WIP Wednesday #11

Hello, Wednesday! Despite having a lot of other plans, it was still a productive sewing weekend, so I'm checking things off right and left. (In case you've missed out, I'm following along with Freshly Pieced's W.I.P. (Work In Progress) Wednesday series as a good way for me (and you) to keep track of what's going on around here.)

Completed this week:

 Valances, pillow, and taggie blankets for a friend's nursery

Started this week:

Handkerchiefs for my sister

In progress/On the "to do" list:
A few more makeup bags

Hide and Seek Spectrum baby quilt — Everything's washed and ironed — now I just have to start cutting!

Empire Waist Cinch for me from Handmade Beginnings

Baby shower gifts for several friends

Nursery bedding for the biscuit: crib dust ruffle, crib mobile, and lots of crib sheets

Other biscuit-related projects

Blocking the Early Bird/Kitchen Window quilt

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week. And be sure to click on the button to check out other great WIPs for more inspiration!

Another's nursery

About a month ago, my friend Katie (who's having twins any day) asked if I'd make some valances for her nursery. Of course, I jumped at the chance, and after working out the design and all the details, I finally got them sewn up this weekend.

Katie's mom is making the babies' quilts, so they'd already picked out the fabric, and Katie wanted the valances to match. The fabrics are Playday Elephants in Summer by SEI for Robert Kaufman Fabrics and the Red Dot fabric that goes with the collection (sorry I don't know the actual name, but it looks like it's impossible to find online anyway), both purchased from our local quilt shop.

For the valances, I mostly followed the tutorial on Simply Modern Mom, but I didn't do the tabs on the back. Since you fold over the top fabric with enough room for a curtain rod anyway, I didn't see the point in adding separate tabs on the back. I love the way they turned out. (Oh, and there are two valances; the picture above was taken after I'd only made one to test out the measurements.)

I ended up with some extra fabric, so of course I decided to put it to good use. I started off by making a very basic pillow for her rocking chair, and then there was just enough left to make a few taggie blankets.

I hope Katie, Chris, and the babies love them!

Thankful Mondays #21

Happy Monday! Each Monday, I'm writing about things I'm thankful for. This is week 21. Read more about it here. (And sorry for the lack of pictures this week!)

301. Harry Potter
302. summer produce
303. that we have so many great farmers' markets around us
304. the Nutella banana pop I got to cool me down at the farmers' market this weekend
305. being able to sew things for friends and family
306. finding a new freelance client

307. pre-addressed and stamped thank-you cards (My sister is brilliant.)
308. finding ways to use fabric scraps
309. starting my prenatal water aerobics class

310. getting to feel Biscuit move
311. the joy on Matt's face when he first felt Biscuit move
312. A/C
313. my mom's job interview

314. 24.5 healthy weeks!
315. making new girlfriends

A bed for biscuit

It's been a good week for our little biscuit because he's finally getting his room started. Our crib arrived today(!), and though we won't be putting it together for a while longer, I plan on starting on the bedding soon because we also got our fabric this week!

We debated on the fabric for a long time. We were originally going for a teal, lime green, and gray color scheme, but then a print we bought from our friend Susanne convinced us to go in the orange direction. When I found the Marine collection by Dan Stiles, I fell in love.

We wanted something modern but still cute, and this fit the bill perfectly. I'm planning on making several crib sheets, a dust ruffle for the crib, some wall art, and the crib mobile. I decided not to make a crib bumper (as much as I'd love the extra color and fabric!) because they're just not considered safe anymore, and this fabric was too expensive to buy two yards for something that's only decorative and used for a few months. I'm hoping the dust ruffle will add the needed punch of color.

(clockwise in the top picture) We're using Marine Birds, Urchin Forest in Daylight, Whale Love, Marine Life, and Organic Sunset (all fabrics from the Dan Stiles organic Marine collection for Birch Fabrics, purchased from Fabricworm.com).

Thankful Mondays #20

Happy Monday! Each Monday, I'm writing about things I'm thankful for. This is week 20. Read more about it here.

