Just to be clear, and very honest, here is what I should have been doing this weekend …
Look at all those clothes just waiting to be folded! Actually, I believe that wrinkles, whether on your skin or in your clothes are good for your soul and character building. It’s true. Also, could you please note the clothes presence in the pac ‘n’ play? What else do you do when you have a one year old who dumps laundry baskets?
Yes, so I totally ignored the laundry, most likely hurting it’s little feelings for this …
Ignore the freak hands and bandaged finger. I tried to wrangle an ancient drying rack and, well, it won. By a significant margin. I will now go hang my head in shame. Moving on …
Did I mention I love this fabric? Because I do!
Detail on the strap and boning around the neckline …
And … [drum roll, please] … FINISHED PRODUCT!
It’s a nursing cover! But, not just any nursing cover … this is the Mercedes of nursing covers. This thing is posh. This thing is a tent! I love it! And when I’m done using it for nursing, I just may swing it over my shoulder and go fight crime.
Why make it on my fourth child? First, I’m slow … and second, I’ve fought blankets for the last five years. I’m done fighting blankets … the size, the smother effect, the too small to be functional issue … all of it! If I go any further in this train of revolutionary thought, I’ll break into a song from Les Mis, so I’m going to stop.
However, if you’re like me at all and are still searching for that perfect cover up, check out this awesome pattern from Passionate Homemaking!
Seriously … still thinking about using it as a crime fighting cape …
It is done! My MDW (Memorial Day Weekend) project is completed!
In other good news, I got back behind the wheel of the sewing machine (wheel? hey, don’t kill the cliche, okay?) for the first time since I helped my mom make matching PJs for me and my American Girl doll when I was 9. This was BIG. I don’t sew.
Side note: This is where my mom and I are complete opposites. She says that all four of her children’s labors were more easy than setting up her first e-mail account but the woman can whip up vintage Vogue shift dresses over a 48 hr period with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back. Think I’m kidding? It’s an impressive sight to behold! The pattern practically bows down to her. Anyway, back to me … I’m more with the computer than the sewing machine myself, so, this was epic.
As much as I’d love to “blog announce” that the blanket is perfect and I’m a natural, my finished product is probably closer to a grade school sewing class feel than a start-your-own-etsy-site feel. But, I feel that I, for one, am stronger for it (cleansing breath of deep and profound maturity).
Haha! Now for the technical stuff…
First, always read the manual (which I did) … even the trouble-shooting section (which I didn’t), and here’s why …
Hmmm ... Embroidery thread ... now that would have been helpful to know!
Because I ignored [cough], I mean, overlooked this paragraph, I experienced a couple, shall we say “thread malfunctions” that may or may not have involved a seam ripper and a prayers for patience. It also meant that the regular, non-embroidery thread I was using for my decorative finishing stitch went through cycles of doing this:
puckered, warped, and just plain weird
Overall, the finished impression isn’t totally hideous. Nobody is running in terror. But, the “decorative stitch” I picked just looks more like my favorite inside-out sweatshirt stitching from high school than I’d like it to.
Second, the original pattern blog didn’t mention this, but I struggled with the different strengths/characteristics/whatever of sewing flannel to cotton. The flannel was more stretchy than the cotton and I felt like I was fighting it more than I would have liked. But that’s okay, I’m over it. And I’m already dreaming about trying another one of these guys in all flannel for my little Fall baby. 🙂
Last, Big Plus! Look at the SIZE! Have you ever seen such an awesome swaddling blanket? I’m thinking that this will be great for covering the carrier and tummy time as well!
Sorry about the shadow-y quality. This is what happens when you take pictures on your phone’s camera at 10:30 at night. Learn from me. Take normal pictures at normal times with normal light, okay? Thank you. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the animal print is green, teal, orange, brown and yellow on a cream background and the flannel stripe is in the same colors plus a dark navy (which I chose to accentuate with the aforementioned disaster of a decorative stitch).
That pretty much concludes my thoughts on this project. It was fun, easy, cute (especially if you follow all your sewing machine instructions) and I would definitely keep the pattern/idea on my list to reuse for baby shower gifts, etc.
Did I mention that I was taking pictures of this at 10:30 PM? I’m not old. It’s the pregnancy, really. Anyhow, I need to sign off before my kids wake back up at half past the crack of dawn.
More on our extended weekend later …
Have a great Memorial Day!
PS: want the blanket pattern? You’ll find it at Passionate Homemaking – click here.
Isn’t this beautiful? I can almost see a little one snuggled into it. Of course, that could be just me … I seem to have babies on my mind recently. Not sure why …
I read about this beautiful blanket over at Passionate Homemaking and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since. It looks amazingly simple … the perfect project for somebody like me: the “I-think-I-learned-how-to-sew-a-long-time-ago” seamstress. Of course, mine won’t be in these rich feminine colors, a moment of silence, please. …okay, moving on… Mine will also take significantly longer to complete than the couple hours truly needed. (see also: something about interruptions and small children)
This will most likely be my Saturday. What’s on your list today?
Hey, so, about our week …! Because I know you’ve all been dying to know …
Right now, we’re spending a lot of time with my little sister who is in town for the week after doing this:
Aw, isn’t she pretty? Don’t be fooled, she’s also a bratty little sister. Sidenote: She’s flanked here by the parental units who flew to LA to make sure she did the dirty deed and actually graduated. And another sidenote [because they’re fun]: that bling she’s wearing is a lei made out of chocolate candies. I wish I’d graduated from her school.
Care leaves for a summer ministry position tomorrow morning. Stay tuned on this story. As I’ve been talking with her, this ministry makes me want to cry because it’s so amazing and I’m looking forward to writing more about it sometime this weekend or next week.
On a pretty major note, we started off the week with a little of this:
Meet “E4” — 4th child and 3rd boy, due in the Fall. Isn’t he cute? He has his father’s fuzzy features, don’t you think? Haha! …ahem. Anyway…
On an (almost, but not really) equally major note, we’ll be finishing the week with this:
For those of you who might not know this if it slapped you in the face, this is PIZZA. Chicago-style pizza. Everything-else-you’ve-ever-eaten-pales-in-comparison pizza. From Lou Malnati’s. I think I’m actually drooling a little. [Mike Blackburn, wherever you are, eat your heart out]
We’re also looking forward to the long weekend in which we hope to be doing a little of this:
This is us at a Memorial Day parade …about a hundred years ago. …which was apparently the last time either of us took a camera to a parade. Plans to rectify that this weekend … so you all can see how much more mature we are [ha!] and also how many more children we have now [hahaha!].
More from the Ewoldts at large (or the large Ewoldts?) very soon …
Look at all those clothes just waiting to be folded! Actually, I believe that wrinkles, whether on your skin or in your clothes are good for your soul and character building. It’s true. Also, could you please note the clothes presence in the pac ‘n’ play? What else do you do when you have a one year old who dumps laundry baskets?
Ignore the freak hands and bandaged finger. I tried to wrangle an ancient drying rack and, well, it won. By a significant margin. I will now go hang my head in shame. Moving on …
It’s a nursing cover! But, not just any nursing cover … this is the Mercedes of nursing covers. This thing is posh. This thing is a tent! I love it! And when I’m done using it for nursing, I just may swing it over my shoulder and go fight crime.
