Handmade Holidays: Project 6: Mother-in-Law Scrap Lap Quilt

I had grande plans to make handmade ornaments for the grandparents this year. Tiny handprints on glass ornaments with pictures of the children inside, maybe even a fingerful of fake snow to make it a bit more festive. But alas, I did not plan my time accordingly and did not manage to make the ornaments in time to send them in the mail to Pennsylvania, Albany and Ireland. Instead, I had to come up with a quick-like-a-bunny plan to be able to at least get the Irish present out in time to perhaps make it there by Christmas. Time to get creative!

I found a beautiful vintage-looking sheet at the thrift store with a yellow rose floral design that inspired me with a handful of fabric scraps that I had been hoarding. The patches were all fabrics that, when reorganizing my craft supplies, almost organized themselves in a pile together. I was initally going to do a strip quilt, to make it as quick as possible but the pieces that I had did not quite measure up to make it feasible. So instead five inch by five inch squares with the one fabric that was long enough, making strips to break up the pattern. I wanted to make a single large blanket but again the pieces didn't seem to work, so instead I made up two patterns. A smaller sized lap blanket, about four feet long by two feet wide and a larger couch blanket that is four fee wide but five foot long. I thought I had enough batting scraps to fill in the middle but none of them were big enough either so instead I grabbed some patterened flannel that I had bought on clearance. I had thought to maybe make a couple baby blankets with it, but FYI when you have a baby, you will have too many blankets, so I voted against that plan. Then it was sitting with the rest of my flannels for pajama pants but it was an awful green, brown and ickier green stripe that I had initially thought was masculine but ended up just being ugly. Perfect substitute for batting in a lightweight but still cuddly blanket. 

All in all the cutting both blankets out and sewing together the smaller lap blanket took me half of a day. It was wonderful and quick and homemade, exactly what I like to give for presents. I can't wait for the MIL to get the package. As I was sewing it, I imagined her sitting in her brisk little garden in Ireland having a cuppa and a smoke, slightly stereotypical and true. Exactly what I would love to do when I retire. 

I used to be terrified of the idea of quilting, let alone actually doing it, but last year I made simple blankets of a cotton front and flannel back, no quilting involved, then I made a patchwork wall hanging for my grandmother, not convinced enough of my skills to make a usable quilt, and finally this year I folded and made my little Cap his Harry Potter quilt and now two more quilts, it may very well become one of my things! (Don't tell anyone but I used to think the very idea of buying yards and yards of fabric to cut up into tiny pieces and then sew back together was ridiculous...now it's the best way to use up my fabric and I love it while I am doing it)

patches all squared out

Hubby modeling the finished lap blanket

Thrifting: Clothes and Books

     I did get to do a little thrift shopping this week, it tends to be a little more difficult since I only like to go when the Salvation has their half price day and the secondhand bookstore is open. Timing that with when Hubby has the day off can be a bit of a task, especially with the newborn in tow. It is so very odd when in one week, Steven was inside of me and I could drop anything to go out and the next day, we needs tons of accouterments to go anywhere. Anyways, my 16 year old twin cousins were spending the week and I convinced them to go shopping with me. Having another person in the back next to the baby relaxes some of my driving alone stress, I have driven alone with baby once since he was born and I told Hubby that I will not do it again unless it is an emergency or baby can talk. I just can not handle not knowing what is going on back there. 

     We piled up into the car after driving Hubbs to work and getting him there on time and then made the trek into the Salvation Army. Since it was Family day, the place was a little busy. I was hoping that Baby would sleep for most of that trip but instead he had me figure out how to walk and nurse only ten minutes into the trip and then need to be carried for the last ten minutes of the trip. I could literally spend hours in there if I have a sympathetic companion and a sleepy baby. 

I have talked before about how James and I are both on the geeky side and Doctor Who has become a fast favorite in our house, even with the two older kids. My younger brother also loves it and one of the visiting cousins as well, so we have spent a fair six hours straight watching the Doctor. We are still in limbo about attending NY Comic Con this year since I have a wedding (my first as an adult!) so we will have to see if we can organize that crazy weekend. But if we do go, we have talked about having matching costumes (because we are so those kinds of people) and what to do with baby and the older children if they want to dress up. On the off chance that I ever need the outfit, I figured that I would start looking for pieces for a female version of the Eleventh Doctor outfit. Matt Smith has a few different variations on the same outfit based around a tweed jacket, workboots and bowtie. With that in mind and after stalking Pinterest for other people's interpretation of a female Doctor, I have started picking up pieces. Now if only I can get Hubby to dress as a male version of Amy Pond (we honestly debated naming the baby Amelia after her, instead of the Impossible Girl we have Captain America). 

