Welcome Baby Autumn Rose!

Hooray!! Steve's brother Kevin & his wife Jill just had a baby girl and we are proud aunt & uncle again :) Isn't she precious! Can't wait to get back to Wisconsin to meet her!


And check out the baby quilt I've been working on for her. It's almost finished - I still need to tie it, but it's my first quilt and I'm quite proud :)

School's Out for SUMMER!!

Yay!

School is out for the summer. I'll still be working a bit of course - teaching classes which are becoming much more popular and certainly keeping me on my toes. I just wrapped up a Series C class (the most advanced) and was pretty emotional about it. All of the families in that class have taken classes with me for on average once a week for the last 10 months or so. It's been beyond incredible watching their children grow and develop such unique little personalities. They are also signing a ton which is really cool. There are so many moments from that class that I could write about...maybe I just will! (on my new biz blog which you can see HERE)

Anyway, summer for the Schabow's is looking like it's going to be a blast! We're hoping to camp some, we'll be taking a anniversary trip to San Fran, Steve has friends coming out from Wisconsin in early August and a week later my parents and sister are coming out for a trip up to Seattle. Then we finish off the summer with a couple of September weddings. This summer promises to be busy and full of family, friends and fun.

Of course I'll be sewing ;) Here are pictures of the latest projects - both of which are FAR from perfect, but I'm learning every time I make something that's for sure!

This is a cover for my calendar with a pocket inside. I didn't get fancy and had to do a bit of tweaking to get it to fit in the end, but for the first time I'm pleased! Next time I'll adjust a number of things.

Then there are these which I LOVE! My ric rac doesn't poke out evenly at all and my stitching isn't as straight as it could be, but I'm learning (and a bit too impatient to go slow and not make the needle go faster!). These are a gift for Steve's grandma Jean who just had a stroke =(
I hope she likes them and they feel a bit like sunshine napkins or hankies!

Here are the four different fronts (you can see one isn't finished - I've apparently bought Jo Ann out of red ric rac and they are ordering more! once I get more ric rac I'll finish). I love the vintagey look.

they are reversible and this is what the backs look like

Well that's all the excitement for now! Ciao!

Say it ain't SEW...

Yes, it is SO! I have started sewing!! I'm so excited about this new endeavor much to the surprise of many of you (mammaw exclaimed "wow! I guess you're just a late bloomer!"). I had been talking with Steve about buying a machine for awhile, but finally caved and bought a brand new Brother machine from Costco when they put out a mega coupon. So far it's a good little machine!


I wanted to start sewing for lots of reasons. 1) fun 2) to make beautiful things! 3) to make more responsible choices about buying "new" 4) to give handmade, one of a kind, from the heart gifts. So far so good! It's not to say that sewing has been without frustration. I've ripped out more seams than I care to think about but I have made a few cute things and that's been really satisfying! And I never knew how many fabulously beautiful fabrics were out there - I can hardly bear to cut into them! Here are a few of the things I've made so far. I plan to post pictures as I create. Hope you like!

Tag Baby Blanket

Wrap Skirt

Apron

yes I know the pic is crooked - Steve was being "artistic" =)

cute little basket for notions
(I took the picture outside for better light)

And this is the fabulous set of fabric I got yesterday - I've got something fun planned for this!