Draft Stopper

Here are pictures of the draft stopper. I really love it! :D I think I will take the scraps and make some throw pillows out of them now. It was made out of four different felted wool sweaters, cut into 14 6" squares, sewn together to make a 2x7 square rectangle, folded in half lengthwise, sewn on one short and the long side, turned right side out, stuffed with beans for weight, and scraps of the wool sweaters for some bulk, and sewn on the last end. Make sense?

Happy 2012!

Hi again! Once again, a lot has happened in the past 9 months! I'm looking forward to more baby sewing - we will be having a little one join us this summer! I haven't been sewing a ton because of the morning sickness...then my Viking died on me when I was sewing our Christmas pajamas at the last minute on Christmas Eve. Well, it didn't completely die, it just would have been a straight stitch only machine. I was very thankful for my simple backup machine! After saying goodbye to the Viking in the shop after learning she couldn't be fixed and raiding my extra feet from her, we went to the Bernina dealership where they had a 10 year old barely used machine that they thought would work well for me. She is wonderful! Very similar to my Viking, not too many extras that I would never use and will last a long time. She is solid! Her name is Cinderella, as she has a pretty blue dress. :) I will try to get a picture of her later. I tried her out the day after we brought her home and made a draft stopper for our front door. I love how it turned out! Nate has been asking for one for awhile and I decided to thank him for the new machine by making it. Pictures of that will come later as well. It's cute. Anyways, back to the purchase of Cinderelly - we expected to spend a lot more than we did, as we were considering new, so Nate made sure I got some extra feet, including a walking foot. He loves me. :)

Because I haven't been up sewing much, the sewing room became a dumping ground for clothes that aren't fitting - both mine and the toddler's, and warmer weather clothes for all of us, toys that aren't being played with at the moment and various other things. I cleaned off my sewing table yesterday and in the next few days I will tackle the rest of the room, as well as making a safe place for the toddler to play while I sew.

I realized while I was up there, that I have enough fabric/projects to keep me busy for YEARS! I made up my mind to see how much of it I can use up this year. We will see how it goes. The draft stopper was made from some felted wool sweaters I had. It felt great to use them, and the sleeves can be used to make soft baby pants for cloth diapering, as the wool won't wick out the moisture like cotton does.

Weaving has been on the back burner. I wove a baby wrap that I love - but I don't think I would weave more. We'll see. I have an order for a stole that I need to get going on as well. I'm trying to get my life a little more organized before that gets tackled - I have some dyeing to do before it can go on the loom. That's my update for now - hopefully pictures to come soon!

More Baby Sewing!!!

I can't believe how big my girl is getting! She is now getting to the point where she will play as I weave or sew...for a little bit. I just finished these overalls for her. It's a Burda pattern, and I made the 18 month size because she is starting to wear some 18 month clothes, but it is quite big for her. Oh well. Better too big than too small!!!

The pants are made from an old cashmere sweater! They are SO soft and will fit for awhile! They've been working great for when we go somewhere in the cold and a full snow suit is too heavy. They were so simple to make! I just folded some pants that she has in half and traced them over the sweater sleeves. Easy Peasy!

Onesie!!

Sewing with knits has been a lot easier than I thought - especially with a serger now! I think I have mentioned before that these owls aren't my favorite, but it is fun experimenting with them! This pattern was really easy. I will widen the crotch a little more next time, as it tends to ride side to side, but overall, I really like the fit and am planning to make some long sleeved ones as well.



LOVE those eyes!!!

Sweet Baby Bonnet and a Conversation with Ria

Ria: Hi Mama! Watch me drink from my cup!

Mama: Hey Pumpkin, can you try this on for me, pretty please?
Ria: I detest hats! It needs to come OFF!!

Mama: No, Little One, just a couple minutes to make Aunt Shell happy!
Ria: I don't wanna!!
Mama: Can we go find a kitty??
Ria: Keeee! Keeee! Keeee!
(following pictures were taken after finding one of the kitties and petting her)

The pattern for this was McCalls 3063 (now 6221) which has christening gowns and rompers as well as bonnets. I used a shirt for this that I found at Salvation Army a few months ago and could have SWORN that I had taken a picture but can't find it on the computer! I still think I did, but am pretty sure it is on my old phone which I dropped on the stone steps of the library, oops, I mean just stopped working one day! (We did tell them the truth but the tech told me that never happened and replaced the phone.) Back to the shirt. It was a ladies extra small blouse with the lace for the front, and fine cotton for the back. can't remember what the sleeves were, I am thinking they were plain cotton as well. The main part of the bonnet was cut out of one side of the blouse, and then I hand picked a row of lace off with a row of plain cotton for the ruffle. It turned out really cute....now that it is finished the weather is getting colder and it is getting too small for her head....but will be adorable for her little sister (whenever that happens) or another dear baby girl.

Way Too Long!!

Remember this? I just put it back on her so she could model it, and while it is big, I think it will be good in 3 months or so. :) For now, though, it reaches the floor!

Ria's new hat

The cooler weather here has thrown me into a tailspin! I have warm weather clothes....and cold weather clothes for Ria, but not much for in between. I decided that I need a light hat to help Ria acclimate to the cooler temperatures. She has hair, but not enough to keep her little head warm when the temperatures drop! The pattern is the Sweet Pea Pilot Cap and can be found on this blog. My friend, Trina, has made several of these, so I tried it, and it was fairly easy! This fabric is Ria's absolute favorite. Mine too. When I went into labor, I took my favorite blanket to the hospital with me (ok, ok, I will admit I can't sleep without it). It is SOOOO soft! After she was born, Ria would just melt into it if we placed her on it - it was one thing that would calm her down. Mom found some fabric - Joanns calls it the ultra cuddle fabric and made her some blankets and a hat....the blankets are used every day but the hat is now too small! I can't believe how fast this baby is growing! We saw my Mom's cousin's baby (it is too late for me to figure out seconds and twice-removeds, I'm sorry) and he was SO tiny. My baby isn't so little anymore - and she stood on her own the other day and again today!! oops. sorry. back to the fabric... anyways, I found some white cuddle fabric and used it to make a couple of hats out of it. The edging on this one is from a tank top that was rather comfy, but was JUST the right color for her, so it was sacrificed. lol. The things I do for this child! HA! sorry. Back to the fabric....again!!! The great thing about this is that you can't see the stitching!!! What a relief, because the first time I try a project, there is always some wonky stitching! Here is a picture of it being modeled. Focus on the HAT, Jen! The pattern calls for a knit fabric, and since this one doesn't stretch, I made it in the largest size. I have to keep messing with it to make it cover both ears, so I will make it extend farther on each size if I make it again, otherwise, with the stretch of the knit, it should be a great size for awhile.