Love - lost and gained

I can honestly say I do not think my emotions have ever been on such a rollercoaster ride in my life. I have been ecstatically happy, and incredibly humbled and sad.
Just last Tuesday my husband and I found out that we were pregnant. FINALLY. We had been trying for 3 years and just recently with the assistance of clomid and ovidrel. We were so so so so happy. We decided that we could not wait the full trimester and told my mom, grandma, his sister, his mom and dad. Then our world came down around us. Sunday I had some cramping and a little spotting but had read that could be relatively normal. Monday was way worse, and I ended up in the ER where they ran tests and told me that everything was fine, but the tests had to be re-run in 48 hours to make sure I was moving in the right direction.
Yesterday was the worst day of my life, when I received the news that we lost the baby. My husband has been amazing, and supportive of how upset I am, and I couldn't go through this without him.
I understand that everything happens for a reason, and that my body did what it needed to do to keep me healthy, but I just can't help but wonder why. I know I will not ever know why, and I know I will get past this and we will continue trying for a healthy baby. It's just hard to take these first few steps.

Christmas Projects

It's been a looong while since I have posted my projects, and I wanted to get everyone caught up! I was uber busy over November and December creating all my gifts for the Durren family Christmas, and dresses for all my neices. Not to mention all the gazillion cute dresses and sleepers and outfits for my new neice Audrey Paige.

I Heart Sewing

This weekend I sucessfully completed my first articles of clothing! I am so proud of my creations, and it makes me even more pumped to work on the rest of my Christmas gifts.
This year, about 85% of my gifts are handmade, and you can see them all come to life through my blog! Yay! Above I have posted a sleeper for my soon to arrive neice Audrey, and a sweatshirt for my nephew Brady.

Here's the newest update of the "Memorial Day" picture for Grandpa LaVanway. I have stitched most of the blues, moving left to right. It's amazing how little was done, but the change is phenomenal!

Time to get back to it! It is so soothing and relaxing to lose yourself in the stitching. Time flies by, tv on as noise in the background...love love it.

"Memorial Day"

Here is another project that I have been working on for a while. It is a cross-stitch for Grandpa LaVanway, named "Memorial Day". I go through waves with cross-stitch projects. I LOVE watching the picture create on the material before me, but my hands do not enjoy being cramped up for long periods of time! So, I am picking it back up, and hopefully with moments dedicated over the next six-eight months, it can be ready for father's day next year. I would normally set an earlier date to finish, but I am going back to school this year, and in about a month attempting to conquor Anatomy, so I'm not making any promises. :)

Elephant for Miss Ella!

Here is the long awaited 2nd project, elephant that I made for one of my best friend's daughter, Ella. This was a bit of a journey - elephant almost didn't make it off the shelf! I learned very quickly that curves are not your friend when first learning to sew! Hence, the tiniest arms, legs and trunk! But, as I have been consoled for what my husband originally coined an "anteater", the quirks and imperfections are what make this elephant special! Turns out, Ella adores the elephant, even when it only had 1 ear, and I just had to repair her this weekend.

All in all, that is what I sew for! To make people happy, to put a smile on someone's face! And when that smile comes from a child, it is all that much more rewarding. :)

Create!

I finally finished my first, successful, sewing project yesterday. Now, I had made pillows, but four straight lines does not constitute a creative endeavour in my books.

Above you see Steggie - a present for my nephew Brady's 2nd birthday today. I think he turned out pretty stinkin' cute for a first timer! Felt and quilting fabric, and the help of the book "One Yard Wonders" allowed me to create this.

Next two projects:

1) laptop bag

2) jumper for ella

I am completely in love with my sewing machine - I never thought I would say that! It is so relaxing, and I love a challenge, so figuring out these patterns and measurements is great for me. Plus, I have always loved to express myself in crafts, and this is my new medium. I picked up on it relatively quickly, which always makes me happy. My patience wears thin very quickly :)

I think I will post all my new projects on here, as a journey through my sewing experiences :)