Another baby carrier done!

This one is a baby gift for a woman at church. I asked her about it three months ago (hanging head in shame) and got her color preferences then. She likes blues and greens, so I figured I'd combine the two. The outer fabric is a mid-weight denim I found in my stash, and the lining is a green mottled cotton print from Joann Fabrics. I had bought it to make pants for Thing 1 but hadn't gotten that far yet. So instead, I used it in the carrier!

This time I used black thread, figuring that would go better with the mottling in the lining print. I think I like it, although I think that the white thread on mine popped more. Again, I used topstitching thread on the right sides. I'm glad that this is done now - I hate having these things hanging over my head, especially since the baby is almost two months old now - oops! So I'll take it to her next Sunday. It figures that I didn't finish it until after church, right?

My newest gift idea....

Okay, so it's not really a new idea. It's not even new to me! It is, however, my current addiction. I have enjoyed making bibs from washcloths and crocheting edgings on them, but I ran out of prepared ones to edge and I haven't cut new ones yet. Instead, I found some baby socks that I bought last year specifically for adding lace edgings. Instant gratification! I was watching some TV this weekend and edged two pairs of baby socks in about an hour.

Well, of course it can't stop there! I finished all the baby socks I had, so I bought a 10-pack at the store this weekend. This is the 0-6 month size, and I'm planning to get the 6-18 month size next. I just have to finish this size so that I can keep them separate.

I've also done these in "big girl" sizes before. I made a set for a friend's daughter when she was probably 8 or 10. Those socks are still around (she's now 15), and her younger sisters (8-10) are working on wearing them out. So I bought a 10-pack of "big girl" socks as well, and I'm going to make these as their Christmas presents. After conferring with my friend, I've decided to make each one a set of three pairs, but each set will be identical - to head off any problems of all three girls wanting to wear the same pair that day. The larger sock in the picture is the first of these sets. I also plan to make a pair of pink ones and a pair of purple/white variegated ones for each. In starting these the other night, I found that I can edge a pair of large socks like these in about an hour. Not bad!

Christmas is coming....

....which means that I need more tree ornaments! My friend was in town this weekend, and we love to paint ornaments, so consequently, Hobby Lobby got more of our money. (The ornaments were 40% off, too!) This time, we got some of the frosted and iridescent ones to try. The top picture (mini size - comes 20 in a box) are the iridescent finish. I wasn't sure about those, but I really like how they turned out. I do think that the more pastel or muted colors look best in these, however.

This picture shows the frosted finish (regular size). I wasn't sure about these, either, but I think they look nice. The frosted finish makes the colors look more muted. However, I'd say that this is probably my least favorite of the three. There's just something about glossy glass ornaments that seems "correct."
And then the usual - regular size, clear glass.

We tried out some shades of brown in these batches, and I have to say that I really like it. The brown seems to go well with greens and yellows/oranges. Very cool! I think that by the time we're done, we'll probably have tried out all the colors available! (Except maybe the bright pinks....I'm not big on pink, especially not on my tree...)

Thing 1 loves to "help" with these - he'll pick out the ornament to be painted next, and he'll pick out colors to try together. He gets more excited than we do about painting the ornaments! This is good, though, as I foresee sets of ornaments working well as teacher presents. Not only are these just cool in and of themselves, I think that they'll be even more special for the teachers when he says that he helped make them. Guess I'll have to find some pretty boxes or bags to package them.

More shoes!

Yep, I'm on my way to obsessed. I stayed up late again last night to finish pair #2. I like these better in some ways than the first pair. Of course, there's the issue of "first try" mistakes on the first pair, and I did improve on that with this pair - mainly I just took things slowly with the sewing and made sure of keeping to a uniform seam allowance. My 1/4" presser foot was a big help. I also used jeanstitch thread this time, and I like the way it looks on the lighter leather. Very neat! This leather is thinner, so it was a little easier to sew. I'll see how well it holds up.

I'm going to be swapping more editing for patterns from Make Them Yourself, and I want to try out that leather shoe pattern. It's lined from what I can tell, so it might be better for the pair I want to make from DH's old jeans. (Nope, still haven't even started on my lunch sack from those.) I thought those would be fun. And of course I'll use jeanstitch thread on them!

