Meanwhile...

So I'm taking a few days off from sewing for the shop. The kids need warm-weather pjs, I need to sew for the giveaway this weekend, and I owe my father a birthday present. So here's what's happening at my sewing machine at the moment:

It's been a while since I've sewn with knits. Tracing and cutting pattern pieces is NOT my favorite part of sewing. That's as far as I got yesterday. But today I started cutting the fabric, and that's ok.

 What the heck did I cut from this last time? What an edge!

 I've made pants from the KS pattern a million times. I don't even need to look at the book.

 Er..... then again.......

 Hopefully the elastic will fix everything.

Loads better, but still, is the hip area supposed to be wide enough for an elephant to fit in? I want them loose, but this is ridiculous. And the crotch seam seems a bit snug....

Darling daughter didn't want her photo taken, but she says they feel fine. Hm. I think I might just sit down with that KS book and read the directions!

Oh, DD likes the ruffled edge, so I added that. Scalloped, I believe it's called. Cute.

Going to read the book..... Ok, what I think might have gone wrong is that.... I think I might have sewn the pants pieces upside down! Really! I'm not positive about that, but the pieces look very similar both ways. Of course I am going to have to sew another pair to see if that was the problem. Ugh. If there are mistakes to be made..... I will make them. At least once.

 Ok, so the next pair is going to be day time short. I need to know if I stitched the last pair upside down. First let me say that my daughter has been in the wonky shorts ever since I gave them to her! She worn them for the rest of the day yesterday, and slept in them last night. She was agreeable to taking them off this morning so I could wash them! Best mistake ever!

 But first, take a look at this picture and the next, and tell me. Which was is waist-up?

 I asked my husband to see if he could tell. He guessed that the first picture was top side up. As I did with the "hearts" pj shorts. Nope. It's this one.

 So this pair is going to be purple velvet. DD approved. So far, anyhow.

 The waist looks a lot better on this pair. More what I would have expected. =)













 Done! Once again, DD asked for scalloped edges on the legs. This fabric isn't as stretchy as the knit was, so it made a gentle scallop. I like it a lot. DD tried them on and declared them "loose" though the waist and measurements are exactly the same as the pair above. So more knit pairs are in her future. =)

 On to little boy. He wants this top to be ALL alphabet fabric. Ok...

 The body.

Seems a bit wide. I might trim the sides a bit next time. But it is intended for sleeping, so loose is good. He tried it on, and took it off a minute later. We'll see if he sleeps in it tonight. Although he wants bottoms in this fabric, too, I think I might make some in navy. Or maybe both.

Later today I'll know what tomorrow's project will be. I'll probably have to go shopping for that one. =)

 This weekend I'm sewing for my DydeeDaze shop giveaway. The winner requested a baby item and is pregnant with a little girl.

Butterfly bib.

Two-layer flannel receiving blanket.














 The tote that will hold the giveaway loot. =)

 The other side.

 Long straps to easily sling the tote over the shoulder.

Fillin' it up with some baby loot!













Ok, I just had to add one more thing to the "goody bag." A baby burp cloth that goes over the shoulder comfortably and doesn't slip! This one has sparkly stars, which I think is cooool. =) Now I can mail the giveaway winner her loot!

I made one for the shop, too. Now on to the DydeeDaze challenge!

DydeeDaze GIVEAWAY

Today the DydeeDaze Facebook page reached 50 "likes." Because of that I am hosting a GIVEAWAY! I will be giving one winner, chosen at random, a choice of either a KEYKA LOU GROCERY TOTE, (I'll share a photo soon) a "GOODY BAG BABY" (you can see an example of this HERE - follow the link above) or an ANIMAL (dog/cat) ITEM of my choice.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment HERE, with your choice of prize. I will randomly select a name and announce the winner on SATURDAY, MARCH 24th.

Feel free to spread the word. Thanks! And good luck! =)

DydeeDaze On Facebook "likes" GiveAway

I am trying to increase my followers for my shop on Facebook to help increase awareness of my shop. Etsy is very competetive and it's a challenge to get yourself known. I have decided to offer a giveaway (who doesn't love a giveaway?) if I reach 50 likes on the DydeeDaze Facebook page. If you are interested, please follow this link and click "like." Once I reach 50 likes, I will announce information about the giveaway through my FB page.

What will I give away? Well, I haven't decided yet. Not everyone I'm connected with needs baby stuff. (I sell baby stuff on DydeeDaze) So I guess I will have a couple of options for the winner to choose from. I will announce the options once I have figured them out. =)

If you know anyone who might be interested in this, please share!

Thanks!

