Ahhhhhhhhh!!!

I made Quinn this little monster guy for his first birthday. (One! My baby is one! Oh my goodness!) He could not care less about it, much preferring to spend his precious time putting small inedible items in his mouth, but Adelaide loves it and has adopted it for now.

It's the Koji pattern from the Wee Wonderfuls book. I challenged myself to work only with what I had on hand for this project. The corduroy is from an old pair of Adam's pants. I have so many old clothing items sitting around waiting to be fabric-harvested, so this made me very happy. The wool felt is left over from when I made Adelaide some play food a couple of Christmases ago. And the argyle quilting cotton has been sitting on my shelves for years.

The pattern came together nicely and didn't take too much time. It's sturdy. And kinda cute, despite the wonky facial expression it ended up with. (I tried to get that mouth on straight, I really did, but...)



I have to keep reminding Adelaide that she can't keep Koji forever. Someday Quinn might actually want him. So she's requested one of her own.

gleeful on-the-go romper

This is Quinn's Gleeful On-the-Go Romper. I sewed it up for Kids Clothes Week, and I even took photos of it right away. The delay from that step to this one is inexplicable, but I'm going to take a leap and blame the children. Cool? Cool.

I love babies in rompers. L-O-V-E! I based the top on the envelope neck tee from the Growing Up Sew Liberated book. I drafted the bottom half based loosely on a romper Quinn already has. I fussed around trying to figure out the crotch snap situation for awhile, finally settling on sew-in snaps.

And, you guys? It totally worked out! The romper fits! It's cute! The snaps hold! It seems like the boy is comfortable! High-fives all around!

The photo shoot, though...O.M.G. It mostly looked like this...

Or this...

And then we got photo-bombed. Puppy on the loose! (Don't worry. We made sure it got back to our neighbors safely.)

Oh, and another thing I love: this fabric. It's one of the knits from Caroline Hulse's Gleeful collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. So cute! I wanted to make Quinn something for Kids Clothes Week that fit the Kid Art theme, but I didn't feel like letting the baby loose with any art supplies. I figured fabric with a bit of a kid-art vibe was the way to go, and I immediately thought of these adorable and sunny doodle lines. I stalked various online fabric shops hoping to be able to order it in time for my KCW sewing, and it was available just in time! Hooray! (I ordered it from Hawthorne Threads, and it came super quickly. I was so excited.)

Quinny's floor blanket

I always like to lay Quinn out on a blanket for his floor time, partly to keep him out of whatever crumbs and fuzz are hanging around our floor, partly to help define a safe zone for Adelaide to reference (no riding the bike on the blanket! no jumping on the blanket! gah!), and partly to protect the rugs from the inevitable spitting up that Quinny brings to the party. Of course, now with all the rolling and scooting going on, he finds his way off that blanket pretty quickly, but still.

Six months in, I figured it was time to make the poor neglected second child his own floor blanket like the one I made Adelaide when she was a baby. Super easy, super quick, and very functional. 

I thought I had batting left over from Adelaide's blanket, but it wasn't quite enough, so I used some mystery batting that I had inherited. I kind of melted it with the iron a bit, and it puckered up a bit differently than the stuff I'm used to. Also, if you take a close look at my "quilting," it is a hot mess--just a few oddly placed lines of stitching in the middles of a few of the squares to hold things together. 

But who's looking that closely, right? Well, except for the baby playing on it.

KCW Day 1: Getting Started

 Some bloggers have stuff all finished and ready to show off. Some have all the washing/tracing/cutting prep work done and are ready to dive in. I have a load of fabric in the dryer and a half-finished Christmas present.




 I'm working away on the Red Riding Hood from Little Things To Sew, which I started as a Christmas present for Adelaide. Obviously, I'm a bit late on that. But I'm almost done! Finally! It's actually a pretty easy and quick project, I just keep getting distracted by things. Like laundry. And food. And adorable babies.



 Speaking of which, I hear Smiley Guy waking up. More tomorrow, I hope!

The sweater

You may remember that I started a sweater back in June. A sweater for the impending arrival. Well, the arrival is now four months old, and I finished the sweater on Christmas eve.



And not a moment too soon. Quinn is a big boy. Thank goodness Adam convinced me to go with the 3-6-month size all those months ago, because that means he might be able to wear this thing for about three days.



As you can see, the sleeves and width are temporarily okay, but the body is sooooo short. Would definitely add length next time.



So not a total success (and I won't even get into the messily stitched spots), but, hey, I made a sweater! Yay!



On Ravelry here.

Happy Halloween

Well, that was fun! Adelaide really got it this year. She picked her own costume, a zombie, based on her love of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. She even helped me paint the blood on her clothes. (According to her, the blood is because "this zombie fell down a lot." Love that kid!) Quinn wore Adelaide's old Brutus the Buckeye costume. She wore it at nearly six months, but it fit the little big guy pretty well here at two months.

I've been busy...

Quinn Thomas Ross. Born yesterday in the wee hours. Practically perfect in every way.

