Inspiration for Crafting

I updated almost a year ago about the denim blanket project I first shared here. My original plan was to make a picnic-sized blanket. Goodness knows I definitely have enough jeans to make a few blankets that size! But we've encountered a new possibility. Let me explain.

We are having our third child, and first BOY!, sometime after Christmas. Sammi, now 4, is excited to have a brother. The other day as we were driving home from preschool she said she wanted to cut "this" up and make it into a blanket for baby Scott. Since I was driving I asked her what "this" was and she said her denim shorts. I had an ah-ha moment because it dawned on me that I had cut enough squares for a baby-sized blanket. I told her I already had squares cut and would she like to help me use them to make the blanket. She agreed.

Finally, after almost a week of talking about making this blanket, we pulled out the squares today while Elli was napping and got to work. Sammi helped me arrange them. She liked the pockets a lot so I think we have at least one pocket on every row!

After we arranged all the squares, 81 in all, we started sewing them together. I'm mostly using my new serger to do the job. But on some pieces the seems are too thick so I've been sewing them on my regular sewing machine. I got half the rows sewn before bedtime. Sammi loved sitting by me at the table and chatting with me while I sewed. She really wants to do the pedal herself, but I told her we're in her observing stage of learning to sew! Sometimes I have her sit on my lap and guide the fabric through which seems to make up for not doing the pedal.

Posted by Amber P. at 10:34 PM 1 comments    

Labels: baby, blankets, sewing

It has taken me so long to get these pictures on the computer! These are the spring dresses I made the girls for Easter. The top is inspired by a dress of Sammi's and her skirt is inspired by one I found on a blog somewhere. I've spent several hours looking for that skirt again! Elli's skirt was my own idea and I really like the way it turned out.

Here they are in their dresses on Easter Sunday. Such sweet angels!

I'm working on the patterns for these dresses. I'm trying to get all the sizes 3-6 months up to 4T. If you're interested in helping me test the pattern, please leave a comment with your email and I'll contact you when I have it ready! Thanks.

Posted by Amber P. at 11:35 AM 37 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, sewing, toddler

It's Halloween season! I've decided to make Sammi's costume this year. I've had this Minnie Mouse doll for longer than I care to admit. I've always loved her little skirt. So I thought this year I'd make a Minnie Mouse costume for Sammi. She likes to play with her, but usually calls her Mickey (we have two Mickey Mouse dolls.)

I've made two practice dresses. One is tiny for her baby dolls. But, it also fit Elli so I took a picture of her modeling it. It has a tie in the back to adjust for different waists. I used bias tape around the band and then continued it for the ties. Hemming it was a beast because the back has rounded corners and it was so small. But, despite the imperfections, iy looks pretty good from afar!

Here's the practice version: Sammi-sized. It turned out quite big on her. I'm glad it was practice material. I'm going to tweak the pattern and make one more practice one before I cut the actual fabric. I also have an idea for the top of the dress. I'm going to actually have it be two pieces so the skirt can still be worn for dress up after she's outgrown the top.

Posted by Amber P. at 11:13 AM 0 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, holidays, sewing, toddler

Here are my sweet girls. Elizabeth is one month old today. I can't believe how quickly the month went by. I'm glad I put her in the dress today because it was almost too small! I didn't realize how much she had grown in such a short amount of time.

As for Sammi's dress, it was a bit roomy for her when I finished it several months ago and I figured she'd grow into it by now. However, toddlerhood is full of energy and movement. Instead of getting bigger around, she's actually slimmed down and gotten taller. So it looks bigger on her now than it did before. Though I have to say I am quite pleased with the length. Most things seem too short on her so I'm glad I made it a little longer.

And here's a picture of Elizabeth with the baby booties on. They are way too big, but oh so cute!

Posted by Amber P. at 7:15 PM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, sewing, toddler

My mom recently sent me an email with this free kimono pattern from Habitual. In the email she summed up my feelings about crafting perfectly: "So many projects, so little time."

This is definitely on the list of to-do's once we are settled into our new place and I've recovered from the arrival of the baby (only four more weeks!)

