bibs & blankies

These little "taggie blankies" are simple to make.  I like to use a style called strip quilting. End to end first sew random lengths of various fabric rectangles together. then cut the strips into the length you want your rows (width of blankie).  Sew the rows together. Then right side to right side sew a cuddly fabric with strips of material or short cords placed along the edges as you go. turn right side out and "wa-la"! 

This bib and the taggie blanket on the left above coordinate with the baby quilt and burp cloths I made Asher.

And this blanket was really fast- cut a cotton fabric to the size you want your receiving blanket to be and then cut the back made of flannel (in this case)  sew with right sides together and then turn inside out.  I like to sew a finishing stitch around the edges to make it look polished.

Amy Butler's "Little Stitches for Little Ones" book was very inspirational for me. Worth looking over, and may instructions are "googleable".

baby quilt

This the baby quilt I made for Asher in my summer of modified bed rest.  I was super inspired by these fabrics, Amy butler designs, and this spotted quilt (and all her other quilts!). -And I'm not even a "quilty" person anymore!  :-)

Fun places to shop for fabric in the twin cities: Treadle Yard Goods, and Crafty Planet.

Too many fun ones to choose from!

Some of the fabrics I chose.

I had to play around with the design and placement 

for a while.  Charlie helped a lot with this part.

I appliqued the little squares on by using a blanket stitch on my machine.

Finished Front.  I made Burp Cloths to match.

Finished back, I added a little strip of each fabric I used
on the front; it makes the back look snazzy.

The best part of this project was seeing my little man on top of it!

I also made a bib and burp cloth and taggie blankie to match.

My next project: these adorable hand crafted stuffed animals!  Found them on Martha Stewart.

LOVE!

Nested, and Coco Knits, are also sites that have lots of fun and classy crafty projects on them.
Enjoy!

burpy-urpy cloths

Because every little one over fills that little tum-tum. (Asher is a pro at the whole spit-up thing). I wish I had made more of these.  But thankfully my friends gave me some they made.

On the ones I made I just put flannel or a striped terrycloth-like fabric.  The fronts were all cotton.

The two pictured above coordinate with a quilt and bib's I made for Little Asher Man.

And I made one to coordinate with the little worm diaper bad, pictured below.

Above, in the top right I made a cotton from/flannel back blanket with matching burp cloth. And the ones that have "Little Mr" monogrammed on them were made by my friend Sarah.  Hers have a towel-like terry cloth on the back with flannel on the front. They are quite absorbent. The silky one is a taggie blanket she also made.

Below is a burp cloth (one of six) that my friend Dana made us. These are the classic white cloth diaper ones, and to jazz it up she has sewn a strip of flannel down the front. To be honest, these are my favorite, because they are the most absorbent of all of the ones I have.  If I make more in the future, they'll probably be similar to this one.

a diaper bag ditty

When I finally made it to modified bed rest this last summer I had extra time to do this sort of thing...

I didn't have a pattern, but did use this helpful post for guidance. I changed a few things and added a divider in the middle.  Wasn't to tough. I'll leave this one in the car with a snack and change of clothes for those sure to come emergency situations.  ;-)

I wish I had a serger.

I also whipped up a burp cloth to match.

monogrammed shirt for kiddo's

This little sewing project is pretty easy... I did it.

Thought I'd write a quick tutorial in case you wanna give it a shot (or sew).

1. By shirts. I usually look for a sale or H&M

2. Print out the letter in the font and size you'd like to use. (not curved edges get a little tricky if you're using a machine).

3. Buy felt. I buy it at Joann's for like $.30 a sheet. This way I have lots of colors to choose from.

4. Coordinate your felt to your shirt.

 5. Trace the letter upside down on the felt.

6. On that same side of the felt iron on double sided interfacing glue. (read instructions on package)

7. Cut out the letters that now have interfacing "glue" on their back side.

8. Iron the letter to the shirt. I place my letters in the middle of the shirt towards the top. 

9. As a finishing touch chose one of the following: *Sew with a contrasting thread color about 2/8" from edge around the letter (that's what I have shown below). or *Hand sew up and down in the same way with contrasting candle-wicking thread. or *do the same with yarn (I've done this too, but my fingers really hurt after from pushing the needly through so much fabric and felt, plus the yarn thickness. But it does look super cute). 

