some business-casual business

Who even knows how much free time I'll have in the next few weeks or months? So I might as well stockpile some gifts while I have time, right? Today I finally had a chance to put together a necktie onesie. These little cuties are rather popular in the online sewing world, and when first I laid eyes on the idea I knew it would become a part of my gift-giving repertoire.

As with my other onesie creations I simply used fusible webbing to iron the necktie to the shirt and then used a zig-zag stitch to secure it. Simple. Quasi-hipster. Quasi-business-casual. Adorable!

I couldn't possibly give a onesie with out the requisite cloth shoes.

And finally, a pair of cloth shoes for our baby too!

Phew! It's been a sewing marathon around here and I think both me and sewing machine need a rest. I'm off to make myself some pb&j which I crave constantly these days. Pregnancy is weird.

indigenous wildlife populations and other musings

Week 30 is upon us! Thinking ahead to the Little Oyster's arrival I experience the strangest mix of emotions. If I had to put the feelings into a mathematical equation it would come out like this:

(We're going to have an adorable LukeJoy SO SOON! And I'll get to hold it and kiss it and change its diapers!) + (HOLY COW that is going to be painful and also my life is never EVER going to be the same!) = (!)

In our birthing class we talk a lot about how pregnancy and delivery can produce a natural "high" - that despite the pain and the discomfort our bodies are releasing endorphins and oxytocin in great quantities, which have a jubilant effect at times. It kind of sounds like they could be making it up to make us all feel better and calmer about what's happening in and to our bodies. But the thing is I actually know what they're talking about. Like sometimes I'm just sitting at work and nothing special is happening at all, but I feel all glowy and warm inside. No thoughts bring it about. And it isn't like I was experiencing an emotional high in the moments preceding. The sensation simply wells up inside me unexpectedly. How marvelous and mysterious!

An old friend from college gave birth to her first baby just a few short weeks ago, and from all facebook/photo/hearsay evidence there is more truth than myth to the new-mama-high. She looks absolutely aglow and natural with her infant son tucked away in her arms. To herald the arrival of the little guy a mutual friend commissioned a repurposed Twosie set.

As was the case with the original snail-themed Twosie, I consulted Luke for some creative advice. He vetoed giraffes and elephants on the grounds that this baby is from New England but safari animals are not indigenous to that part of the world. Ultimately we agreed that a squirrel would be an accurate representation of this baby's immediate natural world, and Alyson thought that the embroidered squirrel sketch I found was just plain adorable. So we were agreed.

Here's the little guy already snug in his new slippers. I'm guessing that he won't be into the onesie for a few more months, but I'm glad to see his toes are staying warm in the meantime!

And finally, I received word on Saturday evening that the auction at my dad's church plant was a success. And of course I was excited to hear that the snail Twosie was bid up to a nice price. That means at least two people liked it :) Also, imagine my sheer delight when I found out that the person who bought the set is a friend whose baby is due within a few days of my due date. Such camaraderie!

the pirated swing

So here's a sweet concept I totally stole from another blog. A few weeks back I Am Momma Hear Me Roar designed a t-shirt for her son, using her sewing machine to embroider the basic outline of a swing blowing in the breeze. I loved her idea for its simplicity and whimsy, and obviously my first instinct was to recreate the look...on a onesie.

I used my old friend, fusible webbing, to iron on the floral fabric for the seat, then used gray thread to straight stitch the other details. Quick. Simple. Darling. I believe I will pass this little creation along to the other couple in our birthing class, as they expectantly await the arrival of a baby girl in August.

long haul trucker

Another onesie refashion! And this one is for the Little Oyster. Luke and I like to bike. At some point several months ago I did a quick embroidered version of Luke's olive green Long Haul Trucker but wasn't sure what to do with it after finishing. Consequently it went into a box where I found it in the midst of packing for the upcoming move.

Well obviously I had to take a 20 minute packing hiatus to trim the fabric, iron on some fusible webbing, attach it to the front of another adorable hand-me-down, and zig-zag the edges with some gray thread.

Upon completion I glowingly announced to Luke that the baby would wear this onesie home from the hospital. Then he very astutely pointed out that this particular onesie is made to fit a 3-6 month old. At that point I imagined giving birth to a baby the size of an average 6 month old and conceded that the Little Oyster doesn't have to rush into this particular outfit and I can be patient.

the "twosie"

When I decided I wanted to learn how to embroider and applique a little over a year ago I hit up some books and some very knowledgable friends. My friend Lisa first introduced me to the miracle known as fusible webbing. I mean seriously. This stuff basically turns a piece of cloth into an iron-on "sticker". You cut it out to your desired shape then use a heated iron to attach it to the fabric. I've heard that it's possible to end the process here, but in my own experience (especially for projects you're actually going to use or wear) I've found it's important to secure the applique with hand-stitching or machine-embroidery. My weapon of choice? The zig-zag stitch.

Over the past year these techniques came in handy to embellish several crafts like a quilt, a bunting banner, note cards, quillows, and a tote. Recently I thought it might be really cute to repurpose lightly used onesies by using applique to create a whole new look. My thought was to design an appliqued onesie and pair it with matching cloth baby shoes. The whole set would be called the "twosie". Wouldn't that be a great idea for a baby shower gift? And as an added bonus it would prove very inexpensive to make, especially if the onesie was a hand-me-down.

On Friday I got a bag of hand-me-down onesies from Sarah. And on Saturday I was asked to make something to donate to the annual youth group auction at my dad's church. By Saturday night I had designed and crafted my prototype twosie. The snail theme was Luke's idea and I rather like it. It's meant to be gender neutral, but I suppose it's leaning toward boy-ish. That's ok though. If we have a girl I'd totally let her wear it.