Wish you were here...

Checklists and Monthly Finale...a bit early!

We're running a mile a minute around here these days as we are only "3 sleeps" away from our spring break vacation to the beach!!! The children are all in a whirlwind and well, I'm spinning right in the middle of them!

BUT...there is still laundry and packing and grocery shopping and all the other preparations required in order to rest, so, I'm going to post my project finale a bit early this month.

Here are my bibs that I'll be donating, 20 of them so far. Perhaps I'll have time to add a few more before passing them on. Bibs are always fun to make! They are colorful, turn out so cute and the fabric options are endless...not to mention you can use small cuts or leftovers from other projects in many cases! My assortment includes the terry cloth/flannel ones I made using the Sew Baby pattern and then some made using playful cotton prints, minky, chenille, and even a few wipe clean bibs made from laminated cotton. I'm still undecided exactly where these will go as I had wanted to add some other items to them to make little layette type sets, but we'll see. If a need for them pops up before then, well, they are ready to go!

We'll be back from our (hopefully) restful trip end of month, and I will post the project for May probably that Monday, the 2nd. Ooooooo!!! It's a good one too!!! And includes more surprises! :) FUN! FUN! Can't wait to share!

P.S. If you are sewing any of the projects for donation, make sure and snap a picture or two...might need those at some point in the future! ;)

HAPPY SPRING!!!

Don't forget...

The Art Auction ends tomorrow!

Make sure and check out all the goodies they have to offer to help the children of China.

"Comfy" Pirate Eye Patch

Recently our 4 year old had to have some caps put on his teeth. This was our first experience with such, and we were all a bit concerned. Especially since it meant repeat visits to the dentist if we were to avoid the anesthesia that was originally suggested. Being very much a "boys boy", he has always liked things of the piratey nature, so my husband and I began to call these his "Pirate Teeth". He was ever so, so brave in getting each of his toothy treasures added and lucky for us, the dollar store had an abundance of inexpensive pirate treats we could give him as reward for his bravery and amazingly good behavior!

BUT....that plastic eye patch was for the birds! It was pokey and ouchie and the elastic kept breaking, making it very frustrating to fulfill our little guys new role. Sooooooo, here's our solution.

THE COMFY PIRATE EYE-PATCH!!!

(and mama thinks it's pretty stinkin' cute too!!!)

Would you like to make one? Well, here's the step by step of our version. Printable version with patch template available here. (please ignore any misspellings.) :)  (hint, that was added because there are some!) *UPDATE* If you will attach elastic on a diagonal instead of straight as shown on template, it will fit better. 

Comfy Pirate Eye-Patch

Child sized

Because Pirates like soft things too!

arrrrrgh! Can you spot those toothy treasures?

What you need:

Felt Scraps

Fabric Scraps for lining (optional)

Elastic – length based on child’s head measurement (I used a plush foldover elastic, the thickness helps it stay put, plus the color matches!) You didn't know color coordinating was important to pirates? Well of course!

Piratey Button Embellishment (optional)

That's the ouchie plastic one I used to draw the template.

 1. Print eye-patch template

2. Trace template on felt and fabric. For fabric piece, add an additional 1/4” to allow for hem.

3. Attach elastic at both sides.

4. Iron 1/4’ hem of lining fabric.

5. Sew lining to felt.

6. Add embellishment. I choose to remove the button shank and hot glue the button on to allow for it to lay flat on patch.

7. Make a little pirate very happy & comfy!

Just think of the fun you could have personalizing these! I'm already imagining pink ones for my Pirate Princesses! Take that as a warning...more pirate projects likely to come! ;)

As always, love to have you post links to your own versions or add pics to our flickr album! 

HAVE FUN!!!

Love Without Boundaries Art Auction OPENS TODAY!!!

Remember this set...

Read the details here

Well, TODAY the auction opens for bids! And there are LOADS of amazingly creative entries!

Here's a message from one of the fundraiser organizers...

8th Annual "Born in My Heart" Art Auction

The excitement is building and we have some incredible art and handcrafted items in the auction this year!  With every penny going to fund critical medical care for Chinese orphans your generous contribution will give these children the opportunity to grow and thrive, and perhaps even find a family of their very own. So please spread the word and join us for this year’s auction on eBay through a link on LWB’s website homepage: www.lovewithoutboundaries.com or directly at our regular eBay store location:  http://stores.ebay.com/Love-Without-Boundaries-Store/Born-in-My-Heart-2011-Art-Auction.html  items will be added throughout the day (Thursday, April 14) starting at 12:00 noon Pacific Time, and the auction will end Tuesday, April 19, with items closing throughout the day.
Once again we have many beautiful original oil and watercolor paintings, giclees and prints, stunning quilts, amazing photography, a handcrafted flute, embroidery, jewelry, handmade children’s clothing, handmade dolls and more!

