Together Again!

Lucius is finally home! Now the twins are back together and things are as they should be.

Creativity Runs in the Family

Some families are full of musical talent, others have athletic prowess, but when I think about the family I came from, I think we have a creative bent. The only musical thing about me is my name, and my athletic ability is lacking, but I like to think I am creative.

Here is my grand-daughter, in the doll cradle my grandfather made for me when I was a little girl. So to her, her great-great-grandfather made the cradle she is in. She is such a tiny thing, this is a doll cradle, not a baby cradle.

DD#3 got a package from my mother today. Here are some hooded sweaters she made for the twins, lavender for Serenity, green for Lucius.

Serenity got a bonus sweater set, and this one is my favorite :-)

An afghan for Lucius.

And one for Serenity. All of these were made by my mother, so their great-grandmother.

I told my sister we hadn't been able to find a hat that would stay in Serenity's tiny head, so she whipped one up and mailed it.

My mother knitted four more preemie hats for them too.

So just in these few things, the twins' great-great grandfather, great grandmother, and great aunt all passed on bits of creativity to them. The family doesn't all have the same hobbies, my grandfather (the one who made the cradle) made a lot of clocks, my mother is an amazing seamstress, and knits and crochets a lot. My Dad does some woodworking, both of my sisters crochet, and one especially likes to make dolls, but they do other crafts as well. My passion is obviously quilting, but what will happen in the generations after me? What will my kids pick up as hobbies? What will my grandchildren do? The creativity genes are there, what will they do with them?

When I seriously began quilting, and my other hobbies fell by the wayside, I started to find out there were other quilters in the family that I knew nothing about. Evidently, some of my great aunts (on my dad's side) liked to quilt, mainly with wool to make very warm bedcoverings. Also my grandmother (on my mother's side) made a few quilts, all appliqued, which I never knew and I don't think I ever saw. It's funny how some things about your family you never find out, until someone finally thinks to mention it.

*In case anyone is wondering, Lucius is still in the hospital, but he's doing well, and we're hoping he gets to come home soon.

Painful?

I made this quilt top out of some orphan blocks, 3", 4", and 6". I thought I was being resourceful and creative, but DH says it's painful to look at. Is it really that bad? Most of the fabric is flannel, and I was thinking it would make a good floor quilt for a baby. Surely babies are not so critical. It really is flat, but I hung it up over another quilt in progress that is pinned to the design wall on the door.

I am only in quilt top mode right now, I don't really have a lot of time to quilt, and just finishing up some quilt tops sounds good to me. I have two denim/flannel quilts in rows, just waiting to be sewn together into quilt centers. Actually, at least one of these I am planning on making without borders, so once the rows of that one are together the top will be done.

I did a final count of swaddling blankets, I made 16, at 2 1/2 yards per blanket, that means I've used 40 yards of fabric so far this year. Not bad for still being January! Now if I just get those curtains made for the nursery, that will be five or so more yards used.

Yes, More Baby Pictures ;-)

I couldn't decide which picture of Lucius was better, this one or the next one, so you get both. His eyes are still a bit swollen from all the stuff that was on him earlier, but at least now we have a good idea of what he looks like.

Lucius is almost off of oxygen, so we're hoping he'll be home in the next couple of days. I know his Mommy, Daddy, and sister will be especially glad to have him home.

I was giving Serenity a bath, and as normal for newborns, she wasn't sure she liked all of it. She did like getting her hair washed, which surprised me. My dogs, Kate especially, got very irritated that I made the baby cry.

Check this out, after Serenity's bath, when DD#3 had her back and all bundled in one of the swaddling blankets I've been making, the dogs were pulling guard duty, and keeping the Princess safe. I'm sorry these pictures are fuzzy, the lighting was not ideal for photos.

Kate didn't think the floor was close enough, so she sat with DD#3 and baby. Every time I got close she barked at me! Thankfully, today Kate has forgiven me for giving the baby a bath, and she's letting me hold her just fine. Kate takes her baby guarding duties very seriously, but I'm wondering what she will do when Lucius gets home.

I finished the last of the swaddling blankets I had cut out. The thing is, Miss Serenity responds to diaper changes much like a boy, so she's going through multiple blankets per day. (at least we know she's well hydrated) I cut out three more blankets yesterday, and hope to get those finished today.

The little guy I babysit is fascinated with the baby. He tried to share some of his favorite toys with her, which was an adventure, letting him share and making sure he didn't hit her with any. I'm not sure what he will think about two babies either, but he seems fine with one.

It seems like I've gotten no sewing done, but I've already emptied three spools of thread this year, so I know that's not true. I've lost count of how many swaddling blankets I've made, I'll try to count them when I'm done. This weeks sewing goals- finish the swaddling blankets, make the curtains for the nursery, and work on another project that I can't blog about. If I get those done, I might be able to get back to quilting. Well, I may try making some baby hats. Serenity's head is so small even preemie hats are too big. Lucius' head looks a little bigger, so he might be OK. I'm wishing I knew how to crochet or knit, but learning how this week seems unlikely :-P I might just dig out some of my cotton knit fabric and try my hand at sewing some.

