Pretty Little Horses

My baby's first birthday is coming up, and I decided that all she really needs is a nice snuggly blanket of course! She loves to cuddle snuggly things anyway so she'll be a happy camper.  I found the perfect fabric for it...well actually it was begging for me to buy it and make something pretty out of it, so I did!  And I do love the way it turned out.  The fabric is designed by Sarah Jane, and the collection is called "Wee Wander".  I absolutely LOVE this fabric.  It has horses, girls riding on horses, fireflies, pretty trees, deer, bunnies...just all kinds of whimsical happiness.  The girl petting the deer, yeah that was me as a kid.  Anyway, enough of this.  Here are the pictures!

My first quilt with a Minky back

So there is one thing that I wanted to tell you about.  I decided to use minky fabric for the backing, and no cotton batting in between.  This is the first time I've done this, and I really like how it feels. It's soft and cuddly, and not too heavy.  The only problem is, when I measured out my quilt, for some reason I outdid myself and made it too big for the back...just by an inch in the width.  At this point I figured I had two options: A: Make the front smaller, or B: Make a whole new quilt and save this one for later.  If only I had just ordered a little bit more!!!  Too late, I had to work with it.

After I put my baby down for a nap, asked my husband what he thought, and ate a sandwich...I finally decided that I would piece the back with some of the "Wee Wander" fabric.  I know, not ideal...but I figured out a way to make it work.  Since the cotton would be a little flimsy compared to the minky, I just put a piece of batting underneath that part and quilted it.  That was good enough for me, and I think it worked great actually...even though I wouldn't recommend it if you had the choice.  Next time I will buy enough minky, or make my quilt the right size!!! :)

Pieced Back of Quilt

Thanks for looking!!!

....OH and here are a few sneak peeks at my works in progress...not the greatest pictures but hopefully more are to come!

This is the Aviatrix Medallion Quilt designed by Elizabeth Hartman...you can read about her quilt along here!  I still have three more borders to go on this.  Love her stuff!

This is a quilt I designed in Illustrator for our bed.  It's actually almost ready to have the binding put on.  I need to get to work on this next!!

Easter Baskets, Part 2

My boys really did want me to make them Easter baskets, because the first thing that came out of their mouths when they came home from school was, "Where's mine?!".  So I let them pick out their fabrics (Except one son tried to have me use every single thing he liked...so I gave him a few choices).  Here they are, and it's a good thing I made them too because I couldn't find any of our Easter stuff from last year!

It looks like the bunnies are whispering to each other...

And guess what? Walmart finally came through for me with my rotary blades. Yay! So I now have the power to start cutting the pieces for my new quilt!

Happy Easter Baskets!

Yesterday I found this fun tutorial about making fabric Easter Baskets on a blog called Somewhat Simple.  If you want to check it out here it is.  I decided to make my baby an Easter Basket, but I actually used a different pattern I had from a magazine called "Sew-it...today".  It's on page 9 of Issue #9.  Don't ask me why I have it, I usually don't have magazines.  I didn't even think I was going to make a basket either, but they looked so cute on the Somewhat Simple blog that I had to give it a try.  Besides, I really needed to use some of my cute children's prints.

So first I thought I would make just one, since Easter is in two days...but then my 4 year old daughter wanted one too, so I though why not.  Now my two boys want one, and I don't know if I really have time now, but I'll see what I can do.  For now, I'm happy these are done, and they were really easy.  It maybe took 2-3 hours to finish these both. 

                                                                         ...Happy Easter!!!

Making Plans

I've been busy making plans and hoping to see them all through.  I don't really seem to have problems coming up with ideas, it's just making it happen that can be hard.  I don't always have the time, resources, budget, and well...sometimes I lose interest...but I hate to leave projects unfinished.  So I try my very hardest to finish what I start, even if sometimes my mind wanders to something else.  You know what I need is a big idea book, where I can write down everything I come up with because I hate to forget things, and that way I might be able to come back to it later.

Well anyway, I haven't posted anything since January, but that doesn't mean I haven't made anything!  In fact, I've been making a lot of things...mostly loads of knitted washcloths, or facecloths for my mom...because she really likes them and she asked me to.  I wish I had taken some pictures before I sent them off, because they were pretty nice.

