Finished Product Friday

I have a lot to say lately so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves. The first two pictures are of a tshirt quilt I made for my brother as his high school graduation gift. He is now playing football at The University of the South. I am super proud of him and can't wait to watch him throw the pigskin around this season.

And I crocheted 2 more mermaid quilts.

And crocheted 10 flower coasters.

And sewed a superhero quilt.

If you are interested in ordering a quilt or crocheted items, leave a comment below or message me on Facebook. Wait times are about 4 weeks so plan ahead for Christmas. Prices vary.

Happy weekend, my friends.

Finished Product Friday

Life has been crazy lately.  Being a stay-at-home mom is hard work. This 2-year-old is wearing this 34-week-pregnant-mom out.

He is nonstop energy, sweetness, entertainment development, and discovery. This makes me feel blessed to have this extra time one-on-one with my sweet little man to be a part of all of it. It amazes me how quickly he learns about the world that is so new to him. It is crazy to watch him go from the kid saying a word or two and us racking our brains to figure out what he is trying to tell us, to a kid communicating in sentences..."I watch Mickey TV please, Mommy?" "Mommy pitch gloves?" "I have more pop tarts, please?" "I sorry for hit, Mommy." "I love you SOOO MUCH!" 

But he is also a little frustration, confusion, crabbiness, whiny, noisy, aggressive, and rebellious. The whole terrible twos is not a myth. I wouldn't call him terrible by any means but his newfound independence has made him a little sassy. He thinks rules don't apply. He thinks anything and everything is his for the taking and messing and throwing. He thinks he can always have what he wants when he wants it. And when he doesn't get it, he thinks it is perfectly acceptable to hit or bite or cry to tell you just how much he wants it. And that makes me so tired, and frustrated and impatient at times. Sometimes I lose my temper. Sometimes I don't use MY inside voice. Sometimes I temporarily forget that he is still a new human just learning how to be a person, just as much as I am a newish mother learning how to be a parent. But I have also seen God building up in me more patience and calm than I had before. I am learning that I can't do it alone. I am seeing more of God's grace in the moments where I mess up and Shea turns out okay anyways. The times when I have to tell my little boy sorry for how I reacted and he hugs me and says he loves me remind me of my Father's love and forgiveness.

 There is no still or chill in this little one. But because he is more or less an energy drink in a 27-pound package, he is FINALLY taking decent naps. 

And what a blessing that 1-2 hours a day has been. Not only do I get to fight him for 15 minutes to stay in bed, but I get to spend the next 10 minutes or so singing and cuddling my little person and holding his hand until he finally gives up fighting. Then I get to do the other things I love, like crocheting and sewing. And thanks to that quiet time, here is what I have finished this week. Before this week I have been busy making memory blankets like these twin onesie quilts.

But this week I have been doing IN-MEMORY projects. A dear friend from high school sent me this message a little while back.

"Hey Meredith,

Hope you are doing well, I see you're expecting your second little boy is well. 😊 I have a couple of sort of special baby quilts I would like to have made I was wondering if you were possibly interested in doing them for me...I am expecting another boy in July, and my brother Alex is expecting his first at the end of August. We were both very close to my grandmother who passed away in 2008, and for as long as anyone can remember she was always wearing the silk pajamas. Not real silk of course just some kind of fake polyester. I have a pair of those and I would like to have a baby quilt made for both of our children that incorporated those pajamas into patches. nothing large just small baby quilts." 

So here is what she got. This is quilt #1.

Working on number 2 during today's nap if all goes as planned...which it often doesn't.

This is the second In-Memory project I finished this week...another mermaid wrap blanket.

This one was extra special, and here is why. This is the text I received with her custom order.

"Oh my gosh I have been looking for someone to make these for me for a year now! My best friend and I both shared a love for mermaids and she passed away last summer, our favorite colors were pink and purple and she loved lime green, could I possibly get one with those colors?"

I love how it turned out and so did she. 

I hope it brings her comfort. 

I would love to do more projects like these (or any projects for that matter), so message me here or on Facebook if you are interested. 

