More October Sewing - I think I'm nesting!

For the first time in a loooong time I feel pretty productive in the sewing department. Here's what's been sewn up and moved out of the sewing room this month:

• baby diapers for upcoming baby - 10 of them already - size newborn from super soft stretch terry (pattern from www.chloetoesboutique.com). Now that I've gotten all this done I need to at least cut out a few more. They really are fast - I know once they are all cut out I can sew up 3 or 4 in an hour. I usually cut one session, sew the soakers in another session, then apply FOE at another time and do all the snaps at one time. Almost instant gratification if you ask me. I've been using the same fitted newborn diapers for the last 4 babies, plus they've been loaned out once, so while they are still functional, they are starting to look a little tired. I just love cloth diapering a little bitty one!
• soft leather baby shoes (also a chloetoes pattern!) for a sweet new little niece, size 3 mos. Again, these sew up SO fast. I cut them out one evening (it took longer picking out which green I wanted to use for the leaf!), then sewed them the next morning. Total time was less than 1 hour.
  
• baby hats for the upcoming wee one (I must have gotten into a tossing out frenzy after the last baby because there were NO baby hats in the house, and it's cold, and if the baby comes now he or she needs a hat) - and since we don't know what gender of baby we are having we have 2 white, 4 blue, and 4 pink. That should cover all the bases. Don't get real excited, these hats can be sewed assembly line style at a rate of about 8 an hour. 8 hats per hour, not bad, I say.
• toddler aprons - I've been toying with the apron idea in my head for so long I've passed several kids' sizes up already. So we start with the small ones and go from there - this is a lined apron with a fully adjustable strap which is continuous from the waist ties through the neck. I initially traced off a freebie kids apron we received from a local home improvement store to get the shape right. Only one tie to fiddle with. These will also be for various nieces and nephews for the holidays. There were 4 of these but 2 went with our Christmas shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.
  
• More things for the nieces and nephews - name pillows - I've been making them for birthday presents after getting the pattern from YouCanMakeThis.com and they have been a tremendous hit! Don't tell my kids that mommy is making them one as well. These are just representative of the ones made for all of them. And hey, will someone tell my sister and sisters-in-laws to pick shorter names for their children??
• Fall Festival outfits - I just sent off a box of dress up clothes for a friend's family including skirts, waist cinchers, old-timey mob caps (think Dolly Madison), peasant shirts, gypsy pants and a pirate outfit. After that, I was kind of sewed out. And after a day of thrifting my kids found Power Ranger Zeo outfits and princess outfits that only each needed a few modifications to be suitable for dress up wear and the Fall Festival at our church. So, a Cinderella dress got a new petticoat, 2 power rangers (a gold one and a red one) got custom fitted face masks, and a little golden fairy princess got a peasant-style dress to wear under her pretty skimpy fairy outfit. The little golden fairy wants to be sure to wear golden sparkly make-up that night (of course!), because she is a princess, you know. And, knowing me, there is actually only one picture of all of this - the golden princess. Who just happens to be modeling in my newly cleaned sewing room. Wait, don't look at the stack of stuff on the right. That all does have a place, it's just not in it yet.
  

What's next? Well, the bitty one is due this week on Thursday, so that will put a hold on production for a while. The good thing is I have gotten most of the things done I planned to do before baby comes. And my kids are all still alive, fed, clean, and happy. Which is what is really important!

Cute and Crafty Things without a standard name

Apparently all the names I thought these were called are all different. We have a birthday to go to this week and I thought a notepad holder would be a cute gift (that was not a toy, not plastic, and not made in China - my designations, not hers) for a sweet girl in our homeschool co-op. Of course, my kids all agreed it would be a great present on the condition that they could have one as well. Yes, just not today. I can only handle giving the baby one or two baths a day because she found the big kid markers for embellishing her legs.

So far there are 4 binder covers (steno pad covers, padfolios, note pad cases, call them whatever you want) made, all of which already have designated recipients. Ideally I could get several more made in the next few weeks (hey, I've made 4 in 2 days and still fed the kids and kept up with our schoolwork and house work) to have on hand for impromptu gifts.

Oh yes, the bright pink one is for the younger birthday girl, the green one for my mom, and the red and blue one for my midwife, both of whom share a birthday. Did I say 4? Child #3 who was most attentive to me during the whole process got his first. He's sleeping with it now. I think that means he likes it.

Putting away the Christmas

But not before I show off these little towels I embellished. Can you see the little sparkly beads that look like ornaments? They just needed a little something else to perk up the trees. Thanks to Beki for the idea and inspiration. I've got to say that I made some for myself, too. And no one ate the beads off. Not that that has ever happened before, mind you. Really.