2008

Before I completely bid farewell to 2008, a year full of blessings as well as struggles, I wanted to share a few of the handmade goods and highlights of the year with you all here. And then, I am so very ready to say hello to this new year, a year which promises to be full of excitment as we welcome the newest member of our family!

In 2008...

move

basement sewing

...we moved. A move which was complicated by the fact that our previous landlady had been forced to foreclose upon the property in which we lived, and then that the previous tenants in the house that we moved into left behind all of their furniture and food. It was a long couple of weeks.

test

...the first seven months of pregnancy went by. I'd say, from my perspective, that it's going somewhat slowly -- but quickly, all at the same time. I certainly cannot wait to meet our new wee one!

grace cello

...I went into the recording studio to record a few tracks on a CD project, which has since been temporarily shelved. :(

thank-you note

...my firstborn turned six, transitioning from being a very little child at the beginning of the year to a big, capable, reading, writing, knitting, confident girl of almost seven by the end of the year.

little one

...my wee one turned two, transitioning from what was really still a baby boy to a little fellow who is beginning to feel ready for his new role as big brother, and who is seeming so very three already.

...I had some very fun meet-ups with other bloggers. The first was with Kristin, who I don't have a picture of, who was such a sweet, sweet person and so generous with her time and recommendations for our trip.

alicia

Alicia and her entire family are the types of friends you only get to meet a few times in a lifetime. We all loved them.

While we were staying with Alicia, I had the chance to attend one of the famous KC blogger get-togethers. It was just as much fun as I expected it to be, and I laughed until I cried. It was at Rachel's house, and the eleven women there that night were each so funny and open and kind. I'm sorry that it is only out of sheer laziness that I'm linking to Rachel's post about the evening instead of to each of these awesome women's blogs individually. But seriously, they are all awesome, and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet them all!

erin

Erin is every bit as fun, inspiring, and real as all of you might guess from her blog. She described our meeting and time together as "easy", and that's just the way I would describe it, too.

(I wish I'd had more time with all of you!)

...And then, I made some stuff (click the mosaics to get flickr links to the individual photos if you'd like a closer look at any of these):

messenger bag

The Mischievous Gnome Messenger Bag. The pattern was so easy to understand and I loved having this bag with me in New York. It did have a lot of pieces to cut out -- in fact, the cutting took several hours -- and I even had help!

I also lined it with fusible fleece to make it more protective for my camera, which made sewing through all the layers very difficult at times. But I love the finished product, and the very morning we flew to New York, a woman in the airport asked me where I got it, so I think it was a pretty great project!

doggy t-shirt

dog cape

James's birthday gifts. He loves dogs very, very much, so I made him a doggy cape and a doggy t-shirt. The cape was made of a fat quarter of velour that I had on hand -- I would have liked to have had a bit more for it, but this was sort of a last-minute gift. It's lined with some Heather Ross dog fabric.

james's baby doll

Elisabeth made this little dolly for him all by herself. She drew the pattern onto paper, cut it out, embroidered the facial features, and sewed it on the machine. It was a really fun project for her!

little butterfly

Elisabeth's birthday gifts. I had grand plans for this little baby doll, who has been named Little Butterfly by her little mama: A full wardrobe, diapers, towels, a diaper bag with changing pad, and so on. I ended up completing the doll, diaper bag, changing pad, and a sling, but her wardrobe hasn't been added to at all so far. I used a pattern for a 12" button-joint doll from here, and although it was a pretty clear pattern, I'd do it differently if I were to do it over again. I would probably just use the pattern from my favorite dollmaking book, instead. (Which I had misplaced at the time and no one had a copy I could buy -- it was on backorder from the publisher at the time! -- so I ended up buying a pattern for the doll instead. Of course I found my book about a month later.) {Edited to add: What I didn't like about the pattern I used was that the head and body are one piece. I generally make my dolls with separate heads and sew them together. Since that's what I'm used to, I'd probably do it that way if I were to make another button-joint doll.}

baby gifts

Baby gifts for the new daughter of a good friend of mine (she already has two boys, and they were excited for some pink!)

Birthday presents for some other little ones we know:

rucksack

I adapted the pattern for this rucksack from this book.

frog bean bag and t-shirt

A froggy beanbag (pattern also based on one from this book) and t-shirt for a little two-year-old boy.

spider shirt

A spider t-shirt and silly string (to make spider webs) for a six-year-old.

bonnet

And this super cute bonnet from Amy's pattern for one of Elisabeth's friends. This was a super quick and satisfying project! (I should make more of these!)

flower

2008 was a year full of changes, new things, adjustments, and real life. It was also full of so much sweetness, family togetherness, and most of all, love. All I can wish is that 2009 will be just as surprising, awe-inspiring, fun, simple, and joyful -- for my family, and all of yours.

Happy New Year!