Sewing for Miss Alora Joy and others

I really haven't had all that much time to sew lately but these are the things I have had time to work on.

Sweet Alora Joy was born February 25th and so I have gotten to sew for her the most.

This is a picture I got to take of her in the hospital wearing a shirt and hat I made from the NCBE pattern.  I love this pattern so much.  I can whip out a shirt and pants in a half hour and it is the perfect baby gift for anybody.


I had some ice giraffe scraps and when I saw this pattern in Ottobre Design Magazine I knew I had to make it.  It is a pair of pants, a shirt and the jumper.




I also had some pink ooga booga scraps and made this little dress by modifying the NCBE pattern.  I love how it turned out, but next time I will make the skirt a little wider.  I didn't have enough fabric to make it wider this time.




So I had never made a pair of pants before and I decided I wanted to tackle it.  I found a great pattern in Ottobre and bought some grey corduroy and started sewing away.  I really like how they turned out.  I didn't finish my edges though and the corduroy frayed and created a hole in one of the seams which is not fixable. At least Raider got to wear them like 5 times before they became ruined.  Anyway I learned my lesson and next time will make sure I finish my seams with corduroy.






After Alora was born we brought up the baby swing from under the house and found out that a mouse had made the cushion it's home.  It definitely needed a new one so I just copied the shape of the original and made this one.  The old one was navy but I thought Alora needed a girly one.  I love the fabric!


And with the attached blanket pulled up from the pocket that hold it underneath


As soon as I found out Alora was a girl I went out and bought some pink fabric to make her a flannel blanket and I got to try out some fun stitches with my new sewing machine


My sister had used a boppy with Soraya but had a different twins nursing pillow for the boys.  The boppy she had with Soraya was one made before they made covers for them.  She obviously needed a cover and asked me to make her one.  The other side is just brown and both fabrics are made out of flannel.


I got this amazingly cute pattern for girls and boys underwear from That Darn Kat that doesn't require elastic.  I wanted to try it out so I made some underwear for Soraya out of some scrap fabric I had.  They turned out so cute and they are her favorite underwear so I am going to have to make some more.


And finally I got to get out and do something for myself.  I took a sewing class at this great new fabric store here in Spokane called Buttercupitty.  The lady who runs the place, Ari, is so much fun and I am signed up to take another class from her soon.  The class was a beanbag chair class and as soon as I signed up I knew I would be making the beanbag for my little man, Raider.  It was so easy to make and Raider fell in love with it as soon as he saw it.  The khaki pirate flannel actually is the same fabric that his baby blanket was made with and it matches his bedroom perfectly.

Baby Stuff, Boy Stuff and a Purse

Well it has been awhile since I last posted. It is not because I have gotten lazy about the newly formed blog. It is because I haven't really been sewing. My sewing machine is in the shop getting fixed. I have a machine that I borrowed from a friend, but I haven't really wanted to use it too much because it does skip stitches here and there. I have been going crazy not being able to sew for almost an entire month. I finally had to figure something else out since it doesn't look like I am getting my machine back anytime soon. I found another friend who had a machine I could borrow and I began sewing like crazy. Over the past few days I have made quite a bit of stuff and here it all is.

These are the birthday shirts for Cortez, Cruz and Raider. It was my first time doing any sort of applique. I think they turned out pretty good for my first try.

I recently got this pattern for Raider and couldn't wait to try it out. I just love how they turned out.

And look how cute they are on.

This is a NCBE preemie layette that I made for a friend's sister who recently had her baby at 33 weeks. I wish I would have placed something in the picture so you could see how tiny it is.

2 hats to match the layette

My friend Ali came to visit this weekend. We had such a great time and everyday during Raider's nap I would sew and she would crochet. I decided I needed to make her something for being so amazing. So this is the purse I made.

She wanted the strap to be long so she could fit it over her head. I think it turned out great.

And finally a baby blanket for my sister's new baby. They decided not to find out what they are having so I had to find something gender neutral. I love how it turned out and it is so soft and yummy. I can't wait for that little baby to be here.

