A Poppy for Baby J

Baby J turned one yesterday and we were pleased to attend her ultra-cute birthday party. As a gift we gave her a doll stroller (critical for a girl on the go and summertime entertainment) and a doll to occupy it.

The doll is from Hop Skip Jump's lovely Poppy pattern. I have loved her stuffies for a long time and was so excited when she started publishing patterns. I enjoyed making this one a lot more than my usual stuffed attempts. The pattern was very clever and the end result is just so sweet! I used a snap on the back of the reversible smock instead of the recommended button, since I was putting it together at the 11th hour and have yet to attempt buttonholes on my new sewing machine, plus, who wants to miss an opportunity to hammer in a snap? My only stumbles involved turning the pieces right-side out after sewing. I am apparently quite inept at this task. In fact, for the smock I had to slice open part of the seam along the neck to get the panels righted. This was ok, though, since I was planning to topstitch around the whole kaboodle anyway and it turned out great.

Hurray for Poppy! I can't wait to make another, this time hopefully in some wool flannel like the pattern suggests.

Magoo finds a home

My good friend H had her second baby on Christmas Day. Her first is a week younger than ours, and needless to say he did not get a handmade gift. So, I was resolved to knock one out this time. The only problem is she is a self-proclaimed "not quilt person". I wasn't in the mood to knit something, so I landed on stuffed toy.

Introducing: Magoo.

I am a long-time reader of Melly & Me and love her stuffed creations, so I was excited when she started publishing patterns.

I retired to the stash to find appropriate fabric for a monkey, and surfaced with some orangey corduroy I bought from a fabric shop that was going out of business a few years ago. A little of this and a little of that, learn to applique and embroider, and presto: Magoo was born. If only it was that easy... I must remember for the future this thing that I have already learned many times before: I hate making stuffed things! This is not meant to be any reflection on this pattern - it is well written, clear, cute and wonderful in every respect. But ugh, stuffed things... all the pieces and the tracing and the turning and the stuffing (oh how I hate the stuffing!). And then after all that the thing sits there with no face for weeks like a stuffed zombie, because I am too afraid to sew it on and create creepy not-cute stuffed animal face (in this instance I am actually pleased with the face, and thank goodness for that).

The only change I made to the pattern was to sew the arms into the side body seams rather than sewing them on to the outside afterwards. It was only a little tricky dealing with them stuffed inside the inside-out body when I was sewing it up, but I liked not having to deal with them afterwards.

Upon unveiling my monkey the husband immediately told me it was "weird looking", and upon further inspection I discovered I had aligned poor Magoo's ears with his cheeks rather than alongside his eyes as intended (hopefully he cannot hear all of this criticism as a result). The husband said I must fix this. I said it was impossible as I could not bear working on this small beast for another moment.

Anyway, I'm glad it's over. And despite the fact that I did not enjoy it, I still have plans for just one more stuffie, but first I have to forget how much I enjoyed (ahem) doing this one.

The Quiltmaker's Child Gets a Quilt

While I was pregnant I didn't make a single thing. The child seemed to sap me of all creative juju. This meant that any baby born within 6 months of ours received no handmade gifts, nor did my kid get a thing. Slowly the creative juices started flowing and I started catching up, but it was not until this summer that I got around to making the child his own quilt. Then it took quite a while to get it on the wall, but at long last it went up this weekend, and I love it! Now we just wait to see how long it takes him to try to pull it off the wall.


Also, wanted to share a picture of Baby J sporting her Christmas pajamas. A perfect fit!

Everyone needs PJs

My oldest and best friend, A, lives allllll the way out in Portland, Oregon, which is entirely too far away from the East Coast. She generally comes home for Christmas and we and our other oldest friends spend Christmas Eve together over buttery potatoes and steak at our friend J's parents' house (J, mother of Little J, recipient of a certain pair of pink pajammies).

Well, A's 9 month old son, L, has been a delightfully adorable child... except for the part where he pretty much refuses to sleep. After 9 painful months, L's parents have absolutely had it with him and are taking their two week Holiday vacation to sleep train the pants off of him in his very own crib, rather than coming home for the week. Everyone is very disappointed (save L, who has no clue, although who will be disappointed upon learning he is going to be whipped into shape).

Since A will be alone with little L this Christmas, I sent them a care package. It included two books for A (The Man With a Wooden Hat and A Far Cry From Kensington), a book for L (Five Little Monkeys), hot chocolate mix, chocolate chip cookies (Vegan, because L is allergic to eggs) and a homemade pair of pajamas to inspire L to sleep sleep sleep!


