A tale of two diaper bags...

        To be honest, I waited awhile before I took a pregnancy test. I don't know if I was scared, or in denial or what it was, but I waited. And waited. And waited. When I did find out for sure, I was probably 8 weeks along. After telling my husband, I called my mother next. Then, a few weeks later, I called my older brother. His response, of course, was, "Well, it's about time." :) A few weeks later, he called me, laughing, to tell me that he was having a baby, too.
         It's been really cool to be able to go through this experience with my brother. We don't physically live close to each other (the Army made him live in New York, where he settled down, and the Marine Corps made my husband and I live in California, where we settled down), but this experience has brought us closer. It's very cool to be able to talk to each other about nurseries and baby names, and doctor's appointments and all of those things. And, as it turns out, we're both having girls, so we'll have even more to talk about. It's been wonderful. It's also really great to know that my brother is having a child because he is going to be an amazing father! He has always been really great with kids, and to see him with one of his own will be SO COOL!
        Now, as soon as my husband and I found out we were expecting, I knew that I would make our diaper bag. Making bags is kind of my thing, so that was a no brainer for me. I wanted to make sure, though, that whatever I made would be something that my husband would be able to carry if I asked him to. Now, I could count on one hand the number of times that I have ever asked my husband to hold my purse, and I think that all of those times involved me leaving a hospital. He would do it, if I asked him to, but I just don't. So, I wanted to make sure that, even though we're having a girl, our diaper bag would still be manly enough for him. So, I decided to chop up an old set of his cammies, and re-purpose them into a diaper bag. I've made a few of these bags for the shop before, but I like the idea that the diaper bag that I'll be carrying for my daughter is made from the actual cammies that her father wore. I just think there's something cool about that.

      These are the pockets from the front of the blouse. I took them off, and moved them to the sides of the bag to be used for extra storage.

      I didn't take a picture, but the inside is a solid brown that matches the cammies. As you can see here, you can see some of the uneven fading from where I took things apart and moved things around, but, to be honest, I think it's cool. It shows that these cammies were worn, and there a great sense of pride that comes along with that.

    Now, for my brother's diaper bag, I wasn't so worried about making it manly. I'm not sure if he'll ever end up carrying it around, but the idea of him carrying around a super girlie diaper bag kind of makes me chuckle anyway.....So, I focused on making something that his girlfriend would love. I asked him what her favorite colors are, and this is what I came up with.

Like ours, I wanted to give her an adjustable strap, so that if she needs to carry it over one shoulder, or across the body, she'd have those options. 

 I added the ribbon on the front and the bow to break up the zebra print, and to add a touch of femininity. You can't tell in this picture, but the bow is attached with a heart shaped stitch.

 

 There is a back pocket for extra storage, just like on ours.

 The inside is lined in a vibrant purple and have plenty of pockets for storage.

I hope she likes it!!!

Things I love....

     Obviously, I've got a baby on my mind these days. With that said, Etsy has a ton of amazing things for babies. Here are a few that I have my eye on these days....

I love this adorable baby album by alabouffe.

 These baby blocks from  TarasElegantDecor  are precious

I love these baby shoes from  petitebelleboutique

 My husband loves hummingbirds, and it would be wonderful to have this print from paintedbliss   on the walls of the nursery.

My husband may not be an active duty Marine these days, but our daughter will be raised with the sense of pride that comes along with that. These shoes from  mysweetbabylove are so cute!

 I am a huge Wizard of Oz fan, and I love this print from sugarfresh

And finally, this giraffe print from beththompsonart would match the nursery theme perfectly. 

I'd love to hear about your favorite handmade baby items.....Please feel free to comment and leave links in the comment section so I can check them out!

Oh baby!

Two posts in a week? Holy moly! See, I really am making an effort here folks. :)

 In other exciting news, along with all of the big changes to my shop, there area also some big changes in my life. Shortly after my birthday, I found out that my husband and I are expecting our first child! It's a girl, and she is due in early December.Please forgive some of these pictures. I was horrendously sick for about the first 6 months, and so despite my best efforts to look like a glowing, radiant, pregnant lady, I look like Ma Gorg from Fraggle Rock.