In the next couple of days I plan to make some more NCBE layettes for my sister and a pink and a blue t-shirt for the going home from the hospital outfit.

My Sewing Room Mini Makeover

So my mom came to visit this past weekend and was on a mission to help me organize my sewing room. She was amazing and bought me some cheap indoor/outdoor carpet to lay down over the nasty tile. That was the only thing that was purchased in the makeover but it is remarkable to difference. Basically we just organized everything and picked it up. I don't know how long it will stay clean but here are the before and after pics.

Before

After

I had been using the white cabinet next to the closet upstairs in my dining room and it had held some of my fabric and sewing notions so it is great to have it actually in my sewing room now.

The closet was just holding boxes full of scrapbooking stuff that I organized and put up in the top cabinet. I brought in some shelves that had been empty in the garage and they are holding my fabric perfectly.

A Duvet Cover

So I noticed the other day that there are a bunch of tiny holes in the duvet cover that was on my bed. I am assuming they got there from Tonka the puppy. So I decided I would make myself a new one. I had seen this pattern for a duvet cover in the book In Stitches by Amy Butler and I decided I would attempt to make it. The only problem was that it was going to take a ton of fabric because it consisted of a background patchwork and then a ton of oval appliqués. I don't have that much money right now so I decided to just not do the oval appliqués. I ended up heading over to Joann's fabric without any idea of what color scheme I even wanted to go with. I was just looking for an inspiration fabric and then I would go from there. At first I was looking in the blues, greens and browns and then out of the corner of my eye I spotted the purple birds. As soon as I spotted them I knew this was the fabric. I loved the birds so much and thought lime green would be a good pairing. Anyway I had a lot of fun picking out the fabric and am pleased with how it all turned out. It actually turned out better than I expected. For the back I was just going to do green and purple strips until I accidentally cut the fabric wrong and am happy I did because I love how it turned out. I used flannel on the back so that it is extra cozy. I also sewed some ribbon to the inside of the duvet and to my down comforter. I can tie the ribbon together and then the comforter won't bunch inside. I was always having that problem with my other duvet cover and it was very annoying. Anyway it was so nice to sew something for myself for once and this was a great project to start off my year of sewing.

The Fabric


Finished and on my bed. Oh I love how it turned out. Now I just need to make some pillowcases to match and maybe a throw pillow or two


The top


The bottom


Closeup of the Fabrics

My first Serger

So 2010 is starting a new beginning for me and sewing. I purchased my very first serger today. It is a Pfaff Hobbylock 2.0. I have no clue what even to do with it yet. I brought it home took it out of the box, took some pics and then walked away, because truthfully I have no clue where to even start. I need to go find a beginning serging book since I don't think I will be taking a class for awhile. Even though I don't know how to use it I am so excited to see where I can go this next year with it. Over the past couple of months I have really gotten a passion for making clothing for Raider and this serger is going to make it so much easier I believe. I also got a subscription to Ottobre a magazine full of patterns for kids clothing. So my New Year's resolution is to figure out how to use my serger and grow and challenge myself in learning new techniques in sewing.

The Creation of Benjibums

So for the past year I have been sewing like crazy. It has become a passion of mine and a way for me to escape the world around me. It relieves stress and when I finish a project I feel so accomplished. I find it hard to consistently write on my other blog (hopeforben.blogspot.com) and felt like I wanted to create another blog that was more lighthearted. When Ben passed away I wanted to do something that honored him. The first idea was to come up with something to do with cloth diapers since he was the one who got me into them and had a passion for the earth. I came up with the name Benjibums at that point. As time has gone on and my love for sewing has grown I have been drawn more to the idea of opening an Etsy store under the name Benjibums. I have not gotten the guts to do this yet and hope that someday I will. I titled this blog the Creation of Benjibums because I believe it will chronicle the path to finally having an Etsy store. So I hope you enjoy reading about all my sewing creations along the way. Thanks for reading.