They Say It's Your Birthday {Present}

Yes, that is the extent of my ironing board - a TV tray ironing board...

This is my sewing corner. Fear not. There hasn't been an explosion in my sewing corner... unless you mean an explosion of sewing!  My husband (and canines) have been nomads for two years, bouncing amongst three states. So, I've been sewing where I can, when I can. Currently, it's a corner of the living room. 

In my immediate family we have 13 birthdays between June 1 and August 25. Add in Father's Day and both sets of parents' wedding anniversaries and summer is just one big party! (And of course there is one May and two Septembers in there, as well!) So, I need a lot of presents and I'm trying to make the majority of them using things I have on hand. (Sometimes I look at my fabric stash and I think of my even larger fabric stash in the storage unit in Santa Fe, and I get a bit panicky at all of the fabric I own!)

So here's what I've been working on:

Pre-snaps. I had a rogue snap part, so there's only 1 per strap.
The pattern calls for 2 per strap.

This is a belated birthday gift for my 1 year old nephew. This is from the Burda 9652 pattern. I'm really proud of it. It's the 12 month size. Some of the reviews I read thought the pattern ran a bit big, so I went with the 12 mo, but I suppose it really depends on the baby. To me, the torso seems quite long, but maybe with a baby belly and a diaper, it all works out. The pattern is for a pants jumper but since it's summer I just took a couple inches off of the bottom and made a longer hem, so they should be shorts. 

I added a whale softie that I free-handed on a couple pieces of paper. I was going to put an eye on there, but I think he looks just fine without it. Speaking of long torsos, I gave him quite a long one! But he's made of soft minky and will be good for cuddling.  And then just another fabric ball.

These are some bonus shorts for my almost 2-year old nephew (the 1-year old's cousin). 

"Bonus," because I had enough fabric from making the jumper to make these shorts! I didn't match up the plaid too well, but between these two projects I was patting myself on the back. No idea if they'll actually fit the children they're meant for, but you know... minor details :)

I also had a new niece born last week (yep, two in a three week period!), so I'm thinking about getting together some presents for her. As I was coming up with ideas, I came across some tutorials on bibs and I picked this one to try. In my blog travels I also came across this post on laminated cotton from Dukes and Duchesses. I'd been planning to make these candy wrapper bags eventually and so I had some iron-on vinyl on hand already and I was able to make my own laminated cotton!

It turned out great for my first try. All I could think was - Man that neck hole is small! But the pattern tutorial showed a photo of a 12 month old and a 4 year old wearing it. But, a bib is not too practical for an infant, so I grabbed a couple XXL men's t-shirts at Old Navy this weekend to make some burb cloths from Rae's tutorial. I've made them from flannel in the past, but I thought I'd give these a try.

I also finished another 241 Tote in Ikea fabrics and Kona Ash. I made the strap a little longer so it could be a cross-body, too.

And the piece de la resistance, the Highbrow Hobo from Lisa Lam at U-Handbag. 

I know, I know... these in-the-mirror shots are kinda embarrassing...

I made this for my sister-in-law for her birthday. I'm going to write another post on the how's and why's of putting this bag together. To sum up, I think it's a great pattern and it's just the right size! Definitely recommended.