I've been meaning to write about this for a while now, but you know the drill by now- work, baby, life, and all the lame excuses that go with them.
But one thing I did find time for (and was very happy that I did) was I got to craft a few things for friends and family (well, family being my daughter exclusively :P) this past holiday. And I believe in karma in our good universe, coz in return, we've also received plenty of handcrafted goodness, yippee!
Just imagine the collective creativity, TLC, and positive mojo that's gone into all these creations. I'm so excited I get to show them all off here! *drum roll please....* And in no particular order, here're the lovely goods:
A set of cute-as-a-button gocco'd cards (see them in the making here, scroll a bit down), made by Eva's very talented Auntie Aimee and her equally talented partner, Paige: (So proud of you, Auntie Aimee!)
Hoo~ hoo~~~ Whoa! Is that an oversized purple owl with smiley eyes?
Yep! Eva's the lucky recipient of this cutey bird (who has a removable cover, fancy!), lovingly sewn by my neighbor/fellow-new-mom Hannah, who said she's a sewing novice (who obviously belongs to a different league!).
And the lame neighbor that I am, I resorted to buying Hannah's baby a birthday present from a store in return, but I did at least manage to make a card:
And look! I made Miss Purple Owl a friend :) We named him Chefy. Chefy's an 8"-tall blob, free-handed and loosely based on this tutorial, who somehow ended up with what looks like a chef's hat on top of a tomato. I know, we're not that creative when it comes to toy names.
I stuffed Chefy with this bamboo fiberfill that's supposed to be green and non-toxic (well, it's on sale too). While all that's great, somehow it's not very squishy. A little lumpy too. Maybe I overstuffed it? Or something wrong with my stuffing technique? Anyone with experience with this fiberfill?
Please! Help make me squishable and huggable and lovable... Oh, and here's Chefy's behind, a little flat and lumpy (not unlike its creator's, ha ha)
Speaking of challenges, here's another one that maybe you can help me figure out. I tried to make a pair of PJ pants for Eva using a pattern from Amy Butler's Little Stitches (and some lovely Heather Ross Mendocino octopus fabric and a Park Slope fabric I'm sadly running out of):
Hey, looks pretty good, right? Well... when I put it on her, it looks like a ridiculous pair of baby low riders that give her a wedgie!! I feel like I should put her in some low-riding thong diaper, argh!
What happened? Hrrmph... while the instructions and construction worked just fine, the sizing was so off! I mean Eva is tall for her age, so I took the pattern for a 12-month-old (she's 6 months), then added 2 inches (plus seam allowance) on the bottom (one on the main pant leg and one on the trim).
Well, the legs were just long enough, but the novice that I am neglected the rise, hence the low rider effect *sigh*. Anyone with some quick tip on how to fix that (other than just adding a couple inches on top?)
On a more successful note, I did manage to sew a couple more bibs for Eva, as well as a set of bib/burpies/blanket for my dear friend Van's baby-to-be whom they've lovingly named Tarzan (I gave away the blanket and burpies before realizing I don't have any pix of them. Duh.) But I did get a snap of one of the bibs (the one below's for Eva):
These appliqued bibs (sounds so fancy) is based loosely on this tutorial, passed down to me from bloggie friend Sara. The "applique" on the bibs are simple cutouts from another fabric, stuck on with this Steam a Seam Lite stuff (love it!), and zigzagged around to secure and prevent fraying. The other side is a coordinating flannel (gotta have something absorbent for the gallons of drool that'll some day grace this bib). Not bad, eh?
And last but not least, this adorable abstract giraffe from Margaret, my moms group friend, complete with a jingly bell inside and ribbon tags to chew on (details that only a fellow mom would think of!) Here adorning our X'mas tree but most of the time in Eva's fat little fist being banged on her high chair tray when she's demanding her sweet potato dinner.
Speaking of our little diva's eating adventures, here's a video of her trying out solids on the second day. You've gotta love the way she whack at my hand when I wasn't feeding her fast enough (Caution: we sound loud and obnoxious):
