Flour VS. Sand

While I did this:

Edwin did this:

I guess we both like to make messes. Mine will be sweet and tasty, and his was the result of pretending to be a "digger" (back hoe, excavator, etc.) and a dump truck, complete with sound effects.

Unnecessary Fun

I've decided to use a bassinet for this baby until Edwin is closer to being ready to move to a bigger bed. I debated whether to get another crib (didn't really want to do this), get a toddler bed (didn't really want to do this either) or try to move Edwin to a twin bed-sized mattress on the floor. I don't think he's really ready for the freedom this would give him, and I know I'm not ready for it. So we decided we'd use a bassinet for Baby 2 until Edwin's closer to 2 years old and we're past the newborn stage.

I found this wicker bassinet on craigslist, and although it's in good shape, I wanted to embellish it - just for fun. I used a linen tablecloth along with a white cotton sheet and some sheer, textured white curtain fabric (thrift stores are wonderful!). I also used some of the fabric from the curtains in the nursery because this will sit in there after we move the crib to Edwin's soon-to-be new room.

I had fun custom making this cover and it didn't turn out to be as difficult as I first thought, although I kept it pretty simple. I'd kind of like to cover the removable top piece, but that doesn't seem so simple, so I doubt I'll make it a priority. Plus, I might not even use it.

Heavy Heart

For those of you who read this blog, I'd like to ask you to pray for a family I'm related to.

On Friday I got an e-mail telling me that one of my second cousins (the son of one of my Dad's cousin) had died in an accident while putting a new roof on a building. It appears he was electrocuted because of a low-hanging wire.

I grew up around this second cousin of mine and spent a lot of time with this extended family on my Dad's side. Although I wasn't close to him at all and I haven't seen him in years, I cannot stop thinking about his family.

He was married, and he and his wife have 3 young children: 6, 4 and 1. I never met his wife or children, but all I can think about is what she must be feeling and experiencing. She now has 3 small children to care for, she has to be the one to explain to them that Daddy isn't coming home and help them grieve, she has to go to bed alone at night, when just last week at this time, life was normal.

I am just so sad for her. For their children. If you think of them, please pray for them.

From Velcro to Snaps

One of my recent projects has been to replace the velcro from my bum Genius diapers with snaps. I bought a snap pliers months ago because I decided to use snaps when making any future diapers. I am done with any kind of velcro/aplix/hookandloop kind of closure. For whatever reason, a lot of the velcro on my bg diapers was coming unstitched and less sticky. So I took matters into my own hands. I'd heard of others converting hookandloop diapers into snap diapers and after examining the diapers, realized it really wasn't going to be difficult.

Here's what I did:

1. Examined the construction of the diaper.

2. Took off all the velcro with my trusty seam ripper - a sewer's best friend!

(See that part of the velcro on the front that is pulling off?! Grr.)

3. Discovered that this seam could easily be removed, giving me access to the part of the diaper where I needed to apply snaps.

4. Applied the snaps with the pliers after marking the spaces for the snaps using a printed grid from some kind person online who had done the same thing (sorry, no pics of this).

And here's the finished product from the front.

Another view.

I went with white snaps because I got a bunch when I bought the snap pliers, and I have too many different colors to order all of them. I have about 4 more diapers to convert. One diaper will not be converted b/c the PUL is wearing out and they've actually been leaking through the fabric. Sad, but true. I guess that one won't make it much longer.

I put the rest of the velcro-to-snaps conversion on hold recently to focus on other projects. Enough of the 16 bg diapers are converted to satisfy me for now.

It's Done, It's Done!

It's late, I should've been in bed an hour ago, but I was motivated to finally get my coat finished, and I had the energy. So that's what I did instead. It's finished - buttonholes and hand-stitched belt loops and all. The buttonholes were an adventure, let me tell you. I may have to get smaller buttons. We'll see.

I didn't take pictures yet. I'll save that for natural lighting. Until then, enjoy these 29 weeks belly shots!

Priorities

I am always excited when I check a friend's blog and there's a new post. ("Oh, goody, I get to read more about what so-and-so is doing/feeling/thinking.") Then I feel just a bit guilty that I haven't posted lately, and I imagine your disappointment when you click on my blog and see the same post you saw the last 5 times you checked.

For whatever reason, nesting has taken the form of sewing projects lately. I'm going to chalk it up to nesting anyway. I've had a list for a while, and now that the weather is cooler, I've got more motivation to get these things done. (And although I want to post about these things at some point, that part hasn't really taken a priority b/c it means I need to take time to take a picture and then load that picture onto the computer.)

My problem seems to be in prioritizing my projects. I have about 4 projects going simultaneously (no, make that 5 - I just remembered another), and they vary in length of time needed in one sitting to accomplish something. So I choose my project based on how much time I have. But sometimes I don't choose the project that would best fit the time I have. Instead, I just go to whatever I feel like working on. That's partly how I have 5 simultaneous projects. And this leads to the current rush, rush, rush feeling I've had the past few days. I know it's not healthy.

I don't think I have much time today to work on any today. Cleaning the house and cooking supper for some guests have taken over most of the day.

I have to slow down a bit, breath, relax a little more during Edwin's naptime and realize that I will get the things done that need to be done.

Happy weekend, friends!

Coming Soon

I have, as always, a list of sewing projects. This time it's a coat. I'm actually making something tailored and semi-complicated! (Although it's actually not been as complicated as I thought it would be.) I'm excited to finish it and show it to you. For a sneak peek you can check out the pattern I'm using here.

I told Dan tonight that now I want to make more coats. It's so fun to see this take shape.

Stay tuned!