a baby quilt

ever since my mom and i took a quilting class before christmas, i've been itching to make one for the new little one.  this last weekend, i got a chance to go to a fabric store that i could literally spend hours in.  my mom and i went in while poppy (my dad) walked around the block with the boys.  it was a little overwhelming, but i eventually chose what i wanted.  not finding what i wanted in the way of a pattern, i made one up.  i don't say that lightly, because i'm only halfway through sewing the top, but it's a very simple striped pattern, so i'm hoping there isn't much i can do to mess it up.  because my impatient self will find a way, if there is one.  here's the start of it, we'll see what comes of it...

it's a great picture, i know...

i think i can, i think i can...

so it turns out i didn't really need to be giving myself any sort of pep talk or psyching myself out to make these, they were kind of a piece of cake.  just a little bit, i wish i would have found a pattern that didn't really end up looking like pajama pants.  but they needed to be easy enough that i didn't give up halfway through and end up buying $40 or $50 pants (x2) when all i spent on these was a mere $10!  i think that might have been a run-on...  

i used a pattern from oliver + s (which, add it to the list, is another reason i need to have a girl someday), and i was freaked out because the top that comes with these pants is really involved.  turns out the pants are not. at all.  i did these in a couple of hours, so i'm sure an expert could bang them out over breakfast.  my apologies for the crappy photo, and i will eventually have some on the models.  in the sand.  with no shoes on... i can hardly wait!

these were a doozy...

a long, long time ago, i was inspired by this post to make the boys some hooded towels.  the ones we had were teeny, tiny and we were seriously stretching every last use out of them.  when i read about how merrilee had just used some terry cloth she had (kind of like, oh this old thing? when someone asks you about the new dress you just spent $300 on), sewn some trim on, and voila!, new towels appeared, i felt like it was within my abilities... weeelll, i wouldn't necessarily say that now, but i have learned some new things.  like sewing towels takes a heavy duty needle and heavy duty thread.  and that my purchase of a rotary cutter is the best one i've made in awhile.  and that bias tape is a friggin' hassle.  i ended up just buying ginormo bath towels, and searched far and wide for the perfect fabric for the trim.  the one merrilee used was so yummy; it reminded me of candy, so i wanted to find something similar.  i ended up finding one that i loved at a local fabric store - i kind of wish the nice lady who taught me how to make bias tape had also told me that the yummy fabric i was buying was too stretchy to use for this purpose.  that made it a tad more difficult, but there was no turning back.  she gave me a little paper example of what i was supposed to be doing, and i looked up on youtube just to be sure.  i bought a few new tools and i was on my way...  here are almost all of my steps - i remembered to take pictures of the whole process!!! i'm on my way to becoming a real blogger... :) 

step 1: measure (kind of) how big the boys need their towels to be

translation: spread towel on floor, hold down the boys, and estimate how big the towels need to be

step 2: marvel at your new rotary cutter... ahhhhh

step 3: spend way too much time and watch the same youtube video 14 times 

trying to figure out how the hell you're going to line up the stripes

step 4: sit at the sewing machine until your left bum falls asleep

because you HAVEN'T figured it out yet...

step 4 1/2: decide you'll put that imperfection somewhere non-obvious

step 5: pat yourself on the back when you finally get the hang of it

step 6: iron and iron and iron your strip in half

(and figure out your new iron is a piece)

step 7: the hard part: sew the trim onto the towel,

wondering if this is worth it and if it will even look good

step 8: get over the fact that it's definitely not perfect,

but that it was made with love (and lots of frustration)

step 9: actually manage to get a picture of the towels in use!

step 10: play peek-a-boo with your adorable children