Introducing the Grandtwins!

There aren't any good pics of Lucius yet, since he's in NICU and has some added accouterments. He is having a little bit of a hard time breathing on his own, so he'll be staying at the hospital for a little while until his lungs mature a bit. It is nothing unusual for a baby born at 34 weeks, but still hard to not have him going home at the same time as mommy. I do like the little nest he's in. I'm anxious to get to hold him to, but not nearly as anxious as DD#3 is.

Here is Serenity. She is quite a wiggle worm! We've all gotten to hold her, and love on her since she's doing so well. In fact, she gets to come home tomorrow when DD#3 comes home too! I remember when no babies under five pounds came home from the hospital, but she is doing great so they are releasing her. She is the smallest baby I've ever held, and at first I was just amazed at how small she is. Last night I saw some full term babies and they just look huge in comparison.

Tomorrow we have Serenity coming home, and then hopefully Lucius will be soon after. I guess we get a slow breaking in period for having twins in the house.

I've spent a lot of time at the hospital, but I actually have gotten some sewing done this week. I finished six swaddling blankets for the twins, in small bits of time stolen here and there. I have a couple more half done for the twins, and a couple more half done that I need for a baby gift. My goal is to get all of those completed in the next week, which should be doable.

Grandtwins Have Arrived!

I don't have much time, and no pics available, but the grandtwins were born January 12th, late at night via c-section. Their names are Serenity Andrea and Lucius Alexander, and they each weighed 4 pounds 12 ounces. DD#3 was only 34 weeks along when they were born, so they are premature. Lucius is having a little trouble doing it all on his own, so he is in NICU, but Serenity is doing very well and is in the hospital room with Mommy. Lucius just needs to mature a little more before he is able to be with Mommy and sister. I'll try to post pics when I can, I've spent most of my time at the hospital :-)

Year End Reckoning

I meant to do my number crunching for 2010 yesterday, but obviously that didn't happen ;-) Here are the spools I emptied in 2010. They represent 20,026 yards, or 11.38 miles of thread.

My 2010 total number of quilts made is 35. I used 213 yards of fabric in those quilts, and I used 50 yards of fabric making things for the scooter rally. I didn't keep track of the other fabric used, so let's just stick with 263 yards of fabric used, though I'm sure it was more, especially since this isn't counting any garments or other projects. Realistically, it was probably over 300 yards.

Here were my 2010 goals, let's see how I did!

1. Finish all my 2009 starts, with possibly the exception of Perkiomen Daydream, which is my longterm project.

*Well, I didn't even work on Perkiomen Daydream, and I didn't finish Double Delight either, but aside from these two, all of my 2009 projects are done.

2. Keep a quilt! I still haven't done that, and one of my UFO's is for our bed, so if I do goal number one, I should be able to do this one.

*I kept three quilts this year, which is amazing for me. These are the first three I've ever kept. Of course, Double Delight is the one for our bed, and it's not done, so still no quilt for our bed.

3. Make 12 donation quilts, using my scrap user system or orphan blocks. A sub-goal of this is to cut up my scraps as I make room in my scrap drawers. I got stalled on sorting my scraps because my drawers are full, and I'm not buying any more plastic drawers.

*I actually ended up donating 15 quilts this year. My scrap drawers are still full although I've used a bunch, and so is my scrap basket. The more I sew, the more scraps I have, so it's a never ending cycle. I did use up a ton of orphan blocks, and that basket is almost empty.

So, how do I feel about 2010 as far as quilting goes? I think it was a success. I got a lot accomplished, and the biggest thing was I got all my fabric organized, which is HUGE!

2011 is here, and I already have quite a list of quilts to make. I have at least one wedding quilt to make, several baby quilts, and several kid quilts (including a big boy bed quilt for DGS#1) promised. I have a couple quilts almost finished, and a few UFO's. I have a bunch of things to make for the grandtwins, which is my priority right now. The RRCB Mystery is officially on the back burner.

Since the grandtwins will be living with us, I have no illusions of making as many quilts in 2011 as I did this year. On days I babysit there will be three babies in the house, and I know no sewing will occur then. Even with two babies it will probably be a challenge. I'm thinking I'll get more sewing done in the first half the year, when the twins are not mobile and sleeping a lot, than afterwards when they can get around. DD#3 will need more help watching them when they are crawling.

Because of the uncertainty of sewing time, the only quilty goals I have for 2011 are making the quilts that need to be made for gifts. If I get more than that done, that's great, but I'm not making big plans. I do hope to be less busy and have some time to enjoy my family, and all the changes coming our way.