Little Turkey

How was your Thanksgiving weekend?  Mine was one we’ll never forget! 

Introducing: our Little Turkey

• Born Thanksgiving Evening at 10:14pm
• 8lbs 5oz, 20 1/2” long
• Delivered via a successful VBAC

It’s a girl :)

We were at the dinner table, and I made the mistake of asking for seconds on mashed potatoes and gravy, because as soon as I swallowed- POP!  My sister told me to stand up just to make sure it wasn’t a bladder issue, and gee, my pants have never been wet that fast.  Then, of course, every family member present at dinner had to come running into the room to see me and my wet pants.  Awesome.

At 6pm we pulled up to the hospital, and 4 hours later we had her in our arms!

She wormed her way into our hearts in seconds. 

And she even hung out with me on the couch with the rest of our little growing family decorated for Christmas.  We’re pals.

Today my sister came over and took some newborn shots.  I think this is the only one I snapped where she is sleeping- she is quite alert and awake during the day.  But then again, what kind of habits can I count on 5 days into it?  Ya know?

So while I am resting up (I have a concert this weekend I’m trying to conserve energy for… I know I am crazy) and enjoying my time with this little Turkey, I’ll be sporadically in and out.  See you soon!

Christmas Wreath and Happy Thanksgiving

Inside, my place still has Fall/Thanksgiving stuff around.  Outside, I’ve got a Christmas wreath.  With a wonky ribbon that I didn’t notice until I posted this picture. Hmm.

I’m weird.  I know.

I helped coordinate a food drive for my church, and one thing we had in excess was Jell-O.  The boxes we got for it ended up being used by us, and I saved one to wrap and put on the wreath.  I love multi-purpose solutions. 

I got the wreath and ribbon (two different ribbons) at Michaels, and the little pine cones and berries at both Michaels and Hobby Lobby.  It is totally not a craft-world original, but it was what I wanted this year.  Considering I’ve never had a wreath up on my door in my whole history of being in my own place!

But, if I don’t see ya before Thanksgiving… Happy Thanksgiving.  We’ve got so much to be thankful for!

Waiting it out with randomness

I had a check-up this week, and it turns out I’m not as far along as I had hoped.  As in, I’m not showing any progression at all.  So, I guess it is time to hunker down and get some Christmas stuff done or something around here.  I’ll have you know, though, that my craft room has been clean for a week straight.  And I’ve been using it!  Here’s a sneak peek at a tutorial coming soon:

Aside from sewing and trying to get up some creative juices to do something besides sew, I’ve been trying to have fun amidst crazy pinched leg nerve pain and general tiredness.  You can see by the look on my face here how excited I was to shoot a gun:

My arms look good, though.  I’m not a gun person, at all, but I can’t turn down a good time with friends.  Especially when there is a campfire involved!

Tonight I have a date with Mr. Hunky here.  My dad just volunteered to babysit, probably because my mom is out of town to go ride 100 miles on her bike (crazy lady!).  Regardless, we are excited to get one real date in before this yet-to-be-named child comes. 

I’ve also been busy arranging a Thanksgiving drive at my church.  People are coming by my house to drop off donations, which means am trying to keep it somewhat clean so people don’t think I let my children live in squalor!  Hee hee.  So, if that is any explanation on the quiet blogging ‘round these parts, there you go.

Happy thoughts going to Jill today, who is going to meet her little girl.  I’m hoping she sends good labor thoughts my way so I can have a new family member to show off for Thanksgiving.

Christmas Gift Tags: Ribbon Style

This is obviously an idea you can use year-round, but I’ve got an easy tutorial on Curbly today on how I made these personalized ribbons for Christmas gift tags.  Check it out, I’d appreciate it!

A Blanket Statement

You know those soft, cuddly, self-bound blankets that everyone ‘round here seems to know how to make?  I wanted to make one.  I’ve had it on my to-do list for a long time… like, 2 1/2 years, since I wanted to make it for my last baby.

Well, I did it.  Kind of.

While the end result is, in fact, a blanket, it is tooootally not something I’m really proud of.  Except for the fact that it is silky and soft.  That, I like.

