Friday, June 1, 2012

Easter 2012

I'm WAY behind!
That's pretty much how I feel about everything right now. The house work, schoolwork, the amount of real meals we have each week, myself (as in brushing hair and teeth taking showers, eating and drinking water). As much as I would love to share all the things we've done and things I've made, blog posts are the last thing I'm getting to at the moment.
One thing I'm not behind on and the thing that's the most important are all the baby and boy snuggles I'm giving and receiving. So maybe I'm not so far behind - maybe I'm even ahead in the things that matter most. 
My house is not spotless or anywhere close to it, but my baby is asleep in my arms, nursing AGAIN :o)
And that makes me happy!
So on to some Easter pictures (thanks to our wonderful photographer Sarah) that I think are even later then the ones I posted last year :o)


Easter was fun! I had a crazy week before, making everyone's outfits but my own :o(. I ran out of time. But 3 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, 1 vest, a bow tie, a real tie and a crocheted sweater in 1 week's time isn't too bad :o)

Once again, part way through our picture taking Josiah was needing to work on his attitude.


And thankfully once again Samuel and Caleb were cooperating.


 Samuel is so grown up!


And sometimes very serious.


My friend Jess saw this picture and said it looks like we left him on the side of the road :o)


I won't say that the thought has never crossed our mind.


This boy can get an attitude in about half a second.


And if he decides to he can change it back just as fast.
So we keep him cause he's pretty cute :o)



I can only imagine what he will look like when he's 16.



Caleb's my silly little guy.
I can't help but laugh at him all day long.




He was easily distracted by a cat in the yard :o)


What a little man he is!



And there's the cat again :o)


Aren't we cute!



It was bright and Elisabeth was sleepy, but this is the only picture I we got while she was wearing the sweater I made her.


The dress and locket were mine as a baby.
I see some resemblance in the cheeks :o)
 That is me at 2 months, I think.




So sweet!


 And thank you, Claire, for her first shoes.






Monday, March 19, 2012

I do sew for Tim too :o)


This is the most recent shirt I made for Tim for his Birthday in Jan.
I've been working on this pattern to get the perfect fit and style for him by using things he already has as a guide (for things like perfect sleeve length, button placement and collar size). Tim's not really picky until I start giving him options :o). That's ok though.. I don't mind accommodating :o). That's the nice part about making your own patterns and clothes. It might take a few tries, but you can get exactly what you want!



I love using stripes to make different patterns.


This tee was a Christmas present, made the same as THIS that I made last year.


I got a double-needle for the hem, but this would have only been my second time to use it and I forgot to set my machine to the double-needle setting, so it snapped on the presser foot when
I tried to put the needle down :o(
Oh well. So I did what I always do and went really slow around twice, one row right next to the other.
   




This was last year's Fathers day present. My first attempt at drafting a pattern for Tim.
In the end it turned out well, just took a good bit of seam ripping and re-fitting!


A slight military look to it.



Not a typical fabric pattern for Tim, but he does like to branch out now and then.
Either that or he's just being nice and wearing what I make him :o)


This shirt I made from a store-bought pattern, and after I had to change pretty much everything about it I started working on my own pattern.




So for sure Tim hasn't received as many homemade things as the boys get, but I have a few more things in the works for him.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Tiny Things


3 weeks before Elisabeth was born I finally let myself spend a few days sewing only tiny things. I had so much Christmas and Birthday sewing to do the months before, I knew if I started on baby things too soon I wouldn't get anything else done on time. I also didn't want to go too crazy and end up making things that we wouldn't use since we didn't know who it was that would be joining our family. So I decided that 3 neutral, 3 boy and 3 girl outfits would be all I needed until after the birth, and then I could go as crazy as I wanted!!!

I love this little blanket!


It's so soft and just the right size. 100% cotton waffle knit, and feels snugly and warm but won't be too hot as the weather gets even warmer.


Back in the summer when I was first pregnant I knit 2 newborn diaper covers.
They are the same pattern, but this one I altered by adding a placket and button holes for easier changing. It also makes it more adjustable by starting with the buttons close together and moving them out as baby grows.


Same pattern minus the buttons. Just a pull-on, pull-off cover.


We needed new diapers BAD! The constant use over the past 6 years left me with more holes than diapers!
So I started with 1 dozen new bright white diapers and 25 wipes.
I have 2 dozen more ready to sew, but wanted at least 1 dozen finished before baby's arrival.


I wanted all white pocket diapers and used other patterned flannel for prefold diapers.


I made 6 prefold with some neutral patterns I got in a remnant bin.



My sister in law (who is expecting in July :o) ) gave me a half yard of the cutest fabric!
I didn't want to waste a bit of it! I turned and turned pattern pieces until I had every part used! 
I got this outfit and hat plus...


a pair of footed pants.


Paired with a long sleeve body suit with brown thread accent.


Itty bitty hat with big-bottom pants :o)


#3 neutral outfit.



#1 boy outfit.


#2 with big-bottom pants.


#3


These were very strange for me to make, never having used pink before. I was trying to think that I might actually need to use them, but it seemed so funny every time I saw the color pink!
#1



#2


Outfit #3 is much more the color pink that I prefer, and I've sice been shopping for lots more soft shades of pink :o)


These booties and hat I knit while pregnant with Samuel.


It's hard to see, but the blue fabric is textured with little flowers.


I used the pink and blue inside so it could feel both boy- and girl-appropriate.


I really like this coverall, but so far we haven't had an occasion to use it with lots of 70 and even a few 80 degree days in Feb. Crazy!! Well, it's march now and it was 34 degrees this morning (last week... Kinda late with the post  :o) ), so it might get used yet.