sewing for sanity

One of the things I've been doing throughout this pregnancy to keep my sanity is sewing. I have been doing it because I really enjoy it, but also because it forces me to sit down. I hardly ever watch TV in the afternoons while the kids are sleeping these days. I would love the mental and physical break, but TV viewing is usually saved for after they are in bed. But I can force myself to forget about all the other things I could be doing around the house during nap time if I just escape upstairs and sew. I've been forgetting to post photos of my sewing projects, too, so here is a backlog of things I've made this spring and summer. I'm going to start with something I finished just this morning, a skirt for Anya. I found this skirt tutorial online a while ago and thought, someday, I'll try that. This weekend, Anya picked out fabric from my stash that she wanted for her skirt. It was fun to let her choose, even though if I had been in control, I might have picked something else. But it was more fun this way and I'm more sure she'll actually wear it because she chose the fabrics.



Anya said, "Is this too big of a smile?"



I have made some gifts over the past few months, a couple of which I forgot to take photos of, but here are some I have...

Pillow and two pillowcases for Dylan's birthday.

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Another tote bag for my mom.



I made one of these dance/play ribbon rings for Anya and Evan. I have intentions of making another one for us and two for Dylan and Noah, but haven't finished them yet. I got this idea from the Denver Children's Museum.



I have also taken two more classes at JoAnn's. Mainly for something to do just for me, but also to try to pick up some new skills. I took one class on appliqueing. I was the only one in the class, so I got some very individual instructions. It was kind of intimidating. I have a huge sweaty hand problem already, but during the class my fabric was soaked! The instructor said, "I don't understand why your fabric feels damp." Yeah, I know, gross. I didn't take any photos of my awful work from the class, but I did learn some things.

And then I took a baby quilt class. It was made from a kit where you buy already selected fabric and then cut pieces yourself and sew it together according to their pattern. I took this class to learn how to "quilt" (the part of stitching through the layers to hold them together, rather than just knotting them like I have before) and I did learn the very basic concept, but am by no means an expert.



I have also made two other baby blankets. Mostly just to try out things I have seen in stores or online, but also with our baby in mind. This first one was just a really simple two layer blanket made from a soft back and a piece of cotton print on the front.



I recently saw a blanket in a children's boutique downtown and it was selling for $75. I thought, I could totally make that! So, I used some fabric I already had and bought some chenille for the back and I made it! It is really cool to have that feeling and to actually be able to pull it off. Here's my version.







The fabric in the baby blanket directly above, I actually bought on eBay. This was early on in my sewing career when I went a bit nuts when I realized how much fabric you could find online. I had no plans for anything I ordered, so I was finally glad to be able to put some of it to use.

I also bought several other things that I turned into this blanket below. I am moderately happy with this creation. The fabric looks slightly different than what it did online and the squares in the middle were pre-cut, so they aren't as precisely oriented as my anal-eye would like, but I am happy with my made-up design and layout of everything. I also was trying to avoid making a binding and I did avoid that, but my methods caused some puckering which others might notice, but only I will ever actually care about. So, overall I'm pleased, but it's definitely not my favorite piece. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the fabrics and from a line called 1974, so they are definitely "retro," but I like the look.



I'm currently in the middle of making a large blanket made up of 10 inch squares. I have the top all completed, but am still debating the back and how to put it all together. But I really like how the top looks so far. A family can never have too many blankets, right? Hopefully, I'll be showing you the final version of that in the near future.