Still sewing

My last two Warehouse Fabrics Inc. posts include:

A spacious yoga mat bag, pattern courtesy Sew4Home.



And relaxing neck pillows, also from the same site.



I also finished a baby sweater that needs blocking and started quilting the quilt made of vintage linens that I started a year ago. On top of that, I've been working on some crewel and regular embroidery projects and starting a new knitting project, so I'm keeping busy. I just have few things to show for it right now.

Itty-bitty sweater, itty-bitty cat

I wanted to show you my latest finished project, but Roady is keeping it a secret for now. Tomorrow, perhaps.

Somewhere new

I recently went to Salt Lake City with my husband. He had business to attend to, and I just tagged along because I'd never been to Utah. Luckily, the weather wasn't bad. I think I would have panicked had there been snow and ice everywhere.



We went to Temple Square, which is, I think, pretty much what you do when you visit Salt Lake. And it's about all we had time for besides Mark's work.



Don't even think he was really able to withstand the cold. He was freezing, but wanted to pose without his coat. I withstood it much better thanks to being overheated and pregnant.

Outside the downtown Marriott, there's an ice skating rink. Nobody was on it except the Zamboni, but it sure was pretty. Messing around on slippery surfaces is probably not a good idea in my "delicate condition," so I passed. I did get to finally wear my Argyle Lace knit hat with vintage buttons.



Temple square is beautiful. We didn't got bothered at all by people trying to convert us to Mormonism, and all of the people there were unbelievably nice.



Just a quick jaunt and we were home again. Mark is so impressed by the mountains there, and I must agree they are bigger, more extensive and very white with snow. But I think I still love our good ol' Sandia mountains more. I think it's because in Salt Lake there was always a grayness that hindered the view of them and in Albuquerque, the skies are usually bright blue and in a lovely contrast to the mountains.

We're having ...

...a bouncy baby unicorn!



Not really, but I thought it was a creepy funny picture. Unicorns are mythical, after all.

That's actually part of the placenta that got picked up by the sound waves.

Mark: "Is the baby part unicorn?"
Doctor: "Do unicorns run in either of your families?"

Anyway, we're having a baby boy and he is developing beautifully. He has a nice, strong heart, and all of his organs look good. He has no "markers" for Down syndrome either.

The 3-D photos are very weird looking, if you've never seen one before. At the same time, whoa! you can really see this boy! I'll spare you the ultrasound pics that point out his peepee. In the picture above, it looks like he's looking at us, but his eyes are closed. It's just an illusion. The U/S actually looks at cross sections, so it may be seeing the eye underneath the eyelid. Weird, eh?

Here's a non-unicorn picture:



We were kind of hoping for a girl, and I swear that everybody I knew "felt" we were having a girl, so it was kind of a surprise when they said he was a boy. But I was also surprised by how tiny the twinge of disappointment was and how instantaneously it was swallowed up by a surge of happiness over my little son.

It really takes everything to a new level, like this little "it" baby is now more of a real person to me. And Mark got to see the ultrasound in progress for the first time, so it was amazing for him.

It was an emotional, overwhelming day, but in a good way. I kept bursting into tears -- yep, stoic ol' Robyn didn't have it together at all today. It was very hard going to straight to work after when I really needed some time to absorb the whole day. Such big news, and good news. I'm so thankful this baby appears healthy so far, especially when I see posts daily on babycenter.com by devastated mothers whose babies are suddenly dead or have terrible birth defects that may kill them.

I'll count my blessings any old way I can!

The major concerns in life

I'm starting to have some sympathy for men with beer bellies.

I had trouble putting socks on today, and it took quite a bit of grunting and gasping to do it. It rather hurt, squishing my belly enough to reach my feet. I am wondering: do I need to hire someone to put my socks and shoes on for me in a few months? How will this work when it's really big? Does an actual beer belly not hurt when you bend because it's just, well, fat?

Most importantly: How in the world will I get pee samples at the OB visits when my belly is humongous? Don't they know how hard it is for women to give pee samples as it is?

And why are the cats' feet only capable of landing on my very sore boobs OR my uterus? There are lots of other parts to my body that are still perfectly normal.

The adventures never end, friends. But I must say that now that I feel so much better (not like this at all anymore), I am actually enjoying all the strange things happening to me. This includes feeling some little flutters and "pops" when the baby moves.

A few cutesy projects

I have been a bit behind on blogging. And sewing.

I have made a few cute things for the Warehouse Fabrics Inc. blog recently. One is this gadget case (for cell phones, iPods, etc.), requested by a co-worker.



It has a little clasp so you can open up the strap and hook it around something, and it's fully lined.

The other is a reversible, gathered apron. I love the fabrics for this one.



On the back, it's the opposite of what you see here.

Both have full tutorials, if anybody is interested in a weekend project or two!

36

Tomorrow is my birthday! And so it's also the Super Bowl. Guess which one gets more attention?

That's OK. I have had lots of fun festivities so far. Yesterday, my husband took me to nearby Sandia Resort and Casino for a spa day, dinner and a night away.

We got an awesome suite



With a huge bathroom



And living room



And, if you're from somewhere lush and have no appreciation for the desert, I say to you, have you looked out a window upon a vista like this?



Granted, there's a golf course down there. And it's not green because it's winter.

And, at 17-almost-18-weeks, my belly is growing fast



And Mark's is shrinking as a result of his diet (over 20 pounds so far!)

I won! (nursing talk)

I feel like I never win things. But now I did! There's a fun site called Today's Give Away where cool stuff is offered each day. You have a chance to make several entries, depending on how many hoops you're willing to jump through. (And it's all kinds of things, not just baby related)





I won the Baby Bond coverup. It's basically a cover with a little hole that allows you to breast-feed without having your boob exposed or your baby covered by a blanket. Supposedly, the point is to be able to gaze into the eyes and bond with your baby. But also, a blanket can fall off, leaving you exposed.





I have to admit, I'd feel a little weird being even this exposed while nursing, but who knows, maybe I'll get over it! I'm just excited to win something!


I also found a code for Udder Covers where you get a free $32 cover for the cost of shipping if you enter code "cranberry2." The Udder Cover (funny name!) is more of a drape, but has something to keep it in place.