My cousin and his wife are expecting their second little boy in February. So I whipped up a couple bibs and a burp cloth. I used up some Harmony Art flannel scraps I had to make one bib and the burp cloth while the other two bibs are cowboy style—done in red and blue paisleys. I know they must have a ton of baby boy things already, but the way I see it, you can’t ever have too many bibs or burp cloths.
It seems everyone around me is announcing a new baby to come, so I’m going to get to work on more bibs and burp cloths once I find out the sexes. I’m thinking some little appliques to snazz them up a bit.

Again, I used the pattern from Chickpea Sewing Studio for the bib and drafted my own for the burp cloth.
Progress on Hayden’s quilt (which I started back in July) is coming along. I had it stashed away for pretty much all of October but dug it out again because I’ll be seeing her at the end of the month. Now that I have a deadline, I should work more quickly and efficiently. I do believe the next baby quilt will be machine quilted.

A little project I’m working on.  These are burp/cuddle cloths for the Etsy shop I hope to open soon.  They turned out so pretty I don’t want to part with them!  The front fabrics are from Robert Kaufman and (sigh!) Michael Miller, and the backs are the softest baby chenille and minky.  Kind of a new twist on burp rags — but any mom knows, if you’re going to be walking around with cloth on your shoulder to catch stray vomit, it might as well be beautiful cloth, am I right?

These adorable burp cloth sets, from The Frog and The Princess, make a great baby shower gift.  Each set includes 3 burp cloths neatly packaged with a bow. Over 10 designs to choose from.

Price: $30.00 each

Buy at: The Frog and The Princess

I’d like to preface this post by saying that I have hardly ever touched a sewing machine in my life. I had about a month’s worth of lessons when I was ten or so… Sure wish that I’d taken more. So, for my birthday this year, I decided since we were moving out in the middle of no where, I would get myself a sewing machine and a couple of books and teach myself to do it. So far, I’ve completed three successful projects. Which, I think, is pretty good, especially for me. These are my two most recent.

First a hooter hider (I didn’t name it I just sewed it) It’s a nursing shawl, that keeps you covered, but there’s a piece of boning at the top around the neck that makes it stick out so mommy can still look down and see what she’s doing.  It also has a strap to hold it up so you don’t have to worry about it falling down or baby pulling it off.

It’s reversible, and I made the strap so the opposite color goes on the opposite side.

Then, I made a matching changing pad, and burp cloths.

They have terry cloth on the opposite side.

Kaylynn hasn’t been able to keep her hands off the material, so when I knew I had a little left over I made her a burp cloth for her baby.

Some of the pictures are a little blurry, and I wish I had one with the Hooter Hider on, to show you how it works, but our memory card bit the big one after the carnival on Sunday. You can google Hooter Hider, and see how they work.

I am extremely proud to announce the launch of The Personalized Baby!

The Personalized Baby offers hip & unique gifts for that special little one. Our monogrammed products are the perfect present for baby showers, christenings, birthdays, holidays or just because. They are created and embroidered with a personal touch. They are easy to care for too, a necessity for on-the-go moms!

Check out our website today… www.thepersonalizedbaby.com
I would also encourage you to follow us on Twitter, http://twitter.com/TPBgifts or join our group on Facebook, where you can receive superb specials as they are being twittered out to our followers. It’s a great way to save and/or receive free gifts.
Rachel Lintvet
The Personalized Baby
p. 804-683-3683
e. thepersonalizedbaby@me.com
w. www.thepersonalizedbaby.com
t. http://twitter.com/TPBgifts

It’s now 11:30 pm and I am finally getting blog about some sewing.  My hubby and father-in-law were installing our back door and had power off for 1.5 days.  I’ve been stuck in the house with a teething baby and I’ve been dying for some QUIET me time.  I finally got it with a little kicking and screaming.  She’s actually still screaming as we speak.  I just got finished whipping up some burp cloths to get ready for an upcoming craft show.  I thought it was a great opportunity to do another tutorial.