Finished Project Friday

I know the blog has been collecting a little dust lately.  Sorry for that.  I did notice, however, that it has been getting quite a large number of views!  Yay for Scrap Stash Studio!  But no comments...so if you read, respond.  Let me know who you are and what got you here.  A LOT has changed since my last post.  First of all, I am happy to announce that my family is growing.  The Strauss house will be one boy busier in July.  Patten Turner Strauss will be baby number 2 for the Strauss family!  Yay for children.  I am truly thankful to be blessed with the gift of motherhood and look forward to all that is to come with my house full of boys.  :)

That being said, the studio has been on the back burner lately.  This is due, in part, to the frigid temperatures and lack of sufficient heat in that old brick building lovingly known as Scrap Stash Studio.  But the sun has come out and soon I will sling open those doors and welcome in Scrappy Crafters. 
I am also so excited to announce that I will have new friends joining me in the building.  Andrea Smith is amazing.  She has an organization called Operation Santa that she has been going strong running for quite a number of years.  She collects items throughout the year to give to less-fortunate children at Christmas.  Her operation has outgrown her house and she needed a donation station.  So she will be collecting items throughout the year to prepare for the holidays.  Along with that, she will also be running a thrift store of sorts to help offset rent costs and raise money for purchases at the holidays.  So donate away my friends!  You can donate any type of item you wish.  She will also hold frequent yard sales at the "Studio/Op-drop."  I will post updates as they come available.  I believe her first yard sale will be the first Saturday in May.
I have a few craft class/party ideas floating in my head and will soon get them on the calendar. 
1.  T-shirt scrap rag rugs- $10...rag base and t-shirt scraps provided but you are welcome to bring your own shirts too.

2. Custom Planners from books...I have done this class before but would like to try it again.  I made one out of the children's book Peter Pan and have used it all school year.  The class will be $10.  Cost includes needed supplies and binding rings.  Bring your own book or purchase one for just a little extra from my collection.

3. Etsy Craft Party-this project is a mystery to me.  I believe it is some sort of paper-crafting.  Etsy will send me info on what this project entails and educate me on how to educate you.  Tentative date will be June 5th or 6th.  More details to come.  Price, date, and time are to be determined.
4. Sewing Party-$5 for studio usage.  I plan on this just being a hang out for my sewing friends and wannabe sewing friends.  I am new to the sewing world...self-taught.  This is something I am proud of but also would love to learn from my veteran stitching friends.  Bring your machines or needles or come empty-handed and we can share materials and knowledge.  We could even do a fabric swap and exchange scraps.  I think this would be super fun and I would love to pick your brains.  Varner, Turner, Kim, and Ms. Mary...you all come to mind.  So be there or be square!  :)
Please let me know your level of interest in these projects.  Heck, even throw out some dates that you think may work well for you and I will try to make them happen.  My life is sort of in plan as I go mode at the moment so I will let you know as things materialize.  As always, suggestions are welcome for future class ideas.
I am also Thankful for the orders that have been piling up.  My sewing machine and crochet hooks have stayed busy lately.  In the past month, I have:
*...Crocheted an afghan for baby Patten.

*...Completed a quilt for a dear family member who has a little one on the way.

*...Crocheted 3 mermaid tail blankets.  They all turned out super cute.  You can order one if you would like.  Adult size $60, Child size $50, Toddler size $40, and Baby size $30. 

*...Completed 2 t-shirt quilts. One quilt was for one of my best friends from high-school's little sister.  It was a lot of shirts...the biggest quilt I have ever made.  All of the shirts were from events and teams from my hometown so quilting it brought back a lot of memories. 

One quilt is a surprise that has not yet been revealed to its future owner so I will have to show it off later.
*...Cut all the squares out for my 3 upcoming quilts.  One quilt is for one of my dear friends who is getting married next weekend and her hubby-to-be.  The fabric combination is even prettier than the inspiration photo that she sent me:

(This is the inspiration photo...not her quilt.)  Hers is going to be even cooler!  I can't wait to get started on it.  The other 2 quilts are for twins!  How cool is that?  A former student of mine has one-year-old twins, a boy and a girl.  What makes this project even cooler is that I am using all of the onezies from their first holidays...first New Years, first Valentines, first Easter, first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas.  They are going to be coordinating quilts.  Eeeek!

*...Made my first overseas purchase of fabric for a special baby quilt.  Who knew it would be hard to track down cotton fabric with teddy bears on it?  I never would have thought.  But my package should be arriving in the next few days.  I can't wait to see it!