What I'm really excited about right now is something I've been working on for a few weeks now.  My brother is a pretty awesome industrial designer, and has always offered to help me learn to use Illustrator.  Not too long ago, he was here for my grandma's funeral, and gave me a quick, and I mean maybe 30 minute, tutorial of Illustrator.  It was awesome!! And so now I know some stuff....kind of.  There is still so much to learn, but it got me designing.  And I decided to design a quilt for our bed.  This is going to be the biggest quilt I've ever made, but it also is going to be the first one I've ever designed in Illustrator.  It's exciting for me, I mean it took a lot of time calculating, making sure I had correct measurements, and enough fabric.  I really hope I didn't make any mistakes with that because you never know with me.  Sometimes I get carried away, but I'm usually pretty good at math.

So yesterday I had my pattern and directions for this quilt printed out, fabric was all washed, pressed and ready to go.  All I had to do was start cutting.

I lined up my background fabric like so on the lines, ruler all lined up,  rotary cutter in hand, and was ready to cut off the raw edge.

I ran the rotary blade across the fabric, and something just didn't feel right.  My suspicions were correct, the blade didn't cut a thing.  Not even a little teeny tiny piece.  Hmmm...maybe my blade wasn't on correctly. Nope! I tried again...maybe it was too close to the ruler...and again.  No, I felt the blade.  Completely dull...absolutely completely dull.  Not a big deal, these things can be fixed...except it is a big let down when you are about to embark on the tedious process of cutting strips and strips of fabric that you spent days calculating for.  Well, good thing Walmart...the only store in town...had one in stock.  Except that they lied to me! No big deal, they will rush ship one to me.  And by rush ship, they mean 3-5 days.  I'm so impressed...no not really.  Well it will get to me eventually.  And maybe I can mop the floor while I wait...yes the floor really needs some mopping anyway.  So this was just perfect really.

One more thing that has been on my mind.  I recently decided to join the Modern Quilt Guild, but just as an individual online.  The closest guild here is in Spokane, and I'm not driving all the way out there once a month, or whenever they meet.  I would love to be a part of one, but I can't make that happen right now.   The reason I brought this up is because they are having a conference they call Quiltcon in Auston, Texas.  There will be a quilt exhibit, lectures by AMAZING people, workshops and just all around awesome things happening.  I would love to personally attend this, but the lacking of funds will make that hard.  However, I am really thinking about entering a quilt in the show.  I really want to make this happen!!  I was so inspired by the few lectures I saw from Quiltcon 2013, through the Craftsy website.  (If you haven't heard of Craftsy it is awesome...go sign up it's free...and there a free classes too of all kinds...but you do have to pay for some and they are usually pretty good...I love Craftsy).  So yeah, Quiltcon is in the near future I hope.

Printing Tea Towels!

This is kind of a last minute project I came up with for Christmas gifts.  I've done a little bit of fabric printing before so I decided to make tea towels out of 100% linen for my family and friends.  I'm not sure how useful they are, maybe it needs a little fine tuning. They did turn out pretty, I think anyway, so maybe next time I'll find different fabric. 

The first thing I did was come up with a design.  I light bulb went on in my head when I was decorating my grandparents Christmas tree.  It's covered in handmade beaded ornaments made by my great grandma.  I love their vintage look, and I love how they sparkle on the tree! So I used that as my inspiration.  I would like to do more with this possibly if I can make the time!

One of Great Grandma's Ornaments

Next, I photo copied the design from my printer, rubbed it on to my vinyl block and carved it out.  Then I got out my screen printing ink, rolled it on and started printing.  That's the basics, but it's not as easy as it sounds. 

Stack of Finished Tea Towels

I finished them with mitered corners.  I found a good tutorial here!

Most of the towels looked like the ones below with one repeat in the middle.

Finished "Neighborhood" Quilt

The stars have aligned, my baby is sleeping, and I can now finally show you my Christmas quilt I made for my in-laws!

