Kate diaper bag

Need:
3/4 yard outer fabric
3/4 yard inner fabric
1/2 yard pocket fabric
3 yards light/medium weight fusible interfacing (I use Pellon 808) - unless you use heavier weight fabric like duck cloth
Thin elastic, 22"
Magnetic clasp or Velcro, if desired

Family of toys keeps getting bigger (part 3)

I was wracking my brain trying to think of something a little 3-year-old boy with a 3-year-old attention span with a new baby brother would want or need or tolerate that I could also make (because making things is more fun), and I decided to try a quiet book. There's tons of ideas for different pages on Pinterest, but I settled on these four spreads:

The "My name is ..." page

I had already made these cute little alphabets, so I sewed some letters on the page and two strips of Velcro. Then I picked out the letters needed to spell the names in the family this is going to, and sewed little pieces of Velcro on the backs. I was planning on just sewing in the zipper pouch, but mom suggested using ribbon so the letters don't get lost. In hindsight, mom didn't like this idea, and o don't know if I recommend it or not. You'd have to ask the kids and mom it's going to. They can always cut the ribbon off.

So I backed the two pages with fusible fleece, sewed the zipper to the page and the front of the zipper pouch to the zipper. Then I folded under the sides and top-stitched them. I pinned all those ribbons and put the front cover and first page right sides together and sewed three sides. I made the stitches teeny tiny over that ribbon area. Then I turned right-side out. I realized it would have been better to think about doing page spreads with pages 1&8, the. 2&7, and so on, rather than the way I did it, so I'm not going to break down how I ended up binding it. I don't recommend it. 

The "Tying and time" page

A lot of baby books have a shoe that you can lace and tie, but I sorta think that's lame. So I did a football instead. And since this is a baseball family, and since the football wasn't as big as I expected, I added the baseball. I just found football and baseball outlines (or coloring pages) online and cut them out. I alternated using fusible fleece and thinner interfacing so the pages didn't get too thick, so this page spread has the interfacing behind it. I zig-zag stitched around the football and baseball, and then used decorative stitches to get the effect I wanted. Found shoestrings at Rack Room that were the rights size for the little round button holes in the football. 

The clock face I designed and embroidered. I zig-zag stitched around it, made the two hands and stuffed them with a little Polyfill, then put a tiny round button hole in them. I sewed a button to hold them there so they could move but not come off.

The "Count to ten" page

This might be my favorite. I love the beads my mom found (little Noah's Ark), because they fit the theme of the cover fabric with the little animals. I had some numbered sticky notes that I used as stencils for the numbers, and I quilted them directly on the back without finishing the edges in any way. I used a lot of tape to keep the ribbon and beads in place when I sewed them on, again, using the tiny stitches. I also, per mom's suggestion again, sewed tacks a little closer to the beads, so the ribbons wouldn't flop around too much. The beads can slide about an inch or two. 

The "Shapes and matching" page

This page is fun and colorful. 

I used the Roy G. Biv rainbow color scheme, and I printed out my own shapes just by using those default shapes on Word. I have tons of buttons, and I wanted it to be sort of a matching game. I like how it turned out. 

This is he cover and back fabric. So adorable. 

Family of toys 2

The next thing on my to-do list was the stacking rings. I've already shown you one version. But here's the set for this family:

To go with them, I also made these stuffed animals. 

I found these patterns on some Swedish or Russian website that I could no understand at all, and google translate couldn't really, either. So I just printed out the pictures and did it myself. I put interfacing on one side, cut out two right sides together about 1/4" away from the edge of the pattern. I sewed the eyes and other facial features on first, then sewed the two pieces together. Obviously, I learned how to make the eyes and mouth a little more cute and less creepy on the second try. The tails are made out of shoe strings that I had bought for another project. 

Baby toys

With the new niece on the way [I always spell niece wrong. The i before e rule isn't enough to convince me], I've been on a baby-toy-making kick. I got a pattern for this from Etsy, and I've since made three of them:

 The rings are different sizes, fabric, stuffed with fluffs. The cone is, too, so it's not hard like the plastic version of this. Plus, I can make it out of whatever cute fabric I want.

Of course, I've made an all-pink option for the future niece, and I have a less girly one for an all-boy family. 

New niece on the way!

I have been an aunt since I was 13 years old, and in that time I have gained 5 nephews. Now, 14 years later, I am expecting my first niece! Everything crafty in my family has magically turned from blue to pink, and my sewing/craft room is no exception. I have about 9 projects that are all unfinished, but the first thing I completed was a request of my mother:

It is a standard granny square crocheted blanket. I used Bernat baby yarn with a pearlized sheen, so it looks very fancy. 
For the ribbon space, I used a treble stitch with chain 3/skip 3 in between. 
For the scalloped edging, I crocheted single, half double, double-treble-double (all in one stitch opening), then the reverse, and a slip stitch in between each scallop. 

Mom wanted this for baby Ivey's dedication. I am supposed to make booties and a hat to match. It's on my project to-do list. Currently I'm crocheting Ivey an afghan of my own choosing, and a little boy one to match for my best friend's upcoming nephew.