Baby Pants

I am having a lot of fun with this easy pattern for baby pants. The only trick was figuring out how to get the knee patches nice and round. I stole a tip from quilters as follows: I created a cardboard template the size of the finished patch, basted around the raw edge of the patch fabric, pulled the threads tight around the template, and then pressed the edges into place and removed the template. I really hope these pants will fit over a baby diaper smoothly.

Vacation = Creation

I have spent some (though, regrettably, not ALL!) of my vacation sewing. Here are three lightweight swaddling blankets, all in seersucker Indian cotton with homemade seambinding. I particularly like the non-baby-colored one in rust and khaki, so it got an extra-special tag.

I also made three sleepsacks out of cotton knit. Unfortunately, JoAnn's has a very poor selection of cotton knit and I just could not find the strength to place another online order. You can see that I have abandoned being gender-neutral and instead just embraced "boy" and "girl" motifs for Petit Loup! Trucks, daisies, cherries, whatever! I like the design of the matching hat but found that in the overly-stretchy waffle knits, the hats got too big very fast. One may not fit the baby until it's walking! Alas, the center sack was hastily cut out, yielding upside-down apples on the front. Shabby, shabby Miss Mama!

Tomten Near-Happiness

Ah, the frustration when you knit a pattern again and like it less. I have to admit that I prefer the Tomtens I knit for Caleb and Eytan to the one I just finished for my own Petit Loup. At least I finally had enough yarn to make the hood, and managed to use up all the leftover purple yarn I'd stashed for almost a decade. I used a lighter-weight separating zipper and found that made for a smoother front opening, too. So maybe it's not all bad!

More Baby Things

Here's another romper, this time in sock monkeys from Portsmouth (and more Kaffe shot cotton facing & pocket). Also, two onesies saved from boringness at Carter's - first, with a little batik appliqué (and more shot cotton - it's everywhere!) and next, with two paisley penguins (leftovers from sunny frames quilt). Don't you just love half-days at school? I am a much better seamstress in daylight.