Front

Back

  It's from the book, "Modern Patchwork" by Elizabeth Hartman, and it's called "Neighborhood".  The pattern was easy to understand, not too technical, and so it didn't really take me too long to finish it.  

The problem I had was trying to buy a background fabric for this quilt online.  This was just really tricky trying to match colors.  There are some things about living in the big city that I really miss!  It ended up being okay with a dark grey, I think it was called "steel", but I would've liked to use a blue or something.  I wasn't brave enough to buy 5 yards of the wrong blue from an online store that takes f o r e v e r to ship.  Yes, I'm talking about YOU Joann Fabrics.  Please do better? Why am I buying from them? Oh, because they sell Kona solids at the best price if you use a coupon...but sometimes I'd like to just say "Take that, Joann's!" and buy somewhere else.  Anyway...sorry for that rant.  

On with the project at hand!  The one thing I will say about Elizabeth Hartman, not a bad thing just something to be aware of, is that she maybe over does it on the amount of fabric you need.  I mean I bought 5 yards and probably used 4, then she leaves ample room on the borders to trim off later...so I have lots of leftover grey.  Again, not a bad thing.  She likes to be prepared I know, but just something to be aware of.  

Here are a few more pictures:

Oh yeah, I put my signature on the back.  Turned out not so good.  I actually carved it out of vinyl, rolled screen printing ink on it and stamped it.  I didn't push hard enough so I had to paint over it, and I hope next time I do better because my test really looked good.

My Thoughts on Baby Carriers

This is my take on a few different baby carriers.  These are just my opinions!

When I was pregnant with my first child, I knew I wanted to be a "baby wearing" mom.  Don't know if that term was around then, but mostly I just wanted to hold my baby more and not have to always put him into something.  So while preparing for my first child, I was introduced to the world of baby contraptions and thought, "Do I really need all that?".  

Me and My 1st Baby

Well turns out I did use a lot of those things, and I appreciated them when he was born.  But I pretty much failed at baby wearing for my first child not because of all the equipment I had, but because I had a crappy carrier.  It was the kind that you find at Walmart, fairly cheep, and had buckles with adjustable straps. My baby had to be forward facing with his legs dangling from this diaper shaped harness, putting all the weight on the crotch.  This was never comfortable for me, or him.  I pretty much gave up using it as I really didn't enjoy it.  I'm no baby wearing expert, but I found out later that this type of carrier is bad for your baby's hips.  If you want to know more about what I'm talking about, here is a link that tells you all about it.  I highly recommend checking that out and learning about hip dysplasia. 

I don't have any pictures of me wearing my first baby, because I really didn't. 

When my second child came along, I researched a little more.  I found a wrap much like the "Moby" that many people have today.  It was from a company called Parents of Invention and I chose it because it looked comfortable and snugly.  It's basically just a long piece of stretchy fabric that wraps around your waist and shoulders to hold you baby in snug, and distributes the weight.  I liked it at first, but did have problems with it. 

Forward Facing in a Wrap Carrier

For one thing, it takes a while to figure out how to use it.  If you get one thing off, the rest is off.  For instance, maybe it feels fine at the shoulders and your baby is in snug, but you wrap it too tight or too loose at the waist.  Then you have to adjust it, while doing that something else moves at the shoulder, or the pouch you've made for the baby loosens.  It's a big mess, so eventually you take it all off and start over.  It's a very long piece of fabric so that takes a while, and it's awkward trying to put it on in public, especially if it's dirty or muddy on the ground, because it will touch the ground when you are trying to put it on.  It also seemed to me that even when I had it just right, it would eventually sag at some point and I'd have to readjust it.  It don't think there was anything wrong with the brand it's just the type of carrier, or possibly I never learned how to do it right.  

My Sister with my 3rd Baby

I also got myself a pouch sling with my second baby.  This goes over one shoulder and is fitted so there is no way to adjust it.  I actually liked this one for a while, because it was so easy.  I was drawn to how small it was and simple, but I think this is really one of the worst kinds.  It's very limited because you can't adjust it.  I looked back on some of the pictures of me wearing it, and I'm embarrassed to think I walked around like that, with a sagging baby dangling from me.  I'll show you a picture of my sister wearing it because she looks much cuter than me.

