Baby Goodies

I went to a baby shower this week, and made these treasures for the mom-to-be. This is the "circus elephant" from More Softies Only A Mother Could Love.


Isn't he a cutie?!


He's a skinny elephant :)


And this cozy swaddling blanket with a hand-stitched "Y" for their last name will be the perfect fit for a boy or a girl, since they don't know yet what they're having.


This adorable flannel animal print is sooo soft! I love it!


What good is a hand-made gift if the wrapping isn't equally pretty? I repurposed a hot pink box I had, covered it with brown craft paper, cut out and glued on part of a card that I actually received for Patrick's baby shower, tied it all up with some lace from the stash and a piece of turquoise paper twine, and slipped in a berry sprig. I think I had as much fun, if not more, with the wrapping as I did with the actual gift.


And a sewing day is never successful until you have made a sufficient mess. Happy sewing and crafting!

Some New Stuff

Well, in the past few months, we've had...

A birthday-- Patrick turned 2 in May. This cake was sort of a big deal. I had told Patrick that I was making him a cake (a week before his birthday) so that's all I heard about for a week. It was a homemade 4 layer yellow cake with banana slices and banana pudding in between the layers, iced with homemade fudge frosting. Then, the day of his birthday, we woke up to puking. Pretty soon, we all had it, and I actually ended up in the ER. Needless to say, the cake did not get eaten. It went into the freezer and came back out a week later. At this point, Patrick had been waiting 2 whole weeks to eat this glorious cake. So when he finished opening presents and I said the word "cake", a high-pitched screech unlike anything I have ever heard from him suddenly came blaring out of his mouth as he scampered as fast as his little bare-feet-on-tile would allow into the kitchen. "Caaaaaaaaaake!!!!" LOL


Some new projects-- including this dress for Olivia from one of Anna Maria Horner's pattern books...


...as well as this one.






...A sweet doll for Olivia named "Maisie" from the More Softies Only A Mother Could Love book...


...and these little treasures...




...which now belong to this precious munchkin on the right-- a new cousin! This little guy is actually my first cousin.


...and even the beginnings of potty training. I think that roll of toilet paper has been rolled and unrolled several times. And yes, I realize the potty is pink. It was all they had. I don't think he minds :)


... and just for fun-- some cuteness!














And that about sums up our life for the last few months! Hmmm... maybe I should get this kid some clothes...

For Baby

My sister-in-law, Kelli, is expecting a little one in a few weeks, and her shower was this weekend. What better way to welcome a new baby than with some handmade goodies...

I started with this Noah's-ark-themed blanket. Jacob and Kelli are waiting to find out the gender of the baby until the birth, so I went with a mix of bright colors and patterns.

The yellow back is a very soft flannel.

This little guy, as well as the ball, are from a pattern book called Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, though I think their definition of "last minute" is probably a little looser than some would care to use. I guess in the world of quilting and sewing, where projects can take months to finish, a few days or hours seems like last minute.

He's called Peanut the Wee Elephant.

This one and the dog rattle are from a book called More Softies Only A Mother Could Love. I sort of went to town on his eyes. I love doing hand stitching and embroidering. There's something so organic and personal about it.

I just love his little feet.

This little cutie is crocheted and stuffed and has a little rattle insert in the head. I couldn't find rattles at the craft store, so I just repurposed one of the kids' old rattle toys. They have so many; they're not going to miss one. The parents-to-be have two dogs and one of them is a silver lab named Romeo, so I thought this little pup should have a silver coat as well.

This one is called a Puzzle Ball. It's the perfect size and shape for itty bitty fingers to grab onto.

Henny Penny and Six Chicks

Another fabulous pattern from Anna Maria Horner, found in her book, Handmade Beginnings. This will be Olivia's Christmas present this year. There's something so special about a handmade gift, and I hope she will love playing with this for years to come.


There's a strip of velcro underneath each of the mama hen's wings, and the little wings of the chicks are made with velcro as well...

...so, when these 'lil chicks get tired of playing...

...they can snuggle up nice 'n' warm in the safety of their mama's wing.

Is that not just the cutest thing you've ever seen!?

A Stocking for Olivia

After making Patrick's stocking last year, I of course had to carry on the tradition for our sweet Olivia.


So, I have been busy stitching lots of teeny tiny beads onto this felt stocking, which is ornamented with a holly wreath...

...a beaming angel...

...a sparkling ornament...

...and four shimmering snowflakes.

I am so excited to have one more little person gathered around the tree with us this year. Merry first Christmas, Olivia!

Happy Headwear

I had found a pattern for a baby hat but could not for the life of me figure out how to read it, so I just made up my own pattern. I basically just made a large circle, and then once it was big enough, started adding rings of the same size, causing it to curve downward. I then found a tutorial on how to do a scalloped edge and added that to the bottom. The flower pattern came from here. The yarn for the hat is cotton and doesn't stretch much, so I really hope it fits!

I also made this little headband from this pattern and then made up the flower myself when I couldn't find a pattern that I liked. I can't wait for Olivia to wear these, and I'm sure I'll be making more hats and headbands for her as she grows.

PINK!

I finally started working on Olivia's baby blanket this weekend, and I think the project somehow miraculously jolted me out of my couch potato/hopelessly-bored/when's-my-next-nap phase into my nesting/crafting/project-crazed phase. I have two more projects that I want to get done, and I'm sure many more will make their way into my mommy-agenda within the next 6+ weeks or so before she's due.


I used the fabric that I bought in New York at Purl SoHo, more glorious Anna Maria finds. I am sooo in love with these super duper soft cotton voiles, and the pink flannel that's on the back is just as heavenly. I just can't get over the PINK!!! For someone who thought she wanted a brood of boys, I am rather giddy over the notion of coating everything in pink, pink, pink!


And this sweet, cool blue is the perfect accent trim for this silky pink dream of a swaddling blanket!