Sweet Baby Gift

I am so excited about having a new grandchild!  I have been inspired to do a bit of sewing.  I've made some receiving blankets.  They were part of the Projects because...It's a boy! post.  I've also crafted some sweet outfits our little grandson.

When folks have a baby boy, I usually stitch together something using a Children's Corner Baby Bubbles pattern.  I started to use that same simple pattern for this little man.  Then, I realized that with an October due date, the weather would soon be cool.  So, I measured one of the little outfits that I had found when I was Digging Into History.  I sketched out a new pattern using the Baby Bubbles pattern and making it have pants legs to the ankles.

I decided to make one a sweet and simple white outfit for church.  I hand-embroidered the initial B on the yoke in a soft blue color.  (I would have stitched a monogram with all three initials, but the little man doesn't seem to have a first name selected for him, yet!)  I also had a piece of soft blue batiste.  I first thought I would pleat it up and smock it.  However, the little man's hard-headed father seems to be a bit picky about making sure that he wears ultra-masculine clothes.  Never mind that when he was a wee man he wore lace on his collar and short pants till he was in first grade and it doesn't seem to have emasculated him!  So, I decided to simply applique on the yoke.

Since I used the same pattern, both outfits are somewhat similar.  Both of them feature a front yoke and pleats.

On the white suit I first pressed and stitched a series of tucks on either side of the center section for the yoke.  I embroidered a simple B in the center section.  I attached some sweet baby-cord piping to the neckline and the sleeve cuffs.  I attached tiny little baby entredeau at the bottom of the yoke to connect the pleated pants part to the tucked yoke.  I stitched the front pleats down to about the waistline.  Then, just left them to blouse out for the legs.  Simple but sweet.

I think the little man's mother was inspecting the sweet little church suit but in the end gave it the stamp of approval.

The other suit features appliqued fish on the yoke.  I had to do a little bit of adaptation to the yoke part of the pattern.  I dropped it down a bit to make it more like a girl's jumper yoke.  I surfed the net to find a cute fish applique pattern as my inspiration.  I found one at Appliques for Kids and adapted it to work.  What I really liked was the use of three different prints with one for each fish.  I decided to use a couple of linen prints and a tan cotton check print.  One print is a chevron print with soft tans and light blue stripes.  The second linen is a light blue and cream paisley print.  Both were scraps from pillows and cushions that I had crafted.  The tan cotton check is a scrap left from a quilt my mother created for Mike and me.  I added baby rick-rack at the seam joining the pleated pants to the yoke.  I thought this made it look a bit more polished and hinted a suggestion of ripples like water.  This outfit buttons at the shoulders and I chose horn buttons to give the soft blue fabric a bit of earthy contrast.

I was lucky enough to have plenty of time to work on these sweet little outfits and simply worked on each one for about twenty minutes a day after school.  The only difficult part proved to be adding the snaps at the crotch of each outfit.  On one, I simply cut up some pre-made snap tape that had snaps embedded into some twill tape and stitched each snap on one-by-one.  On the other I used grommeted snaps which had to be hammered together.  At one point I stabbed myself with the little prongs and didn't realized I was bleeding till there were spots on the outfit.  So, I had to take time and wash the sweet little suit before I could even bestow it as a gift.  (By the way, hydrogen peroxide does a great job of removing blood from a poly/cotton blend batiste if you treat it shortly after it is spotted!)

I believe it holds up to the inspection by the future mother, too.  So, the sweet little man should look snazzy on trips to church and cute and rough and tumble for his dad as well!

Was there something in the water?

I have heard the old folks talk abut something being in the water when a rash of something seems to break out.  I'm wondering if that was the case about nine months ago...

We are awaiting the birth of our first grandson.  Our nephew and his wife are expecting a little girl at about the same time.  Plus, in my work 'family,' my colleague is expecting a little one as well!

This couple decided that they didn't want to know the gender of their baby and prefer to be completely surprised.  I love that extra anticipation, don't you?

As you know, I have sewn a few receiving blankets for the grandson and a couple for the new grand-niece.  I've been working on a couple of projects for their little one as well.

I fell in love with this soft flannel grey and white zebra stripe fabric.  It went together well with this all-over print of elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes.  It also has a little bit of pink and a little bit of blue and some green in the print.  So, it will work well no matter if the babe is a boy or girl.  Just looking at the fabrics made me want to cuddle and swaddle a baby.

I cut the fabric into the size I needed using the Receiving Blanket Tutorial by Suzanne of Just Another Hangup, stitched my rick-rack round the edges and sent it home with my daughter, Bridgette.  She worked her magic with her fancy, schmancy embroidery machine and returned it to me.  Then, I stitched it together and voila! 

Here is a sweet receiving blanket, personalized with the family's last name.  I just love the pop of color of that lime green on the soft grey zebra stripe and the sweet zig-zag of the rick-rack edge between the two fabrics!

