Batter Up: 2nd Innning

Thing 2's baseball quilt is now all pieced together.

Next step: quilting both quilts.

Warning: this is going to take a while. :)

Batter Up: Update

After seeing the first draft (pre-quilted) version of Thing 1's quilt, Superman insisted I make one addition.

And when I say he insisted, I mean he insisted.

At first, I just thought he was kidding.  But then he made it very clear that he was 100% dead serious.

So I made the addition.

Batter Up!

Most of my craft projects lately seem to be projects I'm doing for somebody else.  Either because they are paying me to do it (Yay!) or because I'm making it as a gift.

So I'm happy to take a break and work on a project for me (well, really for my kids, but still...).

My twin sons will be turning 5 in June.  And their room is still decorated using the theme we chose for their nursery.

We have finally decided the time has come to update their room to a little more mature theme.  We (with their help) chose: baseball.

A few months ago, I started looking for baseball linens for their bed, but I was disappointed that I could only find either a specific team or general sports together (baseball, basketball and football).  But I wanted something that was just general baseball.

It was also around this time that I started making t-shirt quilts.  So Superman, being the brainiac he is, suggested I make them t-shirt quilts using all baseball shirts.

Ding-ding-ding!

I started by raiding his closet.  Then surveying shirts that Thing 1 and Thing 2 had almost outgrown (unfortunately I'd already given away all of their smaller size shirts).  Then, I hit up our local Goodwills.  Multiple times.

And finally, I had enough t-shirts to make two twin size quilts.  So this past week, after I finished Laya's quilt, I started cutting and laying out both quilts.

So far I have only sewn together the top for Thing 1's quilt:

Next I will work on Thing 2s.

And then, my favorite (for creativity) and least favorite (time-consuming) step: quilting.

T-shirt pants

So, you've made a t-shirt quilt, and you have a bunch of left over jersey material.  What do you do with it?  You don't want to just throw it away.  It seems like a waste of perfectly good fabric.

Or maybe you just have an old tshirt you never wear anymore, but can't quite bear to part with yet.

The solution: pajama pants.

Well, maybe not pajama pants for you.  But definitely pajama pants for babies or toddlers.

Estimated time: 20 minutes

Step 1.  Okay, I didn't do a good job taking a picture of step one.  But just imagine if you will.  You can either start with two tshirt backs (the leftover backsides from cutting out the fronts for your quilt) and fold them in half.  Or start with one tshirt and cut it straight across under the armpits (should leave you a square shape of the bottom of the shirt).

I'm using two tshirt backs for this tutorial.

Step 2.  Take a pair of pajama pants and fold them in half, then lay them over your tshirt back (remember it has been folded in half), making sure that the fold is lined up with the outside of the leg (the long straight side).  Then, using a rotary blade, carefully trace around the pants, leaving approximately .25-.5 inch border, if the pants should be the same size.  

My boys are actually close to outgrowing these pajamas (they are definitely high waters), so I left about an inch all the way around, and 3 inches on the bottom.

Step 3: Then flip the cut leg onto the other leg and trim up so that they are the same shape.

Step 4:  Now, unfold the pants and refold them back, but with the right sides (the sides worn on the outside) facing each other.  Pin up the straight line.

Step 5:  Sew up the straight part.  (I use a stitch that is part straight stitch and part zig zag.) 

Step 6:  Repeat for the other leg.

Step 7:  Now, take on of the legs and turn it right side out.  Take the leg that is right side out and slip it into the leg that is still inside out.  You want to line the to legs up so that their seams are straight together.  Then pin the U-shape together (make sure all of the pins are on the same side, whichever side you choose.

This should look like this... Like one big tube lined with another big tube.  Right sides facing each other on the inside.

Step 8:  Slowly sew together the pinned U-shape.  Go especially slow around the seam.

Step 9:  Pull the tucked in leg out.  They should be looking like pants now!  And all of the inside seams should be on the same side and facing out for now.

Step 10:  Measure the recipient's waist.  My boys have 18 inch waists.  So I cut a 19 inch strip of 1 inch elastic.

Step 11:  Fold down the waist of the pants.  I like to measure how much I'm going to fold with the elastic under it, so I know approximately where I'm going to want to sew to leave a big enough tunnel for the elastic.

Step 12:  It's hard to see in the picture, but when I'm pinning, I use two really big pins about 1 inch on either side of one of the seams.  These act as guides to tell me where to start and stop sewing.  You want to leave this opening unsewn, because this is how you are going to get that elastic in there.

