Brockamania

I put a sewing project below, so I feel I'm entitled to post a few proud mama pictures of my little Brockster. He's 9 months and a week old.





He's a wonderful, happy little boy with really cute hair.



He's not to eager to get mobile. Well, I think he wants to, but he gets frustrated and doesn't want to try too hard. That sounds kind of like me with most things.


(acorn storage)

Boy does this kid smile!







I can't believe he's going to be a year in just a few months. Unbelievable!

Cut-chenille blanket

I recently came across this beautiful blanket and its tutorial. I thought to myself: "I only have two part-time jobs, a baby and a home to care for. I'm so bored that I should totally do this."



It's not really a cheap project, or a fast one. That's because you need a yard of quilters cotton and three yards of flannel.

I started with these fabrics. I am not one for peace signs, but I knew you couldn't see them in the end result, and I like that they had the chartreuse color.



The basic idea is that you layer all of these together, channel quilt every 1/2 inch and then cut through only the flannel.







Then you bind and wash. The washing fluffs and frays the flannel into beautiful chenille. See the lovely tutorial at Aesthetic Nest for more detail on the how-to. Hers was so beautiful, I had to try it. I thought it would be a fairly easy project, but it did take quite a lot of work, so I don't think I'd do another.



Instead of doing a square, I left mine as a rectangle to utilize more of my fabric. I'm glad I did, because it was pretty wonky by the time I finished all the channel stitching, and I had to cut off quite a bit to square it up.



Although I loved Aesthetic Nest's beautiful satin binding, I decided to go with a cotton in a chartreuse that matched the blanket. I'm loving the effect.

As much as I want to stare at this forever, I have decided to give it to Amy "Chickenbone Jones," who is having her second baby in June (I think! I know a lot of pregnant people right now and I'm starting to lose track of due dates.)



I hope Amy doesn't see this, but if she does, it will be there eventually. I am pretty lazy about visiting the post office. She doesn't know the sex of her baby, but I think this blanket would be fine for either a girl or a boy, despite it being blue.

Just for fun, here's the quilt I made for Mia, her first.

Grandma update

Just a quick update on my grandma (previous pots can be found here and here): I mentioned that she was really out of it mentally. I feared she'd never return to the grandma I knew. But after some medication, she's much better. She knows who we are, and she speaks English again. And she LOVES her quilt, which makes me so happy!

Playing tag

Baby tag blankets are a quick and easy project, and they are a nice way to use up scraps.

The only thing is, the ribbon can get pricey if you don't have scraps of that on hand. And I never seem to have the right colors.



I am making shopping cart covers for me and a friend, and I used leftover scraps from that for this project.



The back is fleece. I used different colored, sized and textured ribbons, along with rick-rack. I made it small for little hands to handle.

He seems to like it.



I remember when I was little and would take a nap and my mom would sew up a present for me.

Puzzling

I came across this website where I guess you can make an online puzzle out of an image and then put it together on the computer. Well, lo and behold, one of the puzzle options is a picture of a purse I made and hand embroidered.



(click)

Only the site isn't really working for me. I just thought it rather odd because I never knew these puzzles existed until last night, then I happened across this quite by accident, not looking for puzzles. Just weird.

This is it on the top right. Oh, and the pot holders below that are mine, too.

Grandma's quilt

I told you all recently that my 89-year-old grandma fell and broke her hip. Until then, she was in excellent health and lived independently. She was still mostly herself through the hospital and rehab stay, then went to stay with my uncle. Apparently, she got some sort of sundowner's issue at night and was very difficult to deal with. This week, she got out of bed (she wasn't supposed to walk on her own) and fell in the middle of the night. She fractured her femur, ended up in surgery and back in the hospital. At that point, her mind kind of went. She has expressed that she's ready to die and she has reverted to mostly speaking Spanish and not really knowing what is going on. It's pretty awful.

In the meantime, I had decided to make this quilt for her. Unfortunately, now that it's done, I'm not sure she'll understand who I am or that I made it for her. But I do hope that it will brighten her days, few as they may be, at the rehab center. It is unlikely she will ever live away from professional care again.

Anyway, sorry for the downer story, but here's the quilt. I used one Moda Dream On Charm Pack for the front, sashed with yellow. I had a second charm pack and used four squares of that one, one at each corner. And I bought one yard of fabric for the green border, which is from the same line.



I do worry that the yellow sort of washes out the squares, but yellow is my favorite color. As far as I'm concerned, the world can't be too bright and cheery.



For the back, I decided to do something pretty (not just a solid fabric) because I had that second Charm Pack. So I did some lines and used white around them. The white shows off the squares a little better. I used a bright green for the binding.

I stippled this quilt, because I love the texture that it gives. Then I washed it to get an even nicer, puckery texture.

Too small for his britches

I recently went a little bonkers sewing baby pants. Actually, these pants from "Simple Sewing for Baby" are really quick and easy. They are one size, though, and too big yet for Brock at 8 months.



I got all of these cute fabrics from Hip Stitch, an Albuquerque fabric boutique and sewing lounge that is altogether awesome.