I am also getting some recycled leather from Wisconsin - I put DSIL to work as a personal thrift shopper for me. I just called last night with the request, and this morning she called back to report. Woohoo! Three jackets and a purse to recycle - I can't wait! DB tells me that there is a LOT of leather there. I'll post pictures eventually.

New reasons to clean....

So I realized this weekend while vacuuming near the windows that the windowsills were full of cobwebs and desperately needed to be cleaned. But I hate cleaning and have to force myself to do it. And one good way is to find a fun gadget. I have had a Swiffer Duster in the past, but it apparently got lost during our move. And I never replaced it. (I'm awfully cheap at times.) One of my biggest pet peeves with it was constantly having to buy new refills for it (yes, I know that disposable is the point of the gadget), so when I swapped some editing for some patterns at http://www.makethemyourself.com/, I jumped on the pattern for the washable duster pads!

Tada! I now have clean windowsills. :) And when the refills that came in the box are gone, I won't have to buy any more! I bought a three-pack of microfiber towels for $6 in the auto section at Meijer, and I can get 6 refills out of it, so $1 per refill! And I'll be able to wash and reuse these indefinitely. Yep, think I'll get my money's worth out of them! And Thing 1 will be able to help dust, since I won't be concerned about wasting the refill pads. Very cool! I have friends and family who will be seeing some of these at Christmas, I think.

Shoes!

Now I have to start this by saying that I am not a clothes horse or a shoes horse (is that the appropriate term?). Most of my wardrobe is chosen for comfort, or for hiding the stains when I inevitably get smeared with manure at work. However, I am now addicted to shoes, I think. Here's why:

Thing 2 has been wearing soft leather shoes for the last few months, at least when he wears shoes. We've used the cheap Robeez knockoffs that are sold at Target (an example - not the exact pair he's had), and they've been great. But he only had the 6-12 month size, and now of course he's outgrown them. (This would not be so much of a problem, but now that he's in the toddler room at daycare, he needs to wear shoes when they go outside.) So...I looked at Target two weekends in a row, and each time, they only had 1 pair of boy shoes in his size, and the one they had was really pathetic. I've wanted to sew him some shoes for awhile now, and I already the pattern and some leather, so necessity kicked my butt into gear.

Tada! My very first pair of leather shoes - in fact, this was my very first time working with leather at all! I thought that the pattern was quite easy to follow, and I appreciated the extra tips on working with leather, as well as extra options for modifying the pattern. I did not use any embellishment on this pair, as I wanted to make it very basic to test the pattern. (Also, I desperately needed shoes that fit!) The 12-18 month size is a little big on him, but not so big that it interferes with his walking. Yippee!

I got so many compliments on these shoes! DH was impressed - and that isn't always a given. He's usually pretty honest about what he thinks, so this was a real compliment. And Thing 2's daycare teachers commented on his "stylish new shoes" as soon as we walked into the room the next morning - without any idea that I'd made them. Another daycare teacher strongly hinted the next day that she'd love some for herself for Christmas. :)

I'd say these are a big success! I already have another pair cut out, and I intend to make plenty more. I want to try appliques on some subsequent ones. We'll see how it goes...

Baby gifts...

My brother has had several friends or family members (wife's family) give birth lately, so he has needed baby gifts. Being the decisive guy that he is, when he saw my first incarnation of the Wearable Baby Blanket by SewBaby, he immediately said, "I need two!" Recently, he told me that another baby was due and asked for another blanket. Here is the result:

When I saw this fabric (at Wal-Mart - on clearance, no less!), I thought it was so cute that I bought enough for two baby blankets. And since this pattern is so easy, I just whipped up both at once. So now his gift is packaged and waiting for a trip to the post office, and the other one is going into my gift stash. Hey, there are lots of pregnant women at church, as I've mentioned before!

I like the basic pattern, but I've been using a cheater's wrapped fleece binding for the edging, instead of any of their edging ideas. (I like the idea of binding the edge with lycra binding, but fleece has been much more economical for me!)