snap tape

I don’t normally post super simple projects like bibs and burp cloths, but I do have a few things to say about this set, so here goes. First, why didn’t anyone ever tell me about snap tape? It is so much easier to use than those crappy snap fastener things. Second, Juliette’s bib pattern is excellent. Fits a baby perfectly. Too small for a toddler – not enough coverage-but works wonders on my four month old. Which is probably why she calls it an infant bib, not a toddler bib. Third, text fabric in patchwork is great. She does it all the time – with a great deal of style.

So, what other little tricks and secrets do folks have that make sewing easier? I’m curious to learn whether anyone else has had one of those moments recently where they have said to themselves “If only I had known about this months ago!” Please spill it. I think I’d learn a lot.

mini quilt monday

This is a cathedral window doll quilt for my little girl.  All hand sewn. Excellent tutorial here.  I tried to stay away from contemporary fabrics to give this a more old-fashioned look.  I have an idea for a variation on this pattern using more modern prints that I may actually tackle soon. There is lots of folding and ironing and hand-stitching involved, but I enjoyed the process.  I don’t think I’d have the patience for a full sized quilt, though.

My mother’s aunt hand-made her a queen sized quilt in this style. When my mom saw that I had made this mini quilt, she said, “Now do you understand why I used to have a near heart attack when you kids would hook your fingers into the fabric to pull yourselves up onto the bed?”  Yes, Mom.  Now I understand.

Amanda has mentioned that she plans to try a cathedral mini quilt too. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with. More Mini Quilt Monday here.

if there were more hours in the day

Values Quilt, pictured above, from Metrosupial Designs {Important note:  I DID NOT make this quilt, but would like to do something similar one day!}

Just in case you missed them, there are three great tutorials that have surfaced fairly recently that I would love to try. Metrosupial Designs has an amazing values quilt, a new Sew Mama Sew board member did up some great instructions for a bunch of fantastic handbags and Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts has done a brilliant job with a zig zag quilt tutorial for those of us who have a fear of sewing triangles.  I’d like to use the zig zag tutorial to do something like this.

Darn the interwebs for coming up with such great ideas.  And darn me for typing a post and complaining about not having enough free time when I could be making something.

{the one where she shows off her breastpump parts}

I went back to work recently after a three month maternity leave.   When I tell people this, the overall reaction is something like:  ”Wow, it must be hard to leave the kids and go back to work.”  This statement makes me smile a bit.  Yes. It is hard to leave the kids.  I miss having all that free time to spend with them.  And I miss having a more flexible schedule.  But no, it’s not that hard to go back to work. In fact, compared to life at home with two wee ones, work can seem like a breeze.

At work I can go to the bathroom by myself when I want; I can eat lunch at a leisurely pace; I have both hands free at all times; and I get to talk to real-live adults. Yep. Pretty easy.

That said, I miss the chaos. And the kisses. And the deciphering of new words that spill from my two year old’s mouth. The baby’s coos. The dirty dishes (not really). The lunchtime visits with my husband.  The outings with my mom.  The hugs. The noses needing wiping.  The wonderful, yet exhausting, unpredictability of the average day at home.

Don’t worry about me, though.  I’m not crying into my keyboard every day. I have an interesting job that I enjoy, a great boss, a fantastic daycare provider, a tiny commute, two beautiful healthy children,  and a very supportive husband who helps us get pretty darn close to achieving that ever-sought-after life/work balance.  Things are good.  

But enough about me.  On to the breastpump bags.  Because I know you are just dying to hear all about them.

I pump at work and needed something that “breathes” to carry the attachments for my breast pump to and fro the shared kitchen near my office. I repurposed a laundry bag to make two drawstring bags that hold all the attachments.   This is my favorite type of project.  They were quick and easy to make and are something I will use all the time.  Also, I had all the materials on hand at home. Most importantly, they are pretty to look at and make the whole “I am a modern-day milkmaid” experience just a teency bit better.

Sewing on mesh is not a simple affair so I folded and sandwiched a piece of twill tape along the inner seams before I sewed them up.  And the drawstring casing also sandwiches the mesh, so my machine never touched that tricky fabric.  I love the floral fabric so much.  I found a few fat quarters on super sale in Salt Lake City at this shop when I was visiting my sister who lives in Park City.  The print is called Bloom by Laurie Bird for Windham Fabrics, style 25822.  I have no idea if it is still around in shops or not.

Two miscellaneous items:

-I won’t weigh in regarding the breast vs. bottle feed debate because I think that what’s best for the mom, ultimately, is best for the kid.  However, it is helpful to know that some health insurance plans will pay for a good electric pump.  I was lucky to have a friend at work who clued me into this just before I was planning to buy one.  I’m just mentioning it here in case the information can similarly help someone else. {I’d be happy to let you know how I got mine through a medical supply company if you are interested.}

-While I was on maternity leave, a package from CA was delivered to the mailroom at work.  That package never made it from the mailroom to my office.  Thought I’d say something in the event that the sender reads this blog.  Such a bummer to miss good mail!  Hopefully (well, not really) it was just work related.

sturdy d-ring belt tutorial

 

Do you like the looks of this sturdy d-ring belt?   

How about these two?  

Then hop on over to my flickr account, check out my sturdy d-ring belt tutorial, and make one for yourself. (While you are there, do your best to ignore the poorly lit photos.  It was a cloudy day.)  Cheers!

did i say tutorial?

This week sort of got away from me.  I shot all the photos and even took good notes while I made this belt, but I haven’t been organized enough to put together the tutorial.  Not that anyone is holding their breath, but I will do it soon.

