Nursing Cover

It's only a week later than I hoped,but I now have a pretty nursing cover that Little One can't pull off.  I combined two tutorials from Sew Much Ado and TaDa! Creations and adapted them to include a full lining.  Most of the tutorials I saw said home decorating fabric was best, but I wanted to use cotton, so I added the lining just for additional coverage. 

And here is a close up of the pretty fabrics.

And the lining . . .

I forgot to mention my little terry wiping corner.  The one tutorial called for a pocket, but I figured since mine's machine washable I'd just include a little built-in burp cloth.

Strap Detail

And all finished edges!

Next up is the ironing board cover that I had hoped to do weeks ago.  I simply cannot iron/press on a piggy smelling, stained, nasty ironing board any more. 

I Tried To Be Good . . .

Honest. 

I just went to JoAnn's to return ribbon and get one cut of fabric for my newest idea (using a coupon, of course).  But then I saw the sign: 30% Off Fat Quarters (which I normally don't buy because they work out to ~$8.00/yd, and I reserve that kind of cash for special fabric).  And I had been eyeing a few, waiting for that moment.  I went a little wild, I'll admit, but I did put several back!  That counts for something, doesn't it?

These will make a little quilt, maybe with some solids (gray, white, black, red?).

And these are random that I liked.  Bright, fun, for the stash.

 

Baby Sling

Well, I didn’t get near as much sewing done as I had hoped, but I did make some progress.  When we finally got to the resort and got settled, I pulled out my supplies and started working on the sling (from mykarmababy.com with a couple modifications).  The ladies were skeptical, since I wasn’t using what they would call a pattern, but after figuring out the modifications I needed, it went together quickly, and by 1:30am (I didn’t start until about 11pm or later), I had a new sling.  I haven’t put a pocket on it yet, and after thinking about it I know a few things I could do to improve it, but it works.  I used it on Sunday while walking around Colonial Williamsburg and at the VT v. UConn. NIT basketball game.  

The Capitol Building at Colonial Williamsburg

This picture doesn’t really do the sling justice.  

 But this one does!

Saturday afternoon I cut out all the pieces for my nursing cover, but didn’t begin assembly because we were watching girly movies, and I didn’t want to mess with people’s hearing by running my sewing machine.  The ladies were telling me I needed to relax, and I told them sewing is relaxing to me.  I have a hard time just sitting still unless I’m tired or sick or am really into a movie/show. 

 

I thought to finish the nursing cover the beginning of this week, but between NIT basketball games and choir practice, it will be Thursday by the time I get to do any sewing.  *Sigh*

All Packed Up

. . . and ready to go.  I have one last piece of fabric in the dryer, but everything else sewing-related is already packed up and in the car.  I'll put that last piece in with it as soon as it's done. 

Tomorrow after work, the little one and I leave for Williamsburg and my family's "Old Ladies' Weekend."  (Not all of us are old, but we are all ladies.)  My son is the only male to attend, and he's only allowed because he's still nursing.  I have most things packed, but there are some things that have to wait for tomorrow morning.  I'm not sure how much sewing I'll get done, but I'm hoping to finish at least two projects (baby sling and nursing cover), possibly a third (a kitchen towel), and work on piecing some quilt blocks while I'm there.  Whatever happens, I know I'll have a good time with the ladies of my family, hanging out, catching up, and maybe doing a little sightseeing.

If I have internet and finish something, I might post this weekend, but if not, it'll likely be Monday night before you hear from me.

TTFN :)

UFOs (that haven't even been started . . .)

This is my newest project – making some of the dratted burp cloths to sell.  I bought all this material for them and then promptly lost my motivation when I decided to fall in love with quilting and sewing for my baby.  So I started Monday, pressed the diaper, cut out the floral fabric, and cut the trim to the correct length. 

I figure maybe tonight or tomorrow night I can do the sewing part.  But then I thought, do I really want to make 7 more burp cloths just like this one, or would I rather make a baby quilt with the remaining fabric and some coordinating solids and small prints?  Why do I even get these ideas? 

 

Of course, I’ve now designed a simple quilt to use up every last little bit of the remaining fabric.  If I ever get my walking foot ordered, I could do some very simple straight-line quilting and bang out that project in no time.  (And never have to see that fabric and feel guilty again.)

 

But I still don’t know why I can’t just follow through with the original plan.  Me and my ideas . . .

An Old Surprise

This weekend when we were traveling to visit my husband's family, we stopped to feed the little one and say hi to my family.  I told my grandma that I’d have to show her pictures of the quilts I’ve made, and she said to wait a minute, she had a bunch of old quilt patterns and maybe I’d like them.  I know she crochets a lot, but I had no idea she would have ever quilted anything.  So I ended up with this manila envelope full of patterns torn from old magazines.

 I went through it on the second half of our trip, not expecting to find much of interest (my grandma has some “interesting” taste), but to my surprise, there were actually some good patterns in there!  Quite a few were appliqué (not really my thing), but there were several patchwork patterns that I liked.  I think there are enough to mix and match into a sampler-type quilt.  Here are some of my favorites:

And then, after going through all the pages (and reading some of the other articles included on the pattern pages), I found these at the bottom of the envelope.

