Invites: Modern Farm Invite for Scarlett's 2nd Birthday

I guess I should feel pretty good about what I've managed to accomplish since having little Tess, but I am amazed at how I've been forced to slow down while my mental to-do list has expanded. I guess it's not a different challenge than before I was armed (literally) with a newborn, but it seems the delta between my creative ambitions and reality is growing wider all the time! Not that I'm complaining, it's more amusing than anything.

So I am happy that amidst baby spit up, diaper changes, one-armed bouncing, the start of pre-school, and toddler swimming lessons (not to mention sleep deprivation) I actually managed to finish the invitations for Scarlett's 2nd birthday party. Hooray!!

The idea for this 2nd birthday was "farm animals" as darling Scarlett loves animals and has been making animal sounds for about a year now though their actual names have come much more slowly. Seems like more of a spring thing to do (wish I could do a baby animal petting farm!) so I'm thinking of animal farm plus apple harvest. There. That's Fall certainly.

It has been so much fun thinking about this party, even if thinking is about the only thing I've done so far. It's such a creative rush, especially at odd times of night while baby-caring. I was thinking of a more country look initially but ended up going a bit more modern. So "Modern Farm" it is.

If I hadn't already been down the path of a multi-colored party I would have gone with the black and red version of these invites. I LOVE IT! But, multi-colored it is. Had to print these anyway, just for fun.

Now that I'm getting the invitations in the mail I'm hoping my other ideas will start falling in place. All I need is a few hours with two hands!

I've made both the multi-color and the black/red version of these invites available as a free download on Scribd:

Modern Farm_2nd Birthday Invite_FREE PRINTABLE_AestheticNest_2 Up

This is an Adobe Acrobat file you can print on card stock, cut in half and fold.

Creative Guest on Ucreate Today: Luxe Lovey Tutorial

I'm a Creative Guest on Ucreate today, and so happy about it! Link over and see my tutorial for a Luxe Lovey!

Knitting: One Skein Baby Bolero for Tess

This was my overdue--early labor--hospital post-partum project. Since Tess arrived later than expected I found myself with a clean mental slate and the freedom to pick any project next. So I picked this baby bolero pattern from the book, One Skein.

 

This seemed like the kind of thing I could do quickly, but not anxiously, and it was. I used a skein of yarn from my stash--Reynolds Cabana in yellow (907). This was a yarn my mother had picked out to knit a sweater for her first granddaughter, my niece, and I've had the leftover skein for six years now. It was nice to use it for another of my mother's granddaughters.

I love the sunny yellow color!  But I had exactly one skein and ran out so I used a contrast color for the ribbed border in this great Tangerine yarn (Lily SugarN' Cream). I also added a single crochet edging to the sleeves, which I think is a nice finish with the two colors. I love these two colors together. And I'm laughing because I seem to be repeating a similar color palette for Tess!

 

Well, two color palettes, actually. I've got this one going: tangerine, coral, white and yellow, as in the Heirloom Cut Chenille Baby Blanket I made her. I just purchased fabric for a car seat cover unintentionally in the same colors. And then I have the palette from her crib bedding: linen and lavender. I would actually like to combine these two in her eventual nursery because I love them together!

This color palette thing must be a bit contagious as my good friend, Sue, just gave Tess a darling little one piece Zutano outfit in similar colors. Perfect to coordinate with the sweater!

I realized that I haven't knit anything since making this sweater for Audrey for Christmas! Crazy. I guess I have just been really into crochet. It was nice to get back to knitting and I was glad I didn't seem to have lost too much (phew!).

My favorite thing about this little bolero is the eyelet detail on the back. Difficult to see in these photos but so so cute on the baby--the book shows a picture of a baby all curled up on someone's chest with this little eyelet showing.

 

The pattern has a great method for adding the ribbing to the bottom, by using waste yarn to cast on in the beginning and then removing it. Loved that! Don't love picking up stitches all along the front and neck. That process is always so slow for me. Also don't love the seams, which in this worsted weight yarn, end up pretty bulky. I'm a huge fan of seamless sweaters and can't wait to get to a few on my list!

I thought even though this sweater is sized for a newborn it would be way too large for my little Tess, but it turns out it's not too far off. Lucky thing as Fall weather seems on the horizon. She could even wear it right now as my little preview demonstrates. Here is sunny Tess in her yellow bolero lying on her Heirloom Blanket. What fun we're going to have!

Crochet: Tess in the 0-3 Month Best Baby Cloche

 

So amazing to have little Tess here safely. So fun to finally be able to hold this little person we've been anticipating. I can't resist pulling out the things I've made for her and seeing how they look. Taking pictures of her in her crib, laying her on her blanket, trying on her layette...  I was so happy to see her little cloche fits perfectly! Not that a new baby needs any embellishment, but what a cutie with that flower on her head! 

She's Here: Tess Augusta

She finally arrived! Little Tess is here.

She kept us waiting longer than her older sisters, going overdue by a few days. But she was certainly worth it. To us she is perfect. Healthy and beautiful and a sweet mix of her sisters.

Nice to finally give this little girl a name too. Her father and I were able to agree on "Tess" and "Augusta" is a family name (both Augusts and Augustas) on my side. Nice that she also happened to be born in August. We liked the idea of continuing our pattern of a first name we both loved (more difficult than it sounds) and a family name for the middle name.

Tess is doing her jobs well so far: eating and sleeping and keeping me busy diapering. She has received perfect check-ups, thank goodness. We are so blessed to have another baby. It's a miracle we went from zero to three children in a little over four years!

 

Her older sisters loved her immediately. Audrey is especially taken with her saying over and over: isn't she beautiful? Oh...look at Tess...

Tess is a good sized baby--weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and 20.5 inches long--but still seems so tiny. It's difficult to quit taking pictures. So many precious things to document. This little foot, the long fingers, the sleeping expressions, the eyes opened, the eyes closed....

 

And of course with the awe comes the humilty too. How to do her justice? How to raise Tess and her older sisters in the way they deserve?

So much responsibility with such a small bundle.

We love her.