Black and White

It took me much longer then it should have, but I finally finished my baby's blanket - just before she turned 9 months old.

The main hang up was the binding. I made it and never really felt like getting it made because it takes forever. At least it feels like forever.

 

 When I went to sew at my friend Nicole's house I probably packed 50 projects (not a joke. most were already packed up anyway) but when I got there I had only 2 things I felt like I had to accomplish. 1 - this blanket. 2 - an extremely simple and quick (we're talking 90 seconds max) mending job on my husband's shorts that I found in a pile of projects. He forgot he even owned the shorts! Anyway, this is me at work, laughing about whether or not I should smile for the picture.

 Anyway, I love it. She seems to like it, even if it isn't her beloved blanket that she's had since birth and uses as a pacifier. Better to introduce another blanket now so she isn't a Linus later in life, right?

 While we're going with some black and white projects (not on purpose), here is a refashion I did for my other daughter. I found this strapless number at the thrift store. I loved the ruching on the sides, the sort of rough edged ruffle on the bottom, and obviously, the polka-dots.

 I used one of her dresses as a basic pattern. I eyeballed the sleeves.

 I grabbed this worn out white shirt from my pile of knit "fabric" to add a neckline.

 The first version was lame-o. I redid it and changed my method.

 Instead of folding it over I sewed them right sides together and left one of the edges of the white all rough like. Far from perfect, but still fun.

The accessory, a hanging baby toy you put on car seats and such, was all her doing...

as was the posing!

To Match Striped Pants part 2: The Sock Monkey

Remember like a hundred years ago when I posted striped pants part 1? Well, here's the other gift set I made to match the second pair of pants. This was for one of my favorite friends who had a baby girl (who is now like 5 months old or something - see how awesome I am at keeping this blog updated?!) I actually really like what I did here and I think that is okay to say sometimes. :) A couple of years ago when I bought the monkey fabric below my big plan was to make all these blankets to sell on etsy. I thought I'd make them into sets with mini sock monkeys and they would be a giant hit. I ordered a dozen mini sock monkey kits online and guess what - I didn't make any of them. I started, but they just weren't working, so the kits were in my "to get rid of" pile, until this idea came along!

Totally perfect for making a sock monkey applique. I intentionally went for a sort of rough/frayed look and I loved how it turned out.

Because I like this friend so much I didn't stop at cute monkey kimono. Nope, she got more!

The red fabric on the monkey blanket is super soft. The burp cloth is pretty standard. I always pre-wash my stuff before I give it to people (because you can't return a home made gift, now can you?) but it always makes the diaper of the burp clothes look a little used. Anyone know how to help that?

The whole gift kit set. An actual sock monkey really would have fit in perfectly.

Gifts for Eva

Shortly after I got married, my sister-in-law gave birth to her first baby, a little girl. I was invited to the shower and like a naive new member of the family with no kids, I gave her a big box of wipes. While that is an awesome (aka practical) gift for a second or third time mom, looking back I have often thought it wasn't very well thought out. I wished that I had given her something better and more fun. Well, fast forward about seven and  half years and I got to redeem myself! 

Despite the fact that baby #2 was also a girl and my sister-in-law might find wipes more useful this time than more clothes and blankets, I wanted to give her something I felt proud of. I got a few things from the store, including that onesie at the top that matched one I got for my own daughter.

Then, since I have a stash of blanket supplies I put together a blanket for her. It was my first time making a self binding blanket. Why haven't I done this sooner?! When I read about how to make one (which is actually pretty intuitive) on Tuesdays with Molly I bookmarked it right away to come back to in the future.

The green and pink were nice, but a little too plain for me, so I decided to add a little something that would tie into the outfits I had purchased (kinda nerdy, I know). I busted out some cookie cutters to make a perfectly fitting heart. I used scraps from another blanket that I made and let's not forget the cat that matched it.

Once that was done I still didn't feel like the gift was complete. So, why not make an appliqued onesie?

And while I'm at it, a matching skirt would be cute with it.

There, a little outfit set that also coordinates in color with the other gifts. Job complete. Redeemed myself from the box of wipes.

(And for the record, my sister-in-law is so sweet that she didn't feel like I had ripped her off with the wipes. That was just me.)

Cover & Blanket for Car Seat

 I have so many projects I am behind on writing about, including some I made before my baby (who is now 4 months old) was born.

One thing I wanted done before she arrived was a new car seat cover. 

I traced around the old one to make the pattern.

 I had planned on redoing the canopy too, but I was running out of time and having a little bit of difficulty tracing it. Plus, our canopy was sort of broken in a way that it was more in the way then useful, so we just took it off. 

But that's ok because the next project has been a pretty good double for it.

I loved the idea I had seen on all kinds of blogs and people using in stores, etc. of having a blanket that attaches to the car seat.

I used the measurements and tutorial from Make It Do. Because I have the Z shaped handle, I emailed Calli to get some assistance on  how to change the pattern for me. She emailed me back right away with a great suggestion and it worked. 