So I found a great light and soft tweed, woman's cut jacket in the right color, maybe a little too light, but I am a girl so it still needs to be feminine and adorable. I initially was going to go with a white oxford shirt, but I like the pink and the contrast that a red bowtie will have with it. The brown heeled oxfords are a maybe with the outfit, I am still on the lookout for boots, maybe an old pair of Doc Martens. But they are too cute and seem to be a relative staple for a trendy fall closet, so for $3 I was willing to risk it.

     Not that I have a little girl in these sizes but... The black and white houndstooth jacket may be too small for Eve, but it will not go bad and since I am packing up baby girl clothes now, if it doesn't fit, I can pack it up for that eventuality. The leopard print one was too cute. I have a friend with a baby girl only two weeks older than Steven and if she doesn't want it then it will go in the box as well. They were just too good of deals to pass on, especially knowing that no one else is thinking about winter jackets quite yet.

     Since I had the extra set of hands to carry the baby, we headed over to the bookstore. Since Baby decided that he needed to be fed while we were there, he cut short how many books I could legitimately look through but I still was able to grab a couple. I was able to grab two vintage hardcover copies of Shakespeare plays: As you like it and Troilus and Cressida, to help flesh out my insane Shakespeare hoarding fetish. I have also been obsessed with recollecting all of my favorite books from childhood. I picked up a copy of Amelia Bedelia, mostly to show her to Hubby who had never heard of her. Those books were the main reason that I did not want to use Amelia as a potential baby name, although it is still an option for future offspring. This trip I grabbed A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and the Gypsy Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Snyder also wrote the Egypt Game which dictated how I spent at least two summers of my life, dressing in old sheets, writing secret notes in hieroglyphs and mummifying dolls. I haven't read the Gypsy Game, but I assume that it is a similar story and that I will enjoy it equally. I also got The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting Projects, but after looking through it, it seems a little outdated and I have used easier tutorials from Ravelry and such. That one might go back to the store. I also got Good Things from Tag Sales and Flea Markets by Martha Stewart, which I am psyched about, Hubby hates her but I am fascinated by a billion dollar empire built around setting tables properly and spray painting old furniture. I love it. Lastly, I picked up 365 Things to Do and Make, it is a little young for the older kids and obviously too old for my youngest but he will grow into it. All in all, the book haul cost me $5. So I was an extensively happy camper!


     In even happier news, today was Steven's one month birthday (weeks wise, not by date) so last night we made cupcakes and ate them at midnight and wished him a happy birthday for all he cared about it. So far he has gained almost three pounds, weighing 11 pounds. He has his own schedule completely and loves sleeping with us in bed at night. He rarely spends time more then ten feet away from me. He is a messy eater but makes the best faces when he is hungry, unless its crying. Every night he gives us two hours of hellish crying and then sleeps for nine hours, waking up twice to eat and once for a diaper change. Everyday when we are cuddling, I am amazed by this little person and all the things that I wanted to get accomplished are nothing near as important as staring at him while he sleeps and making sure that I am there when his eyes open. I was reading to him tonight and as he fell asleep, I was in tears about all the nights that I have to look forward to, all the nights I will be able to hold him, all the books that we will read together. And in contrast, how few nights out of his life I have to hold him, that soon he will be too old for that, and then he will be too old to read to, too old to hug me, then he will be out of the house and on his own and one day he will have the same exact thoughts about his child and I hope he calls me to let me know that I did a good job. It is by far the most important thing that has ever happened in my life and I hope that I can be the mother that he needs as he grows. I sent a picture of him to Hubbs while he was at work just to thank him for giving me a beautiful baby. Happy One Month Birthday Steven!

Thrifting: Books and School Clothes

     I absolutely love thrift shopping. Up until I was pregnant, thrift shopping was a hobby, a place for me to go on dates with friends and grab a couple cute finds, then it was the only logical option with how much I was growing and how picky I am with how things fit. Although in the end, maternity pants (from Salvation Army: Motherhood Maternity brand) and long cut tank tops from Old Navy and Target were the only things that were comfortable. With now three kids, clothes shopping could be an epic expenditure if I bought everything of theirs for retail price. 

