7.30.2012

What a Tiny Chair

We went on a little road trip up to Washington.


1 Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco 2 Sundial Bridge, Redding 3 Mt Shasta, California 4 Crater Lake, Oregon


5 Mount Rainer, Washington 6 Mukilteo, Washington 7 Lake Wenatchee, Washington 8 Leavenworth, Washington 9 Kahler Glen Resort, Washington 10 Trees of Mystery, California

7.17.2012

Pack N Play Sheet Tutorial


Even though we've had our pack n play for maybe a year, year and a half now, I have yet to actually make a little sheet for it. I've made them for other people, but not for us. Crazy how that works out sometimes. Usually I just put blankets down on the bottom for him to sleep on when we're travelling but I finally decided enough was enough, I was making one.

The process to make this sheet is the same as a crib sheet/toddler sheet or a changing pad cover.


Okay so here we go!

Step 1 Measure the pack n play pad at the bottom, as they all vary slightly different in size, so my measurements below will most likely not fit your pack n play, unfortunately, but adjusting the measurements is pretty easy. Ours measures 26.5 by 37.5 inches*.


*If yours measures different, this is how I calculated the final numbers: Our pack n play pad measures 26.5 inches by 37.5 inches. So add 0.75 inches to these numbers (as I use a 3/8 inch seam allowance) for your corner seam allowances. And you get 27.25 inches by 38.25 inches. I wanted the depth to be 1" so that it had a secure fit, add 1 inch for depth (all the way around) so you really it is adding 2 inches to both numbers, so 29.25 by 40.25 inches. A casing for the elastic is needed plus a little wiggle room, so I added another 1 inch (all the way around), so 31.25 inches by 42.25 inches is my final cut size.


These are the supplies that I used:
- Piece of fabric 31.25 inches by 42.25 inches (1 yard of fabric)
- approximately 70 inches of elastic

Step 2 Cut a rectangular piece of fabric, my cut was 31.25 inches by 42.25 inches (see note above for how to calculate, if your pack n play is a different size than mine).


Step 3 Cut a 2" square out of each corner in order to make the corners.



{Please note if your fabric cut size is different than mine, you'll need to calcuate how big to make these corners, as it may vary. I got my 2 inches from: 42.25 inches (final cut size) - 38.25 inches (the finish size that I want plus seam allowance) = 4. But this number is for 2 corners, so divide that by 2. And that is how I got 2 inches. }

Step 4 For each corner, put right sides together and sew. Do this 4 times and you'll have 4 corners, neat and square (sorry I've been reading Mike Mulligan way too much to The Bubb).




Step 5 Serge the edges together of each corner. And serge along the entire bottom edge. { If you don't have serger you can still use these steps, but you may have to allow for more fabric to make the casing, so you'll need to adjust the measurements. }



Step 6 Fold up the serged edge all the way around about 1 inch. Add a label and pin in place. I don't pin the entire way around. I pin for about 3 inches on either side of my label and some reminder pins for a start and stop point.


Step 7 Sew along the serged edge to make the elastic casing, remember to leave an opening to put your elastic in later on.


Step 8 Thread you elastic all the way around. I find that a safety pin works really well. I used about 70 inches of elastic. I actually had a 4 yard piece that I was working with and just kept adjusting it/trying it on until it fit with the tightness that I wanted and then cut off all the excess. I would suggest this is the best method to get the fit you want. Zigzag stitch the elastic ends together and pull them inside the casing.



Step 9 Close up the casing and you're done!





And, yes, I had to make him a matching blanket. I put organic sherpa on the back (love love love) and then 'quilted' seven rows across horizontally to give it a more polished look. An no, I wouldn't normally go for this print, even though it is cute, but he really likes it, so if it makes him happy then we are happier :)



7.12.2012

Urban Elephant Quilt


The Urban Elephant Quilt is all finished (well I call it quilt ;) ). It started here a few weeks back and progressed into this brightly colored toddler blanket, measuring approximately 40x65 inches.





So very excited about this! I think that picking out the fabrics was the best part.

Fabrics used:
- KONA Ash (Robert Kaufman)
- Metro Living Rings in Chartreuse (Robert Kaufman)
- Urban Circus in Earth (Robert Kaufman)
- Tiles in Rust (Anthology)
- Pezzy Tonal in Sky Blue (MODA)
- Ruta Sarsparilla (Windham)
- Ta Dot in Breeze (Michael Miller)
- Silver Minky (Shannon)

{ all of which can be found in my fabric shop, shameless, I know :) }

The back is made with silver minky and I quilted along the inside of every block. I love the design the quilting made on the back too.



And I hope that Holden loves it too! (thanks Beth Anne for asking me to make you this quilt)


7.10.2012

Toothpicks and a Cheese Shaker


My latest activity has been to get The Bubb to put flat toothpicks into a parmesan cheese shaker. No, really, he LOVES it.


Perhaps some background info is needed...I use hair pins to hold my bangs back sometimes when I am doing a lot of sewing. Well before I go to bed I take them out and put them on my night stand. My night stand is not 'normal' - it is pretty much an outdoor patio table for one (found at IKEA) that I love. But it has some holes in the top (totally intentional, it is part of the design). anyway. The Bubb loves to take the hair pins and stick them through the holes (and scratches the night stand a bit in the process).


I decided that I needed to get him to stop doing this. And yes the easy solution is not to put my hairpins there, well, they are everywhere and it is much harder to change my habits at this point rather than redirect him...so I thought that I need to find something else with holes that he could stick things in, be cheap, be small, and somewhat bordering on a little unsafe (no I don't worry about these things, but incase others see this idea and decide to try - there are probably potential dangers) because then it would hold his attention.

The solution: a parmesan cheese shaker would act as the "holes" and I was at first thinking q-tips but he likes to stick those in his ears and nose, so I remembered seeing flat toothpicks at the store when I was looking for regular toothpicks and thought to myself, who would ever want these, and so now a few years later, I do! (shaker is from Target, toothpicks from Safeway)

Well I put them out in front of The Bubb and he understood immediately and spent the next half hour cramming as many as he could into the cheese shaker.


And then he would pick it up and say "shake shake shake". I love him so much sometimes. Sometimes when he is helping me get ready in the morning he sees the hairpins and I redirect him to this activity. He actually asks to do this now and has been leaving my nightstand alone the past few weeks aside from turning the light on and off (another favorite activity).

We've now progressed from one toothpick


to two toothpicks


to more toothpicks


to total chaos


Note to self: Only give him a few, not the whole box. I love that he is so easily entertained and enraptured by the simplest things sometimes.

Oh! and progress on ABC recognition for those who like to know these things. He now knows: A B C D E F H I K L M N O P Q R T U V W Z and is still working on G J S X Y. I think he knows G but it sounds like E when he says it.

7.03.2012

Bear's New Shirt


Bear is very special to me and has been around for a while. And I was pretty determined not to let Emmett have him. But lately he has been seen carrying Babo and Bear around the house. I could have taken Bear away from him but, sigh, he is just so darn sweet with him.

Because Bear is pretty old now, his shirt has definitely seen better days. And would you believe that this is The Bubb's favorite way to carry him, by the shirt - cause you know it is difficult to carry Babo, Bear and a sippy cup all at the same time. Anyway so after two days of carrying him around, Bear's shirt was about a quarter of an inch from falling off in the back, so I took it off and let him be naked for a bit and decided it was time to make a new shirt.


So I found some left over fleece, folded it in half, put the old shirt on top matching up the fold lines, cut around the old shirt, then sewed under the arm holes, and Bear now has a new shirt.




Hope everyone has a good 4th of July!
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