Peach Pie and Other Summer Fun

How yummy does my peach pie look? And how cute is my new owl dishcloth? The pie was supposed to be in celebration of fresh summer peaches, but I couldn't find any in my lame little town, so it's made with canned peaches. I had some extra crust after making a very simple lattice, so I got out my music note cookie cutter in an effort to make Dear Hubby like a dessert that doesn't include peanut butter or chocolate. The dishcloth came from a cute little home store in Murray. I was replacing an old favorite that met an untimely (puppy related) end.

We had a nice 4th of July visit with the Thomas family in Indianapolis. Aunt Kim and Ava get along smashingly. She's smart, likes books and is a great big sister to Bash. We also decorated the entire driveway with sidewalk chalk while I was there. Cute, aren't they?

Summer's winding down and I'm getting that panicky feeling I get any time a vacation is almost over and I'm not sure I've gotten everything done I'd like.

Recent Domesticity

I've been feeling rather domestic lately. I started my spurt of crafty-ness with a Mother's Day brunch for my mother and grandmother. Yummy breakfast casserole, fruit, homemade blueberry muffins and cute take-home centerpieces with kabob/scrapbook paper "Happy Mother's Day" cards. My best friend Amanda is having her second daughter this week. Eleanor Elizabeth will be joining older daughter Charlotte Caroline and has an equally cute monogram. I found a tutorial for freezerpaper stencils on Mmmboppin's blog and was amazed at how easy it was.

So, like anything I do, I went freezerpaper crazy and made a whole slew of personalized gifts. My cousin Jason and his wife Kristy (also the recipients of monkey burp cloths from an earlier post) had a son on May 20. Bashlin (named for a brand of lineman hooks/belts and a former pet) and big sister Ava got two coordinating sets all made my new favorite font...Badaboom!






Last night my friend Ginny (who got wine bottle holders in an earlier post) was picking out a bottle of wine to give as a gift and I volunteered to make a bottle holder for it. I used this grey floral fabric and it was so cute, I decided to bust out my One Yard Wonders sewing book. The professor for one of my summer classes requested that we bring our laptops for class. I've never found a laptop case that I liked well enough to buy, so I made my own. This also counts as my first attempt at machine quilting. The layers of flannel and floral fabric are quilted together with a very simple line pattern.



This will be perfect for packing up my laptop and throwing it in my school bag. Plus, it was made entirely out of things I already had at home, therefore fitting into the PayOffTheLot plan!

Nothing elaborate, but I have enjoyed making gifts for others (and for myself)!

Sewing Bee

I've had a sewing machine for years and have used it sporadically, mostly for hemming other people's pants. I have had the occaisional spurt of domestic want-to. My know-how is based on a few sewing lessons given to me in middle school by my friend Amanda's mom, who is a world-class seamstress.

Since getting hooked on the world of blogging, the blogs that I enjoy the most are the crafty moms who make things for their kids and other people's kids. Since I don't have any of my own, I've been itching to make homemade gifts for the forty million people I know that are having babies.

I went on a sewing shopping expedition yesterday and came home with enough fabric, notions, and ideas to last a good long while. The key find was a book that I'd looked at on Amazon. One-Yard Wonders is an amazing collection of projects that require only one yard of fabric. Leafing through it, the projects mostly seemed like things I could do so I bought it. I also bought several different kinds of fabric, including some yummy flannels that I thought would make good baby gifts.

So far, I've made two sets of teal and brown monkey burp cloths for the two baby boys who will be born this year into jungle-themed nurseries. Levi is due soon and is the son of one of my work friends. Bashlin is due in May and is the second child of my cousin Jason and his wife Kristy. I also made two wine-bag-holder-things. Mostly I made those because the pattern seemed simple enough for me and they are the perfect gift for my friend Ginny. Black and white polka dots and hot pink ribbon ties. I love it!

I also love feeling like I can create something with some fabric (which was on SALE!) and some thread. I would love to be making baby treats for my own baby, but maybe all these gifts are practice for the real thing. One can dream...