Stitching Liberty's Belle

Sleep Sack for a Toddler

2011-01-03T16:31:00.000-05:00

I have a monkey for a 21 month old. She is all arms and legs and climbs everything, including her crib.

She also FREEZES at night. I've never met anyone quite so cold blooded, and I have a hard time believing she is related to me, who likes the thermostat set to about ice box or below. (In the below pic she's helping me create a pattern for her new sack. We were using her old sleep sack as a template to create the new one.)

Now, I'm not quite ready to move her to a big girl bed, because, well, she's also uber-curious, and I can only imagine what she'll get into if left to her own devices in her room. (just look at those deceptively quiet deep brown eyes.)

So we solved the climbing problem AND the freezing problem by putting her in a sleep sack. Can't get a leg up when they're tucked inside a sack. But Little Miss Long Legs is too long for her sack. And apparently the baby clothes making companies don't think anyone over the age of 9 months need these.

To solve the problem, I made her a big(ger) kid sleep sack. This is the last of the material from these covers which used to be stocked in my shop. I had just enough material to make sure the fabric pattern centered nicely on the front and the back, but not enough material to allow extra room in the fabric pattern to meet perfectly across the zipper.

Because I had limited amounts of material, I couldn't get as much of an a-line cut on the front pieces. That meant I needed to put a little box pleat in the back piece when I sewed them together. Had I been thinking (instead of trying to sew this in time for her nap while she and her brother jumped around the room like wild monkeys, tossing new Christmas toys willy nilly and in general causing mayhem of one type and another), I would have not made it an inverted box pleat, as it would look prettier on the outside. But this job was rushed so that it could be used at nap time.

Also, I didn't get the light pink bias tape cut for the right armhole. But maybe before bedtime :)

I did take pictures along the way, so I'm thinking I can put this up as an easy peasy tutorial, too.

Pile o' Leg Warmers

2010-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

In exciting news, Josie has been initiating using the potty!

In significantly less exciting news, she has serious issues getting pants or tights down in any sort of timely fashion.

Enter the legwarmer.

Now, she uses these a lot anyway, because it made diaper changes easier for me. But now they serve an even better purpose:

Keeping little legs warm in a cold house while a little girl learns to grow out of her diapers.

With out having to wear pants or tights which make it darn near impossible to get to the potty in time.

I love these with the pretty ruffled edge.

Years ago, I found this online tutorial on flicker.

They are incredibly easy to make. All you need are a pair of women's knee or over the knee socks, and sewing supplies.

This entire batch was sewed up during nap time. Including breaks because sometimes sewing the same item over and over gets boring. And the football game was on, so I had to watch a couple of key plays, too :)

Something for the boy

2010-11-22T13:00:00.003-05:00

Poor Ben. He does get short shrift in the sewing department.

And he gets SO excited when I do make something for him.

I told him about a dinosaur winter hat that I could make for him, courtesy of From an Igloo.

So during his nap, I stitched it up.

He loved it. But then said he wouldn't wear it till I added eyes.

So here is his sister modeling the hat.

It's a bit big on her. It's a bit big for him, too. Now that I've made it once, I think in the future, I'll make the triangles (for the crown, not the dino spikes) smaller.

Guess I need to add eyes during his next nap.

Sewing Attention Deficit

2010-11-21T06:51:00.001-05:00

Feeling like projects are always started and never finished. (er, this IS a universal problem, right? Please tell me I'm not the only seamstress who suffers from Sewing Attention Deficit?)

Either the idea never makes it to fabric.

Or the fabric never makes it from cut to sewn.

Or the finishing of the garment. Ugh, how I do not relish finishing.

So to prove to myself that yes. I. can. do it... (in other words, "Marie, get up from that comfy couch and start sewing all the ideas you have for Christmas gifts.")