They’re not exactly what I’d call beautiful, but they are special since my grandma made them, and I feel like I need to do something with them. 

There was also this unfinished butterfly block.  I think I like the red accent better than the green, but I hate the tan body.  I feel like I should finish this up and maybe find some coordinating material and use the green accent pieces to complete a companion block.  But again, not sure what to do with them after that.

I was thinking of taking the appliqué patterns and others I don’t like and putting them up for sale on Etsy.  What do you think?  If I’m not going to use them, I hate to throw them away if someone else might like them.

Any ideas of what to do with these blocks?

A Hokie Hi

Well, it finally got finished.  That Hokie baby quilt for our friends.  And just in time to wash and wrap for the shower, too.  I think it turned out pretty well, but I don't like that I had to hurry while quilting it - hurrying equals mistakes.  I was gratified that it got a big reaction at the shower and that people asked me if I sold quilts.  My standard response is that I hope to someday if I can ever build up some inventory - maybe when my little one is a bit older.  Here are pictures.

Front and back

Quilting details

Label

All wrinkly after washing

I think I am going to take a quilting break for a bit and focus on some other projects.  A sling, ironing board cover, burp cloths, cloth diapers, and organizing my expansive stash.  I'll probably piece some blocks in between, but I'm not planning on another quilting marathon any time soon.

TTFN :)

I Might Actually Get to Sew . . .

but I'm not a fan of the reason.  First off, why I might get to sew the next couple of days.  My little one has RSV, got it at daycare, and has had to be home all week until he got better.  Well, he's gotten worse.  I just spent two hours at the doctor's doing breathing treatments and getting a rental nebulizer.  The pediatrician said I needed to be the one home with him the next couple of days, so I called my boss, and he gave me the green light to stay home and get him better.  So I'll probably have time to sew, but I'd rather the little one be at daycare, me be at work, and squeezing in the sewing when I can as per normal. 

Now for what happened to my weekend.  I did finish ALL the quilting of the baby quilt.  It took me all Saturday and half of Sunday (with random breaks for taking care of the baby, errands, and some relaxing).  I don't recommend doing that - my back was killing me for two days afterward.  Sunday night I got a fabulous stomach virus, so I was home from work Monday with my also-sick baby, but didn't get the binding started.  I finally started the binding last night, but since we're not going to the shower now (can't travel with a sick little one), I have more time to finish it. 

It has been one heck of a couple of weeks, and I am ready for some happy breaks.  Maybe if I get some sewing done and my baby starts to get better, my mood will pick up. 

Pics once I actually finish this quilt.  I promise.

Weekend Plans

I have a big weekend planned. I need to finish quilting the VT quilt (I’m still waffling on the border design, but will probably stick with the easy over the complicated). I’ve only quilted 3 blocks, so I have 17 more plus the sashing and border. Luckily, the block design is not complicated, and if I can get a decent stretch of uninterrupted time, I can really make some progress. I will hand-stitch the binding during the week (it has to be done by Wednesday night).

Once I finish the quilt, I need to knock out some other projects. A sling is high on my priority list, as are burp cloths to sell (I don’t want to stare at that material any longer), and cloth diapers. Some of my other high-priority sewing projects need notions or material, and I need to wait until I can use my new coupons (Yay coupons!). I may also start on the “Great Sort.”

I should have some pictures of something sometime this weekend. (That sounds promising, doesn’t it?)

Another "to-do"

I went looking for storage bins for my fabric closet today. I had an idea of what I wanted, until I was looking and started thinking (you know what happens when I start thinking . . .). I went back and forth and hemmed and hawed and finally came home empty handed. I decided I need to pull everything out of the closet and sort and organize so I know exactly what I have. And I need to measure my closet, so I know what will fit. Only then will I know what kind of storage I need, and what will work. In a perfect world, I would have those lovely Cubeicals, or some variation thereof, where I could stack my fabric so I could always see it (in my dedicated sewing room of course). I would prefer a pretty basket or tote container with a handle so I can hang cute tags from the handles as labels. I love plastic storage, but I also hate it, especially with my fabric. But it’s not a perfect world, and so I have to figure out how to make the most of what I have. My dear husband was trying to get me to box up my fabric and put it in the attic because I “just go buy new fabric when you make something and never use what you have,” or some such nonsense. I think I just don’t have enough space. Pillow forms and batting take up lots of space! But I get his point – my sewing paraphernalia is taking over the entire guest room - closet, bed, dresser, and vanity. Even the computer, if you count my EQ6 software. Not to mention the kitchen, where I actually sew, and the living room, where I cut and press/iron. So I guess I need to bite the bullet and organize. I’ve tried before, honest, but I think now I understand how I need to sort things – by:

• Scraps (cut into various strips, rectangles, random triangles, and squares)
• Fat Quarters
• Half Yards
• Yards
• Larger Yardage

And then by:

• Apparel fabric for me
• Apparel fabric for kids
• Quilting Fabric by color
• Holiday Fabric by holiday

And I also now know how to fold my fabric for better storage, which will help.

To be honest, I think I’m scared to find out exactly how much fabric I have.

I guess the sort will begin after I finish this baby quilt, since it has a deadline. Dare I take “before” and “after” pictures?