That Was Easy! Nursing Cover

Last week Cliff's parents came to visit. We heard lots of little tales of our 6 month old niece. One such tale involved her nursing cover. My mother-in-law could not recommend getting a nursing cover more highly. It seems that when Cliff's sister is fixing to nurse the mere sight of the brightly colored cover gets my niece all excited.

So I set out to make a nursing cover. I can't say I was too excited. I seem to have an aversion to making straps. It's the turning that drives me bonkers. I hate turning tight tubes of fabric. But off to my stash I went in search of nursing cover fabric.

 
That's when I found this wrap around skirt. It was my mother-in-law's and she gave it to me with a bunch of other fabric. I love this vintage print and have been saving it for a special project. If it wasn't a size two I would probably wear it.

Anyway, it kind of looks like a nursing cover already.  A quick trim and a few adjustments to the already sewn straps and I could be done. All the hemming is done. I could make a slit in the top hem and slide the boning right in. This could be the easiest nursing cover ever!

As I studied it I tried to imagine myself wearing it out in public. Nursing underneath it. The fabric is a twill. That could be hot and heavy. Also, this print screams,"Look at this cool print! Notice me!" And that is pretty  much the *last* thing I want when nursing in public.

So I went back to the stash and found this beige and lavender print. I followed the tutorial from Diary of A Quilter.   It was so easy. From start to finish including clean up it was an hour. Not too bad. Turning the strap was indeed annoying because I get annoyed by that, but over all it made up so quickly I really didn't mind so much.

This pattern says, "Please respect my privacy."  Actually, it's called "Cherished Memories" by Robert Kaufaman. I hope nursing in private or public does become a cherished memory.

More Nursery Nook Inspiration

Imogen's nursery corner was the post that probably got me thinking "nook" instead of  full nursery.

Source: thehappyhomeblog.com via J on Pinterest

For right now, a corner of our room is so much more practical than a full blown nursery. I am  comfortable with that decision. However, I am not above drooling over the beautiful nurseries all over blogland.  So I found the above picture from The Happy Home very inspirational. It showed me that you can do a lot with a small space and make it charming.

Source: thehappyhomeblog.com via J on Pinterest

How sweet is this branch turned clothes rack?

Our space is actually much bigger. We are blessed with a huge master bedroom in our new apartment. Our bedroom entry actually creates quite a large nook at the front of the room. We have a full size crib, a big dresser and a small scale rocking chair all in that space. In addition, our bathroom boasts a long counter that is perfect for a changing station.

When all the furniture was in place, I saw just the right space for my own darling branch rack. But, where in LA would I find just the right branch lying around?

I thought about this for a few days. Wondered who had trees I could trim. Thought about going to a florist. Then just as I was getting ready to walk around the neighborhood in search of a branch, what did I spy?

The perfect dead branch just sticking out of a plant...just feet from my door! Eureka!

It took an hour to scrape off all the bark. A trim and some spray paint and we were in business!

I painted a bit of scrap wood to match my walls. Then I screwed that wood into studs on the wall and screwed the branch into the scrap. This made it secure and gave an extra inch or so for the hangers to fit properly.

My mother in law sent me the hangers. They were Cliff's when he was a baby! Love them! My mother knit the sweater back when I was in college. I guess she was dreaming of grandchildren then. She only had to wait about 20 years more! Sorry mom!  I received the blue bird in The Sweet Goodness Swaps French swap and I have always adored it.


The whole thing fits rather neatly between the door and the crib.
Scrap wood, and branch - free! Spray paint $2. Squeal!

Nursery Nook- Mobile

It's so hot today that I decided to stay in and catch up on my blogging. Errands can wait until the sun goes down.

When I finally jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon, I swiftly transferred over all my starred items from Google Reader. How nice to have all those great ideas organized and in one place!

Source: lemontreecreations.blogspot.com via J on Pinterest

Back in May I had seen the mobile shown above over at Lemon Tree Creations. It was love at first sight and I starred in on my Google Reader.
 
Here is my version and it was the first thing I made specifically for this baby.

 Back in May when I first saw the Lemon Tree Creations mobile, I had just found out I was pregnant and was still very nervous about the whole thing. I hardly dared to dream, but when I did allow myself to picture life with a baby, all I could see was a boy. Our family had three new girls born in March and April. After years of wishing for a daughter, I guess I kinda wanted a boy.  Then in July, my doctor thought she saw some boy parts, but she wasn't sure. This got me thinking boy even more.

I won't lie, I was just a wee bit disappointed when the high resolution ultra sound showed that Baby Z was a girl. Then I remembered this mobile and my excitement grew.

It appeals to me on so many levels. For one thing, it I have so many tiny yummy scraps that I can not bear to throw away. This is a good use for those.

Also, it can't get much more lightweight and earthquake friendly.

It's very thrifty! I think I spent $3 minus a coupon on the doilies. I also used a thrifted embroidery hoop that had become cracked and useless. Talk about upcycling.

The teacher in me loves the pops of colors and the fact that it's very basic for a young baby.

In the tutorial, Erin used fabric stiffener on her fabric. I used fusible web to iron the fabric circles right to the doilies. Other than that I followed the tutorial exactly. 