286. surprise baby showers

287. cute baby clothes

288. planned baby showers

289. cloth diaper cakes

290. an amazing family who loves reunions

291. wonderful friends who traveled far and wide for my shower

292. the blessing of gifts for the Biscuit

293. American independence
294. safe travels
295. fireworks
296. finally deciding on fabric for the nursery
297. A/C

298. sweet little puppies
299. pools

300. cornhole

WIP Wednesday #10

Hello, Wednesday! It was a very productive sewing weekend, and I managed to finish up some projects I didn't even realize were on my list. :) (In case you've missed out, I'm following along with Freshly Pieced's W.I.P. (Work In Progress) Wednesday series as a good way for me (and you) to keep track of what's going on around here.)

Completed this week:

Two makeup bags (to be used as upcoming gifts) (I used the wonderful Scrappy Make-up Pouch tutorial from Noodlehead.)

Gift set for friend's baby shower

Started this week:

Cutting the fabric for valances for a friend's nursery

In progress/On the "to do" list:

Hide and Seek Spectrum baby quilt — Everything's washed and ironed — now I just have to start cutting!

Blocking the Early Bird/Kitchen Window quilt

Empire Waist Cinch for me from Handmade Beginnings

Baby shower gifts for several friends

Nursery bedding for the biscuit

Other biscuit-related projects

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week. And be sure to click on the button to check out other great WIPs for more inspiration!

Baby gifts go prehistoric

This weekend, I finished another set of gifts for a friend's baby shower. I stuck with the same set I made from Castle Peeps: pants, a bib, and a burp cloth.

The pants are the Quick Change Trousers from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book. These came together even easier than the first time. It's such a great pattern!

They're completely reversible, too! The front is a dinosaur print I found at Hancock's Fabrics, and I paired it with a navy gingham. Don't you love the dinosaurs?

Then, I made a bib and burp cloth to match. I used the gingham on the front of the burp cloth, with knit jersey from a t-shirt for the backing. The measurements and the idea to use the jersey backing were taken from Made by Rae's burp cloths tutorial.

The bib was made from a pattern in Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol, a great book for beginners. It's fronted with the dinosaur fabric and backed with terry cloth for easy clean-up. I used sew-in Velcro for the closure, with one longer piece for variable sizing.

The entire set! I can't wait to get it in the mail.

Thankful Mondays #19

Happy Monday! Each Monday, I'm writing about things I'm thankful for. This is week 19. Read more about it here.

271. good rain
272. walks with my husband
273. a great sewing weekend
274. bunny sightings
275. finishing several sewing projects faster than I expected
276. discovering and trying foreign candy (Anyone care for an "Ordinary Miracle"?)
277. that the circus isn't just for kids
278. counting down to seeing my family this weekend
279. hearing songs that bring back memories

280. being more than halfway to the finish (21.5 weeks!)
281. fancy dinners
282. pedicures
283. gum
284. my new baby thank-you cards
285. so many good online tutorials

Making the Itty Bitty Baby Dress reversible

A little while back, I posted pictures of several gifts I sewed for a friend's baby shower. One of the items was my version of the Itty Bitty Baby Dress from Made by Rae.

I strayed a bit from the original pattern to make the dress reversible, and I had some comments asking how I'd done it, so I'm going to try to tell you. BIG DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I didn't make notes at the time, and I no longer have the dress with me to refer back to, but I'll do the best I can.

First, here's what I did the first time. Originally, I thought the dress was reversible (because the bodice is lined, so I assumed the whole thing was), so I cut my fabric and followed the directions as written until I got to step 9 (see the original pattern here), when you're supposed to attach the skirt. It was at this point that I realized my skirt clearly wasn't long enough to double up and therefore wasn't going to be lined. My solution was to cut a second piece of the lining fabric in the same measurements as my outer skirt. Next, I gathered it in the same way. Then, I followed step 9 (attaching the skirt to the bodice) twice, once attaching the outer bodice to the outer skirt, and then attaching the inner bodice to the inner skirt. This got a little awkward because the bodice pieces had already been sewn together on the sides, but I made it work.


