Work Those Knitting Needles

I have completed a lot of knitting projects recently so I figured I would do a big post and show them all. There a quite a few so hopefully you don't get bored!

I just recently finished this sweater for Olive. I was going to use it as a Christmas gift but I was so excited about how it turned out (and it basically fits perfectly now but might not in a couple months, oops!) that I decided not to wait.

In fact I went out and bought this cute outfit to go with the sweater. Aren't those leggings awesome? I was so stoked when I found them because I knew they were a perfect match. Yeah, I think Olive looked pretty adorable today.

I had already tried this sweater once in a smaller size so hopefully there is a girl somewhere in our future. Wouldn't it be the cutest to have girls in matching sweaters? The answer is yes!

I made this cute sun hat as a gift. You might not be able to tell but the edges are all ruffle-y and it has a ruffle flower. I love it.

I also know a girl who just had twins so I made these matching Aviator caps. The buttons really gave that finishing detail. I really like how they turned out.

Aren't those hats great? I decided to whip up some matching head bands and use up some left over yarn.

The girl I visit teach just had a baby boy and I had a double sided hat pattern (it is one seriously warm hat!) I had been wanting to make so it was the perfect chance. I thought these socks would be a cute touch.

But then she delivered her baby 12 weeks early so I hurried and made this preemie sized hat so that he would have something that fit.

I also tried out this beret type hat. I am not sure how well it worked.

So to test if it would look crazy I tried it on a baby doll. I think it wasn't a total disaster.

Lastly, I found a found a pattern online for a hat with a lace edging. I have been seeing these type of hats in boutiques and on babies with trendy moms so I was anxious to try one out myself. It looks better in real life where you can see the detailing. I was quite proud of myself because it was trickier than I thought. I am excited to find a purpose for this hat because I think it is adorable!

Well, that turned out to be quite long. I told you there was a lot! And sorry if the pictures are lame but I don't have cute baby models to photograph. Things always look better on a cute baby.

The Laundry Room

You might think this would be a lame thing to post about. But my laundry room might be the best place in my house. Not because I love laundry, I actually really hate it. I more than hate it, I abhor laundry. It is the never ending house chore which always makes me depressed after doing laundry all day.
No, the great thing about my laundry room is that it is quite large. That is nice for loads of reasons one of which is it has lots of storage space. It is also unfinished, or maybe you would call it 1/4 finished. It has some drywall up and carpet on the cement but that is all. The great thing about a large, unfinished space is that it is extra space. I laid major claim to this extra space to make my own workspace.

So here it is, the other half of my laundry room. Isn't it cute? I am kinda in love with it. I have always wanted a place where I could leave my sewing machine up and all my projects out and not take over the house. I really love finally having that space. I will say, it is even greater than I thought it would be. I feel like because I don't have to spend time setting up and cleaning up I can get straight to work on a project during nap time. I am also much more likely to finish a project if I can just quickly sit down and work on it rather than building up the energy to get everything out.

The previous owner had this build in desk and I thought it would be perfect at a scrapbooking station. I love that I have room to organize all my papers and keep everything handy in one spot.

I have loved progressing in my sewing. I am not a master seamstress, but there are so many projects I get excited about. This little sewing table has made all the difference in actually taking advantage of my sewing machine.

I tend to be over organized but I love having things in the right place. It took me awhile to get my fabric from a giant, messy pile to something functional and efficient. I love these cubbies because I can keep all my patterns in one place, extra fabric in one place, and my current projects in one place without it getting out of control. I keep all my scrap fabric because I keep thinking that someday I might find the perfect thing to make with it (that is me totally becoming my mother). I have decided that I better start using my left over fabric before it takes over everything. (please don't judge me that my extra fabric is sorted by color, I just couldn't help it!)

There you have it...the perfect laundry room....because it has nothing to do with laundry!