My classroom aide warned me the other day to get everything ready before the third trimester. Her first grandchild just arrived last week. And, since Mrs. B is so versed in all things pregnancy now she is watching me like a hawk at work. I am so lucky to be spoiled by her!

Anyway, I am taking her advice. So this will be a baby craft blog for a while.

Nursery Nook Banner

Here is my version of the Pinterest found inspiration banner.

It's a little too high up. I guess I was thinking that since it's just paper, I didn't want the kiddo to rip it, but now I realize that, well, babies don't stand for quite a while. By the time she can stand she might have her own room. We'll see how much of a nesting instinct kicks in. Right now, it's too high, but liveable. Who knows if I will get OCD and move it down later on.

 The paper letters are actually a sweet embossed lacy scrapbook paper and are secured with foam poster mounting tabs. I used Word to find the right font and size the letters. I printed them in "outline" style to save ink and used them as a pattern on my scrapbook paper.

The east coast earthquake and aftershocks really have me thinking. Earthquakes in CA are much easier to take because we are experienced, (no running in the street!!)  better prepared and for the most part our buildings are on rollers. Still, it's going to be a whole new ball game with a wee one. I was so happy to find an idea that was safe and sweet, temporary and cheap!

Nursery Nook Sneak Peek

Hello again!

I am busy enjoying a full summer that included a visit from Cliff's best friend, a trip to Vegas and a visit from our in-laws. Good times.

I have also been really busy in my classroom. We are getting a new reading program and I couldn't be more excited. I had been teaching the same reading program and stories for eight years and was feeling a little stale. This new program is jam packed and the schedule will be tighter than ever. Not the best time in my life to be so challenged, but it still feels like a shot in the arm to have new stories and fresh new books.

And, like most of the bloggers I read, Pinterest has been taking up quite a bit of my crafting time.

Source: littlelovely.typepad.com via J on Pinterest

This image had me at hello.

I have always liked "sleep" as a nursery theme.  Since our baby's last name starts with "Z" I had originally planned a collage of "z's" for over the crib.

When I saw picture this I fell in love. It captures the sleep theme. It's very feminine and completely earthquake safe. It's also temporary.

For the time being,  the baby will be sleeping in our room. We have a guest room that will be pretty busy with family coming in from out of town to visit and frankly, I am not prepared to have a baby sleep so far away. I thought, why bother with a crib in one room and a bassinet in another? So we put the crib in our master bedroom and left the guest room as is. I am not sure how long this arrangement will last, but I think it will meet our needs for the first few months.

Back to the banner, my first thought was to copy it verbatim.  Then shortly after I saw that picture, I happened to just glance over my shoulder while walking out of the Goodwill and saw this mess out of the corner of my eye.


It was an assortment of lightweight plastic birds. The sweet kind that remind me of the birds who hold ribbons in Cinderella.

 They aren't as earthquake friendly as the paper ones in the inspiration photo, but they are hallow and do have a sturdy hook to hang them with.

I have a whole flock to work with!

Clips- Instead of Pins

Clips saved me with this project! So much easier, quicker and painless.

Extream Makeover: Car Seat Edition- The Reveal

I did it! I was nervous and also challenged the whole time, but I love it and I am thrilled with the results. Once I built up the nerve to try and remake the hood, I realized that I wasn't bound to the orange, gray, tan color scheme. I found a large piece of green twill in my stash and bought the polka dot fabric from Joannes.  I recycled all the trim and bias tape from the old seat and just added a bit of homemade bias tape on the hood for detail.



I took lots of pictures of the original seat as the tutorial suggested, but not necessarily the one I needed. Isn't that the way! So from time to time it was a real challenge to figure the best way to sew a certain seam, or bias tape, etc... Still, I found the challenge to be enjoyable. It's not often that I do something completely new.

I used the exact padding on the seat cover so that only the top fabric was changed. I used the black edging from the original car seat that has all the loops, elastic and holes to secure it to the seat. However, I greatly simplified the design on the hood which had a patchwork of clear vinyl, mesh, and several colors. Using the lining as a pattern I made the hood out of four solid pieces.



The vinyl window was a real challenge with my machine until I remembered reading a post long ago about sewing vinyl with tissue paper. It worked like a charm. It was so cool to see how much my sewing skills have grown over my years blogging! However, this took hours and hours to do! I think it was a one time deal for me!

As for the safety issues of a replacement cover. Yes, I am aware that it may void my warranty and that the safety techs who will install it probably will comment on how it is less safe. I can only hope the CHP officer who installs it is as good looking as Ponch or John while he lectures me.

In all seriousness though, I did weigh all my options before choosing to do this. With all parenting decisions we all have to weigh which risks we will worry about and which we can just accept. We live in the heart of LA and unlike many Angelenos, we do very little driving. Very little. And the local driving we do experience is often at *very* low speeds. My husband works from home and his 18 year old car has less than 65,000 miles on it.  The reality is that parking where we live is expensive so we often walk to restaurants and museums. Most of the miles this car seat experiences will be via stroller.

Also, we have a brand new "My Ride 65" that will be our primary car seat once the baby is about 13 pounds or so. The reviews on that car seat (and my SIL's personal experience) state that it's a bit hard to adjust with a tiny baby and great with bigger babies.

So there you have it! My very first sewing project for Baby Girl!