I Get So Weak in the Knees..

A tiny view of the new banner I created, just because.

I know terrible song and I'm a terrible person for referencing it. Bad me, Bad!
But I am slowly losing my powers of strength. I'll sit at the machine and within 30 minutes I am dizzy and weak! How do women with multiple children continue to care for their kids while pregnant? Perhaps my diet is dragging me down. I feel like such a wimp! I'm usually a toughie! Spppshhh!


Sunday night I finished my vagabond wrap- full of so many skeins I forgot to count. I don't know that I will actually wear it in public, but it makes a lovely lap cozy and I've gotten approval from Jasper, who keeps needing it with his paws. In my house growing up we always called it" nice- nice"- I guess my mom made that up. Z always kinda laughs at me when I use that term.. along with so many other Lawrencisms like bashy-bashy cake.

It astounds me that these kitties who I spend most days with, can tell time.. no for reals! They sleep most of the day away and then start meowing around 4:30- I usually feed them at 5. In Hermione's case- she stalks me and then just stares at me till I eventually feel uncomfortable. Jasper waits in the dark in the kitchen by the fridge, so I can't possibly open the fridge for my own snack without feeding him first. Clever kitties.

Speaking of clever, I've been listening to this fine, clever lady- Erin McKeown as of late. We saw her at a show a few years ago, she's playing this weekend in NYC- but I don't think we'll be trudging into the city anytime soon. Of course once the baby is born a proper NYC/ holiday trip will be in order.

In happy shop stories- we just got one of our larger wholesale orders- 5 Scraparellas will be going to a new home down south, along with numerous coffee cuffs and onesies. So exciting! Plus, we'll be using the payment for our crib mattress- it feels good to contribute to our household in a larger way than usual. I'm grateful~
Happy Tuesday

I Couldn't Help Myself

With one of our baby showers scheduled for this Saturday (I'm super excited to see so many familiar faces in one place, the last thing I needed to do was shop), plus I've started receiving a few virtual Etsy Shower Gifts!

However,Saturday night while browsing Etsy (yes, this is apparently what some pregnant women do) I found the Scrappy Grasshopper shop. I was amazed by their adorable kid gear and great prices.. so you see why I didn't stand a chance?
here is what I nabbed: This adorable jumper

and who could resist this hat?


So simple, yet super cute! But I've been doing pretty well considering... I've made a ton of burp cloths and have so many cute hand-me-down outfits or thrifted outfits for baby- buying a few actual *new handmade* things is just for good measure.

Now on to the handmade gifts we've received.
From Toni at , Tweedlebee I received a lovely patchwork squeek/crinkle toy. Perfect for carrying in the car or stroller, in a gorgeous mix match of reds.



The second gift that arrived was from Amie at Modest Milk. She sent me a gorgeous binky holder with a matching Milk clip- which turns any fabric, blanket or towel into a private nursing cover, along with a set of chocolate brown cupcake nursing pads!



What lovely gifts for a first-time mother! I was really touched by the level of interest from these Etsyian women- so thank you!

At home, this is what I've been working on. Not for sale, but for the baby's wall of embroidered & fabric hoops.





I re purposed an old Flax dress and used the linen to embroider. The patchwork was given to me by Zach's grandmother. I'm not sure if she did it or her mother or whom. I re purposed most of it (it was some sort of seat cover)and made a stuffed cat for baby and now this. The clothesline was fun to do, the pink is suppose to be a little bunny. It was inspired by a Japanese fabric I purchased a while back.
Well there is a lot to do- I just need the motivation!
Happy Monday!
xo
M

Sunday = 31 Weeks!

So my mother's gifts were a success! Here she is wearing the scarf I knitted her, along with the Land's End fleece vest to keep her toasty.

We all enjoyed the cute little vanilla & fudge cake (even me- against my tummy's better judgement).



Afterwards Zach and I played a game of Scrabble and I made some Vegan Italian Wedding Soup for dinner. It is from the latest issue of
Vegetarian Times magazine.


This is the latest drink to enter our house:

First the fact that our last name is OAT, seeing it here makes me smile and the fact that this is brown sugar oat milk drink- is like amazing! I must admit, I wish it were creamier like a soy milk rather than a rice or almond milk consistency- but I tried it in a soy ice cream, banana smoothie and it was delicious!

Today is going to be spent organizing the top shelf in our linen closet, installing a paper lantern lamp in the bedroom, possibly watching our Lamaze DVD,sewing and puttering. Hope you have a wonderful day!
xo
M

Mom's Birthday

Some new Cuffs to be added this coming week!


