Crafting On Firsts

Some exciting news for our growing family, presented by Noah (with captions by me)...

It is a GIRL! Noah calls her "Our Baby", which I love. Not "Mommy's baby" or "Mommy and Daddy's baby" but OUR baby.  And so there is girly crafting going on in this house for the first time, and lots of it. I actually made this little sweater before we found out the gender, but when paired with a simple little dress it instantly became hers.

In addition to the sweater, I have been cranking out wool diaper covers in cream and lilac hues. While I am not a fan of a lot of pink, I do love vintage looking floral prints. Thanks to my Mom (and newly appointed 'sewing assistant' aka seam ripper) visiting this past week, I had time to sew these sweet little peasant blouses and many burp cloths. When she wasn't helping me decipher sewing patterns, she spent countless hours reading with the boys, playing with playdough, and 'shopping' in their store, allowing me to make a small dent in my sewing list. Sewing is not my forte, as evidenced by the fact that I cut the fabric for these blouses the wrong way. You would think I would have noticed all those birds falling off their branches! At least it will look correct to me when I am cradling her in my left arm. Lesson learned...

I am short on words this morning, and currently being beckoned by a certain boy to come inspect his knight's castle. Happy crafting!

In The Summertime

The first days of June brought with it some HOT days (90+ degrees in the shade!) giving the garden a boost and sending us running for our swimming suits and sunscreen. Within the span of a few days, we had filled more days with street parties, wading pools and Popsicles than I could remember having throughout the past two summers combined. Of course, last summer is a blurry, sleep-deprived memory due to the fact that Isaac was barely out of newborn stage, and our outside time was greatly limited to the shade. The summer before that I was pregnant, feeling queasy, and you could not have paid me a thousand bucks to put on a swimming suit. So, armed with a new kiddie pool, complete with a mini slide, and some SPF 60, we are ready to wring every last bit of fun out of this summer.I had been so looking forward to warmer weather and not having to dress two squirming boys in hats, mittens, boots, etc., etc. to go play outside that I quite forgot it takes nearly as long to put sunscreen on two squirming boys. I had also forgotten that sunscreen is messy stuff, as they smear their little SPFed bodies up against windows, appliances, and unfortunately, all over the piano. After finding that the black finish came off with the cleaning cloth when I tried to clean the sunscreen off the bench day after day, I decided that we were in desperate need of a piano bench cover. When an Internet search turned up few options available for purchase, Curtis said, "Why don't you just sew one?" I thought about for a minute before continuing my search even more furiously, because I really didn't feel that I had the time or energy to come up with a pattern. Alas, I could find nothing suitable for our extra long bench. So began a several day project, with me measuring and re-measuring, crawling around on the floor cutting fabric scraps of fabric, and sewing them together while perched on a toddler-sized chair in front of the sewing machine I had placed on an end table in my make-shift sewing area in the foyer. The best (and maybe the only good) feature of the area being that it was located on the other side of the baby gate and out of reach of the kiddos, so they could safely play on the other side while I worked on my project.Several days later, we have a brand new quilted piano bench cover...

I was so happy when I slid the finished cover over the bench and it actually fit that I may have done a little dance. OK...I did do a little dance, and the boys laughed at me. This project just might have given me the confidence to actually finish the quilt that I started over a year ago (the scraps of which were used for this cover). Though I may need to set up a better sewing area in a corner of the basement. That toddler sized chair just isn't cutting it :)

We're Still Here

It has been almost a month since I have written here. Once again, the days are full, but with what I don't know exactly. Keeping one eye on Isaac while trying to get anything else done at the same time is a full time job. From the moment he wakes to the moment he goes to sleep at night, he goes, goes, goes. Just getting his diaper changed and dressing him could be a sport in an of itself. Was Noah like this? I don't think so. Neither does my family, who got to experience his enthusiasm for life firsthand during the holidays. The only thing more exhausting than a curious baby that gets into everything, is that same baby in a non-baby-proofed house. He has a great sense of humor, darting behind doors, swinging them shut behind him, and then sitting behind them so we can't open them, all while giggling and squealing. But he is also very generous with his snuggles and kisses, and I have been known to be blinded by drool when he is in a particularly affectionate mood.

We had a quiet, simple Christmas this year. Because I prefer to give handmade gifts, my gift list was kept short out of necessity. Somewhere in those hours between the boys' bedtime and mine, I finished just a few gifts this year: a scarf for Curtis (OK...I actually finished this one the day after Christmas)...

A green gnome for Grandma.

And a soft doll for Isaac to snuggle with at night. Upon returning home after a week away, it was lovely to settle back into our familiar rhythm. For the past week or so, the days have been filled with wonderful play as a few new toys were introduced to old favorites. The tree blocks have been a big hit.