Step 13:  Sew the waist you just pinned.

Step 14:  It pin a safety pin (I like to use a really big one) to the end of your elastic, and stick it in the opening you left unsewn on the waist.  Then pull thread it all the way through the tunnel.

Step 14:  When you've reached back to the opening, you should have both ends of the elastic poking out.  First MAKE SURE THE ELASTIC IS NOT TWISTED.  Then, sew the ends together.  Remember, I cut 19 inches for an 18 inch waist, so I want about an inch overlap.

Step 15:  Now sew the opening closed.

Voila!  Super cute, super easy, and completely free pajama pants!

This pretty pink pair goes to a special little lady we are going to visit in Virginia next week.

But don't worry, Thing 1 and Thing 2 got their own pairs too!

And the best part is that this project is so simple, that they HELPED me make the pants.  I'm determined to make sure both of my boys have at least rudimentary sewing skills, as I believe all people should.

So comfy!  Now I just need a super extra giant sized t-shirt to make myself a pair. :)

Tooth Fairy Pillows

As I mentioned before, I was super stoked to get an embroidery sewing machine for Christmas.

One thing that I'm loving doing with it is making in the hoop projects.

In the hoop projects (aka ITH) are little embroidery projects that are completed entirely within the space of your embroidery hoop.  Now, because my hoop is only 4x4, that limits the type of projects I'm going to be making, but there are still lots and lots of options.

One website I found that has a ton of very cool and reasonable priced designs to download is SWAK Embroidery.  They have little "hair pretties", play food, tags, and lots and lots of pockets.  One pocket that immediately struck my eye was a tooth pocket for $7.50.  I could just imagine it being used to make cute tooth fairy pillows for my boys and my friends' kids.  So I downloaded it, and about 20 minutes later, I had a little tooth pillow!  Or as my kids like to call it a "Mr. Happy Pants".  (They think it's a very happy pair of white pants).

Next, I found some cute material and started embroidering names.  Then I grabbed some stuffing and some ribbons, and before I knew it, I had a little pile of tooth fair pillows!

Here are some of the pillows I've made so far.

Front

Back

Front

Back

Front

Back

Aren't these too cute?  I'm excited for my boys to start losing their teeth in the next year, just because I am looking forward to them using theirs!

And how great is the idea to hang them on the door knob?  I'd much rather retrieve the tooth this way than from under their sleeping heads, risking waking them.  But for those who prefer the old fashioned way, you can just use the handle for displaying it when not in use!

Car Organizer: 1st attempt

Pinterest is just an evil place.  It's like a vortex that sucks me in and says: you must make this project NOW!

Saturday night I saw this car organizer tutorial and thought to myself: Self, your van could really use one of these.

So naturally, I spent a few hours on Sunday afternoon whipping two up for the old family truckster.

When I was finished, I proudly held them up to Superman, anxiously awaiting the bravo and accolades I just knew where coming, but instead, I heard him say Why aren't they gray?

See, one of the points of crafting something like this is to make something useful but for little or no money...(this was no money).  So I just used some flannel scraps I had in my craft closet.  I really didn't think of looking for fabric to match the van's interior (that would have cost money and a trip to the fabric store!).  And I certainly didn't think Superman would care.

But now that they are in the vehicle, I do think I will eventually make some gray ones.  Not because they don't match, but because I will change a few things in my design next time.  Namely:

1. Material - The tutorial did suggest medium weight material, like twill.  I used flannel (literally cut up a fitted flannel sheet).  It is thicker than say jersey or quilter's cotton, but it is not that firm and looks a little saggy in places.
2. Pocket size - The top pockets are too deep.  Besides the colored pencils, which are pretty tall, everything sinks to the bottom, and I thus are a little difficult for little hands to reach down into.  So, I'll make the top pocket about 2 inches shorter and raise it about an inch.
3. Personalization - I am the queen of impatience, so once I decided to make it I just wanted to get it done.  So, I didn't take any time to put little cutesy touches on it.  I'm thinking next time embroidering on some labels, for instance labeling the big pocket "Book", a small pocket crayons, etc. Of course the boys can't read (yet!), but it would a. look cute and b. help Superman know where to put stuff when picking things up off the floor. :)
4. Color - Okay, I'll admit it would look better gray.  So, I'll keep my eye out at the remnants counter at JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby.