Puzzle ball. Just like the others. Plus one more that I made in the interim for our neighbor’s daughter, my birthday buddy (more on that later). So that brings the total up to four puzzle balls. Right now it’s bigger than his head, and his hands aren’t quite big enough to grab onto the wedges. But it was a nice two month birthday present nonetheless.
It’s a simple equation. You sew (or knit, etc.) + you are pregnant = Lots of questions about what you’re going to make for the baby. Which is great and understandable and all, unless you don’t have grand plans to make lots of cute little adorable things for your child. Or there are other projects getting in the way of your grand plans. You know, like moving.
Anyway, I sort of deflected. I made a couple of things for myself while I was pregnant. That's for the baby, right? But as for completed projects actually for the baby, there weren’t too many. Actually, just one two one and a half. Which I’ll get to cataloging sometime. And then something bit me.
I’ve long been of the opinion that homemade baby clothes probably weren’t for me. They’re tiny and probably pretty fiddly, and I would probably get a fairly full closet from gifts. The exception I made? Special events. Birthday, Christmas, Easter, and the one that sent me to my sewing machine two weeks ago…Baptism.
“But,” you say, “christening gowns are heirloom sewing. They take forever!” Which is true. And which is why I was glad I already had a jump start. Mom offered us the use of the gown my sister and I wore when we were baptized. Being a sucker for tradition and all that jazz, I jumped on it. But then I took a good look and decided I’d really be happier if there were a little less lace. So I took the lace out from around the neck and replaced the sleeve lace with another bit of trim which ended up looking like picot edging.
And then I added some embroidery with the initials and years that the gown has been used. Not the best embroidery job ever, but I decided it added charm.
Since I was baptized in Ohio in the spring and my sister in Virginia in the summer, I knew I’d have to do something about keeping my boy warm. I pulled out the KwikSew Clothes for Baby book that my sister gave me for a shower present, traced off the pants, and went to my thrift store donation pile. Luckily, there was a white shirt which was just big enough to get the pants cut out. I used the hem of the t-shirt for the hem of the pants, so they were extra quick and easy--done in an evening while my sister-in-law entertained the baby. Plus the elastic was harvested from some fitted sheets we bought to make curtains for his room, so all-in-all, I felt quite thrifty. And my son, quite warm.
And so here it is, a finished product! Clothes for my son!
We've been eating out entirely too much recently. But Thursday night we hit on a real gem. Partly because there was a trivia night going on (and one where we actually felt like we knew some of the answers; we even got a sports question right). And partly because of this coaster.
Of course after dinner we spent a couple of hours agonizing over where we were going to live for the next two years. And that wasn't so fun. But it turned out okay. Look for an update on that in the near future.
We've been in the process of "moving" for at least a month now. At long last we've made it to the destination state--Michigan! I wish all welcome centers would put up nice signs for picture-taking. Then I wouldn't have to resort to barely-readable buildings in the background or silly tricks
