Pile o' Leg Warmers

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 :)

Sewing Attention Deficit

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.

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

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!

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

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.

Home Grown Lavender Oil and Potpourri

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.

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

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.

The Shop Is Stocked!

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!