Personal Time

Holy cow! It's been a month since I posted!

I've realized that babies leave you very little time to do anything other than barely take care of yourself. But, looking into those big, beautiful eyes tends to erase thoughts of sleep, food, or personal hygiene.

I did take a little time for myself this week to fix a necklace that I made last year. The main focal bead (natural shell) was falling apart and needed replacing, and there were a couple beads that were in positions that I didn't like anymore. I added a few more pearls and crystals, too. I wish I had taken a 'before' picture, but, alas...

I have been intrigued by Gibbous Fashions for quite a while now, and I've been dreaming of my very own Gibbous dress for months. So, I took the plunge this week by bleaching and washing some ugly old dresses that my mother sent to me years ago. These were some seriously hideous, matronly, shapeless dresses...rayon prints, poor construction, ankle-length, and definitely not something appropriate for a fashion-conscious twenty-something. It's rather cathartic destroying them to make something that I might actually like. But, that's part of the Gibbous spirit... taking something that has become useless and giving it a new life as something that will be loved and cherished.

Baby! And An Important Life Lesson

Well, I didn't have to wait too long after finishing the quilt before I had a baby to wrap up in it. My son was born on March 18th!

He was more than a month early, and had to spend just over two weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit. But, now he's healthy and at home with us. I'm so grateful to the nurses and doctors who made this experience as good as it could be.

Tests were run to determine why he was born early...

They found problems that usually go hand-in-hand with high blood pressure. While my blood pressure was usually normal throughout my pregnancy, I have no doubt that some periods of extreme stress were responsible for the issues I experienced. 

So, here's the lesson:
Excise the toxic people from your life. Do it now. They bring you nothing but pain and misery in the long run. They adversely affect your life in ways that you never imagined they could. Even letting them take up space in your thoughts is giving them too much of your precious energy. And, it doesn't matter what their relationship is to you. If their presence adds nothing of value to your life, cut them out of it.

I wish that I had ended contact with my mother years ago when I had my first inkling of what she was. It would have saved me so much grief. If only I hadn't allowed her into my life, I could have possibly avoided the events that caused me so much stress. If only I had avoided that stress, I may have avoided the problems with my pregnancy, and my baby might have been born when he was ready to be. If only...

Don't make the same mistakes I made. Don't allow the toxic people you know to have any of your time or energy. No one can make a claim on your life unless you let them.

Baby Quilt: Finished!

I finished off the binding on the quilt last night!

So, now... just waiting on the baby. =)

WIP: Baby Quilt Quilted!

The quilting is done!

I was really nervous about doing the free-motion quilting on this project because I had so much time (and money) invested in the top. Even though the stitching isn't perfect - it got a little sloppy in a few places where it was difficult to move the quilt under my machine arm - I'm quite pleased with the results of my efforts.

I'm not exactly sure how long it took for me to do the quilting. I spread the work out over three afternoons because sitting for too long makes my feet swell up like balloons (thank you pregnancy). I ended up at the kitchen table because I can't hunch over my big ol' belly to sit on the floor and I plugged some movies into my laptop (I made it through DUNE, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the extended edition of The Two Towers while stitching).

After quilting, it measures 47.75"x62". Isn't that backing fabric pretty? *sigh* I love batiks. I'm thinking of making coordinating pillowcases and throw pillows with the fabric that's left.

BTW, if you're interested in learning more about free-motion quilting, I learned everything I know from Leah Day's blog: The Free Motion Quilting Project. She's awesome!

I'm currently hand-stitching the binding (no pictures, yet)... almost done!!!

Custom Doll

I've been keeping myself busy for the past three weeks making a custom doll. It's really exciting to have some one make a custom order!

My customer gave me a bit of direction and pretty much let me run with it. I used my own doll pattern, and made patterns for the clothes after the doll was made.

The hair is handspun wool, dyed with coffee. I love the color of it!

She asked that the eyes be different colors, so I bought safety eyes, sanded off the previous color, and repainted them with nail polish. Nail polish comes in the greatest colors with a lot of depth and sparkle.

The clothes are Victorian-inspired. I used a gorgeous satin brocade for the bodice. It laces up the back with grosgrain ribbon. Those eyelets were so nerve wracking! I was afraid of distorting the fabric after spending so much time making the garment. But, I had used fusible interfacing, and that seemed to minimize any distortion caused by making the holes for the eyelets. The skirts are gold dupioni silk trimmed with vintage lace.

Overall, I'm so happy with how the doll turned out. It's been so long since I finished a new doll, and I was pleased that I was able to take it from start to finish in three weeks. Now, I just have to finish that quilt before my little one gets here!

More Tiny Books!

I just finished up these cuties today. I love how easy these are to open and close with the little wrap-around ties. The knotted linen thread is really secure when wrapped around the button. It's also a great way to utilize some of my awesome buttons! These keychains (minus the brown leather/red button one) are now available in my Etsy shop: ClassicInez.Etsy.com

I'm a Craftster.org Best of 2011 Winner

I'm a Craftster Best of 2011 Winner!  
My octopus amigurumi was chosen as one of the most popular projects on Craftster.org for 2011! Thanks to all of the people who commented on and 'Rocked' my project!