Cloth Diaper Burp Cloth Tutorial:

• you need your choice of fabric (or 2 coordinating), cloth diaper(s), thread, iron, sewing machine

1. Get all the needed items together.  The key is to wash the diapers a few times.  They really shrink from the original size when them come out of the package.  Then, take a hot iron and iron out the diapers because they are full of wrinkles.  I always wash my fabrics too because they shrink some as well.  Measure the middle of the diaper.  They tend to vary slightly.  Use these measurements to cut your fabric.  I’m keeping the top two fabrics for some cloths for Baby Bird.
2. Iron the fabric piece to the necessary sizes from step one.  I do iron my corners under at an angle because it looks much cleaner (see step 5 photo).  Adore my ring.  I have an awesome hubby.  Ignore the dirty nails.  I’ve been mulching.
3. Pin them to the cloth diaper.  I does move a bit so you just make the adjustments.  It’s nice because you are able to sort of stretch the diaper to make the edges look nice.  Feel free to embellish further with ribbons or maybe an embroidered (done before pinning to diaper) design, name or initial.
4. Sew the fabric to the diaper as close the edge of the fabric as you feel comfortable.  Some people like to use decorative stitches but I’m more of a “keep it simple” lady.
5. This just shows the corners ironed on an angle.
6. Finished project.  A quickie.  Those are nice   I always go back over the diaper with a hot iron for the finished polished look because typically I sell these or give them as gifts.  Love them to look nice if you are anal retentive like I am.  Second time sewing with my new machine.  It’s like riding in a luxury car after driving a beater.

These are always great shower gifts because you can never have too many burp rags lying around.  I swear I use more with this baby because I’m a fan of breastfeeding in bed (side lying position) and it saves the sheets.  I also make another style of burp cloth but some people still love to use the cloth diapers.  This makes them cuter.   Anywho, quick and easy.  You got to love those type of projects.  They work well for us moms that are on a time crunch. 

I make so many baby items so be prepared for more of those type of tutorials. 

Toodles!

Hey look, I’m in today’s Chicago Tribune! Awesome!

And the online version–

please contact me for more information.. Initial-$5 Name-$8 Applique-$10

I just found Laurel’s Lullaby, a shop that sells blanket sets as well as matching bibs and taggy blankets. The owner has 15 years of sewing experience and it shows. These blankets look so cute and so professional, I want one for myself!

Check out this snail set, it is deliciously vintage and gender neutral. There are a lot of cute boy prints at Laurel’s Lullaby, which I know can be hard to come by.

Snail Blanket and Burp Cloth Set

I also liked this black damaske and pink minky blanket and burp cloth set. Black and pink look so classy together. I can just imagine a little girl wrapped up in this.

Black Damask/Hot Pink Minkie Blanket and Burp Cloth Set

This woman is a god. 

Watch out for these beautiful fabrics on Little Spunky Monkey burp cloths, muslin wraps, bloomers, tshirts and blankets.

We’re massively late this week with our “weekly update”, but… Tuesday marked 30 weeks! Eric created the number this week. If he ever tries to tell you he’s not artsy-crafty remind him of this photo and prove him wrong. This is some serious construction paper/elmer’s glue skill:

Next thing I know he’ll be off to scrapbooking conferences.

The baby growth news at 30 weeks is all about fattening up and maturing lungs, eyes and brain. Little Cap might be 3 pounds by now which is pretty exciting. When I get up from bed to shuffle over to Bed Rest Central my legs sometimes don’t realize all they have to hold up. I stand up, grab the crib and have to sit back down on the bed until they can figure it out. It’s weird. But, I figure it must mean he’s getting BIG. And that’s definitely good.

We had a check up on Monday and all looks good. Little Cap’s growth is surprisingly on target and my blood pressure is still low. He also gave a friendly kick to the midwife while she was listening to his heart beat. It was awesome. After the appointment I was a little concerned with what my labs might show this week. John brought a delicious Polish poppy seed roll at Pascha and I had been eating big hunks of it (one at lunch right before the appointment). Hopefully I won’t look like a drug addict when they check whatever it is they check.

One of Eric’s coworkers was fascinated by the “Miracle Fruit” and bought some miracle fruit pills to try. She shared them with the third grade team and sent an extra home with Eric so I could try the sweet sensation. (Eric’s coworkers have now provided me with cookies and magic pills… these people are awesome!)
Miracle Fruit is actually a berry, Synsepalum dulcificum. If you let the pill form dissolve on your tongue it causes sour things to taste sweet. The effect lasts about 15-30 minutes. Apparently the first Western discovery of the fruit was by the explorer Chevalier des Marchais in 1725 in West Africa. Rumors abound that the FDA shot down attempts to market the fruit as a sweetener without caloric value. Something about a strong sugar lobby.

