New Fabric

My son will be turning two in June and since he's definitely getting out of the baby stage I figured it was time I got on the ball and made his baby quilt. Now in my defense I have been "thinking" about what kind of quilt I'd like to do for quite some time and I've gotten sidetracked by numerous quilt ideas that haven't really fit. A little background here might be helpful. All three of my children have birds as their middle names, the first one Wren, second Jay and the last one is Kestrel. Hence the name for my shop, 3Birdies.For my quilt for Wren I used all desert colors such as golds, browns and reds since she's named after the Canyon Wren. For Jay I made a quilt out of mountain colors such as lilacs, blues and greens. And they actually received their quilts shortly after they were born, before I knew much about their personality. But for Kestrel I was distracted by beautiful car fabric for quite awhile since he loves anything that moves and totally forgetting about my "theme". But I'm back on the wagon now and have just received the most beautiful jelly roll Arcadia by Sanae for Moda. I bought it from this lovely Etsy shop. It's perfect. Since Kestrels live in the grasslands or prairie this collection matches perfectly and I can't wait to get started. Have I mentioned it's perfect? No more excuses, I need a quilt before he's an official toddler! And now I will stop rambling on about the history of my little "birds". ~Leslie

Bunny Giveaway by Edward and Lilly

I love Rebecca's blog Edward and Lilly. She always has such great things to share and today she has posted an amazing giveaway for a beautiful bunny of hers. I think the fabric she chose is especially sweet and I love the bit of lace around the waist. So hop on over and post a comment for a chance to win. Sorry for the pun I couldn't resist. :) ~Lesliephoto by Edward and Lilly

Shopping List Saturday

Well, it's taken me a bit to get back into the swing of things after our vacation but this week I got on the ball and finally feel some semblance of normalcy returning. Unfortunately, we also experienced 18 inches of snow and blizzards this week which was quite a shock for us short wearing folks the day before the blizzard hit. It's a weird thing to one day be digging in your garden and the next day to be shoveling snow. But I guess that's weather in the west for you.
I've been working on my son's room which is kind of a vintage camping theme and also just wishing I could be camping this week so my shopping list this week is inspired by all things camping.
1. Little Camper Tee by Mountainavenbaby I simply love this cute tee. The design is so sweet! She also has other amazing kids clothing in her shop!
2. Camper Tea Towels by Leannegraeff These tea towels are perfect for a cabin or even a pop-trailer. In fact I think mine may need them!
3. Airstream Necklace by Rippledesign This necklace is perfect for someone who loves to camp. Such a neat idea.
4.Volkswagon Camper print by OldSchoolStationers This print is just awesome! I love the vintage feel.
5. Hudson Bay sewing box by levinsons This is just such a unique idea. It's a sewing box with a canoe pincushion and emery "campfire" with other sewing goods included. Lovely.
6. Fishing Bear Jr. Ranger Print by YeeHaw I love this print and I think it would be perfect in a little boys room. They have other camping critters in their shop a collection of them would look great.

Please go check out other fantastic shopping lists through fancypicnic. There's some great Etsy sellers out there!
I hope your weekend is warm and sunny!
~Leslie

Knit Hat

A couple of weeks ago my husband gave me a hard time for still knitting winter hats. Ha! Little did he know we'd get 18 inches of snow this week with frigid temperatures. Of course I think I'd rather take warm weather and no new hatting wearing instead! But he's been wearing his new hat all week and it brings a smile to my face, now I just need to catch him and take a picture.
I also knitted one for Michelle and her upcoming trip to Europe next week. I figured it'd be great for those still chilly nights and perhaps days. I knitted both hats from the pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts. What a great book! I also discovered while trying to take a picture of Michelle's hat I do not make a good model, so I stuck it on my oldest daughter. She's only five so it's big but you get the idea. I knitted it in Malabrigo worsted weight and I love the plum variegated color!~Leslie

