Almost through the second trimester

I am 26 weeks along today, I can't believe how quickly this is going.  I can feel Little Miss kicking away a lot of the time, especially at night when I am trying to sleep. :)  She'll get bunched up on one side and I can feel the shape of her head or bum (actually not sure which is which...) and that's probably the weirdest/coolest thing, actually feeling this little body we've managed to create (with a lot of help from the wonderful people at Utah Fertility in Pleasant Grove).

I am getting really excited to meet her but I'm glad we still have about three months.  I am a member of a birth forum for December 2012 babies and several of the mothers have given birth already due to complications and their babies are fighting for their lives in the NICU (some haven't made it, which breaks my heart).  It makes me super grateful for the easy pregnancy I've had (hope I didn't just jinx myself).  She has done perfectly well the entire time and except for one very minor episode of spotting early on, we haven't had to be worried about anything.  Not that we didn't worry, we just didn't really have a reason to worry.  I think it comes with being first time parents so we don't really know what's "normal", compounded with our fertility struggles and two losses.  We're getting better about that...

I continue to find things to make for her (I've made three of those little pillowcase dresses in a variety of forms and I'm working on altering a onesie into a dress) and I'm really happy with how the nursery is shaping up.  I really wanted it to be an attractive space and it's actually looking the way I imagined it would (this does not happen to me very often).  On Monday, for our Family Home Evening activity, we hung paper lantern/balls in one corner to give a little more dimension/interest to that part of the room.  I instructed, Jeremiah hung.  It worked out quite well. :)  I got them at JoAnn's with my 40% off coupon which made them about $10.  They are a Martha Stewart party product, six to a box in three colors and two sizes.  I was thrilled that the colors were a great match for the corals and pinks in the room.  We used clear 3M hooks on the ceiling and white ribbon that my Cub Scout master hubby tied into taut lines so I can adjust the height if necessary. I'm happy with it...now, if I could just get those darned curtains done.

An Owl Taggie

I was on Pinterest a few days ago and saw this adorable little owl taggie blanket from Etsy.  I thought to myself, "I can make something like that!"  So I did.  Mine isn't quite as cute and next time I'll probably find a tutorial on making a taggie blanket rather than trying to wing it (my ribbon ears fell off and I put the wings on the wrong side) but overall I'm pretty happy with it.

Here's what I did:

Cut two body pieces 12x16, one from flannel and one from minky
Cut two semi circles from the minky (7 1/2" down the long edge)
Various lengths of matching ribbon
Two circles of felt for eyes, 1 triangle of felt for beak.

I sewed the ribbons to the my front piece so they pointed inward (that way they'd pop out when I flipped the blanket later).  I should have sewn them all right up to the edges but I didn't and that caused issues.  I had a couple at the each corner for ears and feet and three down each side.  I should have done the side pieces after the wings.

For the wings I took one semi circle (more like an oval, really) and folded it in half, right sides together then sewed around the edge, leaving a hole to turn right side out.  I decided to add a little stuffing to the wings for some extra dimension/texture but I think I may have overdone it a bit.  I sandwiched the wings between the front and back pieces of fabric, with the rounded edges toward the middle and pinned.

I pinned the front and back pieces (right sides together) all the way around and sewed them together, leaving the necessary hole for turning.  I turned it and stitched up the hole.

I appliqued the felt face pieces on (helps kind of "quilt" the two pieces so they don't shift so much) and added the cute flower button eyes.  Voila!

On a non-sewing but related topic, I am 25 weeks today.  In just over three months or roundabouts, we will be welcoming our sweet little girl who likes to kick me while I sit at the sewing machine...or when I'm on the couch with a book...or laying in bed trying to sleep.  I can't wait to meet her!

Another Baby Project

I know I already posted three projects today but I had some time to kill after I got dinner in the oven and before Jeremiah got home so I decided to look through some of my Pinterest pins and I found this quick little tutorial on fabric blocks.  I had exactly 12 squares left from the play mat project which was enough for two blocks.  In less than 30 minutes, they're done.

What do you think?  I almost put a bell inside each one but when I realized I'd have to go through my Christmas decorations to find them, I decided against it (plus, I have no idea if she'll be one of those kids who turns out super strong and demolishes things like this, in which case I'd rather not put choking hazards in her toys).

More baby-related projects

I've gotten a little behind in blogging because of BYU Education Week.  My mother-in-law came up and we spent a week on campus going to a ton of great classes.  By the time we got home, though, we were really too tired to do anything but decide what restaurant to go to for dinner. :)

I have three new projects finished, though.  I'm having so much fun getting ready for this baby; I hope I'm able to do half as much for the next one so s/he doesn't feel short changed.

The first project I finished is a sleep sack.  I bought a minky one from Bebe Bella on an awesome sale but realized I could probably make my own for even cheaper than that using fleece and a nifty online tutorial.  This one, to be exact.

Fleece is harder to sew than I thought; I got a piece of material stuck in my machine that almost had me in tears but thankfully Jeremiah came to my rescue.  I was a scaredy cat and didn't want to try the bias tape around the arms and neck so I thought I'd just use the overcast stitch to kind of "finish" it; next time I'll attempt the bias tape.  Also, I didn't do the zipper quite right; I used a 1/4" seam allowance instead of 1/2" so there wasn't enough material to keep the flap nicely sewn down.  I decided to just cut the flap off and it doesn't look great.  Functional, but not great.  Since it wasn't shaping up so nicely, I decided to do a cute little owl applique.  I created the outline from a piece of scrapbooking clipart I have without realizing how hard it would be to go around all the little edges but it turned out ok.  All in all, I would try this project again but be a little more exact and maybe use a cute printed fleece instead of the plain.  It's quite boring.  At least she has something to help keep her warm and that was the goal.