The boys are playing with each other more often now, and Isaac misses Noah when he is napping (Noah naps more than Isaac!). So do I actually, because Noah keeps Isaac happy and busy. Can you guess what game they are playing here?

We have a quiet couple of weeks coming up, and I have been doing some experiments in the kitchen...more on that next time.

~Jen

More Sewing For The Boys

Thanks to a few long naps from the boys this past weekend, a Daddy available to tend to them when they were not sleeping, and a late night or two, I have finished a couple more pairs of pants for Isaac using the Quick Change Trousers pattern from Handmade Beginnings. This time I made them 18 month size with 12 month length, and they seem to fit pretty well with room to grow. First up, Elephant pants, lined with flannel.
Next up, and quite possibly my favorite thing that I have ever sewn, the Fairytale pants. This pair is reversible. On one side, red linen (left over from a tunic I made for myself) with The Three Little Pigs on the bum...
Turn them inside out and they are brown corduroy (from a pair of pants that didn't fit me) with Little Red Riding Hood on the bum.

They are thick, warm, and oh so cute! The pictures really don't do them justice. Especially when the second I step outside to take pictures in some natural light, the toddler starts yelling through the open window that he has to use the potty. Then moments after I put said toddler down for a nap and sit down to try to edit the quickly snapped photos, the little babe wakes up and stakes a claim to my lap throughout the remainder of the blogging/photo-editing session. But I digress...

I consider myself a pretty novice sewer, but after making a couple pairs of these pants, they came together pretty quickly. Now that I don't have to read each step several times, I can make a pair in about 3 hours, divided up into many, many, many smaller chunks of (nap) time. I have not yet tried to size them up for Noah, but it is on my 'To Do' List, along with about a million other things.

Another recent project was a crayon roll for Noah's Stockmar block crayons. I couldn't find a pattern that was exactly what I wanted, so I combined a few different ones to come up with my own. It turned out ok, but I am considering this one my prototype. It is made from the same red linen and Three Pigs fabric as Isaac's pants, with some cotton twill to tie it up.

The pockets are not as deep as I would have liked, but all the other dimensions came out pretty well. The elastic down the middle is for holding regular stick crayons, which we don't have yet. I may make another one or I may just live with the shallow pockets, because although the shallow pockets will bother me from here to eternity, do we really need two crayon rolls? Probably not.

Now I need to put the sewing machine away for a while and get to work on the several knitting projects I have in progress and the many more I want to get started before cold weather sets in.

~Jen (and Isaac)

Sewing for the Boys

Over the past couple of years, I have come to realize that it is really, really hard to cute pants for baby boys. I'll admit, I do have some criteria. They need to be made of natural fibers. It would be excellent if they came in colors other than blue, grey, or brown, because really, shouldn't a baby be in cheerful, happy colors? Here is the most difficult point: They need to fit over an ample-sized, cloth diapered bottom. Once a baby hits the 12 month size (even if they are only 6 months old), everything is cut so trim that it is nearly impossible to get them over a big baby bottom. There are a few companies that cut their knit pants a little roomier for cloth diapered bottoms, but they cost more than I would spend on a pair of pants for myself. And truly, I do not want to spend an arm and a leg on something that is really only going to fit for a few months. So what is the mama of a chubby, cloth-diapered baby to do? Get sewing, of course!

First up, some light-weight summer pants. These are the Huck Finn pants (for Isaac Fynn) from Weekend Sewing. They are meant to be ankle length, but I had to make the 24 month size to fit Isaac's waist and hip measurement, so they are regular pants length on him. I also made a pair that are red and white striped seer-sucker fabric (not pictured).

Next up, cool weather pants. I used the pattern for the Quick Change Trousers in Handmade Beginnings which are intended to be reversible. Instead of making them reversible, I lined them with flannel to make them super warm and soft inside for fall and winter. The pattern allows for growth by including cuffed pants legs that can be uncuffed as the baby grows. I made the 12 month size with the slight modification suggested here for accommodating the larger cloth diapered bum. They fit just about perfect right now over a cloth diaper, with some wiggle room if he is in a disposable, so I am trying another pair using the 18 month pattern with a 12 month length. I love how the pattern gives the opportunity to play with several fabrics. Cute and colorful with room to grow!

If I get adventurous enough, I may try to increase the sizing to make a pair or two for Noah as well. There is a stack of super cute fabrics just waiting to become pants for my boys.

~Jen

WIP Wednesday

I am still plugging away at my Shalom Cardigan, but to keep things a little more interesting I will share a different project this week. I started working on my first quilt during the last weeks of my pregnancy. It is a Turning Twenty quilt, made from twenty fat quarters of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane fabric. The cool blues, greens and yellows match our living room and kitchen perfectly, and I love how the punch of pink and red stands out in contrast. Before Isaac was born, I got as far as sewing together all the individual blocks.

