Summer Sewing = Baby Clothes

I have a four month old that likes to sleep for only 20 minutes at a time.  That makes creating challenging to say the least.  I've been mostly trying to finish up old projects which means working on quilt back which are not as exciting, which is why I generally lose steam at the end of a project and don't finish them right away.

Instead, I'm falling in love with the quick satisfaction of sewing baby clothes!  Dresses, shorts, bonnets... every type of clothing is fair game!  

First up dresses... I am in love with the Geranium Dress Pattern from Made by Rae.  First, I tried the free sample version in the 0-3 month size.  It sewed up so quickly and looked so cute!

Next came the 3-6 month for summer... I can't wait to have her wear this up in Rhode Island on vacation.  She will be very dapper at the beach.

Then I just couldn't stop!  I made the 6-9 month in a pretty floral pattern - Lisette from JoAnn's Fabric.   I figure we live in North Carolina, so it stays warm longer.  She will still be able to wear this in the fall.

Then my poor little girl's head was bare in the hot sun this summer.  That required bonnets to keep the sun out of her face as well meaning bystanders wanted to hold her and didn't pay as much attention to the shade as I do.  I used the design from Little Betty Designs to make a reversible bonnet for my baby girl.  This is the 0-6 month size on a 3.5 month old.  It fit her well, but now a month later it was getting small, so I made it again with a smaller seam allowance and this larger version will fit probably through the summer.  

Then on to shorts, because it is too hot here to put pants on those cute little chubby legs! These are made from the pattern by Elegance and Elephants. The smallest size in the pattern was 6-12 months, so these were downsized to fit my 4 month old. The main challenge of this pattern was that it assumes you have a serger. I wish I had known that before purchasing the pattern as I do not own a serger. Therefore, I had to finish every seam. I think it turned out even nicer this way, but it did take quite a bit longer to finish.

This summarizes my summer sewing so far... I'm loving the adorable clothes to make for kids.  It will be even more fun as she gets into walking so these creations can be seen better.  Maybe next on the schedule will be some quilty goodness!

Finish along, 1st quarter 2013 Results

Goals:

1. Bibs: Complete

2. Boppy Covers: Complete

3. Soft Book(s): No progress

4. Baby Quilt: Top is complete

5. Join a quilt guild: No progress

Completed Instead:

1. Lotta Jansdotter Snuggler (blogged already)

2. Little Geranium Dress (blogged already)

3. Quick Change Trousers from Anna Marie Horner's "Handmade Beginnings" (blogged already)

4. Tag Blanket (blogged already)

5. Bonnet (blogged already)

6. Itty Bitty Baby Dress (blogged already)

WiP Wednesday/March Finishes: March 26, 2013

Life with a newborn is challenging and rewarding.  I usually get 2 naps a day before she demands to be held for 12 hours straight.  The first nap is full of basics like brushing my teeth and eating breakfast, but if I get a second nap it is my time (as long as there isn't laundry to fold or a house to clean!).

Finished: 

Bonnet. I used the design from Little Betty Designs to make a reversible bonnet for my baby girl.  I realized when I took her to the Arbor Day celebration at my husband's work that everyone wants to hold her, but not everyone is so good about keeping her face shaded, so hopefully this bonnet will help.  The first one I made went a little slow, but I think as I get practice I will be able to make a couple more fairly easily.  I plan to attach velcro to the straps and cut them down shorter to use as the fastener.  The velcro should come apart easily enough to avoid any choking hazards from the hat.  I can't wait to try this out on her!

Itty Bitty Baby Dress.  I used the pattern from Made By Rae to make this dress.  I found the pattern to be very small... and I even used the 0-3 month size instead of the newborn.  My 6 week old (admittedly she is on the larger size of the spectrum) barely fit into it, so she only wore it once to an Easter egg hunt.  The size issue is due to the construction because there is no opening in the back.  It was still cute the one time she was able to wear it and we got a lot of compliments.

In Progress: 

Quilt backs:

Plan C - I strip pieced one section of the back of the Plan C quilt, still need to iron.  I also decided on the fabric for the majority of the back.  The alphabet print from the new PB&J collection will be perfect - I just need to order it.

Out to sea baby quilt back - I was able to start on the wonky stars that will be a portion of the back.

Up Next: 

I still need to finish assembling my long arm.  My in-laws are coming this weekend, so hopefully while they are here I will get this done.

 

WiP Wednesday: February 13, 2013

I'm on a streak... two weeks in a row of actually keeping track of what I've done.  I also feel good doing something creative most days.  I am taking inspiration from a book -  Victoria Findlay Wolfe (aka V aka Bumblebeans), 15 Minutes of Play- a goal to create even if it is just for 15-30 minutes a day.  I am trying to do that, but some days it's harder than others.

Finished this week: 

Bibs.  These are a little big for a newborn, but cute and will be used soon enough.  I used the pattern from Chickpea Sewing Studio.  Most have flannel as the back and I used snaps for all of them.  

Tag Blanket.  These are my go to baby shower gifts, so I figured I should also make one for my own little girl.  I love the combination of flannel and minky.  The ribbons all have different textures, and will hopefully be well loved.  

