FO : Baby doll knot top

What does one do on Sunday mornings, when everyone is sleeping?

Well I don't know about you, but apparently I sew.

A heart because a shrimp was too hard to applique. 

Thanks to some inspiration from a friend's Pinterest pick (yup, I'm still pretending that I don't need to open my own account) I fabricated this wee top yesterday. 

The original pin can be seen here.

(I'd out my friend but I figured I should ask her permission first)

Technically, not EVERYONE was asleep...

Q was supportive, however.

I didn't have quite enough yardage to make it a dress, unfortunately. 

Still working out the kinks, but it isn't too shabby! I had to move the buttonholes in towards the center a bit - after trying it on the kid I saw they were too far apart. 

Love those knots.

Oh yeah...although this sort of fits my baby girl (who's fat body I used to help me measure) it also fits my 4 yr old son! Who graciously allows me to use him as a little live dress form, AH DORABLE. His father will never let me take photos, though. (Not that I blame him.)

Thanks for bearing with the dry spell, guys. It's been a nutty summer but (as evidenced by this little number!) we're starting to acclimate to the new normal.

FO: Baby girl top

I saw the cutest picture, recently. Somebody blogged about an adorable shop selling adorable patterns of kids clothing. Can't find it for the life of me now.

Anyway - one top really stuck in my head. Too darn cute! So, sans pattern, I decided to give it a go.

Part of the reason why I am loving sewing so much lately is that my brain loves figuring out how to construct things I see. And sometimes it even works out! So I have to give the designer credit there, as soon as I can find her...

Would love to adapt it for myself.

FO: Baby Bow headband

Technically, I made the baby too.

That counts, right? :)

Just an easy bow with fold over elastic as the headband. I stitched the bow down over the FOE seam, so it's a smooth wear for those soft baby heads.

And sometimes my head.

Let's catch a breath of air, shall we?

If you're like me, then you are busy. And you probably like it.

Not only am I craft crazy, employed full time, and a mother of two - as of this Monday I will also be a grad student.

Busy, busy, busy.

In addition to the typical hubbub, I've had a lot of different changes in my world recently that have served as huge, soul-stretching opportunities for...growth. I say growth because that is the positive end-product and 'positive' is the name of the game when shitty things happen. (And I italicize the word because it is a little nauseating to be so goddam Pollyanna and putting things in italics makes it seem like I'm tilting my head a little, and therefore makes it feel less trite. Because head-tilting is anything but, natch.)

Consequently I've had to dial back on the crafting, posting, and anything else extraneous / not totally necessary. I have luckily been able to make a few beautiful things which I'll definitely be sharing soon - but the biggest project in my queue now is my own, squishy, disgusting, gorgeous brain - which, let's face it, will need all the help it can get!

So as today is June 1, not quite the midpoint of the year but close enough, I'll make a new theme for the second half of 2013:

finesse

1 : refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture

2 : skillful handling of a situation : adroit maneuvering

So let's up the ante, everyone. It's time to get ridiculously fantastic at everything.

Reddit con't

I don't know where people find these, or why they make them, but a good knitting cartoon is hard to come by and SO APPRECIATED!

Here's another one for you from that comment thread I mentioned last time.

This is exactly how I look when I knit

Do you Reddit?

I don't peruse Reddit. But I have friends who do! And they are kind enough to send me relevant gems every once in a while.

Like, this!

Adorable!

Here's the link to the comment thread with [disputed] source info.

Do you Reddit?

A new level of functional crafting

My baby girl loves the Jenny Jump-up seat at her baby gym. So much so that my husband wants to buy one for our house! BUT, considering we have a tiny house and limited funds, it's something I can't personally justify.

HOWEVER...

You can make your own baby swing!

Gotta admit I'm a huge DIY fan, but this never occured to me.

What do you think? Would you make it?
Would you put your baby in one that someone else made?

Fat babies love costumes

Buzzfeed is always fun, and today a friend sent me a link to:

31 F**king Adorable Things To Make For Babies

There are some great things, and some "how the hell did that make this list?" things - but since 'adorable' is an objective label, I'm pretty sure I should let it go.

However, a few brought me to near tears...check out what made got added to my do list:

mermaid tail for baby!

Oak Leaf Pixie Hat

Sock monkey baby!!

UGH. so much cuteness.

Also a notable shout out to Totoro ! While I probably won't be making this (I happen to have some other Totoro item up my sleeve presently) it's absolutely worth a share.

pretty much requires me to smush my computer screen right now

Also worth mentioning - it was nice to see Shwin and Shwin make the list with their bow tie onesies! I just finished a few Sunshine dresses this weekend from their Sun and Surf collection contribution...pics coming soon.

It's also interesting that I'm already familiar with so many of the sites these items were collected from. Or more likely, a sign that I've been spending too much time web-trolling and not enough time actually crafting!

If you're craving more, check out this similar list, also by Buzzfeed:

29 Easy And Adorable Things To Make For Babies

(This one is way more my speed and again, makes me cringe to realize how much time I spend on the internet looking at crafts.)

Have you got any projects planned right now?


UPDATE: talk about MORTIFYING but I forgot to include a link to the Totoro costume - which was made by my secret online blog crush, Cherie of you & mie. She recently talked about her favorite made items on this other awesome blog and (perhaps not surprisingly?) she mentioned that the Totoro costume is the most visited item in her whole blog. I'm guessing because it is INCREDIBLY AMAZING. Just a stab.