A blanket for Ella

I really need to make some of these blankets for my kids. All I have made for them so far is two simple albiet soft flannel blankets and of course clothes, bibs, burp cloths, small taggie blankets, but I haven't made this one.

Minky Dot side. Ella is embroidered in a light pink. The actual color of the Minky is a dark pink. It's not fuchsia.

Flannel side. Summer Song Birds by Riley Blake.

All folded up.

These blankets are so soft and cuddly. I'm thinking of making one that is square, perhaps with different flannels on one side to be a play mat. Ben loves the minky though, he always calms right down if we set him on it. I really do need to make him something. Well I'll add it to my WIP list!


Don't forget to check back tomorrow to see the progress on my projects!

My Dads Rock!

Almost 2 months ago, my friend Lauren contacted me about a very special gift she wanted me to make. Back when I lived near Lauren I had given her some bibs. Frankly the best bibs ever and she wanted me to make some for her brother and his husband, who are expecting. If you remember back in April I mentioned some new fabric that I couldn't tell you what it was for, but that I would be able to soon, well this is it. I know bibs you say, what so special about that? Well every baby is special and such a wonderful joy to be expecting. I don't know if you can totally understand until you start to want one yourself. For us it was pretty easy to conceive. I got pregnant about 3 weeks after we got married with Tesla. To get pregnant with Ben it took us 8 agonizing months. I know it's crazy to think the turmoil we went through to get pregnant when all we had to do was do it the old fashioned way and wait for the right time. For some of my friends it hasn't been so easy, and for Lauren's brother and husband, well it's down right impossible. I can't imagine wanting kids and not being physically able to have them, I mean their guys in the first place so it's pretty conceivable that they wouldn't carry a kid. However, Lauren who is just about one of the nicest people I know is their surrogate. I am amazed every time I think about this, it kind of makes me teary.
Lauren is a pretty awesome person. When I moved to New Hampshire I didn't know anyone, and when I met Lauren and the other ladies of Stroller Strides I felt like I was part of an instant community. She's super confident, spunky, quick witted and funny. What more could you want in a friend. I loved the way that she talked like she'd been there done that with kids. She just wasn't going to let certain things happen, and you know I really admired her for that. I have to say that a lot of my confidence as the boss of the house comes from talking to her about her kids. She just tells them how it is and that's the way it is. I immediately loved it, because with the amount of kids that we would ideally like to have, I just can't be a push over. Thanks Lauren for being awesome.
Okay, so back to the fabric. Lauren asked me to make some bibs and burp cloths for the baby(s) at this point she didn't know how many she was having. She picked out some super cool Michael Miller prints and asked me to embroider on one of them. I am pretty sure I am going to have to make one more with the same thing written on it. It's just not possible for one baby to have the embroidery and not the other.

The four prints. I usually do a white flannel on the back but Lauren wanted a print on the back that way they were reversible.

The embroidery says "My Dads Rock!" in a copper orange embroidery floss. I tried a bunch of different colors but this one worked best to make it pop off the bib.

The bibs and burp cloths.

All rolled up and ready to be sent. Lauren originally wanted them to look like cupcakes in a box, but then said just put a ribbon around them. So I used some of this rainbow ribbon which is just so pretty and appropriate!

Lauren said the guys loved them. I was really delighted to hear and that everything is going well so far. I am hoping Lauren will want me to make some more stuff for the twins, I have quite a few ideas and I'm thinking some of the Ann Kelle rainbow stripes will get worked in for the future. Oh and I just realized that this post is just in times for Father's Day! Happy Father's Day Lauren's Brother and Brother in Law! Can I suggest a celebration of sleep? I'm thinking with twins, this may be the last Father's Day for awhile that sleeping in will be possible!!!

WIP Wednesday #2

I am so happy to participating in my second WIP Wednesday. Participating in Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday is a huge motivator and I have been cranking out projects. It feels so good to say I got something done. Even just cutting and washing fabric for projects feels more accomplished.
So my first WIP Wednesday post is here. In that list I show you some of the fabrics I am using for future projects. Today's post will just show the final product and the progress and any new items that have been added to the list.

1. Stash Basket for Chrissy X 2 she can choose, in both Garden and Bright by Ann Kelle.*DONE* She's now trying to decide which one she'll choose or if she wants to get both. They are so cute.

Michelle's in one of the baskets to show relative size.

