Time flies! I can't believe it has been a whole week although I have to admit that my weekdays and weekends are all mixed up and that certainly makes the weeks run together. Liam is 10 weeks old now. Growing like a weed and changing so quickly. He is smiling and holding his head up completely on his own. If I put him on his tummy he immediately props himself up on his forearms and elbows to look around. He is so curious and fun to watch. I know chasing him like crazy is just around the corner!

Before too much more time passed I wanted to share another great gift we got when Liam was born. It is from a fellow reader (Hi, Jamie!) who so sweetly sent these little items for Liam! The gift above is so adorable. It is a bundler made out of fleece. Can you see the print? You guessed it, owls!

These are hilarious and super cute burp cloths. They are a great gift idea too. Tri-fold cloth diapers with decorative fabric and grosgrain ribbon then a fun design or saying embroidered above! Thanks, Jamie!

A lot changes when you become a mom. All you moms and grandmas are smiling, laughing or nodding your head now I'm sure! The littlest things like taking a whole shower, using the restroom and eating a warm meal become amazing blessings and things you don't take for granted. After a few weeks with a very unhappy little Liam we have determined that he may have a sensitivity to dairy protein. Fortunately this is not uncommon with infants and there are a variety of non-dairy alternatives these days. I can highly recommend the coconut ice cream now! Now that we have that in some realm of control Liam seems to be getting more happy and has even graced us with a few smiles! That also leaves me with a few moments while he is resting to show off some more of the amazing handmade gifts we got when he was born!

This AMAZING quilt was sent to us by my friend Ellen. We love it and I really do mean we. Liam has just started enjoying time on his belly and because he can not make out colors yet he really enjoys laying on this looking at the black and white. It is such a cute pattern and the fabrics are adorable. Maybe that's because I am partial to polka dots! To keep it all together, Ellen used this fantastic rocket embroidery that compliments the rocket patterns in the quilt.

As Liam grows (6 weeks tomorrow!) I'm searching everywhere for cute boys things to sew.  I would love to have some things ready to put him in this fall. If you have any good resources please pass them along in the comment section or visit the NINA fanpage!

Not only did my project make the cover of Creative Machine Embroidery for the May/June 2010 issue but we have some fantastic designs available as a free download too!

The Guac Apron embroidery designs are available in VP3 format to download in the Project Download section. For other formats visit www.cmemag.com. Each design is part of the recipe, so you can embroider and cook at the same time. Or maybe make the guacamole to enjoy while you sew? For complete directions to make the apron pick up the May/June CME.

The past few weeks have changed my life. Even now I'm sitting here typing with one hand, the other arm holding Liam. Motherhood is everything and nothing like I imagined! It's an amazing rollar coaster for sure.

In the past few weeks since Liam was born we've gotten cards and flowers and gifts galore! They are all so thoughtful and so appreciated. In the next few posts I thought I would share some of the handmade ones with all of you. So here is the first!

This is the beautiful quilt my Nana made for Liam. So beautiful and simple at the same time. She tucked little accents of teal flat piping between the main pieced section and the border and then between the border and the binding.

Each little block has not only beautiful quilting but these adorable little owls embroidered in the center of the squares! I love it and it will be a treasure for Liam for years to come.

I was completely shocked and excited to find that my project made the cover of Creative Machine Embroidery! For all the juicy tips on how to turn a turtleneck sweater into this trendy little number make sure to pick up the March/April 2010 issue of the magazine for the full directions! The Hooping Knits in the video section of the site may be a good one to watch as you sit down for this quick make-over. This is a great issue to have as they are celebrating Earth Day and will have some green (eco-friendly) crafting projects as well.

I'm currently finishing up the next book. We've added some projects I know you guys will love and I am excited to get it out to you all. Hope you're staying warm!

Happy 2010 everyone! I can't believe 2009 is gone. Done. The memories I have from last year are fabulous and I am looking forward to a new, amazing year as Nina grows and as Jeff and I welcome a new member to our family. We celebrated all of our Christmas' and I will update you all with pictures soon from that and the baby shower!

