Catching up (and more burp cloths!)

Dear Angel,

Every time we connect for a speedy, interrupted chat on Skype, I end up missing you even more than before! It is so great to "see" you and hear your voice and all the exciting things brewing in your life. Can't wait to see how things develop!

Here in Seattle, Spring is here. Which means equal parts daffodils and tulips popping up everywhere and RAIN. Rain rain rain. You'll probably roll your eyes and say well, it's Seattle. But the well-kept secret of the Pacific Northwest is that it doesn't rain all that much. It is often cloudy and you do get quite a bit of sporadic drizzle. But real rain that soaks even your best rain jacket? That is reserved for Spring. The kids keep crying and whining because I repeatedly say "no" to the playground or riding bikes. And I want to whine too, especially since it's the time of year when every one of my friends on Facebook is bragging about enjoying sunshine and warm weather. Blah.

Anyway. On a positive note: I am reading a ton lately, and writing too. I have been doing yoga every weekday morning for THREE weeks now (with children and cat climbing all over me, but I see it as helping my zen). And I feel good and like I'm finally rediscovering my pre-baby body (aside from that damn belly pooch that ain't going nowhere... Where's my flat tummy, whah!!). I have been sewing a lot, mostly for custom orders and for my shop. And it feels good to be productive in a very tangible way. I have also been asked to put items on consignment in TWO local shops opening soon. I am going to be busy building that stock! And finally, Ben is on Spring Break next week and my Mom is coming to visit, whee!!! So, there is a lot of good stuff going on!!

Aside from sewing for work, I have made several baby gifts lately. Everyone is having babies around us. As you know, my favorite go-to gift is a set of embellished burp cloths tucked into a gift bag with favorite baby books, toys and/or accessories. Here are a couple of recent sets I made.

I LOVE the Bella fabric for this, it's possibly my favorite trio of burp cloths ever.









For this other set, I also included a little Swaddle Softie.







Well, I'm off to make some lunch. Henry has been asking for food for the past 30 minutes! I hope you have a lovely day.

Baby Baby!

Hi Angel!

I am briefly emerging from the Great Fog of Fall 2012 (what happens when you combine the new and overwhelming Kindergarten + preschool routine with a healthy dose of sleep deprivation courtesy of the toddler molars who refuse to appear...) to show you a few baby projects I've made recently.

These little bibs and burp cloths are nothing new. You probably remember that they're kind of my go-to gift to welcome new babes since they are easy and SO useful and convenient. I even made quite a few of those burp cloths while awaiting Henry's birth and we used them a TON in those early months.

But, what's fun to show here is the gorgeous new fabrics I got to play with!

First, some Simpatico! My friend Kate just had her little Ramona (I got to hold her for a while last week and think I might have to have another baby now, ahem). When I saw the awesome quilt Kate made, I thought the pink, grey and orange triangles of the modern Simpatico collection would be a perfect complement!

More Baby Gifts

Good morning! As I try to write this, I have a rambunctious 14-month-old running around the dining room, throwing toys and torturing the cat. At least the other one is at preschool, ha! Let's see if I can focus long enough to write a post...

While going through the folder of project photos on my computer, I realized I never showed you the baby gifts I made before the holidays. We had 4 (FOUR!) babies join our circle of friends in the late fall of 2011. I decided to make the ever practical and popular gift of bibs and burp cloths to welcome these little ones.


I picked modern, non-baby fabrics for these, and loved how they turned out! Some of the fabric choices were inspired by Keli, owner of our sponsor shop Drygoods Design Online (where I actually purchased most of these fabrics). Did you know she hand-makes items for sale too? Check out her shop Bread & Salt, I love her modern take on classic gifts.

I hammered these out assembly-line style, following that same bib pattern by Chickpea Studio I'd used previously. This is such a simple straightforward project and the result is so cute, I love it.

Easy Baby Gift

Babies, babies, babies everywhere! 2 of my good friends had babies this spring, 2 of my husband's coworkers had babies this summer, and 3 more of my girlfriends are having babies this fall. Craziness! I love making baby gifts, it's such a sweet process and a thoughtful way to welcome these new little ones. But I can't possibly make a quilt for each one of them or that is all I'd be doing!

For one of the latest baby arrivals, I opted for a practical and also easy-to-make gift: a bib and some burp cloths. With a baby of my own (9 months on Saturday, wah!) I know that these come in SO handy, probably more than any other gadget or baby item.


The gift recipient being a little dude, I decided to use the bunch of fabric I had left over from the quilt I made for Henry. The birdies are so cute and the prints are very boy-friendly.