I pulled together a bunch of pictures to show myself what I have done. I CAN finish a garment or project. See, self? Now go finish the rest :)

Motivation to keep on keepin' on.
And definitely what I'm going to do whenever I feel like I am just. not. doing. Or getting done.

Now I suppose I should get back to work.

15 Minutes of Sewing Fame

2010-11-14T21:47:00.001-05:00

As if it were not officially in the record books before, I am certifiably a geek.

else could you explain my geeking out over One Pretty Thing featuring Josephine's Beach Combing Wardrobe on one of their posts?

I check that site every day.
Multiple times a day.
Because they update it regularly with A.Mazing DIY projects.

And yesterday they had me on there!

Woot :)

Guess I ought to do a post on Josephine's beach combing wardrobe!

Ma Petite Chou (or What to Do With All of these Brussels Sprouts?)

2010-11-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

When I was a little girl, my mom used that term of endearment with me a lot.

"Ma petite chou?" I would ask.

"My little cabbage head," she would reply.

"Really?" I thought, "that's supposed to be sweet?"

Today Ben and I picked the last of our garden harvest. These were the only things that have survived the fast freeze that we had. The freeze that I didn't pay any attention to, and so I missed getting the bell jars over the plants that could have been saved.

So all that was left alive after the freeze were the hardy brussels sprouts.

We picked a bunch.

Ben eats them raw.

I wouldn't recommend it, but he says they're good that way.

Seeing them all sitting together in a pile reminded me of my mother's french term of endearment.

The pile of adorable little green cabbages actually was endearingly adorable.

(hmm, maybe the reason I took so many pictures of a rather unpopular vegetable?)

I personally love them if they are sauteed with some balsamic vinegar and orange zest.

But no one else in my family will eat them.

Well, obviously Ben will chomp on them raw out of the garden, but even my gardening buddy turns his nose up at a cooked brussels sprout.

So perhaps I should make one of these?

image credit

Crazy cool, right? Reminds me of the wreaths in Williamsburg, VA, all made from winter foodstuffs. The how to is located here at the lovely blog, Blomsterverkstad.

I'm guessing the general consensus in this household is that I make them into the wreath instead of try and serve the brussels sprouts to them for dinner.

Billy Cardigan

2010-11-02T14:23:00.001-04:00

I think, when I'm not at work, cardigans are probably what I wear 90% of the time. (well, cardigans layered over PJs. Am I the only person who changes into pajamas the minute I get home?)

I've been seeing a bunch of pretty draped cardigans around, but I haven't found any that I love.

Until I saw Katy (who has this incredibly understated and elegant aesthetic) from No Big Dill's tutorial for luvinthemommyhood. I knew I had to give it a try. Love the finished product :)

I love the neckline crossed over and pinned. Sophisticated, but still incredibly comfy. Or...

Open and breezy.

Last night I wore it open with a skinny belt.
But I left the belt at my sister's house.
Uh-oh.
Also, those skinny belts aren't the most comfortable. At least when I sat down I didn't think so... maybe it's time to buy a bigger belt :)

(also, what in the world kind of pose is that that I'm making?? I think I may have to start cropping my head out of every picture.)

Some How-To Advice for this Project
I am a ~~bit~~ ~~of a~~ completely hasty sewer. I ~~tend to skim directions and~~ almost always jump right in and then regret it after I screw up something major.

So a few things to be wary of if you decide to make one of your own...

1. The shoulder seams are sewn wrong sides together, then top-stitched down against the garment. It makes a beautiful finish. Here's the part I missed: Top stitch down first, then trim the seams down to 3/8 inches. One of my shoulder seams has some really wonky stitching because I trimmed then top stitched.

2. The decorative thread for top-stitching is a bear to work with. I have a sewing machine that is incredibly temperamental with cheap and/or fancy thread. It kept breaking and fraying and clogging up the works.

3. The entire garment is NOT sewn with all seams on the outside. Only the shoulder. I did the whole thing minus the sleeves with the outside seams, then decided that was far too much decorative stitching. I ripped the entire thing apart and re-sewed.

