Completed Wild Thing Quilt

It took me a little while to get some pictures taken, but here is my completed Wild Thing quilt. It is certainly not perfect, but I am learning as I go. I had fun making it and now it is resting on our couch for us to enjoy.

This is the front:

The view from the back.

Halloween

This was Addison's first Halloween to go trick or treating in our neighborhood. We dressed her up as a bumble bee. It was so much fun. (Thanks to cuz Avery for letting us borrow her old halloween costume). I was surprised that Addison actually did not mind keeping her costume on and she quickly learned how to knock on our neighbor's doors to ask for candy!

New words Addison learned from our night of trick or treating:

Candy, bumble bee

Halloween Banner Giveaway Contest

I usually don't decorate for Halloween as much as I like to decorate for fall and Christmas around our house. However, there is a really cute blog called The Polka Dot Chair that is doing a giveaway contest for a cool Halloween banner to go on your fireplace mantel. This would be something fun to make for birthdays and other holidays that we celebrate all year...so I am inspired to enter the contest and if I don't win then maybe I will just have to give a try at making a Thanksgiving and Christmas banner myself!

I wish I could be this creative on my own . . . it definitely inspires me to try to make one too!

Here is a pic of the banner that you can win from the Polka Dot Chair.

(If you want to enter in the contest- it ends October 13th).

Addison's Quilt

I wish I had made this much sooner!! I finally made a quilt for Addison. At first I wanted to make her a quilt simply because I had not and I also needed to do something to protect her crib from any further teething frustration. So, I made a ragged squares quilt and I added tie backs to the four corners to easily tie it onto the railings of her crib.

Making Progress

I'm making progress on our Wild Thing quilt. I finally finished the quilt top. Yea! But I still have to work on the backing, batting, stippling, and binding. I'm excited for more naps and football games so that I can have time to work on it. What do you think Mom??

Bed Head

Addison's hair after nap time.

Isn't she beautiful???

Fabric Inspiration

I'm so excited to have purchased some Moda fabrics. I have been eyeing the Moda Bakeshop for awhile now and have finally been inspired to create something of my own. It may take me a while to find time but here are my new projects:

I want to use Pashmina for something in our family room.

The Oh-Cherry-Oh for Addison's playroom....possibly curtains.

and I have fallen in love with a quilt over at Camille Roskelley's site Thimble Blossoms called Wild Thing. I was able to purchase her pattern and most of the same fabrics to make the quilt..now I just need to get to work. I will have to let you know how it goes.

The Botanical Gardens

Here are a few pictures from our recent visit to the Botanical Gardens. Addison has now started to pose for us when we take her picture. I love it!!

I Love Watermelon!

Pictures say a thousand words...

September 11th

Saw this from Moda Lissa.

LETS DO THIS......

THE PROGRAM:

On Friday, September 11th, 2009, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States . Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this eighth anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country.

Pigtails and the Splash Pad

Here are a few pictures of what we have been doing lately. Addison's hair is finally long enough for pigtails. Now if she will only keep them in her hair long enough for me to enjoy! :)

We have also recently discovered a great Splash Pad in our area. Addison just loves playing in the water.....Jason too!

Addison's Pillow Case Dress

Here is Addison's new pillow case dress.

I am so excited that it turned out to be so cute and it was fun to make too!!

First, I found the old pillow case that I had mentioned from my earlier post. I decided to fold it in half and then cut it to be about 20" in length. I thought that would be a good length for Addison. She may even be able to wear it next summer as well.

Next, I opened the pillow case onto my cutting mat and using a pencil I lightly traced and cut about a 3" curve for the arm holes.

I then used my rotary cutter to cut three 2 1/2" pieces from the top of the extra pillow case fabric. This fabric will be used for the binding on the arms and the binding at the neckline.

I ironed the binding fabric and then folded in half across the width.

I may have missed a few pictures of the next couple of steps. But I sewed the binding first across the neckline on both sides..and made sure to sew as close to the edge as possible. ( I wanted to make sure that I could slide the elastic through once I was finished sewing).

Then I used 2 pieces of soft elastic, about the width of Addison's collar bone, and with the help of some safety pins, slid the elastic through the neckline.

