Baby Steps to sewing success!

Hello all,

I'm at home for the WHOLE weekend for the first time in (get this) two months. It feels great! I've spent the whole morning cleaning, washing, and scrubbing our house. Unfortunately, the surface looks no different than it did before. I will just have to rely on the knowledge that it is "deep" clean.

That'll work for the time being. Maybe it will help me ignore the piles of books in my bedroom. Or the stacks of mail on my side table. Or the dried on wax on my fireplace mantle.

Maybe.

Anywho, there is news on the home front. A month ago, my sister had a sweet little baby girl named Ella Jane. She is soooo cute and snuggly! We are in love with her. I had been planning projects since we found out that Laura was having a baby. A blanket was one of the first things on my list--and the last thing that I actually made.

I didn't start the blanket until after Ella was born, which actually turned out to be a good thing because I could put her name on it! I already had the fabric for it--yellow flannel with blue and white polka dot flannel on the reverse. I embroidered her name on it in pink. It turned out pretty good. I tried a new embroidery stitch--the backstitch. Apparently it is one of the most common stitches, but when you are teaching yourself--sometimes you do things backward!

Here is an "in progress" shot. I did this in the car on the way to see her for the first time!

I also included a shot of my first-ever sewing project--a needlebook. All it was was one straight line down the middle. Done! I think I got a purple at the fair on that one. Might have been my only purple.

And what is that other picture of? Hmmm. Don't know.

For some reason I didn't take a picture of the finished blanket. I guess we'll have to wait until the winter time when baby EJ is snuggled up with it! I thought the embroidery turned out well, but the blanket itself is as crooked as can be. It was obvious what I spent my time on, that's for sure.

Later this weekend, I'll let you know what I've been whipping up in the kitchen. In fact, I think I want to whip up another batch right now. Delectable!