The reason why I like this belt so much is because it is a patchwork belt that actually holds your pants up.  I know.  Shocking…. The base material is a very sturdy cotton webbing and the d-rings are also quite hefty.  There are a few good tutorials out there for patchwork belts (I like this one in particular), but I couldn’t find a tutorial for a d-ring belt that combines fabric and webbing. If you skip the patchwork and just use one cut of a favorite fabric, you can finish up one of these babies in a flash.  I made two for my boy this way.  I know it looks simple (because it is) but it took me three tries before I got this right.  Hopefully others can learn from my stupid mistakes.

i owe you one

I am so terribly grateful for all the help everyone has given by voting for Island Auntie’s proposal which will help her off-grid home in Hawaii become even more eco-friendly and sustainable by using solar power.  Two very generous bloggy friends, Jackie and Rebecca, posted about the proposal on their blogs. Another amiga asked her entire school to vote!  The first day that I mentioned it, your votes propelled her into first place.   She has now slid back into the second spot, but she is not far behind and today is the last day that the polls are open for this round of grants.  So, here I am again, bothering you for just one more click!   Go to this link, give the page some time to load, scroll halfway down, and hit vote.  THANK YOU.

I’d like to show some true appreciation for your support, so here’s what I will do.  For the crafty folks, I will turn that pile of scraps into a neat little sewing project and will post a detailed tutorial next week so that you can make one too.  I can’t tell you what it is just yet because I am making this item for a certain birthday girl and I don’t want to ruin the surprise.   But I can tell you that it is a simple, practical gift that comes together fairly quickly.  I have not found a good tutorial for it out there in crafty blog-land, so I think it will be useful.  For those of you who read this blog to get family updates, I pledge to do everything in my power to get a few new photos of Island Baby.  Images of that beautiful little girl are hot commodities in our family!  

And for EVERYONE who comments or sends an email and lets me know that they voted again today (March 31), I will give you the chance to win one of these top secret gifts that I am making.  I wish I could tell you what it is, but I can’t.  I do promise that it won’t be lame.  Sound good?  

Thanks again, very very much.

UPDATE:  SHE WON!!!  THANK YOU!  Comments are closed–will pick a giveaway winner soon….

handmade parade – part two – the rest of the homemade haul

Cookies for family and friends. Boxes and recipes all from Martha Stewart. Jackie sold me on the boxes. Cute labels for candied citrus peels found here. Thank goodness for talented, crafty bloggers. They make you look so much more clever than you really are.

A quilt for my brother, with a matching apron for his girlfriend. Didn’t get a good photo of the whole quilt. Or the apron. But the quilt was simple and striped using Joelle Hoverson’s Cake, Rock, Beach for Moda. Inspired by a quilt I saw in the boys section of Pottern Barn Kids.

Three Wee Wonderful dolls from the Kit, Chloe and Louise pattern. These were a collaboration with Grandmama. By collaboration, I mean that she did most of the work and I did lots of cheerleading. The one pictured above galloped off to Tampa with my beautiful goddaughter. I actually did everything on this one except cut the fabric and sew the shirt. I was terrified to embroider the face, but I had a good coach. The next two are really a product of my mom’s handicraft. She even came up with alternate hairstyles – they were not part of the pattern.

This little sewista was sent off to Hawaii for Island Baby.

And this little smartie read that stack of books before hitting the slopes in Park City with Alpine Baby.

An apron for City Auntie, who was engaged to the nicest guy on Christmas morning. WHOO HOO! The apron is one big pocket (peg apron?) and was made with linen plus cotton patchwork. Did I mention that I was asked to be in the wedding? SO HONORED AND EXCITED! CONGRATS CITY AUNTIE!

Two little doodle pad holder things for two little doodlers. Thanks Ayama for the leaf fabric. (Told you I’d use it.) I did take notes on the dimensions of the pattern pieces, so if anyone is interested, let me know and I will post them.

That’s it folks. Christmas 2008. Phew! Next project = new baby. Will let you know how that goes. Could be any day now….

again with the birds

I guess I just really, really like them and enjoy making them. This is just a small representation of the embarrassingly large flock I have sitting on the hutch in our living room. The first time Grammy saw the pile, she made a joke about how I truly must be in the nesting stage of my pregnancy. Pattern is from Spool Sewing. The fabric is from an independent shop in Connecticut called Hungry Palette.

making

I am knee-deep in top secret Christmas gift projects.  Two of the projects will be made from this stack of fabrics.  It’s Cake Rock Beach by Joelle Hoverson for Moda.  I have also made some good progress on my Little Guy’s hexagon quilt, though I still have a long way to go.  My plan is to finish up all of my other Christmas sewing in November, and then focus only on his quilt starting December 1.  It will be all hand pieced, so it will be nice to sit by the tree and stitch without having to listen to the whir of the machine.  That project does not have to be kept a secret, since the Little Guy has little interest in what I write in this space.  I hope to do a few progress reports along the way.  It is slow going, so I will need the cheer leading!

Speaking of the Little Guy, he has been up to some serious structure building with the blocks that Architect Uncle made for him last Christmas.  I love his big, booming smile in this photo.  He has been talking a lot more these days.  “Get UP!” – first thing in the morning.  “Hurry!” – when we are trying to get out the door.  “Trick or Treat!” – when he wants candy from his Halloween stash.  You get the idea.  It’s adorable.

Thanks to everyone who said hello during my little cookbook giveaway.  I have to say I was astonished to receive so many kind comments.  People beyond my circle of family and friends really do follow this little blog–wow! There were a good number of questions about the cookbook that I will address in a future post.  The winner of the cookbook, fabric, and bird ornament was Vanessa.  Vanessa, please let me know your mailing address and preference in fabric so that I can mail that package off to you.  My email is acyder at gmail dot com.