Mother's Day - best giift EVER!!!

I got the best gift EVER for Mother's Day this year ...

This is how I found out that my favorite kid in the whole world (aka Nicholas, aka Cousin Itt, aka The Kid, aka ... well, you get the picture) got accepted to UC Davis as a junior to study Physics. He then told me that his girlfriend Mindy (budding biology major) also got accepted as a junior. The two of them have subsequently found an apartment, a roommate (little drama on that one - he's in, he's out, someone else is in), and the beginnings of a list of things they need. The kids are going to be Aggies.

I don't know who's more excited for him to get this opportunity to spread his wings and grow - him or me! :) I never got the "away at college" experience. Hell, it took me over 13 years to get my AS so I guess I'm envious as hell as well as excited for him.

Proud of both of the smart kids - Math & Science headed Nick and Medical Science focused Mindy. Love 'em both!

-Biird-

Biird's Company

It's been a while since I was last here. I'm going to try to do better in the future and will throw some short posts up in the near term to catch up with what's been happening.

In the meantime, while I get my sh-stuff together, please enjoy the picture of the company I'm keeping these days.

-Biird-

Biird-cessories

Made some accessories for the new Biird.
Steering wheel cover:

Small garbage / ditty bag to hang on the glove box:

Shoulder pads for the seat belts:

CD holder for the visor:

I also started a seat cover/blanket for the back seat so the dog can ride without destroying the seat itself:

I have another pattern that I'm thinking about doing on the back. The spousal unit says the one that's done is too nice for the dog to ruin with his nails in the car - he thinks he should have it. :) "It's the perfect size to use in the chair while watching tv."

Nah, not going to happen. :)

-Biird-

Biird wiings (as it were)

The <3BIIRD went "boom" and was declared toast. I've gotten something new (I won't say replaced, because nothing can replace my 8-year old beloved Galapagos Green Metallic <3BIIRD).

Let me introduce you to ... (insert fanfare here)... damn, I got nothin'. (Still deciding if it's going to be another <3BIIRD or something else.)

Some name/license plate options I'm rolling around with are:

• <3 BIIRD (no change from the original)
• <3 BIIRD2
• <3 2QUILT
• QUIILT <3
• QUIILTR
• RDBIIRD
• QLTBIRD
• RDBARON

I'm taking suggestions as well - leave 'em in the comments if you've got any.

The new wheels in the family next is a shiny red 2012 Ford Focus SE:

• 4-door (1)
• does Bluetooth sync with my iPhone (3)
• tells "Distance to E" (4)
• displays average MPG (5)
• includes 6 months of SiriusXM (6)
• external input (AUX) for the iPod (aka the CarPod) (6)
• 5-speed manual transmission (which was seriously hard to find in most sedans this size by most car companies) (7)
• full bench fold down backseat enabling the use of almost the whole backseat as an extension of the trunk (8)
• good sized trunk (9)
• cup holders in the backseat door cubbies (10)
• multi-intermittant windsheild wipers (11)
• very cool "blind spot" mirrors on both side mirrors (12)

Wanna see what everything looks like? Check it out ...

1. outside view

2. steering wheel view :)

3. Bluetooth sync

4. Distance to E

5. average MPG

6. center dash controls

7. 5-speed manual transmission

8. backseat

9. trunk

10. cup holders in the backseat door cubbies

11. multi-intermittant windsheild wipers

12. "blind spot" mirrors

-Biird-

More Baby Biirds

Another person I know and/or work with is having a baby. Yep, the seemingly obligatory baby gift is done. Not obligatory by any stretch as Kathy is not only a coworker but a friend.

She's been working on a cross stitch Jungle Babies blanket so I decided to follow the Jungle Babies theme with my gift. I dug through my stash and found the perfect fabrics to use. I started with a changing pad made with flannel backed vinyl:

Next was a diaper and wipes case:

Then the bag:
front:

back:

inside:

And last but not by any means least, the quilt. 4 paper pieced animals:
Elephant:

Giraffe:

Monkey:

Lion:

Got the top finished and then the whole thing quilted and self-bound with the backing fabric:

And finally the quilt label:

I scanned a portion of the outer pocket fabric from the bag and played with it in Photoshop to get the baby's name and "made by" information on it the way I wanted it. I put a small version of the label on each of the other parts of the gift. I hope she likes it!

-Biird-

Baby quiilts

Got a couple of baby quilts I should make. One for a co-worker and one for a family member. The co-worker is having a girl and the family member had a boy. I've got some fabrics picked out for both but am having a hard time deciding on a pattern. Given the amount of free time I have, probably the simpler the better. :)

-Biird-

Wiindows

Made some curtains (double sided) for my office windows. Put 'em up today. They look kinda cool except for the fact that you can see through the one with the white background - but I guess it's okay. I like 'em. :)

-Biird-