pretty little burpies

As I wiped some chocolate milk off the front of my daughter it occured to me I will be using many cloth diapers everyday, again, when my son comes in a little over 6 weeks. : ) Also, the thought came to me that I wouldn't want cross contamination between the two of them. When Katie was an infant she had acid reflux for a while and we used multiple cloth diapers everyday to wipe up the little messies, and we still use them when her 'spill proof' sippies spill : P.

Fortunately, we have a lot of cloth diapers hanging around (thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law). I had made a genuine effort to be eco-friendly by trying to use cloth diapers instead of disposable. Unfortunately, my daughter has sensitive skin, and though I would change her instantly she would break out in these rashes; I'd switch back to disposables and she would heal well, then I'd try again with the cloth and she'd break out again. I'm sorry Mother Earth : ) we tried. Doesn't help she has eczema too.

So, since I dont want to cross contaminate them I'd have to be able to tell their wiping rags apart. This is such a simple idea but I thought it was cute and wanted to share it. : ) Also, making a set and giving it as a baby shower gift would be nice and useful, not to mention thoughtful despite being so simple!

All this project is is giving a printed border to some cloth diapers to make some pretty little burpies. : )
You could use bias tape, ribbon, or like I did - make you own bias tape with a fabric of choice.

First, I measured the dimensions of the cloth diaper and in this case it was 14.5 " x 20.5". I'm sure they vary, so measure yours too!
Of the fabrics I used, one had the full 72" length I would use to make sure I had enough at the end after going around all 4 sides. With the other fabrics I used two pieces 36" x 4" to cover 2 sides at a time. The 4" came because I wanted my border to be 1" around.

before................................................................................................after...................................................................................................




I made my border by ironing the fabric in half, lengthwise, then ironed the outside edges in towards the center (like making a strap). Then I opened it to iron down the starting edge to avoid a corner that may fray.




I folded the corners as I pinned the 'tape' around to have an angle but squared edges would look good too. Afterall, these aren't going to stay as pretty with use anyway : D. At the end I folded under the same as with the start, to prevent fray. I used my machine and sewed 1/3 inch from the inside of the border to be sure both sides were being sewn to the diaper. And Voila! Pretty little burpies! for all of baby's not-so-pretty little messies! : )

Katie's quilt

This is my first quilt! made for my lovely daughter, katie! I think quilting is one of those amazing art forms that takes a bunch of pieces and creates something useful as well as meaningful. I figure it's a skill that could really help in saving from wasting down the line, I already don't like throwing away scraps and now i have a reason to hold on to them. :)

As a beginner I needed a simple plan. I knew I wanted six inch squares in printed fabrics, so I drew my plan on some graph paper. I figured three inch bordering, or 'sashing', would look good and add to size. I planned the dimension of this blanket to be 39" x 48" with 1/2" seams to allow for ironing. To make this blanket I cut:

20 7"x7" squares ( I used 6 different prints for this)
24 7"x4" rectangles (in the sashing)
5 49"x4" rectangular strips (in the sashing)
1 49"x40" rectangle for the backing fabric (I used fleece but you may want to use a piece of interfacing as well, especially if you're using a thinner fabric)

After I cut my squares I laid them all out to make sure I had them facing the directions I wanted and that they were in the right order by verticle rows. ( I apologize if this seems like I'm going into too much detail past common sense, but as I mentioned above this is my first quilt and I figure it couldn't hurt) Next, I sewed the verticle rows (shown horizontally : P) and ironed. Then, the long sashing was sewn in between the sewn rows, and ironed.

Since I didn't make a border I just sewed the quilt top to the back panel, right sides together and left about 9" open, on a long side, to turn it out. I clipped the corners so they would be neater. After the turning it right side out, I hand sewed the opening.

To secure the front and back and give it a 'quilted' look I top stitched a simple diamond pattern using clear thread. I used a regular sewing machine for this. As I've never made a quilt or taken a class for it, I dont know what real quilters do to achieve their top stitching. I used a piece of cardstock alligned with my squares on a diagnal to guide my stitches straight.

The quilt came together so fast and easily anyone can do it if they can cut and do some simple sewing. I do understand why people use charm packs to quilt though.... I spent a few hours picking coordinating fabric. : ) BUT it's personal for it and I will be making another very soon for my little guy who is due in two months. Now when I make something it will be in variable duplicate having two lovelies! Twice the joy! : ) And btw, my daughter loves her new blanket!!! What's nice is it is big enough for her to use for years to come too...... i'm thinking a new project is in line for the scraps left from this!

loveseat slipcover

Slowly I'm trying to make our space more to my taste and more of a home than a jumble of hand-me-down furniture and bachelor/bachelorette style. My style is very mutable but I find I always fall back on classically beautiful for inspiration, and neutrals really play a wonderful role as a base for ever changing taste in accessories. And the desire for a major neutral was the basis of this project. I feel so adolescent looking at the beautiful decor some inspirational, creative people have brought into their homes, and I feel privilaged to see them in blogs, books, or magazines. Honestly, I am still at the very beginnning of making a home out of anywhere we will be, which we dont know where that will be even a year from now : ). So I'm trying to make the most of what we have on little resources : D . Apartment life has its limitations and challenges. From lack of storage, no yard to take on major projects, and the inability to personalize even wall color are the frustrations of the expressive at heart.

