First Camping Trip

camping has been a part of my entire life, and i despirately want to make sure it’s a part of my daughter’s life as well. i even bought “babes in the woods” to help me get prepared.

one thing it mentioned over and over was the importance of non-cotton apparel. but with the emphasis on organic everything, it’s difficult to find baby clothes that aren’t cotton. so i grabbed a too-small work out shirt from my (totally under-utilized) athletic apparel drawer and went to town. here’s the onesie i made next to the template onesie:

i finished it over the course of a day, during various naps, etc. and it’s a good thing i did, because we used it right away!  she’s almost 8 months old, but whether we were ready or not, we opted to take advantage of the long weekend and car camp at a local-ish spot. i think she had fun, despite the chilly weather. (she’s wearing my wool socks over her leggings in this photo:)

it got pretty cold though that first night (41F!) and we weren’t really prepared for that, so after some hiking and checking out the local springs, we opted to check out a little early. we stayed through dinner on the second day and past dark (which isn’t all that late anymore), until we were all ready to stop putting wood on the fire. then we did final packing and headed home.

it was fun, i’m glad we did it. and we definitely have a lot to work on for next time!

what experiences or traditions are you working hard to pass along to the next generation?

You’d Better Not Shout

ever since we got pregnant, i’ve wanted to make all my favorite things even more special for our daughter. and the holiday season (november & december) is my FAVORITE time of year! maybe because my birthday is also co-mingled in there, but probably mostly for all the family events. and i’m talking LOTS of family events. and sweet treats. i’m talking LOTS of sweet treats!

we recently spent a week in MN visiting my parents and extended family while also celebrating a close friend’s wedding (and ate cake). it was a little chilly, but still beautiful!  we were also able to visit Hubby’s parents during that trip (they cat-sit for us) which was great. yay free help (plus they fed us home made key lime pie)!

since there really won’t be many more free weekends between now and the new year, i gotta make these last few before thanksgiving count!  i think that’s why i’ve been doing my best crafting/sewing after dark lately. last weekend, i spent an hour after the LO went to sleep making this: (and dishing out a lot of “shhhh! don’t wake her up!” aimed at my husband while he played video games)

which is a HUGE improvement over these ($1 ea at Target a couple years ago):

the stocking came together quickly, less than an hour (not including cutting time completed on a previous night). i actually cut out WAAY more pieces than i needed for the stocking; not sure yet what i’ll do with the leftovers. anyways, i modeled the stocking after this one (image below ala cluck cluck sew) except i didn’t do the double hour glass blocks, or follow her tutorial. mainly i didn’t add lining to my stocking, just quilted the front and added a piece of christmas-y flannel to the back.

Quilted Christmas Stocking by Cluck Cluck Sew on Pinterest

i’m debating whether i should add the LO’s name along the cuff. since it’s so unique, i don’t think we’ll have any trouble figuring out which one is hers.

either way, i can’t wait (for Santa) to fill it!

what do you do to make your favorite things special for your loved ones?

update: although i’m not giving this one away, i might use the extra pieces to make one for a little boy/girl in need care of this event going on now at purple panda quilts:

Soft and Simple

hinted at in a few of my previous WIP posts, i recently made a soft & simple quilt for a high school friend who’s expecting her first (gender yet unknown) baby!  now that she’s received it, i’ll give you more details:

during a recent trip to the fabric store for pillow inserts (for the cathedral window border pillows i’m making for christmas gifts) i ran across a perfect gender-neutral baby fleece.  i snagged a couple of yards and made it my backing and batting all in one!

then i used some green apple themed rick-rack-y fabric i picked up a couple months back (which matched the backing fleece perfectly!) and some of the orange-y fabric from the comforter quilt to make a simple checker board quilt top with each square measuring about a foot square. even though the orange-y fabric is covered in flower names and comes off as slightly pinkish, i think this color palette still qualifies as gender neutral don’t you?

