Appliques!

So I did another order for a friend of a friend.  I took a break from sewing stuff for my own kids (who are we kidding, I have been procrastinatin anyways) to make these onesie/burp cloth sets.  Sometimes it's just easier to make stuff for other people in a timely manner.

Just took photos of the appliques, they are all ones I have done before except the excavator which had to be resized for an infant onesie.

Giraffes (always a hit!)

 Doves

 Construction equipment (bulldozers and an excavator)

For My Boy

Well the nesting period has definitely begun and I have been busy working on some projects for my soon-to-be born son.

First up, a onesie made from an old shirt of my husbands (wish I had taken a before photo but since I cut this shirt up a few months back, it was out of the question - basically this was a men's polo shirt with collar).  I used an old gerber onesie that I cut up for pattern pieces and then just cut out my pieces and sewed it up!  I think it is pretty cute and super cool that it used to be Darren's.   And then I made a pee pee teepee to match (no photo of that though).

 Then, I decided to make a nursing cover since I gave my old one away to my friend who had her baby in January. I was thinking I would not need one this time around but then realized it would be nice to have one around just in case.  I didn't want to ask for mine back (that would be rude!) so I used this super easy tutorial from Freshly Picked's blog.  Easy peasy and a good excuse to use a yard of fabric from my overly full sewing drawer.

2 items down and a few more to go!

A Little Upcycling

I've probably mentioned it before but Ava has been outgrowing a lot of shirts lately.  They basically still fit except that they are too short.  So instead of throwing them out, I have been upcycling them in various ways. 

This time, I used a tank top that I had appliqued for her last year and added some fabric I shirred and voila!  A new tank dress.  Thankfully I still had the matching fabric to make the skirt.  (Quick side note: If you have not shirred fabric before, it is pretty easy once you figure out how your machine needs to handle the elastic thread.  There are various tutorials online about it if you want to google it, but like I said you have to play around on your sewing machine to see what the correct tension, etc. is.  I highly recommend it.  Btw, I plan on making myself a few tank dresses this way once I'm not in maternity clothes and have the time).

 She was pretty excited about her new dress and insisted on going outside in the 55 degree weather to take a few photos for me.  She asked me "Is this for Spring?"  Guess she'll be excited when I make her a few more of these (which I plan to do...I have 10 weeks before baby gets here to do it).

 And speaking of the baby, I took one of Ava's old tshirts (it actually was a boy shirt but since Darren is in construction I sometimes buy her things with dozers and other equipment on them) and cut it up to applique a onesie for our little boy to be.  The onesie was kind of a grey color (hard to tell in the photos below but you get the idea) and for some reason I thought it would be cute/funny to applique the word dirt on my baby boy's bottom.  I like it...but maybe I'm weird.

More Kindle Sleeves

So I  just finished making some more Kindle sleeves.  This time I made one for myself and 2 of my friends.  Both ladies have watched my house, checked my mail and taken care of my cat when we have been out of town this past year and since both of them got Kindles for Christmas, I thought this would be the perfect way to say thanks.

Front of the sleeves

 My Kindle sleeve (front & back with pocket for power cord)

 Jen's sleeve (front & back)

 Dara's sleeve (front & back)

I will say that this time I had more of a problem sewing these as I used fleece that I had leftover from other projects for the lining instead of flannel.  As a result, the final layers were very thick and made it harder to keep everything lined up.  Lesson learned (let's just say I had to break out the trusty seam ripper a few times)!  Although the finished product is super cushy, I think I will stick to flannel for the lining next time.

Up next, some baby projects for my new little one (11 more weeks to go!) including the standard burp cloths but also a new nursing cover too (since I gave me other one to a friend).  Also, I am in the process of converting a few of Ava's old tank tops that are too short into cute tank dresses for Spring...can't wait to finish them and share!

Christmas Gifts

I can finally post all the Christmas gifts I made this year.  At the time it seemed like more, but really it only ended up being a few things.

First up, are the 2 Kindle sleeves I made for my mom and my mother-in-law.  If I only knew at the time that I was getting a Kindle, I could have made my own!  Guess that is my next project.

Front, closed view.  (I used fabric scraps I had to piece these together and I love the final funky result).

 Back view with pocket (diagonal line part is the pocket for the charging cord)

 Front, open view (I used plaid flannel and houndstooth flannel for the lining plus some fusible fleece for extra padding)

 Another view with Kindle inside

And finally, I made a big pile of baby stuff for my new nephew (who will be born in January sometime).  I made a few knit infant hats (from my husband's old shirts), 2 pairs of comfy baby pants (flannel & fleece) using this free pattern, and 2 onesies with matching burp cloths.  I also made 5 pee pee teepee knockoffs.  So simple to make!  Seriously took like 2 minutes a piece!  Guess I need to start making my new baby some of these so that when he comes in April we will be prepared.

Reworking Old Shirts

Ava has a couple of short sleeved t-shirts that are starting to get short and more fitted.  She can still wear them now, but come spring, they will probably need to be retired.  She also has some long sleeved shirts that are WAY too short and she can not wear them.  So I decided to combine the two and make her short sleeved shirts into long sleeved ones and get a little more use out of them since we are now in colder weather.

Here is her Hello Kitty shirt with the new sleeves & extra length.  I love when I buy long sleeved shirts for her and they look like layered shirts so this was a great project.

 And here is her Sleeping Beauty shirt updated.

I also did a third shirt (Minnie Mouse with white and silver striped sleeves) but she was kind of done with the clothing changes and photo shoots by this point.  Great way to get a little more use out of her clothes and very simple!

Latest Projects

I know I have not posted anything in awhile...guess that is what happens when you are pregnant and too lazy to upload the photos.  I have been working on a few projects and now that it is December, I am knee deep in Christmas projects (which will be posted in January since they are gifts!).  But here is what I did in October & November.

Here is Ava's Strawberry Shortcake outfit I made for Halloween (no, I wish I made the hat, but bought it off Etsy).  I previously posted the 1st version (top photo) of the dress but after she wore it out the day before Halloween to a Trick or Treat event, I decided it was too hard to get off and on and it was a bit short.  So Halloween morning, I did some minor alterations (ripped out lining, lengthened dress, changed full bubble skirt to modified bubble by making a casing to put elastic through) and it ended up looking like the 2nd photo.  Still cute and SO much easier to get on and off!

 Then I had a friend request some baby onesies and burp cloths (not pictured since they were the standard giraffe and dove I have done before) but she also wanted me to do a tote bag. I could not find the exact canvas bag that my mom made for a friend this past summer so instead I found a very plain one and decided to cover the entire thing in matching fabric.  Not a great photo but here's what it ended up looking like.

Finally, my best bud is having her first baby (a girl) sometime around Dec 28th and wanted some painted letters to hang in her little one's room.  She wanted to buy some and I told her she could easily make them. She told me "Maybe you could make them but I couldn't." So guess what? I did.  Merry Christmas/Welcome home baby!  I think she plans on hanging them with ribbon in the nursery so I can't wait to see what they look like in the room but here are 2 photos of the letters.

Close up:

 

In natural light: