Girly Whirlygiggle Quilt

Remember the quilting fabric I got in Japan last summer? I used the red, pink, and yellow tones, and came up with this baby quilt.

I finally get to post it now that it has been delivered to Adrianne, who had a girl last month.

All finished!

It is a great feeling to finish a project, especially the ones that sat for a while. A lot of thank you's to Adrianne, who suggested I recover the bar stools in the first place. She also helped me find the Teflon coated fabric. Karine entertained my baby and kept me company while I took the original cover apart and cut out the new ones. I couldn't have done it without them.

So far, the Teflon has repelled melted chocolate, brownies, yogurt, and ball point pen. The stains came out with a soft rub of a wet dish towel. I might have to go buy some stocks of this company.

Scott just came home from a nine day trip to Europe. Family Home Evening and school lunches are the first ones to go among other things when he is away. This time I asked Asha to come up with something for Family Home Evening. She got busy and came up with this.

She got the lesson out of the Family Home Evening manual "because that is what Papa always uses", shared a story, and led a nice discussion. We had a fun evening, and I didn't have to do a thing. I was humbled and thankful for my wonderful kids.

IKEA bar stool gets a makeover

Before: IKEA HENRIKSDAL bar stool with a Gobo white cover

(This is what it looks like after day 3, until I wash it again.)

After: Isn't it a beauty?

I took the white one apart with a seam ripper and used the pieces as a pattern. The fabric came from Calico Corners. It has a teflon finish, so I am excited to put it to the test.

One cover down, two more to go.

More 90 minute shirts

I had been warned from Dana herself that this was going to be addicting, and it is. It is because they turn out cute whatever you made them with. I made two more last night and also added the dog to the one I had already posted. I can't stop thinking of cute color combos.

Quick refashion - 90 minute shirt

Quinn has been experiencing a growth spurt, averaging an inch a month for the past three. He started this fall/winter season with 18-24 month clothes, then 24/2T for a few months, and now threatens to move on to 3T before spring comes.

I went looking for warm 3T clothes in Kai's bin yesterday, but without much success. I remembered Kai spent his 3T time in San Diego and didn't need much of that. He just wore a hoodie when it got a little chilly. And that is how I ended up at the sewing machine making t-shirts during Quinn's nap.

I used a "90 minute shirt" tutorial that Dana of MADE put together. The idea of finishing two shirts during one nap appealed to me. No binding, snaps, or buttons sounded great.

Dana shows you in great detail how to make your own pattern with an old onesie you cut up and use as a templet. Since I didn't have one on hand I could part with, I printed out the picture of hers and photocopied it at 400%. Of course the whole pattern piece didn't fit on the letter size paper. I focused on the arm and neck details, and then traced it to my pattern paper. I added sleeve and body length to Quinn's measurements.

The actual sewing went very quickly. Ironing the ribbing in place before sewing helps. I used a large white t-shirt I picked up at a yard sale just for a project like this.

It looked very cute on, but I made a few adjustments to the pattern to make it perfect. I made the arm hole bigger, shoulders wider, and the back top seam lower for our chunky boy. Below is the improved version. The gray and green cotton-lycra knits are from fabric fairy.

This is a great tutorial if you have the patience to work on the pattern until you get the fit just right. It may take a few tries, but it is worth the effort.