Cross-stitching, or How I Lost a Month of Naptimes

People are always telling me to sleep while the baby's sleeping. That is such good (and totally impractical) advice. And if I had taken it in the past month, I never would have finished my first cross-stitch project: a family portrait. Yay!

I got the inspiriation* from a Martha Stewart tutorial, then changed it up to fit my family. Getting the goatee right without turning my husband into a giant bobble-head was the toughest part. I used graph paper snitched from my husband's science-stuff stash and my daughter's crayons to plan it all out, then used some large-blocked cross-stitch fabric to make it easier. I could do about one item per naptime - a Bears sweater, my curly hair, a much-loved purple blanket. The Great Dane took two naptimes.

Contrary to my memories of learning how to cross-stich as a child -- and then refusing to cross-stitch as a child -- this was actually pretty fun. I might make another one, if I can pick an appropriate subject.

*According to the comments section, Martha got her inspiration from an Etsy seller, but gave no credit. I have no idea.

Once Upon a Time There was a Blanket

I found the pattern for the blanket baby Emma was wrapped in during Once Upon A Time! Isn't it pretty? As soon as I saw that she was wrapped in a hand-knitted item, I thought, "I wonder how long it will take before that pops up on Ravelry?"* Answer: no time at all. I can see the studio changed it up a bit - stitched it shut and sewed a patch of fabric to put Emma's name on.

*OK, so my first thought was "Oh my dear, that man holding his baby while battling the forces of evil is so hawt! Oh, heavens! I need a cold drink. To pour on my head." But my next thought was about knitting.