Diaper and Onesie Garland for Baby Shower

 This is one of the decorations I made for the baby shower I had last weekend. It looked fabulous on my mantel. We arranged the onesies and diapers on a string with tiny clothespins.

I digitized these myself! I found an outline of a onesie and old-fashioned diaper online, brought it into Embird, and made a redwork outline. I made a single stitch "pocket" for a tiny candy to slide in, too.
These are stitched on felt, but I added a layer of fabric on top for the onesies, so they would have cute prints. The outline is stitched on the top layer only, then the back is added to stitch the candy pocket.

  Not only were these a decoration, but we hid a sticker on one of the candies. At the end of the party, everyone chose one and the one with the sticker chose a prize! These were very quick to stitch and made a great decoration. I might try these with different themes (if I have time)- how cute would a garland of pumpkins for Halloween be? Or a garland of angels or trees for Christmas? I may put these for sale in my etsy shop- would there be any interest?

I'm Going to Make a Christening Gown!

I've mentioned my best friend Karen before. She's having a baby girl around December 4. I already posted the pink smocked dress and some other things I've made for her. 
I'm very honored that she asked me to be the baby's Godmother! AND I will be making the Christening Gown! I am really excited to do this. It has been really fun to be excited about the birth of a baby other than my own. I have all the fun without the sickness! Soon I will post pictures from the shower, which was great.
I've been planning the gown since she asked me to be Godmother. The baby will only be 3 weeks old when she is baptised at the end of December, so I don't want something too big or frilly for such a little one. Here's what I've come up with so far:

 It will be smocked from shoulder to waist. I like the simple diamonds with detail row at the waist. I may even add some beading at the waist. The neck will have a bias binding with gathered lace, no collar.

I'd like small, puff sleeves similar to these from the Ellen Brigg's Party Dress pattern.

The bottom detail is where I'm really stuck, but I think a simple fancy band with a ruffle is probably what I'll do. I will also do some machine embroidery above the fancy band at the center front.

I also looked at some vintage patterns for inspiration. I decided on a 28" length, since the baby will be so little at baptism.

I placed an order with Fine Stitchery for my supplies. It is so hard to choose fabric without seeing it in person. I know I want something a little heavier than Swiss Batiste, but still 100% cotton and of heirloom quality. I ordered some Japanese lawn, satin batiste, and sheen sateen. When they arrive, I'll have to decide on one.

I'm hoping to have this done by the end of October, before the rush of the holidays begins. I'll be back soon to share my projects from the baby shower- and I'm starting on Andy's "Captain Feathersword" costume this weekend!!

Crazy Quick Curtains

 My Quilt Guild has a Fall auction every year at which members can donate anything sewing-related that they no longer need. This year the pickings were particularly fabulous. Our Guild usually makes about $500, but this year we made $980! It is so much fun! Some members help by donating things and others help by buying. I am one of the latter group!  I bought 3 large shopping bags of goodies. One whole bag was cranberry, sage, and taupe home dec fabrics- pretty plaids and florals. I got the lot for $15.

There was at least 10 yards of this cranberry floral and it is 93" wide! It feels like a heavy organdy. Yucky for clothes, but perfect for valances with some body. I did something I have never done before: I used fusible hem tape to hem these. So quick! So easy! So cheap! This project was charmed. I cut everything once with my rotary cutter- no mistakes. The 2 rolls of hem tape I bought were just right with 4" left over! I didn't run out of thread or bobbin. Everything went perfectly and with about 15 minutes per curtain, for 5 windows, it couldn't have been better! I love the way they look. They add a wonderful splash of color to our family room. 
I am getting ready to run a baby shower for my best friend (and 21 others) tomorrow! Back soon with pictures and ideas from that.