My husband loves Lake Superior. No, really Loves it. At my bridal shower before we got married (and before we moved up here), we played a version of the newlywed game where he answered questions ahead of time and I had to guess (or know) the answers. I got all of them right but one; "Where would Fred like to be right now?" Silly me, I guessed "with me". The answer was on Lake Superior.
Our son was born during the first snowfall up here last Fall and we drove home on the last gorgeous sunny day of the year. Fred REALLY REALLY wanted to take our newborn son to the lake, but I was way too wiped.
This is all to preface our little Easter outing and its huge importance. Yesterday was sunny and in the 50s here, nice enough to take the baby to the lake! Finally! How did he ever live five whole months without seeing Lake Superior?

We are not really holiday people to begin with, we often completely miss them. We don't decorate, not even for Christmas, and have very little interest in celebrating when we are told to. This is not to say that we are un-celebratory people, just not so much calendar-followers.

The Freds had a lovely time testing the frigid water, throwing rocks in to make splashes, playing with sticks and leaves.

I recently got the most fabulous hand-me-down baby carrier from my amazing friend Audrey. It is so comfy and easy and nice for the boy too. The only downside is that there are nylon webbing straps that are just in the right place for chewing, but are not absorbent or delicious at all! I end up with rivers of drool all over me, which will happen no matter what, but I thought I'd give him some texture to chew on. I made this little strap cover from some Amy Butler scraps I had and a piece of thick cotton prefold. The Velcro closure makes it reversible (in case one side get all drooled out) and the boy loves it!

I also made something for MYSELF today! My sunglasses take so much abuse and I tend to wear them until I can no longer see through them. With all the baby stuff I carry around now I'm worried about breaking them altogether. So I made a case for them! I used some Echino scraps I had (my diaper bag is also Echino, I've never been so matchy-matchy in my life) a layer of Warm and Natural batting, and I lined it with some quilting weight purple cotton. I could not be more excited about my special present to myself.

Finally, in my never ending quest to organize the office to perfection, I found some of my old weaving samples and some embroidery a friend of mine had given to me because she thought it was ugly (I love it). I decided to add them to my inspiration wall. It feels like they were always meant to be just where they are. I am delighted and my husband is only a tiny bit horrified.

The littlest man of the house has been under the weather this week, so today my post will be full of things he likes. He's snoring in my lap right now, but it sounds just like a cat purring and I love every second of it.

My husband and I did not know the gender of our baby ahead of time. This caused a lot of confusion amongst many of our well-wishers who asked, "but how will you decorate the nursery?" This, in turn, confused me. Why does my baby need a whole room of his own? He can't even roll over, what does he need square footage for? Also, the excessive genderization (I know, it's not a word) of babies is kind of a pet peeve of mine. I just don't get this whole pink/blue thing- cats are for girls, dogs are for boys etc. Honestly, unless you take their diapers off, boy babies and girl babies look exactly the same. No one should be expected to tell them apart, and no one should be offended when nobody can. I certainly don't mind when someone guesses that my son is a daughter.
So, small rant out of the way, my real point of the story is that even though Fred V sleeps with us and doesn't have a nursery, we still like baby decorations. We just put them all over the house. I guess it helps that we love bright colors, toys, and didn't end up with any plastic junk.
I would love to hear about other alternative nursery ideas!

Mini Studio Tour!
Thought I'd share the better parts of my workspace today. I recently had to accommodate some more materials and they are not organized yet, so we're skipping the 360.

I sit here. At my beautiful, wonderful, trusty sewing machine. My parents found it at a garage sale for something ridiculous like $20 in perfect condition, with all sorts of attachments and fancy things. When I'm not using it, it folds back to a table and I can use my serger. Hooray for small space solutions!

As I sit, to my right I have things that help me to remember that beauty comes in all sorts of packages and is often most delightful when unexpected.
On the far right of this picture is our award-winning jellyfish light. It is the second-best collaborative effort between my husband and myself. Fred did the wire sculpture and I created the fabric with a cornmeal resist.

Behind me is my fabric. Ah fabric. This is the prettiest shelf. It contains fat quarters and scraps. There is also a yardage shelf, a home decor shelf, a sweater shelf, a T-shirt and button-down shirt shelf, and an I don't know what this is, but I'm going to take it apart shelf. I love fabric.
Check back Friday for an ode to my favorite designers!