{No-Sew} DIY Baby Knee Pads.

My boy is crawling.  I can't even believe it.  

The temp is up over 50 FINALLY in beautiful Chicagoland.

So he really doesn't need pants in the house.  51 degrees feels like 72.

I came up with these helpful little guys.  He doesn't mind them at all and they do the job  :)  

Note*  He is 6 months old and on the 25 percentile arc for weight, so this size of fabric maybe be to small for your little one, or too big. 

Let me know how they work out for you!  

Sewing: Flannel Blanket tutorial

I found the cutest fabric for Violet's blanket.  She has a few of them, but none are really warm and he loves yarn to death so this was my solution.

Her birthday is tomorrow (!!!)  So I'm calling it an early 2 year birthday present.  

The fabric is flannel from Joann's I got a yard and a half and its the perfect size for a toddler bed/crib.

First I took pics and uploaded it to the blog, always the first step. Duh.

Then washed them.  Prewashing is one of those things that I've never done before but always seems somewhat important.

Then put them together.  You want WRONG SIDES OUT.  You are going to turn it inside out.

Next pin it up.

When its pinned you can start sewing.  Start like half way down the smaller side.  You have to leave enough open room to flip it inside out when the sides are sewn.

Sew it. 

I used this little blue take to tell me where to sew.  I matched up the shorter fabric to that spot.

When you get to a corner sew it at an angle to give you a nice rounded edge.  (If you read my blog you know I don't sew much. 
If I could do it again I would would make this more round.)

But this gives me the opportunity to show you how to do this extra special little trick.

Stop, pop the foot up but leave the needle in the fabric, move the fabric, pop the foot down, sew, pop the foot up, turn the fabric, sew.  

This is what it looks like;

Pop the foot up.

Back down and sew.

Back up and turn.

Back down and sew.

There it is!

I always do this on corners.  So handy.

Don't forget about the space need to flip the blanket inside out. Sew around and flip it.

Next we are going to sew around the edge again.  It will secure it and make it look pretty.  

First iron the edges to make it easier to sew.  When you get to that open space, iron it in so you can close it up.

I did this run a little closer because it isn't the stitch that keeps it together so I didn't have to depend on that.  I wanted to make sure I was running over the excess underneath.  

Done!  The whole thing took about 45 mins.

I asked her if she wanted her new blanket for bed.  She said uh huh!  Never says yes.  Just Uh huh.  I'll take it.

Happy Birthday Turtle!

Purple Giraffes

Cutest. Fabric. Ever.

Ever since my buddy Gail made Wes that gorgeous geometric blanket I have wanted to make a similar one for Violet.  It's flannel because it's cold in her room and she tends to tear yarn apart because she loves it so.

She just saw a ton of colors so I picked it out for her.  ;)

I can't wait to get started on this.  (Cause you know, I have nothing else to do!)  :D

It's good to have crafty friends! Handmade baby gifts.

I obviously love to make things.  I'm lucky that I have people around me that also love to make things.  It seems that all us craft nerds have really similar styles, or at least get each other's style pretty easily.

Gail made me a tons of stuff.  She's the resident seamstress. A baby carrier, burp cloths, bibs and blankets.  I LOOOOVE these shapes.  I had a little panic attack for a minute because I couldn't find the blanket.  It was in the hospital bag.  DUH.

Rebecca made the Solar System cross stitch.  This is perfect for his room.  And I was coveting it for months since she showed me her original. 

The chrome Robot is from Target, the shelf from IKEA and the W is also a gift from Rebecca.  Check out the artist at jimbot.com very cool collection. 

Jasmin, the master of combining fabric patterns and colors.  She made a couple of these for Violet, I'll have to get photos of them, cause they are gorgeous. 

Marsha, my aunt.  She made hats for Violet before she was born because I couldn't crochet yet.  She's an inspirational crafter.   :)  Just lookit that edge. 

Mom, my mom put together this laundry basket.  OMG.  You know how cute it is. 

Then there is a few things I made.  The booties were made from this pattern and the blanket that started the CHEVRON fever.  I bought this fabric at 4 weeks pregnant.  I was sure it was a boy.  I started and finished the blanket the week after our 20 week ultrasound.

This kid is going to be warm and comfy!

...He can get here now...

DIY Rice Heat Pad. Mmmm That's Nice.

I'm 37 weeks pregnant with my second child.  I know, uf.

One of the things that I learned in child birth class (and while being a woman and having a crampy back and legs for a week a month every year for the last 20 years) is that heat feels good on sore muscles.

I wanted an awesome heat pad for my back during labor, they are a little expensive.  And I feel kinda dumb buying one when I can make one.

So instead of this....

I opened for this...

I cut up one of Jeff's old denim "dress" shirts.  Which I was very happy to do.  And found this pretty orange thread from the lot of sewing stuff in the case I got a the thrift I referred to in my last post.

It is 18x8 and fits really well across my lower back.  I filled it with a cup of uncooked rice in each compartment and the weight of it feels SO good.

I'm excited to use it in labor, considering I've been using it daily.  :)

I used a well written tutorial I found on Pinterest, here.

Sewing: Crochet Hook Case

I found this on Pinterest.

Its awesome.  I needed something cool to put my hooks in so I gave it a try.

Keep in mind I am not a seamstress.  But I like it  :)

The link above gives some great examples, I also documented my experience for a hook case.

The book I found a a thrift store and thought it was perfect.  I always say I love grannies cause of the symmetry.  "Brief Analytic Geometry".

Materials:  Glue gun, fabric, book with the pages out, exacto knife, ruler, scissors, and a piece of Bristol Board we had left over from another project.  (you want to add something like this or cardboard to the book binding to give it some structure.)

You will also need a sewing machine and stick pins.

So I tried to do this: 

But it totally didn't work out.  there was stitches everywhere and I was really nervous I was going to break the needle on the hooks.  I finished this piece but quickly threw it out.  I elected to go this route instead. 

I used the failed piece to measure out another piece.  It was 10cm by 10cm.  I kinda just put the hook on it and eye balled the sizing.  Its a cut up t-shirt so there is more give than most fabrics. (also, this is why I can't sew, too much "eye-ballin")

I used this stitch so I didn't have to try to fold it under and have an extra stitch.

Next I sewed on the reverse side.  A ruffle from the shirt to hold needles, and a little pouch to hold my scissors that I can't seem to keep my hands on.

Next you're going to hot glue it onto the book.  Don't forget you have to fold the edges under, don't glue to far out or you will have to rip it off.  I did.

Done.  :)  Like I said, Its not perfect.  But I really like learning more about my sewing machine and playing around with it.  :shrug:  I like it.