Category: works in progress

around here

The biggest news around here is that we adopted two kittens! Ziggy and River joined our family this week and we are pretty darn excited. Ziggy is the black one and is so named because his tail is crooked like a zig-zag. River’s full name is River Run so I’m assuming his former owners were Game of Thrones fans. They are both boys and are making us happy. More on this soon!

Around here Liam went through another two ear infections so we finally took him to the ENT. Currently his ears look pretty good and so far no serious damage has been done by his recurring infections, so we are going to do an antibiotic prophylaxis trial. He’ll get antibiotics daily for a month and if he gets an infection despite that, he’ll need tubes.

Around here I have my December album out so I can add to it little by little. I’ve also joined in on a stitchalong for the My Sweetiepie ABC sampler and am really enjoying getting back to cross stitch after a long break.

Around here Meredith is still sleeping in our bed even though we had two successful nights. Her tantrums are kind of bad at the moment so when we get them back under control we’ll try again. We are still really struggling with age 3 (understatement) and for all of you who keep telling me that it gets better at age 4…if I don’t see immediate improvement this July I’m coming for you. ;) Really though, I am holding onto that hope and counting the days, and hoping I don’t do permanent damage to her psyche in the meantime.

Around here I’ve been kept busy by doctor’s appointments, vet appointments, learning about kitten care, keeping my family fed, intense childcare, and frantically trying to make it through our book club book. I haven’t had much time to work on the blog lately (so posts might be totally random), am a bit behind on Project Life, and have hardly made any progress on my monthly goals.

This weekend I have a family reunion, my nephew’s birthday party, and book club. Around here life is a little too full, and I’m struggling to deal in some areas, so I’m evaluating my priorities and hoping to let some things go.

April 24, 2015
things i’m working on

I’m working on Liam’s stocking. It’s progressing very nicely and I don’t think I’ll have a problem finishing this summer.

I’m working on getting 10,000 steps on my Fitbit each day. Without trying, I average 7500, depending on how busy we are at work. So to make my goal, I’ll probably have to add in a walk each evening.

I’m working on upping my pumping output. For me that means more water and timely pumping sessions. What else can I do?

I’m working on potty training Meredith. Actually it’s pretty much done, and it was quick & easy. I’ll share my “secrets” soon.

I’m working on making it halfway through Lonesome Dove (the book) by July 13 for book club. It’s a long one so we broke it up into two parts.

I’m working on waking up earlier. My kids are just really early risers so if I want any time alone in the morning it looks like I have to get up around 5. Kind of a bummer, but I’ve also been sleeping so great since starting whole30, so it’s not too hard.

I’m working on catching up on my podcast queue, and thinking about how I can add audiobooks back into my life.

I’m working on my personal style. I pretty much know what I like but I don’t have the wardrobe yet. Since I’m back down to my regular size I look forward to another closet purge and slowly adding pieces that I love.

I’m working on a letter to my pen pal.

I’m working on coordinating Meredith’s 3rd birthday party. The plan is: family only, local park, evening, a few balloons, a banner, bubbles, grilling, and a big chocolate cake.

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Post idea from Ali Edwards who is inspiring as always.

July 2, 2014
works in progress

Yesterday I shared with you that I’m totally overwhelmed by extra projects, and today I’m going to show you what they are. :)

First of all we have the quilt that I’ve been making forever. I was planning on backing it with plain navy fabric, but I didn’t have enough so I patched together these rows and just threw it together quickly. It’s fine. I think I would have preferred the plain, but oh well. Next steps here are pressing and basting the layers together with the batting. I think I am going to machine quilt the long lines and then hand quilt around each triangle. However, for the moment I’m taking a step back from the quilt to focus on other things.

Like Liam’s stocking! Over the weekend I finished the top including the personalization, which is the most annoying part to do but is also the most special. I am finding that I really love felt needlepoint, and I’d like to make some ornaments and possibly an advent calendar during the fall, so I’m going to try and finish this stocking during the summer.

This is a table runner I’m making for our dresser, tutorial found here. It’s so simple and cute. I want to get this done pretty quickly so I can move on and share some updated photos of that part of our room with you.

Lastly, I was gifted a bunch of flowers: canna lilies, irises, and amaryllis. I’m in the process of clearing out a bed for them, but I think I may have to pot them in the meantime. I’m excited about the prospect of growing flowers but I’m afraid I will kill them!

What are you working on these days?

June 4, 2014
works in progress

I finished the winter sampler I was working on, and now I just need to frame it. I love it a lot.

Also done with my quilt top! It looks okay from a distance, but get up close and you can see how I screwed up with a rookie mistake:

I totally didn’t account for the seam allowance and so the tips of my triangles are cut off. I’m not too bothered by it though, and I learned my lesson! You can see here that I have it marked off for quilting. Yes I am going to hand quilt it. I may regret it but I will be pretty proud when it’s done. :)

I am kind of at a stand-still with the quilt for now until I can get my hands on some batting. Craft supplies aren’t in the budget for now, so I am hoping to come across someone who has some to give away.

Lastly, I started working on Liam’s stocking! I want to tackle this at a slow and relaxed pace instead of rushing to get it done for Christmas. I love felt needleworks projects now, so I’m excited to have it going!

April 23, 2014
works in progress // sick baby edition

Yesterday I kept Liam home sick. I hated to call in to work since it’s only my second week, and he probably technically could have gone to daycare because his temperature was low-grade, but his breathing has been very labored, wheezy, & crackly, he is coughing a lot, and not eating much. My mama gut told me he needed me to hold him so that’s what I did. I didn’t take him to the doctor because I’m pretty sure he has bronchiolitis (usually caused by RSV), which Meredith had around this same age and there isn’t anything they can do for it. Anyway, today my lovely mother-in-law is watching him for me so I can get back to work and hopefully they come to realize that I really am very dependable!

So yesterday while I was home and holding my baby I did a lot of stitching and made some progress on this winter sampler!

I love it. Did I mention it’s my first time stitching on linen and using hand-dyed floss? Loving both. I mostly stitched yesterday since I can do that with a baby in my lap, but I did manage to finish another row on my quilt. Now I have ten! Four more to go!

Let’s be honest though, this is my real work in progress:

I’ve still got a few kinks to work out, but I think he’s coming along nicely, don’t you? :)

April 2, 2014