And With This...

3.28.2012

...our family of three becomes a family of four.

Delusional

3.27.2012

I thought that I had a pretty good memory of life with a newborn but apparently memories fade over three years and delusional thoughts set in, because I just spent several hours tracing and cutting out patterns to sew for this year's upcoming KCWC.  I have to be crazy to think that I'm going to get an hour of sewing in each day with a newborn and a toddler at home, but gosh darn it, I'm going to give it a try.


And I give you all permission to mock me around April 30th when I announce that I've sewn exactly zero hours (see, perhaps I'm not so delusional after all).

PJs That Will Fit My Child Sometime Around 2013

3.25.2012


I would just like to say that the fact that this top is even sewn together is a miracle in itself because I swear that only about a quarter of my brain was working while I was putting this shirt together.  I read the instructions...and read them again...and then read them again...and in the end I just did what sort of seemed right.  I'm pretty sure that this top gave me a massive headache but I think it turned out okay.  And for the record - the leggings did not give me a headache.  Those little suckers are easy-peasy to sew together.


Unfortunately, after spending all that time sewing these little pjs they turned out to be huge on O.  She turns three in two months so I figured that the 3T would be a good choice, but I definitely should have gone with a 2T.  As it is now, the top of the shirt hangs off of her shoulders a la Flash Dance.  It's not quite the look that I was going for so we'll probably be saying farewell to these little pjs for a while.  Oh well.  I guess she'll be all set when 2013 rolls around.

Pattern: Sleeping Johns and Cross Over Top from Growing Up Sew Liberated
Fabric: Cotton interlock and ribbing from Joanns
Size: 3 (but if I were a smarter woman I would have sewn a size 2)

Go Big Or Go To Sleep?

3.23.2012

Just making sure that the baby's pack and play is up to her standards. 
  And is it just me or is this kid an awesome fake sleeper?

I chose sleep.

Today was one of my last Fridays off of work and most likely one of my last days of just hanging out with O and so I had to ask myself "do I want to spend the day running around, doing something big and grand in celebration of that?" or "do I just want to relax?"  And for those whose know me, it probably won't come as a surprise that I chose to relax.  And so we spent the morning at a routine doctor's appointment, followed by a hospital tour for O where I showed her where she was born and where Ben had his appendix taken out (yeah, yeah, I know that does not sound like fun, but I swear she's been asking to go see the hospital for months.  What can I say?  The kid is bizarre).  We followed that up with a little stop at the local fabric store where she picked out some fabric for a blanket that I'll make for her since she's obsessed with every blanket that has recently entered this house for the baby.  And then there was nap time - for both of us - a luxury that I will surely miss in the coming weeks.  Plus, a little treat-making thrown in, because there are few things that I love more than chocolate covered strawberries.


It was a day that may not have been exciting or glamorous, but it was exactly what I needed - and perhaps what O needed too.

I am...

3.21.2012

...speechless.

Earlier this week Mary Claire asked if it would be okay for her to send me a baby quilt that she just so happened to have recently made.  After picking my jaw off of the ground, I assured her that whatever she sent would be greatly loved by me - oh, I mean by the baby.


The package arrived this weekend and I have to say that I was completely humbled by what was inside.  An absolutely gorgeous quilt, beautiful beyond belief, with amazing detail, and backed by the softest flannel.  I couldn't believe that someone that I have never "met" could be so kind to part with something so treasured.


I am truly touched by her kindness and thoughtfulness...


...which even extended to including a little gift in the package for O from her own daughter.  How she knew that O is newly obsessed with chapstick, hair clips, and sparkly rings I'll never know, but she certainly hit the nail right on the head.


Thank you just doesn't seem like enough...but I hope it's a good start.

Two-Point-Pants

3.19.2012


Ben and I used to give each other points for each meal that we made and the points were solely based on how many soon-to-go-bad items we used in cooking our meal.

Soup made with old celery, onions, and potatoes?  That would be 3 points.

Pasta made with pasta sauce that was opened a week ago? That would be 1 point.

I know - it's a really complicated system (ha!) but it got us thinking about what we needed to eat so it wouldn't go to waste rather than what we wanted to eat.  And so in an attempt to apply the same philosophy to my sewing I'd like to introduce you to my two-point-pants.


The main fabric is left over uncut corduroy from this hat and the contrasting fabric is left over quilting cotton from this dress.


Granted these fabrics weren't going go "bad" like food, but all the same it feels good to use those last little pieces up.


Pattern: Basic Pocket Pants from Growing Up Sew Liberated
Size: Cut out a size 2T with a 3T length because I omitted the cuffs

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

3.17.2012

Well, she may have taken off all of her green clothes, but at least she's baking some soda bread.