A couple very special items you won’t want to miss are an autographed book and cd of “Cinderella” from Steven Curtis Chapman and tickets for 6 to see the Yankees vs. the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium!

You can also play a part in saving lives by posting about the auction!  If you have a personal or family website or blog, or if you could post to your smaller adoption Yahoo groups, Facebook or Twitter we would be so grateful if you would mention this event, as so many children are counting on us for surgery. Help spread the news that lives can be saved!

Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who donated items to the auction.  THANK YOU for helping us to make this year’s auction our best ever!

Love Without Boundaries
Art Auction Committee
www.lovewithoutboundaries.com

http://stores.ebay.com/Love-Without-Boundaries-Store

Sneak peek at some of the goodies going up for bid!

 

 You'll want to check it out! There are always some really wonderful things to bid on and know that you are making a difference in someone's life at the same time. I always like to shop for the holidays early and tuck my treasures away....this is a perfect opportunity for that! Not to mention, Mother's Day is just around the corner, and there are LOTS of goodies mama is sure to love!

You don't want to miss it!

Please spread the word too!

Sewin' for FUN!

Well, for my girlies! Saw this tutorial over at Cottage Mama for a super cute bubble skirt that supposedly only took 20 minutes, and I couldn't resist! Thank you Lindsay! Guess what? She wasn't kidding! Both of my girls have a comfy new skirt today, and in about an hour....considering the extra time due to busting one of my gathering stitches mid-way through, < ugh >, not bad! But aren't they cute??? My girls were thrilled, and nothing beats that!

 We had already spent the morning in my sewing room creating our version of this sweet bunny from Sew4Home. These bunnies express the girls entirely different styles, and I love that! 

 

Can't forget those sweet pom pom tails!

It was a very fun and creative day! Now to clean up the mess! lol! (worth every bit of it!)

Bibbity Bobbity BIBS!

First.... oregongirl, you were selected as one of the Sew Baby bib pattern winners. I've emailed but haven't received a response yet. Please claim your prize by noon Wednesday (April, 13th) or I'll have to select another winner. Thanks!

Now, onto BIBS!!! I'm going to do a kind of walk through of using this pattern booklet donated by Sew Baby...

This pattern booklet is chock full of applique patterns and very detailed easy to follow instructions. Each applique has individual instructions that pay close attention to the fun details making the appliques interesting.

Another thing I really appreciated was this diagram showing you how to get the most from your fabric when using the included patterns.

 

For this project, I chose to work with the Infant Bib, but the booklet also has a Toddler Bib and Burpcloth pattern included.

 Start by choosing your fabrics. I picked some playful flannel prints and terrycloth for these.

Cut out your bibs and appliques according to the booklet instructions.

Add the applique to the terrycloth (or blank) side of your bib.

 Baste stitch your bib layers together. Done here with a green thread so you can easily see how close to the edge it is. This is important so that the stitching will be covered by the trim.

Add binding as instructed in booklet. There are actually 2 stitch options provided for this, I chose the zig-zag. Cotton binding makes a lovely finish, but can sometimes me tricky to work with. I used fold-over elastic on many of these. The stretch in it allows it to take the curves much easier, and as long as you don't stretch it too much while sewing, will still provide a smooth, attractive finish.

And here they are! These 8 have been added to the others I already had done. I plan to pair them with another upcoming project to make a gift set of sorts before donating. 

I also finished these this weekend...

 Well, almost! :)

  Oh  my goodness!!! These things are good! Thankfully they are only around for "spring" because I certainly would be in trouble otherwise! 

I always have to have a little chocolate when sewing....anything you "have to have" to keep those creative juices and energy flowing???

Pattern Winners Announced!

Ok, first off, welcome to those of you who are new to the blog! If you are visiting for the pattern giveaway, I hope you will join us as a follower and participant of our sewing outreach efforts as well. We are just getting started, with projects this year so far being pillowcases, dresses and cloth diapers all of which you can read more about in the links on the sidebar. The sidebar also offers links to a variety of free sewing patterns and tutorials, as well as, links to organizations that would very much welcome your sewn donations. I have lots of ideas churning about in my head for upcoming projects, and certainly the more participants the merrier as it's much more fun than sewing alone! ;)

Now to get to the announcement of the bib winners....using random.org number generator, the following comments were selected:

#5 - oregongirl said...

