i literally made this knitting pattern up. that’s how awesome i am. i knew what i wanted it to look like because i saw one just like on miss valerie‘s head. it took me about 20 do-overs to get it just right. good thing it’s small! i think i’ll be selling these in my future etsy shop this winter. : )
here’s what it looks like on my head:
Bryan’s 60gb classic ipod broke a while back and after some saving up and some christmas money, he decided to purchase a 64gb ipod touch. we found out that classic ipods have moving parts in them and that those parts can wear down-thus the ipod breaking. the ipod touch doesn’t have moving parts, so our idea was that this ipod could potentially last a long long time.
i hope i never say “ipod” that many times again. sorry.
the only thing that can be a bit fragile is the screen. so, in light of the fact that bryan will be carrying this new toy around with him everywhere he goes, i thought i’d whip up a case for him to carry it in.
i just used some scrap fabric and batting i had and measured it against the ipod. each piece was about 5″x14″
i got this iron-on set for Christmas and bryan found the awesome chemistry-set-cooking-up-music thing you see above. it’s not as vibrant as i hoped, but still has a cool effect!
this morning i got out of bed at 5:30am. that hasn’t happened for a long while. it didn’t even happen when i was working outside of the home. it certainly hasn’t happened since my office became my laptop.
why can’t every morning be like this? i’m sipping hot chocolate, listing to the Film Score Pandora Station, and writing. I’ll probably pick up my knitting needles later this morning before church, but that’s hours away.
but seriously, i would love if this morning was a reality in my life. oh discipline, why are you beyond me? someday, i will catch you.
have you ever noticed that we tend to make all these wonderful, perfect plans in our heads about our lives, be it day-to-day schedules, or life-long plans, that never seem to be as important, when caught in the moment you haven’t yet brushed your teeth for the day?
i notice that a lot. i had a plan. i wrote it down! it was all there, what happened to the day? why do i still have my pajamas on?
somehow, by God’s grace, no doubt, i still manage to accomplish everything. i still work my three jobs. i still make dinner, or at least, eat something. i still spend time with Bryan. i still get all my ministry stuff done. i still sew and knit and write.
but, at least for me, i’m always stuck on the fact that it could all be more efficient; i could do so much more than i’m currently doing, you know?
i suppose that’s my lot in life, though, being who i am and being gifted with the personality i have. but i can dream, right? i have aspirations, you know.
i want to write. and i want people to read my words. a lot of people.
i want to make things that people enjoy and want to show off. i maybe even want to make a side-income making things.
i want to counsel people on budgeting. i want to help people my age get a grasp on simple things like paying their rent. i want to help money make sense to my generation.
i want to go to college. (your mom goes to college)
i want to take some classes and learn how to do things. like prepare taxes. and quilt. and write (better).
i want to write children’s books, and finance curriculum, and screenplays.
and i really, really want to ride in a hot air balloon.
i’m already feeling overwhelmed by my plans for myself. but i’m not taking a single thing off my list. my dreams may change, and there is nothing wrong with that, it doesn’t mean i’m giving up (i say this more to myself, than you). right now, i want to have these goals. i like hard work, challenging myself, and accomplishing impossible things.
and there you have. aspirations and other things. (see how i cleverly worked in the title, there?)
My brother Mark got me some heavy duty thread for free the other day:
And then I had a dream about doing something like this:
Yes. I do dream in good ideas.
Things you’ll need:
Step #1
From your fun patterned fabrics, cut out 12 (two from each pattern) 12″x12″ squares. Try to get your cuts to line up with the pattern of the fabric. Another helpful tip is to really try hard for exact squares so that all twelve pieces are identical sizes to each other, this will make sewing a lot easier. Here are the fabrics I picked out:
Step #2:
Arrange your fabrics in the pattern of your choice in a 4×3 arrangement. When you love your arrangement, pin it ALL together. It may seem easier to sew the pieces together one at a time, but trust me, it’s way easier to go through the work of pinning it and sewing a few straight lines. Mine looked like this after I got done pinning:
Step #3:
Sew it all together! I started with the two long stretches, then sewed the three shorter stretches. I used a 1/2″ seam allowance to make the measurements easy. When you’re finished sewing the pieces together, hem the edge by 1/2″ as well. The front of your nursing blanket it done! Here’s what mine looks like:
Step #4:
Cut out the backside. I used a plain white solid. If you were exact on all of your 1/2″ seams and your cutting on the 12″x12″ pieces, the backside should measure 45″x34″. But I can never get things perfect so I made sure by simply laying my finished front side on the white fabric and cut around it, leaving 1/2″ allowance on all sides.
Step #5:
Hem the back side by 1/2″. Pin the front to the back, with all of the rough edged facing the inside and sew together the two short side and one long side.
Step #6:
You should have a long edge of your backside fabric. Cut this down to 2″ wide. Fold in half, sew the rough edges together. Flip inside out. Sew a 1/2″ seam on each side to make it look prettier. Cut about 5″ off of that long strip.