Boppy Covers.  The first one I made is the top one.  I used the pattern and tutorial from Vanilla Joy.  My only changes were to take in the top outside curves a little and I didn't pre-wash my fabrics because I wanted it to shrink a little to fit better.  The second one I attempted to improve and do my own thing.  I hope to eventually make a version that I like better - for example I added a strip in the middle portion that stretches because I think it will hold up in the long run better than the seam in the tutorial and used an invisible zipper in the back seam portion so it won't hit my legs.  However, my design is still not where I want it to be and you can't beat the ease of the already ready to go one from Vanilla Joy.  

Vanilla Joy version

My attempt to improve... still needs more work.

Quick Change Trousers from Anna Marie Horner's "Handmade Beginnings".  Pants were next on my to do list as I teach myself how to make clothes.  The pattern was fairly easy although time consuming due to having to get up, sit down, pin, iron, read directions, repeat times both sides of the pants.  I can see doing them again, but assembly line style - it would be multiple pairs of these pants to make it go more quickly.  They are very nice because they are reversible and all the seams are enclosed.  Due to being reversible, they are a little heavy so hopefully they will be fine in warmer weather.  I made these from the DS Quilts fabric collection.  

Side 1

Side 2

Baby!  My sweet girl was born on Monday.  I'm fairly certain that is the end of productivity as I know it, yet totally worth it :)

In Progress:

Out to Sea Quilt back.  Does pulling fabrics count?

Quilt Backs for the rest of my quilt fronts.  I started sewing together strips for the back of my "Plan C" quilt.  Moving more toward the back burner temporarily, but it still needs to get done.

Up Next: 

Quilt Backs.  Moving more toward the back burner temporarily, but it still needs to get done. 

Headbands.  No change.  I have a horrible fear that my baby girl will have no hair, so I want at least a couple headbands ready to go. 

Charity quilts.  No change.  I have one ready to be quilted, and fabric set aside for three more.  I have baby on the brain though, so it is hard for me to concentrate on non-baby projects. 

WiP Wednesday: February 6, 2013

I'm starting to get my sewing mojo back so to celebrate, I'm linking up to WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  I'm also ridiculously pregnant so sewing keeps my mind off how uncomfortable I am.

Finished this Week:

Snuggler.  I know not every baby likes swaddling, and I already have multiple muslin blankets to use for swaddling, but when I found the patter for Lotta Jandotter's Snuggler I couldn't help myself and had to make it immediately.  The fabric is Echino linen, the selvage says train.  I bought it awhile ago with a purpose and now love it for baby accessories although since it is true linen, I can't use it for anything that will actually touch the baby.  I used flannel for the inside because it is too warm in North Carolina (even in winter) to use the fleece called for in the pattern.

Lotta Jandotter Snuggler

Baby Dress.  Continuing on a baby theme, I made the Little Geranium pattern in 0-3 months.  The pattern is by Made by Rae, and was a fantastic pattern considering I have never made a piece of clothing before in my entire life.  The fabric is from the Lisette collection at JoAnn's Fabric and is a "voile".  I am definitely going to buy the full pattern and be making more of these in the future.

Little Geranium Dress (0-3 months)

Out to Sea Quilt Top.  This started as a improv log cabin, but I'm blaming pregnancy brain on it turning into a bizarre cross between the coloring of a log cabin and the pattern of courthouse steps.  It's not exactly what I pictured, but I'm still pleased with how it turned out.  Now to do a back for it....

Out to Sea Quilt Top

In progress:

Quick Change Trousers from Anna Marie Horner's "Handmade Beginnings".  Pants are next on my to do list as I teach myself how to make clothes.

Quilt Backs.  As I opened my closet where I store finished quilt tops, I realized that I have five quilt tops that don't have backs ready for quilting.  I plan to start dedicating more of my time to improving my quilting skills, so I need to get these backs done ASAP.

Up next:

Headbands.  I have a horrible fear that my baby girl will have no hair, so I want at least a couple headbands ready to go.

Out to Sea Quilt Back.  Must...finish...quilt back... so I can quilt this! This quilt back is also my February task for "A Lovely Year of Finishes" over at Bittersweet Designs.

Charity quilts.  I have one ready to be quilted, and fabric set aside for three more.  I have baby on the brain though, so it is hard for me to concentrate on non-baby projects.

Baby!  This little girl's due date is today, so hopefully she will be making an appearance soon.

Finish along, 1st quarter 2013

This year involves a lot of changes: a new baby, quitting my job, moving.... The list goes on and on.  However this year I am going to harness my nervous energy from stress and harness it creatively.  I did this two years ago and sewed every day and it really helped to keep me balanced.  I don't know if it is realistic as a first time mom to sew everyday, but I think 3-4 days a week should be a reasonable goal.  My current WiPs are mostly baby related due to the new addition, and are all several months old.  When I first found out I was pregnant, I started a lot of projects, but didn't follow through to finish them.  Now having a deadline is serving as sufficient motivation to finish them up.  For public accountability, I am linking up to the 2013 Finish-A-Long with Leanne at "She can Quilt".

1.  Bibs


2.  Boppy covers

3.  Soft book(s).  More options are still folded fabric.

4.  Baby quilt.  12 blocks started, slowly chugging away at them.  

5.  4 charity quilts

6.  Join a quilt guild