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This quilt is made from the vintage quilt my grandma gave me about a year ago.  The flowers were already pieced.  I’m appliqueing them onto 12 inch blocks.  So far 11 are finished!  There are 30 total.  Half will be on off-white squares, and half on white squares, and I’m planning on a colored sashing between the blocks (robin’s egg blue?)

Isn’t it going to be so sweet?  I love the vintage colors and prints.

Another view:

Cloth diapers save you money down the line, of course, but if you have looked into buying them you will know that they can be very expensive, costing maybe around $300 to start out with new diapers (a rough estimate.)  Here are some ways to save money that work for me:

-The Gerber prefolds at Wal-Mart work fine.  Sure, I’d prefer 100% cotton, and sure, they will probably fall apart the soonest, but they are cheap, and for now they work fine.  They have withstood 6 months of daily use and at least twice-weekly washing and are no worse for wear.  If you have gift cards from generous friends, you could use them to get these diapers for free.  Mine were given to me by my sister-in-law and my mom. 

-Ditto the Gerber plastic pants at Wal-Mart.  I really don’t like these, but they do work.  They tear in the washing machine eventually, but they are cheap.  I use them as “fillers” while I am building up my collection of higher quality, more expensive diaper covers.

-Check thrift stores, Craigslist, and Ebay often for used diapers.  My in-laws found a stash of 6 amazing diapers & 2 covers for me at Goodwill.  I use these for night time, because they are the most absorbent and leak-proof -more so than disposables!  They seemed in brand new condition -retailing for over $100.  I saw a couple of cloth swim diaper covers at my local thrift store a while ago.  I am kicking myself for not buying them.  Probably could have gotten them for fifty cents.

-Don’t be picky.  Truth be told, Abraham regularly wears several pink diaper covers.  They were free from my sister-in-law who has two girls.  I don’t care -no one sees them anyway because they’re under his clothes!

-Make your own diapers and diaper covers.  There are a few nice free diaper patterns available online.  Here are some tips:

-You can buy PUL (polyurethane laminate) fabric (standard fabric for diaper covers -very sturdy, unlike vinyl) at Jo-Ann’s (it is on their website -might not be in some stores.)  It is priced $10/yd, which is a typical price, but if you get on their mailing list you will be bombarded with more coupons than you know what to do with.  Most are 40% off any item, meaning that PUL fabric would cost $6/yd.

-You can buy Aplix velcro and/or snaps online too.  I am very happy with the snaps and snap setter I bought at snapsource.com.

-My diaper covers were leaking a bit because the cotton side was wicking pee to the outside of the diaper and onto the clothes.  To solve the problem, I cut an old shower curtain into strips, and sewed the strips around the outside of the diaper cover like a bias binding.  Probably won’t last forever, but it was free and has lasted a few months so far.

-Make one diaper cover at a time and test it (including washing it) before making the rest.  If you have problems, look for solutions online before giving up.

-You can also make felted wool “soakers” out of old wool sweaters -very cheap.  I made some and liked them but ultimately opted for the PUL covers instead because I was frustrated with how long they took to dry.

-If you don’t want to buy prefolds, you can make your own (or fitted diapers) out of old towels and clothes.

I would love to have big stash of store-bought cloth diapers.  There are some really great ones out there.  I love the ones that my in-laws found at the thrift store (Motherease.)  But in the end, a cloth diaper is very simple.  It consists of an absorbant inner layer and a waterproof outer layer.  I think a lot of mamas who want to do cloth diapers make things a little too complicated, worrying and obsessing over different brands and spending more money than they need to, or get overwhelmed by all of the different options or discouraged by the cost.  In the end, they’re just diapers -not miracle-workers.  They’re all basically the same.  Leaks happen with all of them, even with disposables.

To end this post, here are a few pictures of Abraham wearing a prefold with PUL diaper cover I made.  It has snaps, and has the old shower curtain “binding.”  It’s not perfect, but it works!  And I think it’s cute

Many of her books are available online.  Here are some excerpts to clue you in as to why I love them.

“Patricia Merrill, richly clad in gray duvetyne with moleskin trimmings, soft shod in gray suede boots, came slowly down the stairs from the third story, fastening her glove as she went.  The top button was refractory and she paused in the middle of the stairs to give it her undivided attention.  The light from the great ground-glass skylight gave a vivid touch to the knot of coral velvet in her little moleskin toque. “   -opening paragraph from The Tryst, 1921

“There had been a whole year of preparation: spinning and weaving and fine sewing.  The smooth white linen lay ready, packed between rose leaves and lavender.  There had been yards and yards of tatting and embroidery made by the two girls for the trousseau, and the village dressmaker had spent days at the house, cutting, fitting, shirring, till now there was a goodly array of gorgeous apparel piled high upon the bed, and chairs, and hanging in the closets of the great spare bedroom.”  -description of a bride’s trousseau in Marcia Schuyler, 1908

The details really make these books.  And they’re not just about clothes and sewing -there are just as many details about housekeeping and cooking.  I love reading about the old-fashioned homemaking practices.  The vocabulary is often difficult because many words are obsolete (duvetyne?).  Looking them up is a treat.

