Note the daintily raised pinkie

As she ravenously attacks the ribbon tags on her ball.

This one is to prevent sibling jealousy

It's just the fabric beach ball from Purl Bee (I didn't make the
circles for the end because I am proud of my matching points). I wants
to test my technique on this plain one before I madenthe taggy one.
Turns out, super easy!

My latest...

It's a crazy taggy ball for my teething baby! She loves it! I think
I'll have to make a tutorial for this, cause it's so fast and fun!

finished!

with only a few oopses! (I had to undo these straps, and redo them correctly ... oh well. I got better at reinforcing seams?)
I added a basic pocket on one side of the lining, and two zippered pockets on the other side.
why do something easy when you can complicate it, right?

Overall, I love it, but it's way too small to be a diaper bag for the mother of two young children, so now I'm mentally designing the next one...

The Highbrow Hobo Bag...

I LOVE bags. I'm planning to make my dream diaper bag sometime soon. something that has LOTS of pockets, but matches a purse, and is cloth diapering friendly, and snack friendly, but not bottle friendly, since I don't use bottles (why bother when I have boobs?).
I've never made bags that I like, though, mine always look homemade, which, to me, is NOT the goal when MAKING homemade stuff! SO, since I have this navy linen, and it matches the gorgeous blue floral scraps from the bean's playmat, I thought I'd break myself in to bags by trying to make this bag from u handbags patterns.
So far, almost as much ripping out as sewing in, but I finished the outside of the bag! YAY!
I would be farther along, but last night I decided to put some embroidery on one of the outer pockets.
it's a rose, and then in script it says "the Burkeshires!" I tried to find a slogan from the real Berkshires that I could use, but the Berkshires don't seem to have a unified slogan, so I went for simple...
so far it looks better than previous bags, but not as awesome as the original... my straps are about 1/8" off, which is only noticeable if you turn the bag upside-down and study it, but still, not perfect...
oh well. I'll try to do the rest tomorrow... wish me luck!

4 little owls...

Somebody gave somebody in this house a present in this gift bag a long time ago. I don't know what it was, or who it was from (feel free to remind me and earn some credit), but D LOVES this bag a LOT. It's just a typical gift bag, but it has these CUTE little owls on it! the other side had the same owls, but they WERE 3D. Those owls are now all gone. One is on D's door, several are on the back of the passenger seat in the car... etc. D loves this bag, he puts toys in it to carry to the park, he holds the owls and loves them, it's sweet.
SO: yesterday, the bean was asleep, and I had C to help me, so D rooted through my scrap CRATE (I used to have a scrap basket, now I have a giant box... Clearly I need to make one of those scrap-buster quilts like a postage stamp or around the world or something, but between my love of vintage floral prints and D's very vibrant print choices, it would be an ODD quilt!) back to the story: D chose the fabrics (the pink floral is the backing to the "flower blanket" he loves so much), and C helped me enlarge the owl design, and in less than 30 minutes, D had what he is now calling his "owl ball!" Pretty cute, huh?

The mistakes came later, when I decided to attempt another freehand, so he could have 4 little owls sitting on a branch... this green thing did NOT turn out quite as cute... or maybe just not as OWL-like. still kinda cute in a monster-ish way, no?

I love Seersucker!

I've been on a seersucker kick since I got inspired by the shirt-dresses over at Made (see previous posts for links). so here's another shirt-turned-baby-outfit. it's an old Ralph Lauren Polo, so the back of the romper used to be the front of the shirt. I followed a pattern for the directions, but then changed the look a lot by putting the 3 tucks in the front and making the ruffle sleeves. they're elastic. I liked the daintiness of that more than just doing an overall strap. I edged it all in black on my serger, and left the overlock showing, cause I like that accent... plus that way it matches D's sailor pants. I dunno if these will fit her yet, I'm guessing another month or two... I'll add pics of the bean in this when I can....

More sailor pants.

This time they're darker turquoise with black thread. I've stitched in
the ditch on the cuffs, so they'll show the dark thread.
And I used anchor buttons this time (the pic with D's hands in his pants shows the anchors..). I love them! So does D, but, as is normal for him, he won't slow down for me to get a picture of him in them!

Shirt-sleeve Pants for the bean.

They're a little tight over her cloth diapers, but fit ok over
disposable...
I am making her a cute little romper out of an old shirt, but I wasn't using the sleeves, so rather than just throw them away, I made a quick pair of pants.
start to finish, they took less than 20 minutes!
I left the cuffs on so they could be rolled up with stiffness, and I think they're super cute!
In my head, the buttons went in the front, but C did them this way, and they look cute that way too!