A hat for every occasion

Olive is very fond of hats. She wears them all the time, no matter where we are going . She usually has a dress up hat on when we go to the store, friends houses, story time, or to the park. If she sees a hat she cannot leave without it. If we try to leave without it, then it is tantrum time until she can bring the hat. Olive also likes to wear her winter hats so its a good thing winter is on its way.

Her favorite hats right now are the new Halloween costume hats we have found. I find her at least once a day with these hats on. I think it is hilarious.

Her cowgirl hat is the first thing she wears in the morning.

Olive especially like her witches hat because she likes being "scary" although she doesn't exactly know what that means. She is really excited about Halloween this year and she hasn't even gotten any candy yet! Maybe I will feature all of her different hat looks sometime because some of them are pretty hilarious.

Halloween is Coming...Skeletons will be after you!

(Sorry, that is a children's song from my days teaching school. For some reason it always comes to mind when I am thinking about Halloween!)

Lately I have been getting really inspired to start different projects. I think part of it is getting ready for Halloween and planning/ making costumes. I have been sewing and crafting up a storm around here. One of my projects was an outfit for Olive. I am so happy with how it turned out! I made one side Halloween themed....

then I made the other side with fall fabric. I really love the reversible outfit because it gets more use for the work.

(She is working hard carrying that pumpkin around!)

And of course you have to have hair accessories for both outfits! I found these cute felt flowers here while looking at one of me friends blogs (here) that always inspires me to do projects.

With the left over fabric I decided to make a wall hanging decoration. I have noticed that being in a house makes me want to decorate for holidays way more. I had seen a similar wall hanging in the store and got inspired by Olive's outfit to make it dual sides/purpose with a Halloween side and a Fall side. I really like how it turned out.

Now my house it totally Halloween-ed out (Scott kept seeing my projects and asking "So where is this going to go? Our house isn't that big.) I am finally getting excited about fall!

The Back Door

One of my favorite places in our house is our back door entry. The previous owner used this door as their main entrance (I am guessing they almost never went into the front room. It was a pretty but not used room. We have no rooms like that.) It even has its own door bell.

I think it is the beadboard that makes me love this entrance so much. Or possibly the hooks. Maybe its the combination of them. It just seems clean and fresh and I am glad it is the first thing you see as you come through the door. It is small and silly but I just like it so much. In the summer I liked seeing our swim bag hanging here with our beach towels waiting to go to the pool. Now we will have to get our coats out to hang up here for the winter. I don't know why, it just feels like a nice spot.

That being said, it is definitely not perfect. The landings are both on the small side. What usually happens is that I struggle to open the door with arms full of groceries or bags and then get impatient as Olive slowly climbs the stairs, gets distracted by shoes or the cat or various other distractions, as I grow frustrated because there is no room to get around her, or I am tripping over shoes. This happens almost every day. But, at least it is nice to look at.

The Time Had Come

I decided that Olive's bangs were just too long and I was running out of ways to keep them out of her face. Actually, I had lots of ways but, none of them lasted longer than 5 minutes. So it was time for some bangs. I know my limits as a mother and was not willing to risk the home bang trim which could end up with crooked, short, crazy bangs. I have seen pictures of my mother as a child with home haircuts and it has scared me a way from them ever since (seriously you should see the pictures!)

Here is the before picture.

This photo is hilarious because you can tell that she is so proud to look grown up with a clip in. What happened to my little baby girl?

Time for the trim. She did really well and everyone there was commenting on her patience. The thing that bothered her the most was that her tv kept getting blocked.

It was done and over in no time.

They styled her hair and everything. The moose really made her curls come out.

Look at that face! She likes not pushing her hair out of her eyes all the time. I am torn because I think she looks absolutely adorable but really grown up at the same time and that breaks my heart a little bit. What a big girl right?

Photo Friday Mexico Edition

Scott and I both had a lot of fun trying to let our creative juices flow while in Mexico. There were a lot of interesting things and people to document. Scott shot everything on film and it looks so amazing (I'm a little jealous).

Here are my shots, you might want to look at them before checking out Scott's so you're not too disappointed. If you want to check out his photos go here.