She's here

My silence can only mean one thing. Miss Kenley Marie Wilson has arrived.

We welcomed our daughter into our family April 25, my due date. She came into this world a bit feisty, but she has been a sweet little thing so far. She weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and measured 18 inches long, which is about a pound and 2 inches shorter than her siblings. She seems so little to me and I am loving every second of it.

Life has been a bit crazy, so hopefully soon, I'll be able to sit done and write out our birth story, but today is still a juggling act of trying to figure out our new life.

The kids have been great and Calan is just in love with "Baby Kenley." Maisie is just starting to warm up to "Baby".

As for Kids Clothes Week, I obviously was a complete fail. I made one pair of shorts, ruined one dress, and got nothing else done. So maybe in between feedings and taking care of 3 kids, I'll actually get those projects done. Or maybe not ...

KCW Day 1: Maisie Daisy Flower Shorts

Day 1 of Kids Clothes Week was successful despite some unforeseen hiccups. I would love to say that the interruption was our daughter's arrival, but it wasn't. It was just monitoring her to only be told that we are fine. Glad she is OK, but spending most of my day at the hospital without having a baby is not my idea of fun.

But, I was able to complete these fun shorts for Maisie during the kids' nap time.

The shorts are very simple. From cutting to sewing to finishing, these shorts were easy-peasy. I did save myself some time today by getting my pattern pieces cut Sunday night so all I had to do was sit down and sew during nap time.

Why not use truck stickers to piece my
pattern together since I couldn't find
any tape?

Some how sitting down to my sewing machine really does relax me. Even though my day was a bit crazy, knowing that I got these shorts done made it a little bit better.

I can not say enough at how easy these shorts are to sew. If you know
how to do a straight stitch, you can make these shorts.

This is actually the second time that I have used this pattern, but the first time the shorts were just too small for Maisie. She is now a 3T, and I made the 2T size, which was just too tight for my cloth-diapered, non-petite little girl. If it had been a warm spring, she might have gotten some use of them, but since it is just now barely getting warm, they are just too small.

But I did learn a few things from my first attempt. I needed to make sure that I marked the front and back of the shorts. It got a little confusing as the project came together. So this time, I marked them and then I added a small tag to the back of the shorts when I was finishing off the elastic casing. This made it a lot easier sewing these shorts together.

It was hard for me to tell which side was the front and back
as the project came together, so I marked the wrong side of the
fabric and then added a small tag of fabric to the back. 

I used 3/4-inch elastic instead of 1/2 inch that the pattern instructs, and I only folded the bottom cuff up 1 1/2 inches instead of 2 because I liked the way it looked and gave it a little longer of an inseam, which I think works better on Maisie.

Because of my day and not being home in the morning or in the afternoon, I was not able to try the shorts on Maisie yet. Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful and I'll be able to actually sew a little bit more.

This challenge is already a lot of fun for me. There are so many women working hard and creating a lot of great looks. Be sure to check out what others are doing over at Kids Clothes Week. I've definitely been inspired. Hopefully you will be too.

Hopscotch 2.0: The Dress

Getting ready for church in her new dress. Since it is still only  40 degrees here in Michigan the sweater was not optional. 

It is funny to me that up until I started to sew, the only dresses my daughter owned were either ones someone bought her or ones I bought for holidays. I love dresses, but they are not always practical for toddlers for how much they cost. I am just frugal like that. But now, a whole new world has opened up for my girly girl, and we both are loving every second of it.

I am absolutely in love with my latest dress for Maisie. From the covered buttons
to the pleated bodice accent to the fabric colors and print, everything about this
makes me happy. 

My first attempt at sewing clothing for Maisie was The Hopscotch tunic from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop. It was the piece that gave me the confidence to make more items for her and Calan. I loved it, but I know that I could do better now.

This was the first piece of clothing I made for Maisie. It
is adorable on her, but I knew that I could do better. 

So, for Nap Time Crafters' (Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop's blog) last week of the Sew Off, I decided to make The Hopscotch again and see what else I could do with the pattern.

I debated doing a tunic again because I love the length on Maisie, who has a long torso and a plump belly. I swear it is the only shirt that I don't worry about her diaper or belly ever being shown. However, when I picked out my fabrics, I thought it would work better as a dress. I think I was right.