The only other modification I made was in step 10 (attaching the bias tape to the bottom edge of the skirt). First, I pinned the two skirts together along the bottom and then secured them using a basting stitch. Then, I sewed the bias tape over both skirts to hide the stitch and create a clean hem. The basting stitch isn't necessary, but I think it made adding the bias tape easier and ensured the skirts stayed aligned.

Now, here's what I'd do if I was making the dress again. Basically, all you really need to do is make two dresses, an inner and an outer dress, and then sew the bodices together along the curved edge. Make the following modifications to the original tutorial:


1. Cut all of the fabrics the same way except in step 3, where you should cut four rectangles (instead of two): two in the lining fabric and two in the outer fabric.
2. Steps 4 and 5 should be done to both skirts.
3. Skip step 6 for now.
4. Do step 7 to the inner and outer bodices (sew the front and back inner bodice together along the sides (not the curves) and then sew the front and back outer bodice together along the sides).
5. Complete steps 8 and 9 on the inner and outer dresses.
6. New step: Slip the outer dress inside the inner dress, right sides facing. Then, sew along the curves of the bodices using a 1/4" seam allowance to attach the dresses to one another. Clip the seams at the curves, turn the dress inside out from the bottom, and press.
7. Pin and baste the bottom edges of the skirts together and then sew on the bias tape as discussed above.


How's that? Clear as mud? :) I'm sorry I don't have better instructions or pictures to go with them, and it seems everyone else I know is having boys, so I don't have a reason to re-make the dress right now. I do hope this helps, and if you try it out, let me know if it works okay or if you find a better way. Good luck!

WIP Wednesday #9

Hello, Wednesday! The WIPs are coming along nicely, and I gotta admit I'm enjoying having such a good to-do list. (In case you've missed out, I'm following along with Freshly Pieced's W.I.P. (Work In Progress) Wednesday series as a good way for me (and you) to keep track of what's going on around here.)


Completed this week:

Kindle cover for my brother-in-law's birthday (made using my tutorial)


Started this week:

Hide and Seek Spectrum baby quilt — I picked out the fabrics for the "windows" and need to pre-wash


In progress/On the "to do" list:

Hide and Seek Spectrum baby quilt
Blocking the Early Bird/Kitchen Window quilt

Empire Waist Cinch for me from Handmade Beginnings

Baby shower gifts for several friends
Nursery bedding for the biscuit

Nursery curtains for a friend
Other biscuit-related projects


Hope everyone has a great rest of the week. And be sure to click on the button to check out other great WIPs for more inspiration!

Hide and Seek Spectrum Quilt

While I have several baby gifts I'm still working on for friends, I wanted to show you a little more of a quilt I'm getting started on for my own little biscuit. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant, I bought Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book. I'd been wanting it for a while, but it was hard to justify purchasing it until we knew we had one of our own on the way.

Anyway, as I was flipping through and deciding which projects I "had" to do, I found the Hide and Seek Spectrum Quilt and decided it would be the perfect "tummy time" quilt (and a much better alternative to those plastic play mats they sell for babies).

I loved the rainbow of colors, the "peek-a-boo" nature of the flaps on the quilt, and the fact that it could be a learning tool if you used fabrics with pictures behind the windows.

I started off with some help from the ladies at Sew Fresh Fabrics, who put together this awesome rainbow bundle of Kona solids.

Then, I had to find my picture prints for the windows. Aren't they great?

I wound up using a combination of scraps from my stash, as well as prints I picked up from Joann's and my local quilt shop.

We originally wanted an all-animal or all-food theme, but that proved tricky, so we ended up with a combination of foods, animals, and a few planes and people thrown in. 

 Now, I just gotta get them washed so I can get started!

Man, I love that pig. :)

UPDATE: For a list of the solid colors I used in the quilt, see this post.