We pulled out foods we thought might be affected by the pill (which is really just the berry in freeze-dried form); orange, carrot and green apple. (We didn’t try the raisins, I guess they’re just there to look pretty.):

And the “flavor tripping” began:

It was certainly amusing, but I can’t say I liked the taste. Both the orange and the apple tasted like candy. But not in a delicious way, more like a syrupy aftertaste. The taste of the carrot wasn’t affected much. If I were to try it again I think I’d like to try it with something like lemonade without any sugar. About half way through my portion of the apple I had the horrible idea that the affects could somehow be permanent. Of course, they weren’t, but imagining a life of lame candy instead of fruit was pretty horrendous.

Since Eric is the only dishwashing resident of our fair abode, he has taken to wearing a dish towel over his shoulder quite often. I’ve mentioned before that he’s forgotten to take it off (see above photo), but he calmly responds that he’s in training for burp cloths.
His training has also been musical and literary recently. He sang through the entire lullaby book (with accompaniment cd):

And he’s started Little Cap’s first chapter book read-aloud Little House in the Big Woods:

That’s about all the news here at Bed Rest Central. Restrictions will be reevaluated at 32 weeks and we will also actually start our childbirth education classes then. That is, as long as things stay calm until then. Grow Little Cap grow!

~Elizabeth

ACCESSORIES GIVEAWAY!!!

Look at her cute burp cloth!

Francesca ha sempre avuto l’incredibile capacità di sporcarsi ovunque mentre mangia, le normali bavaglie per quanto grandi non erano sufficienti, nemmeno metterne due (una di stoffa sotto e un’altra di gomma sopra) era abbastanza. Poi da La Cicogna ho trovato quella nella foto e ho risolto. Francesca resta pulita e asciutta e anche i vestiti più carini sono al sicuro dalle macchie di frutta. Questa idea brillante è venuta a due mamme che dopo essersi incontrate a un corso preparto e aver sperimentato le gioie della maternità tra cui ieflusso e i rigurgiti vari hanno deciso di creare prodotti carini e utili ad altri genitori. La Wonder Bib – bavaglia delle meraviglie – è una bavaglia in tessuto super assorbente, morbidissimo (sembra ciniglia), tiene il bimbo pulito e asciutto. Ha le maniche in tessuto plastificato. la mia è color fragola. Si lava in lavatrice. Date un’occhiata al sito, mi sembra che ci siano altri prodotti interessanti per Wonder moms! ad esempio la “burp cloth” della foto mi avrebbe fatto comodo invece di andare in giro con asciugamani vari.

Price: $12.00

Designer: Sew Chic Baby

Price: $57.50

Designer: Organic Quilt Company

I got some of my kawaii fabric in the mail yesterday! Yay! I was the Gloomy Bear print. I’m still waiting for two others, they should be here any day now. I’ve already cut out a burp cloth and a tissue cozy from the Gloomy Bear fabric. I’m not sure what I want to do with the rest, I just love it to death! I’m almost afraid to use it. I also have some other tissue holders ready to be sewn up as well, just need to get more white thread. Errrr… I ran out completely, and it’s a little tough for me to run out and get some right now due to watching Zoë during the day.

Kawaii Fabric

Speaking of Zoë, she slept really nicely this morning. I took over the morning shift at 12:30 am. We went downstairs and I fed her on the recliner. By 1:30 am she fell asleep. Then woke back up around 4:30 am, fed her once again and fell back asleep 30 minutes later. She’s been sleeping for 2 hours now. This is really nice!

Price: $14.00

Designer:  Safia Style

So, I needed a better way to package up my burp cloths to make them really cute and just a bit more unique.  I mean, there is nothing really special about an all flannel burp cloth. 

Here, I combines two ideas that I had.  First, I love the little mini diaper cakes that people are calling diaper cupcakes.  I also like coordinating burp cloth sets.  There is just something extra nice about giving a handmade gift at a baby shower.  If you aren’t throwing the shower it is a little wierd to show up with a full on diaper cake. 

Anyway, I made my usual jumbo burp cloths, (I like flannel b/c it comes in hundreds of totally adorable prints and washes well).  Then, I made a diaper cupcake out of about 10 newborn diapers.  Then a “frosted” it with my burp cloths.  It would be really cute to put a huge red pompom on top, but I didn’t have any. 

I packed the entire thing up in a cake box that I bought at the party suply store.  This one is a huge hit with all of my friends.

