Full days

You know it's been a busy week when I show up one lonely time each week on this little blog. Life with an extra child (albeit a helpful, 11 year-old sister) has brought a different dynamic to our days. It makes me glad that my children are close together so they always have a playmate, and that the Lord allows parents to grow up along with their children; even and 11 year-old requires an entirely different set of parenting skills than I now possess. Thankfully, my sister is easy to have around and the kids love having an older child to play with. She is teaching them how to play with their toys from a new perspective; the dollhouse hasn't been left alone since she got here! She also wants to stay busy (with none of her brothers here it's not as fun) and I can't always entertain her so I've been trying to set her up with some projects. My sister-in-law came over last Thursday to start her knitting a purse (I know nothing about knitting, except that nice wooden knitting needles- are they called needles?- are about $7). Another friend came over Saturday to help her learn more about her beading supplies, which she got for her birthday. She's been embroidering, too, so it's been craft week for her.

Speaking of embroidery, here are a few of my completed projects. I expected last week to be a big sewing week, but that was crazy considering the fact that we'd just returned from a 9-day trip and life never settles down quickly after being out of town. Maybe this week. :) I have to keep reminding myself that as much as I love my creative outlets, they are the icing. My family is the cake.

I've been wanting to get this pillow monogrammed for a year, but I'm too cheap to shell out the $15. I knew it would be THE finishing touch on my bed and I knew I could do it myself. I had someone teach me a few basic embroidery stitches, stamped the "T" on my pillow with a large monogram stamp (another great use for stamps) and then got to work. Here's the finished product:

Here's a project I did for my Mom's birthday. I was hoping to have them framed by her birthday but couldn't find wooden embroidery hoops anywhere. When I do, they will most likely be painted red, or we will just use distressed frames.

This is a baby gift for a friend (sorry it's so late, Tiffany). A baby-sized girly pillow to welcome the first girl in a family of little men:


And a coordinating pillow that will end up in my Etsy shop. The floral fabric is from a thrifted Laura Ashley dress, and the white fabric used to be a high-quality sheet:



I've also been making a few bibs...here's the front of one:

We are trying out the local pool for some toddler swimming fun with the cousins. Hope your week is a delight! (Just in case I don't make it back for another 7 days.)