My baby's two!

Who's the cutest little two year old around?

This guy!

 

I can't believe my baby is already two years old! He has brought so much joy to our lives over the past two years, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for us next. Happy birthday, little Beckett!

(Ha! He looks a little loopy in this one, but I had to include it. When you tell him "Happy birthday!",

he holds up his fingers and says "two!")

 

(I'll do two proper posts soon on his birthday party and two-year stats.)

Opinions needed

Last week, I previewed a potential layout for my Waterfront Park quilt. I'm using whirlygig blocks and first laid them out in a very traditional pattern.

But when I chose this block, I was also very inspired by Jess's bee blocks, so I wanted to try a more modern layout as well, one closer to hers. And now I can't decide which I prefer. The hubs votes modern.

I'm so torn. Somehow, the traditional layout looks more colorful to me, but the modern layout looks more interesting. So now I need some other opinions. Which one should I use: traditional (left) or modern (right)?

Handmade Holidays guest post {Sew Mama Sew}

It's my Handmade Holidays day! Hop on over to Sew Mama Sew for my guest post on "Gifts for Make Believe"!

The fabulous Handmade Holidays series runs for the entire month of November with a different theme each day. They've already posted tons of tutorials, recipes, and free printables, with lots more to come. (You can find links to the other Handmade Holidays posts at the bottom of my guest post.) And for more fun, visit the Handmade Holidays Flikr photo pool.

Fall at the park

It's been a beautiful fall here in St. Louis, as usual, but this year, I seem to have taken shockingly few pictures of the trees. Usually, I'm all about filling up my memory card with shots like these.

Now, it seems like the leaves are falling all too quickly, and I'm running out of time, so when B and I went to the park a few days ago, I made a point to try to take a few more.

It started getting dark quickly, but I was glad I squeezed in a few colorful shots (not to mention, well, just a few of one ridiculously cute kid). Hey, there are even some with leaves and said ridiculously cute kid. Score!

WIP Wednesday #51

Howdy, Wednesday. I've been battling a cold since this weekend, so despite having a little free time after a crazy busy week last week, I wasn't able to get much sewing done. So frustrating, especially because the upcoming weeks are going to be crazy. I see a lot of late weeknights in my future.

Completed:
Not much
 
In progress:

Progress is at least being made on the Waterfront Park quilt! The fabric is all cut and went from these little piles...

to this loveliness! Ah, these colors are killing me with their wonderfulness.

This quilt has been all about deciding on a pattern. It was originally going to be the Mod Circuitry pattern from Don't Call Me Betsy, which I thought would really highlight some of the larger prints. Then, I switched to the windmill block from Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters.

But after looking at similar quilts online, I just couldn't commit. And then, I saw these bee blocks from Jess, and I was hooked. I'm using this great tutorial for the whirlygigs. Obviously, I first laid out the blocks in a very traditional layout, but I think I'm also going to try them out in a more modern layout like Jess's and see what looks best.

We've got grandparents in town this weekend and a big party for B's second birthday, so I'm not sure how much I'll get done in the next week, but I'm crossing my fingers for a little sewing time. I'm getting so excited about this one!

On the "to do" list: 

Get back to the T-shirt quilt and Kitchen Window quilt
Kitchen dish towels
Kindle cover for my sister
Pillows for the STLMQG Pillow Bomb Project
Christmas table runner
Secret baby project: quilt or divided basket full of goodies, I can't decide!
New tie for B (with a tutorial, finally!)
Superhero cape for B
Re-covering the downstairs chair

New pillows for the downstairs chairs
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!