So I've been tagged, by the lovely
Jessica Jane
Let's see if I have this right, 7 Facts About Me... hmmm.

#1 On my first date with Zach, I was 10-15 minutes late. When I finally arrived I tried making jokes ( which I pride myself on being funny) and he didn't laugh. Then we went to see the movie MONSTER, with Charlize Theron, I kid you not. Afterwards, Zach asked if I wanted too get a coffee, I said sure. He promptly dropped me off at my car and said goodbye and drove away. He says he was nervous and forgot about the coffee offering. He also says he's amazed I gave him a second chance lol!

#2 Whenever I refer to "getting a coffee" it usually means a chai or hot cocoa, not usually coffee. But I say it anyhow.

#3 When surprises are involved, I'd rather not know a thing about them, otherwise I will beg and harass the person closest to me about details.

#4 When I was younger, I went through a holiday season, where I would unwrap, then re-wrap my Christmas presents- to see what was under the tree. Proof of #3

#5 Now that I seem like such a brat.. I once hit my older brother over the head with a bald Cabbage Patch Doll- in my defense, he threw a book at me.

#6 Sometimes I eat fake bacon and maple syrup sandwiches.

#7 I am a terrible speller, it took me 3 tries before I spelled maple right!

I'm tagging: Suzi, Ursula & Olive, Dee Jay, Papa Oat,
Marilyn/Pulp Sushi and I can't think of anyone else- I'm sorry!




Last night during the presidential debate,Zach pinned together 2 buntings for me. One was 5 yards long the other was 3. Here I am stitching them up. One I'm giving to my mom for our baby shower (next week- no surprise see #4), the other is hanging in our living room and we'll keep for birthday adventures. We had planned to go apple picking- but instead we'll have a little intimate coffee, tea & cake party with mom, dad, Zach and I. I'm just excited to give her, her gift!
Have a great weekend~
xo
M

Pretty Paper~

(Here I am, getting ready to ride the rails and go south for the winter!)

Is it really too early to listen to holiday music? Pretty Paper by Willie Nelson snuck into my i-tunes today and it just made me smile. That has to be worth something, right?

Wednesday was spent doing laundry and discussing upcoming plans with mom. I peddled my basket bag full of my latest creations- mostly burp clothes to my parents. As usual they were supportive and happy to see me keeping busy and staying positive betwixt the stomach horrors. Yesterday for the most part was a great tummy day! I had forgotten my camera at home and left one of my 35 sized needles at my parent's house... so I think I might start another project.

Knitting has become my couch solace. The basket of random skeins has started to slightly wither, due to my ridiculous wrap and other kooky projects. Since I'm such a knitting novice, I use patterns from a book for 10 year olds. It is actually a Klutz book. When I worked at Barnes & Noble, my awesome boss passed it along b/c it was missing a few pieces and she, a wonderful knitter knew I was very basic knitter and the book was going to get thrown away. I've had it for years and love the basic-no math required-projects.

A trip to the library ended in a bag full of goodies to read,peruse and covet. Some of the titles that landed in my tote were,
B is for Baby,
Weekend With the Kids (which seems to be available for perusal through Google books),
Feeding the Whole Family and
Quilts. All inspiring reads to get me thinking of holiday projects.

I've packaged up my Virtual Baby Shower Gift and received my new winter coat
in the mail. It is a little big, I left room for growing in the next few weeks and for wearing warm sweaters.

Today I'm planning on making some bibs to be listed in my shop as well as some coffee cuffs and other handmade cuteness.

Have a great day!
xo
M

Kick, Kick, Kick

So that is what baby Oat does these days. When I sing Waltzing Matilda aka Tom Traubert's Blues in the tub, she kicks, kicks, kicks. When I'm sewing away at the machine she kicks.. but when Papa Oat puts his hand on my belly she knows.. she's already playing her Papa and sits still! Silly little baby!

(me at 30 weeks- looking like a gypsy!)

Last night I worked feverishly on knitting my crazy wrap, the one on size 35 needles. I've started 4 new skeins of yarn so far there are something like 10 various skeins involved so far. It is a great way to get rid of leftover random skeins and at the end I'll have a super colorful fall wrap, that I hope I can actually wear!



(Fuel for my creativity- vegan hot cocoa w/ Fluff and browsing this lovely book)



I also worked on a few more pages in my Baby Oat scrapbook. I've finished the Grandparent's page, the kitty sibling page and started a September page. Instead of documenting the entire pregnancy, I've decided to capture pictures throughout and the last 3 months I'll focus on. I'm sure Zach thinks I'm crazy,but like collage- this is sooo relaxing. I know I'm not some scrapping master- but I enjoy the process and choosing the "just right" sticker or font.