Dress #2 for the bean

I made this last night, just attached the sleeves tonight...
I hope it'll look cuter on her; I love the fabric, but the dress isn't translating it's cuteness in 2D.
This print CALLED to me, the roses look like they were painted on, not printed on... and the coordinating cream with pink filigree (used for the panties) was so dainty!
It's a sundress, so the back just ties shut, it'll make a weird tan if I forget sunscreen! I made this in a 2T, but I might be able to get it on her now... it's supposed to be short, but there's no reason it couldn't be worn long...
I hope it's sunny and hot tomorrow!

dance pants!

that I've done this so many times now that I can make basic pants from start to finish in under 1/2 an hour!
D's first dance class (pre-ballet, pre-tap combined in a 1 hr class, 1/2 of each, for ages 3-4) is tomorrow (today... 13.5 hours...go to bed!). I bought the shoes (so cute!), but was not about to shell out 30 for a pair of black stretch pants... so here's my version. capri length, black, elastic waist, sergered but unhemmed at the bottom... hopefully they're fine, but I can alter after I try them on him in the morning. I love

Sewing for The Bean

I've been making dresses for my daughter, but I don't want to waste time on things she'll wear for a few months, I'm making 2Ts and up, hoping that she'll get a little more use out of them then...
So here's the first one I made. I bought the fabric a LONG time ago, cause I LOVE it, but only bought a yard, and had no plans for it... so here it is. used properly! I think I'll make navy ruffle-butt diaper covers for this outfit... solid, so they can work for other dresses. I love the red and navy combo, (so vintage!), so I'm sure I will make more this color!

My first hat!

Made from scraps, hence the lighter seersucker 1/2 brim. I didn't finish the edges; in fact, I snipped them, so hopefully, over time, they'll fray like a ragged blanket? it's reversible, the other side is all the same turquoise seersucker... I wish I had put the mismatched part on the other side from the embroidery... oh well!
I made up the pattern ALL BY MYSELF, so I'm super proud of it, even if it did take 3+ hours to make such a simple hat!
I think I will be faster next time, with a few alterations to the pattern...
My silly son has a GIANT head, and I haven't been able to find youthful sunhats for him... plus this one will match his sailor pants! I'm making another pair in the darker turquoise seesucker, cause the lighter seersucker is too light, it looks more like polished cotton until you're close up, maybe because it's a home dec remnant?

The sailor pants!

I love his poses... totally bizarre, but so cute!

Detail shot of my wedding dress

I need to get it "preserved"... But since I never officially finished
it (I was sewn in, and I seamripped myself out!), I haven't bothered
yet...
LOTS of seedbeads on this dress. LOTS.
It's hard to tell, but the top front was like 9 pieces or something.
Dupioni silk has such visible grainlines that we cut the fan pieces
out to make the lines and beads run paralell all over. My mom helped
me create this insanely wonderful dress.

LOTS of homemade!

Shirt on DH (matches D's, maroon with teeny white bunnies, only
visible up close, so DH can wear it and not feel soft).
Sling (grey boucle suiting on the outside, Kelly green minkee on the
inside)
Dress on the Bean (matches mine. Mine is solid with floral trim, hers
is reverse. I love matchy matchy...)

D's train blanket

Made 1.5 years ago, still loved.
The fabric was so expensive, but SO Darren (antique trains on one side,
with the same trains plus airplanes and automobiles in boxes on the reverse.)

Homemade mixed berry jam

I love it cause it makes our initials:
CSB and RRB
Cranberry Strawberry Blueberry
RedRaspberry Blackberry (ok, maybe the red is cheating a little, but
it's still cool, and unbelievably yummy!)

Four little owls...

... Sitting on a branch...
Made d a turkey and cheese panini about 2 months ago, now it's his
favorite meal ever.
This month he also has to have a corner turned into "and the moon
shining down from up above"

My own appliqué creation...

I have 9 blocks...
Not sure if they're a quilt in-and-of themselves, part of a bigger
quilt, or a crib bumper... So for now they're just boxed up...

Wedding quilt #5? 6?

Based on the invitation design. I enlarged it, and made it via
threadpainting and reverse appliqué. First time doing either. Self-
taught. I definitely learned some things... Next time I'll do regular
appliqué with fusing... WAY easier!

Another cheat.

It's from a kit. I just love keepsake quilting. And all things 30s. D
calls this his flower quilt. Still not sure why...

I cheated...

It's from a kit, and then I made my own quilt-fuse by drawing a grid
on featherweight interfacing.
My first time doing watercolor quilting though... So cool and so fun!
About 2 hours of work and an awesome result! Good thing I didn't have
to cut all the little squares!

Wardrobe refashion

Inspired by the mens-shirt-dress over at Made...
I made it for my niece, but I think it came out too small. (haven't
heard...)

Another typical D combo

Pirate shirt and "rainbow" pants. Homemade, of course.

D's crab pants

With a storebought shirt and a new tricycle. (thanks, neighbors 4
houses down!)

D's fashion sense

Homemade peacock shirt and front-loader pants.
Peacocks and construction are two of his favorite things.

my wagamama re-cover

I just loved this print sooooo much, and since it was only $3/yd, I had to use it... I wish it matched my daughter's bedroom, I'd do her whole room with this print in a flash... as it is, I'm trying to figure out how to convince my DH that it's not too girly for our room... maybe if accented in hunter green...?
Anyway, I bought (and love) my Baby Zabu by Wagamama Baby, but I bought a gender neutral one, so that if/when #3 comes along, it can be reused regardless of gender... but my little girl needed something girlier, she's so cute in floral! So I traced the pieces of the original and made this one... I LOVE it... Cotton print with thin-wale cotton corduroy... LOVE LOVE LOVE (and so do my kids!)