After that, I sewed the binding along the armholes. This part also helped to secure the elastic in place.

Here is my sweetheart!
Isn't she cute?!?!

Time for Things I Love

It has been awhile since I have written so I thought I would share some of the things I love. Spending time with my husband Jason, my sweet girl Addison, playing in the yard and sewing.

Jason has just finished up his class for the summer...no more summer school for him. Just one more semester and he will graduate with his masters this December! We are so proud of all of his hard work- but ready to have the extra time to spend as a family in the evenings.

Working in the yard is one of my favorite stress relievers and is now a way to spend quality time with my sweet girl. Addison has been helping me water the the flowers in the yard and so I recently bought her a Little Tykes watering can. She has so much fun!

I have also started sewing again- mostly when Addison is napping or has gone to bed at night. It is too difficult to find more time during the day. My newest project was a pillow case dress for Addison. When I was about 20 years old I remember going through my parent's linen closet and packing up old things to move. At that time I found an old pillow case that I knew would be a cute dress for a little girl one day. So, I saved that pillow case and just recently I was reminded and inspired by another blog, called Freshly Picked
So, I went through my things and found the old pillow case that I had saved. I am so glad that I have a girl!! It turned out so cute and was so easy to make the dress that I made a second one the next day!

I will post pictures soon!

The Donkey

I just have to include a picture of my brother's new baby on my blog. As you may or may not know, Wesley owns two donkeys...a male named Jake and a female named Jenny. Wesley had noticed that Jenny was eating more food than usual and that she was gaining weight. He was a little suspicious that she may be pregnant, but he did not know for sure. The week before my dad's surgery Wesley had gone out of town for work and my parents had a nice bed and breakfast get away. As my parents were returning home and driving up the driveway, my mom noticed another animal in the pen with Jake and Jenny. As they got closer they realized that is was a baby donkey!!! It appears to be a male and so they have named him Juno (more since he was born in June). I cannot wait to take Addison to see him. He really does look cute!

Water

We went to eat dinner at the Blue Goose in Highland Village after church last weekend. When we finished dinner we walked around and discovered a great fountain area. Addison loves playing in the water and was immediately interested in getting wet....she did not have her bathing suit, but that did not stop her. We also ran into my good friend Mandy. Her little boy, Owen is playing in the background.

The Beach

These are just a few pics from our trip to Destin.

Addison loved the beach, playing in the sand and swimming in the water.

June

The month of June has just flown by! We have had so much going on from birthday parties, Addison's first trip to the beach and my dad's surgery. We are so thankful that my dad is doing well and is now taking some time off to recover from his surgery.

Addison is becoming more and more independent each day. She loves to walk, but she does not want to hold our hands...she can do it on her own!! She even walks so much that she will even walk in circles just to keep going. It is fun to watch her! She really is a sweet heart. She also loves eatting fruit, giving kisses, swimming, riding in her red wagon, turning the pages in her bible, pointing to Jesus, and watching Sesame Street- for Elmo of course.

Addison's Favorite Things

Addison's has started making the 's' sound. I soon realized that her favorite things at the moment all have the letter "S" in them too.

She has loves to point out the "s" in her name on the wall in her bedroom.

Swing


Slide

Strawberries

Addison's 1st Birthday

We had so much fun this weekend celebrating Addison's 1st birthday. We had our family come over to help us celebrate the big day. It turned out to be a really nice party. We ordered Addison's birthday cake from the Texas Star Bakery and we had lots of good food. Thanks to Addison's Mimi and Papa, Grammy Cheryl, Aunt Donna and her Great Aunt Theresa and Great Grandma Robinett for helping to bring food, tables, chairs, ballons, silverware and more it all came together. Addison is such a sweetheart and a blessing to us. It was fun to see her eat her birthday cake, open presents and play with her cousins. The most exciting part of the day was Addison began to walk!!! So, she actually started walking on her big day. It made for a really special day!

Happy 1st Birthday Addison!

More Flowers

This weekend we stayed with my parents. There is a great spot on their property that has a big patch of bluebonnets right now. It was the perfect place to take a few more pictures of Addison. She was surrounded by the bluebonnets. We were also able to take a few pictures of her near the Indian Paintbrush with the old fireplace in the background.