Sewin' again!

From bridal showers to weddings and fall cleaning to party hosting, the last few months have been fun, but busy. I'm definitely ready to get back into routine and squeeze in a little down time...namely sewing. Christmas is right around the corner, and I'm hoping to finish a couple aprons for gift-giving. They are actually almost finished, but now my serger decided to be cranky, so I think I need to bring it in for servicing. Blah. At least I was able to finish a custom order diaper bag, which didn't require any serging.

It was a custom order for a friend's sister. I hope she likes it! She seemed pretty flexible about the dimensions and details, so I kept it simple. It was fun sewing a diaper bag again. I haven't made one since before Sweet Pea was born, and that one was kind of complicated. Lots of measuring + mathematics = headache.

My goals for this month are to finish Peanut's quilt (remember that quilt I started MONTHS ago!), make a pinafore/apron for my niece, and finish a custom duvet cover. No, these things shouldn't take too long, but I tend to plug away at my sewing projects a little bit every couple days. So, it does take a little while. On top of that, I do like to sit down and relax with some knitting every few nights. My hands like to stay busy, so eventually everything will get finished :).

:) :) :)

Check out the results here.

I'm just a little excited. :)

My take on the 'Throwdown' bag

I was recently visiting the Tiny Seamstress blog, when I noticed a friendly little competition. The challenge was to design a bag based on simple bag pattern brought to you by Tiffany of Tiny Seamstress Designs. As long as the basic bag and dimensions were the same, we have free rein. Fun! I'm always up for a great sewing challenge!

Here's what I came up with:



I've been considering making a bag for Peanut for some time. As he gets older (he's almost 3!!!), he's starting to walk on his own as opposed to constantly being harnessed in the stroller. Plus, he doesn't really need a diaper bag chuck full of stuff - a snack, a juice box, a couple diapers and he's good to go! He loves helping out and enjoys carrying things for me. Lately he's been carrying his own bag of books to the library, but all my totes are just too big for him. So, I thought it would be nice if he had a little backpack for our outings.



I decided to do a bit of quilting for his bag as well as applique his hand on the front. (He has a little obsession with tracing his hand lately, so I thought he would appreciate that detail :)) I also did a little stippling on the pieced part of the bag (my own recent obsession).



The back has two simple corduroy straps that are sewn to the top of the bag. I attached ties in the side seams of the bag and the ends of the straps to make a couple little bows. I did it because I thought it looked cute. Hopefully it's practical too. :) Also, this way we have the option of tying the two straps together for a single strap to go over his shoulder if he gets tired of the backpack.

He already loves his backpack and can't wait to try it out!

I'm back...and with a new diaper bag for me!

Yes, I'm still around :). However, I've been camera-less. I finished a custom order diaper bag several weeks ago as well as a pouch carrier for the new baby. I've decided to wait until I have the baby to post pictures of the carrier. It's hard to demonstrate proper "carrier technique" without an itty bitty :).

I've also been working on my son's quilt off and on. I really need to get moving on his quilt, though, because I'd really like him to be in his "big boy" bed before the baby arrives. He is currently sleeping in the baby room while his new room transforms from the office to a bedroom. It really wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't move him into his new room until later, since the baby will be in our room for the first while. But with Peanut, I would often do night-time feedings in the baby room to let hubby sleep better. You're welcome, honey :). So, it would be nice to get everyone and everything organized and settled in the next couple weeks. Perhaps the nesting instinct will really kick in one of these days...

Anyways, here's the project I finished last week: a diaper bag for our new little blessing. I couldn't sleep one night, and this bag design worked it's way into my brain. I got up long enough to make some sketches and start thinking about fabric options. Since we don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl, I tried to come up with something neutral. I have to say, now that it's finished, it's a tad on the girly side. But if the baby is a boy I'll probably just take off the flower yo-yos on the front and call it good. Besides, I'm the one who has to carry it - that makes the girlishness ok, right?



It was definitely fun to make some baby items for myself the last couple months. After making so many custom orders for other babies, it's nice to look forward to using some items myself. Hopefully I'll get some ideas for improving my bag-making techniques as well. Sometimes I feel bad making custom orders when I myself haven't tried out the designs. Who knows, maybe there will be some new bag designs in the near future! :)



I also made a diaper changing kit very similar to a custom order from last month. I made it a little smaller and attached the change pad to the bag with snaps.

The Little Diaper Bag That Could

This diaper bag was my first custom order of the new year. My friend wanted a smallish diaper bag that could fit a few diapers, a wipes container and two bottles/sippy cups. She also wanted to have a change pad. Initially the plan was to have the change pad attached to the bag in some way, but in the end we decided to make it detached. (I'm still mulling over the idea in my head, though. I may try to come up with a design that has a change pad that is attached but can be removed with a zipper, buttons or maybe snaps.) Hmmmm. But anyways, I digress, here's the bag we came up with:




My friend sent me a picture with an idea of what kind of bag she wanted. The front flap in the picture had a funky curve in it. I decided to make a curved flap and also added some embroidery since the flap drew attention to that part of the bag.


The back has a pocket for the change pad.




The change pad has a layer of clear vinyl to protect the fabric from baby messes.

This bag was so much fun to make! I'm also really liking the design. I may make one for myself. I'm also contemplating making a few for my Etsy shop.

A monkey for my little monkey

Peanut is growing up so fast! He's about ready to be moved into his 'big boy' room. *sniff* *sniff* The upside to this is that I'm having a blast planning projects for his new room. Too many ideas, actually :). I'll have to tackle the major ones now and get to the other ones over the next year or so.

This is just one of the many projects I hope to complete for his new room. I bought Amy Butler's "Little Stitches for Little Ones" last year, and ever since I saw the "Cheeky Monkey", I knew I had to make him a part of Peanut's new room. I'll be venturing out of the theme a bit (the quilt and most of the decor will be bug and nature related), but I couldn't resist adding this cute laundry bag.



The brown stripe fabric will be incorporated in the new quilt as well. I thought the chocolate brown would wash out Mr. Monkey, so I used it for the lining fabric instead. I also LOVE the blue diamond fabric for the outside fabric. I'm so glad I could put it to good use. The monkey is made out of micro-fleece, so he is cuddly and soft despite his inevitable home on the bedroom door. :)

Diaper Bag for a Friend

Yippee! It's finished! My friend just had a baby and wanted a customized diaper bag. We looked at different pictures and designs and came up with this:

She wanted a sturdy bag that could hold its shape, so I used heavy duty stabilizer. The strap is adjustable and has some polyester batting inside for comfort.
It's a messenger style bag, so we took advantage of the flap and added a zipper pocket for extra storage.
The back has a large flat pocket and the sides have bottle pockets.
The inside has pockets lined with clear vinyl. The bottom has clear vinyl too for easy clean up and spills. I decided to add a zipper pocket, because my friend wanted 'lots of pockets' :).

I hope she likes it - I can't wait to give it to her!