Nursery Progress: Part 2

Dresser: painted. Curtain fabric: acquired. Shelves: up. 

This week I need to make the curtains and organize the closet..

What I'm Making: Lots & Lots of Pillows

I went a little Etsy-crazy last week and ordered a ton of fabric to make throw pillow covers. I have so many pillows that I've collected to redo-- thrifted couch pillows, cheapies from Ikea, and a couple that I've had for years that desperately need to be spruced up. I'm still not finished (I need to buy a yard or two of burlap and muslin to make a lyric stencil pillow and a couple of transfer pillows) but I think I've made enough to satisfy my sudden random throw pillow need for right now!

I'm also really into these crochet Pinwheel Pillows-- they're super quick and easy and use scrap yarn (my favorite kind of project!) I've made two so far. For the covers I used this tutorial, which really is insanely easy.. I did most of them last night and the last two this afternoon. (Not pictured: one more each of the coral dots, blue flowers, and gray chevron.) Some are in the bedroom now, two are in the baby's room, and the rest are staying in the living room.

(other side of pinwheel)

I'm still not great at puckering the center of these things, and they don't look nearly as neat as some of the example pictures on Ravelry. I realized I was knitting too long for the second side and had lots of excess, which makes it bunch all weirdly, but I think I my second one turned out much better (in the first photo).

Pregnancy Style: Twenty-One Weeks & Nursery Progress

I love this Modcloth dress! It's very summery and picnic-y and perfect for the weather lately, although I really don't think I'll be able to fit into it much longer (it has a sewn-in waist, and I think I'll be limited to stretchy/empire dresses pretty soon). I know I call these little belly shot posts Pregnancy Style, but I haven't really bothered to get too creative with outfits yet since I can still fit into normal clothes-- the end of the summer is when things are going to get interesting. I really don't want to invest in maternity clothes if I can help it (besides leggings! I need maternity leggings..) so hopefully I'll be able to thrift creatively later.

And now: nursery ideas! This little boy is going to have one stylish room (he'll appreciate it at some point). This is going to be the curtain fabric. Ahhh! I love it.

And these are some of the prints I've ordered:

O for Owl by Holli

Where The Wild Things Are typography poster by DeanWorks

Alphabet Poster by Holli

  Not Really Reading by Jo Bozarth Illustration

Superhero Bird by Barking Bird Art

Our baby's name is not Henry, that's just the example. Although I do know a Henry-baby and he's pretty delightful.

Urban Outfitters zigzag rug

Children's books are so pretty and it's a shame not to display the covers, so I've been pretty obsessed with the idea of forward-facing bookshelves. I've seen so many examples on Pinterest using the Ikea spice racks as a cheap solution, but of course they were all sold out when we visited, so I improvised and found the Ribba picture ledge:

It's pricier than the spice racks ($10 each instead of $4) but buying six was comparable to buying another bookcase, which I didn't want to do, and still cheaper/easier than having Jeremy make them. I ordered lots of books yesterday (I have tons that were mine as a kid and that I've thrifted over the years, but bought some classics and newer books that we had to have. Like Olivia! And The Story of Ferdinand!). I can't wait to set up everything. 

Modcloth dress

Thrifted oxford flats

F21 sunglasses 

Octopus necklace, Etsy

***

Twenty

Seventeen

Sixteen

Fifteen

Fourteen

Thirteen

What I'm Making: The First Baby Project

I know! It seems like I would have made a thousand things made by now, but I've only just started my project list. This quilt is probably my longest running work-in-progress-- I started it back in Albuquerque and decided to finish it up when I got pregnant. It's from the Cotton Ease Baby Blanket pattern, and I turned it into a mini-quilt by attaching batting to the backing fabric with spray adhesive and then sewing all around the edges, right sides together. Then I got to tie it! I've never tied a quilt before and it was fun to do while marathoning Dawson's Creek (don't judge). I'm sure I would get tired of quilt-tying very quickly if it were a regular sized blanket, but this was the perfect size for my attention span.

The backing fabric is the best. It's from Apples & Eggs and printed all over with little foxes in top hats going hunting.

In progress:

It's big enough to use as a toddler blanket, stroller blanket, play mat, that sort of thing. 

 

Nursery progress: we painted this week! (Well, Jeremy did.) It's Robin's Nest by Benjamin Moore, which turned out to be only one shade darker than our living room color. I picked it out online after seeing so many cute room examples, but I love that it turned out to be so similar to our main color because this shade of blue/green is our favorite.

Yesterday we went to Ikea and picked up storage things and a bookcase that we needed for the baby's room (yay organization!). As soon as Jeremy paints the dresser/changing table I can start setting everything up and decorating. Ahhh!

The Big Reveal

Yesterday we had a party for our family and a couple of friends to announce the sex of our baby. I think those parties are so cute, and with this being our first pregnancy we couldn't really resist doing everything possible to celebrate and be silly and have fun. It was a surprise for us too-- we asked the ultrasound tech to write the sex in an envelope and then took the envelope to Party City and had them fill up our box with pink or blue balloons. It was so much fun! I had a great time planning and making the invites and decorations, too.

Of course everything didn't go exactly as planned-- we had to change parks at the last minute because all of the shelters were reserved at the first one (although I'm glad we picked Greenfield, it's so much prettier anyway), and our balloons were supposed to float up when we opened the box, but the helium had deflated a little and they just sort of sat there. But we improvised and fluffed them up!

On to the pictures!

 Lavender lemon cupcakes.

I forgot to take a picture of the final tally, but it was something like 7-4, in favor of a girl. 

It's a... 

BOY!

(photobombed by a goose)

Cottage Tea Party dress, Modcloth

H&M flats

(The "mustaches or bows" theme was taken from this blog-- her party was so lovely!!)