Since I started using it there are a few changes I want to make and was waiting to post until I do those, but then I might never get this up. Basically, I don't like that I can't hold the actual handle then the blanket is folded up. And I don't like that her toys can't dangle down because the blanket blocks them (whereas a traditional blanket tossed over all the top still allows for that. I am planning on just making a few small slits in the blanket to allow for this. If/when I get to it, I will make sure to post.

Other People's Babies

I have had so many friends and neighbors having babies in the past couple months that I literally have had a hard time keeping up. I know I keep posting baby gifts, but hey, if that's what I'm sewing, that's what you get! Some people were having their first baby (or babies!) and others were on their second or third. I loved making stuff for all of them, and try as I might, I couldn't just given them something direct from the store. So, what have I been working on?

For the Twins in Texas:

My long time friend Jamie and his wife were expecting their first two kids in May. A boy and a girl! I made a little set of gifts for each baby and added a little photo holder to go along with it (they will just have to share!)

I sewed each baby a little carry along blanket, matching onesie and burp cloth. My favorite item in the boy set was the whale shirt.

And for the little girl my favorite item it one that I made along time ago to sell - the super soft and furry blanket.

Lily in Maryland

 When I was in 5th grade I developed a friendship with a newer girl named Sara and we became inseparable best friends. Her dad was in the Navy (or Army?) and they moved a lot. She spent a few years in good old Iowa before moving on again. Despite her living in Maryland and me now in Utah, we have maintained contact all this time, which I love. In honor of our Midwest times together, I made her some burp cloths (actually enough for her and like 6 other baby gift sets!) from some cute farm fabric that I fell in love with a year or so ago. (It is always so nice to go to the stash instead of the store!)

I used a pattern from Homemade by Jill and copied her edging technique. I ran these through the washer just a few times, but know they will soften up on the edges more as they get used and washed.

And since Sara was having a little girl, I decided it was time to try out another sweet idea I'd seen, but first, simple appliques on the front to match the burp cloths

And then flip over for fun - the ruffle bum onesie! (from Crap I've Made, found through U-Create) ! I loved making these. I used the pinking shear technique. (I think next time I will line the ruffle rows a little closer together.)

I added in one of my favorite baby books (that just so happens to color coordinate too!) and shipped it off in the mail just in time for baby Lily to arrive.

The Neighbor Babies

These two gifts were fairly similar and inspired by this awesome birthday party favor. My original idea was to make a Lowly to go with each of the Richard Scarry books, but decided that was an undertaking I'd save as something to keep for my own kids. So, instead I made shirts that matched the cars in the book. (And tossed in more photo holders.)

Obviously Lowly in the apple car was a must.

And who can resist a pig in a pickle car? (The pictures in the smaller book are a little different. The ones I chose for the background came from the must have "Cars and Trucks and Things that Go," if for nothing else than to find goldbug on every page.)

The next gift was for a third child who already had a big brother and sister. My guess is clothes were probably well covered already, so I just "made" a simple ric-rac kimono as seen here also from Homemade by Jill. I thought it needed a touch more so I added a turtle and sewed up a soft turtle with a few bells in it. (This was one of many project put together while I suffered through insomnia!)

A family who was adding child #2 to the family and the first boy got a gift set similar to what the Texas Twins got. I BOUGHT part of it at the store! I was so shocked at myself. Well, obviously the onesies from the other gifts come from the store and so does fabric, but these were items I hardly touched, but couldn't resist adding just a little to them.

I had bought this flannel previously and thought it was perfect boy fabric. So, I backed it with some dark green (which actually matches the small darker parts on the blanket very well) and should have stitched it with orange for fun, but I couldn't find my orange thread until I was all done.

As for the slightly jazzed up store bought part, I found this little set that matched the colors in the fabric and I thought it would be fun to add a little bit on the blanket fabric on the shirt and shorts.

So, I think I am all caught up on other people's babies, which is a good thing - my baby will be here around Monday sometime and I have a few more projects for me to finish up first. We'll see when I can get them posted. And then maybe we'll move on to something non baby related (I did make PJ bottoms for me!)

The Last Piece - Finally!

 My niece was born almost 18 months ago. I got her bumpers and crib skirt done before she was born. It took me another year to finish her stuffed cat. Six months later, her blanket that I started before she was born(!) is done, I just need to deliver it. Can I just say finishing projects is such a great feeling?!

When I was deciding what to make for her, she said she wanted to keep with the circle theme that was in the room. I showed her some pictures of some blankets that Dana made. She liked that idea.

I added a few different details.

 Circles just stitched,

 satin binding,

 and a furry backside (which I think is the best part!).

(FYI - The niece I made all of these things for was born with CF. Along with my family, I will be participating in the Great Strides Fundraiser walk  for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you are interested in donating, just click on the button above (or on the site)  Anything you can contribute would help. There is more information on the site.)