Penguin Costume

Approximately size 3T

For the pants I used New Look 6861. I only needed about 1 yard total. Fleece fabric. I used 1" cotton elastic for the waist. It is important to baste down the seam allowances all around the pants before making the casing and stringing in the elastic to keep the elastic from bunching and getting stuck. I forgot about the seam where I connected the white with the black fabric so the elastic is a little funky now.

For the top I used a jacket he already has that fits well. I traced it leaving a little seam allowance. Instead of dealing with finishing the neck edge I decided to add a hood. I used #20 plastic snaps in white for the front closure.

Lederhosen

For our church talent show my husband and two of his friends preformed "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music. It just wouldn't be right without lederhosen. I used this tutorial to help me know what to do. The first pair took about 2 hours start to finish and the remaining two took a little less time (about 3 hours combined). I just bought dress pants and suspenders from DI (Deseret Industries, a used clothing and other stuff store similar to Goodwill but cheaper).

Baby Shower

On Saturday I went to a friend's baby shower. She is having a boy so I made her a little baby blanket with farm animals on one side and a minty green on the other side as well as a crochet brim hat that [sort of] matches. I used my 3-month old as the hat model. I have to say she did a great job.

Finally

I have been wanting an apron for quite some time now and I finally have one! I saw some really neat looking ice milk aprons and was inspired to make one of my own. It was really easy to make with all of the fabric coming from my [newly cleaned out] fabric stash. After making the apron I tried it on up high with the empire waist look but it didn't suit me so I will wear it on my waist instead. I love that I now have an apron and I can't wait to make more!

Quilt & Guitar

Today was the first time in 7 weeks (since my baby girl was born) that I have been able to craft. It felt so good. This morning in an attempt to stop my 2-year old from playing with the Guitar Hero guitars I decided to make him his own guitar. It was really simple and used things I just had around the house. It took me about 20 minutes start to finish. The neck is made out of two pieces of cardboard taped together (front to back for support) with packing tape; the strings are made out of yarn; the body is made of heavy duty cardboard from an old scrapbooking notebook that I no longer needed. I used a popsicle stick to provide a little more support between the neck and body (that was done after this picture was taken so you can see the bend I fixed). Now it is totally sturdy and ready for a 2-year old to rock out on.

For my 2-year old I also made a quilt. It was meant for his Christmas present but that didn't happen and it got put off until a day when both kids were asleep at the same time for long enough for me to get my sewing machine out and set up. I can't wait for the day when I can have a place where I can leave my sewing machine set up all the time. the front is made out of woven cotton fabrics and the back is made of flannel that I found the day after Thanksgiving (that was the first time I shopped the sales and I just went to JoAnn). I used two layers of cotton batting on the inside so it should be nice and toasty. Overall, it was pretty easy with the only real challenge being the mitered corners. If you are making a quilt and want to miter the corners of the front or back, go here. The pictures are not the greatest but along with the instructions, it is the best I could find. Quite helpful. To quilt it together I stitched in the ditch so the pattern on the top wouldn't get too busy. I used a thread that went well with the flannel on back because that is where you would see it most.