Tutorial: Charming Baby Quilt

I got several requests to share the pattern for the Charming Baby Quilt I finished recently, so I put together a little tutorial. This quilt is very beginner-friendly: straight lines and simple piecing. It is also quite wallet-friendly as it only uses a charm pack (hence the name!) and minimal yardage for the quilt top.

The frames created by the solid fabric around the groups of 4 charm squares are perfect for showcasing a super cute fabric collection (like Sherbet Pips!). The finished size of this quilt is 44.5" x 44.5" so it's fairly small and makes a great baby quilt or small lap quilt. It would be very easy to adapt this quilt to a bigger size as well.


I am no quilt expert: this is only my 4th quilt, and the 3rd baby quilt I've made -- I've learned a lot with each one and still have mountains to climb. I hope this tutorial makes sense. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comment section, or feel free to email me at stumblesstitches (at) ymail (dot) com.

I drew some sketches to go along with my instructions. I should warn you that I was down on the floor, sketchbook and pencils in hand, while the baby was playing in front of me and the 3-year-old was running in circles around me, hence the messiness of certain images! I am hoping they help you visualize the process.

Charming Baby Quilt: Done!

It's done! Well, technically, *almost* done. But, done enough to post!!


I apologize in advance for the crummy pictures. It's rainy and very gray out, I have a to-do list 3 miles long and a 3-year-old who has traded his nap for a thousand interruptions. So, I didn't get a chance to iron the quilt or wait for nice light. But, this'll have to do because I really want to share!

Charming Baby Quilt: So Close!

Poor Angel, I'm so sorry you're out for the count with a nasty virus! Having just been sick as a dog for the first time since becoming a mom, I sympathize wholeheartedly. I hope you're getting a break or a little help somehow. May you feel better soon soon soon!

As you know, I was planning on sharing my finished Charming Baby Quilt today. And, as predicted on our Facebook page, I jinxed myself by saying I was almost done!

Progress on my Charming Baby Quilt

Hello there! Still under the weather in our casa, but I'm using this indoor time productively: to make progress on my latest baby gift, a quilt using the adorable Sherbet Pips fabric line.

I'm calling this one "Charming Baby Quilt" because it's my first time using a Charm Pack, and this fabric is just too, too cute. I've come up with a super simple pattern, which I can share when the quilt is done if you or our dear readers are interested (let me know in the comments, if you don't mind!).

So far, I've got the quilt top finished! Here it is.


It came together super easy and fast (if you don't count the 3-year-old and 4-month-old doing their best to interrupt my efforts!). I just sewed 4 charm squares together, 9 times.

Tutorial: Swaddle Softie

After getting several questions and comments on those softies I made for the Craft Hope project for Konbit Sante, I decided to post a little tutorial for making them.


I was determined to participate in your Craft Hope group, but I am so short on time these days that I had to be strategic in making these softies. I made a quick mental list of my requirements:
- easy and fast to make, i.e. requiring minimal hand-stitching and no complicated steps or materials
- safe for babies and young children, i.e. no buttons or other inappropriate materials
- cute, of course!

Stem Hat for Baby

Hello! I hope you're enjoying the snow in Tennessee!! We are envious here in Washington. Seattle got a dusting overnight and we're expecting more tomorrow, but the forecast predicts a ton of rain immediately afterward, so we're not getting our hopes up for snowmen, snowball fights, sledding and all that fun stuff...


I wanted to show you a quick little knitting project I completed just AFTER Henry's birth. Yes, I was able to knit with a newborn asleep on my chest in those first couple of weeks! He wiggles too much now to replicate that experience. Sigh. It's a little hat inspired by the Simple Hat in Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss. LOVE her baby patterns so much, and this cute hat especially! I used the last skein of that KnitPicks organic cotton I'd used for Silas's cardigan (ginger colorway).


The gauge was all wrong for the weight of my yarn, so I followed my own baby hat pattern and added the stem. For the stem, I kept the last 7 or 8 stitches on my double-pointed needles and kept on knitting for a dozen or so rows (until the stem looked long enough), then used a tapestry needle to thread the "tail" of the yarn through all the stitches. With hindsight, I would modify by keeping only the last 5-6 stitches on the needles and making the stem a bit longer.



Super easy and the result is pretty adorable. However, even after washing and shrinking it, it is still way too big for Henry, as you can see! I'm sure he'll grow into it before I can blink though! As an aside, I love how this cotton yarn looks after being washed and dried -- it's got a slightly rugged appearance but feels so soft.

