looking up.

i'm learning that as a new mom, things almost never go exactly as planned. or according to schedule. and because of this, a whole new level of flexibility is required of me. which is good, but takes some getting used to. it also takes some getting used to that i can't finish every project that i want to, when i want to finish it, and that productive is not always a word that is conducive to motherhood. so, instead of productively churning projects out of my little studio today, instead i will simply stop to enjoy the little things like smiles and toes, and be happy with the tiny slice of 'productivity' that was posted in my shop today.

a little off track.

so, admittedly, i have fallen a little behind on my make-a-day plan... um, about two weeks behind actually. i again have fallen victim to my own difficulties in finishing one project at a time. i get so excited and inspired working on one that i just skip around to several others, and suddenly, there are 5 new half-finished projects sitting on my desk, and none that are finished, photo-ed and ready for documenting in my little experiment! such is life.

i got really excited this week when i received this joel dewberry woodgrain fabric that i needed for two of my projects i have in mind. i finally bit the bullet and just ordered it. i liked it so much and thought it was so deliciously unusual that i started wondering what other people were making with it. well, one search of the single word "woodgrain" and an entire world of etsy loveliness opened up! here's a new list of etsy faves:

acorn bib and onesie by bean pickle sprout

ring by block party press

thank you notes by lemon loves paper

dish by the brick kiln

(crocheted!) log and acorn necklace by christine domanic

band by honeybee

super cute little cozy by karley

and i know they don't specifically have a woodgrain print, but i've been a huge fan of hi tree's awesome felt tree stuffies! i love the unique layered look of them (not to mention the tininess!). these little guys were a bit of inspiration behind the project that i bought the woodgrain fabric for in the first place... a little plush stuffy tree with a woodgrain trunk! i can't wait to get started on it!

more make-a-day coming soon, i promise!

day 8.

make-a-day: day 8: monogrammed towels

these towels incorporate several of my most favorite things about crafting... making something old feel new, using what you have on-hand, and making the house a little more unique and handmade! i had several of these blue hand towels floating around that needed a little something, so i did a simple iron-on applique with some fusible web, stitched around the edge, and added some twill tape! i did two others with ribbon as well. now they coordinate much better with our blue-and-tan guest bathroom!

before:

day 7.

make-a-day: day 7: embossed monogram

this was quite simple after the crocheted baby block! i had i little pink and black bible that i thought would be cool to have my monogram on. so i dug out my trusty embossing tool, two sizes of alphabet stamps, and some black embossing powder. simple!

before:

after:

day 6.

make-a-day: day 6: crocheted baby block

admittedly, this project technically took about 2 and a half afternoons, since i couldn't finish it sraight through. it partially took that long because, for once, i used an actual pattern and learned a couple new stitches! (i found it in the january 09 issue of crochet today magazine, which is a great issue- i wanted to make everything in it!) i stuffed it with polyfil blocks that i cut to size, as they're usually used for seat cushions. it ended up about 5" square which is a little bigger than i expected, but the finished block is lots of fun! the yarn is 100% cotton sugar and cream, so the whole thing should be washer- and dryer-able when kenna starts knawing on it.

day 5.

make-a-day: day 5: quilted coasters

these coasters are ridiculously quick and easy to make! you just sandwich the "quilt" layers together (i make mine 4 inches square so that they're nice and generous for big coffee cups!), then do the quilt stitching, then double zig zag the edges! i did these with kenna in her peanut shell today since she was a little fussy and trying to resist naptime. who would have thought the humm of a sewing machine would be soothing? her nana would be so proud!

day 4.

make-a-day: day 4: crocheted dishcloths

there has been lots of crocheting going on around this house recently... it just seems right when it's snowing out to curl up under a blanket with some coffee and a yarn-related project keeping your hands warm! these little dishcloths are super fun and easy to make, and only take about half an hour each to make. you can knock one out in one episode of friends! plus, the lily sugar and cream cotton comes cheap and in a ton of pretty colors. these yellow and white ones are for part of a gift basket for my grannie's 80th birthday next month! i had no idea so many folks were still excited about a seemingly "old" project!

day 3.

make-a-day: day 3: quilted coffee cozy

i had been wanting to make one of these little guys for awhile after seeing some really cool ones on etsy. when i went through all the fabric i inherited from my mom, i kept sitting aside any that were particularly coffee-ish specifically for this project... i ended up with enough to almost make a coffee quilt! i used one of the little cardboard ones as a pattern for the shape, and then quilted the tiny strips of fabric to a little scrap of cotton batting (for insulation) with decorative stitching. such a fun little project, perfect for the snowy weather we've been having!

day 2.

make-a-day: day 2: granny square afghan

when i finally taught myself how to make a granny square, i went a little crazy with it and made a little blue granny square afghan for my little nephew. now, my little baby nephew is almost 2 years old, and is going to have a baby sister this summer! i cheated a little bit with this project since it isn't a finish-it-in-one-day kind of project, but i've been making progress on it while watching t.v. at night or riding in the car and it's almost done!