to help neutralize it even more, and to break it up a bit / make it more interesting, Hubby suggested putting white squares on their points at the intersections. i appliqued those on and quilted the intersections to the fleece backing at the same time. yay for quilt tops made entirely from stashed fabrics!

i rolled the fleece backing over to make a binding for the front. super easy!

finally, i deemed the applique to be not enough quilting, so i sewed squares on the green squares and circles on the orange ones.

the cherry on top is the label (i think so anyways). it’s a bit of a december themed fabric that actually says “december”. that’s when my friend’s baby is due, and it’s my birth month, so i already had that fabric on hand as well. i hand stitched the “baby!” along with a heart and my name and called it good to go!

i love it, so much so that i almost kept it! she loved it too!

mostly i love how quickly and perfectly this project came together. i finished it in less than a week!

have you completed any super quick, super satisfying projects lately?

(Not) Brown Baggin’ It

we’ve done as most have lately: switched to re-useable grocery bags. ours were bought from local grocery stores and received as goodie bags from 5ks we ran last year.

and to save money, the Hubby carries his leftovers to work for lunch in a plastic baggie. wait, what? we can’t have that! so here’s what i made for him:

it’s not the most elegant lunch bag in the world. but it’s what he asked for. simple, with handles, and large enough for whatever containers he may use to bring his lunches into work.

my attempt at binding on this project went much better than last time, except for the fact that i failed to incorporate the increased size i gave this binding. it gave the bag an odd effect, having a much larger portion of binding on the outside of the bag; the stitching for the outside portion of binding makes a little row around the lining of the bag. it’s odd, but i kinda like the effect. it sorta looks quilted now. at least around the rim.

it’s difficult to capture a picture of it (not that i tried all that hard), but i also added a pocket in the base. a bit of cardboard fits snuggly in the pocket to add some rigidity just in case it’s needed.

looking at it now, i do feel it’s a bit of a waste of some beautiful kona solid in green (official name unknown) but it’s for a good cause. it’ll be a fine day indeed when we run out of those pesky, ubiquitous, little plastic baggies.

do you utilize re-useable bags? what for? did you make them or buy them?

A Rattler!

Hubby’s mother HATES snakes. even the mention of them!

but i LOVE rattles! (yes, i’m a 20-something who loves things that make noise when shaken) i’ve just been frustrated that it seems like no store ever seems to sell them for use in making baby toys.

so when i saw this post at Samster Mommy, i was nearly jumping up and down (too tired… i DO have an infant you know!) with excitement.

smiley faces aren’t exciting enough for me (or maybe i just like making things more difficult than they need to be) so here’s what i made:

it’s an amish puzzle ball (a blurry one, sorry). it’s been on my project to-do list for only a little while, but a friend’s baby shower seemed like the perfect occasion to make this little gem! it’s basically 12 “footballs” sewn together at their tips. that leaves a nice little gap in the center, just right for a small rattle.

the added bonus is that i already had on hand the perfect fabrics to use! their nursery is going to be “beary” cute which worked well with the “playtime” fabric with the white background. and the father is in the air force, so all my starry fabrics came in handy!

but i took a shortcut on the rattle. instead of making one, i used a cat toy. these little balls with bells/beads inside are great for cats and babies alike! actually, the overlap is true of so many cat/baby toys! probably dog toys too (the squeaky ones especially)! as long as they’re properly cleaned before letting baby enjoy them, of course.

there’s a variation on this amish puzzle ball pattern sold at sewbaby.com if you’re interested.

anyways, i’m really happy with how this project turned out. it was a great addition to the nerdy baby flashcards i got for the little man growing in my friend’s belly. and in exchange (and totally unexpected), she gave us this for our Little One:

her orca whale cross-stitch looks great up on our wall, doesn’t it? and it works perfectly with our arctic themed quilt! THANK YOU!!!!

speaking of giving and receiving, would any of you be interested in participating in a fabric swap?