Pinned It, Did It #3: Embroidered Family Tree & BIG NEWS!!!

It seems like it's been forever since I've written a post -- well, two weeks, but that seems like forever in the Internet age, right?  Or maybe just to busy moms, who get so much accomplished in two weeks they can't believe that only two weeks have passed.  Either way, thanks for sticking around and for reading! 

Today I have my third Pinned It, Did It project to share with you, plus some really big news!

The project is an embroidered family tree:

The pattern is from Cozy Blue, an etsy shop I'd read about in Better Homes & Gardens a few months ago.  It has mine and T.J.'s names in the middle, the date we started our family on one leaf (our wedding day), Nathan's name in another leaf.... and then there's a blank leaf awaiting a name.

You may have figured it out -- this is our big news -- we're expecting baby number two!!!  We couldn't be more happy and excited.  Baby is due in late September and I'm almost 15 weeks along. 

So that's one of the reasons why I haven't been around much lately -- a little exhaustion, a lot to do and some time-consuming sewing projects. (If you follow my Facebook page or Twitter, you already know that my sewing machine has been giving me problems and that's been taking up more time than the actual sewing. But I dropped it off at the shop today, so hopefully I'll be up and running again soon with more Pinned It, Did It projects to share with you.)

So, back to the embroidery. The pattern is fun and easy and works up quickly.  Some of the water-soluble pen has come back, so I need to work on that a bit more and iron and finish the back of the piece.

I really enjoyed the change of pace -- I find embroidery really relaxing.  I've recently pinned some other really cute embroidery projects, most of which I hope to use in the new baby's nursery.  But don't worry, I'll find out the baby's sex before I begin working!

I've been adding more pins lately, including some baby-related pins that I found out have recently sparked some curiosity among my friends (I only announced my pregnancy to the "public" yesterday) -- so please have a look and follow along if you'd like!

Here's today's Instagram (Instagram is a photo-sharing iPhone app, in case you didn't know):

It was my sneak peek of today's announcement.  If you use Instagram, please find me and I'll follow you back!  My username is kellypatla.  I love looking at other people's pictures.  Hope you do, too!

Pinned It, Did It #2: Sewn Dolly & New Sewing Machine

Why hello there!  I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted.  I came down with a nasty cold early last week, which then caused a sinus and ear infection -- and then I unfortunately passed it on to little Nathan.  So we've been doing our best to take it easy while we recover -- and we're still working on the recovery part.

But that doesn't mean all crafting has come to a grinding halt.  If you follow my Facebook page, you know that I bought a sewing machine last Sunday (was it really only a week ago?)... and less than a week later I finished my first real sewing project!  Here it is, my Pinned It, Did It #2: Jingle Baby from the Winter issues of Living Crafts.

It was an easy pattern to sew (even for my first sewing project, and my first non-knitted doll) and I loved seeing this dolly come to life as it became three-dimensional with wool stuffing and then a sweet embroidered face.

If you're looking to make this doll, note that I upsized the pattern a lot.  The instructions say to use a photocopier to enlarge the pattern printed in the magazine by 133 percent.  I already knew that I'd made the doll's head too big at this point, so I enlarged it by 175 percent and it still wasn't big enough.  So I freehanded my own pattern enlargement by another 115 percent -- so the doll is about 13 inches long not including its giant pope-like hat.  (My husband was like, aren't you going to do something about the hat?  :)  Nope.)

If I hadn't enlarged the pattern, this doll would havebeen tiny -- maybe less than 10 inches without the hat and with a miniscule six-inch head circumference.  My masculine doll (LOL) has a hefty eight-inch head circumference.  Also, I didn't attach a jingle bell to the doll's head, either -- I'm in the mood for quiet toys these days.

I'm happy enough with Nathan's semi-luke-warm reaction to the doll -- it was way better than the way he immediately tossed aside my hand-knitted Poppa Owl and his farmer doll the year before that. 

At least he smiled and checked out the details first, and tried holding him like a baby when I asked him if he remembered how to hold a baby.  And then he tossed him to the floor.  The best part is that when I try to hold the baby, he takes him off my chest and moves him to the other end of the couch!  LOL!  I can only wonder what that's about.

Pinned It, Did It! #1

Inspired by Allison at Little Lovelies, I'm starting a series of posts where I share crafts or recipes I've pinned and actually done.  (Thanks, Allison!).  Ever since I'd joined Pinterest I hadn't actually made anything I'd pinned -- or if I did, I just can't remember.  And if you read my last post, you know how badly I'd been neglecting my Pinterest account. But now that that's all straightened out, I'm happy to share my first Pinned It, Did It!

My thanks again go to Allison for this really great embroidery handprint keepsake tutorial.  Is this not the cutest thing you can make to remember your child's cute little hand?  I can't wait to hang it.

I love using coordinating fabrics.  I bought both of these at JoAnn's from the Lisette line.  I'm sorry for not knowing the exact name of each.

This break from knitting to make a project that's fast and rewarding and just different from what I'm used to doing was so refreshing.  I can't wait to complete another pin -- last night I began making my first doll ever (pin).  But if you follow on my Facebook page you already knew that... right?