The Dress Form

Here was the short, yet wonderful conversation:

Me: I want NEED a body double to stick pins in!

Grizzly: Sigh... Go ahead and order the dress form.

Me: (Hesitantly) Are you sure?

Grizzly: I said yes didn't I...

Most men would think I was crazy and not have a clue what I was blabbering about, but my wonderfully enabling husband actually gets it. Or at least pretends to.

I like to sew. It is an constructive hobby, I do make some money with it, and it can save us money. Ok, it does save money, but not necessarily a lot because I am a complete fabric-oholic. I love my fabric stash!

Anyway, Grizzly is the best man in a wedding at the end of the month. I got the hair-brained idea stuck in my head to make my dress. I have several "good" reasons for wanting to do this:

1. I want to. Simple reason, but it is enough for me.

2. I have had crazy inspiration lately and it is a great experiment. I don't think that Grizzly would be fond of me making the elaborate wedding gown that I have in my head (unless he feels like selling me off to the highest bidder that day--could happen), so I'll play with this instead.

3. Nothing fits me and I despise shopping. I guess "nothing fits me" isn't entirely accurate, but I had a baby 7 months ago, I am breastfeeding, and recovering from a serious illness. My body is not in it's normal shape, nothing even resembling its normal form. My body has seriously been through hell, so I am fine with this--for the time being....

4. To see if I can do it. I love Project Runway. I am not the typical "I watched Project Runway so now I can go design a fashion line" type woman. I sew already, so that is a big help. I am also not looking for high fashion. I am looking for something to flatter my curves. What better way than to design and fit it for my body. Not nearly as easy as it sounds...

Because of this, I decided I needed a dress form. I really didn't want to spend a fortune on one. I found one on Craigslist, but it was gone before I could commit (we all have our issues, committing to purchases is one of mine). My mom helped me attempt a duct tape dress form. That was a no go, even though it really works for some people. My guess is those people don't have a screaming infant who freaks out when her source of nutrition is being wrapped in duct tape. Just a guess... (She was just hungry, but that sounds better)

Thankfully Grizzly was in a highly accommodating

mood during the afore mentioned conversation. Love you honey!

I have had a dozen different designs for this dress in my head. I have finally landed on one, but I assure you it will evolve. They always do. My mom showed me a beautiful dress that I will be taking a lot of inspiration from. It is a beautifully draped greek goddess inspired frock. I think it should flatter my statuesque (aka nursing boobs and child-bearing hips) figure.

I decided on a maroon/burgundy type color. This could also change halfway through, so we shall see. Now the dress form and fabrics are ordered! Keep your fingers crossed for me, and wish me luck. I am definitely going to need it!

The Teeny Tiny Tutu

I got a message from a friend today. A close friend of hers just welcomed a new little bundle of joy into the world. This particular little bundle is an especially tiny bundle. She was born 3 months early and weighed 2 lbs 4 oz. My friend wanted to know if I could make a preemie tutu for her. I am pretty handy with tulle, so I said of course. She requested that it be black and hot pink, and the parents liked zebra print. Not a problem, I have all of those colors. She sent me a picture of this itty bitty princess, and my heart melted.

I am not sure if it's preemies in general, because both of my children were premature I do have a soft spot for them. Or maybe just a baby who is so tiny. Whatever the reason, it melted me. Turned me into a ball of jello. I think it hit me so hard because Britches was supposed to be smaller. The doctors tried to convince me to let them take her out, but I refused. I just kept on refusing. The ultrasound estimate at that time was 1 lb 8 oz. I am so glad I held out as long as possible. Seeing this tiny little human hooked up to machines took me back to when she was born.

So I went to work shrinking my normal tutu dress pattern. I compared sizes to one of Britches preemie onesies, and checked some measurements online. I started cutting the teeny tiny bodice, sewing the small pieces together, cutting baby pieces of tulle, and weaving through impossibly small holes. The tutu started to take shape. It looks like it's made for one of my daughter's dolls, not much bigger than your hand. So small. It makes me think of how fragile this small girl is...

I am sure that this precious little girl will not remember the teeny tiny tutu, or even know the tutu maker, but I hope that some of the love that I felt making this dress for her translates. I have said before that I believe that my love goes into each stitch. In this case, I hope it helps her grow stronger and thrive...

Sew Fun!

I have been having a ball lately sewing gifts for a friends baby shower. The shower was last weekend (I know I'm late putting up pics, busy week). I have had an enormous number of custom orders from the store, so I've had to steal minutes here and there for fun baby sewing.

I have embroidered, appliqued, made up new patterns, and played with adorable boy prints. I love customized gifts. They mean so much more when someone puts their love and effort into them. Some of my favorite gifts over the years have been handmade. A painting, a quilt, an afghan, all so lovely. I remember those gifts very clearly. Hopefully she loves handmade items as much as I do.

Did I mention she is having a boy? This is particularly fun for me, because I have a new girl. I love being able to do projects for both! As luck would have it, another friend of mine is having a boy soon too. So I get to make even more fun boy stuff. Both moms are going to be cloth diapering--Woo hoo! Grizzly doesn't understand why I get so excited about this, but it means more people who will kinda sorta understand my passion.

So, here are my fun baby gifts!

Ok. First up is a Grab Rag! Britches loves hers. It's the "can't get it away from her" kind of love. I designed and embroidered the little man's name on bamboo velour and sewed it up with a cute cotton print and ribbons. I make cloth wipes with the same materials, so it is perfect to use as burp cloth, chew toy, or any other whoops rag. Plus, it's pretty the boy equivalent of pretty.

Next is from a scrap from the Grab Rag, an appliqued t-shirt. I love the little ties on shirts.

Another scrap from the Grab Rag is this Grab Ball. I looked at a beach ball and thought, "Yep, I can make that." It is actually 6 leaf shapes sewn together with ribbon. Not nearly as difficult as it first appears.

Here is a wipes pouch. I love to keep things organized. That way when I am searching for wipes in a panic, Tater can say "It's in the bag labeled WIPES mom, geez." This is a simple pouch made like an envelope. (It's lined with firefighter fabric, you will eventually see a pattern)

Wipes. Boring, but oh so useful. I swear you can never have enough.

More wipes. Seriously, never enough...

A matching changing mat is so necessary. I made this with PUL, cotton, and hidden fleece (to make it squishier). Because I had to play with my embroidery software and machine, I made a cute baby too, with a little A on his helmet.

Here is my favorite! I love this wetbag, it does everything. Well, not everything, but more than you can ask of a wetbag. It has the nice large wet pocket, plus a dry pocket, plus a shoulder strap, plus it's shrinkable. I will do an entire post on the evolution of this bag later. But for now, isn't it pretty.

Here is a newborn fitted. It is so tiny and squishy! It's all bamboo with a knit outer. It almost makes me want another... Almost...

Here is a one size all-in-2. Bamboo velour inside so it's soft.

And my favorite diaper. This is an impossible to find print. I even talked to the designer trying to find more, even she doesn't have a scrap left. Needless to say, I'm glad it turned out!

Here is the whole shebang! I threw in some wipe cubes and organic coconut oil too. Did you know that coconut oil works wonders on diaper rash? It does! Hopefully she likes them as much as I do. Even if she doesn't, I have really loved making everything.

I need to get to work for the other new little boy now. I can't wait to cut into the motorcycle fabric I have saved for him!