I added rick rack to the bottoms as a cute touch, and I think it made them 10 times more adorable.





This book is full of easy and cute ideas. I think some of them will make great gifts, too!



It felt good to put a dent in my to-do list. I went a little overboard planning projects that I don't have time for!

On another note, I'm almost done with the quilt I'm making for my Grandma. Unfortunately, she fell again the other day and broke another bone. She isn't doing well and I fear I may not finish it in time to give to her, but I'm hoping for the best.

Who is this young man?

And where has my baby gone? He's 8 months and a week, but in some of these pictures he looks like a little boy instead of a baby.

New and improved!

Hi everyone! After a good year and a half of neglect, I have updated my blog a little bit.

I have added "pages" up at the top for easy access to some of my favorite things. Many of those topics also remain on the sidebar for the time being. I think the saddest part is that there aren't comments on the pages, as opposed to posts, so where will the religious nuts leave their brave, anonymous hate messages to me?

One of the pages has my sewing/needlework projects. It's a time consuming process, so I have only managed to make it back through 2009. I'll add the ones before that eventually.

Anyway, I hope this makes Additional Jesus so exciting that you can't wait to check back for more! I should also add that I have been on a roll when it comes to crafting. During my pregnancy and Brock's early months, I just didn't have time or motivation. But now, well, LOOK OUT!

A wee quilt for my wee boy

I recently mentioned that I was visiting Emily's blog and spotted her cute kid's quilt made from Moda charm packs. It made me miss quilting, and it seemed like a quick and easy project that I was willing to take on.

I grabbed a couple of Max & Whiskers charm packs from Basic Grey for Moda and ordered 1-1/2 yards of one of the fabrics for the backing. I used 1/2 yard of another fabric for the binding, though that was cutting it close.

Here is the front:



Here is the back:



Close up of some of the fabrics. No, my corners don't always line up, but I try really hard.



I had an embroidered quilt tag made by esty.com seller From the Heart Creations. She was great about working with me to create a label that fit his full name.



This got me excited about quilting. I've already started on another charm pack quilt, this one with sashing. It's using the Dream On collection and has a vintage sheets feel to it. I'm already on my way with that one, so I'll have pics soon. I'm not sure who it's for yet. I guess I'll see how big it turns out and decide if it's a baby quilt or a lap quilt.

Bad hair days

It seems that on Additional Jesus, when it rains posts, it pours posts. I guess that's not bad after the drought this blog has been suffering. I get a few minutes and get to writing.

So, Brock is well-known for his crazy hair. He's got quite a puff on his head. Or, he did. I thought it was getting a bit out of hand, so I wanted to get his hair cut.



But Mark thought that was a waste of money. So when I was at work one night, he cut it himself. How hard can it be, right? You just cut straight across the bangs, right? And it looks good, right?



Um. Oops.

He looked super-dorky, you guys. I noticed it the next day when I got up. I couldn't stop laughing at him. It was crooked and had long pieces that were missed entirely. Oh, Lordy. I tried to fix it up, and for the most part did.

This is after a little work, but still dorky:



It doesn't look like my kid to me!!

But a little mousse and a comb, and he's stylin.



And fat. Did I mention FAT? I'm so proud. He gets those thighs from me!



That's Brock at 7 months.

A gift for my Brocky Boy

I was visiting Emily's blog, So Much for My Plans, and saw this adorable quilt that she made. I hope she doesn't mind that I posted it here.



It appeals to me because my sewing time is limited and it's just made with a charm pack, or pre-cut squares. No cutting = saving a lot of time. It's simple and beautiful. And I'm a copy cat, so I'm making one for Brock as a gift, maybe for his first birthday.

I'm using the Max & Whiskers collection from Moda.



I'll keep you posted! I'm excitedly watching the mailbox for my fabrics.

The new American Idol: Mark?

Yes, we are unabashed American Idol fans. I told myself I was done with it, though. After all the judge swaps, I wasn't sure I'd like it. Plus, it is so many hours a week of watching time, I felt I wouldn't have time with the baby and working evenings three nights a week.

But here I am.

There's a kid named Robbie Rosen, and every time I see him, I say, "Mark! It's you when you were younger!"

So, here you go. See for yourself.

My new-but-really-old Singer

I have a new family member to introduce you to! It's my new Singer, which is older than I am.



I got it from eBay Singerman12, who fully refurbishes and tests the machines he sells. It's adorable and tiny and extremely heavy. That's because it is made of all metal, in a they-sure-don't-make-'em-like-the-used-to kind of way.



It's an industrial strength machine, which means it can handle thick, heavy fabric in a way my Kenmore can't.



It's basic. It can only do a straight stitch. It came with lots of presser feet to do gathering, piping, zippers, etc., but no zig-zag, overcast or blind hem. But that's fine, because I can use my Kenmore for that. I was having some trouble doing free-motion quilting because the fabric was catching on the face plate. Then I noticed the metal was all chewed up, I guess from the needle striking it. The sewing machine repair shop said it was from sewing too-heavy fabric and forcing it through, thus bending the needle slightly out of whack.

Now I can get my Kenmore fixed up and use my Singer for heavy-duty work!