Quilt Top

I finished my version of Finn's Quilt with the free tutorial from Chickpea Sewing Studio. It was a great way to use up some of my favorite scraps that were sitting in the basket begging to be used and not forgotten. It was really easy to whip up and a great piece for a beginner quilter like myself, allowing me to build up some piecing confidence. I want to piece a little for the back and then I will have to seek out Leslie's help on putting the whole affair together. I am determined to quilt it by hand since it is only a small baby quilt, but nonetheless look for the finished product in a year or so. --Michelle

New Stamp

I've been meaning to post about this for awhile and I finally got around to taking a picture of my new business stamp. I got it in the mail a couple of weeks ago along with a very cute pin and I love it. I want to stamp everything with it now. Of course it's for my business so it's only good for a couple of things so I think that means I may have to purchase some for me and the girls....or just me. I bought it from CraftPudding on Etsy and she does amazing work. I'm thoroughly happy and feel all professional now.
~Leslie

Zipper Pouch

Yesterday I was wearing flip-flops and the girls were running around in dresses.....today it snowed 18 inches, school was let out early, and a snow fort was built. I guess it just goes to show you don't really know what to expect from day to day.
I did start off the day motivated but I have to admit that this evening my energy level has crashed. I blame it on the white knuckled driving I had to do taking the kids to and from preschool. Or the fact that I ran yesterday for the first time in a long long time and every muscle in my body is screaming at me.
I did get a bit of sewing done this afternoon while the snow fell peacefully and everyone else was reading. It was nice to be back into the swing of things in the sewing department.This little pouch I made for my niece whose eleventh birthday is today. I thought a pen pouch would go well with Michelle's tote that she had made for her.
Now it's time for tea and a long bath...

Where did last week go?

I know it probably feels like I fell off the face of the earth after being gone a week for vacation I came back did one post and never came back. Michelle was kind enough to post about her beautiful bag she made for our niece because I was feeling thoroughly unmotivated! After being a week without Internet and other gadgets I had a hard time getting back into it. So I spent a lot of last week laying around watching my laundry pile grow, enjoying the beautiful spring weather at the park with the kiddos and generally not doing anything productive. Unless you call building a stegosaurus out of blocks productive, if so I had one hell of a productive week!
So it's Sunday night, the kids are in bed, I'm gathering taxes and the weatherman is predicting freezing temperatures and a blizzard! I'm now officially back on the motivated band wagon and ready to sew, blog, run the house, and build some cool things out of blocks. Woohoo!PS: We've also been playing a lot of zoo around our house after seeing lots of animals and REAL PANDAS as my oldest would like to say.

Birthday Presents

My oldest niece is turning 11 and I must say I had no idea what to make for an eleven year old. Then I remembered that just like I was at her age she always has her nose in a book. I did a little random piecing from my scrap basket, added some heavy interfacing in the middle, and ribbon at one end and had myself a book mark. She probably is a little young for Hemingway but it should be the perfect accessory for any novel. I made the super easy bag from Last Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts to match. It is the perfect size for bringing home new adventures from the library.

I hopes that she enjoys them. -- Michelle

I'm Back!!

After a very long day yesterday of flying and driving with three small children we all made it back safe and sound late last night. It's good to be home and our cat and dog are happy to have us back. We had a wonderful time in California and was glad to have missed the negative temperatures. Of course now I'm fully ready for spring and for cold icky weather to be gone! I'm planning on posting a few more photos, etc. about our trip in the next few days but for now the massive pile of laundry is calling my name.
Thank you all for your comments on my last post! I love comments and hearing from all of you. I'll try to get back to you shortly. Have a wonderful Monday!