After the couple had painted and decorated their nursery, I asked to see photos.  They painted a dresser out with white and turquoise and are using it as a changing table.  She made some cute curtains tied up with ribbons which feature an owl print.  They have a wall hanging that features an owl as well.  So, I was inspired to revisit one of my favorite blogs, Just Another Hang Up and adapt a couple of Suzanne's ideas.  She crafted an owl-shaped blanket with taggy ribbons and called it Maggie the Taggie.  She also used the same idea to make a pillow.  

So, off I trekked to Hobby Lobby in search of something with an owl.  There were a couple of fabric prints but neither featured the softness I was hoping to find for a receiving blanket.  I decided to go with a current trend and the couple's featured nursery color.  Here are the supplies I selected:

The first find was the soft turquoise chevron print.  Then, I found the brown print with multi-colored circles in bright, cheerful colors.  I had hoped to use the turquoise rick-rack HL has but it turned out to be a bit too blue for my fabrics.  So, I had to choose between using the unique rick-rack or sticking with the eye-popping trendy fabric.  I chose trendy.  Then, I had to choose a color rick-rack.  I knew I wanted something in a warmer color.  There was only one spool of red.  The yellow was too neon-y.  The other blanket had lime green.  So, orange became my color of choice.  

I decided to make this blanket even more unique and personalize it as well.  Being the good southern woman I am, it seems only natural to add a monogram.  So, this one got a cute shaped C.

Nothing fancy-schmancy this time.  Just a simple letter appliqued using the contrasting fabric that is on the opposite side.  I did use orange to stitch on the multi-colored fabric as a way of tying the orange rick-rack in more.  I love the look!

I also gathered a few supplies for another little project...

I noticed a soft piece of orange and white chevron fabric in the remnant bin.  I also stumbled across some cute reversible orange and turquoise polka-dot ribbon.  So, I asked the lady to cut me a half-yard of chocolate brown flannel, gathered another couple of colors and prints of ribbon and headed to the check-out counter.

I used a scrap piece of fabric left from crafting the receiving blanket.  I did a little surfing and found an owl pattern over at Sew much time, Sew little fabric.  I decided that I liked the shape of the eyes on another applique I had seen.  So, I did a little pattern adjusting.  

I had to enlarge the pattern a little bit.  I simply took my sewing ruler and added 3/4 inch to the outside edge.  I had to redraw the ears just a little bit as well.  I guess I could have manipulated the original patter with a copier or my printer, but I have always enjoyed drawing my own patterns and this seemed to be just that.

I made good use of the reversible ribbon by making tags featuring both sides.  I also included a little bit more chevron by using a yellow and white chevron ribbon for tags on the wings.  The orange and white polka-dot ribbon became a beak for the owl and some taggy legs.  My left-over fabric became accents on the head.  The orange and white chevron became wings.  All of these companion fabrics and ribbons were added to the owl-shaped brown flannel front.  The back is simply brown flannel with no other accents.  I stuffed it with some soft polyester stuffing.  

This terrible shot made with my cell phone is the only one I have of the taggy friend by itself.

These two pieces turned out looking so cute together, I think!  I did work to get one more piece to fit with them, though...well, it was a wee bit of work for me, anyway.  

I gave my daughter, Bridgette a call.  She has just started up a cottage business called Goody Stuff.  I asked her to embroider or applique a little owl on a burp cloth for this to become a set and sent her a text photo of my completed pieces.  Shortly afterward, I got a message letting me know that the last piece of the set was a work-in-progress.

How cool is that? 

She selected an applique design that was similar and chose fabrics from her scraps which were similar in color and design and set her machine to work!  Here is how he looked completed:

I love his sleepy little eyes.

She delivered this to me and I added a piece of left-over fabric and some rick-rack to the back side to finish it off.

This is one gift set that I was really pleased to pass along to the recipients.  I thought it was going to look pretty well with the photos she had shown me of their nursery.

I think it looks pretty cute all piled together!

So, if there was something in the water a while back, I think we got them all covered with sweet little receiving blankets.  I'll share some in-progress pictures soon.

Happy Birthday!

Mere words cannot express how fortunate I have been to be married to this man.  Happy Birthday, honey!

I love you!

It's Your Birthday!

Hope your day is a happy one, Rebecca!  We love you.

Happy Birthday!

New Love

I must confess.

I have fallen in love.

I was surprised...

...just as surprised as you probably are to hear me say such a thing.

Oh, I did my research.

I interviewed lots of folks before making my choice.

Then...one fateful day I was checking out the new setup at my local Kroger grocery store...

...and there it was!

On sale, even!

I couldn't embrace it quickly enough.

Not wasting a minute, I added it to my cart.

It is clean and tidy without making a drippy mess.

It is programmable and I wake up to its freshness every morning.

It is so smart that it shuts off automatically without my even having to remind it.