Today I am going to try and make a visit to my parent's house. This Saturday is my mom's birthday. I'm so excited to give her, her handmade gift as well as a special purchased one. Both in her favorite color! I'll also be passing on the silver box with a few notes and things inside. The box (which is actually circular) gets passed on between the women in our family with little notes etc. inside. I think my mom read a story at some point or someone in my family did about a tradition of passing along this little silver box with a special note. I've had this one for YEARS without passing it on, so now it is time!

The fall weather is indeed here. Sock weather is among us! I'm so happy! As much as I love baring my toes in flipflops and other random shoes, I love my ever-growing funky sock collection. I been pulling out my scarves & washing them in Dr. Bronner's Rose infused soap. They all smell really good. Maybe today I'll bring some laundry to my folk's house and hang it on the line~ I love that.

Have a wonderful- restful- creative day!

xo
M

Tuesday Afternoon Doings

So yesterday I made it to the fabric shop! It was pretty sweet- all fleece was 50% off and some flannel was only $2.99 a yard! So I think I am officially set for the holidays when it comes to the coffee cuff explosion of the 2008 Holiday Season. Of course there were a few pieces of remnant fabric, some peachy-keen-colored thread and some black felt.. for a few surprises.




I made a stop at the library, who was holding several books recommended on Soulemama's blog. Among the titles are Raising a Spirited Child, Putting Food and Living Simply with Children. I also picked up the Lilith Fair Cd, Dar William's The Green Room and Found Style by Amy Butler for good measure. I really want to get Amy's new book
Little Stitches, but I think I need to go easy with the spending. I did just get a winter coat and a bag full of fabric. (Which I even brought my own fabric tote to Joann's!) No one seemed to care!



Today I met with my midwife, well her partner. Who is equally as cool and helpful.She answered all of my questions as silly as they may have been. The baby's heartbeat was strong and she is a good size. I'll have a 3rd trimester sonogram in a few weeks- due to my stomach issues. I've actually lost a pound or two and I'm not gaining as much as maybe I could be- all due to IBS. But I just need to monitor myself.

I am really excited to be a part of Etsy's Virtual Baby Shower. You can read about it here. It was started almost two years ago by Fickle Faerie. Participants who are expecting get gifts from 4 different Etsyians as shower gifts! What a warm way to welcome a baby into handmade land as well as a great way to get free advertising & networking! I'm going to be contributing as well.

Lastly, I'm in love with this website, Make Baby Stuff. You can find free tutorials on some awesome things like pants, jumpers, toys,diapers and some great decor ideas for nurseries. I think we are going to use a bunch of embroidery hoops with beautiful fabric to decorate the wall next to the crib. Well I am off to start my contribution for the Etsy Baby Shower.
Tonight starts the new season of Law & Order SVU, my favorite Law & Order. Enjoy
Be Well
xo
M

Feeling Toasty

This is the latest girl added to the Scraparella posse. I haven't quite come up with a name yet, but the song by the Moldy Peaches
little bunny foo foo keeps swirling through my head. She's the first bunny I've made and with my excitement, I forgot to turn her ears right side out! So she's a little rough around the edges!



Friday night was spent putting the finishing touches on my cousin's shower gifts, signs, recipe box and such. Saturday, I didn't feel well enough to make the trip to her shower. It hurt, to not be there.I'm her matron-of-honor. This is only the most recent event I've had to miss due to my tummy issues during pregnancy. yikes. Luckily she was understanding.

Sunday, I felt a little better and we headed to Trader Joe's for groceries.It seems the pumpkin butter they had last year, is not yet on the shelves. However, today is the first official day of Autumn! 11:44am to be exact! So maybe next time we go.
On the way back we stopped at a flea-market at a local fire house. There was a woman selling fabrics, but nothing jumped out at me. But these did...


How could I pass these up for $1.50? She had other pieces, but I didn't want to over do it. I already have a couple of other mushroom pieces- some match, some don't. I scrubbed them clean and now they sit on the top of a bookshelf, next to my mushroom cookie jar.

In an attempt to find a proper winter coat- I had hit the thrift store closest to us last week. I found two tan jackets, neither of which actually button up really. So Zach and I decided it made more sense to buy a real, proper coat. Our winters are cold! With the lack of cool plus-size vintage in the area, I chose this coat from Old Navy. My hopes are that I can wear it all winter long- it doesn't look too much like a maternity coat.