 

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Sewing maternity clothing, take two

As you may have guessed by the lack of posting, I didn't really follow through with this edition of KCW. Whoops. I finished the sun hat (yay!), but then I was all "It's sooo hot and I'm sooo huge and tired," and I gave up on everything ever sewing for the rest of the week.

I don't know whether it's the heat (oh my god, so hot), the fact that there's a toddler to take care of, or just me being a couple of years older this go-round, but damn, the last couple weeks of this pregnancy have been so much harder than I remember from any of the pregnancy with Adelaide. I can't help but complain about it a little bit (sorry), but at least I am sparing you pictures of my puffy feet and such. Instead, I will show you pictures of something I made for myself before KCW and the horrid heat wave of doom.

This skirt may not be much to look at, but it is quite comfortable and filled an immediate wardrobe need (the need to not wear the same skirt to work every single day). It took about an hour to sew up and used about a yard and half of fabric (some of the same purple interlock I used for Adelaide's shorts). It adequately covers me, is really comfy and breezy, and doesn't fall down, so I am rating it a total success. Hey, look, not all my homemade maternity-wear has been a complete failure!

I just winged it, but there are a ton of tutorials out there for similar skirts (both maternity and non), so I'm not going to bother with a more detailed how-to. Basically: rectangles. Nice.

I don't like it that much, but at least I finished it! Right? Right?

I have finally come to the less than thrilling conclusion of my maternity sewing project.



I've been working a few minutes here and a few minutes there on the Mariposa Tunic from Handmade Beginnings for a couple of months now, stitching away when I could find a spare (and not completely exhausted) minute or two, which wasn't often, obviously.

The pattern has a maternity option and a non-maternity option, and can be made as a dress or a tunic. I went with the maternity tunic.

And, though I kind of hate to say it, I have some issues.

First, I had read several pattern reviews that recommended adding some length to the tunic and some height to the modesty panel, so I did (about 4 inches to the length and 3 inches to the panel, if I recall), and thank goodness! This would not have been wearable for me otherwise. I'm 5'8", so maybe on someone shorter it would have been okay? But I don't typically have a problem with shirt torsos being too short, so maybe not.



Also, the ties: The pics in the book show it tied up front. Well, in reality, they aren't long enough to wrap around and come back to the front to tie, but the shape of the area where the ties connect to the main part of the shirt makes it not really work to tie in front without the wrap-around move because it leaves the chest really baggy and weird. So I can only tie this in back. Which isn't terrible, but is not what I had envisioned based on the book.





The inside is kind of messy. This is partly me, because I could have gone all fancy and figured out how to finish it more nicely without tons of messy, exposed, notched seams. But since I made Adam that Negroni (Colette Patterns, best pattern I have ever sewn from), I just want all the patterns to be as nice as that one and tell me how to make it all pretty and professional, gosh darn it.

The general fit is probably the most disappointing thing. Based on the size chart guidelines, I made a Small/Medium. I have almost outgrown it already. I am 7 months along and have gained a "normal" amount of weight, but my belly is definitely pushing the limits of this shirt. Yet the bust is too roomy, even though I have definitely gained at least a "normal" amount of pregnancy bust as well. So the fit is just off for me. It looks frumpy.



I like the chambray fabric I picked out (from JoAnn Fabrics). The sleeves are fine. And that's about the best of it. Not thrilled. Would not recommend.

Oh, well. I've already started my next project (for Adelaide, because after this I'm not feeling the selfish sewing right now), so onward ho!

Statement of Intention

I am going to knit a sweater for the baby.

There. Now it is out there, you know all about it, and I will actually accomplish it. Because that's how it works, right?

Seriously, though. Make me finish this. I like knitting, but so far all of my projects have been rectangles. True story. A sweater, even a very small sweater, feels like I'm taking things up about five million notches. So I'm a bit intimidated, to say the least. But I have picked a pattern*, purchased appropriate needles**, and chosen my yarn***.  So I'm already on my way!



*It looks like it might not be the hardest thing ever. Fingers crossed.

**On my second try...that says something about my ability to read and follow instructions, I think. Sigh.

***So soft! So pretty! I wish I could knit more quickly so I'd be able to pick out yarn more often.

Lavender Belly Balm

After making my announcement the other day, it occurred to me that while I may not have any maternity-related sewing projects to share, I have been working on some other maternity-related projects lately.

Last time around, I scoffed at the idea that one needs special creams and lotions for a pregnant belly. Regular lotion would be just fine, thank you very much. Until the belly really started to grow, and suddenly my skin felt sooo tight and itchy and just plain uncomfortable. So I rushed out and grabbed the drug store product that looked least offensive (Burt's Bees belly balm, in case you're interested) and sighed with relief.

But as the pregnancy wore on, and as the belly grew bigger, I used more and more and more of that stuff, and boy wouldn't it be great if I didn't have to keep buying so darn much of it? News flash: I don't have to. Duh.

This time around, I realized that I could make it. Brilliant! So now, nearly seven months in, after plenty of opportunity to play around with the ingredients and ratios, I've put together what is, for me, the perfect basic belly balm recipe.* Enjoy!