The second project was one I started a couple of weeks ago and got finished up yesterday.  Before I made the final selection on the nursery fabric, I thought I wanted to go with this line from Moda, called A Walk in the Woods.  It was no longer in stock at the Corn Wagon Quilt Company (a fantastic quilting store here in town) so I took a gamble and ordered two charm packs online.  It wasn't exactly how I remembered it and ultimately I went with other fabric for the nursery.  I decided to use the charm packs to make an easy play mat/changing mat to keep downstairs or in the car.  I put the squares together in a pretty random fashion, six rows of six for both the front and the back.  I have some fusible batting that I cut to size, pinned the three layers together (fabric right sides together, batting on the wrong side of one piece) and sewed around them, leaving enough space to turn the whole thing inside out.  I ironed the whole thing, fusing the batting to both fabric layers so I wouldn't have to do extensive tying or quilting later, sewed up the hole for turning and zigzagged around the whole thing.  I used a satin stitch to tack down the center and four inside corners and I was done.  I probably could have done the whole thing in about 3 hours.  I'm pretty happy with it.

The last project is a "pillowcase" dress I started last night and finished in stages today in between hair and massage appointments.  Altogether it probably took 75 minutes and I'm thrilled with it!  It's my first dress and I think it's adorable.  I got the tutorial from this website.  I made a 0-3 month template using a piece of poster board and her instructions.  For materials, I used two fat quarters I've had lying around for a couple of years and about 18" of ribbon I bought a couple months ago that was a serendipitous match.  After the sleep sack debacle I decided to try the bias tape in the arm holes as suggested but I didn't have any single fold at home and didn't want to run to the store just for that (since I knew I'd leave with way more than just that).  I decided to make my own using some of the left over fat quarters.  It was actually really easy; I made the bias tape and finished both arm holes in 20 minutes.  I just love it and can't wait to go find a couple of blue, brown or cream long sleeve onesies for her to wear with it (since it will be winter).

Nursery Project #9

I decided to try making my own boppy/breastfeeding pillow rather than buy one for $30+.  I found a tutorial and pattern here.

Technically, the pattern is for a cover and includes room for a zipper.  I took the half of the pattern without the zipper instructions, traced it onto a large piece of white laminated cardstock I happen to have lying around under my couch (lining up the area to be placed on the fold with the edge of the paper) then taped a pencil to my sharpie and traced it again, making the pattern a little less than 1/2" smaller than the original.  This way it will be easier to get a cover on/off than it would be if the insert was the same size.

I then cut two pieces of fabric out using my insert pattern (I don't use flat sheets on the beds so I have several just sitting in my linen closet.  I used one of my thicker ones for this project).  I pinned the two pieces together, sewed around the edge (leaving a hole in the middle for stuffing), turned it inside out and stuffed it with polyfill I got on sale at JoAnn's a few weeks ago (I used the whole bag-probably could have used a little more but I didn't want it too firm), sewed up the hole by hand and I was done.  Putting together the pattern took the most time.

Soon I hope to try my hand at a nice soft minky cover for it.

Non-baby project

It's been a few days and I still haven't gotten those curtains finished.  Or started.  Some day...

I have been working on getting our 2012 scrapbook up to date.  I've given up on scrapping without help this year (I got really behind during IVF and have struggled to keep up with the baby prep taking first priority) and I'm using free templates by The Shabby Princess--they're very helpful for getting a project done quickly and still having a little creative leeway.  You can search the blog and get all the old ones through January.

I am also trying to use the zucchini coming out of my garden on a daily basis.  Last night I made zucchini carrot soup and it was really, really good.  Jeremiah was gushing about how good it was and he doesn't usually gush about my cooking.  Here's the recipe.  I didn't have celery so I doubled the carrots.  I also used onion powder and added 1 tsp. of garlic powder and salt to taste at the end.  I was going to freeze the leftovers for a later meal but he liked it so much we're having it again for dinner tonight.

Jeremiah got an iPad 3 yesterday and is very excited about it.  He has been debating it for months and finally just got one.  It will now be several months until he finds the perfect case (it takes him forever to make decisions but he rarely regrets them when he finally does) so I made a quick little one for him to use in the meantime, using this tutorial.  Here are the changes I made to it:

1. The measurements I used for the iPad 3 (she is covering a laptop in the tutorial) were 8.75 x 11.  The straps were 3x7 but if I did it again I would make them shorter, more like 5-6 inches.  If you are covering an older iPad I would check the specs on the website and use her formula to get your measurements.  This version is a little thicker than my iPad 2.
2. I left the straps square because I thought it looked a little more manly.
3. The buttonhole feature on my sewing machine isn't working properly (I spent 90 minutes doing everything I could to figure it out to no avail.  It's going to the dealer tomorrow for troubleshooting) so I used velcro instead of buttons.  It's a little more practical, too.
4.  I added a little handle to the side.  I cut a strip 2x8.75, folded it in half and pressed it.  Then I opened it up and folded the edges into the middle, pressed and sewed a zigzag down the center to keep the flaps closed.  I attached it at the same time and in the same manner she does the straps, just on one of the long sides.

Do you like the fabric?  He didn't want me to go buy anything special for him so I used this cowboy fabric I had left over from an owl bag I made my nephew and lined it with cow print fleece someone gave me a couple years that's been waiting for a project.

After I gave up on the buttons, this project came together quite fast, probably under 45 minutes for all the cutting, sewing and pressing.