handmade with love, vol. 1

i’m still “finding my voice” with this blog, figuring out what to post about aside from my various sewing projects.  i have decided, however, that i definitely want to feature some of the lovely items that family members and friends have made for and gifted to us.  i didn’t feel like i could do that with my flickr site, but we’ve received some really beautiful handmade items from my talented mom, aunts, grandma, sister-in-law, and family friends that need to be shared with the world (or at least the world wide web).  today is as good a day as any to start this little segment, since i’ve got a couple of projects sewn but not yet blog-worthy (gifts for others!).

this blanket was crocheted for my son by my aunt sandra before he was born.  it seems that each of my mom’s sisters has claimed a different “domestic art” as their go-to, and sandra crochets.  she also bakes the most scrumptious desserts and recently organized a family cookbook with some mouth-watering recipes that i can’t wait to dive into…but i digress.  this blanket was so perfect that it made me rethink oh’s entire nursery decor from what i had originally planned (i’ll post a tour of that later, too…still a couple of things i need to finish up).  luckily, i received it before we bought any paint!

it’s made of thick and cozy wool yarn, and this puppy is WARM.  i am in love with the main part of it, where somehow she wove together both light aqua-ish blue and brown for a sock-monkey type effect.  i don’t know how to crochet, so this seems insanely complex to me (though i’m sure she’s whips through it no problem, because she’s good like that).

the border is the same beautiful blue in another interesting stitch pattern, and rounded corners.  i know next-to-nothing about crochet, so sorry i can’t provide details about how it’s made.  i just admire.  i also admire these chubby legs.  they make a great afternoon snack.

stay tuned for more loveliness we’ve received from sandra and others on the next edition of…”handmade with love!”

thanks again, sandra!

happy easter!

happy easter!  i was inspired by em’s recent obsession with weddings for her dress – she wants to get married in a purple dress (and yesterday she asked ME to marry  her, so we’re still working on the concept).  she also still loves polka dots, so when  i saw this lovely fabric at bolt, i immediately knew it would be perfect.  it’s from little things by sarah fielke for lecien.  it’s kind of halfway between a quilting cotton and a voile.  soooo soft and beautiful.

i embraced the easter theme – egg shaped!  it’s the oliver + s bubble dress pattern, which i picked up on a whim because it was 40% off (again at bolt).  i LOVE this dress.  it’s just so sweet.  i made it in a 2T though she’s now a 3T in most commercial clothes; she was all over the map on the sizing guide in the pattern based on her measurements, but 2T seemed closest and i wanted it to fit her now.  i think it has enough growing room in the length to last through the summer (fingers crossed).

since i’m all about hand-sewing after becoming zen with it on the quilt binding, i hand-sewed the bodice lining to the skirt lining.  it’s theoretically reversible!  once i finished the dress, it seemed a bit like it was missing something, so i added the purple grosgrain ribbon, just tacked to each side under the armpits.  the police-style hands on the wall are HER modeling choice, by the way.

it’s fully lined with kaffe fassett shot cotton, in easter basket grass green!

i love that when i sew clothes for my kids, i can make them look nice but not sacrifice any comfort.  this thing is so cozy it could be a nightgown (in fact, she took a nice long nap in it right before these photos were taken).  also great for her “angelina ballerina moves!”

and here’s her easter egg hunting technique from earlier in the day.  she’d put the eggs under her chin and then drop them into her basket.  NO IDEA where she came up with it, but it was pretty funny.

hope your easter was lovely too!

pants for the little fella

boy sewing!  so hard.  i learned on toddler skirts and simple dresses, and fabric selection soooo favors girls.  but this little guy, he’s growing fast.  he keeps growing out of his pants (um, mostly in the tummy).  he’s in that in-between phase where i want to dress him in something a little nicer than the standard jersey knit newborn pants, but jeans still seem a little uncomfortable for a guy that’s just chillaxing all day long.

so i made him some cozy gray cords from made-by-rae’s excellent newborn pants free pattern.

i added 1.5″ to the bottom hem since he’s 4 months, not a newborn (and 90th percentile height, which means he’s about the size of an average 6 month old).  i got all nervous that they’d still be too short, so i made the tiniest hem i could.  i did a double-row of stitching for a little extra detail (sorry for blurry photo – he kicks!).

some patch pockets on a little diapered bum were also a necessity.  highly functional.

i can be such a procrastinator.  em’s easter dress is much more urgent than these pants were, and it’s still in the cutting phase!  i just knew i could whip these out in less than an hour, so i went for it.  this is how i roll.  sometimes it’s nice to just FINISH a project.

first quilt!

i did it!  i finished a quilt for em’s twin-size big girl bed!  wanna see?

here’s the front!

