawers on the lower side of his bed to help contain all of his clothing.  His color scheme is also blue, yet a deeper shade to signify his older age.

Overall, it was such a joy to put this room together! As soon as you enter it, there is such a sense of calm and peacefulness.  

I have managed to cut out a pair of shorts to sew for my daughter, and hope to finish those soon. 

Enjoy the holiday, stay safe, and sew-filled!

Winding down

HELLO everyone!!!

I am still pregnant, and hanging in there, LOL!

I must confess that I have missed the last three months of Make A Garment A Month, but it has definitely been for a good reason--I am so tired ya'll!!!!!!!!!! While I am thankful to have experienced a relatively pleasant pregnancy, once I hit the third trimester, fatigue has been the name of the game. It hasn't been everyday, more like every couple of days, but I find if I don't rest during the day it creeps up on me quickly.

I'm sure you all understand!!

So, while I have no sewn items to show you, I will update you on my pregnancy and family life.

I am currently 9 months pregnant, and due next month!  It feels like time has flown by! I am still in awe and disbelief that we will have our little boy here before we know it.

I am still keeping up with healthy eating, and low impact workouts, which have helped TREMENDOUSLY! I now see why women who do this end up feeling so much better during their pregnancies.  For my first two pregnancies I mostly ate whatever, and never thought about exercising beyond an occasional walk here or there. However, since I have been an active runner after having my daughter, I wanted to keep up some kind of SAFE activity during pregnancy.  

I spoke with my midwife, and she gave me a lot of great recommendations as to what level of activity would be appropriate for me. She definitely let me know that, as I progressed in the pregnancy, I would probably have to adjust my workouts due to the increasing weight of baby. She was right, lol!! My workouts right now are much shorter (30 minutes), and mostly walking workouts, with some squats and pilates.  But, yes, I am AMAZED that though a little tired, I feel much better this time around, than I did at the end of my first two pregnancies.

Other than officially counting down to baby, this summer has been good to us!  I have truly enjoyed the relaxed pace!!! We have already gotten in a lot of fun playdates, park playing, summer reading, swimming, and birthday parties!!  My kids already know that come July 1st, I will be resting a lot more, and there will be only an activity or two for the week--and that is perfectly fine with them (God bless them).  

As for me, I am holding on to every moment until our lives change in a beautiful way.  

Lastly, my husband and I celebrated 11 years of marriage this past Saturday!!  We went on a date and somehow ended up at a bookstore looking at sewing books, lol!! It has been a while since I saw some of the latest sewing offerings, and he wanted to look at business books too. We are in that place in our marriage where we do a lot of things alike. Sometimes we will say the same thing at the same time, or come up with similar ideas.  It is nice how that happens! We are different, yet as we unselfishly love each other, all of our MEs begin turning into WEs.  

Well, that is all for now.  I did finish the boys room/nursery last month. I'm not sure if any of you would be interested in seeing how the room is put together, but if you are, I will do a post with nursery photos. Just let me know in the comments!

Stay sew-filled!