Love Makes Us Do Crazy Things

Early in the summer, I wrote about losing my heart.....to my buddy's baby. Before his birth, I had spent hours researching less toxic products for mother and baby, but at times I find it difficult to share my wealth of knowledge as I don't want to freak most new mother's out. (However a little mother psychological distress may in turn produce better physical, behavioral, and mental health outcomes in the long run...so maybe I should open my mouth more than I do.) However, once he arrived and I held him in my arms, I for once felt hope for the situation we are currently in. He happens to probably be the cutest kid I've ever seen, but his entry into this world has also made me do some crazy things as of late. Crazy as in this evening I braved Mom's evil sewing machine (we've had a love-hate relationship for years) and made a quilt for the little adorable fella.

While it's far from perfect, I'm pretty impressed with what I've achieved so far. I cut and laid out the blocks last night from the stacks of fabric Mom has taking over the craft room. I did have to redo the lay-out though after I realized I had messed up my original plan, and if you look closely you can see that in some rows my blocks definitely do not line up. But for the first one ever, I'm still fairly proud of my work. So without further ado, I give you...my first quilt:

I will need to tie off the corners of the squares (double knotting and snipping them down) and sew up the bottom, but beyond that it's nearly finished! Then I'll need to run it through the washer and lay it out to dry at least once so that it's healthier for the baby.

Beyond that I spent a lot of today running around town taking care of errands. I visited the local farmers market for the first time and was very impressed by the options. However I was disappointed by how often sellers tried to give me plastic bags even when I had my tote. I bought corn, bell peppers (a purple one even!), garlic, and tomatoes. At a different location, I found that a fruit vendor has set up shop, and for $6 I bought quite a few apples, Asian pears, nectarines, and red potatoes. Very good deal and it made me feel good to provide Mom and Dad with a local and healthy meal! While the season will be winding down in the next month, I will have to try to hit up the farmers markets in Portland more regularly. It truly is the cheaper, healthier, and more environmentally friendly alternative.