Baby Gift One: Done!

One baby blanket for my daughter's expected new baby granddaughter,

  

 and one Baby Binky Bunny with a matching baby blanket for the two-year old big sister.

I'm thinking that having a new sister will be quite a transition for big sister Angelica who has been the only grandchild getting ALL the attention for the last two years!

Hopefully having her own new baby with a blanket that matches the new sister's will give Angelica something to do when her mom is busy with all that new baby stuff....yeah, I'm dreaming here, right?  We all remember how well two-year-old kids share their stuff, let alone their parents!

Another Binky Bunny and Some Hand Embroidery

Life keeps getting in the way of my sewing.  It's so annoying.  I have accomplished a few thing, though. 

Another Baby Binky Bunny from the pattern I mentioned in the last post.  Love this one. I prefer the eyes hand sewn in place.  I loved his embroidered nose until my son wanted to know why I embroidered a rose there.  Now I'm feeling insecure about it.  By #3 I should have this stuff all straightened out.

I've also been doing some hand embroidery while watching television and when in the car (as a passenger--no need to worry for your life).

From the Lecien website

I found this design on the Lecien website among the free quilt patterns.  I've made some very minor tweaks in the design and changed the colors completely to match the fabric I'm going to be using.  The Lecien quilt is also quite colorful.  I just don't have that fabric or those threads in the stash.  I really, really must start using up the stash.

Off to enjoy the sun before it's gone.  We have had SO  much rain lately that I hate being inside when I finally see some sun.  Hope y'all are having a nice weather day, too!

But the Vinegar Weed Killer DID Work

I pinned something about a home-made weed killer solution using regular, grocery store vinegar.  Then I read another post that this could not possibly work. 

Off I went to remove the pin.  Yet, I seemed to have a memory of accidentally killing off some grass with vinegar.  Instead of deleting the pin, I went to the pinned post.  There were before and after photos of a brick patio much like mine--lots of green weeds, then, lots of yellow ones.  Gotta try it, right?

First time I didn't take pics of the before.  I just tried it on the worst section of my patio. (Yes, the patio is a mess.  We are just barely hitting "use the patio weather" here!).  Here is a shot of the after.

That is freakin' great!  So, then, I did this little experiment on clover to show here.  This is the before pic with three little patches of clover in the brick.  I sprinkled the first two with the vinegar solution.

 

Here they are less than 24 hours later.  If you look close, you can see the shriveled up remains of the first two.  Even the last one seems to have suffered from sprinkling some of the small ones that were close by. (Good reason not to get too close to the good plants.)

No before pics for the following, but they show that it worked on different weeds and grasses

Maybe the point of the naysayers is that this will not be killing the roots.  Still, if I have to sprinkle this much safer, cheaper stuff a few times I'm still ahead.  There may be a few hardy weeds that will keep coming back--dandelions and such, but most root systems need those leaves to stay alive in the long run. 

I used a solution of one gallon of vinegar, one cup of salt, and 3 tablespoons of dish detergent.  The pinned post called for less detergent, but I decided to go for more. I think I've mentioned my inability to follow directions before. I'd like to say I'm working on that, but I'm not.

 My experiments continue, however.  Once a home schooler, always a home schooler--even when the kids are gone.  I'm trying straight vinegar on a few of the really large weeds in another section of the garden beds (or I probably should say weed beds to be perfectly honest) and some of the mixed solution on others.  I shall let you know how it goes in the long run.

Update:  The straight vinegar worked just as well on the weeds in the garden as the mix.  Large weeds including a very large dandelion were completely shriveled and brown.  I'll see if they come back and let you know.

First Try at the Baby Binky Bunny Pattern

When I first got this pattern a few years ago, I COULD NOT cut out even circles of felt for the eyes  to save myself.  I seriously thought of buying one of those expensive cutting machines.

I finally bought cut felt online so I could make some bunnies.  Did I look up the exact size I needed for this pattern? No. Instead I bought $25 worth of felt and not one is the right size.  Who does that?  Me.  Yup, I was back where I started when I bought the pattern, cutting my own circles. 

After embroidering two sets of eyes on my not-so-perfect felt circles, I found a blog post from Make It Cozee about using wax paper to cut better felt circles.  Next time...