Goody Bag For Baby

I am sewing a lot for the shop these days, with the hopes of helping to send my kids to the school that we love for the next school year. I am focusing on baby stuff, and it's fun to make things for little people. I thought I would blog about the process of this current work-in-progress. I have a basic idea of what I want it to be, but the end result will be a surprise to us all. =)

 Part 1: A tote bag. I want this to be smaller than the others I've made. I want it to hold baby stuff. Easy for a parent to carry around and carry a few necessities. I decided to base this tote on the excellent KeykaLou grocery tote pattern. This one will be smaller, with longer straps. I have some fabric that I like, and a coordinating lining fabric, left over from another project. I will see what I can do with what's left of these fabrics. Here I'm cutting out straps.

 Sewing the straps...

 Making the tote lining...

 Shell is done, straps are sewn on.

 The tote is done. I love how it came out. The size is just what I was hoping for, and the straps are just right, too.

The lining. I'm very pleased with Part 1 of this project. =) On to Part 2.

 I am playing with the idea of a strap to attach to the tote. Something to hold a paci, or a toy. Something to keep baby happy while being changed, or as needed. I decided to put both fabrics in the strap.

 Oops. Forgot to crop this one! I sewed a small bit of the lining fabric on each end of the strap piece.

 All done. Just needs a way to attach to the tote. I waffled between velcro and snaps, but I decided to go with snaps.












Here it is, waiting for a toy. =)

 This is the only hanging toy left in my house! No more babies around here, so nothing to use as props! But this will do. You get the idea.

I like that the strap can hang outside of the bag or inside.

So Part 2 is done! On to part 3!

 Starting Part 3. I have ideas in my head of what I want to make, but I wing it when the time comes regarding sizes and shapes. I held my hands out in front of me with about the size I wanted this part to be, and measured that against my yard stick. I came up with 15" x 25". This photo is horrible. It does not show the right colors at all. But here I am using one fabric piece to cut out another the same size.

 I brought a swatch of fabric with me to JoAnn's earlier today to get some good coordinates. This was made from flannel, brown and light green, to match the tote.











It's a changing mat! It's designed to basically cover the changing tables in public restrooms, to keep baby away from the icky table. But obviously it could be used anywhere.

 Pretty good match, right?

 Starting to stuff the goody bag! =)

 Now I'm making a diaper/accessory pouch to go with the set. I wanted to coordinate, but it can be hard to find coordinating fabric to match something you've had in your stash for a while. I found this dot fabric at JoAnn's. It matches perfectly. I might have preferred something other than the off-white/yellowish color for the background, but beggars can't be choosers. This is from the same fabric line, and it's the best I'm going to do. So, dots for the outside, brown for the lining.

 A little interfacing will give the pouch some body.

 I'm in a snappy kinda mood these days. Vecro is nice, but snaps are fun! =) Pale green matches the tote.

 One of the instructions in the KeyKaLou grocery tote pattern is to double stitch the top of bag to reinforce. I love that, and use it often in my sewing.
























 Looking good so far. But we need one more thing to go along with the tote, the strap, the changing pad and the diaper/accessory pouch.

Flannel wipes! I used the same flannel that I used for the changing mat. I don't coordinate my outfits this well! Yikes. Anyhow, now this set feels complete! Ready for baby. =)

Patches

I have wanted to play with patching, or quilting, forever. I have always been intimidated by the work and patience involved. But I've been sewing a lot for the shop and I am trying to come up with interesting ideas. I recently finished this set, which consists of 3 cloth diapers, 12 flannel wipes, and a wet bag. It occurred to me that it might be interesting to have the wet bag match the flannel wipes and the diapers. So the inside of the wet bag is made from the same blue PUL waterproof fabric as the diapers are, and the wet bag has patches of fabric that match each of the 12 wipes! Although piecing IS a lot of work (ironing the little seams down is a chore....) the results are fun and a bit addicting. I've got plans to do more in the near future. =) 

Idea In The Works...

Chore "rings." This will have more details, and photos, as this comes together. The idea is just starting to formulate in my head. =)

Bibs

 My sister has a 7-month old little boy. Recently I asked her what she could use for the baby. What's the next best thing to making things for a baby? Well, buying things for a baby! She told me that she could really use some "longer" bibs, something that covers better than these little bibs you get in the stores. Buy a bib? Bah! I went online and did a quick search for a pattern, et voila!

These bibs are made using snuggle flannel on the front, which I have a bin of left over from my fitted-cloth-diaper-making days, and terry cloth. I had that, too. I had bought some to make another project for sis's baby, but never got to it. (Some projects call to us, others just don't)

I stitched the fabrics together inside out, then flipped it, and top stitched around. I used a snap closure for these. A little steam pressing, and I was done. =)


Puppies! Sis likes this one best.

The terry cloth on the back.

Closure.

These were easy and quick, and I think there are more of them in my future!