2. Pillow Case for Hudson/Sarah just like the one I did for Cohen. *DONE* and mailed.

3. Blanket for Madison/Shelby *DONE*

This posed a definite challenge. The blanket is 3' by 4.5'. One side is Minky Dot and the other is a stripped flannel. The Minky dot has a shiny slippery back side which means that the flannel does not stick to it, causing the blanket to bubble. I made one like this for a friend in a smaller size so I know this happens. When I make it for the small Baby Cuddle Blankets it's not an issue because they are so small. When I talked to one of the employees at Pacific Fabrics about it, she said that it would be better if I made the blanket flannel on flannel and then it would stick together. All I could think at the time was "Uh, really ya think? That's not really the point though hello!" She did give me an idea though. What if I did a layer of less expensive flannel on the inside. Then I could quilt the Minky Dot to that layer of flannel and then add the nicer more expensive flannel with the ribbons at the end. That solves the issue of the Minky Dot shifting while quilting because that layer of flannel won't be seen. It worked perfectly. The two flannel's stick to each other really nicely and the blanket with the little added weight really is pleasant to cuddle up to. I should probably make some for my kids. 

4. Blanket for Shelby's niece. (Fabric chosen, embroidered and cut, just need to sew it all together.)

5. Dress for me. This will be a knit shirt type dress in a Michael Miller print called Aromatherapy. (Fabric washed.)

6. Skirt for Tesla (Oliver +S) you can see it here. 

7. Dress for Tesla (Oliver +S) you can see it here.

8. Shirt for Tesla (Oliver + S) you can see it here.

9. Dress for Tesla - Macy Giggles. Using the same pattern from that I used with this dress. 

10. Ironing Board Cover - in a Red Ta Dot by Michael Miller *Done* You can read about it here. It's really pretty.

11. Pj's for John in Beep Bot Flannel

12. Pouch for gifts - Can't say for who. I made one though for my Chiropractors daughter. It's so super cute.

13. Pillow Case for my MIL or a table runner.

14. Quilt - I have the fabric and pattern just need to cut and get started. It's from Oh! Fransson.

15. Blanket for Cooper, using this fabric.

16. Blanket for Finley, using this fabric.(Cut and embroidered.)

17. Bibs, burp cloths and blanket for Kate - Still waiting on the okay. 

18. Bibs for MaryKay.

Here are my stats:

Projects at beginning of last week: 17

Projects completed: 4

Projects added: 1

Starting this week with 14 projects. 

I'm going to go ahead and pat myself on the back on this, with a 5 month old and a two year old who I just started potty training yesterday, who so far has and 5 accidents today alone, it feels good to write this up and show that I have accomplished a couple of things. Of course it's taken me about 5 hours to write this post. Better late then never!

My goal this week is to get all the clothes cut out and bagged for sewing, and to at least 3 of the cuddle blankets and a set of bibs done. Seems both ambitious and like it's not a lot. We'll see, the potty training goal may exhaust me.  

Here is Tesla in all her glory... She had an accident on this chair today while painting though this pic is from another time.

Wish me luck!!!

Don't forget to go back to Freshly Pieced and see everyone else's WIP lists and progress!

Thanks for visiting Tesla's Mom, feel free to leave me a comment, about the WIP's or about the potty training, and become a follower to stay up to date with the latest at Tesla's Mom!

A New Ironing Board Cover

Inspired by the beautiful ironing board cover I saw on Sew Dang Cute's blog in April, I made a new ironing cover for me. My old was icky to say the least. I don't know why stores don't provide you with cute ones or perhaps they do and I was to cheap to buy it, but my old one was a funky material that ripped easily and it didn't stay on the board well, so I was constantly ironing on the padding underneath. I took Sew Dang Cute's directions and modified them a bit. One thing I did was I added a scrap of fabric at the top of the board underneath to hold the cover on better. Tam did this on her's too, but mine didn't have it originally so I eye balled it and made it work. I also didn't use all the same string and such from the original like she did, I bought everything new. I did use a very similar fabric though which I only just realized now that I had to look back to get her link. It's kind of funny. I think it's just that red is the best color out there so who wouldn't want a red patter for their ironing board.
Below are the pictures of the board, I forgot to take a before of it so I just laid the old material down over top the new so that you can get the gist of it. But just imagine the foam underlay sticking out and it being more wonky on top. You also can't see the rips in the cover, but it is ripped. I have to mention that I have only had this ironing board for about 3 and a half years, there's really no reason that it should be ripped other than it's crappiness factor. 
Before:

After:

When it's nice out, I prefer to iron outside. Don't you???

 So there you have it. What an improvement right? I used Michael Miller's Ta Dot in Red. It's scrumptious. I picked it up at Fabric Depot for under $5.00 a yard! It inspires me to decorate my sewing room now.

Thank you for visiting my blog as always! Please leave a comment to let me know you've been here and become a follower to get all the latest news!

Bolt!