 Reviews online for this pattern abound, but they are short and sweet lacking details on the nitty gritty--what worked really well and what could have worked better.  The rest of this post is a wordy but hopefully helpful list for someone else who wants to try the pattern.

•  The pattern is well-written with clear and easy directions.  It is, however, on the expensive side at $11.95.  There is an additional pattern for a bib, booties, and carrot that will bring the cost up to a whopping $17.00.

• The directions have you stuff the limbs after sewing them on.  I've done enough stuffies to know how to work around stuffed limbs.  If you are new at this, go with the directions and stuff the limbs after turning the bunny right side out.

• Get some nice felt for the eyes or use a flannel or fleece with iron-on interfacing for stability. My felt was too thin.  I ended up using a double thickness on the second one I've started.  Also, use fabric glue or spray adhesive on the felt pieces to hold them in place for easy sewing.

•  The next two photos show some of the issues I had with the eyes--all my own fault.
•  My first set of circles were too big because I just cut the edges off a scalloped circle.  Use the size in the pattern!  The first picture below shows the wrong size and the second shows the right size.
•  I tried a fancy stitch to sew on the eyes in the first photo.  I find small circles difficult to sew to begin with and should have stuck with the straight stitch.  The second photo below shows the double thickness of my thin felt hand-stitched in place.  I like this  much better, but I should have gone with a matching thread so as to not highlight the fact that my embroidery was not centered well.

Close-up of poor bunny #1

Beginnings of bunny #2

• The felt nose, which was my idea, might have worked if I had embroidered it in place.  (I have $25 worth of felt to use up!) However, embroidering the nose entirely as in the second bunny close-up is easy and looks great.  

• I  used fleece for the diaper which turned out to be too thick for the tabs.  The working snaps I put on get around the fact that I could not top stitch the tabs in place.  Looks okay, though.

•  I like the snap as a substitute for the button or embroidered dots on the diaper. You only need to put on the snap top because the tab is top-stitched in place.

There you have it!  Got to finish up this second one for the July baby that's threatening to make an appearance soon.

The Pillow Sham Substitute

I have a love-hate relationship with pillow shams.  I love the way they look when professionals set them up for photo shoots, but hate the work to get that look on a daily basis.  I've resorted to  putting an extra set of pillows in the shams and throwing them in the chair at night.  To avoid this "pillow sham", (yes, it was a really bad play on words, but I couldn't resist it) I made what others now call a bed scarf for a pillow cover.

This is easier to take on and off and somewhat camouflages the fact that our pillows are different.  I like a smaller one than Brian.  

yup, that is a tree stump in the garden quilt

Why a tree stump in a "garden" quilt?  The quilt-along had 12 blocks and I needed 22 as the project grew and grew.  I know most people would not be showcasing a tree stump but, I actually have some amusing memories of digging out tree stumps in our yard.

As for the squirrel below, I do have squirrels in the garden, but cannot say I have fond memories of these beasts.  I once found one dragging my entire bird feeder across the street.  

The End of the Hat-Making Binge--I Promise! Recycled Jeans Hat

I got my most cooperative model to pose for me.  Never complains and always has a smile. 

She was one of my very first sewing projects.

What does it mean that the rag doll's head is almost as big as mine?  I always knew my head was a bit on the small side, but this is a whole new level of feeling inadequate. 

 I used some fabric from the old jeans pile.  A denim hat needed jeans-kinda buttons which I got from--where else?--the Snap Source online store.  Yes, they sell these tack buttons as well as snaps.

I could have used snaps that look like these buttons,

but I wanted to try the tack buttons, something I've not used before.  Aren't they beautiful? 

The tack part looks fine on the reverse side.

This does eliminate the possibility of adjusting size, but I don't need to adjust the size.

The random assortment tack buttons package included all these different designs and metals.

No, I'm not getting paid in any way for gushing endlessly about the company.  I'm just having fun with their products.

No more hats!  Well actually, there is that tulip petal hat that sewing muse Sandra did.  I'll wait at least a week to do it. Be sure to stop by Sandra's to see the hats she made.  Her models are adorable... in a...kind of....well,...different way.  I have it from a good source that she bribed them with baked good. 

Making More Room on the Sewing Table

I pinned an idea for using one of these clips to hold an iPhone charging cord.  That worked out really well, so I thought I'd try the clips for holding some of my sewing table clutter. 

And, there you have it!  Neat and convenient.  Lovin' it.