Grant's Stocking

I have been working on lots of stitching projects lately, and don't have many finished to show off ...

But I did finish Grant's Christmas stocking just in time for the holidays. It is one of the hardest projects I've undertaken. Tons of blended thread, tons of different colors, specialty stitches, beads, and a very small thread count. I think it turned out beautifully, but I won't be doing this pattern again!

Works in Progress

I have two works in progress that I have been diligently plugging away at since January.

The first is truly my "keep from going crazy while sitting around a lot and hugely pregnant" project. I will finish it someday!!! It is a cross stitch version of a Beth Russell needlepoint project. It is a William Morris textile called "The Woodpecker". When it is done, it will be almost two feet tall!

Here's the needlepoint project:

Here's where I am:

The second is Grant's Christmas stocking. I refused to start it until after he was born, so I have a lot of work to do in the next several months! I think it will be so fun when I'm finished ...

Here is what it will look like someday:

Here is where I am today:

Pregnant Me!!!

Matt and I had a picnic down by the "lake" today and we took some photos of me at almost 37 weeks ... it is amazing how big my belly has gotten! It's hard to believe that baby still has a few weeks left of growing to do before we get to meet him.

Our Wonderful Nursery!!!

Matt and I headed to Florida on Christmas day to spend the weekend with his family, and while we were out (think HGTV makeover!) my mom, aunt and sister took over the nursery! The transformation is amazing, and it is so completely wonderful. I love how it is classy, not too cutesy, and just perfect for our little boy!

Matt and I completed the room with the chair rail that was painted and ready to install, but we still need some pictures for the walls. The clothes and toys are already coming and I know there's much more on the way ...

Now we're ready!!! (or at least, the nursery is ...)

Also -- I started a blog for all the baby updates and photos. I'm not going to post anymore here -- you can find them from the link on the left or by going here.

The first step towards the nursery!

We made our first major step towards setting up the nursery ... we bought a crib! No surprise, it is quite traditional:


It is convertible which means it can be a toddler bed and then a full size bed (very practical :) - Matt likes it):

It actually looks very similar to our bed ... hmmm ...

We also bought the trim to put up chair rail! Fun! And I was thinking it would be neat to have black and white photographs of family in there? Not sure on the color scheme yet .. still planning.

It's (going to be) a boy!

We got back from our first ultrasound today and found out we'll be having a boy! We're pretty excited and now it's time to set up the nursery and think about names ...

The baby was covering up its face with his arms, but we got a few shots ...

So much fun to come!

We're Expecting!

I am finally making my long overdue post with the news that we're expecting our first baby in March (March 31st is the EDA right now). We're very excited and I'm already thinking of all of the things to do and to get finished before the arrival of our little one!

My current thoughts for baby projects are a small quilt (for the floor or for the baby's room), maybe a diaper bag (although I am so tempted to get myself a Vera Bradley bag), and paint / decorate the nursery (I'm going with the very popular spring green and white/cream look -- not too themey, but bright colors with turtles and frogs and maybe a duck or two... lots of different patterns - paisleys, stripes, polka dots).

I am also trying to finish up several outstanding projects (a cross stitch stocking, lots of half finished ornaments, etc.). Wish me luck!

Post Script -- I've rethought the color scheme now that Mom and I have started working on a navy and white quilt and we've found out it's a boy ... probably not going with greens and whites, but still not sure what I'm doing!