Last week I told you all about the flannel I bought at Fabric Depot in this post. I still have other fabrics I bought there but I need to tell you about my experience at Bolt Fabrics. Oh my goodness, I was so excited to go to Bolt, it was like going to where the superstars go. The day was really beautiful and hot out too, and after this winter it was a bit surreal to have sunlight. Bolt is located on a street with lots of restaurants, boutiques and homes. It's so very cute. I found a parking space right in front and it was all I could do to not run into the store. The store is small and filled with fabric, but not cluttered and overwhelmed. It was lovely. The employees were super helpful, I was trying so hard not to gush. When I finally got to the counter to have the fabric cut I couldn't help it though and told them I loved their blog and they really got me into reading more blogs about sewing and how much I loved it and how wonderful they are and gush, gush, gush, gush. There was no stopping me really. The ladies were so nice, they just said "thanks it's so good to hear that people like the blog." Dang they were so much cooler then me, seriously. But I did hear them say the best thing to another customer. She was looking for fabric to line a fairy house so not very much fabric and when she said thanks they were so helpful and she loved the fabric they helped her choose, one of them said "Thanks, we want you to leave Bolt cheering fabric!" How cute is that? I wrote it down as soon as I heard them say it because I knew I wanted to tell you all about it.

I know what you want to see, what did I buy???

Marbled Magic by Fabric Freedom
Photo from: www.fabricfreedom.co.uk

Marbled Magic by Fabric Freedom
Photo from: www.fabricfreedom.co.uk

Michael Miller Wheel Dot Charcoal
Photo: Fabric.com

Jay MacCarroll's Habitat in Peach
Photo from: www.freespiritfabric.com

Ann Kelle's Urban Zoologie Whales in Aqua
Photo from: Fabric.com

Aqua Appleville by Suzy Ultman
Photo from: www.robertkaufman.com

Summersault by Erin McMorris
Photo from: www.freespiritfabric.com

Marcia Derse Third In Line Collection Tourquoise Birch Bark
Photo from: http://www.marciaderse.com/

Victoria & Albert Bottles Turquoise/Multi
Photo from: Fabric.com

Spring by Manaluna by Sew Happy
Photo from: www.robertkaufman.com 

Opal Owls by Tina Givens
Photo from: www.freespiritfabric.com

Geeks Gone Wild Space Invaders Green/Black
Photo from: Fabric.com

I also bought a small rotary cutter there and that's it. I wanted to post the fabric before I cut into them, but then I was talking to my Chiropractor telling her about the fabics I bought on my trip and she asked if I could make something for her daughter using the space invader fabric. I of course said sure and made her this:

The lining is from the garage sale I went to a few weeks ago and I blogged about here.

I have to say I had so much fun at Bolt and the whole time I was fabric shopping. I really love all the fabrics I got at Bolt, they really inspire me to sew and create. Thank you so much to the ladies at Bolt for being there!

And thank you for visiting my blog as always! Please leave a comment to let me know you've been here and become a follower to get all the latest news!

PJ's for Nigel

As many of our friends know, we have dinner every Wednesday night with Nigel. Nigel and my husband used to work together on a hardware project for a large software company here in Redmond. *wink, wink* When we returned to our home here my husband called him and said, "Man you have got to be social, we have so many wonderful friends on the East Coast I need to be social with people on the West Coast more or I am going to be miserable." The first week we got back he came for dinner on a Wednesday and that was that. It's been over a year and a half and we have added our son to the mix and now the 5 of us do dinner each Wednesday. It really is great. It breaks up the week and it allows my husband to be social with one of his favorite people. They also kind of work together again and geek speak a lot. Occasionally we invite others to join us, and when we have guests in we've always included Nigel. He's becoming a very good member of the family, and he just so happens to share my birthday! I knew there was something good about him.
Last year for Nigel's birthday we got him a picture of our daughter. He really does need an updated one and one of Ben but I didn't want to start a trend. So I was thinking and thinking about what to get him. When I came up with a great idea. But there was no way I could finish it in time, however I started to do some research to see if I could even find fabric that would match my idea. While doing that Jason says to me, you know you should make some PJ's for Nigel in that Beep Bot fabric if it comes in flannel. There is no way I cannot take a suggestion like that. So of course I immediately switched course and found some flannel Beep Bot! YEAH!!! I ordered way to much of the fabric and it was delivered Tuesday morning before our weekly Wednesday dinner in which we were going to celebrate our birthday's. I somehow managed to wash, dry, iron cut out and complete the project in time for our dinner celebration all while watching both kids, making a cake and making dinner for 13! (Okay 5 of the guests were 2 and under, but I'd rather take credit for the larger number of guests.)
Nigel loved the pj's and they fit perfectly. I however could not get him to model them long enough to take a picture. Bugger. But I took plenty in advance. He said every time he looks at them he laughs and that can't be bad.
The fabric is from a wonderful online store by the name of The Enchanted Room.
Here they are.

Here is the full length view. They are actually the same length I just didn't straighten them on the floor.

Folded in half to see the robots better.

Completely folded so you can see a closer view of the cuffs. 