Posted by Amber P. at 4:44 PM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, free pattern, project ideas, sewing, toddler

Okay, enough hinting. I created this cute little set to give to my friend Melody for her upcoming arrival. My daughter has loved watching all the new things I've made. With each new thing she tells me "for Tyler's brother." I don't think she's grasped that she's getting a sister, but she sure remembers that Tyler is getting a brother!

Posted by Amber P. at 11:30 AM 0 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, gift ideas, sewing, shoes

The neckties were so fun to make that I thought I'd try a bowtie onesie as well. Actually, I was inspired by my friend Melody. Her son wears a bowtie to church and I think he's just adorable.

The bowties proved to be more challenging for me to create than the necktie. I had a vision of what it should look like. It took me a couple of weeks to problem solve and decide on a way to make it work. I pleated the "bow" part of the tie and then ironed it down. It gives it some depth and I think looks an awful lot like a bowtie. So, maybe I am a bit of an artist after all...

Enjoy the Bowtie Onesie Free Pattern. I'd love to know if you make any and how they turn out. Wouldn't it make a cute set to give a bowtie onesie and a necktie onesie as a gift?

**In the instructions I suggest using Wonder-Under to fuse the fabrics together. A cost-saving method I learned from my mom is to use a plastic produce bag instead! Just cut out the bag so it's larger than the pieces and place it between the onesie and the fabric. Cover it, carefully, with a scrap piece of fabric or an old tea towel. Iron over it with the iron on the hottest setting. You need to be more careful when removing the tea towel than when using Wonder-Under, but it works well.**

Posted by Amber P. at 11:30 AM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, explanations, free pattern, gift ideas, sewing, tutorials

I have seen these adorable onesies floating around the Internet. I am not that great of an artist so it is hard for me to create a "picture" version of something and have it really look like that something. So, I enlisted the help of my talented husband to create a pattern for the necktie. Not only did he draw the tie for me, he helped me get it in digital form so that I can share it with others who may not want to draw a tie themselves!

This is such a cute and easy project. It makes a great gift for expecting friends.

Enjoy the Necktie Onesie Free Pattern. I'd love to see the onesies you create using it!

**In the instructions I suggest using Wonder-Under to fuse the fabrics together. A cost-saving method I learned from my mom is to use a plastic produce bag instead! Just cut out the bag so it's larger than the pieces and place it between the onesie and the fabric. Cover it, carefully, with a scrap piece of fabric or an old tea towel. Iron over it with the iron on the hottest setting. You need to be more careful when removing the tea towel than when using Wonder-Under, but it works well.**

Posted by Amber P. at 11:27 AM 5 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, explanations, free pattern, gift ideas, sewing, tutorials

I found out about this quilt tutorial on homemade by jill and just love the concept and the finished product. Isn't it adorable! I have some fat quarters I really like, but not enough that match to do the quilt. I'm still searching...

In the meantime, I had tons of fun browsing the oh!fransson blog where the quilt tutorial originates. She has a great sense of presentation to her projects. Although, the projects are so beautiful themselves that they would shine anyway!

Posted by Amber P. at 9:45 PM 0 comments    

Labels: baby, blankets, project ideas, quilting, sewing

I found this cute pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's collection of free patterns. It is listed as easy so I think it will stretch my beginning crochet skills to include clothing.

The pattern includes instructions for several sizes (0-6 months, 12-18 months, 2-3 years, 4 years.) I'm thinking of making matching sweaters for my girls for the fall. Now I just have to pick a color...

JoAnn's is having a sale on their baby yarn now. But I think I'll go to the local yarn shop to buy yarn for this project so I can get their help on any parts of the project that may stretch my current skills a little too far.

Now that I've found a new project, it's time to finish that baby blanket...

Posted by Amber P. at 9:47 AM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, crochet, free pattern, project ideas, yarn

Here is another pair of shoes that I made from the Stardust Shoes cloth baby shoe pattern. These are also a gift for a friend having a baby this summer. I'm working on a matching article of clothing, but it'll have to remain a secret until after I give it too her! I don't want to spoil the surprise.

I love that these shoes are so easy to make, but look like something I'd find at the store (where they'd be way overpriced!) Each pair I've made seems to have it's own personality. I love that. So even though all our babies will have the shoes from the same pattern, they will all be unique in their own way.

