From the bottom of the pile

I'm climbing out of my funk and sewing for myself again. I promise. And blogging also. I plan on updating my blog every week at least. I have a work blog also that I have been putting tutorials on. I wonder if it is time to combine them or keep them separate. For now I am going to continue to work towards organization. By the end of this week I will start updating my life and not just projects. We shall see how that goes. snort.

I've been busy

My Son's Kindergarten teacher is an amazing woman. She founded Hearts & Hands International with her husband which is a non-profit organization that helps children at risk around the world. They run several orphanages internationally. One is in China. Last year when I was chatting with her, she mentioned the orphanage and her face lit up when speaking of the children over there. So it popped out of my mouth before I even could think about it, "Hey, I make cloth diapers, do they need any?" And so started my huge project because yes, they need them. At the moment they use strips of cloth that is put between the legs and covered with waterproof pants. So I got busy and started hounding my online friends, haha, like Samantha of Little Comet Tails, who designed a diaper pattern that would work for quick sewing and easy washing and line drying. I had several fellow cloth diapering seamstresses volunteer their time and supplies and got the first two sizes completed. I plan on making more in both these sizes but this is a good start. Next will be a newborn size and a larger size equivalent to a large. I color coded the sizes for quick identification. So the outside of the diaper, (water repellent fleece) is the color size and then I put color coded snaps on the snap in soakers that will fit into the shell of the diapers. I had a lot of fun making these, though I didn't care much for the snapping. Too repetitive for my taste. I already have flannel for the next batch and I'm using T-shirts for the inside of the covers. hopefully I have enough for both sizes. And now the pictures.

Getting desperate for inner layers -- a ugly knit shirt was sacrificed. I think it's my favorite!

some of my handmade stuffies

These are some stuffed animals I've made in the past. I don't consider them extrodinary by any means but my kids like them and that's all I need to keep sewing them.

The rabbit was an attempt at making a lovey for my older child who is afraid of the dark and has a hard time sleeping on his own. I made it with a fleece outer and a removeable flannel "core" that is filled with rice to warm in the microwave. I hand embroidered the face. My technique was, "I have no idea what I'm doing" hand embroidery. This was my tester. I intended on seeing if it worked then making him a slightly bigger one out of some nice minkee and filling the core with flaxseed. My son, however took to it right away and named him Hoppy. He did not want another one. He wanted me to add arms and that was all he wanted done to it. Six months later, he still sleeps with it. Hoppy has been washed numerous times, throw up on at least twice and taken to school and other various places.




Then I made a girly version for sale. My instructions were "girly as possible" so this was the result. It was very well received.












I also constructed a fat turtle. It was a 15 minute project that I just made up as I went along. I had bought a crocheted amigurumi turtle from my friend Carisa who has a shop called Elysium. I needed another turtle to keep the kids from fighting over it.

Just a little Sew and Show for this lovely Sunday. I plan on posting some more of my projects in the next few days.

yet another baby gift

I'm trying not to get sick of making baby gifts so I'm mixing it up a little with some "challenges" so to speak. My friend mentioned how much she admired a pair of newborn slippers called Puchi Toes made by another friend of mine - Nita who has a store Hot Salad. She wanted them but didn't have anything for the baby to wear to match it. So I bought them and have been trying to work out an outfit to go with them. Nothing like a creative challenge to break the boredom of gift giving!

So I made a newborn A-line dress out of lightweight twill and it's fully lined with a soft natural muslin. I tried to match the embroidery to the shoes as best I could. I couldn't find a lamb that I liked and I did have a big bad wolf design but that would definitely be a little too freaky for a newborn outfit. ha ha.

My friend cloth diapers so I made her a newborn cover out of wind pro fleece and bound it with brown fold over elastic. I even made gussets in the diaper - a first for me and I really like them. Nothing like a little extra fabric to keep that newborn poo from exploding. I did not add the snaps on the shoulder straps. My friend has a snap press so I'm just sending the snaps and she can adjust the straps to fit her baby when she arrives for a better fit.

I like that it's not in your face girly and the simplicity is very pleasing to me. I'm pretty happy with it. And that is saying a lot. ha.

More baby gifts finished!

I finished some gifts and I am so glad to have those behind me. Only five more babies to sew for. Good grief. All of these families cloth diaper which does make it easier to make gifts for. Everyone likes to have a nice selection of diapers. The pictures are just a sample of what I sent. Newborn fitted diapers which needs a cover, a small sized diaper and then a small cover. Newborns don't need covers as much because they grow out of that sizes pretty quickly and you are always changing them. Also cloth wipes which in my opinion are far superior to the disposable ones.