In the meantime I wanted to make sure you stop by your local craft or sewing shop and pick up a copy of the new sewing directory Sew It All. This is a special issue brought to you by the same lovely folks that publish Sew News and Creative Machine Embroidery.

There are some projects from me in there (like this super quick mesh eco-friendly produce bag) as well as other super creative sewing and embroidery projects to get your new crafting year started of easy and painless! Check them out at www.sewingdistrict.com too!

Summer is rushing by and fall is eeking its way in. I can't believe it is going to be August this weekend! To usher in the fall we have this cute little guy modeling my latest project from Creative Machine Embroidery...and it comes with a bonuse you'll fall head over heels for!

A free embroidery design! Pick up your copy of the September/October issue of CME for the direction and download the design.

The VP3 and VIP formats are available on my site in the Free Project Download section. Make sure you follow the directions at the top of the page to download the designs. For additional formats visit www.cmemag.com. Not only does this make an adorable treat bag but the design can be used to decorate pillows, lanturns or even a t-shirt. Visit the How to Videos section for tips and hints on embroidering on knits!

I love new sewing tools. Obviously there are the ones that wow you and the ones that you know are going to make your task at hand so much easier to accomplish. At the Janome Convention last weekend I found one of both. There were some really great vendors there but these two stuck out.

First, the HoopSisters. I don’t know how many of you like to embroider or quilt but for me the combination of both is a fantastic concept. I have seen many embroidery designs that “quilt” in the hoop but it seems to be the same crazy patch concept in just a little different design. Not Annie and Lynda. I met Annie in the booth and was amazed at the amazingly beautiful quilts they had hanging there. These embroidery designs are available in multiple formats and can be done on any machine. I hope to get my hands on one shortly and start to try it out!

The second vendor was the tool I knew would help make my task at hand easier to accomplish. The Accuquilt. If you’ve seen the BigShot or Cuttlebug for scrapbooking it is the same concept…but with fabric and with dies designed specifically for quilting! Gone are the days (and for me it is literally days upon days) of rotary cutting endless strips and squares and circles (yup! Circles!). The Accuquilt Go! cuts up to 6 layers of fabric at a time. This tool would help immensely with one or two of the projects in my upcoming book so it has been promoted to the top of my “really want for Christmas or my birthday” list.

I’m going to go finish a project and start a new one…I’ll share them tomorrow!
 

Just when you don't think you can handle anymore surprises in life you get another one, right?! I have to admit this is an amazing surprise and I am delighted and honored to have the cover story in the current issue of Creative Machine Embroidery! There are some cute ideas and projects in this issue so make sure you pick it up. While you're at it hop on over to Ellen's blog and see what else is new in the world of embroidery. I'm off to Janome Convention to work with my friends at Iris Embroidery Threads for the rest of the week and will bring any fun updates as soon as I am back!

I had a few moments of downtime this evening and have uploaded (re-uploaded rather) the latest project from Iris Embroidery Threads pictured in the current issue of Creative Machine Embroidery! Hope you all enjoy the Easy Embroidered Pillow and how-to tutorial video.

My good friend is going to be having her first baby in the next month or so and I went to her second baby shower Saturday. It is so exhilarating to be with so many people excited about life! Watching everyone recount their childs' births to her was beautiful and hilarious at the same time. I'd see her squirm at the bad ones and smile at the good ones. She already knows it is a little girl so for this shower I wanted to give her some handmade gifts. Believe me there will be more! I love making little girl clothes!!!

Here are the onesies I embroidered. All the designs are from Urban Threads and I used my embroidery software to edit, color, and personalize each of them.

I bought the onesies at Target and used water soluble stabilizer to embroider so that there wouldn't be any left over stabilizer scratching at the baby's skin. Starting on this project was so addicting that I made a baby sling and a car back pack (little bag you put on the back of the car head rest that holds diapers, wipes, bottle, rattle etc.). I have a feeling this baby sewing isn't going to stop anytime soon and I'm lucky enough to have a friend that truly appreciates it!