Christmas Burp Set

This set of three burp cloths is perfect for a Christmas present for the special baby in your life that could use a little extra help staying clean. They will look great keeping Christmas clothes clean.
My burp cloths are made with super absorbent cloth diapers and will last through the messiest baby. I needed an endless supply so I started decorating them. They are such great gifts! They can be washed in hot water so you can use them to clean up any baby spill. Cloths are about 20 inches by 17 inches (there is variation in size) and could even be used as a changing pad. I loved having them since my daughter spit up a ton.

Ribbon loops allow you to attach your cloth to a car seat or stroller so your little wiggle doesn’t throw it on the ground. These cloths make a great present for a shower and individual listings allow you to make the perfect burp set.

I gift wrap all my sets in tissue with ties and a tag. Let me know if it is a gift!
I am very convo friendly and love to make custom items.

100% of the sale proceeds will be donated to Etsy for Charity (EFC) Charity of the Month.

Zane Burp Cloth

These cute burp cloths will keep your baby clean and make you look great. I like them because the really thick cloth diapers are enough to soak up lots of baby spit up (my baby had reflux so she had major vomit every day). I wanted to be able to go out and still deal with inevitable messes.

Tagggies ensure that your burp cloth won’t go missing and are shown in the picture.

I love to make custom orders-let me know!

100% of the sale proceeds will be donated to Etsy for Charity (EFC) Charity of the Month.

and I am – as always – WAY behind on the knits.

I put forth the following warning:

If you are on Ravelry, you see something that says super secret (or top secret or something that basically seems to indicate that it is just a place for me to remember what I am working on) and you have ever met me in person, click at your own risk. Elves will cry and Santa may give up all hope if you inadvertently ruin your own present. I accept zero responsibility (ok, ok .. I accept a bit).

That said, tomorrow I will draw up the final list and then we will see how much time I can squeak in over the next 8 weeks. I am predicting that I will get 5 gifts done total. 5, people. This from the woman who said “I will plan better this year …” Yeah, well, ADHD + knitting = cast on, OOOOOOSHINY! cast on, OOOOSHINY, cast on, OOOOSHINY and where the heck are my needles … oh..they’re already being used ….

Speaking of progress, despite the lack of photos (I’ll drag it out here in a moment and add one) Porom is about 1″ away from the decreases. It would be farther along but.. I finished a burp cloth of the set I wanted to make. I then cast on for a towel in the burp cloth pattern, and a hat that was maybe going to be a present for one person, but now not so much since I found something WAY BETTER for them.

I think I may have also FINALLY found the PerfectPattern® for that Tilli Thomas I picked up a while back – yeeeehaw. Rip back a few rows of what I HAD started, and go from there.

Back to the salt mines I go….

I received three packages this week, and the biggest one was a total surprise!  Brandon’s great-aunt sent me a box full of goodies.  There were books (pictured above), patterns, notions, fabrics, and even a mini rotary cutter and a pair of Gingher Embroidery Scissors.  That was so thoughtful of her!  I probably will not be making any silk and fur coats, but I am so thankful for everything she sent!  I can’t wait to use it!  Here is what my table looked like after I unloaded the box:

And yes, I did clean up all of that mess before starting on all of my projects!  My poor hubby would not have enjoyed coming home to that!

I finally had the chance to make something I have been wanting to do for a while: burp cloths.  I made some for two friends who are having a joined baby shower on Saturday.  I used some Robert Kaufman Corduroy with little apples sewn onto Gerber pre-fold cloth diapers.  These are so cute and (I hope) very practical.  At first I wasn’t sure about the corduroy, but the grooves are so fine that it feels really luxorious.  I am sure any baby will love having his or her face all over that!  I bought extras of all of the material, so I am putting some of these in my shop as well.

Finally, during the VP debate, I made some more bobby pin sets.  The other two packages I received this week included the materials for the bobby pins and the magnets I make.  Here are the bobby pin sets:

Tonight I hope to be just as productive.  I will be trying my hand at applique to make a onesie to go with each of the burp cloth sets.  I am also going to start an order that Brandon’s mom placed for a baby shower she is going to soon.

A handful of bias tape, two strips of ric-rac and a couple of cloth diapers never looked so cute. So the burpcloths turned out even better than I expected. I tied a ribbon around two sets for different mommas but I haven’t passed them off yet.

I used single fold bias tape, unlike the double in the tutorial and contrasting thread… oh and also, my photography is awful but they’re pretty close to the same.