I made a self-bound blanket before for my husband, before we were even engaged.  He was sleeping with just a sleeping bag on a bare mattress in college, and I took pity on the poor man and my mom showed me how to do one of these things.  It was a huge blanket, with a nice, medium loft batting, and flannel for one side and sweatshirt material for the other.  He was warm!  Yay.  He knew I was a keeper then. :)

But working with minky (minkee?) and flannel-backed satin (it was on clearance at Jo Ann’s YEARS ago) was, to say the least, a nightmare.  And people do it all the time!!!  I’m amazed.  I even pinned the heck out of it.  I am inept without a walking foot.  It is on the Christmas list.  Again.

My other girls really like it, so I’m glad they’re not picky or judgmental.  Don’t kids just make everything better?

Here’s a tutorial I quickly Googled for you interested folks.  Looks exactly like how I learned, and she shows how to add scallops to it too.

Peasant Top, Winterized

Winterizing.  First, let me begin by reminding you I live in Arizona, where it is 65 degrees on Christmas morning.  Life is rough, I know.  But since my girls were born in opposite seasons, when we get to the “extreme temperatures,” the baby has nothing to wear.  Hmm… I just realized I’ve got to call her something other than the baby here on this blog…  anyway, we have a shortage of long sleeves right now.

So last night while waiting for my husband to return from playing church basketball (hopefully uninjured…), I was staring at my fabric stash wondering what I could do to pass the time.  I thought about starting a quilt but that thought was immediately dashed by taking one look at my Works In Progress pile.  Then I pulled out some of my Heirloom fabric by Joel Dewberry (from my sponsor Modern Fabric Studio) and my patterns.  An already-cut Simplicity 5695 (dress D, without the bottom ruffle) and some lengthened sleeve pieces resulted in this shirt about 45 minutes later.  I love quick projects.

I only got 1/2 yard of the Joel Dewberry prints with the intention of making a quilt, so I mixed it up and used two fabrics.  I love how it looks!  I also wondered if I should put in some elastic in the sleeve hems, and I just might still.  It might make it a lot easier to put on a sweater or jacket.

And if you are wondering about the purple pants/skirt combo… I picked those up at Wal-Mart and she won’t wear anything else right now, dirty knees and all.  So, there you have it.  2-year-olds.

Hospital Gown Tutorial

Can I tell you how excited I am to go into labor?  And be huffing and puffing and yelling for more ice?  All right, I’m not excited for the pain but let me tell ya, I’m going to be riding that pain in style.

I saw this Etsy gorgeousness ($69- not bad!!!) on Pinterest:

and wanted it… right then and there.  But with a few changes.  One of the bothersome things about hospital gowns for me is the fact that when you unsnap your shoulder snaps to nurse that new baby, the shoulders fall all over and before you know it you are nekked from the neck to your waist.  Unfortunately, while this gown is worlds apart from the standard hospital issue, it still had snaps on the shoulders. 

So I went and made exactly what I wanted.

Two of them.

Want to know how?

You need:

Hospital Gown Pattern Pieces (pattern is for a smallish person although it can fit bigger with very few alterations)

3 yards pre-washed fabric

1 yard snap tape

Coordinating ribbon

Sewing stuff

zipper foot

This tutorial uses 1/2” seam allowances

To save paper (I went through a lot with the muslin and re-drawing over and over…), I made the pattern pieces for the front and back just for the neck/sleeve part.  For the rest, use a measuring tape along the side of your fabric to mark where to cut.

For my 5’4” frame, 36” was the magic length from the neck to the bottom. 

As I cut the front piece, I tapered it pretty good so it made an A-line shape.  You want room for that belly!

Then I cut my sleeves.  My blue gown has longer sleeves than my pink gown, and I think they look a little better longer.  Just add a few inches to your pattern if you want to go longer.

Next, I cut the yoke pieces from fabric and lightweight interfacing.  The blue gown wasn’t interfaced, and I realized how valuable it is!  I highly suggest it, even though it isn’t on the pattern.

Next, place your sleeve pieces on your back pieces, right sides together, matching the curves.  Sew these together at the curve.

Finish your edges.  This whole finishing thing is a big deal for this project- so either serge, zig-zag, overlock, roll hems, or use pinking shears. 