 

22 weeks

 26 weeks

 28 Weeks

 

30 weeks

 I thought that it was important to have a diaper bag that I could ask my husband to hold for me if I needed to, but that would not be an insult to his manhood. I didn't want to have to hand him something pink and sparkly or whatever, so I made this for us. It is made from one of his old cammie blouses (or shirts, for you civilians out there....). I chopped it up, moved the pockets around to where I needed them, and sewed it back together again. You can't tell from this picture, but the pockets that were on the front of the blouse are now on the sides, so that I can use them to hold things that I need. The inside is lined with black duck cloth, and has lots and lots of pockets. The entire thing is machine washable as well. Word on the street is that babies can be messy. ;) I also really like the idea that this is made from something that my husband actually wore. There are stories in this fabric, along with lots and lots of starch from mamasan. I think it's cool, and hopefully my husband will too. (He is currently deployed, so he hasn't seen it in person yet.)

 I also started, but haven't quite finished, making a baby quilt. Hopefully, once I get it finished up, I'll be able to post some more pictures for you to see.

So, that's my big secret! This does mean that I'll probably be closing my shop early for Christmas, so if you have your eye on something, it's better to order sooner, rather than later. 

Long time no see!

I have been missing, for quite awhile, and for that I apologize. There have been big changes going on behind the scenes during this absence however. First and foremost, I made the decision to re-brand. When I chose the name "A Stone's Throw," I had the idea that I would be making lots of quilts, and with my last name being "Stone," the name fit. However, my business ended up taking a different direction, and the name didn't really fit. A name change, however, does mean losing everything that I have built with A Stone's Throw. I wasn't able to keep my shop hearts, sales information, feedback, or any of those important things, so I've been building these things back up from scratch. On July 4th, I opened J. Stone Accessories, where you will find the same quality handcrafted accessories, but with a new name, and a new look. So, please, stop by and check out the new shop!

NiceGirlNotes- Cute Stuff Sale

Okay, so I am very, very excited to announce that I am going to be participating in the NiceGirlNotes- Cute Stuff Sale this Saturday night from 8pm-10pm EST.

With that said, I've been working like a maniac to prepare. No joke. I'm offering 21 items up for grabs, all at 25% off! Plus, there will be a sweet coupon code that you can use after the sale in my shop and all of the other shops that are participating. I worked for hours and hours and hours cutting fabric, sewing, ironing (I have an insane burn mark on my arm from that....) ignoring my husband (sorry, babe). I even worked as long as I could during the impromptu blackout that we had here last week. (I did eventually run out of things to do without power, and went and had a flashlight barbeque with friends, although it would have been way better with candles from LilacAve instead of military issued flashlights and nerdy headlamps.....). Then my supplies were delayed, and then even more delayed from the blackout. So, I frantically searched all of the local stores to find the stuff I needed, but to no avail. One fabric and craft store claimed to still be without power, and was closed, another didn't have any zippers, another had zippers, but in every color but the ones I needed.... Eventually, I got it all done, and hopefully you guys will love it. If not, there should be plenty of other stuff for you to LOVE. The lineup is fantastic! You can check out the lineup and the details about the sale on the NiceGirlNotes blog!

New!

As promised, I've been working very hard to get some new goodies made, and added to my online shop. I've been slow to add them all to the shop, but here are some pictures....







I've also finished a couple of new pleated hobo purses....
And this is my first with an adjustable strap!

And this one is a solid black one made from linen, with adjustable straps!

Awesome find!

I wanted to share something with you that has nothing to do with sewing, fabric or my shop. Basically, one of the things that I have been struggling with lately is remembering whether or not I've taken my medicine. I literally find myself dumping out my medication and counting it at least 3 times a week lately because I just can't remember if I already took it or not. Silly, right?? Well, people keep suggesting that I get one of those pill boxes with the days of the week and just use that to help me remember. I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it. It makes me feel like if I go and buy one, I suddenly turn from 29 to 89 with that one small purchase. So, I've just continued to struggle. Well, yesterday, I was in Seaport Village with a friend when I stumbled upon the solution!
While in Urban Girl Accessories, my friend found the cutest pill case ever. It's made by Fluff, and I love it. I do get that if you take the pill case out of the fun zippered pouch it's in, it is one of those plain boring pill cases, but that fact that it's hidden just makes me feel better about it.