A fun surprise

Several months ago, I applied to serve as a guest curator for Sew Mama Sew's oh-so-popular Handmade Holidays series (the link is to past series posts; this year's hasn't been posted yet), and I was so excited to be chosen! I spent last month working on my post, and today I received the final confirmation with all of the details. I can't wait to see it go live!

The series runs for the entire month of November with a different theme each day. There will be tons of tutorials, recipes, and free printables, so you won't want to miss it. My day is scheduled for right in the middle, so I'll be back to remind you when it's posted. Check out the entire series starting this Friday, November 1!

Just a month late

Well, this post is only a month late. I almost forgot to blog about this altogether, but when I came across the pics again, some were just too cute to be ignored. Last month, we had a crazy weekend in which I went to Shreveport for a wedding shower for my step-brother, my mother-in-law came to visit B and the hubs in St. Louis, and Matt and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. Impressive, no?

I felt a little bad about "abandoning" Matt and his mom after she'd planned her visit, but I couldn't reschedule the shower, obviously, so we just made do. My visit was actually a surprise, and I know it meant a lot to my brother and future sister-in-law that I was there.

It was also the first time I'd been away from B since he was born, which was a bit weird. We both did really well, though. I think it certainly helped him that Grammie was visiting, and it was good for me to get away for a bit. It didn't hurt that I also had a wonderful time with my family.

In St. Louis, Matt and his mom took B to the park, picked green tomatoes from the garden, and spent time at B's favorite coffee shop (he gets so excited about getting his little "juice box" of milk). When I got back on Sunday, we headed over to Laumeier Sculpture Park, which is a wonderfully fascinating place to wander around and see giant eyeballs.

For our anniversary, Grammie watched B while we went to dinner at The Libertine, an excellent new restaurant we'd been wanting to try. It did not disappoint. After a FB conversation with the chef a few weeks earlier, he made a note that it was our anniversary, and they treated us to lots of extras that night.

The shower was also a huge success. It turned out to be the first of four showers being thrown for the happy couple, and they definitely cleaned up. :) They live in New Orleans, so we don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like, making it even more fun that I was able to attend the shower.

Fun times with family!

WIP Wednesday #49

What's up, Wednesday? You snuck up on me a little less this week.

Completed: 
My Go Anywhere Bag!

I finished it up this weekend just in time to get out and enjoy the fall weather. You can read more about it here. 

I also finished the backing for the hub's Comma wall quilt project. Because this is another wall hanging, I decided not to spend much time on the back and just combined some leftover strips of fabric and a few blocks I didn't use for the front.

It's been basted, and I'm hoping to start in on the crazy quilting tonight. Green thread, crazy maze straight lines — loving it.

In progress:

The coordinating open-wide zippered pouch for my new bag. The fabric's cut, and I'm on this as soon as I finish the Comma quilt.

And, of course, somewhere in sewing land, I'm still working on my T-shirt quilt and Kitchen Window quilt. Sigh.

On the "to do" list: 

B's Halloween costume (I decided to give myself a little break this year after finding this fabulous fox costume at Old Navy. Saving my other idea for next year.)
Waterfront Park quilt
Secret baby quilt
Kindle cover for my sister
Pillows for the STLMQG Pillow Bomb Project
New tie for B
Kitchen dish towels
Superhero cape for B
Re-covering the downstairs chair

New pillows for the downstairs chairs
Christmas table runner
iPod workout strap
A mug rug for me
Ironing board cover
Another divided basket from the Noodlehead pattern 
Reusable snack bags
Living room quilt
Washi dress

This week, I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Pumpkins picked

This weekend, we checked off another item from our fall to do list — the pumpkin patch! After our successful apple picking adventure a few weeks ago, we knew we had to try out the pumpkins, too. And they did not disappoint.

We went to the huge patch at Rombachs Farm. They had pumpkins in every size and shape imaginable. You could choose from picked ones or ride the tractor out to pick them yourself. They also had lots of games, rides, food, etc.

Unlike apple picking, this was actually the first time we'd gone to a pumpkin patch, and it was a fun, easy afternoon. It didn't hurt that we had some beautiful fall weather.

We each picked out a pumpkin, and then I couldn't resist adding a few more tiny ones to the pile. When B saw one of the little ones on the side, he tossed his bigger pumpkin aside and headed straight for the little one. Mom, this one's just my size! He wouldn't let it go after that, including when we got to the car. He wanted to hold it all the way home.

Another great fall tradition in the bag! (Oh, and if you're in the mood for eating rather than picking pumpkins, we've been loving this pumpkin oatmeal [We left out the maple syrup and still found it plenty sweet.] and these healthy pumpkin muffins lately.)