The husband helpfully pointed out they looked like the curtains Julie Andrews used to make playclothes in the Sound of Music (and truth be told, I did buy the fabric originally to make curtains for the child's room), but I had to go to the stash and work with what was available.

Hopefully everyone will get some rest and they can come back home soon!

More zig zags

Continuing the great baby boom of 2009, Baby F arrived in London this past Monday, almost 2 weeks late. Needless to say, his parents are glad he's out.

Baby F's gender was unknown until he made his appearance so I had to go with something gender-neutral, and I hope this red and orange ensemble succeeded. This is my second Zig Zag Quilt - I love the way it's assembled and the process of arranging the triangles.

Some very special pajamas

My friend J has a lovely family tradition: on Christmas morning every year she and her grown sisters gather around their parents' Martha-Stewart-would-be-jealous tree and tear into their Martha-Stewart-perfectly-wrapped presents in their festive matching pajamas. This has been going on since they were babies, and now for the time J will be bringing her own Baby J to Baby J's first Christmas. Big J declined her mom's offer to provide matching Christmas PJs for Baby J, but was dismayed to find that all of the festive holiday baby jammies (or sleeper deepers as they are now known in our house) were sold out when she went searching.

Me to the rescue: I offered to whip up a pair of baby pajams from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. We chose the fabric together - the cutiest pink flannel snowmen I ever did see paired with matching hot pink stripes, all rushed to my door from Flannel Queen. I absolutely cannot wait to give them to her this weekend - the are so freaking cute. I just pray they fit. Assuming they do, Little J's cuteness paired with their lovely Christmas morning will make for some great photo ops.

I also added a little tag to the back of the pants with Baby J's initials and the year, so she'll know which way is front and of course for the keepsake value:

Welcome Baby G!

When our friends D and L announced they were expecting a baby I set straight to work on their baby present. This little bean has been long anticipated and although we weren't going to know the sex, the quilt had to be perfect. I chose the Zig Zag Quilt pattern from the Purl Bee and used a mix of orange and turquoise prints that I hoped would be gender neutral. Little baby G (a girl) made her appearance on November 5 (an excellent birthday, if I do say so myself, and I should know) and she is just beautiful!

Even more so than her blanket, if I'm being honest.

A detail of the edging and the quilting:The back, packed with Heather Ross' Mendocino:
Little did I know, but L's family has a special thing with seahorses, so the fabric choice was perfect!

All fabrics from Fabric Worm, Purl Patchwork and my stash (source sadly long forgotten).

Super Pink

It's been a long time coming but I have a few new things to show which have been held up by poor lighting and the necessity of secrecy.

The lighting situation hasn't improved (grim weather here in NYC) but the time had come to give this little guy away so I just had to deal. This is my long-ago started Hop Skip Jump Quilt. I actually finished all but a foot of the binding over a year ago, but since it had no recipient, I wasn't motivated to wrap it up. Enter a new baby girl for my good friend V, and I sprung into action.



This is actually the first real quilt I ever started, and it took me over 2 years to finish! Of course, I would do a million things differently if I were to restart it now (the quilting for one - I stitched in the ditch around each of the color blocks), but I do love it and hope it will keep the new babe warm and snuggly. Word is it's going to be hanging above her crib, which I take as a huge compliment.

And speaking of which, City Blocks got installed above the crib of its recipient and I think it looks great!


I'm going to wait for some good natural light to photograph the other two things I have to share (and another baby to be born), but stay tuned.

Lincoln's Baby Quilt

My best and oldest friend, A, gave birth to a beautiful (and enormous) baby boy at the end of April. I have been beavering away on his baby quilt and am going to give it to him when I visit them in Portland next weekend. I know the colors aren't exactly babyish but neither is she, so it should be a good fit. These are some of my favorite stash fabrics and I'm glad they are going to a good home!

The pattern is from a quilt class I took at Brooklyn Mercantile with Michael Michalski back in the fall, and I supplemented my stash fabrics with some from the shop.

Quilt front:

Quilt back:

Embroidered name tag on twill tape:

Heather Ross Sundresses

Two sweet little dresses for two sweet little girls.


All fabrics from Pink Chalk Fabrics.

All over but the quiltin'

City Blocks, waiting to be quilted.