Shopping List Saturday

Right now the family and I are heading on our trip to Disneyland!! I've been thinking of mobiles a lot lately from the mobile swap I just did and I found some lovely ones on Etsy this week. Enjoy and I'll be back in a week!
1. Bird Parade by giftsdefine This is such a sweet mobile, perfect for a child's room. The sleeping cloud is great!
2. Desk Mobile by roundhousedesigns I love this mobile for a desk or small table. It's so nice and whimsical. The cranes are also sweet. She has a cute butterfly wall hanging in her shop as well!
3. Fish Mobile by khamm75 This is a darling mobile of fish. The colors are just perfect!
4. Supernova Mobile by thewonderlandstudio I love this simple and modern mobile. I think it would look wonderful in a kitchen or dining room! She has other great mobiles in her shop too!

Go check out the other lovely shopping lists at FancyPicnic. Have a great weekend. I'll have lots of photos to share when I get back!

Book Sling Giveaway

Photo by Megan of Penny Carnivial
Megan of Penny Carnival is having a fabulous giveaway of this book sling. She'll use whatever fabric you would like if you're the lucky winner. I love this idea and hope to use it in my son's room if I don't happen to win. She also has them for sale in her etsy shop. Go check her out!

And now I'm off to finish packing and cleaning my house. I don't really know why I always have to have my house clean before I leave on a trip. I mean it's dirty thirty seconds after we walk in the door with all our luggage. Maybe it's like always wearing clean underwear in case of an accident. I'd hate to have people come into our house for some unexpected reason and see the chaos that we usually inhabit living with three small children. Either way it makes me a little sane and comforts my type A personality.

New Brooch

Things are getting crazy around here with laundry, packing and still trying to get kids healthy. But we're getting super excited and Saturday will be here before we know it!Photo by SophieIsobelDesigns

I bought this lovely brooch from SophieIsobelDesigns and the proceeds of the purchase she donated to help the people of Australia in the Bush fires. I couldn't resist this cute brooch, it's so whimsical and makes me think of fairies and imaginary tales. A bright spot in my chaotic week for sure!

Piece o' Cake

Sometimes what you need on a snowy night is a warm, beautifully decorated chocolate cake. It helps to ward of the blues that come with the reality of many more weeks of winter when all you want is sunny spring days. It also presented a great excuse for me to try out my new cake stencils from Leslie. I have had my eye on some of Martha Stewart's lovely stencils for some time, but they always seem to be out of stock online. Leslie found these at a Macy's and now I can sugar dust cakes to my heart's content.

The powdered sugar flowers on this cake definitely made the it a tastier treat and the best part was the mere seconds they took to create! --Michelle

Exhausted

I thought I was done with sick kiddos but I'm definitely not! They are all suffering from various forms of coughing, fever or stomach bugs. It's made for long nights and lack of sleep. I'm just crossing my fingers that they're all healthy by Saturday when we head to Disneyland! So since my brain is only working on half capacity I thought I'd share a little something that brightened my weekend. Erika from Inspired Mama Musings was the person I sent my mobile to for the Mobile Swap and she sent a lovely email saying that she received it and loved it. It really made my day knowing that is was so well received. Her mobile for the swap is also just lovely!Photo by Erika of Inspired Mama Musings

Treasury

I had a nice little surprise in the midst of a sick girl and a pile of laundry, I was featured in a treasury made my Intres! She featured my backpack doll that I just love making! This was the first time I've been included in someones treasury and it really lifted my spirits. I've been feeling a little bit down lately with lack of sewing time and goals that have gone to the wayside. This was just what I needed when I sat down after a very long day on Friday. Thanks Intres!
Of course all this excitement and new energy is being funneled into getting my family better since in just a weeks time we will be flying out to California to take the kids to their first trip to Disneyland! There is a lot of talk about princesses and teacups around the house. We are also going to San Diego while we're in California to take the kids to the zoo. And the sole purpose of the detour is to show our oldest daughter pandas in real life. Her favorite animal is panda bears, and when I say favorite I mean she has a plethora of stuffed pandas, talking pandas, panda pj's, and panda shirts. That girl loves pandas. I think that may actually be her highlight over Disneyland!