Babies gotta look good, too

Ties! Lots and lots of ties! If you follow me regularly, you've seen some sneak peeks of these ties over the last few weeks (here and here), but I couldn't resist sharing a few more money shots.

I've made a lot of tie onesies before, but these all use a new technique using snaps instead of applique, so the tie hangs loose except at the top. (You can see some of my past applique tie shirts here and here.) The ties are attached using snaps, so they're interchangeable on the onesies.

I first saw someone do this at a craft fair in Dallas last Christmas. (I'd love to give her credit, but I have no idea who she is, and I haven't found anything like these online. But thank you for the idea, anonymous lady!)

Since I couldn't find a tutorial for these, I made it up as I went along. Lucky for you, I'm working on making up a tutorial so you can do them, too.

This green one was my trial run, so I kept it for Beckett. It uses larger sizing (18 months), which I didn't get quite right the first time around, so I'm working on fixing that for the tutorial.

Fabrics: The onesies in this post are all from H&M (a great resource for affordable organic onesies). B's navy tie was made using Joel Dewberry's Herringbone in Lake.

The other ties were gift sets for friends with new little men in their lives. This set was for our friends Anna and Josh, whose son Emerson was born in May.

I love this gingham for boy gifts (previously used in these Quick Change Trousers/bib/burp cloth and this bib/burp cloth combos). So classic.

Fabrics: The striped tie is in Ann Kelle's Remix Stripes in Royal cut on the bias, and the navy gingham was purchased from Joann's a while back.

This set was for my fabulous cousin Savannah and her husband Brent. Their precious son Josh was born in April.

I love how the ikat print turned out, and I can't get enough of this argyle. "Adult" prints on baby items = too cute.

Snap it off and change it out.

Fabrics: The green tie was made using Ann Kelle's Remix Argyle in Lime, and the ikat print, well, I can't seem to find the name of it. This was a scrap left over from making this bag, but apparently I didn't identify the print in that post either. Yeesh. Comment if you know what it is!

WIP Wednesday #43

Hello again, Wednesday.

Completed:

This week, I finished up a few more tie onesies for gifts. I'll have a post soon with more detailed shots, but I couldn't resist a little preview. The ties are attached using snaps, so they're interchangeable on the onesies.

I'm also working on a tutorial, but I need to tweak the sizing on the large version, as you can see on the tie I made for B last week. It's definitely a bit short. :) Hopefully next week for the tutorial!

This was another week of gifts, and I finished up another mystery one that I'll be mailing soon. I don't want to reveal it all just yet, but I'll tell you it's another Open-Wide Zippered Pouch from Anna's wonderful tutorial over on Noodlehead.

In progress:
I finally got back to work on my mini quilt for the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild's Ohio Star Quilt Challenge. Unfortunately, I realized I'm going to have to miss our September meeting, so I won't get to actually turn it in, but I've been planning on doing this challenge for so long that I still wanted to finish the project.

My star measures 16" square, and I have big plans for what I'm going to surround it with (the quilt has to be at least 24" square). The backing will be made up of some of my crazy piecing from the Jacquie Gering workshop.

And, of course, somewhere in sewing land, I'm still working on my T-shirt quilt and Kitchen Window quilt. Sigh.
 
On the "to do" list: 

Re-covering the downstairs chair

New pillows for the downstairs chairs
Christmas table runner
iPod workout strap
A mug rug for me
Ironing board cover
Another divided basket from the Noodlehead pattern 
Reusable snack bags
Living room quilt
Small zipper bag for me

This week, I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Surprise grandparent visit

My dad and step-mom have been trying to plan a visit to see us for months, but due to various circumstances, that had proven very difficult. Last Monday, I got a call from my dad asking if they could come the following Thursday morning. Of course, I said yes!

It was a short visit, but we made the most of it. Obviously, some reading was involved, both at home and out at breakfast. (How many pictures do I have of us sitting on the patio at Kaldi's? We have got to branch out.)

And we had a fun-filled adventure at the zoo, one of B's favorite spots. He had fun taking the lead and showing Nana and Papa just where to go.

He was also far more interested in holding their hands than ours. We're old hat.

Look, a bear!

And the penguins. Brrr, it's cold in that building.

The monkeys, chimps, and apes all put on a great show for us. The weather was just right for them, and they were swinging, running around, and showing off. B loved it.

Nana was nice enough to share her water because, you know, water out of someone else's bottle just tastes better, according to B.

To cool off, we headed inside the monkey house, which is probably B's favorite spot. He loves getting up close to the monkeys.

These crazy lemurs were the best. B was laughing his head off at all of their tricks.

Of course, we had plenty of down time at home, too.

Teaching Nana and Papa about Signing Time.

Outdoors on a beautiful weekend!

And the park! While we were there, we saw a little unexpected action when someone apparently lit a fire in the trashcan in the men's bathroom. Who does that?? The firemen came and put it out while everyone sat around and watched.

We were all very sad to see Nana and Papa go, but we're so glad they were able to come for a visit. Hopefully, they can squeeze in another one before too long.