Little Man Pants

Ferris is growing so fast, I've been trying to plan ahead. So, I've spent some time making little man pants. I gathered together some felted sweaters and a pair of corduroys that I no longer wear, and came up with these:


The two on the left I made using a pattern traced from a pair of 12 month pants -


And of course I had to add little knee patches to the corduroys. There's a matching patch on the bum, too.
The pair on the right was made using this tutorial - http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/wool-diaper-cover.html
The tutorial is great because you use the sleeves and so half the work is already done! All in all I got 2 pairs of pants per sweater, and one from the corduroys. I think I'll be making more, too, they are quick and easy, and I've been able to use our clothes to make them.

And the Winner is....

Sarah!
Thank you to the random number generator!

I will be doing more giveaways in the future so don't give up if you didn't win this time :)

Flea Market Weekend

Spent the weekend at the Londonderry Flea Market and it was pretty much a bust. Sold a couple of old things, but not really worth having spent the whole weekend there. Granted, it was raining and it was graduation weekend for Londonderry. On the bright side of things we got to spend some quality time with Lissa, who we haven't often seen in the past couple of years. Also there were moments of adorableness like this:

Ferris and daddy enjoying a book together, if even if they are enjoying it in vastly different ways.
I've also decided to have a giveaway of one of my pouches, Talking Crow...


Details about the purse here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/8224132/sale-talking-crow-wristletclutch

Just follow my blog and leave a comment 0on this post. I'll choose a winner next Tuesday, 6-22-10!

My Stash - Complete

Or, at least for now...I'm sure he'll wear through some before he's potty trained. Yes, I am referring to diapers, cloth ones. I realized a week or so ago that I've been sewing diapers for my baby for over a year now. I've tried a lot of patterns. A lot. My absolute favorite at this point is the one my friend bought for me, the NykiBaby One Size Pocket Diaper by UberDomestic. It came from Etsy, here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/48835767/nykibaby-one-size-fits-all-pocket-diaper
I just love, love it. It fits my guy the best out of all the patterns I've tried, and I feel like I'm going to get the most out of my work since they're going to 'grow' with him.
By the end of my year-long diaper stash sewing stint, I got creative and started to use some of our old, but in great condition, tee shirts.


So cute. Technically I'm pretty sure her pattern calls for using PUL, but I prefer to use a separate cover, I like that one extra level of protection to keep the mess in. It's such a versatile pattern with very clear instructions, by far my favorite and I'm sure I'll be using it again!

Drooool

Lots of drool happening around here...I never expected needing bibs before we started on food, but the drool is insane! I only had about 2 bibs (why did nobody tell me I would need more than that?), so I grabbed some old tees, made up a pattern, and went to work.
Basically, I took shirts in good condition and cut my pattern over the design. I backed them with scraps of velour left from making diapers, did some top stitching to keep it all in place, and added snaps...I decided to make them adjustable to get the most out of my work, though when I get some velcro, I think it might be safer to use than the snaps.
When I realized I was left with a bunch of tee shirt backs, I cut some more from those and did a lot of reverse applique, which is a great quiet activity for when he's napping, but also it's pretty portable, so I was able to make some while waiting for appointments and such.
I got a bit obsessed, so we have about 2 dozen bibs now...would you believe that it still feels like we don't have enough? We go through about a dozen a day between spit ups and drool, and if I don't get to the laundry he ends up wearing crusty bibs. ew.
Anyway, thought I'd share my pattern in case anyone is interested, they are quick and easy to do, and if you make it adjustable you will get a lot of life out of them, and your old tees!

Greatness

When I was younger, I always had a feeling that I was on the precipice of some kind of success, or greatness I suppose. Maybe I watched too many movies.
It isn't as if I've just sat around waiting for it to come to me, either. I've worked at it, for sure, maybe not as much as I should have, but still, I have.
I've just been thinking about this a lot since I sold this piece of art. I had it out to pack up and send out when my friend asked me about it. It's called "Rejection Letters". It's a piece I made largely to soothe my bruised ego. As an artist, you send your work to be seen by so many people every year, and the rejections, for me at least, far outweigh the acceptances. It may sound crazy, but I do keep the rejection letters and I look at them from time to time. When I made this I had just recieved another rejection, and I really needed to remind myself that success isn't always something that's going to be tangible or recognizable to others. I have to be satisfied myself with what I do, and pay less regard to what comes from the outside.

That's what I'm telling myself anyway.

Garage Band

So I designed a fabric to enter a Spoonflower contest. I freaking love Spoonflower and if I had any money I would buy so much fabric. I adore that it's all done by individuals who decide exactly what they want it to look like, and only as much is made as purchased.

The contest is Musical Instruments. Personally, I really like what I came up with. I am really into sketchy things that appear to have been drawn by hand, and I have a thing about music and instruments (despite my lack of talent in that arena). I doubt I have a chance at all; I'll be surprised if mine even makes it into the voting...most of what I see there is so refined, polished. There's also the fact that my husband thinks the brackets look like mustaches. But hey, you've got to be in it, and stuff.