My most recent trip to Salvation Army was with my older brother and my niece and Steven so the two or three hours that I used to spend shopping through every item was not an option. With fall coming up, warmer clothes in Eve and Griffin's new sizes is a must. Griffin is in a size 10, but there wasn't much in that size on this trip, but I did find three great Old Navy brand 12s that totaled $6. They will be stored away until a few months (possibly weeks, kids are like that I've learned) and be perfect for Griffin. Eve is a tough little cookie to shop for, she is 8 years old and has a couple older friends, so fashion is starting to become a more important factor in her clothing choices. Gone are the days were green leggings under a Snow White dress with pink cowgirl boots passed as an option. With that in mind, I have been trying to buy a little more generic girl clothes and when she is with me, she can pick out the more radical options. I found two great Children's Place pants, size 8 for length and with the brilliant elastic/button waist cinches to fit her size 6 waist. One hot pink that can button up to capris and the other an emerald green corduroy flare leg. They both fit her nicely and can be paired with almost any of her tops or shoe choices. Overall, that trip was successful. While I didn't get anything for Steven, Hubby or my awkward postpartum body, these five finds made me feel accomplished.

I know that I have posted before about how much I love our library's thrift store, but seriously, I love it so much. I have only been once since Steven has arrived and I was still hurting too much to pay too much attention to the brilliance around me. This will explain the second stack of books from that trip where the only book that I picked up was Crocheting for Dummies, the rest are the Hubby's choices, although I may read the Magic the Gathering books, fantasy books are my favorite genre.
     The trip before that I was much more involved thus my choices: The Good Housekeeping Needlecraft Encyclopedia, Making Dolls and Doll Clothes, Hogwarts Yearbook, two baby books, three Supernatural books (Hubby and I are huge fans), two vintage hardcovers and three young adult novels for my nieces birthday present. Hubbs picked out the two Dilbert books (after five years together, I didn't know that he was such a big fan), a home improvement book for when we finally move into our own first house, and a book on Irish fairy tales.  These two trips cost us around $20, and while I do not have the voracious appetite for reading that I had as a child, I still read too much to warrant always running to Barnes and Nobles when I finish up a book. As much as I would love to, do not get me wrong, I love the bookstore, but I can not justify spending $100 on books like I used to when my grocery budget every week is that much. Twenty dollars once a month or so is plenty to entertain our whole family in the literary department. Do not ask how much we spend on movies every month though, then my frugality ends and Hubby's love of the movie theater takes over. It's fair after I look at my stockpile of fabric, ribbon, patterns and books. Mostly.
     And here is my obligatory baby photo for today. Steven has grown so much already in the three weeks since he was born. He spends much more time awake, laughs in his sleep and fusses when he hears my voice. We co-sleep every night, when I am up to it, we try to put him in his swing to sleep for a couple hours but when he wakes up to nurse he usually stays in bed with me. Last night was the first night that Hubby "forced" me to let Steven cry it out. Every night since he was born, Steven has about an hour of freaking out crying that a diaper change, nursing, swaddling or holding will soothe. So last night, he had to sit in his swing until he relaxed. We both watched him the whole time, for the most part, there was a good chunk of it that I was in full blown tears with my head under a pillow because I couldn't pick him up. But after only five minutes or so, he stopped and Hubby held him for a bit then I nursed him and we all went to bed relatively happy. Hubby thinks that I was ridiculous but I am terrified (completely unfounded terror btw) that if we let him cry that he will have severe trust issues as an adult and will not want us to be a part of his life. James assures me that it will not be the case but I still worry. I keep telling him that Steven is only three weeks old, that he shouldn't have to cry because I am right there all the time. But it would be nice to be able to go to the bathroom without the door open or a baby in my arms, so I see his argument. As I am writing this, he is peacefully laying and practice nursing in his sleep. I can't wait to see his first true smile and hear him laugh but I am already sad that he is starting to lose his baby smell and that he has grown so much, solidifying the fact that he will continue to grow and will one day be too big to hug me in public. *Big sigh* For now, Steven and I have the blessed option of staying snuggled all day together doing anything we want or absolutely nothing.

Thrifting: My First Auction!