(like the hubby’s foot?  good to marry a tall fella for quilt modeling)

my goal was to keep the piecing as frustration-free as possible, so i went with 6″ patchwork squares in pinks and greens and yellows, since my little gal looooooves pink.  most of my favorite fabric designers are featured.  when em first saw the quilt top, she pointed to a valori wells square and said, “hey, that’s like my skirt!” and a heather ross square and said, “hey, that’s like my pillow!”  and a solid and said, “hey, that one’s pink, it’s my favorite color!”  i loved that she was so excited.

and here’s the back!

a neat thing happened when i was picking out the main backing fabric.  i knew i wanted a large floral that reflected the colors of the front.  i came across this print and really liked it, and then noticed the designer was sandi henderson.  the first little flannel/minky blanket that i made for em was from her ginger blossom line, so i thought it was a really nice coincidence and had to go with it!  there are even tiny golden flowers with green stems, so it coordinates perfectly.  i pieced it with solids from the main colors of the front – lime green, pink, and yellow.

i quilted it 1/4″ on either side of each seam with my walking foot, following this example from film in the fridge.  then i sewed on the deeper rose-colored binding using the method from elizabeth hartman’s “the practical guide to patchwork,” machine-sewing the binding onto the front, then wrapping it around and hand-stitching it to the back using an invisible ladder stitch.

elizabeth’s instructions were perfect, and i finally grasped the proper method of mitering corners which i’d been sort of faking before.  i thought the hand-sewing would be really tedious and terrible, but it actually did become theraputic and enjoyable once i got in a rhythm.  i was so excited that the stitches were actually invisible!  the hand-stitching was definitely worth the time and sore fingertips.  the finish is so clean and pretty.

i washed it up last night, and was pumped to put it on em’s bed today!  here it is, all loaded up with her favorite animals, pillow pet, and guard-rail for her crazylegs sleep habits.  we’ll often find her sleeping parallel to her pillow.

here she is pointing to her favorite fabric on the quilt.  i’m not a huge pink gal, and actually avoided dressing her in too much pink when she was a baby, but she has claimed it as her favorite color as a toddler, so who am i to argue?

now snuggled up and faking sleep with her favorite buddy, frankie the elephant.  oh so cozy under her new mama-made quilt!

finishing this project was a huge accomplishment for me – i was really intimidated by making a bed-sized quilt.  i consulted quilt books, the internet, my mom (thanks, mom!) and good friend erin (thanks, erin!) as i made my way through the process.  with each step that worked out well, i breathed a huge sigh of relief!

going straight for a twin-size was pretty ambitious, but i really wanted to make this for em’s bed, and i’m so glad i did.  she is so excited about it, too, and for a sewing mama that is really the best i can hope for.  however, i AM looking forward to sewing something smaller-scaled and, uh…curvier.  oliver + s bubble dress for easter?  YEP!

crinkle teether

my son is now 4 months old, and sort of teething.  he can use his hands well enough to grab and hold onto things, and EVERYTHING goes straight into his mouth.  i was at the fabric store with him this weekend, and he started getting a little fussy as i was checking out (too much time at bolt, one of the best places in the world??  blasphemy!).  anyway, i gave him a freshly purchased fat quarter for him to shove in his face and buy me time to get back to the car, his ultimate relaxation machine.  that gave me a better idea…to take a quilt break and sew him a quick little teether!  so i whipped this up last night:

one side

and the other side

i picked high-contrast fabrics because babies like that kind of thing, and added a few ribbon loops for extra textural fun.  i stuffed it with an empty travel wipes wrapper for a nice crinkly sound, then quilted it to keep the plastic from bunching.  i figure i can still wash it, but probably not dry it.

nom nom nom.