Liebster Award Nomination?? - Holla!!!!

And an early good Friday morning to y'all!  (For realz....I yawned my way through writing that sentence.)  Not sure if this is a sign of anything baby-related, LOL, but I was up at 1 then up at 4 - and decided that it was time to wake up, eat a cookie and get the day started.  And by "started", I mean get on-line in the dark of the living room.

So!  To get to the point of this blog post - hey, hey, hey!  I've been nominated for a Liebster Award!  What is that, you say???  Had I, myself, even heard of this particular award before I was nominated??? Never!  But here we all are, and I'll take it!

Under Liebster Award qualifications, a blogger is to nominate 11 other bloggers with under 200 followers (I CLEARLY met this criteria, aha!  Could we bump that up to a solid 20, I ask???), answer 11 questions, state 11 facts and then ask 11 questions of the nomineess.  And on and on!  Kathy of The Nerdy Seamstress nominated ME - along with 10 others - yay!  I first caught wind of her blog a few months back, when I noted the awesome sewing she did for herself.  In my role as "mom", I focus on so many kid-related things, so much kid-related knitting and sewing, that it's nice to see any element of ADULT ;)  And when I saw that Kathy has a similar body type to me, I was quick to keep watch on the sewing she did - to gain any tips/thoughts on certain patterns and pattern designers.  These tips will be nice to have around when I get back to sewing for myself in several months, after el bebe is born.

In making the rounds, the Liebster Award is nice because it's a way to show support for other bloggers - and that whole "word of mouth" thing does work, in this case!  Just by looking at Kathy's list, I was able to click "follow" on a few other bloggers who seem to write about/craft about things of note to me.    So, please take the time to check these bloggers out and see who you might want to follow or subscribe to!!

So, here are 11 bloggers I would love to nominate, in no particular order!

Ali Cat and Co.
Paisley Roots
The Life of a Compulsive Crafter
The Crafting Fiend
Ginger Dimples
Four Corners
Begin with B
Two Many
The Crazy Tailor
Sew Straight and Gather
ArtBella

And now on to answering my 11 questions from Kathy:

What interesting fact about yourself do you want others to know?
I really ONLY got into sewing and knitting because I wanted my child to wear my....wares ;)     

One of the first tops I ever made Camden!

Why did you take up sewing?
See above - I hadn't sewn since middle school (unless you count one crazy night sewing tarot card bags with a friend in college!
Other than sewing, if time weren't a concern, how would you spend your day?
If time was NOT a concern?????  I would READ and KNIT - well, and bike!
What have you learned most from maintaining a blog?
I've learned that I need to step it up with my actual blog design/lay-out.  I always knew it's best to post regularly if you want followers, but my "regularly" is about once every couple of weeks, at this point -- though I'd like to post more often.
What other artistic/crafty things do you like to do?
Besides sewing, I like to knit!  I don't actually consider myself a crafty person at all - I just like to make clothing for my daughter.  Other than these two activities, I'm not a crafter by any stretch of the imagination.
What's your favorite outdoor activity?
I like to bike, and since we moved to Bend, it's been our mode of transportation, for the most part.  It's how I got around with my daughter throughout the summer and fall - and even part of the winter.  Only because of the weather of late - and that I'm getting closer to my due date - have we slowed down on the biking.

If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it? 
!!!!  ???  If only!  I would pay off ANY outstanding school loans we have, etc.  We would move OUT of this rental.  I would buy fabric and yarn ;)  And....my husband would clearly need some fun tools and sword fighting equipment....and naturally, we would go on a couple of fun trips - then save a bit of that cash!
What's your favorite childhood memory?
Oh, gosh.  I suck at this stuff.  I think one thing I like/remember is telling weird stories about a wee
mosquito named Mosqui to my sister.
What's your "make" that you're most proud of?
For myself, it'd have to be my Colette Violet blouse.  I LOVE that thing!!!!  Of anything I've made myself, it fits the best, and I love the glass buttons!

What have you learned most from sewing?
Iron, iron, iron!!!  But I've always been good about that since I started sewing.  READING directions is also key - and I FAIL to do that ....quite often!
What's your guilty pleasure?
I don't know!  Too many things, sadly!  I need MORE Liberty fabric!!!!

As for 11 facts about myself:

• I hate catsup!!!  Ewww!!!
• I have a dimple, which isn't too exciting, but my mom calls it a deformity/malformation of my muscles!
• Not a mystery at all, but I'm a HOSTILE sewer/knitter.....yep.
• I don't watch TV/shows at all, but I'm THISEXCITED about "Outlander" coming out!!!  
• I have a grave fear of carpet beetles.  I truly think they will destroy every wool item I have ever made.  
• I'm in love with Liberty fabric, as basically stated above.  I want a million Liberty blouses.
• I lovelovelove to read, but between reading and sewing and knitting, I can never decide which makes most "sense" to do, and this means reading takes a back seat to the crafting, because it's not very "productive"
• I had my first official "job" when I was almost 14...and I worked up until June of 2012...so, I put in 19 years of work outside the home, but I now stay at home and work with Camden ;)
• I'm a weirdo who does NOT like dishes sitting in a sink - talk about nasty times!!!
• I had a 36-hour at-home birth with Camden, our first child, and I am doing an at-home birth again... but please let it be LESS than 36 hours!  :O
• I do not drink alcohol....and strangely, not for any particularly good reason!  (Though let's be honest... it's best that I do NOT drink!)

