A little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll

And a little explanation for why I've been missing from bloggyland for a couple weeks. I have been simultaneously working on quite a few projects. The biggest project I have going is planning a graduation party for my step-son, the largest party I will have ever thrown. I like party planning. I think it really inspires my creativity because I am never without a very tight budget for any event. However, the scouring the Internet for every coupon deal I can find and comparison shopping, ugh...I should have started in January instead of April.

I am also working on a sewing contest entry. I asked my mother-in-law to enter the contest with me (you must have a team) months ago, confiding in my husband that I was nervous about it, she could be a bit flaky. When she came over last week she announced she had finished her part of our entry. You can bet that the second she walked out the door my husband was needling me. Who was flaky? How far, exactly, had I come on my half of the entry? Yeah, yeah. Don't let him know he lit a fire under my ass or he'll get on my case more often.

Then, there was this. My sister is famous for asking me to make stuffed animals for every one of her friends' babies, always at the last minute.

I got smart. I called her when the woman in question was five months pregnant and said, "Hey, were you going to want me to make an animal for her?" She said yes, asked me to make something girly and told me I had quite awhile until the shower.

Then, the mommy-to-be committed a huge faux pas by sending her shower invitations out two very short weeks in advance, and my sister made matters worse by not checking her P.O. Box for five days. So this giraffe that I was so on top of now had zero notice. Oh well! She turned out cute and I was able to put my contest entry on hold to get her out in time.

I picked plaid because the expecting couple is very country. They own farm land, and had the baby been a boy I'm sure his room would have been John Deere Green. I went to a fabric store near my house that is just weeks away from announcing it's closing. It is convenient, but getting less and less so as they dwindle down their selection. This plaid happened to be the only pink plaid they had in stock. I didn't have much choice. It wasn't what I had pictured and very hard to match.

I found some mottled pinks, and some different plaid, but nothing looked just right until I found this tiny leopard print. So cute, so girly, and a near perfect match. It turned out a little more punk rock than I had planned, but I'm pleased with it. It could only be better if it reminded me of a Monkees song every time I looked at it instead of Donny and Marie.