petite pleat

Nesting

2009-10-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

Lil' C is set to arrive around the end of the month... so, I've done some nesting. Literally.

I'm putting the finishing touches on his nursery and was inspired by this cute mobile tutorial I found online.

Here's how mine turned out:

For the life of me, I can't find my fishing line that I was going to use to hang it... so for now... some twine and thumbtacks are doing the job of keeping it out of Big C's grubby mits. So, it's not quite hanging how I envisioned... but close enough.

P found the branch for me while he was out walking. You can't really tell from the pictures but it's a great branch because it really sticks off the wall and out over the crib... so it definitely serves the same purpose as a mobile, it just doesn't move around. And too bad our camera is awful... because the pictures don't really do it justice. Plus... it's much more cute in person.

I love the way all these little birds turned out... and they were sooo simple to make. Maybe 5 minutes a pop. I can't wait to make more birds! Anyone need Christmas ornaments? I think I'm going to make many many more of these birds.

And I like how a few are posed all snuggly on the tree. They're all just hot glued into place.

In the meantime, the countdown continues... about 25 days until we have a lil' babe to put in this crib!

Fly Ride

2009-09-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend, I spent every second of my free time making this:

This is Big C's old car seat, and I wish I would've taken a before picture, because the difference is pretty amazing.

That old car seat cover was GROSS... plus I think it had been chewed apart by mice or something. But the frame from the car seat was perfectly fine. So after P scrubbed it down... I went to work remaking the cover.

I pretty much took the old one apart to see how it was put together. And then I made this brand new one from scratch... using some super thick quilt batting... and some great Joel Dewberry fabric I got at Bolt. This is from his "Deer Valley" line and while it's pretty bold, I quite like it. Our baby will definitely stand out in the crowd!

I also learned a lot during this project... and was glad to finally figure out the right tension on my machine for sewing with batting. I still need to find the little insert that makes the seat smaller for newborns... and remake that too.

Backpack, Backpack

2009-09-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

So here's Big C's new backpack I made for him for preschool. I used this pattern.

I got this adorable fabric from Bolt.

This was my first time sewing with piping... and I loved it. I love the finished look it gives. This was also my first time sewing with webbed straps.

The pattern doesn't have an outside pocket, but I added one... and used this cute button to close it up.

And this pattern makes it super easy to make your zipper look great! Hoorah, success with a zipper!

But the best part was trying it on for size.

Look at that cute big boy!

and another angle... 'cause he's so cute:

And from the back:

Yay! I love it. He's all ready for school that starts next Tuesday!

Mother

2009-05-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

This year for Mother's Day, I made my mother and grandmother fabric corsages! I found them online here... and they were super simple to stitch together.

When I showed them to P he said they looked like something a clown might wear. But I mailed them off anyway.

I like the way the "carnations" turned out best.

But the "lily" and the "leaves' are cute too.

Mom informed me that both she and Grandmother wore them on Mother's Day. I hope no one tried to honk their noses!

Warm and Toasty

2009-01-11T21:20:00.001-08:00

For my Mom's birthday I decided to make her a pair of slippers I had seen in a Martha Stewart magazine.

They turned out so cute I decided to make a pair for my sister since I had her name for Christmas.

C decided he really like the slippers too... and wore Grammy's all around the house before I could get them in the mail.

So, I traced his little foot and made him a pair too!

Unfortunately, he doesn't like them as much as he liked Grammy's and this is about the only time I could snap a photo of him wearing them!

I have just enough wool felt left over to make myself a pair! We'll see if I ever get around to it!

Christmas Cards

2009-01-11T20:50:00.001-08:00

This year I decided to Gocco Print our Christmas Cards!

First I designed the card.

Then I gathered all the supplies:

Then I "flashed" my screen.

Here's what it looks like all inked up:

And here was my first practice print:

And then I went into production mode, laying cards out to dry wherever I could find the space.

I printed a bunch of these... and I even made some postcard versions... which I might sell on etsy for 2009! (If I'm brave enough!)

Happy Christmas!

Swap!

2009-01-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

For the second year in a row, I participated in an online ornament swap.

Here's how it works: You sign up and are matched with 10 other people. You then make 10 ornaments and send them to those people. Then you sit back and wait for 10 ornaments to appear in your mailbox! Both years I've really enjoyed making the ornaments and it's so fun to get 10 unique and handmade ornaments in the mail!

This year I used felt to make some little twigs:

I got a lot of cool ornaments in return. I have a little Christmas tree where I display all 10... and then each year I plan to add them to our big Christmas tree.

Dish towels & Pot holders

2008-08-03T23:20:00.001-07:00

A couple weekends ago, I pulled out Lotta Jansdotter's book "Simple Sewing" and made another set of dish towels and pot holders.

But instead of using her cup applique, this time I used a little bird applique. I used the same pattern that I made for a skirt for my niece last summer.

I organized a little assembly line and a couple of hours later, I had 3 dish towels and 3 potholders!

I was really pleased with how they all turned out.

The fabric is from Ikea.

This is the only photo I took before I wrapped them up in pretty paper and sent them on their ways!

They're all gifts for my sister and 2 sisters in law's birthdays! (Even though one is quite belated!)

A Tote for M

2008-08-01T23:03:00.000-07:00

I made this simple little tote for my niece M.
It's actually the second "M" tote I've made. I made the first one for another niece named M. On that one, I used a zig-zag stitch to applique the "M" into place. But on this one, I left the edges ragged and just sewed a straight stitch around them.

Oh, and this one... it's reversible!
Happy Birthday, M!