My 11 questions for YOU, my nominee, to answer:

Which animal do you most resemble?
Are you into sewing/knitting more for yourself or for another person in your life?
Have been a life-long crafter, or was it something you took up more in adulthood?
Which yarn/fabric do you most enjoy working with?
Are you a daytime/nighttime crafter - and in your fantasy land, is this your IDEAL time to craft, or no?
What is your favorite project???  Show it off!
What is your #1 reason for sewing or knitting?
If you had a plane ticket in your hand to ANYWHERE right now, where would you be headed?
What is your favorite tool/implement for sewing?
Ten years ago, would you have imagined yourself doing what you do NOW?
Do the people in your life understand your need to craft/support you?

Go ahead, bloggers!  Answer and nominate away - spread the love!!

That Whole "So Much to Do... So Little Time..."

Wow, peeps.  That's all I can say - WOW.

A baby is coming - and FAST.  I mean, I have a whole FIVE WEEKS or so, but that isn't nearly enough time to accomplish what I must.

My blog has been quiet over the past few weeks, because I've been knittingknittingknitting.  For two weeks, my serger and one of my sewing machines have been held hostage by Modern Domestic up in Portland, as I needed a servicing on each.  No biggie - I'd love a smooth-operating kind of machine - BUT.

The SNOW hit.  We received about two feet here in Bend, and smart people know that to head up to Portland to drive around with the crazies on icy roads is just asking for trouble, so, while we were to head up this past weekend for a baby shower, it wasn't to be.  We stuck around here, and I did complete a full pair of socks.  I will bore y'all with a blog post covering all my knitting over the past month - probably in a couple weeks, as I complete MORE projects.  As I'm still without a serger until we can next get up to Portland, I have to pretty much take advantage of all knitting time that I can, so, socks, hats and a baby sweater will be featured when I can finish a bit more.  I even managed to squeeze in a few gift knit baby items :)

Now - on to my POST-baby to-do list:  There are several things I cannot knit until I know the gender of the baby, for yarn-buying purposes and such.  I have three major projects I would like to accomplish right after el bebe pops out.  I mean, I'm SURE I'll have OODLES of knitting time, right??!!!

???????!!!!!

One of the first things I'd like to knit, which I have knit a couple times before, is the Rhino Romper, a pattern designed by a lovely friend of mine.  It's cute, cozy and pretty stinkin' easy, as far as patterns go!

Supa' score!  It's a FREE pattern:  Picture/Pattern source

Another pattern I can't wait to knit is the Sunnyside by Tanis Fiber Arts - sososo cute!!!  Alas, it's fingering weight, so, I'll count my lucky stars that I plan on doing the 6-12 month size, likely (which means SMALL)!  And I'll need some gorgeous yarn to accomplish the project!  As you can see below, there is a more boyish version and a more girly version, which is another reason I'm waiting!

ALSO FREE:  Picture/Pattern source

One other pattern I'm dying to do is the bunting that Melissa of Dandelion Girl Designs is putting out in collaboration with Swans Island yarns.  (I think I have that information right!)  I don't think it has a specific name, yet, but it's sooo simple and great that I would love to be able to whip out one of these - and I probably should try that SI yarn - now or never, right???  This project would be great in a neutral, but I'm debating on what I want to do!

This will NOT be a free pattern, LOL...and it's not quite published:  Picture Source

I clearly have much more to do than this, but for now, I'll leave you with this last romper, the Hootie Who by Teresa Cole.  I've seen the same friend from up above whip this one up, and it's just fabulous.  I never got around to knitting one for Camden, but I clearly will need to do so for this wee baby.  I'm also waiting on knowing gender, as I want to pick a yarn I SUPER love.

Pattern for $7!!  Picture/Pattern source

Lastly, I'll leave you with a few (or more) pictures of what it's like here in Bend...and how my little girl enjoyed the past few days (when she wasn't INSIDE, emotional as all get-out!).

Some tosses into the snow

Making andouille sausage...???!!!  Don't ask!

Tough times, working with wood

Get to work!

A spot 'o tea for the likes of these two!

I do hope to have a few more things cracked out so I can write up one big knitting blog post - most of the projects are just socks, LOL, but hey!  I have to do as much as I can...which means making sure el bebe has warm feet!