I'm loving the charcoal color and that collar! Plus it was 20% off with free shipping, so I feel like we did a pretty good job.

Later in the day, the organizing bug bit me- actually more like took a chunk out of my brain. Because this is what I started doing around 7:30pm..


I know, scary. Zach could hear me doing something and when he came in- it was too late. I had emptied my closet and there was a mound of books,clothes etc. I got down off the chair just in time. But in my defense, I wanted to clean out my closet for a while- definitely before baby arrives- because yes, that is the corner of your crib you see there.


Here is a burp cloth I made and a bunny-girl onesie. Both are for baby Oat. I'm going crazy with the burp cloths, but why not?

With fall officially here and me hitting my 30 week mark yesterday,I can't believe we'll have a new person in our lives in less than 3 months. There is so much to do.
I better get back to my Fall-Clean-Out-The Closet-stint.
xo
M

As Days Go By

I went to the thrift store in town on Thursday.

These napkins/dishtowels with added rikrak were found for $1.00. The plastic tote was $2.00 and is very similar to one I found at a Rhode Island thrift called, The Blue Mitten. I love my bag and carry everything in it from beach stuff- library books, so this will be for the baby when she gets a little older. Just like mama!


I found 2 coats. They're not necessarily for winter and they don't really button, but I've always wanted a trench. They both fit now ( without being buttoned) and will fit after the baby arrives. In the mean time I'll use them for the rain & cooler weather. The belted one was $5.00, the other was free! The woman was going to throw it out!


This is a huge ball of yarn. It is actually made up of 5 other skeins. I have a big basket full of acrylic & wool blend yarn.. so I decided to roll them all together and make something. I'm using a size 35 needle to knit myself some kind of crazy colorful wrap.


Alone, they were just a boring skein, but together they are kinda sweet!
Speaking of sweet, I found these (new to me) 100 calorie dark chocolate bars at
Trader Joe's They're kinda delicious! They only have a few ingredients (nothing scary) and they even have milk chocolate if you don't like dark. They're a yummy after dinner treat and they don't seem to bother my tummy. But I've also been eyeing Newman's Own cookies- they look like Hydrox or Oreo, only there is PEANUT BUTTER inside! Can you imagine? YUM!

I'm still looking for a pretty dress.This weekend I have an event, which I won't say too much about (in case the honoree is reading this)only that I'm in the process of doing the music and choosing the right thing to wear. This may end up being jeans and a cute shirt at this point!

Well have a great weekend, by the looks of the weather report Fall has snuck up on us! Oh yay!
M

Weekly Doings

I made some Sweet Potato Pie on Monday, this was my first time making it. I may have overloaded the pie tin a little bit. I also tried to make a crust out of oats- but it turned more into a crumble of sorts. But it is still pretty tasty! I used this recipe. I liked that it called for boiling the sweet potatoes with the skin on. Although time consuming to then peel them off, they come off much easier when cooked with your hands, then they do with a peeler when uncooked.



Yesterday, I did a little curtain switch-a-roo. A larger curtain we used to divide a room in our old place- fit perfectly in our kitchen window. Lemons.. The fabric is vintage and I found several yards a year ago at one of my favorite thrift stores. I use it sparingly. For the door window, I used half of an old apron- my mom gave me years ago. There were a few spots so I put some cute little patches over them.

I wonder what the baby will think of this little place we live in. Zach is so easy going he lets me decorate however I want,my little stones, leaves and other special finds. We're both fans of yard sales, thrift stores & the-like, I hope she doesn't mind.





I've been making cuffs to stock in the shop and listing them like crazy! Zach came home with a new longer computer wire for the laptop- so believe it or not I'm more productive now that I can sit comfortably on the couch! I used the recycled flannel pillowcase, this adorable Japanese clothesline and a Lady Player dice flannel. Working with flannel print makes me happy. I've gotten half-a-dozen Joann's coupons in the last week or so, I may have to stop in and get some fleece & flannel. Yum!

As I will still be pregnant in November and possibly the begining of December ( oh Lord) I'll need a proper winter coat.. Anyone have any ideas of an affordable place for a preggo to get a winter coat? I've been thinking about checking my favorite thrifts to look for a fashionable men's coat that I can either alter (i.e. take in, applique, tie a cute belt) or an actual maternity winter coat. But I haven't had any luck yet. I did find a few dresses I'm swooning over, maybe for a shower or fancy schmancy preggo dinner party.


Motherhood Maternity




A Pea in the Pod


Old Navy Maternity

Well have a lovely day. I have some projects to work on and a possible thrift store trip.
xo
M