Dangling From me in the Pouch...Fail!

Also, this is not the right way to wear a baby in a pouch.  She should be tummy to tummy with her hips supported, but I don't even know what this is.  I later made my own pouch sling, which was way more attractive and fit me better.  But I soon lost interest.  

It wasn't until my daughter was a toddler, that I finally tested out a ring sling carrier.  This one is a long piece of fabric that goes across one shoulder and fastens with a ring up high.  I was never interested in trying one because I thought it had too much fabric, and looked to difficult to use.  I was wrong...so wrong!  I put my daughter on my hip, and went for a hike with her in the ring sling.  I was surprised at how comfortable it was, and I didn't realize you can adjust it in different places with the ring.  So I decided if I ever had another baby I would get one of those.  

It was around that time when I also saw the mei tai in action.  I'd never seen anyone wear this type in person so it never struck my interest.  It's an Asian inspired carrier that basically has a central piece of fabric for the baby, with straps for the shoulders and the waist.  My sister-in-law was wearing it at the mall one day, and it just looked so comfortable. Not only that, it was pretty because it was homemade!  I also put that one on my mental list for baby carriers to get for my next child.  

When I was about to have my fourth baby, I finally got around to making a ring sling.  I tried three different fabrics, one with cotton/linen, one linen/poly and the last was 100% linen, my favorite.  I bought the rings from an online store that just makes rings for baby slings.  I found a few online tutorials, but basically I cut about 2 1/2 yards by 30 inches of fabric and hemmed the long sides.  For attaching the ring, my favorite tutorial is here because it ends up looking really neat and pretty, but also makes the width perfect for comfort at your shoulder. Here is what it looks like!

See how evenly it distributes across my shoulder?

These are the other two, they really didn't turn out as nice, but they still work. 

Accordion Fold...Not Too Great

Didn't read the Directions...Oops! It still works though but not very pretty and maybe too wide. 

I was very excited to use my ring slings at first, but found it was very difficult for a newborn.  I never could get her in there very comfortably, and she didn't feel very secure being so small.  I was a little disappointed until she was about 3 months.  I love it now, and take it with me every Sunday to church.  It's just so much easier now that she's bigger and can hold up her head.

3 Months Old in a Ring Sling

Tummy to Tummy

So like I said, the ring sling didn't work out for me when she was a newborn, and this was bad because my baby always wanted to be held...otherwise she would cry.  Luckily I had made a mei tai as well.  I searched the web for tutorials, and found this one and just used the measurements because the instructions didn't seem put together right.  I didn't really take the time to read them all so I can't really say if they were or not.  I also was going to make the hood she had, but the proportions looked off...it just looked huge!  So I didn't and I don't think the hood is really necessary anyway. 

My first impressions of this mei tai after it was made was that it reminded me of an octopus.  So I rolled it up and put it away because I didn't know you could put a newborn in a mei tai.  Well turns out you can, but at about 4 or 5 weeks I finally decided to try it.  As soon as I did, I wished I had done it sooner.  There was something about how snug it was, and the closeness between her and I that caused her to immediately relax and usually fall asleep.  We both loved it! I felt she was safe and secure, and I could actually use both my hands without a problem.  This is the first one I made, but she is about 3 months here.

My First Mei Tai

I wore this one a lot, and so I had a lot of people ask me about it because they wanted one too.  Eventually I decided to design my own because I wasn't all the way satisfied with this one and how it was structured.  I also put a pocket on it so I could stuff it into a little pouch...no more octopus to have to carry around with me.  

Here is my new and improved mei tai, the one that I now sell in my Etsy shop.

4 Months Old

Using the Pocket

Folded Into a Pouch

So there you go. That's my take on baby carriers, and also how I ended up selling the Mei Tai.  I'd be interested to hear what you think about baby wearing if you want to leave me a comment below! And...I really hope I haven't offended anyone because like I said, I am no baby wearing expert, and I'm sure there are people out there with different experiences then me, who maybe love one of the carriers I don't.  That's okay, we don't all have to agree and maybe you know how to fix the problems I had!