4. This is really an easy project! Knits really are forgiving, and even with my seam snafu, it probably took me about 2 hours to draft the pattern, cut, and sew. Then rip apart (sigh.) and re-sew.

It's Tricky to Rock a Rhyme

2010-10-30T17:34:00.002-04:00

Inspired by the onesie dress tutorial on Prudent Baby...

I saw this onesie at Gabriel Brothers (I think it is originally an Old Navy onesie?) and HAD to have it for the girl. But, it was a size 9 months. Uh-oh.

Never going to fit my very tall 18 month old. So I cut off the part that snaps between the legs. Problem was, it kept riding up her belly without something to add some length.

Enter the attached skirt. I pleated some corduroy fabric in my stash and stitched it to the shirt. I wanted a paper bag waist effect on the skirt.

Pretty much want to eat her up every time she wears it :)

Pilgrim's Progress - Thrift Store Refashion

2010-10-30T16:59:00.004-04:00

Shopping at my favorite Goodwill store and found this wonderfully well made navy blue wool long pinafore style dress. But it had a very "dressing as a pilgrim for Halloween" feel. Scroll down to see the before.

Yikes.

Still, it was asking me to buy it. It just wanted to be a short bubble skirt instead. I love it. Don't know if I love the purple tights with it or not? I do have a more subdued dark gray pair. Maybe a better choice?

My three and half year old was the photographer for these two. Thanks bud :)

The before...

Eyelet Top and Green Capris

2010-07-18T20:41:00.001-04:00

I am in love with the material for this top. I kind of want one in a grown up girl size... Tacky or cute? I'm still undecided...

The top is made from a heavy and beautiful creamy eyelet cotton with an antique cream colored ribbon. I added elastic to the straps and about 2 inches down from the top, in order to create the ruffling.

I think I need to add belt loops to the front, because the ribbon would slide down as the wild woman ran around. Mostly chasing after the dog's toys...

And balloons that weren't hers.

The green capris were a spur of the moment sew. Made them up while she was napping using a pair of pants she already owns in order to make a pattern. I adapted the Prudent Baby tutorial on pants. I think I'd like to add some decoration to them, but I didn't have time when I made them originally. We'll see how they end up :)

And the Winner Is...

2010-02-14T13:04:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Random.org, Fan #35 is the winner of the giveaway!
Congratulations, Krystal H.! Thanks for fanning Liberty's Belle on Facebook!

Wander on over to the shop, pick out an item you'd like, and then send me a convo on etsy. I'll ship it out as soon as you've decided what you'd like as your prize :)

Thanks again to everyone who is a fan on facebook!

Favorite Toddler and Preschooler Books

2010-02-14T12:42:00.000-05:00

We've been doing a lot of reading and snuggling this week, and I started to think about what our all time favorite books are. Ben, almost three, has a deep love affair with all things pirate, baseball, and animal. Josie, almost one, loves anything she can touch or that has a nice cadence when read aloud. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't say that four of the books that landed in the favorite collection were all chosen and gifted to us by a very dear former teaching colleague of mine. Much love to the awesome book taste of Ms. T :-)

So what are the most beloved books in your house?

Snowed In - All Edges Brownie Pan Rave :)

2010-02-14T12:27:00.001-05:00

I don't know how your family works, but every time we make brownies, we fight to see who gets to eat the corners. Now I understand from my sister that some people actually prefer the gooey center, but I'm not sure I believe it.

So to eliminate some of that discord in the Heath household, I gave Mark the All Edges Brownie Pan for Christmas. I thought it was kind of a goofy gift, but I knew he would appreciate it. And it has been appreciated many times over during this past week as we have experienced two massive blizzards in less than five days. All snowed in and eating lots of chocolate. Yummmm.