There ya have it! CUTE - CLASSY & CRAFTY!

Your next gift for the kiddo's in your life.

gross- what's that smell!

Ok. So, I was about to toss my lunch a few times lately as I'd get weird whiff's of a musty, old milk smell when I turned my head toward my shoulder or flipped Asher's burp cloth on my shoulder or kissed him around his neck... what on earth? I JUST washed this burp cloth, outfit, bath robe, etc...

Baby puke, spit up, or overfill seemed to have "melted" into whatever fabric it landed on. I would always wash it right away, but still this problem arose. I guess it has to do with the (non) breakdown of the proteins found in milk. So I read up on how to get the smell out and this was the most popular fix.

Plain old VINEGAR

I was eager to get home from Target today so I could test it myself. I just finished the load of stinky clothes (I used about 1 cup and my regular detergent) and I am quite impressed with the results. The smell has subsided greatly (if there at all).  What a cheap fix! Hope that may helps some of you mama's out sometime, it did me!

Other handy uses for vinegar. (he suggests stuff like: insect repellent, first aid, cooking, and cleaning!)

life is good at 12 weeks

Little Muffin (mommy calls you that sometimes),  this has been a very fun week of new discoveries for you and has been fun for us to watch.

 When you're laying or reclining you must think it's fun to turn your little head from side to side. Back and forth it goes- and the hair on the back of your head is rubbed down from your new trick. So silly.

 The rolls on your legs (and everywhere else) are growing. Last night in the tub Mommy and Daddy laughed at your double armpit that's emerged from your chubbers. You've moved definitively into sizes 3-6. Only one or two 0-3 month outfits fit you anymore!

 Practicing sitting upright this week has been exciting. You sit in your Bumbo chair and look around the kitchen. You're getting less wobbly, but can still only be comfortable there for about 5 minutes.

 You are ever so attentive to new sounds, voices and activities. You love to listen and respond to us when we talk or walk in the room. And in the above pictures you've started to crank your head as far as you can to get a glimpse of the TV (which mommy and daddy purposely turn you away from). You're mesmerized by that moving light son, and you're glued to it when you're at the right angle.  Also in the above picture (on the bottom left) you've started to suck and chew at your fist. You soothe yourself quite well with this activity.

These little faces of yours melt me darl'n!

Mommy's 'lil hawkey- we cheered on our only winning big 10 team this year!
(bottom left)- You're such a good little shopper and errand doer!

Highlights from week 11

• You squeal with delight
• You're getting better and better at tracking voices and sounds, and are intrigued when we skype with Grammy or Aunties
• Your sleep habits are pretty predictable now: night= 9p-7:45a and two naps= 9:45-11:45a (maybe a quick cat nap) and 2:15-5:30p or so.
• You smile a lot more (see the video below for proof of that- it's about 3 minutes)
• Evenings have suddenly gotten MUCH better. You're not nearly as fussy from 5-9p anymore! YAY! But morning's are still your favorite.
• You enjoyed your first Christmas Asher! We spent it in Iowa with our families. You got your own "baby's first christmas 2010" ornament.
• Eating is getting easier for you; you still sputter and cough and clench down from time to time, but you're starting to handle it better. (phew).
• We said goodbye to 2010 the year of your birth and hello to a brand new year, 2011! We're excited to see how this year will unfold, and what God will do. NYE was spent snuggled in with mommy and daddy watching movies by the fire. (the weather was not good that night).
• We're treasuring every last moment with you baby boy, the realization of how quickly time is going has crashed upon us lately. But we are enjoying all your new developments.

Hugs and lots of kisses Mr. Happiness, Mommy and Daddy