Baby Quilt #2: Critter Patch

I couldn't very well stop with the bunny fabric. The whole line is adorable.

Again, my inspiration photo didn't have directions but here's the way I built it.

• The three main rows are made up of 12-3x6 patches. (36 total)
• These three rows are attached with a strip of 2.5 inch white fabric and then bordered with the same. 
• The thin strip is made of 2 inch wide strips of varying lengths pieced together in one long strip. 
• The whole thing is bordered with a 6 inch wide strip of white. 

I backed the finished quilt with some blue minky I got from Pick your Plum a few months ago.

My little one may not have a name, but he is going to be warm! I am so happy with how both quilts turned out. This one was by far the easiest to piece together, lots of straight lines.

Cheers!

Baby Quilt #1: Mid-Century Modern

The color scheme started with the Critter Patch Organic cotton quilting fabric in Orange Bunny Toss and grew from there. 

My inspiration photo didn't have any real directions (in fact it was a link to an item on an Etsy page that didn't exist anymore) but I figured it out as I went.

If you are feeling inspired, this is how the quilt works out:

• 42 squares made up of 3 pieces. 
• Each square is made up of 2- 2x5 pieces of fabric of your choice and 1-2x5 piece of white. 
• Each square is bordered in strips of 2 inch white (I used muslin but cotton would work). 

I built each row one at a time joining the squares with a piece of 2x5 white and then attached each completed row with one long piece of 2 inch wide fabric. 

For a backing I used a Moda pattern called Fairy Tale Friends. 

This would be a great scrap busting pattern. I could easily see this in a monotone all blue or pink, or even a fun rainbow. If you can sew a straight line you can make this quilt. 

Cheers! 

DIY Changing Mat Clutch

I don't know if it is nesting, but I've been going a bit crazy with sewing projects. I'm hoping this one comes in handy (haha).

I found a great little fabric shop in Ballard that has some of the best fabrics. Made by Marzipan's tutorial was super easy to follow, even for the novice seamstress that I am.

The one change I made to her plans was that I used a laminated cotton for the mat pad to make it wipeable (she uses a clear vinyl over the fabric instead).

Cute for something that will see a lot of not so cute stuff right? So tell me, was this a waste of time? Did any of you veteran mommies use these? I feel like I am riffling around in the dark with the whole baby item thing. There are so many lists with all of the "must haves" that seem silly to me that I wonder what I really need to be focusing on.

In other news, we started painting the nursery this weekend and I'm loving how it is coming together. I have a feeling it will be my new favorite room in the house!

Cheers!

Floorboards and Caulk

Hands down the worst part of a project for me are the little details.

I spent yesterday on my hands and knees filling nail holes in the trim and preparing to paint. My Ikea chair (an $8.00 thrift store find) is my first and only piece of nursery furniture. The rest is still to come. I've been emptying the room slowly to get ready to start putting it all together. I can't wait to start!

Cheers!

Craigslist Score: Baby Things!

We've been tossing ideas around about how we want to deal with the sleeping arrangement once the little guy is here. Originally I thought we could just move in to the guest bedroom for a few months (it's right next door to the nursery). Then, as I was sitting in bed worrying one night I casually mentioned to Daniel that I didn't know how I was going to be able to sleep without constantly checking that he was still alive. Daniel thought it might be a good idea to room in with the baby.

Of course that lead to all other problems of logistics. Do we buy a bassinet, a pack & play, keep him in a hamper on the floor. Luckily Craigslist to the rescue!

One rainy drive and $40 later it was mine. I'm in love. It is the most quintessentially baby thing I own (besides onsies) and it is just so adorable I could die.

Did you get a bassinet? If I had to pay full price I probably would have just sucked it up and dealt with my separation anxiety but for $40 I don't mind that it will only get 4-6 months of use. 

Cheers!

Nursery Walls: This or That

Decisions, decisions... 

Do you like it better with dark walls?

Or a dark ceiling?

The dark walls contrast nicely with the floors and give a good grounded feeling to the room but... the dark ceiling would look fantastic with the brass chandelier and gold stars I was originally envisioning.

Think this room with a dark ceiling instead.

Stair Upgrade

One of my goals before the baby comes was to get my stairs painted and carpeted. Happy to say, I did it!

And I even managed it before Christmas came.

It was a bit of a bear of a project, requiring quite a bit more carpet that I expected. In total I used four 2x8 foot runners to go the whole length of the stairs.

It was the turn at the bottom that really did me in. Lots of cutting and piecing together to make it work. So worth it in the end though. The stairs stay cleaner (though I have to vacuum them now instead of sweep) and the carpet muffles our steps which will be great once the baby is here. No errant steps waking the sleeping beast!

I used the classic, staple as you go method, which is holding up quite well. The key is using as many staples as you can to hold everything nice and tight.

One project down!

Cheers!