Yummmm...soda bread!

New Pillow Cases? Why, Yes Please.

3.13.2012

There are things that I love to make (like clothes for little ones and food that put me into a near diabetic coma) and then there are things that I loathe make - like most a home dec projects.  Don't get me wrong - I love when you make home dec projects and I usually drool over what you come up with.  But for me, I usually lose interest in the project before I even begin (have I ever mentioned exactly how many times I purchased fabric to recover the same chair?  No?  Good.  I'll keep that little secret to myself).

But in spite of my dislike of home dec projects, I actually made one this.  Well, two to be exact.

Allow to me introduce my new pillow shams, entirely inspired by this tutorial and my desire to not spend an additional fifty dollars to purchase shams for my new pillows (whoever said that being cheap was a bad thing?).


I'd actually never made a pillow sham before and the pillows that I bought are ridiculously poofy so I was a bit concerned the whole time that by just making the pillow case the size of the pillow I wouldn't be able to close it but in the end my fears were completely unfounded and I probably could have made the pillow shams just a tad bit smaller.


As for other things that I learned through this process?

1) A 1/4 seam allowance may work well in quilting but it is the pits the when gathering fabric and sewing gathered seams together.
2) I hate gathering fabric.
3) Holy crap!  There were a lot of threads to cut off of these pillows once they were done.

But I love these little pillow cases and surprisingly enough even Ben and O had some kind words to say about them - like when O exclaimed "look at these cool  pillows."  Look at these cool pillows indeed.


Pattern:  Based on this duvet cover tutorial and this basic pillow sham tutorial
Fabric: Used almost an entire twin size flat sheet

After 37 Weeks...

3.11.2012

...the belly finally serves a purpose.

See the happy faces I make when you take pictures of me eating?

Look At Me, Planning Ahead...Who Am I?

3.07.2012

With a baby due in late March (or possibly early April)

Who's sick of looking at my growing belly yet?  Wait - don't
answer that question!

and a very energetic toddler turning three in early May, I figure that the next couple of months will be just a wee bit hectic and so I've been trying to get a few things done now in an attempt to make life easier down the road.  Like working on O's birthday present, which I've decided is going to be a dress-up chest that will hopefully keep her well entertained in the months to come.  I've been keeping an eye out at stores for little things that I think she'd like but I've also picked out a couple of things that I'd like to sew for her gift and amazingly, I've finished one of them already - the Play Cape from Growing Up Sew Liberated.


When picking out the fabric for the cape I knew that I wanted atleast one side to be red (because who doesn't love Little Red Riding Hood?) and I originally thought that I was just going to go with some red uncut corduroy but when I went to go buy it I realized that it's not a particularly drapey fabric and that it probably wouldn't be the best choice for a dress-up cape.  And then I came across a huge bolt of red velour and I was immediately sold. 


The velour is incredibly drapey, but even more importantly, it's incredibly soft and O is obsessed with soft fabrics (in fact, every time I take her into a fabric store she yells out "minky!" and heads straight towards that section where she proceeds to rub her face on every bolt).  So I bought a yard of red velour for the Little Red Riding Hood vibe and a yard of black velour for something perhaps a bit more sinister.  I'd never sewn with velour before so I didn't quite know what to expect and I'm happy to report that all in all it was fine to sew with (if you ignore all of the fuzzies that it leaves everywhere).  You should probably know though that this pattern was incredibly easy to sew and was very forgiving so perhaps it was not the best test of how much of a pain in the butt velour is to sew with.  In any case, the cape came together incredibly quickly and I sewed it exactly as directed except that I rounded out the point of the hood, a la Dana


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to convince this very grumpy child that the hood is actually for somebody else and to hide it out of her sight until her birthday comes along.  

This Time Vs. Last Time

3.01.2012


When I was pregnant with O I had only the slightest understanding of the luxury of being pregnant without any of other children at home.  I took naps, I rested, I read a ton of books on pregnancy and childbirth, and I walked and walked and walked in an attempt to keep myself in some semblance of shape throughout the pregnancy. 

This time around though I find myself with a full-time job outside of the home and a toddler who requires (and deserves) a great deal of my time and so there are far fewer naps (although I did manage to sneak a glorious one in on Sunday - I think it was only my second nap in this entire pregnancy) and needless to say there has been no reading about pregnancy and childbirth.  But most concerning for me is that I've had so little time to get my tiny bit of exercise in and so on those rare occasions when I do find a bit of time to walk, I find myself huffing and puffing (and sweating) like a mad woman.  Quite honestly I feel like somebody who has signed up to run a marathon (aka labor) only to realize four weeks beforehand that they've completely forgotten to train.  This can't be good.