Then, for obvious reasons, it sat untouched for a couple weeks. When Isaac was 3-4 weeks old and taking some lovely, long newborn naps, I finished sewing the blocks together to complete the top of the quilt. I also decided on and ordered a backing fabric that has more of the pink for contrast (the floral pattern on the lower right).

I got as far as washing the backing fabric, and then it sat, once again untouched for a few weeks. Isaac's morning naps are now much shorter and more hit and miss than before. Yesterday, however, I did manage to get the backing fabric ironed and ripped to size. Ironing six yards of fabric is a big accomplishment, I think!

Isaac woke up from his nap when I was halfway through with the ironing and was kind enough to sit in his refurbished bouncy seat as I finished up. I am still so amazed that a baby of mine will sit for a few minutes without being held that I felt compelled to photograph it!

Ok, enough chubby baby cuteness...

My goal for this week is to get the backing of the quilt sewn together. After I pick up some batting, it will be ready for (eeek!) actual quilting. That part is making me a bit nervous. I mean, I really don't want to mess it up after putting so much time into it. I want to do free motion stippling on the sewing machine, but will definitely need to practice on a smaller project before taking that on. Plus, I don't even want to attempt it until I can be sure that I will have several hours of uninterrupted time. In other words, this project is probably going to sit again for several weeks (or months) until I finish it up.

Happy crafting everyone!

~Jen

Preparations

With only a few weeks until the expected arrival of the new baby, there are lots of preparations being made around our home. I am anxiously counting down the days until my last day of work (6 more shifts!) in between finishing up several projects and preparing for the birth. Here are just a few glimpses into what is going on around Our Quiet Place these days.

32 week belly.

An embroidered banner to welcome Baby and celebrate Valentine's Day.

Books and rice filled hot pack on the nightstand.

A knitted gift for our midwife.

Relaxing lighting for my nightly baths.

Baby supplies, and pink and blue hats made from old t-shirts. Which color will it be?

Nesting

I have done my fair share of nesting this past week. Is 7 months too early to be nesting? I justify it by telling myself that these last 2 months are bound to go quickly with all the holidays coming up. I also wanted to get an idea of what, if anything, we need to get for the new baby. It began with me hauling up bins of Noah's baby clothes from the basement (something I probably shouldn't be doing with my sore back...but, oh well!). I discovered that spit-up stains get worse over time. Sigh. Everything got a soak and wash before finding a place in our closet, nestled between my books and Curtis's dress shirts. This, folks, is baby's 'nursery'. Well, this plus eventually a co-sleeper beside our bed that he/she will hopefully like better than Noah did.

The hauling up of baby clothes lead to an impromptu sewing project to relieve the backache: A reusable hot pack. It is simply a muslin bag with a removable cotton cover, filled with rice, flax seed, and a couple pinches of lavender and chamomile flowers that make it smell wonderful when heated up in the microwave for a minute or two. This is bound to come in handy over the next months for various aches and pains.

Finally, the washing of the woollies. I actually forgot how many little longies (wool pants) I had knit for Noah until I began sorting through the bin where all the diapers and woollies were stored. Into a warm lanolin soap wash they went before being rinsed with cool water, lanolized and laid out to dry.

The lanolin restores the wool's natural lanolin and helps keeps the woollies water-proof when used over cloth diapers instead of a traditional diaper cover. There are also a couple a sweaters hiding in the back there on blocking mats, one of which I don't think Noah ever wore. Maybe this baby will get some use out of it.

I think I got the nesting out of my system for a little while. Now it is back to my regularly scheduled holiday knitting!
-Jen

Bouncy Seat Cover

When Noah was a baby, one of our neighbors, a lovely lady with four kiddos of her own, commented that I never seemed to put him down. That was very true, whether it was by choice or him pretty much demanding it. Well, one day this well-meaning lady left a used bouncy seat on our doorstep. Noah, being quite a bit bigger than her babies were at his age was too big for it, but we took it anyway so as not to hurt her feelings and stowed it away in the basement. Fast forward to now and preparing for our next baby. While this baby will also spend most of his/her time in arms, I am guessing there will be times I will need a safe place to put him/her while attending to Noah's needs. So I dug out that old bouncy seat, which was, um...well used.


After much planning and measuring, I removed the straps and sewed a new padded cover with fabric left over from the mei tai project. This was another learning project. Sewing bias tape around the crotch strap? Not good. But in the end...ta da! Re-purposed bouncy seat!


Here's hoping this baby will actually let me use it for a minute or two...

-Jen