Friday, March 16, 2012

A few sewing projects

I had started this mini-quilt for Elsa when I was pregnant and set it aside and totally forgot about it. I found it half-finished when I was digging through my fabric bins looking for a dress fabric for the baby and decided to finish it up. It was a super easy quilt and I finished it while drinking beer with Jan as he played with the cats. Three squares (bamboo batting, muslin back, and pretty cotton top) sewn together and turned right side out, then double topstitching running around the perimeter to make a sort of fake piping, and four topstitch lines (top to bottom, side to side, diagonals to diagonals) quilting it all together. BAM!




Pretty fabric, no? I used hot pink thread to topstitch, because hot pink loves that green. (Hey Brooke! THAT GREEN IS MY FAVORITE COLOR!!!)

This is I think my first attempt at baby clothes. I used a pattern from Lotta's book (p.s. I love her style but dang, the impreciseness of her hand sketched patterns drive me bonkers and there was an omission in the sewing directions that made me have to go back and fix stuff, so I was kind of annoyed) and this is what came out:


Cute!! I love her idea of the little stuffed friend sewn in to the pocket so she always has a little thing to play with. I kind of want to do this to all of her clothes. I used the soft cotton gingham I picked up at JoAnn's the other day, some polka dot linen bias tape from Matatabi, a scrap of Cloud9 blue birds fabric for the pocket, a scrap of polka dot flannel for the friend (with bamboo fiberfill inside), and some satin cord for the string.


The back has a hook and eye closure making a little peephole so her giant head can fit through:


It's of course too big for the peanut so this one will have to wait a little while. Little dresses are easy and rewarding to make though, so I'm thinking I might make a bunch. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

AWWW...Now I feel bad I didn't make cute things like that for you when you were a baby...But I hope you remember the little cardboard doll house I made you. Very shack-like
but cute and you played with it a lot. And our "Frosty Shake dates", and sprinkled donuts at the mall, and other good times.
Nothing like junk food for bonding!
She will look enchanting--my new word--wearing those.
Love the quilt too! Hugs, Ma

Liv said...

OF COURSE I remember all of those things! You made us a bunch of crafty things that kept us entertained and feeling loved Mom. But most of all you spent all of your waking hours with us! That was most important. Maybe I feel a little bad that I can’t be with Elsa on the days I go in to the office, and guilty for when I can’t play with her when I’m working at home, so making her things at night when she sleeps makes me feel like a better mom.

Brooke said...

Whoa. Totally was thinking "that fabric is my favorite color" and then I read it! Directed to me personally! Got any leftover scraps? I use the heck out of my iPad coozie and I'd love to have some choice in my electronic accessorizing. Miss you. :) B

Liv said...

Miss you too B! Yep, I have enough leftover for iPad coozie #2. Still have to make you something with the cat in shoes fabric too! What do you think?

Brooke said...

YES! YES! YES! YES!!!