     This past week I spent down in central Pennsylvania with my grandparents since the drive would be too long for them to come up during the baby-labouring business I am about to engage in. While I was there, we spent a day at a family reunion while I free floated in the pool feeling much more my tiny spry self then I have in about four months. My grandfather has a woodworking shop and store front where I spent some of my time, helping him clean up and hanging out (aka waiting for customers, drinking vast amounts of iced tea and zoning out to Pinterest). Around his store, which is 95% handmade deliciousness, he also has a few nice wood pieces that he has acquired at a local auction.
     With a very small amount of pleading, I was able to convince him to take my grandmother and I to the auction for a night on the town. Unfortunately, about half-way through my uterus decided to start practicing for labour, so I was a bit uncomfortable and it may have limited how much fun I actually had, but I can see a true potential for being an auction haunter later on! By the time that we closed up the shop and headed over to the auction house, they had started bidding, but this tiny baby was hungry, so my grandmother and I hit up the little snack shop for hamburgers and peanut butter cake, which was extremely satisfying. Then, after my obligatory three visits to the bathroom, we were finally ready to settle down for some serious bidding.

  (in the bottom left of the photo is my sweet, darling grandfather trying to slyly bid on things that he thinks my grandmother would like without her knowing...she and I giggled on the other side of the aisle)

    To our left is my wonderful grandfather, looking very intense while eating crackers that neither myself nor my grandmother could find out where he found them. When he saw us looking at him, he gave us the, "What on Earth could they possibly be so confused about?" look. Then proceeded to pull out a bag of nuts as well.
 
      To our right is a very overexposed photo of that same lovely man bidding on some larger pieces.


     We had looked through all of the items, and the bidders could keep looking while the bidding was going on so that made it easier to actually see everything. If you look at the picture of the front of the auction carefully, you can see a box on the floor, under a covered table that has this in it:

   
     Six books, a decorative hollowed out book and a decorative book shaped knick-knack box. Five of the books are dated in the 1950's or prior, which gives me all sorts of joy.
     There is a rhyming dictionary, which I have never actually seen before, though I did know of their existence. I am still trying to figure out exactly how they work, but it did come in a beautiful teal colour and it is hardbound which wins a vote in my book.
     The second book up from the bottom of the picture, the tan with the wonderfully stamped cover is called Charles Auchester: A Memorial by E. Berger. I haven't read this yet but it is supposed to be a book about a musician, I haven't been able to find a copy online either to compare it to, but its very pretty!
     The third book up, the orange with red detailing is called I Remember Christine by Oscar Lewis. This one was dated by the original owner in 1946 and the story is about a well-to-do family in San Francisco around the turn of the century.
     The fourth book is a gorgeous book titled An Elementary American History, intended as a textbook to teach history to students, I love that it actually does start off with the Vikings exploring and discovery the Americas. It is copyrighted in 1904 with the original owner's name in it, with a stamp from Greensburg Borough school district, which is outside of Pittsburgh.
     The fifth book up, the dark green with red and gold detailing is called Two Years before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, and is part of a series called Classic Romances of Literature. It is copyrighted in 1937, and was marked by the owner as a present in January of 1939.
     The fifth and final book, the darker blue with black lettering is called Pathway to Paradise, by Maysie Greig, which is an adorable name by the way.This one is dated 1945 and seems to be one of a series of schoolgirl romances, with the first man introduced named Ashley! I can't wait to read them and hopefully find out more about them. Just winning the bid on these books would have made my night. A beautiful, hard bound book with an embossed or stamped cover will do it for me every single time, without fail, and winning the auction for $6 made the deal even sweeter!!!
     While my grandmother and I finished watching the smaller items bid, my grandfather headed to the back where the large furniture was being auctioned. While unsupervised, he won a bid on an air conditioner ($10), a coffee table ($5), a coffee table with two matching end tables ($6) and the deal sealer of 30 pounds of bananas for $5!!!

     The next day we made seven loaves of banana bread and gave away as many bananas as we could to random family members that walked through the door. We used this recipe and it turned out amazing! My grandfather even was impressed with it and complimented how delicious it was. I didn't blend the bananas completely, so there were still chunks in it after we cooked the bread, and we used an extra half cup of bananas so the flavour was really strong.
     I had tons of fun at the auction and would definitely recommend going and at least trying the experience out. You can find some nice deals and odd items (like fifteen pairs of those glasses that you can put pictures in from ages ago, I can't remember what they are called now, or doll furniture made in Depression Era workshops, or forty pounds of bananas).  The only downside was missing my hubby, he would have loved it, although he also may have filled up our car with all those really great deals. When I got back and showed him pictures of what we had found, we agreed on trying to find a couple local auctions to go to (an exciting date night idea in the works) and he is obsessed with trying to bid on storage units at some point in our future lives, but I am much more wary about that!