I need HELP!  Do you see this lovely collection above?  It is Fox Trails (plus the solid green is a shot cotton gifted to me by Debbie, which matches perfectly, by the way.) I have every intention of turning this pile of fabrics into a quilt for our upcoming new baby boy, but I am struggling to choose a pattern.  I don't want to choose a pattern that has a lot of sashing or solid colors in between blocks.  Preferably, a pattern that can be just prints right up next to each other for the whole top!  Below I have four examples from Flickr of patterns I am considering, and of them all, I am leaning toward the "plus quilt" located in the lower left corner, I'm just not sold yet.  Do you know of a great pattern I could use, or have a great idea for these fabrics?  Please share, I'm stumped!

On a side unrelated note, I thought I would share some pictures of a crochet blanket that I made for our new little one.  I started this crochet blanket at least 2.5 years ago, reached about the mid-point of the project, and then set it aside.  I simply didn't want to work on it anymore.  Well....about a year ago, I pulled it out and finally finished it up, I just never posted pictures of it.  I wasn't pregnant at the time, and knew I was making it for a future baby, so it was packed away for a while.  I love the way it turned out, and it has these cute little "knobs" all over it, that give the blanket such a great texture.

There are two lessons I learned by making this blanket:
1.  I taught myself to crochet, so reading patterns is a real struggle for me.  I discovered that if you set aside a piece of work for more than a year, it is really difficult to pick it back up and remember how and what pattern you were even working on. 
2.  Buy enough yarn to finish the project!  I didn't and was about 2/3 of the way done, and had to try and find a matching yarn since the one I originally bought was no longer available for purchase.  This was a MAJOR PAIN, and resulted in traveling to several stores, and then having to settle on something that was "close enough."

I am quite proud of this one, and it sure is snugly soft.  I just hope our new little one enjoys it too!

Hard to believe that this premature, 5 pound baby boy is now this 35+ pound rambunctious 4 year old.  The little boy who was supposed to be a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie baby, who instead decided he wanted to join us early and be a Halloween jack-o-lantern baby instead.  Time flies, doesn't it?  (Taking a break to sob out/cry like a hysterical pregnant woman for a moment...) Happy Birthday ole' bear.

On a side note....Halloween.  My little/big one was sick last year, and didn't get to go trick-or-treating, so that means that last years Hamburger costume didn't get used.  So, this past Friday morning, I pulled it out to make sure it still fit him, because I had every intention of using it this year.  It fit perfectly, too bad my son began to instantly scream (while tugging on the costume) "I don't want to be a burger!"  So... I asked him what he wanted to be, and he instantly said, "a pirate." 

Off we went to Hancock's in search of the fabrics needed.  Luckily, I found everything I needed, and in about a day, whipped up his pirate costume.  Inspired by the image below, my son was transformed into Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, his current favorite show.  Now, I didn't make the eye patch or the wristband (or glow sticks) or the rubber boots, though I did add a fabric cuff to the top of the rubber boots to give them that "pirate boot" look.  I was quite thrilled at how well the whole ensemble turned out, and my son was equally thrilled to wear it last night, and to be transformed into his favorite character.  He made quite the haul of candy last night, his pumpkin bucket was filled to the brim, and so heavy, the handle literally snapped into two parts.

We had quite the fun evening, and I'm hoping that you also had a fun filled Halloween!