lounging around

Here is my handsome model in his tractor lounge pants:And here is the complete set (minus the Christmas pair, which I won't post until the recipient gets to see them):

omg, I made it!

I made a shirt! I did it! I did it!

I don't have pictures because my camera is in Daddy-B's car today.

But, I made a shirt for lil' b! My first ever attempt at buttonholes was a success! I can't wait to show you pictures of that and the other baby quilt I finished up last week.

We have a sort of tradition in my family of getting matching shirts for the guys. Daddy-B, PopPop, and my brother-in-law get matching shirts each Christmas, always Hawaiian style. Last year, my mom scoured the internet to find a Hawaiian shirt that would fit everyone from PopPop to lil' b. It was a huge effort. So I thought, if I could learn how to make a shirt, then I could just scavenge the material from a spare XXL and make lil' b's matching shirt each year. And I learned how to do it! I am so psyched! Now it's a matter of figuring out how to scavenge the fabric from an already made shirt. Then my next dream is to make everyone Christmas lounge pants... you know, for opening gifts together.

I'm also working on a vest for my mom. She swears that if I can do it easily, she'll have me teach her and actually make vests for herself. I'll believe this bit of craft-related storytelling when I see it... she has started and given up more craft ideas that I can count. I keep thinking, this will be the art that sticks! And I keep being wrong. ;) Her vest is halfway finished, I just need to go get the lining.

I did wind up finishing one white ankle sock for lil' b. I didn't like how it looked, plus it was too small, so I pitched that. And in my spare time I'm working away on my mock Fair Isle socks. Those will be a Christmas gift for mom. Christmas gifts!! It's time to start working on those, too!

girls, girls, girls

So in addition to this blanket:

(in detail)

I've THREE pink and white projects coming up! Everyone is expecting a little girl this year! The one pictured above, sent and sold to Angela, is called Cotton Candy. I really loved how it turned out, it was almost as though there were patterns within patterns on it, and it seemed very light for its size.

So as I mentioned before, I'm working on Candy Kiss right now, that's a piece for a friend, and then I have to choose another two patterns - one of which will be a gift for my little guy's favorite daycare teacher, she's expecting her first daughter in November.

I wish my hands could work faster, I have so many projects I'd like to do. Just last month I finally finished my 1' x 4' framed wine cork board, and I've already gotten a ton of requests for cork boards like it. This weekend the fam went to the local summer festival, where we spotted some great deals on frames, so I can at least make a couple of those. And then of course I'm still hoping to make some lounge pants for my son, and if that works, I'll take on the rest of the guys in our family. Every guy needs comfy pants.

Daddy-B started our Christmas ice wine this weekend too, which will yield thirty hostess gifts. I need to start thinking on a name for it.

And I also need to put some thought into a name for this year's fantasy football team... Hmmm...