Snowed In Oatmeal Breakfast

2010-02-07T14:44:00.001-05:00

Mark needed something warm and filling to give him the energy to get out there and shovel 30 inches of snow. (thanks baby!) I love oatmeal, but we hardly ever have a chance to eat it. So, today we made a "decorate your own" oatmeal buffet for breakfast. Ben ate seconds (!) so it must have been good.

Make oatmeal.

Be sure to have a big cup of hot coffee, too :)
Lay out your buffet. We had dried cranberries, raisins, cinnamon, milk, walnuts, and of course, some brown sugar.

Load up your oatmeal and enjoy :)

Snowed In Chocolate Snowballs

2010-02-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's because I'm still at teacher at heart, but I adore snow. It means my husband, also a teacher, is home. It means we are all forced to snuggle in tight and hang out at the house and eat lots of comfort food without feeling guilty. And the way things are looking in the mid-atlantic region right now, we'll be snuggling for quite a while. We have about 30" of snow outside, so I thought I'd post some things to do with all of that lovely, cold, whiteness.

One of my all time favorite treats is a chocolate snowball. We have them here in the summer time; they're like icees, only far superior ;-) They're made with shaved (as opposed to crushed) ice. And real snow does make the best snowball. Get the how to by clicking "read more."

Step 1: squirt a bit of chocolate syrup in the bottom of a glass

Step 2: add a bit of water and stir

Step 3: fill a big cup with fresh snow

Step 4: move some of the snow into a smaller glass and pour some chocolate on top. Stir to mix it up, repeat. You may need to go outside and get some more snow.

Eat :)

Update on the Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

2010-02-04T13:30:00.001-05:00

I posted about making homemade lavender scented all purpose cleaner here. Well, I just want to say that... I LOVE it! It works really well in the kitchen for all of the weird sticky food messes that seem to follow the kids wherever they go. Then, Ben and I cleaned the bathroom with this and some baking soda, and it looked great! I loved that my little helper could actually HELP when I had cleaning products around.

Yay!

Kid Art Note Cards

2010-02-04T06:58:00.000-05:00

This post from Prudent Baby on kid art trivets reminded me of a similar project we did last Christmas. Ben made art note cards for his greatest fans - his grandmoms. With Valentine's Day approaching, this might be a nice gift if you need something for the loving grandparent in your kiddo's life :) It's also a good way to use some of the thousands of finger paintings that are decorating your fridge.

They turned out better than I had imagined. I was picturing something cutesy for the grandmothers to use as notecards, but thought it might end up looking uber "kid" like. Which is fine, because these ladies pretty much love whatever their grandkids do :) But I was pleasantly surprised that not only were they a great kid project for the grandmoms, the cards ended up looking pretty cool in their own right, too.

These are easy to make.

Step 1: Have kiddo finger paint with lots of different colors :) Or, save up finger paintings over the next couple of weeks.

Step 2: Cut card stock out to your preferred note card size. We took 8.5 x 11 card stock and cut it in half so we had two 4.24 x 11 pieces. Then fold that in half and you have a note card :)

Step 3: Crop the finger paintings to fit. They looked nicest when almost completely filled with paint and had some of the paint continuing unseen off the edge of the crop. I cropped the paintings about 1/2 inch smaller than the note card. That left a 1/4 inch border on each side when I mounted it to the card stock.

Step 4: Glue to the note card. I used a glue stick (so fancy. I know :) ). I wrote in Ben's name and the year.

Step 5: Buy some note card envelopes. Or, had I known about this etsy how to back when I made these, I might have made my own envelopes to match.

Step 6: Wrap your gift up for your child's Valentine! :)

Kid's Indoor Play Tent

2010-02-02T20:42:00.002-05:00

This is what I spent most of last night doing. I thought up the idea around midnight, and spent the next three hours with Pythagoras, a calculator, and my evolving plans. I think I've got the pattern done, so now I'm going to try and sew my first one. It will be Josie's First Birthday present. And then I'll make one for Ben, too. I am so so sooo excited, and I really hope the numbers work!

