Baby Things, Some Wine, and Reviews

Friends of mine had a baby, well . . . one of my oldest friends to be precise.  Yes, that old Yankees game buddy of mine.  Ava came about two weeks ago, and they have a baby and a box from me.  Finally . . . a blog de review.

So, when we grow up and he has kids--ahem now--and I still refuse to go into a baby department as pregnant women laugh at me . . . yea, I sew.  

The baby loot, so to speak.



First up, Erika wanted a grey baby bag . . . she's fond of grey, and the long standing joke was we needed a color Bur would carry too (and, not, ya know melt). So, I used a handful of Parson Grey prints on the Amy Butler Cosmo Pattern.  Though . . . after five versions of this one I can say I have it down to an art.  Indeed.

So, on the outside, I left one pocket pattern stated size.  The other . . . I expanded it three inches, threaded 1/4" elastic through the top (but to original pattern piece size), gathered the bottom, and sewed it on as normal.  Makes a nifty bottle/water bottle holder.

There's also a key fob . . . I hear babies need things like pacifiers at ready reach.

A tabbed zipper . . . .eh, the design of the bag calls for  tabbed on.  As for a zipper, well, bags get dumped a lot . . .prevents spillage.  Also, when they go and visit Erika's Mom in Florida the bag can get shoved under seats and in overhead compartments.

On the inside, the two body pockets are the same, but I added one more elastic pocket (like the one outside) on the opposite side.  Why only one? To balance weight and to prevent the common desire to overload a bag.

There's also a D ring clip in there . . . for keys.  You never want to loose those.  I put those in every bag I make.




Now, for that other one . . . the elephant so to speak.

Bur is a die hard Dr. Who fan.  So, look close.  The fabric on the back of that chair is Dr. Who damask from Spoonflower.  I ordered basic combed cotton, paid almost 40 bucks.  While it came quickly, and the shrink was nothing extraordinary when washed, I will say that I was a little let down that the fabric wasn't thicker.  Seemed a little thin in my book.  I only bought two yards, as I knew it would fit the back of my quilt.  I had a smidge left to make a zipper bag I sent for Bur and his electronic chords.    

In all fairness, I sent them links to four or five prints a few months back.  They liked this one and one with more yellow and orange.  That was pre getting the Anna Maria Horner fabric, and this damask matched perfectly, and . . . Erika really loved this print the most (as the first go around she was certain it isn't Dr. Who).  

In all disclosure, the bundle of quarter fats was free to me . . . it's basic quilting cotton, Free Spirit, and it has a nice hand.  It isn't too stiff, feels like cotton, and as you can see here the colors are nicely saturated.  I bought one yard of her True Color line to use for the border and bias binding.  So, this quilt cost me about sixty five bucks (I bought one package of baby quilt batting--on sale) (Erika and Bur, look away from the price).  If you bought the bundle too . . . total tally is around 90 bucks (shipping, thread, batting, border, bias, and back).  I had some teal thread that I used to sew and quilt it with.  I really like how it all came out. 

It came in a order that was hi-jinxed . . . I promised a review after, and in all honesty I would use this fabric again.   Don't look too close at my own quilt, as you will see rips of wear.  So . . . there is another quilt project in my near future.  

So, back to chaos at hand, after cutting and sewing strips then I set to lay the squares out and set up a "design." I use that loosely as . . . well the pattern itself is lent to variegated stripe sizes.  perfect for a semi quick make, small amout of fabric, and a baby.  Yes, if you look close that's my own bed quilt underneath with same design mode . . . judge me later.  

So I was going to semi match the squares . . . did not.  Instead, I left this on the bed and when that 10 month old came to help sew she rearranged them for me.  It all worked out, watch on.  

Quilting gloves . . . they have grippers to keep your hands from cramping up like there's no tomorrow.  Also good to wear when making things like coats and heavy wool blazers.  True dat.  

And voila:

A close up.  Yea, that's my yoga ball and that was my suitcase in an earlier pic . . . rah rah.  

All done, and my label creatively placed . . . I had one pucker on the back.  Instead of ripping it out . . . labels.  No, no "this was made with cussing," as I felt it would be perverse on a baby blanket.

If you are wondering, that's the Sangria from Chateau Renaissance in upstate.  I highly recommend them . . . and the dessert/fruit wines are just superb (the blackberry and Sugar Plum have been too good for words this season!).  If you are in NYC, they make the Green Market in Union every Wednesday and the main market every other weekend.  I'll be seeing them tomorrow.  For sure.  The Sangria is rather inspiring, if I do say so myself.  

Anna Maria Horner has a free pattern for baby pants.  With that and scraps . . . little Ava has a handful of pants from me. I have some monkey pants like the pink ones myself.  Yea, come winter I am certain I'll be in Connecticut just to a get photo of us matching.  I am not right, I know.  

On that note, onward and forward . . .