-little projects-

I made another In Threes sweater.  This time in pink and for another baby.  I love this shade of pink.   It is kind of dusky and not pink, pink!  There is neon everywhere right now, and I admit that I am just not a neon girl.  I have had the hardest time shopping for my kids this spring.  Everything is so...BRIGHT.  I don't mind it in bits and pieces, but well...where are my pretty pastels??

I haven't been knitting as much lately because I have been dealing with horrible tendonitis.  I was working on a cute little baby dress in a fingering weight, and it just did me in.  I am half way done, and the dress is turning out so, so cute.  I don't know if I can ever work with fingering again though.  Thankfully, this is worsted weight, and so it didn't bother my hand and shoulder as much...whew.  I made another little peasant dress to go underneath.  I used a sweet little flower fabric from Hunky Dory that I have had in my stash for awhile.  Perfect for a little baby, yes?

I also made some fun Foldover Clutches.  I have been wanting to make some of these for awhile.  The envelope clutch I made last year was starting to look a little dingy, so it was time for a little something new.  One for me and one for a gift.

These are super simple, quick sews.  However, the touch of leather gives them that perfect touch.  Very satisfying! ;0)

Kid Clothes Week starts tomorrow.  I don't know if I will be productive as I was last fall, but fabrics and patterns are picked!  Fingers are crossed!

-rag quilt-

The Celebrate The Boy posts by Rae and Dana made me think of this little rag quilt made for my newest nephew back in December.  I bought a set of boy fat quarters from the Children at Play line back before whether I knew whether Samantha was a boy or a girl. (I thought she was going to be a boy.)  So, I was just waiting for another baby boy to make his appearance to use this darling fabric.  I decided just to make a simple rag quilt with minky.  I love using minky for baby quilts.  It is so soft and seems to add that perfect soft touch that babies love.  I didn't use any batting in between the layers, so it is a little more like a blanket than a quilt.   Now to finish Samantha's baby quilt now to be her first birthday quilt! ;0) 

-sewing week-

Sewing week was a success for the most part!  Yay!  Having my machine downstairs amongst all the activity definitely helped.  I am going to keep it down here for another week to try and complete a few more projects.    

I made hair bows!  I made a couple of different ones.  This pink one seems to be the favorite.  The last time I tried making hair bows they were a complete flop.  I found this tutorial that uses hand sewing, and this one "clicked" for me.  

Juliana kept smiling so hard in these pictures.  I was trying to get her to look a little more natural, so I told her not to smile for this one, and this is what I got.  I took a look at it and just busted out laughing.  

So we switched back to smiling.  Much better.

I made a simple little cover for my new Kindle Fire!  My sweet husband gave me one for Valentine's Day. I wanted one for my birthday because I know I am going to spending a lot more time sitting on the couch come April once this little baby is here.  I love it!

I used some of my treasured Far, Far Away II fabric.  I just measured around the Kindle and added some seam allowances.  Of course, the first time I sewed it together I had to completely rip it apart and use a smaller seam allowance.  

So, I moved on to baby things starting with this swaddler.  This is a pattern in Lotta Jansdotter's baby sewing book, but I found the pattern for free here.  We are big on swaddling over here, and I am sure this will get a lot of use.

I used some of Anna Maria Horner's flannel from Loulouthi line and an older Good Folks cotton fabric for the outside.

These weren't on my list, but I became obsessed with the idea of making some little newborn pants.  I used the Britches and Bloomers pattern.  Super easy and sooo cute.  It is hard to tell just how tiny they are, and it is hard to imagine they could really fit anyone!  

Here is another pair made with a sweet little birdie fabric and some eyelet.

I also found this little peasant dress tutorial through Pinterest for a newborn.  Another quickie!  I sometimes forget how fast sewing can be.  I have gotten used to all the more complicated quilting patterns I have been working with lately!

So that is what I finished!  I have started baby girl's quilt and am almost finished with my mini.  I will be back later this week to show you all!

-this week-

I made my first thing for new baby girl!  One of the softest, most luxurious blankets ever!  The pink floral is a velveteen by Anna Maria Horner.  The other side is a super soft minky.  I found it here at our local random fabric store.  It is a giant warehouse full of all sorts of interesting treasures and a whole lot of well, you know.... stuff you never want.  I found something similar over at Fabric.com.  I love making things like this.  Really isn't anything easier, and you get such a nice result!  I took it downstairs to show everyone, and Felicity immediately declared that she was freezing and needed a blanket.  Hmmmm....  I let her try it out. ;0)

I also got out my Turning Twenty quilt top that I made last summer.  It is finally a quilt sandwich!  I went to my mom's house and basted it there, since I really didn't have a big uncarpeted open space to baste this.   I think I am going to keep the quilting simple and maybe just outline the blocks?  I plan to quilt it here and there.  It is such a big quilt that I don't want to burn out on it.

I also started a crochet pillow to go with the new bed quilt!  I have had this pattern pinned on Pinterest for awhile now, and I am excited for how these colors are coming together!

Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!  

For the kiddos

March was one of those months. Welcome April! I made this car seat canopy for the babe. I really liked this one, and I used this basic tutorial. However, she requires a yard of each. I had lots of leftover fabric from this quilt and wanted to use it up. Plus, I thought it was fitting for a car seat. So, I just cut 6 1/2" squares to make a patchwork version. I lined the back with linen, which still keeps it a light blanket but gives it a little more heft. Summers are so hot here. Think 100 degrees. I am hoping this will keep the sun off the little guy a little better and also away from prodding fingers. :0) I was going to recover our old infant seat, but decided to get a new one since the other one was going to expire at the end of the year. The FedEx man dropped it off, and Felicity was so excited. I took it out of the box, and she kept repeating, "Sanks Mama!", and she sat in it for the rest of the day reading books. Um...yeah...I don't think she is getting the new baby thing. :0)

I also finished up the girls' Claire Apron Knot dresses last week. These were going to be for Easter, but I admit I bought dresses for them. Christmas Eve was spent in a frenzy of sewing Felicity's dress, and I was dreading a repeat of that. What do you know I finished them a whole week and a half before Easter. Classic.

These dresses were a lot of fun to make. So easy with such great results. I have to say I think the Portabello Pixie Claire Pattern is one of the best patterns for little girls out there. It is so versatile. You can make four different styles, and it comes in a ton of sizes.

For both of the girls' dresses I used some Meadowsweet for the bodice and bottom. I used different accent fabrics for the trims and staps, and it is really interesting to see how much that changes the look of the whole dress. Juliana's is definitely more of an orange sherbert look, and Felicity's definitely has the pop of the pink. Both of the girls wore these dresses all day last Saturday, and not one picture of them in it! I blame it on pregnancy brain. :0)