Homemade Lavender Lemon All Purpose Cleaner

2010-02-02T13:33:00.002-05:00

With a two year old and a 10 month old, we are always pulling out the windex and cleaning up some spill or another. Besides the fact that we were spending lots of money on cleaner, I really wanted a more environmentally and kid friendly cleaner around. So I did some research (read "google") and decided that a vinegar solution was what we needed. But I didn't want to smell vinegar all of the time, so I decided to use up some of that lavender and scent our cleaner.

Click on "read more" to get the how to.

Ingredients and Materials:
Lemon zest
White vinegar
Water
Dried Lavender
Dried Eucalyptus
Jar for storage

Spray bottle for dispensing

I didn't want the cleaner to feel greasy, so I didn't use any oils in it. Instead, in a little bit of water, I simmered some of my dried lavender and eucalyptus from the herb garden.

I also added lemon zest. I really love the smell of lemon, but didn't want to add lemon juice because I was worried the solution would be sticky. And I'm trying to fight sticky here. So I was hoping if I just put the zest in, it would just add lemon scent, not juice. Now, I don't have a zester, so I just used a vegetable peeler to peel away the zest and add it to the pot.

The kitchen smelled great. I think when I do this again, I'll leave out the eucalyptus and just do lavender and lemon. Or maybe I'll do one lavender and one lemon.

Once the water absorbed the scents from the herbs and lemon, I strained it into a jar partly filled with equal parts water and white vinegar. If I had cheesecloth or a coffee filter, I would have used that. As it was, I used a colander and lined it with a paper towel.

Because the herbs were steeped in the water, it is tea colored. Which I didn't think about happening before I saw it. It's not dirty, but it doesn't look clean in the traditional sense of what I was expecting. I kind of had to get used to it. Then again, does the weird blue color that is Windex look clean?

I poured some of the solution into an empty spray bottle. I added the lemon zest back to the part that I'm storing in the jar. I'm hoping the vinegar will sort of pickle the lemon zest and it won't spoil. I'll let you know how that goes. The jar does look like a weird science experiment...

However, I've used the spray, and I love it! It cleans really well, and smells nice. Still vinegary, but also lemony and lavendary, too. Certainly it smells far better than the ammonia smelling Windex.

Shortcut Chocolate Croissants

2010-01-31T11:07:00.000-05:00

This is a favorite Sunday morning treat in our house. They are ridiculously easy to make (and I'm sure incredibly unhealthy - but that's why they are a treat ;-) ) and if you add some fresh fruit and a hot cup of coffee, they make a great breakfast.

Very easy recipe after the jump.

Ingredients: chocolate chips and crescent rolls (Our chocolate chips are stored in this big jar. If you've read the How to Make Spiced Hot Chocolate post, you know we eat a lot of chocolate chips in this house :) )

Preheat oven according to directions on package of crescent rolls. Lay out the dough according to the directions on the package. Before rolling each croissant, add a handful of chocolate chips.

Roll up and bake according to package directions.

Serve while hot. Watch out for little hands grabbing before the plate is even on the table.

Enjoy!

Motivational Sticker Chart for the Preschooler

2010-01-28T16:18:00.001-05:00

So is Skinner right? Several of my friends have had great success motivating their almost three year old kiddos to do wonderful things by using a sticker chart. We're giving it a try, Ben style. He picked out the poster board. And the stickers. We wrote down the positive behaviors together. Each time he does one, he adds a sticker to the chart. I had visions of 1) a fabulously behaved preschooler and 2) an adorably organized chart much like the ones I remember from elementary school. Read after the jump for the reality :)

Ben was REALLY excited to pick out the poster board and "do his artwork" on it. So far, we were moving in the right direction.

He also picked out the stickers and some reward toys (from the dollar bin) for when he accumulated enough stickers. We never set a sticker number in stone. It is a bit of a moving target, depending on how much he seems to need motivation.