And every time I look at it, I get a smile on my face.

But, the best part is...

...the delicious coffee in my cup!

Digging into History

I've been doing a little digging into history this past few days.  What with awaiting the birth of our first grandson, I have been searching for vintage treasures to share with the expectant parents.

The beautiful mom-to-be is smiling.

Recently, my daughter and nieces hosted a shower for the expectant parents.

The decoration was absolutely adorable.  The invitation featured a red wagon and the decor took off with that theme.

The girls used burlap as a table runner, used bandannas and red-checked napkins, and mason jars were for drinks.

They created gifts which featured an embroidered onesie with a red wagon sewn on the chest.

They also shared photographs of the expectant parents from their childhood.  Well, actually, I am the one who shared those.  I had to dig into the dust and spiders teeming in the corners of the basement and search for photos from Bryan's days as a wee bairn.  He was such a cute little bugger back then!

I also stumbled across a couple of sweet little outfits that he had worn...

 ...and a box of his toys.  So, with a fine toothbrush and some gentle soap, I cleaned up a red tractor that had been pushed many a mile and a manure spreader to hitch behind it.  (Sort of ironic that I found that particular toy, isn't it?  Was it fate?  A manure spreader for the guy who can talk a lot of bull...)  Anyway, I cleaned up the toys and let them air dry.  Then, plopped them with some raffia and tissue into a large basket.  (I had seen where Jessica had pinned an idea for having several baskets of diaper changing supplies stashed around the house.)

I added a couple of books - one for Bryan about heroes and also the very first book he ever read alone - Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman.

The first outfit I discovered was a sweet little teeny-tiny one that had been given to us by an old family friend, Bobbie Scarlett.  You may remember my mentioning her HERE.  It had a cow appliqued on it which wrapped around the side and has the tail of the cow on the back side.

The second outfit was one of the first that I ever stitched together for Bryan.  You can tell by the look on his face that he is really excited to get it for his own son, can't you?  Ironically, my mother included a photo of Bryan at Easter wearing just that outfit.  How about that?

One thing folks were asked to do is complete a list of wishes for baby.  Here you can see Jessica's dad, Phillip, working on his 'homework.'

Everything was super nice.  The nachos bar was delicious.  The company was spirited and chatty.  I think a fun time was had by all.

Here is the mom-to-be with the hostesses.  From left is Bridgette, Jessica is wearing stripes, then, Megan and Jessica.  What a bevy of beautiful young women!

It was interesting to dig into history and find some bygone treasures.  I also think they enjoyed digging into history just a little bit.

Receiving Blankets

We are gearing up to welcome a new baby into our lives.  My son, Bryan, and his wife, Jessica, are expecting a boy.  I don't know of anybody in our perimeter who isn't excited!

I hinted at a few projects involved with getting ready for baby in a recent post, Projects, Projects, Projects!  I had seen Suzanne's tutorial Ric-Rac Receiving Blankets over at Just Another Hangup.  So, I decided to give it a try.

Armed with a gift card, I trekked out to JoAnn's, Etc.  I also ducked into Hobby Lobby and another local fabric store.  Then, I was off for home to begin assembly.  Here is a sampling of my selections:

My son is a hunter and I thought this print was quite appropriate.  

It works well with this soft, grey flannel print with deer and turkey tracks all over it.

Since we grew up on a farm, had sheep and cows and now have chickens, 

I got this sweet little farm print and a nice, soft plaid flannel that coordinates.

I fell in love with this cute truck print which features a black dog in the back 

and got a black gingham to coordinate with it.

I started out by completing a practice piece using a sweet cowgirl print flannel fabric and some seersucker.  I zig-zagged an initial L on one side for sweet Lydia to use as a doll blanket.  I also stitched up a little blanket for Lillie and appliqued a bit of leather string on in the shape of an L for that little cowgirl.

I decided to personalize the receiving blankets for the baby, too.  So, the first one I worked with was the truck and dog print and the gingham.  I decided I would do a bit of cross-stitch using the gingham as a canvas.

First, I taped a piece of the truck print fabric to the window.  Then, with a piece of card stock, I traced the outline.  I took a photo of the outline with my iPad.  Then, I used a drawing app with graph paper and created a pattern.  Finally, I cross-stitched the pattern onto the fabric.

I think it turned out to look pretty close to the original print on the fabric, don't you?

I used red rick-rack  sandwiched between the two prints and top-stitched the edge.  I love the finished look.

For the others, I worked out a deal with Bridgette to embroider them with her fancy-smancy machine like she does for her Goody Stuff customers.  Here is a look at them:

Grey rick-rack sandwiched between the grey flannel and buck and turkey print.

Blue rick-rack sandwiched between the blue plaid flannel and the Old McDonald print.

I think this little boy is going to be swaddled up in several cute ways.  I can hardly wait to snuggle him up in one!