Tuesday, November 19, 2013

A Quick Gift for a New Baby....

If you are one of my followers, you already know I now live with my sister in a Washington, DC suburb.  I've been here since closing my mother's home and driving cross-country with my doggy, Domino.  My sister had recently become a widow and needed a little emotional support.  I brought along my sewing machine and serger and have used them for smaller projects for friends and family more often than embarking on the major personal projects I normally tackle.  I've been residing about a year in a home my (only) sister has owned over 40+ years.  Over that period of time, she has witnessed the neighborhood changes and neighbors come and go.

She currently has a next door neighbor who owns a beagle who has become close friends with my Westie due to an unrepaired hole in the fence.  Well...this female neighbor is now pregnant, and the baby is due the first week of December.  This latest project of mine is a small gift to her new baby, which will be a girl!

Do you think she will like it?  Let me tell you where you can get the patterns so you can duplicate the projects for your next expectant mother.




The booties come in multiple sizes (birth to 18 months) and the hat instructions include birth to adult head sizes.  The patterns can be ordered from the Etsy sites here and here.  The pair of items require the purchase of two separate patterns.  I made them from a pink shearling found online on Ebay.  The second pattern is for Bubbo the Frog (he doesn't look like a frog in pink, does he?) lol  This is the second time I have used this seller (DIYFluffies) publishing from the Netherlands, but her English instructions made the sewing experience  just as pleasant.  This sellers pattern instructions are always very clear and the pieces fit together perfectly, just as her dragon pattern did.




The stuffed animal (above) is sitting on a large popcorn can in the picture, and the hat and booties are below him in the front.  These hat and booties require the skill set of an advanced beginner because the drawings and instructions are not so easy to decipher, but nothing that could not be figured out with a little thought.  I used white fleece for the bottom of the frog and his extremities.  The bottom of the booties are made with anti-skid gripper fabric available at most fabric stores.  The position of the frog's legs are left to you the seamstress, and I also warn you to use a stabilizer when sewing on the features of the frog's face.  I also customized the frog by including squeakers; one is in his front leg, the other in the main body.  It should provide some audible interest for the baby as she grows up.

Thank you for stopping by to see my latest project.  I am currently sewing Christmas gifts, so there will be more to share very soon....

Til then, keep going....one stitch at a time!

Hey!  Why didn't I get into the pictures?