Monday, May 24, 2010

Small project, big result



Until recently I had never thought about making baby clothes. I sew occasionally, when the whim strikes, but I am no seamstress. The thought of sewing tiny clothes seemed ridiculously difficult; working with small pattern pieces, folding over tiny seam allowances, and pressing little cuffs and hems. Why then start now, you ask? Because my adorable son has the body of his father; shorter than average legs with an extra long torso. This combination of peculiar measurements makes it hard to find clothes that fit him. Bodysuits that are the right size for his weight are typically too short for him to wear for very long and pants are always in need of serious hemming or large cuffs. Forget about t-shirts (for both the baby and the husband); none are long enough to keep the torso covered if he's bending or stretching in any direction. So, this is the boat I was in when I decided to try to make him (the baby that is, the husband will have to wait) some long-enough t-shirts.


I started out by making this simple blue tee (which my little guy promptly drooled all over; you can see the damp shadows in the pic). I was happy with the fit and length, but only after I added an additional inch to the pattern I used. As I tried to think of an interesting way to decorate the shirt I stumbled across the blog i am momma hear me roar! I was totally inspired by this shirt.




I decided to make an applique instead of a stencil for a little added texture. After I sketched my design and cut out all my pieces I glued them to the shirt where I wanted them. Originally, I planned to use some fusible interfacing to hold everything in place, but in my haste to assemble my cute little robot I forgot that I was using ecofelt and when I applied the iron this happened:

So, once the glue was dry I sewed the pieces in place. My husband came up with the idea of adding the "text" to the robot's screen. I think it's a fun little touch.


Here's the little man modeling the finished product. I love the result and more importantly, so does my little guy.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Frozen Fun

Have you seen these little mesh self-feeders? I love this thing. My son loves this thing. You've heard the saying, "A happy wife makes a happy life." It might be even more accurate to say that when the baby's happy, we're all happy, but baby doesn't rhyme with life.

Since my little guy started teething he has loved this snappy little baby product even more. The little teethers you can freeze just aren't his thing. But stuff a few frozen banana slices in here and he's in heaven. Though he's just six and a half months old he fancies himself a big boy so he wants to feed himself at every opportunity.
I started off freezing two bananas just to put into the feeder but soon realized I love eating the frozen banana slices too. They're like tiny bites of banana ice cream without any of the bad stuff. I have a crazy sweet tooth so it's great to have something healthy on hand that totally satisfies it. I've since frozen a few more bananas (just 6-7 lbs more) so I can share some with the baby. I've also frozen chunks of roasted sweet potato to put into the feeder. My little guy loves them; they numb his aching gums and fill his little tummy.

Finally finished

It took me a while to come up with a name for my blog. I wanted something that had to do, at least remotely, with the content of future posts and something that had a ring to it. Finally Finished Crafts felt like a good fit. If you like to do crafts of any kind there's nothing quite like the feeling you get when a project is finally finished. Sometimes I'm not even sure I'm in the mood to do a project, yet I love the feeling I get when everything is said and done that I do it anyway.

I come from a long line of procrastinators and project unfinishers. My father is notorious for this. He's always been crafty and is constantly thinking up interesting projects. So many interesting projects in fact that he tends to begin several and finish few. I too suffer from our family project syndrome and have, to this day, several unfinished projects lurking in various drawers and closets around my house. I have a partially knit baby blanket that I started for a friend eleven years ago (Yikes, has it really been that long? I'm afraid it has.) and have tried to complete for many more friends. At the rate I'm going I might finished it for a grandchild; my son's only six months old so that may give me enough time. Since I quit my job to be a full-time mommy though I've joined the finishing-project bandwagon. Here's to hoping I don't fall off again!