Anyway, we have a loveseat that used to rest in my wonderful in-laws home. It's a nice couch but it is plaid and the coordinating options were very limited : ) Everytime I'd be in the home section of a store I'd see beautiful throw pillows and wish I could get, or better make some, but knew it'd be almost a waste because I had no place for them. So I did some research into slipcovers and for the price of them it would be less expensive and I'd be happier with one I made myself. I did some searching and this site gave me the confidence to go ahead and try:

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/sewing/slipcover.shtml

The article gave some basic tips that I didn't find on other sites.

Creating a Pattern

Taking the advice of things I read online I decided to make a basic drawing of the couch and from there create plain rectangular panel pieces with my measurements. This worked wonderfully as most of the pieces in the original upholstery were themselves rectangles.

I added an inch seam allowance on every side for a little insurance. I bought 13 yrds of a coffee colored corduroy and that was almost 2 yrds too much. With my 50% coupon from Jo-Anns I saved about $36 since the bolt was only 10 yrds and their coupons are for one cut. I love those coupons!!!! The cover cost about $70.

I didnt give the printed fabric, that I used instead of muslin, a letter but it was my first piece layed down in assembling inside out (so we'll call it 'base'). If you were interested about the pattern assembly:

Base side>A>F, then the same on the other side ..... pieces were held in place with safety pins
Base back>C, C>B, attaching the back panel to the couch arms was the hardest part

Base front>D

(E) When I measured for the 'roll' of the couch arms I measured the widest part and the longest part, added an inch to the width and length and cut my rectangle. Using paper I traced the indentation of the actual shape and cut it a little wider for a seam. With the constructed slipcover right side out, on the couch, I pinned the panels on with a folded under edge all the way around and sewed.

G,H, and I assembled the cushions. Which I recommend having patience when pinning and also sew each piece one after the other; I had difficulties when I tried to pin it all and sew at once. I chose to have one piece to wrap around 3 sides but if you choose to have 4 separate sides it may work well. My inserting side is 2 hemmed, overlapping pieces. It was a Very tight squeeze putting the cushion in. You may choose to use velcro, buttons, ties, or a zipper and have an opening that is wider than one side for easier inserting of your cushion. Keep in mind that will shorten one side of the other 3.

The Before

and yes, that is a blanket over the back : P in our last move we rid ourselves of the back cushions because we found it more comfortable without them : D

The After

To Come : )

I plan on having a second part to my couch makeover: Accessorizing : ) Orignally this blog was going to include it but I still need to pick a print : D and have some nicer weather to take my daughter out with me.

I hope this can inspire you the confidence to undertake a larger project yourself! And hopefully it helped you if you were like me wondering how to start!

Bit by bit we can make our space the place we want to sit!

fabric story books or a storybook quilt

http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/SubCategory--Quilting-Treasures-Fabrics--m-44

These were just too cute I had to share! I would love to make these for Katie. :) even just making a soft book rather than their suggestion of a quilt would be so great for the little ones. My daughter absolutely loves story time but only more recently she has stopped chewing on them(she's 19 months right now). The chewing did not agree with my husband but I couldn't take the books away; her little inquisitve mind loved andstill loves exploring the pictures and learning from them.

I think from this I've become inspired to scan and reprint on fabric the pages of her favorite books to make a quilt. These are so sweet though and the vintageness is so loveable. The Little Golden Books ones above are the first two in a series so more can be expected to come.

I haven't done fabric printing myself yet but intend to in the near future. I believe it may be as easy as using a 100% cotton ironed onto freezer paper to prevent bleeding and printing it like normal paper. But before doing this I'd research it myself. I have done fabric painting on fabric that has had freezer paper (shiny side down) ironed to it and the fabric paint does not bleed at all. (stencils and stamps!)

sock monkey

I had a very home-made Christmas this last year and enjoyed it so much. Years ago it seemed I always made at least one gift, but it had been a while. And this year I got too much joy from it. I may have to have more homemade Christmases even if finances aren't a factor. : ) One thing I made for my daughter was a sock monkey. Randomly looking for doll patterns online I came across this super simple tutorial. I used a pair of knee highs I found at the dollar store, but you can use an old pair you already have. What is great about this was it so easy, only took a few hours, and it's a great repurposing project with very little waste ( the only part left over is one of the toe ends, so it would be a great way to use a pair of socks with a hole in one of the toes : ).

http://www.craftbits.com/project/sock-monkey


In retrospect, or for another, a cute bow, some flowers, ruffles, or other decoration would be nice to personalize it. Also, I think I should've used white buttons for the eyes for a more friendly face. : ) I probably will use a larger sock size than my own too. The bigger the socks the bigger the monkey : ) men's socks would be cute.... hmmm... if I make another it'll likely be argyle. Have fun and enjoy!

in the beginning

Lately I have found so much useful information on the blogs of people I decided I would like to join in on the sharing of resources. So I hope as I figure out how to utilize this and as I add to it I will be another source for people looking for the same tips and tutorials that make my life better. :)