Crafting for Baby

Have you heard? My sister had her first little girl!

Silhouettes

In preparation for my sister's arrival last weekend I made these. Our bedroom walls were pretty much empty so we hung (Jason hung and I watched) these over our bed. They were super-easy and I like the way that they turned out.

I copied the idea from the ever-inspiring Nie (this is a link to where she talks about how she makes them).

Growing!

I took Eliza to the pediatrician for a newborn exam last week and she had already gained almost a pound. He said most babies lose 10% of their body weight in the first two weeks, but Eliza's more than 10% bigger than she was! She's changing so fast.

This is one of my favorite faces - when she makes a little "o" with her mouth.

I was trying to get a picture of her dimples.


Eliza now has a burp cloth to match her cousin. I did the embroidery when I was trying to stay in bed. Then last night I sewed the wrong sides together, flipped it right-side out and top-stitched. It maybe took ten minutes. Cute and easy!

Black Apple Doll

A friend told me about the pattern for these dolls on Martha Stewart. I thought they were so cute and made one for Delia for Christmas. The doll dress fabric matches her new skirt. It was pretty easy to put together, I hope to make some more. If you decide to make one, I found watching the video segment from the show really helpful.

Mini I Spy Quilt

My sister told me about the website Make and Takes. This website features lots of fun crafts to do with and for kids, as well as an awesome recipe for rosemary peasant bread (think Macaroni Grill bread) that we make about once a week. I decided to make the mini I spy quilt for a Christmas gift.

I have had a couple of different I spy kits sitting with my sewing stuff for the past five years, so I was glad to find something quick and easy that I could use them for.

This quilt was the perfect size for me - it goes together so quickly that I couldn't get bored with it!

Delia Gets Her Skirt

We headed to the fabric store yesterday before the weekly midwife visit. Delia picked out the fabric that she wanted for her skirt and we made it before breakfast this morning, so now it's a before-breakfast skirt!

Bitty Booties

I'm all about the free patterns this week!
Found this one here and decided to make them for the soon-to-come babe!

If you're looking for Christmas gifts, want to get some beautiful jewelery for yourself, or just want to support a worthy cause, check out my cousin's auction going on until tomorrow in support of Nie and her family.

Before-dinner Skirt Turned Christmas Gift

I thought I would make Delia a before-dinner skirt. You can find the free pattern here. I didn't measure very well, so it turned out a little too big for her! I will be making her another one - they are so easy and the ribbon hem looks so cute.

I decided to add a little tote bag and save it for a Christmas gift for one of her many cousins.

Crafting for Baby Olivia

I embroidered Olivia's name on a cloth diaper and then covered up the stitching on the other side with some fabric - to make a cute burp cloth and then I added some fabric to a onesie to match using instructions provided by the super-creative Danielle!

Babywearing

I love to wear my babies and I'm slightly addicted to baby carriers!

I started with a Baby Bjorn and a New Native pouch when Joshua was a baby. I thought the Baby Bjorn was fine at the time, but now I realize it was only because I didn't know any better! Since that time I have collected quite a number of carriers - I have tried a Kelty backpack style carrier (which I got rid of because I found it was too heavy and didn't support the baby comfortably), an Ellaroo wrap (which is a favorite), an Ergo (one of my favorite carriers, it's a similar carrier to the Baby Bjorn, but can be worn on the front or back and is much more comfortable for you and baby - this is what we use for hiking), a custom made silk sling (I was trying to find something similar to a Zolowear for less money, but it ended up not being so comfy), and a Hotsling (My New Native Pouch was a little too big, so I thought I would try another pouch-style carrier).

And with a new baby on the way I thought I needed yet another baby carrier!

This time I decided to make my own. I was looking for a pattern online to make an Asian-style carrier (Mei Tai) and came across this one which is a cross between a Mei Tai and a wrap - so I thought I would try it out. Jason said it was comfy. I found the pattern here.

If you are interested in learning more about different types of carriers - thebabywearer.com and mamatoto.org are favorite sites of mine. Be careful - it can be addicting!

Nappy Bag and my Big Belly!

This was the other big project I was making for the baby and the real reason my sister knew I wouldn't mind her auctioning off the diaper bag that she had bought for me. I received this Amy Butler Nappy Bag pattern for my birthday and my sister picked out the fabric for me.

I had trouble keeping the lines straight with the changing pad. It's pretty thick - the top and bottom fabrics and then a couple of layers of batting in the middle.

The pattern calls for more pockets in the bag, but I like the wide open space since the diapers we use tend to be so large!

Nesting?

This weekend I was looking through baby stuff that I moved with us this time and I discovered the only thing that I really moved was our cloth diaper collection. So, I had absolutely zero clothing for the new baby. I had to remedy this as quickly as possible, so I planned our Saturday around going to a consignment shop that is a couple of miles from our house. Conveniently, the store is located right next door to a French Bakery, so we planned to have lunch there and get a few things for the baby. When we get there the consignment store is closed for the Holiday weekend, luckily the bakery was open (see my dessert above) - so it wasn't a complete loss. Well I'm not due for another five weeks, but I felt the need for at least a few items of baby clothes in my possession - so we rode our bikes another 16 blocks to Fred Meyer's where I picked up a couple of sleepers and onesies!

I'm not sure if I'm nesting, because my house isn't that clean, but I am definitely in preparation mode. And with this pregnancy it's all about what I can make for this baby! I finally finished my knitting project - a little blanket. It must have taken me 100 hours (at least), I think a blanket might have been a little large for my first project after wash cloths!

The blanket's not all I have been making and I went to the fabric store yesterday because I have at least five other projects I have in mind to make before this baby comes. I can't sleep at night because I lie awake thinking of Christmas presents I want to make for people!

The pattern for this blanket came from the book, Knitting for Baby.

Crafting for Nie

I'm sure that most people that read my blog have heard of Stephanie Nielson and the plane accident that she and her husband were involved in. I don't know Stephanie personally, but I feel like I know her through reading her blog, and I am looking forward to being able to help her family in some small way. Tomorrow is Nie Nie Day and I'm participating. Check back tomorrow to see what I'll be auctioning off!