City Blocks for Baby C

My friend, M, had her second baby a few weeks ago. Many months before, she put in an order for a baby quilt and even bought a pile of fabrics at Purl Patchwork. I spent a long time hemming and hawing over the right pattern, since M is super crafty and creative herself. I settled on City Blocks because it is simple and modern, would showcase the fabrics she picked, and didn't require me to supplement with too many additional ones. I have 12 blocks done but need more. Here are the three colorways, though:




The blocks will all be oriented in different directions and I plan to free-motion quilt it - my first major free-motion project! Before then, more sewing and more practice...

Free Wheelin'

I finally took my free motion quilting class this weekend at The City Quilter! I have been counting down for months. I even toted along my trusty little Janome Gem so I could practice on that, seeing as the Bernina 440s they have for classes bear nearly no relationship to its elementary ways. (They both had needles, thread and a foot peddle, but after that the comparison ends.)

We started with "wind":

And moved on to "water":

But I am truly a squiggle girl at heart - it felt totally natural to me, probably because it's always been my boredom doodle of choice:

There were attempts at stippling in there too, but I need, oh, a few hundred hours practice before that technique will be ready for prime time.

Now I just need practice materials - after a little more muslin, I'm thinking a big expanse of some pretty fabric so I can practice maneuvering something large through my machine's short little neck. If it turns out decent, perhaps it will become a gift for a [very forgiving] recipient!

Another Jane's Quilt

I've been waiting to post this until it was done and gifted to the recipient, and somehow 6 months snuck by since my last post! Whoops.

Anyway, this quilt is for my friend J's new baby, Baby J. She arrived in January but the quilt wasn't finished until this week. I love it, and it goes smashingly with Baby J's navy nursery, if I do say so myself. I'm quite proud of myself - this is the most complicated thing I've patched together and it is so exciting when the corners line up!



Fabric: From Purl Patchwork
Pattern: Sweet Redbird by Liberty Star.
Started: Hmm, Fall 2008?
Finished: March 2009

I added a little tag for the recipient, which is embroidered on twill tape.


A couple more pictures here.

This weekend I'm taking a free motion quilting class at City Quilter with my new crafty friend, M, and I'm super excited to break free of my straight line quilting! She's way more advanced than me and already knows how to free motion, but I suppose everyone can use a refresher.

Jane's Quilt

Pattern: Easy Lap Quilt from Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol.
Materials: Purchased at Brooklyn Mercantile and Fiber Notion, both in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Completed: September 2008.

I have spent nearly every day of my maternity leave hanging out with or talking to my new friend R, whose daughter Jane was born the same day as our little Sam. Together we have attempted sing-a-longs, roamed the park and obsessed over sleep (and our children's seeming disdain for it, day or night).

When I saw these Dick & Jane fabrics I had to make a little something to thank R and Jane for all of the good times.

Here are a few not-so-good pictures, but trust me, it came out really cute!

Lovely little curtains

Pattern: Cafe curtains. My own pattern (if you can call it that).
Materials: Nani Iro fabric purchased at Purl in July 2008. Umbra tension bar and drapery rings.
Completed: August 2008.

I made these quickly one night and could have been more careful cutting the fabric on the grain. Because I wasn't, when they are closed they are a little wonky and don't hang quite straight (should have taken the time to do this, I guess). They are also a little skimpy - I only used one width of fabric and they barely cover the window when closed. Apart from all that, when they are open I'm ok with them.

Gift for a fit friend

Project: Yoga Mat Tote from Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter.
Materials: Fabric purchased at Purl in the spring of 2007. Drawstring is a clothesline from the local hardware store.
Completed: June 2008.

Look what we made!

Sam

Born 4.25.08, 9.57pm
8lb, 22 inches

I think that's a reasonable excuse for a really long blog absence, no? Now that we are starting to emerge from the haze of midnight feedings I am beginning to contemplate new projects. Hopefully we will soon be visited by the Regular Nap Fairy and productivity can return to this neighborhood.

A cozy day for all!

Is this thing on?

I wasn't sure Blogger would even let me back in after my egregious blog absence. It seems my last post was almost 4 months ago (I'm sneaking in 2 days shy of 4 months...). In the meantime...

I finished my pink scarf:

I sewed an elephant for Baby J:

New hat for Baby B (you can see he loved it):

And nearing the finish line on a sweater for him too:

Sweater for new Baby K:

And coasters:

Phew.

The truth is, though, I've been working on something else really big... a person (Two Potato, as C calls him)! That's right, we're having a kid at the beginning of May. While I was spared morning sickness and crippling fatigue, the bean sapped me of all creative energy and it only returned a few weeks ago. Now I'm playing catch-up.

Have happy holidays everyone! Hopefully it won't be another 4 months until you hear from me again!