Ships Ahoy!

So...my brother and his lovely new wife moved here to the good ole' Midwest after living in So-Cal. Why they chose to do this in the middle of the winter, a mere six weeks before the birth of their first baby, I'm not entirely sure. However, it was great timing on OUR part because we were able to throw them a baby shower!

They know they are having a boy, and I noticed my sis-in-law had registered for some whale prints and such, and also with them being fresh from the Pacific coast, we decided a nautical theme would be apropos.

So, we took it and ran (er, sailed?) with it.

My little artsy sis found some ideas on Pinterest, and then of course made them even more creative and unique and wonderful.

The table centerpiece...dried seaweed, rocks, empty wine (rum?) bottles with candles

Chalkboard drawing by my sis, of course.

The silverware packets also picked up the nautical theme, with hemp ties, lifesavers, and striped twine. (These were my favorite :)

The favors, which tragically, most people were not aware of and forgot to take home with them

were comprised of chocolate gold coins, lifesavers, gummy fish and gold nugget gum (the candy compilation was my mother's idea...brilliant)

And of course, on those high seas, one can always expect to run into a little 'shower' (or giant typhoon)

The cake (also decorated by my sis) was darling with a spouting whale

And we were so happy that so many family and friends joined us to celebrate

 And the expectant parents looked adorable

and they got to do some practicing

Ei, yei, yei...I'm still having a hard time picturing this little bro as a father...

but I am oh so excited to see it happen!




Well...these ex-Californians survived the Polar Vortex...

Next up - labor!!

Dusted off my trusty machine...

I love sewing.

I don't claim to be good at it. I can't even follow a simple pattern.

But there is something so fun about going to the fabric store, picking out the designs that catch your eye, and then cutting, pinning, folding, tucking and stitching your way to a new creation.

That final moment...drumroll...when you finish the last row of stitches, remove the pins and...hold your breath as you turn it right side out and hope for the best.


Now that my son is 3.5 months old, he seems to have settled into a nice little naptime routine on the days that we are both home. 1.5 hours in the morning, and 2.5 hrs in the afternoon. I'll take it! And it means that mommy has time to sew when she decides to ignore the fact that there are bathrooms that need to be cleaned, bills that need to be paid, laundry that needs to be folded...you get the idea.

Today was one such day. My fingers were just itching to start the new project for which I went shopping yesterday. I have decided (after being sick and tired of changing my outfit five times a day, and his outfit ten times a day) that we need some more burp clothes around this house. And, the fun part is, now I know what the gender of my baby is (at least I really hope I know by now), so I decided to go boy all the way. Monsters. Aliens. Dinosaurs. Bugs. ewww.

I was so excited to cut and sew on my new huge table. All that work space, it's a shame it doesn't get used more often for the various crafts that I wish I could get accomplished.

So this post will be a kinda sorta tutorial...I'll just tell you what I did for this project.
First, and this step is very important, I chose some good listening tunes. Florence seemed to fit the mood for me.

Next, I cut out the material. I used terry cloth for the backs and different flannel prints for the front.

Next I sewed the print and the terry cloth together with 'right' sides facing each other.(I left a little gap on one edge through which I could turn it inside out)

After turning it right side out, I sewed the gap closed with a tiny seam (set it to 0, like so)

Part-way through, it took a focused effort on my part to stay in the house and not strap on my boots and take a walk outside through the most lovely, HUGE snowflakes I have ever seen! (somehow I don't think my baby would appreciate being ripped from his nap to trek along with me). I felt like I was trapped in a snow globe.

Photos don't do these flakes justice. They literally looked like pieces of batting falling from heaven. I wonder if that's what it looked like when manna fell out of the sky for the Israelites....
Anyways, I digress...
After ironing to make the edges lie nice and flat, I used a zig-zag stitch in a contrasting thread to secure the cloth together and to add some fun interest.

I tried to ignore my boy as he looked at me accusingly and wondered why I was sewing instead of feeding him

And later on I tried to ignore him and sew, but I couldn't help snapping a few shots of him doing tummy time. On a side note, I wonder if he had nightmares that night after seeing his distorted reflection in that plastic mirror. Poor kid.

So, after about two or three days of working on this (things take a bit longer with a baby!), I finally finished the project and I was very happy with how they turned out. Now already almost every one has been lovingly christened by Will.

The Mobile

When I was registering for baby items, I decided that I wanted to have a crib mobile. But since I put so much thought and energy into designing the nursery to have a certain look, I didn't want the look ruined by a big old gaudy plastic noisy mobile. I wanted something more "vintage" or "organic" looking. I was registering on Amazon and I was able to find some mobiles that fit the description but I thought they were pretty pricey for what they were. Consequently, the thought eventually occurred to me that I could just make my own. How did it go? Well, let's not say that it was a decision I came to regret, but it was certainly one that made me realize why they were priced that way on Amazon. I took on the project and dragged future Grammy with me for the ride. First we picked out trim and felt at the fabric store.

I found an owl template and inspiration on this sewing blog and then we had to just get to work snipping and cutting and measuring and tracing

Check out that stylish Grammy! And notice how Sam always has to be a part of the action. 

Anyways, after we cut and assembled the owl pieces of felt, they had to be sewn and glued together, and then stuffed with batting. My wonderful sisters (at the time, future aunties who were so excited about the prospect of a nephew they didn't mind being roped into a crafting project for his new room) helped me with that step, but I sadly didn't get any pictures. 

Next, we had to string up each owl from the top of it's head and then put little stars on each string. Turns out the new and splendidly long dining room table comes in handy for crafting!

Here they are all assembled...and Sam is already devising and scheming to get his paws on them

The next step proved to be much harder than anticipated, hence the paucity of photographs - i.e. none. You may notice that the mobile in the blog above was fashioned from dowel rods...well my hubby had the idea of using sticks instead. I found some sticks outside and then we had to drill holes through them without cracking the sticks and then string each owl from a corner and try to get it to balance level. Not an easy feat! But thanks to some ingenuity from Grammy, the feat was accomplished and the project was complete. 

Now it hangs in a place of honor above the crib in little Will's room.

I think the little owls are just the cutest, especially those beady little button eyes

Here is the view that my little guy sees...or as close as I could get to reproducing it without actually climbing into the crib myself

And here he is, at the tender age of only 4 weeks, already enjoying it.