Nesting is in full gear!

So I hit my 36 week mark and have just one more week until this kid is considered full term. Honestly, by the way I'm looking, I'd say this babe is cooked. But that is just her mother's opinion...which I think is fairly valid considering I am walking (er, waddling) around carrying a bowling ball (who gains an ounce every day!) everywhere I go.

 A picture of me at 33 weeks. Dear goodness...

So since I'm at 36 weeks I think I hit my nesting point. For example, Colin and I hit up Home Depot on Thursday morning. We came out pushing two full carts of plants, planters, potting soil, a ceiling fan and more, yes more paint supplies. I put myself to work planting hydrangeas, a new planter of herbs and a mum that although I believe is seasonal, refused to die and therefore I have decided to try and relocate it to a new home for the summer. Hopefully it'll survive better than the two gardenias and boxwood that keeled over this spring. 

A few rows of corn, tomatoes, carrots, basil & onions. Whenever Cheddar gets thrown outside she retaliates by eating the corn leaves. This may explain why the onions and basil are sporting a trampled look. 

Encouraged by my friend Peyton at Peyt's Island, I decided to try my hand at herbs again. After the first planter did so well this spring I decided to add another planter. The parsley and rosemary look like they're on steroids. As much as I hate throwing away herbs, I have to keep them from overtaking the smaller plants! 

Moving to the inside, we are almost finished with the baby's room. Tired of painting and with one room to go, I picked out one sample color and decided it was good enough. Since I doubt our kid is going to have issues later on regarding the paint color or her room as a baby, we decided to go with that color. It's a pretty pale, lime green which will go nicely with the sea coral curtains and crib skirt my mom is putting together. Since the room does not have a closet we bought an armoire from Pottery Barn to double as a closet and dresser. Seriously, this kid is well on her way to a fancier wardrobe than me, or even her Aunt Courtney...which is really saying something:

Based upon the recommendations of several friends we purchased a Babi Italia crib. I am already in love with it. 

Baby still has a quilt in the making but if its anything like the one below, she may reach her first birthday before it's finished. I started this butterfly quilt during the hurricane last year and just finished it up a few weeks ago. I'm great at starting projects. Terrible at finishing them. 

That's it for now. We have a few more small projects on tap and hope we can accomplish those sooner than later. Between work and school, Colin and I are staying busy right up until D-day!

Baby Season = Baby Gifts

It seems like it's baby season around here. Ever since I took up quilting I've found myself trying to "make" something for my expectant mommy friends. One (or three) thing I figured out in Guam was:

a) it's a freakin' baby factory

b) baby showers had the frequency of happy hours (mostly because it's an excuse to have a party) 

c) it was very difficult to find an original gift when your shopping options are limited to the BX and NEX. 

So of course I started to wish I had the ability to make unique baby gifts that the mother could actually use. So fast forward to this year when I finally learned how to sew. One thing my sister warned me about when making a quilt for a friend was to never promise a finish date. Well that just confirms I am a slow learner. Because the following two quilts were made in a combined total of four days. I'm the queen of procrastination but I promised (really, myself more than anyone) I would get these done in time for a baby shower and Thanksgiving. The first one was made for my friend Mary who is expecting a baby girl next month. It was my first time trying applique and while a bit time consuming, I think I'll get better at it and therefore I can venture into names or at least initials soon!

The next quilt has been in the works (ie: my head) for months. My dear friend and former Guam neighbor Julie is having a baby girl next month as well. I called her up a few months ago to let her know that I wanted to make her daughter a quilt. Based on her plans for the baby room I picked out some fabulous Moda and Michael Miller fabrics along with an adorable shabby-chic-esque pattern. In my usual ways I started it but didn't get serious about it until about two days before we were headed down to North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with Julie and her family. Yikes! Since I just don't trust the post office with a hand made piece like this I was determined to hand carry it with me for the occasion. Fortunately when I get working on something I can't stop and I guess that worked in my favor last week. I finished it up the morning we left and whew! It's done! It was my second attempt at machine quilting (sewing patterned lines throughout the quilt instead of tying little knots over the span of the quilt, like the first one) and while it takes twice as much time to do, I think the effect is fabulous!

I think I'm going to take a short break on quilts for now but I am sure it won't be long before my mind is conjuring up another creation.