Quilting Bee

On November 3 and 4, 2010 I will be hosting a quilting bee at First Lutheran Church where a small group of people will be making quilts for Lutheran World Relief. They are a relief organization that distributes supplies to people in need and they have a need for quilts. Quilts provide shelter and warmth to people who desperately need both.

I would gladly welcome donations of extra fabric you may have and also materials for lining the quilts. Lining materials could be old flannel sheets, quilted mattress pads, bedspreads, heavy curtains (not fibreglass) or old blankets. It's okay if they have holes in them as they can be patched up. The quilts need to measure 60 x 80 so it would be helpful if the lining material was at least this size.

We are starting small and hope to make several quilts over these two days. If you want to help, you are welcome to do so. You don't have to know how to sew as there are plenty of other jobs to do. Lunch will even be provided!

If you have an interest in helping - whether it be through donating material or time - please email me at bencer99 (at) hotmail (dot) com and just let me know! Thanks for reading.

In Which I Am On A Roll...

My life seems to be filled with babies lately and this is great! Between friends and family members there will be at least 6 babies in the next few months so it is time to get sewing!

Last night I sewed for several hours and made 9 receiving blankets, numerous hankies and 5 burp cloths. Back at it again tonight. I figure why haul the sewing machine out every week when I can go into mass production all at once!

I also have a few special projects planned for Christmas gifts and my sister's baby shower so these will be featured soon too. I'm really excited to get crafting again!

Stay tuned for pictures and more updates!

Baptismal Gown

Little E helps Mommy and Nana with sewing. Not really but he looked so darn cute I had to start off this post with this picture!


I had the wonderful idea that I would sew a baptismal gown for little E for his baptism on Sunday. After looking at the gown my mother sewed for my brother I figured that I could sew one just the same with little or no trouble (and with some coaching from her).


The material we used for the gown was given to my mom by my great-grandmother for her to make my baptismal gown. We used the same pattern that my mom used to make my brother's baptismal gown. His baptismal gown had a little blue teddy bear embroidered on it. My son's god-parents are my sister and brother-in-law and they have a West Highland White Terrier named Wilkie (who is like one of the family). Evan's gown has a little westie on it that my mom embroidered.


I started this project very optimistically. However, life doesn't always go according to plan. I would say that it is mostly due to the fact that I left the sewing of the gown till the week before the baptism. This was mistake #1. No problem for my mom - but I needed to allow room for error. And there were three in the first 30 minutes of sewing.

First thing I did was to pin the yoke to the front of the skirt the wrong way. I had the front of the yoke pinned to the inside of the gown. This had taken 20 minutes of gathering, measuring, careful pinning and matching up which had to be undone. This could have been worse. I could have actually sewed it wrong.


Mistake number two came after I sucessfully sewed the seam after re-pinning it. It was then that my mom and I looked at it and discovered that we hadn't put the lace on. Every thing had to be torn out, gathering stiches put back in, gathers re-done, and measured over again. After an hour of sewing we were back at square one.

I sewed the lace on the yoke and then my mom redid the front seam yet again. This was when little E woke up from his nap and I had to go feed him. At this point, I realized that it could take hours to sew the dress at my speed so I just let my mom have at it.



She is saving a few jobs for me to do on the gown. I will be sewing the side seams, hemming it and adding the final lace trim. I think this still counts as me "sewing" his dress.

Ring Slings

My next project is to sew some ring slings for carrying little E. I've been reading several websites on baby carrying and was thinking that a sling might come in handy for traveling with little E.

I also discovered that there are different options for making slings - different types of fabric and for different purposes. I would like to make three types of slings. One of flannel for daily use, one of mesh to use in the water and one of lightweight fabric to make it cooler and a little more dressy.



I had originally bought craft rings at Michael's but after reading some web pages found out that they are not recommended for use in slings. The information I read said that you cannot be sure of what materials they are made of and whether they are safe for a baby. Also, they have rough edges and can potentially cut the fabric or break which results in a potential safety risk to baby.

I did find some rings at slingrings.com. These are specifically manufactured to be used on slings for carrying babies. I ordered several pairs and now am set to get sewing. You can find lots of patterns online. One site that I found helpful was this one. Just google ring sling patterns and you'll find many variations. Has anyone out there used one? Made one? I'd be interested to hear your suggestions or opinions on the type of baby carrier you used.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway. Contest closes Wednesday, March 3rd at Midnight!

Getting Crafty

Today little E cooperated with his mommy (me!) and I was able to get an hour of sewing in. He didn't fall asleep but just sat in his bouncy chair and watched me while I sewed. I can't post any pictures of what I was working on because these are baby gifts for my sister and three of my cousins (all sisters) who are all expecting babies this year.

Last night I was reading some blogs of other crafty mama's and found some really cool projects that are on my future to do list.

I really want to try to make this playhouse for little E when he gets older.

Also this little soft book.

Maybe a super cool playhouse like this one.

Some little boxy pouches like these.

A felted buttonhole bag like this one.

A crayon roll.

So many amazing things people create!

Past Projects

Nana made baby E a travel bag for his upcoming travels. This one holds a big bag of diapers.

This is a plarn (plastic yarn) clothes pin bag made for a Christmas gift for a cousin of mine.

Just a few more scarves...

A long overdue blanket for my friend's little boy. Two layers of fleece, hundreds of snips with the scissors and as many tied knots later and voila...

He loves the blanket!

Babies babies everywhere!

There has been a proliferation of babies in my inner circle of friends and family. Time to make receiving blankets!

I made matching receiving blankets, burp cloths and hankies for wiping drooling chins. There are several more to be made. Just waiting for a good long afternoon nap from baby E so I can get some more sewing done.

Busy Busy

Well it has been awhile since my last post but with good reason! Hubby and I welcomed our son E into the world in late late November and we've had our hands full since then.

Mom and I worked on refurbishing the baby bassinet that we purchased for little E. My contribution was zigzagging loose ends and sewing straight lines. Mom did the rest and amazed me by making everything only using the old covering as a pattern.

Mom also sewed some travel bags for little E - a bag for laundry and one for diapers. Also Mom sewed me some matching nursing pillowcases and a change pad mat. She is still working on the cadillac curtain - appliqued and hand quilted. Started out a Ford curtain - now a cadillac!

Here are some pics for your enjoyment!