Step #7:
On the edge of the blanket that has not bee sewn shut, pull the 5″ piece of strap through the D-rings, and pin it to the edge of the blanket. I placed mine at the halfway point of the middle right square. Pin the longer strap opposite the rings, about halfway on the middle left square. Sew the last edge.
That’s it! You’re done! The last step will probably be to iron the finished project, as you can see I still need to do here:
Here is some proof…
I made a nursing blanket for a dear friend of mine and one of my favorite blog readers, Leah. (Love you, Leah!) Her sweet baby is due June 15th and her baby shower was in West Liberty the other weekend. Leah is the one who designed and helped me so much with my wedding invitations and programs. She’s a graphic designer, so I was inspired by the black and white patterns and solids. I think she liked it. : )
Speaking of Nursing Blankets and dear friends, I also made a nursing blanket for my friend, Paige who just had her SWEET baby girl, Penelope. Penelope was part of my inspiration for the fabric, but mostly, if you know Paige, these girly and “old-womany” (as she would say) fabrics are totally her. I’ll be posting a tutorial soon on how I made the nursing blankets. I’m kind-of a “make-it-up-as-I-go” kind of girl, so no, I didn’t use a pattern or anything.
I’ve been really into Owls lately, and I needed to let it out! So I made an owl pillow. Again, in case you’re wondering-no pattern. I found an owl I liked online, free-handed my own little version in pencil and stitched with yarn onto a very linen-y fabric. Then I measured the fabric and sewed it into a removable pillow cover for a pillow I got at IKEA a while back. Wha-La! Here’s a close up of the CUTE (if I do say so myself) owl!
Five months down and forever to go!
I really, really, really LOVE my husband.
This is at our rehearsal dinner, aren’t we cute? He’s my best friend. He’s been my best friend since we were in high school…when we were dating other people. He’s one of those friends that (still, four years later) calls me everyday, just to tell me a random story or check to see if my day is going well. He’s one of those wonderful people who are easy to talk to all the time. And I get to be with him for the rest of my life! I apologize to all the girls who don’t get the pleasure of being married to the best man ever. Though I’m sure in your disillusion you think your man is the best ever. : )
He’s the Spiritual Leader. As much as I (regretfully) fight for this position in our family, it seems that it’s always him to lead us in prayer. He’s the one who came home one day and said, “We’re giving more to our church.” Despite the small dose of financial hardship we’re currently experiencing (read on for a financial update). And he’s the one who got up at 5:15A.M. yesterday morning for his first men’s group meeting.
He’s the patient one, the kind one, the forgiving one. Why does he always have to apologize so quickly-I didn’t even get a chance to chew him out yet! Why can’t I have a moment to be mad at him? Why doesn’t he ever yell and get raging mad?
He’s my claim to fame. Call me proud but it is just fun to say, “My husband play bass for the Anthem Band.” “Oh, yeah, the red head, that’s you’re husband? Cool!”
This month, our marriage has been a blessing because of him. Thanks, Bryan.
MONTH FIVE UPDATE:
Spiritually
We’re doing alright spiritually. I’ve actually been experiencing some spiritual warfare as well as struggling with several different situations all at once. It wouldn’t be prudent for me to share it all but prayers for protection against the enemy are welcomed.
Bryan just started going to men’s group on Thursday mornings at 6am.
We’re both enjoying our connection group very much! God really blessed us big time with a great leader and 3 other young couples, two newly married and one engaged. It’s such a perfect fit.
Financially
You may have read about the car repairs. Our dreams of making a dent in our debt were further crushed when we found out last Friday that Bryan’s hours were getting cut at the bank. Again, we’re going to be fine financially, but it was a little overwhelming at the time.
To be honest, I’m starting to feel that all of this financial crap has been much more of a blessing then a burden. It sometimes feels like a burden because God’s plan can be harder then my own. But overall, I’m stretching and growing into a more Christ-like LisaGrace and I’m really loving the slightly-new me! God’s plan is always better then my own…
Home-ly
Here’s what I’ve been up to:
Lot’s of work on the machine…
These are some curtains I just whipped together. I need to hem the bottom and their just the back curtains. The front set will match the black and white pillows below.
PILLOWS! I’m pretty proud of these babies.
Just a little wall art.
If you thought I was proud of the pillows, let me TELL you about this little treasure. I did this. Yep, me. I free-handed with bleach and created this! I. am. amazing.
the last couple weeks of july flew by for bryan and i. we spent almost all of our free time packing, moving into my parents garage for a week, cleaning, packing, more packing, more cleaning, then finally moving into our new one-bedroom apartment.
we are so thankful to joel for helping us move some of our stuff into my parents garage, and so thankful for my family helping us move into our apartment. we were able to completely move everything in on friday night, giving us the whole weekend to unpack. we got a lot unpacked, but it’s far from complete. here are some progressive pictures from this past weekend:
some goals for august:
hopefully those goals will meet their completion before the end of this month. but i have a feeling august is going to go really fast!
alsberries 