FALL PINTEREST CHALLENGE: GROWTH CHART

For the fall, I decided to tackle a growth chart to measure my little one's growth.  Actually, that's a lie.  I decided to tackle this for the summer, and I got the thing almost completed, but then I didn't get it hung.  For a long time.  And then when the fall challenge came around, I just decided to get the darn thing on the wall so I could finally call it good.

My inspiration came from this gal. 

And this is my final product. 

So how did I get there?  I started by getting supplies...a board, stain, paint, painting tape, and sticky numbers. Then I sanded and stained the whole board. My husband gave me a thorough explanation of the proper way to stain.  He honestly had me a little nervous, but seriously...I don't know what he thought I was going to do.  It was really easy.  And he should have known I am very detail oriented and not sloppy, so the lesson was rather unnecessary (sorry, honey).  But as he instructed, I used a sock.

Then I taped up the whole thing, and applied white paint.

When it was dry, i (okay Byron) applied polyurethane.  I decided I wasn't a "distressed" type of girl, but after seeing my not-quite-perfect workmanship, maybe I should have reconsidered!   
We attached some picture hanging hardware to the back, drove a wall anchor into the wall, and it was done!  Now that I write this out, I'm embarrassed about how long it sat unhung. It was literally 3 months.

As soon as it was in place, we measured the boy.

And in case you think it is in an awkward place, you are right - it is.  But I have visions of making this area a little vignette.  A shrine to the Stover family, if you will.  Just kidding. Sort of. 
Just to add one last little thing, the beauty of this is that if we were to ever move, we can take this with us.  When I was growing up, we did this in one of our houses, but I think I lived in 5.  So there are no plans of leaving just yet, but at least I know that if we do, I won't lose this piece of nostalgia!
So thanks for hosting the Pinterest Challenge again, Sherry, Katie, Carmel, and Sarah! 

IN THE SPIRIT OF FINISHING PROJECTS

In the spirit of finishing projects, I bring to you another completed work 18 months in the making.  I know, I know, I still owe finished quilt pictures.  But in the mean time, here is what should have been a quick baby gift.

I used the pattern for a baby bib that came from the Mason-Dixon knitting book that I have, but really it is a very simple pattern.  It's a rectangle with two rectangle straps connected at the top...one of which has a button and the other a button hole.  I didn't even check gauge or needle size or anything.   Voila!
Unfortunately, I don't know any baby girls or expecting moms of baby girls at the moment, so this will just have to wait to be given until I do!

PUMPKIN PATCH

Taking the family to the pumpkin patch is now an annual tradition, because it has happened two years in a row.  On a whim, we went to the pumpkin patch this morning after church let out.  We are weird and actually like to go to a really early service, so we were able to get to the farm not too long after it opened.  We literally had the best time, and we got the absolute best pictures to prove it.  We were there for about an hour, and I snapped nearly 600 pictures.  I apparently am THAT mom.  I was able to narrow them down to my favorites, so don't worry, you won't have to view all 600!
Like last year, Mason fell asleep on the way, so the first few minutes were pretty groggy for him.  We wandered around the land to see what we wanted to tackle first while letting him snap back to reality.

We started off feeding the goats.  Mason didn't really grasp the concept of holding the goat food in his open palm for the goats to eat, but he still enjoyed watching them eat out of Byron's hand.  Then we put Mason on one of the tire swings.  I think this one might have been shaped like a horse.  He loves swings, but since this one didn't have much of a handle for him to hold onto, we didn't swing too high.  But consider this your foreshadowing for later.  We also jumped right up on the big antique tractor, and Mason took the wheel.

One of the highlights of the morning was the pony ride.  I felt a little iffy putting my 15-month-old on a pony, especially because we saw two kids who were clearly older than Mason start crying and refuse to ride, but Mason was a champ.  He did such a great job, and I'm so glad that we put him on.  It was a great memory to make, and even if Mason doesn't remember this, I always will.

We did some of the typical pumpkin patch activities, too.  We looked at all the pumpkins. Uncle Matt and Aunt Bebe would be proud, I think Mason enjoyed "drumming" on the pumpkins.  We have almost the exact same picture of Byron and Mason at the measuring stick last year.  I think this year's Mason could have eaten last year's Mason for a snack. He's gotten so big!  I just love the last picture because it looks like Mason's finger is up the pig's nose.  We found these animal statues a couple of different places on the farm, and Mason really liked them.  He knows how to make a pig noise.  It sort of sounds like uh uh. He even said it to this pig.
The last photos I'll show you are my absolute favorites.  I can envision one of these blown up extra-large on canvas or maybe just framed hanging in our living room.  But that would require me being able to make up my mind as to just which one is my favorite!

Man, that face is the best.  I can't help it.  I'm obsessed with my kid.

BINDING

I started making a quilt for Mason before he was born.  Now, as he is approaching 15 months old, I am nearing the final stages.  I've made yards upon yards of double-fold seam binding.  I swear, I think I made ten yards of this stuff, which is a little bit of overkill considering my quilt is baby sized.  I guess I have plenty now to use for a future project. Or several.
I have to say, I love it when quilts are bound in something unexpected, which is why I generally make my own.  This print isn't actually found anywhere in my quilt, but because of all of the different blues and greens, I think it works nicely.  I hope to share pictures of the finished product in the near future.
I am no expert on making this stuff (by far!), but I generally watch this video in order to help me think through the whole process.  This helped me as well when it came to sewing the stuff and I know this site is really helpful as well.