He loves to put the stickers on, and then for some reason, insists on coloring over them. That's cool. He's going to be my crafty boy :)

He started begging me for opportunities to get more stickers. Awesome. Toys were put away. Hands were washed. Meals were eaten at the table. But then the whining for the reward toys began. "Mommy! I just want the flute in the prize bag! I just want to get it!!! I want the dinosaur. NOW PLEEEAAASE!"

Hmm. Maybe we're not quite there yet. But we are going to keep it up and see how it goes.

It's not pretty, but it is just how he wanted it. Maybe.

Lemon and Rosemary Roast Chicken in the Slow Cooker

2010-01-26T15:40:00.002-05:00

Add a roaster chicken and all of your ingredients are right there in that picture. This dinner tastes delicious and takes about 7 minutes (really. that's it.) to prep. Then, put everything in a slow cooker and by dinner the bird is so tender and amazing. Cheap meal, tasty meal, lots of leftovers for soup or salad or whatever else you want to make. (Please forgive the sad state of my rosemary. I live in a climate that is not so kind to the plant over the winter. It was the best I could clip from my herb garden :) )

Double Sided Fleece Blanket for Toddlers - Naptime Project

2010-01-25T20:46:00.001-05:00

Ben, the three year old, has been so patient as I keep stitching things up for his little sister, and I have been really wanting to make him something of his own. Every time I'm working with fleece, he steals the fabric and says it is his blanket, so I thought I'd make him one. The boy loves his Baltimore sports teams, so I bought a yard of each of the fabrics above and made him a blanket that he can actually use. I told him if he took a good nap, I'd have a surprise for him when he woke up. And I did! I don't think I've ever been happier to give someone something I made. He has been wanting a blanket from some of my fabric stash for so long. He immediately wrapped himself in it and stole my heart.

Click on "read more" to get the full how to.

I think I could have made this fancier, maybe added a border and what not, but I really wanted to make it during his nap, so this is quick and dirty. And easy.

You need a yard of each material, pins, thread, and your sewing machine.

Place the wrong sides together, and pin all of the edges. Make sure that you aren't getting wrinkles in the fabric as you pin more sides.

My fabric was not cut square, so to cut the corners at right angles, I laid it on the tile floor of my kitchen and used the grout lines. I'd like a nice cutting guide, but I don't have one, so the tile will have to do :) Also, the grout lines make a nice channel for the scissors.

Leave an opening on one side of your fabric. Mine is about 3 inches long. I marked where I wanted to start and stop the opening with pins so that I wouldn't accidentally stitch it closed and have to get out the dreaded seam ripper.

Sew up all sides. I used a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Backstitch on each side of the opening. For corners, leave the foot down and turn fabric 90 degrees. When done, cut the corners out so that they are easier to turn right side out.

Pull blanket through the opening that you left. Poke out the corners.

Top stitch (sew on the right side of the fabric. This makes it look finished and also closes up the opening you left in the first seam.) all edges. I used a 1/2 inch seam allowance for that. When you get to a corner, leave the needle in, foot down, and rotate the fabric 90 degrees.

All done!

Oh the Fabric

2010-01-23T16:56:00.001-05:00

These are all so beautiful. Definitely the women at the cutting table cringed as I rolled my overflowing-with-fabric-bolts cart over to them. I'm using it to make something for my expectant sister and a little something to sell on my etsy shop. Only I can't say what it is because what if my sister reads this and the surprise is ruined?!

Now if you're not my sister, you can click here to see what I'm also going to make her with this gorgeous Alexander Henry fabric.

Katrina's Soaker Tutorial for the Novice Sewer - Part 3

2010-01-22T17:14:00.000-05:00

Depending on when the kiddos wake up from their naps, this will be the last in the Katrina Tutorial Series! The first tutorial covered cutting the pattern and sewing the wetzone layer on to the soaker. The second tutorial showed sewing the soaker body and the waist and leg bands. This one will show you how to sew the waist and leg bands to the soaker body. And you'll be all done!