The plots are pretty simplistic usually, but the books are downright inspiring.  Most make me want to sew.  The Honor Girl sent me on a cleaning frenzy. I love how the books remind me of the value of a beautiful, cozy home, good food, and good company.

I recommend these books to the homemaker who loves her job.

Oh, but usually the cover art makes me feel embarrassed at the library.  lol.

I remember when I first saw him, I thought he looked very cute and seemed unique in the best way, and I wanted him to ask me out..

We both had classes in the JFSB and soon each realized that the other could often be found there.  Little did we know that we were both going there as often as possible to check each other out.  After going on one date I got up the guts to talk to him there.  I asked him his last name with the sole purpose of making sure it went well with my first name.  I was very pleased with the name Shannon. 

In that small moment when we were married, I was so happy.  I was overwhelmed with how much God had blessed me: to be married to this man who loves and honors me and will forever.

Our marriage in ascending numbers:

1 baby
1 beard
1 car
1 brief stint as a salesman
2 degrees (going on 4)
3 apartments (well, almost)
3 car windshields (one being put in today!)
3 dining tables
4 jobs
4 months unemployed
6 road trips
6 church callings

I may come back and add to this list.  I must consult with Samuel.

Though these photos would not tell you, I actually have taken two photography classes and know all about proper lighting, composition, etc.  Someday I will have an SLR digital camera and/or a brighter apartment and my pictures will all be pretty.  But for now you are stuck with either an ugly flash glare, or a blurry baby.

It is a family tradition to make this dish for brunch following an easter egg hunt.  It’s an excellent way to use up all the hard boiled easter eggs that would otherwise sit in the fridge and rot.  Essentially it is a milk gravy with chopped hard boiled eggs in it, served over toast.  NOT BISCUITS -Toast.  Biscuits are too fluffy -you need the crunchy, chewy texture of the toast.  Any kind of toast will do -regular sandwich bread, sourdough, rye, pumpernickle, just as long as it is a sliced loaf, and toasted.

Here’s the recipe:

You need:
2-3 eggs per person
2 slices of toasted bread per person
2Tbs butter per person
2Tbs flour per person
milk
salt and pepper

First, boil your eggs.  I use 2-3 eggs per person, but it does not matter.  The more eggs, the better, though.  To boil eggs, place them gently in a pot.  Cover them with water.  Put pot on the stove on “high”.  When it is boiling rapidly, set a timer for 13 minutes.  After 13 minutes, take the pot off the stove and put it under the tap.  Let cold water run into the pot and overflow until the water is no longer hot.  Let the eggs sit in the water until cool enough to peel.

While your eggs are boiling, make the gravy.  Melt 2Tbs butter per person in a skillet.  Add an equal amount of white flour and stir with a whisk.  Pour in some milk and stir until smooth.  Adjust stove temp to “medium”.  When the gravy becomes thick, thin it out with a little more milk.  You will do this several times.  Maybe 1/3-1/2 cup at a time, until it stops thickening and is the right consistency.  Salt and pepper to taste.

When the gravy is done, chop the eggs up and put into the gravy.  Stir and pour over toast.  For children, break the toast into bite-size pieces first.  I still eat it this way sometimes

Serve with orange juice or grapefruit juice.

I have:

11 pieced blocks
10 partially pieced blocks
10 cut sets (to make ten blocks)
plenty of cut muslin
plenty of cut gold squares for the centers
plastic templates if you want to cut out other fabric
original instructions from a quilting magazine

All of this is enough to make another cute scrappy pinwheel quilt (or two?) minus the batting, backing, and binding.  So if any of my readers are interested in making a quilt like mine, leave a comment.  I’ll close the giveaway and randomly select the winner on next Monday, 7:00pm central time.

This is a good quilt for a beginner (my first quilt ever!) so don’t be scared.  Also, all of the cutting and some of the piecing is already done!  So you would have a head start!

Leave a comment and maybe you’ll win

I love these cute overalls for a few reasons, and those reasons also articulate my opinions on baby clothes.  Yes, this post is about baby clothes, and yes, I am a mama geek.  Read at your own risk.

1. roomy.  all baby clothes should be roomy enough for lots of wiggling and squirming.  it helps if they fit over a cloth diaper, too.

2. soft.  although these are denim, and lots of the denim baby clothes i’ve come across in the past are really stiff and uncomfy, these are pretty soft, and they are lined in a very soft cotton.

3. gender neutral.  i am surprised that these overalls don’t have some kind of “boy” symbol embroidered on them.  most baby clothes do have something like that.  i don’t like that because it makes the garment less useful as a hand-me-down.  put these overalls with a pink onesie, a flower headband, and pink socks, and what have you got?  a girly outfit.  but on Abraham, with a brown striped onesie, it’s as manly as can be. 

4. easy diaper access.  these overalls have snaps at the crotch.  very necessay.

Many thanks to my friends the Chandlers who gave Abraham these awesome overalls!