My, how the summer has flown by!  Josh and I are at heart a couple of homebodies, but having a baby around sure has livened up the way we spend our time.  This summer we’ve had trips to the zoo, the park, across the country and visits with friends and neighbors.

Picking flowers at the park.

Recently I’ve been able to tackle projects that have been waiting in the sidelines for a long time.  We cleared out the baby’s nursery closet and got that organized, I printed photos and organized the baby album, and for the last few weeks we’ve been digging through boxes in the basement and Saturday we had a big yard sale and got rid of stuff.  It feels so good to have those things done!

I hope that you all have had a terrific summer, too. : )

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I was watching Cook’s Country not long ago and they had an interesting segment on cinnamon.  Apparently, the cinnamon that we use today is not the cinnamon that our forefathers used.  That cinnamon (which is derived from evergreen tree bark) is too costly. So while the rest of the world refers to Ceylon cinnamon as “cinnamon”,  here in the US we use Cassia cinnamon, a less expensive substitute.

Cook’s Country taste tested 10 different types of cinnamon. You can read more about the Cook’s Country findings *here*.

I decided to do my own little cinnamon taste testing (with the help of my adventurous husband).  I ordered two cinnamons from Penzeys Spices online.  I got a small jar of Vietnamese Extra Fancy Cinnamon and Chinese Tung Hing Cinnamon.  We tasted those two and McCormick’s Ground Cinnamon.

From left to right: Vietnamese, Chinese, McCormick

We could not believe the difference in flavor!

Seriously.

Go to a nice grocer or online shop and order some new cinnamon today.  Taste it, then go to your cupboard and taste that flavorless, dusty powder labeled “cinnamon” …and then toss that stuff.

Then make some cinnamon rolls. Your taste buds will thank me.  ; )

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Looks like I last posted about making *iPhone cozies*.  Since our trip east I’ve also embroidered up a batch of *Passport Covers* which are now in the shop.  Next I’ll be listing little clutch purses.  I didn’t hold back on the cute with these.  But they are still being sewn up and photographed, so I’ll post a photo soon.

‘Til next time!

(Go get some good cinnamon!)

Jenn : )

I’m working on a project that calls for lots and lots of ribbons.

Fortunately, I happen to have lots and lots of ribbons.

I decided last weekend that I have kept them tucked away long enough.

It’s time to put these to good use!

Aren’t they pretty, all stacked up?

(Hope to show you the finished goods in an upcoming post.)

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PS – Thanks so much to Maartje (aka Tizz), for featuring me

over on her super cute blog: Tizzalicious.

*Check it out!*

Jenn : )

This past Sunday I made a To-Do list of 5 things I wanted to get done by the end of this week (Friday).  This morning I crossed the first thing off.

There’s no way I’ll be able to get the remaining 4 things done by tomorrow, so I’ve extended the week to include Saturday and Sunday.

Problem solved!  ; )

Here is what I got done, rushing around while the little one was napping:

This is a prototype monster I made up for a future item for my shop.  I’ll tell you later what it is intended to be.  Right now let’s just have a chuckle at it’s wonky-ness.  It’s pretty jacked up as is, but I’m off to a good start.  With a little tweaking, it will be right on.

Until then, I’ve got the To-Dos to tackle.

What have you been working on?

Jenn : )

New birdy goodness has fluttered into my studio:

Jenn : )

Sewing up new Business Card Wallets for the shop.

All done – now I just need to get them photographed.

I love the Japanese trim.

And I have more in the mail, on its way.

Yay!

Jenn : )

….Done!

I finished my pennant banner for our friends daughter Robyn’s, 1st birthday.

Y was my favorite letter to make – the flannel is so soft.

We recently started a set nap schedule here and I am loving it!

(Wish I was the one taking the naps – haha!)

While the baby slumbers I’ve been able to catch up on a few projects, take some custom order requests and start some brand new projects, too!

I’ll have more to show you soon!

Jenn : )

From Cotton Time:

These photos are from the Nov. issue.

The Jan. issue is on its way!

Jenn : )

Hmm…

I thought the holidays were busy BEFORE I had a baby!

Good Lord – I still have Christmas presents to wrap!

But, I did manage to get one crafty Christmas project finished…

…finished at 11:59 pm Christmas night…

…but finished nonetheless.

I wish you all a wonderful 2010!

Jenn : )

(P.S. I got this stocking pattern from Martha Stewart.  I added the embroidered names and substituted French knots for sequins.  I am very happy with the results, but I found the sizing of this pattern was a bit wonky (how does Martha let that happen??) and cutting out the felt for the cuffs was a bit tedious… but, as most Martha projects come with some ultra time-consuming component, this wasn’t a surprise, and I think it was worth the effort in the end.)

I recently discovered a new use for taskets =

holding baby accessories!

Until now I’d never thought of how a soft, portable basket could come in handy in a nursery.  But they sure do. I’ve been keeping this one right in the co-sleeper.  It stands on its own, but it’s soft, so no worries if baby bumps it.

I think I’ll be making a line of baby tasket sets in the future.

I’ve already gathered these sweet fabrics from Superbuzzy:

Bright and colorful elephants, owls and deer.

Cute airplanes, balloons and forest friends.

LOVE the colors of this one!

This one is subtle, with sweet forest animals.

Now I’m off to find some dotty cottons and rick-rack to match!

Jenn : )

I love to go to other people’s blogs and see what they are working on, right now, at the moment.  And since my blog has been sadly neglected lately, I thought I’d commit to sharing a full week of WIPs to show what I’ve got going on over here.

Notice that it’s Tuesday?  Yeah…. well, doing the WIP post turned into a wip yesterday – Ha!  So today I’ll post two wips to make up for Monday.

(That’s me for ya.)

So anyway, here are my wips for Monday and Tuesday:

A flurry of hand embroidered snowmen!

These will eventually become Christmas ornaments, that I will sell in my Etsy shop.

And here is a whole wardrobe full of little embroidered coats (or blouses if you like).  These will become needlebooks, also destined for my shop.  I hope to have alot of these done in time for the holiday shopping rush.

Wish me luck!

Fly busy little hands!

There’s still so much to finish!

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Also on the list:

Visiting and commenting on my fav blogs,

writing letters to family back home,

and returning long overdue emails.

Check back tomorrow to see my next WIP!

Best,

Jenn : )