Once both back pieces have a sleeve attached, it is time to move on to the yoke. 

Sew your yoke pieces together into a long back-front-back strip.  You will end up with two long pieces.  Then, sew those two long pieces together, right sides together, along the short ends and inner curve.

Trim the seam allowance to get rid of bulk, or clip the curve; whichever you prefer.  This was just faster :)

You’ll end up with a shape akin to a toilet seat… lovely!

Turn it inside out and iron that seam flat and beautiful.  I used a dull pencil to get my corners to a nice point before I ironed.

While you are at the ironing board, iron the outer curve under about 1/2”.  I think mine ended up more like 5/8”.

Next, top-stitch that inner curve.  I didn’t do this on the blue gown and it just looks nice with it.

Now put some snaps on!  Pin the female snaps to the underside (you choose which is the underside) of your yoke.  The snaps should span just the center yoke pieces.  Use a zipper foot to get a nice stitching line, making sure you sew through both layers of the yoke as you go.  I just sewed down the long sides.  The front should look like this:

I’m going for practical here, not absolutely beautiful ;)

Now take your front gown piece and finish the sleeve edges.  Then, gather the top neckline.  You want the gathers to end up the same width as your front center yoke piece.  When you get it to the right size, finish your top edge.

Add the male snaps to this piece, matching the snap placement with your yoke piece.

We’ve reached goal #1- a detachable front!

Awesome.

Ok, now for the sleeves and back part. 

Place your sleeves right sides together on your front piece, matching curved edges.  Sew only 1/2” along the curved edge.  You want it left open the rest of the way.  Attach both sleeves to the front piece this way.

Finish the long sides on the back pattern pieces and sleeve curves.  Next, gather your back neckline and sleeve top edge. When it is gathered to the same length as the remaining yoke pieces, go ahead and tuck that gathered edge in between your yoke layers.

Pin it really well!  Make sure your bottom yoke layer is attached too- you don’t want that to slip out of the way.

When you get to the edges near the front yoke, fold the sleeve under 1/2” and pin it in the yoke like that before you sew it down.  Ignore the ratty nest my thread made up there…

Put your male snaps on the front yoke along your finished sleeve edge.

Fold your sleeve edge over 1/2”, and sew your female snap tape to the underside of the sleeve along the hem.

Snap all those snaps together and this is what you’ve got!  Goal #2 reached- sleeves remain on shoulders!

Lay your back pieces right sides together with the front and sew along the edges, including the armpit edge.  Match your sleeve seams the best you can.  Finish the edges.

On one back edge, make about 5/8” hem.  I wanted to keep it in place, so I sewed about 1/8” down the edge.

Cut 8 snaps off your snap tape and place them evenly down the back of your gown (I did this only because snap tape is a zillion dollars a yard a JoAnn’s and I was trying to conserve :)  But it works really well.).  Sew them on, one at a time, along your ironed edge.

Attach the other half of your snaps to the other back side, this time on the front of the fabric.  It is super important that you make sure the snaps line up before you sew them on.  No one wants to see a wonky-snap-bum.  Right?  Yay- Goal #3 done: epidural access :)  No, really, you need the back open for lots during labor and delivery.

All that is left is hemming the bottom of the gown, and hemming the sleeves.  I used a 1/2” hem for both.

Trim your threads (there will be tons), and put it on!  Use a ribbon to wrap around just above your bump (or mountain, whichever) and tie a fun bow.

The back is nice and closed (but has easy doc/nurse/anesthesiologist access),

And the front is ever-so-cute, unlike my face in this picture. 

Want to see it in action?  Er, not on me… Alta will take this one for me.  And in terrible light, no less.

See?  When you need to nurse, you just unsnap the side you’re on and you remain almost completely covered the whole time.  Sorry to Alta for exposing so much ;)

Now, I know the snaps in the front make it less beautiful than that Etsy inspiration, but it gets the job done!  I’m absolutely thrilled with these gowns.  Kind of makes me not want to wear them because they are so darn cute and things are bound to get messy. 

Pink for the potential girl:

Blue for the potential boy:

(because I am still bringing both colors of newborn outfits to the hospital ;))

I am excited for those new baby shots where I don’t have half my chest and a shoulder popping out!  Yay!