Lavender Belly Balm
Ingredients
5 TBS beeswax
5 TBS jojoba oil
10 TBS other carrier oil (I like the following mix: 5 TBS olive oil, 2 TBS sunflower oil, 3 TBS grapeseed oil)
60 drops lavender essential oil

Directions
Add beeswax, jojoba oil, and other carrier oil to a small saucepan. Heat over low heat, gently swirling** the mixture in the pan from time to time, until the beeswax has just melted. Remove from heat and add the lavender essential oil. Gently swirl to mix. Pour into your container(s).*** Cover with a lightweight towel to cool for 30 minutes before capping.

*I use this balm every morning and really love it. It's also great for other rough or dry areas, like elbows or winter-chapped hands. I have another, richer belly oil I've been making to use in the evening, so maybe I'll post that sometime soon.

**You can use a spoon to stir the mixture, but why dirty the extra spoon? I find that moving the pan around to gently swirl things works just as well and is easier. And I am all about easier.

***I saved the tins from my Burt's Bees balm, and this recipe fits perfectly into two tins.

 

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Oh, by the way...

So, a piece of rather exciting news I've been meaning to share: I'm pregnant!

I kept thinking I'd announce it in this space with some sort of completed maternity- or baby-related sewing project. Yeah. About that. I've been working on one maternity shirt for so long* that I don't think it's going to actually fit my enormous belly by the time I'm done. It's been hectic around here, y'all.

And so, being due in August, I figured I'd probably better just make my announcement now, before the announcement turned into "Oh, by the way, I had a baby the other day."

If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have figured this out already because I keep pinning maternity- and baby-related projects as if I'm actually going to manage to make something ever again.** How optimistic. Seriously, though. I do hope to do some sewing for the new baby this summer. Baby stuff is the best because it uses tiny amounts of fabric and is relatively quick.



*It's not that it's some huge time-consuming project, it's just that I've been working on it for about five minutes at a time once or twice a week for the past two months. Not a great way to make progress.

**I was talking with a neighbor the other day and it came up that I have a "sewing room," and she was all "Oh, you know how to sew! That's so great!" And I had to admit that at this point it's more like I know how to buy lots of fabric and hoard it in a mess of a room with high hopes of actually making something someday. Sigh.

Two!

How is it possible to go from this...

to this...

in such a short span of time?

Today, my baby is officially my two-year-old big kid, and she's a pretty great one, if I do say so myself.

Happy birthday, Winks! Love, Mama

 

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Sewing from December: felt food!

Adelaide received a play kitchen for Christmas this year, so, of course, I needed to make some felt food! I made a few things, but the farfalle turned out the best, I think.



Just cut a few rectangles, trim the short edges with pinking shears, and scrunch and hand-sew the centers.  The little colander is something I picked up from World Market for $2 because I was there buying candy for our stockings and thought the pop of blue would be just so darn cute.



And, because our girl loves her cookies, I made some chocolate chip cookies. And yes, she did try to stick one in her mouth at first, before we had sufficiently gone over the "this is PRETEND food" concept. I didn't stuff them at all, so they're just flat, which I think works.

I also made some fried eggs, but for some reason I don't have any photos of those. Maybe someday.

I consider the farfalle, the cookies, and the eggs my victories. Easy, but also pretty good looking. On the other hand: I also tried a doughnut. There were going to be multiple doughnuts, but I wasn't happy with the effort to results ratio on the first one, so I quit.



The felt food  and the play kitchen are getting a lot of use so far (and even some good, lengthy independent play! pinch me!), so yay!

I am a Bunny

I adore Halloween. Because candy and costumes rock my world.*



Knowing that this may be my last chance to costume Adelaide without her input, I chose one of my favorite children's book characters ever: Nicholas from Richard Scarry's I Am a Bunny. (Adam got to pick the costume last year, just so you know. We're being all fair and equal here.)



Besides pure adorability, this costume choice had another major plus: the overalls and shirt can be used as regular clothes** for the rest of the winter, and the sewing was minimal yet satisfying. Just like last year, I based the kid's headgear on the Sweet Pea Pilot Cap, this time with a few major adjustments (ears, obviously, and a velcro neck closure). Also just like last year: procrastination. I did most of the work on this bunny-eared hat the day of. I should have gone up another size with the hat, but it still worked. And the tail is just a couple of scraps sewn together, stuffed with some fiber fill, and safety pinned to the overalls.



None of our neighbors knew who she was. Maybe I am a Bunny isn't as widely read as I assumed?



But that's okay, because she sure charmed the heck out of her parents!






*Decorating the house and yard with spiderwebs, tombstones and pumpkin-shaped strings of light, not so much with the rocking my world. That's just not my jam. When Adelaide gets older maybe I can delegate it to her so we look less slackerish on this front?

**I tried going the thrift store route for these, but I had no luck at all, so I ended up on ThredUp. It's pretty cool. You can buy gently used kids clothes AND send in your gently used kids clothes to earn some cash (via Pay Pal) or site credit. My buying experience was good. I haven't sent in my own used stuff yet because I'm taking my time and REALLY filling that bag up, but I'll let you know how that goes. Full disclosure: The link is my referral link, and I can get credits when you use it.