The soaker should be tucked inside the waistband. Match all of the selvedge (rough) edges together, and start pinning. Pin the center seam in the center of the back first. Put your pins in like the pic below, and your sewing machine can just sew right over them. Make sure the pins are perpendicular to the rough edges, not parallel. Also, make sure that you've got them on the inside of the soaker, not on the outside of the waistband. If you put them outside (even though it is easier to pin that way!), your machine won't be able to sew over them.

Next pin the center front to the center of the soaker. It is going to seem like the soaker is too big for the waist band. That's ok, it is supposed to be like that. You have to ease the soaker into the waistband.

You've already pinned the center front and center back, now pin each side. Now keep halving the distance between each pin, and pinning the soaker to the waistband. Try really hard not to stretch the fleece. It's really tempting to do! The reason that the waist band is a smaller circle is because it cinches in the soaker. If you stretch it to fit the soaker, you lose the elastic property of the fleece at your baby's waist. If you get a big wrinkle, instead of gentle gathers, undo some pins and spread the fabric out a bit and re-pin. This can take a while. When you're done, you should have something like this:

You're going to sew around the edges of the circle. Like this:

Here is what it looks like when done sewing.

Take your pins out, and flip the waistband up.

You're so close!!! Repeat what you just did for the waistband but do it with the leg bands. They are a little harder because the holes are smaller. I try to line up those seams with the bottom of the soaker.

Now it is completely finished!

If any part of this is unclear or makes zero sense, please leave me a comment! Thanks for looking :)

Katrina's Soaker Tutorial for the Novice Sewer - Part 2

2010-01-21T16:31:00.002-05:00

Here is part two of the tutorial. Also, if you are a super newbie sewer, this post on Prudent Baby's Blog is a great place to see a quick and easy video tutorial on using a sewing machine.

For Part One of the tutorial, click here.

Read more after the jump.

Ok, so you should have all of your pieces cut out, and the wet zone piece is sewn to your soaker.

Now you need to fold the soaker body with right sides together, and pin the edges between the waist and the leg holes.

Sew each edge. Backstitch (start sewing forward for a bit, and then sew backward, and then sew forward again. It locks the end of the seam so that it won't unravel.) at the beginning and end of each edge.

Turn your soaker right side out. Admire how far you've come!

Lay the waistband horizontally, right side of fabric facing up. Pick up the left edge and fold it in half, bringing the left side over to the right edge. It should be folded into a fat rectangle with the wrong side of the material facing you. Pin the edge and sew. Remember to backstitch each end.

It should look like this when you have stitched the seam. Notice the top and bottom edges are not stitched closed.

Do the same thing for the leg bands.

Now stick with me. This is a little confusing. Turn the waistband in half, with the wrong side inside. Like this:

Now you need to attach it to the soaker body. Lay the soaker and waist band in front of you like this:

Note that the back seam is lined up with the middle back of the soaker.

Slip the soaker inside the waistband. It won't fit perfectly. The waistband is smaller than the soaker. That's ok :)

Next post I'll share pics of how to ease the fabric and pin. Hang in there, you're almost done!

Home Grown Lavender Oil and Potpourri

2010-01-21T14:49:00.001-05:00

I love the scent of real lavender, and I have a LOT of dried lavender from my garden. It's all sitting very prettily in a basket on a shelf just waiting for me to be inspired. In fact, it's sitting right next to all of the empty baby food jars which are also waiting for some magical inspiration.

So here is my current inspiration: two easy things to do with all (ok, some) of that lavender.

First is an oil infusion which I think I can use for several things. I'll use it in the cloth wipe solution for Josie's bum. I'll use it in the bathtub on my sad and dry winter skin. And I think I'll use it as a hostess gift, too.

Second is an easy peasy potpourri using a baby food jar.

