Cars, Devil's Snare and butterflies

Before I begin I must update the post from yesterday. My grandma called and apparently there is a 'drop' of Irish blood in me! If I don't buy a set of bagpipes then at least a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" tee-shirt that I can legitimately now wear. (Which there should be a law prohibiting the wearage of said tee-shirt unless you are Irish. Same thing for people carrying Happy Birthday balloons. I have wished more of these people Happy Birthday only to hear "it's not my birthday, these are for someone else".)
On to today's news..after months of sharing one car between me and the husband we have finally bought one for me! We are an official Hyundai family now with his and hers. To celebrate I made an out-of-the way but totally necessary trip to get a celebratory Jamba Juice after suffering through the ennui of the DMV by myself. Resisting the urge to burn rubber to the nearest Joanns or Michael's I now present to you the recent spoils of my latest haul there:


::Sighs:: Is there a more beautiful sight in the world then a stack of colorful, soft fabric waiting for you to cut, sew and serge them into something wonderful?
I had the car that day so first on my list was a visit to Joanns. I park, go inside and leisurely make my way down the fabric aisles which are so close together only 1 shopping cart can fit through at a time. They tower over you like the shelves holding the prophecies from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It's like being in a vault. That's how they do things in Vegas. Like a casino there are no near windows or clocks to give any indication of life outside your little sphere. No one knows what time it is or what day it is after being in there too long.

Suddenly a 60% off flannel flag jumps out at me! For the next hour I work like a thief loading gold bolt after bolt into my small cart and suddenly felt hot and dizzy. Was it the close aisles? The euphoria of 60% off the exact fabric I'm looking for that became too overwhelming? Clearly suffering a combination of both I staggered to the patterns section and sat down, parking my cart right besides me like a bag lady.
















Now normally, this entire pregnancy I've been cold not hot. But I was sweating with heat and decided there was no way I could stand in a line to get this fabric cut then again to check out without causing a scene. Luckily a helpful Joann's worker helped me stash away the goods and I dashed outside . Taking in deep breaths I went to Wendy's for a quick pick me up.

Laying back in the seat I parked among the husbands lounging in the parking lot waiting for their wives to come out. I couldn't believe I was having such a problem on the one day I had the car! "You're a fabricaholic" my mom diagnosed me but neither of us knew the cure. What happened if I got overwhelmed again? Could I make it? Or would I be found lying in the aisle by Joann staff.
"We can't get through to her!" they'd shout "These aisles only fit one cart!"
"Call Mr. Incredible" I'd murmur before falling back into the culprit-ous fabric clutching at me like Devil's Snare.
"Isn't he a superhero?" they'd say to each other not knowing that that was The Husband's name in my cell phone (cute, I know).
Hearing the clarion call of my cart I went back inside. 5 HOURS later I emerged with the above stack plus craft items for two other projects (like I said, it's like a timeless vault here). Most of the fabric I have made into receiving blankets:
-the ideal average receiving blanket is 34"-36"/34-36" square. At Walmart I've seen them 30" by 30". What's the right size? I'm not sure but on the smaller side if you are swaddling an infant. I cut mine 34.5" leaving half an inch for the 2 1/4inch folds so I can use them for both swaddling and a light cover blanket when she's older.
-wash and dry fabric. Then I ironed around the edges for a crisp seam. Flannel STRETCHES! So try not to pull too much on the board or during sewing.
- for a one-sided blanket fold fabric underneath 1/4 inch. Then fold under again and sew. I used the zig-zag stitch since I don't have a serger.

Et voila.

My other project was a hanging butterfly mobile:




The top is still unfinished, I need to buy more ribbon and the tuille that will go up the string and hang down. I love this project because you can cut out any silhouette or shape in any color. I looked up a butterfly on google and traced it right off the screen onto paper that served as a pattern onto my card stock. This is PERFECT for a baby's room or a dorm room. Here are the supplies I used:


You can use vellum instead of wax or parchment paper and fishing line instead of floss. These were just the things I had on hand or bought cheaply so use what ya got! And the inspiration is from a blog I really like. I always come back with something uplifting or creative. In fact, I like her entire nursery design for her daughter born only a few days ago! I'm so jealous! June can't come fast enough..