W.I.P. Wednesday

This week has been incredibly unproductive sewing wise. My adorable son has started getting up twice a night and it's taking it's toll on all of us. Hence me writing this at 4am so that I can actually feel like I accomplished something.
Anyway, I am super excited to be participating in WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. I have been wanting to do this for some time but really didn't have a list of items I was working on. However after my trip to Fabric Depot and Bolt in Portland, I know have enough projects going on that I feel like I better have a list that holds me accountable. My list consists of some items that have been cut and others that I have the fabric for but still need to cut. Okay here we go!

1. Stash Basket for Chrissy X 2 she can choose, in both Garden and Bright by Ann Kelle. (Cut)

Photo from www.annkelle.com

Photo from www.annkelle.com

2. Pillow Case for Hudson/Sarah just like the one I did for Cohen. (Cut)

3. Blanket for Madison/Shelby (Cut and ready to be sewn.)

4. Blanket for Shelby's niece. (Fabric chosen)

5. Dress for me. This will be a knit shirt type dress in a Michael Miller print called Aromatherapy.

6. Skirt for Tesla (Oliver +S) you can see it here. 

7. Dress for Tesla (Oliver +S) you can see it here.

8. Shirt for Tesla (Oliver + S) you can see it here.

9. Dress for Tesla - Macy Giggles. Using the same pattern from that I used with this dress. 

10. Ironing Board Cover - in a Red Ta Dot by Michael Miller

11. Pj's for John in Beep Bot Flannel

12. Pouch for gifts - Can't say for who.

13. Pillow Case for my MIL or a table runner.

14. Quilt - I have the fabric and pattern just need to cut and get started. It's from Oh! Fransson.

15. Blanket for Cooper, using this fabric.

16. Blanket for Finley, using this fabric.

17. Bibs, burp cloths and blanket for Kate - Still waiting on the okay. 

Okay so that's what's going on. I'm really excited about each of these projects. I love that I have so many things that I HAVE to do. Sometimes being a stay at home can feel like there's no expectations of you accomplishing something creative or anything other than dinner, laundry and care for the kids. But to make a list that HAS to get done, I feel like I'm actually doing something, which overall makes me feel good.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, be sure to hop back over to Freshly Pieced and read what others have on their WIP lists. Don't forget to leave a comment, you know I love it and to make it extra special won't you become a follower?

Flannel Flannel Flannel!

This past weekend was my birthday and for my birthday we went to Portland. We stayed at the lovely Inn @ Northup Station. It was such a nice all suite hotel. I picked this hotel because it was in the neighborhood we wanted to stay in, it had a full kitchen and the decor was vibrant and young, and I thought my daughter, Tesla, would like it more than someplace with more sophisticated decor. The last time we stayed in a hotel it was a bit of a disaster and this time it was perfect! We brought Ben's Pack and Play for Tesla to sleep in and then Ben slept in the hotel's Pack and Play. The room was large and we had a lovely little patio that we could sit on and watch the trolley/literail thing go by. Tesla really liked that. The hotel had a nice continental breakfast in the morning and our room was close to the dining room which meant that when Ben woke up at 5ish, I could take him out there so that everyone else could sleep. I thought I did not bring my camera SD card so I didn't take any pictures of the hotel room but please go visit their site and check it out, the interior colors are stunning. In fact I was talking to a woman in the breakfast area about it and she said that after staying there the first time she repainted her sewing room in the same colors. Which of course I asked her about her sewing and about her sewing machine and it turns out she has the same machine as me! Crazy right?

On Saturday I dropped everyone off at the Oregon Zoo and headed on to Fabric Depot. Where I preceded to spend 4 hours shopping for fabric. It was so luxurious. I'm going to break up the pictures of the fabric I bought since I bought lots of flannel and then lots of everything else! So here it goes!

All Star 2 Main Stars Green Flannel
Riley Blake Designs

 

 The next one was bought for my friend Marisa.

All Star 2 - Blue All Star 2 Mini Dot
Riley Blake Designs

Wheels by My Mind's Eye
Riley Blake Designs

Zoo Friends by Kelly Tanner
Blue Hill Fabrics

Dino Dudes for Michael Miller

Bliss 26 Circles Ocean
Westminster Fibers

Della Flannel by Valori Wells for Free Spirit
Westminster Fibers

Summer Song was bought for a particular friend in mind.

Summer Song Pink
Riley Blake Designs

 The next one was bought for my friend Marisa.

Jungle Friends by Kelly Tanner
Blue Hill Fabrics

Sprinkles on Top
Michael Miller

Dumb Dot
Michael Miller
This image is not exactly correct, the dots are actually a light pink. I'm working on finding a better image.

Well that's all the flannel I bought. It's all so pretty. I bought a lot more fabric though so I'll be posting some more about that another time!


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