Not that there is too much of a how-to, but read about it after the jump.

Oil Infusion:

Find a nice oil jar. I got this one from wal-mart, of all places. Gather your olive oil (I know this isn't what you might traditionally use to infuse lavender, but I like to add a bit to Josie's wipe solution, and it is my favorite oil for dry skin.), your lavender, a pair of scissors, and some twine to decorate.

Cut the lavender to fit in the jar. Vary the lengths of the stems for a prettier look. Put shorter pieces in first, then longer pieces, otherwise they all get jammed up in the bottleneck. I didn't think of that until I had that problem :)

Pour in your oil and tie with some twine. Done!

To make the potpourri, scoop up any stray lavender that has fallen off the stems while you were cutting. Dump them in the bottom of the baby food jar. Clip shorter pieces to arrange in the jar.

If giving as a gift, keep them shorter than the rim, so that you can screw the cap back on. If you're leaving it out in your house, it looks nice to have some pieces sticking out of the jar. Tie up with twine and you're all finished! I stuck a few pieces of lavender through the knot in the twine when I gave this as a hostess gift.

Spiced Hot Chocolate

2010-01-19T21:51:00.003-05:00

This hot chocolate is so easy to make and is so rich to drink. It always makes us slow down and enjoy it and relax. Ben and I make it together before his nap. He stacks up some hatboxes, calls them train cars, and pretends he is on the Polar Express. Nothing helps you go to sleep like a full belly of warm chocolate milk :) Get the very easy how to after the jump.
Ingredients are easy, and I approximate everything.

2 c. milk
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cloves (when making for Ben, I use ground, when making for me, I use whole. I just like the flavor more)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp or more ground cinnamon
dash of vanilla
2 c. (I use two BIG handfuls of dark chocolate chips)

We store our chocolate chips in that big biscotti container. We eat a LOT of chocolate chips in this house...

Directions
1. heat milk on medium
2. add spices and stir
3. add chips a handful at a time and stir till melted

Pour into cups (will make one cup each. Or if you are like me, two cups for one!) and serve.

Katrina's Soaker Tutorial for the Novice Sewer - Part 1

2010-01-19T00:10:00.000-05:00

I love these fleece cloth diaper covers in the Katrina pattern. It is so generous of her to share it with all of us cloth diapering mamas! While I sell some in my etsy shop, I think that if you are a handy mama, you can sew your own. It really feels wonderful to know that you've made something for your own little one. So if you are a novice sewer, this tute is for you!

Get the first part of the tutorial after the jump. I'll add the next parts over the next couple of days.

Cutting the Fleece
It is important to cut your fleece with the stretch. The stretch should go across the body of the soaker, NOT up and down the soaker. That way it can get around your little one's bum :)

Cutting the Wet Zone Soaker

I fold this pattern piece in half, in order to make sure I get a symmetrical cut.

Pin it to your fabric (making sure stretch goes across the soaker, NOT up and down) and cut. I use pinking shears for this, but it really doesn't matter, because fleece does not ravel.

Cutting Waist and Leg Bands

Make sure that the stretch goes with the long side of the rectangle! Pin and cut. Make sure to cut two of the little leg bands, one for each leg!

Sewing the Wet Zone Piece to the Soaker Body
Center the wet zone piece on the soaker. Make sure wrong sides are together. When centering, you can eyeball it, or, you can mark the middle of the soaker back, fold the wet zone in half, and line them up. Unfold, and pin. Make sure the pins are always going in a counter clock wise direction, that way you can pull them out easily as you sew.

Sew 'er up!

The Shop Is Stocked!

2010-01-07T20:37:00.005-05:00

I have been working for several weeks to plan, buy material, and sew. I'm finally to the stocking stage! More to come, but I'm so excited that I've finally got something up! Several of the fleece cloth diaper covers are in stock and ready to ship.

Please come on over for a visit at Liberty's Belle!