Halbert Barstad Beach Club

We went to Florida for the first time as a big family and it was phenomenal.

We alternated between the beach and pool, over and over, all day every day.

And it was so perfect.

Shea was off and on about which one she liked best. But she obviously loved taking lots and lots of photos.

First Annual Cousin Easter

When I was growing up, we would go to my grandmother's house for Easter every year with all of my cousins.  We did it for Christmas and some years every Sunday.  She was one of the greatest people in my life (and in everyone's life that knew her) and I miss her like crazy and listen to songs and think about her even now.  So many of my childhood memories are at her house or doing something with her.  I wish I had the emotional energy to write exactly how much I miss her and respect her, but thats not for tonight.

Since she died, we have not all gotten together for Easter as a big family.

And that is crushing.
This year I decided to take Easter into my own hands and host it over here.  (And then hijack it every year to come.)

I am a such a sucker for traditions.
I love them so much. And my cousins.  My cousins, as everyone knows that reads this, are some of my very closest friends.  I have missed seeing them every week and every holiday.  I want my kids to feel the same way about their kids as I do about them.  I don't know why I didn't think to host Easter before, but I am so glad I did.
Not everyone was able to come, as I decided to do this about two weeks before Easter… BUT next year, its on guys.

We did everything that I had done growing up and it was pretty much one of my favorite Easters ever.



We dyed eggs and spilled dye everywhere, the kids hunted eggs that we stuffed and hid all over the lawn, we used the exact same eggs that we all hunted with when I was a kid and each kid got a "big eggs" that we put money in, ate without enough seating, or tea, or warm pies, because I am not the best at hosting (yet), ate way to much candy and videoed and interviewed every kid about the eggs in their baskets, you guessed it, just like when we were kids.   We only lacked confetti eggs (that I looked for everywhere to no avail).
(Oh and Shea and Hilary are asleep during all the picture taking time.)







Thank you guys SO much for coming.  Love you all so so much.
It just meant more to me than I can write here.
Cant wait for many more years to come.

Rainbow Knits

I am just obsessed with spoonflower.

It is so easy and so much fun.
You can make ANYTHING YOU WANT!  And whatever you think you may want to make but cant actually make, someone has made it and you can buy it.  And then they send you sweet messages saying thanks for buying their homemade fabrics.  It is the best feeling in the world when people buy yours or when you get to buy something that someone has made.  Can't say enough good things about it.  They also have wallpaper and wrapping paper options of your work. SO much fun.  I stay up wayyyy too late until my eyes glaze over making things that I then have to delete the next morning because I see them in the light of day and they are rough.  I am not an artist by any means.  I am merely crafty; the stepsister of artist that no one wants to own up to having.
But, some do pass in the early light of day, and then those I order a little swatch or fat quarter of.  I try and make them into something and see how it looks.  Some are better than others, obviously, and some look better once they are actually sewn into something.  It can be hard to tell online, but its so exciting to get in the mail.  And a fat quarter makes baby leggings or hats or headbands. 

I have been making baby blankets, lately, and trying all different ways to do them.
I made this one for Dylan and I dont know.  I wanted the scale to be big and for it to strong and simple.  It is a little bit BIG, so I think I am going to make one with his name a little smaller.  That way if I make pants and stuff for him you could actually read his name.
I did this one like a quilt without the quilting.  I sewed the binding on the inside of two fabrics and then flipped it over so there are not any seems.  Then I just left the fabric free. Hopefully it won't get all wound up and separated.

For my cousins babies Reef and Hilary, I made Hilary's with her name on it and I just ordered one for Reef with this awesome reef pattern.  I thought it was just so perfect for him.
Their blankets I just cut out and left them.  They dont have any binding or sewing around the edges.  They are knit so they shouldn't fray and I think it looks cute simple.


For my cousin's baby Bexar, he and his sister and brother are named after counties in Texas so I highlighted the counties they are named after.

For Bexar's I just bound the edge of the single piece of fabric and it is rough up close.  I am so thankful they love me because it is not any kind of perfect.  Luckily he is the sweetest, happiest, best baby in all of the entire world and he let me off easy.  He gave me that big grin of his to let me know he knows I meant well, though it may be hard to tell in the actual construction.
I am also working on tags for when I send them.  I am thinking of calling them Rainbow Knits since I just mostly use knit fabrics.  That way I can also use them for if I actually knit something too.  (I guess it will be confusing if I make something out of cotton or linen.  Cross that bridge when we get there.)

I think I like the white one? Thats what I am leaning toward.
I have done more for friends and other cousins but I never took a pic.  I'm so mad.  I want to document stuff, but I have gotten so bad at it.
I have made a few things for Shea bean too- mostly tights.

 I am not super great at sleeves or neck lines...

As is visible in this garment.
Oh well.  I am going to keep practicing.  Someday I will make a sweatshirt that the first thing people say is "Did you make that??" because it looks obviously homemade. Someone will say, "Where did you BUY that?"  Clearly not in the near future, but a girl can dream.  Lets just say I'm not ready for my project runway debut justtttt yet.