Posted by Amber P. at 9:32 PM 0 comments    

Labels: baby, gift ideas, sewing, shoes

I finished the newborn baby dress last night. After I braved starting the piping it just took off from there! I was so giddy about finishing it that I could hardly go to sleep. And it was the first thing I thought of when I woke up this morning. I love the pattern and I think it is a darling dress. Now I just have to wait four more months for the baby to arrive so I can dress her in it!

In the meantime, I am still tinkering with the larger size for Sammi. It's fun to have her around to try it on. It makes it a lot easier. At this point, I just need to sew the piping in and put the accent fabric around the bottom. Hopefully I'll finish it this week.

Posted by Amber P. at 5:11 PM 6 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, sewing, shoes

Here's part of what I've done so far for the matching dresses for Sammi and the baby. This is the top of the baby's dress. It comes from the Itty Bitty Baby Dress pattern from Made By Rae. I'm attempting to enlarge it to fit Sammi, too. I sewed the top part together and then tried it on her. It's a bit big. But, since I have no idea how much she'll grow in the next four months, I'm going to hold off on fixing it until later in the summer. In the meantime, I'll finish the baby dress and try it on Sammi's doll.

Posted by Amber P. at 2:06 PM 3 comments    

Labels: baby, clothing, project ideas, sewing

Here are the flowers I've done so far. I came across this adorable idea on stardust shoes' blog and got the pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's compilation of free patterns. Joanna's idea was to make a bunch of the flowers and then sew them together in an afghan shape (instead of a scarf as the pattern directs). I thought that would be perfect for Sammi's baby doll blanket. I chose yarn from the collection I've acquired over the years. The colors are not that attractive, but I thought they would make a bright blanket for her baby.

The individual flowers are really quick to crotchet up. I do a bunch of centers in one color and then go back and do the flower part with the different colors. It seems like I can make huge progress in a short amount of time. That's my kind of project! Sammi likes them because she can take a flower and walk around with it. With the yellow blanket, she tries to pull on what I've already done, but she can't do anything with it since it's still attached to what I'm doing. We both get a little frustrated about that. I've decided to save the yellow blanket for times when Sammi is asleep!

Posted by Amber P. at 2:32 PM 2 comments    

Labels: baby, blankets, crochet, project ideas, yarn

I made a matching headband to go with the shoes that are for my friend. I made up the pattern for the headband basing the size on the elastic width I had and the average circumference of newborns' heads. It needs some tweaking, but I'll post a tutorial for it after I make it more easily workable.

I was worried about the bow. I had great visions for it in my mind's eye, but I was not certain I could get it to work out in reality. But, in fact, I like it! The stitching is a little rough, but I'm not that great a seamstress. That's one skill I'm hoping to improve this year.

Posted by Amber P. at 12:06 AM 0 comments    

Labels: accessories, baby, gift ideas, project ideas, sewing

I found a pattern for adorable shoes from my favorite and new favorites blogs. Jill, from my favorite blog, has made several pair of these shoes and I was finally inspired to check out the original source at stardustshoes.

The green and blue shoes are a sneak peak at the fabric I'm using to make matching dresses for the baby and Sammi. The red and blue shoes are for a friend of mine who is also having a baby girl.

A little about the fabrics: The fabric used in the red shoes I've had for years, almost two decades! I have loved it and thus used it sparingly. I thought it was the perfect pattern for these baby shoes. The green and blue fabric I bought shortly after I was married. I bought it with a pattern for a skirt. I thought it would be a fun project. Before I got around to it, however, I found out I was pregnant. Since I knew I would grow out of it soon and I had no idea what size I'd be after having a baby, it was packed away in my box marked, seriously, "unfinished projects." I pulled it out last fall when I decided to make a purse for my then-18-month-old daughter for Christmas. I'm excited for her to have a matching dress!

There must be something about being pregnant because I have become an ultra-creative wanna-be! Other projects also in the works include a crocheted baby blanket, a denim picnic blanket and a baby doll afghan for Sammi's baby. I'll post pictures as these projects mature!

Posted by Amber P. at 3:12 PM 1 comments    

Labels: baby, gift ideas, project ideas, sewing, shoes