Would love to win a pattern and make bibs to donate through the local ASG chapter. zani_4 at yahoo.com 

 

#3 - Peggie said...

Cute patterns, thanks for the chance! I have a drooling GS that sure could use a bib or two! peggie dot loden at gmail dot com

Thanks for leaving your email ladies, I'll be emailing you in a moment to get your addresses for shipping. Hope you enjoy these fun bib patterns and hope you will share photos with us of your creations!

Thanks to all those that participated!!! For those that didn't win, I wanted to leave one more link to another free bib tutorial with printable pattern over at So Tei-Tei. It's even available in Spanish and Portuguese which I thought was pretty cool! (just click the translator on the top right of the page to change the language.) Thanks for sharing this Cecilia!

As always, Happy Sewing! I'm cutting terrycloth for bibs today...how about you???

Surprise Announcement and Sew Baby GIVEAWAY!!!

The mailman delivered treats today!!! :) Remember how I said I had a surprise to share with you? Well, now I can! YAY!!!

Last week, just as I was getting ready to announce our "Bib Month" project for April, I received my email newsletter from Sew Baby. Coincidentally, they were starting a week long SALE on all their bib patterns and supplies to make them. So, I emailed them and shared our sewing efforts and project for April and Ann quickly responded back that she would be happy to send me a pattern to use as well as some to share!!!! The mailman brought this today...

I will be working from the booklet in the back to make some of the bibs I will be donating this month, and 2 of you have the chance to win one of the others!!! How exciting huh??? All you have to do is leave a comment on this post saying that you would like to be entered. Yep, that's it! I'll choose the winners this Friday, April 8th, so there will be plenty of time for you to get to use it this month.

One of you will get the Sleeve Saver Bib,

and one of you will get the Hug Me Bib.

They are both soooo cute! And very unique designs! Plus, the regular retail is $8.95 each, so a very generous gift from our friends at Sew Baby! (Thank you!)

Additionally, as I make bibs from the booklet above I will share pics and details. There are so many cute appliques options I'm not sure which to do first!!!

If you aren't familiar with Sew Baby, I highly suggest checking them out! And please tell them "Thanks!" for supporting our sewing efforts! They have LOADS of great patterns and everything you need to create from them. They are all the time offering sales and bonus buys like buy 6 regular patterns, receive a $7.95 discount on your order. That's essentially free product!  Ann also has a blog where she shares an inside look of what's going on around Sew Baby as well as pattern tips. 

Ok, so leave your comment to get entered and I'll announce the winners Friday!

Happy Sewing!

April Project - Bibs!

We will be working on Bibs as our sewing project for April. Hope to have you join in! PLUS, I have a little extra SURPRISE to share...probably next week, so make sure and check in!

Ok, a quick google search of "free bib patterns" will turn up quiet a selection of on-line options. Here are a few I thought I'd share....

Chickpea Sewing Studio
New Conceptions
By Petchy
Prudent Baby
Sewpony
Made by Rae
Homespun Threads 

Perfect example of how even something as seemingly simple as bibs can provide plenty of room for creativity and a variety of options. If you have a favorite bib pattern or tutorial, please share it in the comments.

This is a pic of a very well loved one I've been using for several years. It either came from a tracing of an actual bib or from a .99 McCall's/Butterick pattern I got from JoAnn's. I've written the measurement on it for your reference if you decide to simply make your own pattern.

If you prefer the more tangible directions of a written pattern, then you will definitely want to check back in for our surprise! ;) (I'm bursting to share now, but soon enough...)

Fabric options for bibs vary just as much as the patterns. I find that cottons in the form of woven prints, flannel, terry and chenille to be the most practical for absorbing and polyesters or laminates for bibs that protect clothing. For closures, I most commonly use snaps, but velcro is also a good option.

The bibs I make this month will be part of a "gift set" of sorts that will be made up of the projects to follow over the next few months. I've yet to decide where specifically we will be donating these, because once again, there are a variety of options. I'm considering a local single mother's outreach, the local crisis pregnancy center or adding them to an orphanage donation box in the works. Depending on how many I'm able to make, maybe all 3. Love to hear your ideas as well!

Let the Bib making begin!