Knitting -- and writing about -- this no-frills baby hat was a good reminder that some projects provide pretty instant gratification. I am so exhausted and short on "free" time right now that every project seems too time-consuming and too involved to even begin. Not true! I could probably knit another one of those hats in less than a week, in 5 minute increments here and there. Hmmm...

Here are a few gratuitous baby photos of Henry at 6 weeks, and a smile just for you!






Have I mentioned how strange it is to only see baby Henry from a distance? After watching Ben grow up from that size until y'all left for Seattle, it is surreal to know you have a second baby I have never met! He looks so much like Ben, and so much like himself all at once, that smile is so sweet.   I love the hat, and the yarn is wonderful for sure. The sweater you made Silas has held up beautifully. I'll add a gratuitous photo of Silas wearing it! Ignore the water spots on the sweater lapel, he'd just spilled some water.

Yaya Knits

Whew! The 3-year-old is napping and the newborn is asleep in the carrier on my chest. A few minutes of free time, yahoo! I quickly wanted to post a couple of gratuitous baby photos, but also share some lovely knits that my Mom made for Henry. As you know, Yaya is super productive when it comes to knitting and sewing. Not only did she make Ben 3 awesome sweaters for the winter, when she arrived in Seattle a few days before Henry's birth, she had knitted 2 adorable little cardigans to welcome him.

They're both still a tiny bit big but that's okay, winter hasn't officially started yet!

Here's the first one, a lovely grey. That's Henry at 9 days old.



And here's the second one, a sweet blue-green. Do you recognize the pants? I love dressing Henry in Silas' clothes, it makes me think of you guys through the day! This is Henry at 18 days old.



It's crazy to see how much he's grown already! I can't wait for him to start smiling, these newborn photos are a bit too serious.

I believe the pattern for at least one of these cardigans is from Debbie Bliss's Baby Knits for Beginners. Here's a photo from the book. Maybe Yaya can chime in in the comments and correct me if I'm wrong.


I have a project of my own that I recently made from that book that I will try and post soon. I am itching to start a new knitting project but am short on time and energy these days. All right, I'm off to try and finish Henry's stocking before my 2 little dudes wake up. 3-2-1 GO!

Jenny, Henry is the most beautiful baby I've ever seen!  He's just perfect.  The sweater you knit for Silas last year still fits, and I love it so much.  I'll be sure to post a picture soon!  These two sweaters are definitely going in the "to do" file.

Knitted Baby Blanket

Just before Henry was born, I was able to finish the knitted baby blanket on which I had frantically been working. I think I might have finished knitting it just on, or even after my due date! Fortunately, the little dude was 6 days "late" and I was also able to add the border before he arrived.


I washed the blanket before adding the border. Since I used cotton yarn, washing the blanket shrunk the size quite a bit, but it also made the stitches thicker and more even, giving the blanket a thick and luxurious feel. The final size was about 22 x 24 inches.



You may remember I was debating what kind of fabric to use for the border. I visited my local fabric store and fell in love with this cream and brown print from the Meadowsweet collection by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller. The cream color matched the yarn of the blanket exactly.


I had JUST enough with 1/2 yard, should have probably bought a tiny bit more. I cut the fabric in 6.25 inch strips and assembled them with diagonal seams so that I ended up with one long strip. I folded and pressed it in half length-wise.


I then pinned the raw edge along the blanket and sewed the border onto the blanket with the sewing machine. I used the Juicy Bits tutorial to figure out the corners.


When the border was attached all around the blanket, I folded the border over and pressed it. (Sorry for the terrible picture here, this was taken after the sun went down...)


I then stitched the flip side of the border over the seam by hand. I didn't want to deal with the sewing machine not catching both layers and having to undo my stitches multiple times, especially with the tricky corners. Stitching by hand took a bit longer but it was a much more peaceful process. My blind stitches are not exactly "blind", but close enough. I also blind-stitched the mitered corners "closed".



After washing it again, the borders are a bit wavy, but whatever. I am really happy with the result. It is such a cozy, warm blanket and I've already gotten several compliments on it, including from the nurse at the clinic when we got Henry ready to go home! He wasn't too happy about being strapped into the carseat, but at least he was warm!




It turned out great! I love the fabric. It goes great with the natural colored yarn. When I am off my "supply fast" I am going to KnitPicks to buy some of that yarn! I have to say that I am a little sad reading this post, knowing that Henry is going to be a lot bigger by the time I get to see him in person! He is so, so, so sweet!

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Also, don't forget our giveaway! Magpie Patterns is offering one winner a $20 gift certificate to their shop. Contest ends Friday, December 10th! Go HERE to read the giveaway guidelines and to enter!