I kept most of the skirt gathering to the front of the dress. I think that keeping
the back rather straight kept the focus on the fun covered buttons down the back. 

I am pretty sure this won't be the last time I use The Hopscotch pattern. To me it is just a perfect girly girl pattern that you could do a lot with.

For example for the bodice accent, I used a pleated detail that I saw on a dress Jessica from Craftiness is not Optional made for her daughter. I think adding the covered buttons helped tie the bodice all together. By the way, I think covered buttons might be a new obsession for me. They were so easy to do and I think they were pop on this dress.

My new obsession might be covered buttons. I hate hand stitching, but
covered buttons might be worth it for me. 

For this dress I used Blue Japanese Dolls and White on White Dots from Jo-Ann.

I made the skirt of the dress a little different than the pattern partly because I didn't buy enough fabric and secondly to make sure the girls were all going the right direction. I cut a front and back skirt piece and sewed them together along the sides. Doing this, also kept most of the gathering to the front, which I thought worked better with this dress.

I was a little concerned with how the girls on the skirt would match up to the girls on the bodice. I think for the most part it worked out fine. There is one spot on the back that is a bit repetitive, but overall it worked.

Post linked to Trendy Tot Tuesday. 

Kids Clothes Week (hopefully)

So, I had planned to write today about my grand plan to participate in Kids Clothes Week next week, and I am still hoping to do that, but I had an interesting morning that might change all of it.

I figured the best way to not focus on my due date was to keep myself busy all next week, so when I heard about the Kids Clothes Week challenge, I knew that it would be perfect and fun for me to do.

But any mom can tell you, the more you make plans, the more your children decide otherwise.

This morning, I went in to the doctors office for my weekly visit as I am now officially 39 weeks. Everything was going normal till we listened to her heartbeat and it had an audible decline while we were listening. It slowed way down. It did go back up, but my doctor sent me straight over to the hospital for a non-stress test and ultrasound to make sure it did not happen again.

I checked out just fine and the baby is doing fine, but it was a wake up call for me that even though I have said that I am ready, I did not feel prepared at all to be going into labor. She is really coming and soon.

I progressed quite a bit from last week and now feel like maybe, just maybe I won't see my due date next week.

So, where does that leave my grand sewing week plans? I am going to do what I can and hope that my sewing gets interrupted by our little girl's birthday!

What is Kids Clothes Week challenge? It basically is a group of people who have committed to sewing for at least an hour every day from April 22 -29.

My plan is to make an article of clothing every day from Monday through Friday.

• Monday: Fold and Flap shorts for Maisie 

• Tuesday: Go To Signature dress 

• Wednesday: Clean Slate shorts for Calan 

• Thursday: Banyan Tee for Calan 

• Friday: E & E Ruffle Tunic for Maisie

I'll be posting updates to Instagram and Twitter through out the week and each day I'll blog my progress.

On Monday, I'll be blogging about my final sewing project for Nap Time Crafters Sew-Off. The Theme was contestants' choice. I choose to do a dress for Maisie (of course). I am in love with it and all the little details. Here is a sneak peak ....

A little something for me

This bag will be perfect for me this summer. It is large enough to throw a few things in for the kids, but not too large that I feel like I am carrying another diaper bag. It's going to be great for park play dates. 

Over the last few weeks, I've been following along with Nap Time Crafters Sew-off. I am not competing or anything, but I am sewing along to improve my skills. The competition sets a theme each week and then a panel of judges choose their favorites, voting off a few sewers each week for 4 weeks.

I love how the lining peaks out of the top
of the bag. 

This week's theme was sewing something for you. I figured it was definitely time I sewed something for me. I've sewn for Maisie (a ton), the new baby, and Calan, but I haven't done anything for me yet. It was time.

I figured a summer bag would be perfect for this mom of 3.

I needed a bag that was big enough to hold a few kid things, but that wasn't too large that I felt like I was carrying a suitcase.

This bag will be perfect for me to grab a few things and take the kids to the park for an hour or two. I'll be able to throw some essentials in when I don't need to take a full diaper bag along.

It will also be wonderful for any diaper bag overflow. I'll soon need things for 3 kids. I am sure that having extra space in another bag will be very beneficial to me.

To make this bag, I started out following Make It and Love It's Large Tote tutorial.

To taper off the top of the bag, I sewed the top corners
together. I love the shape of the bag it created.

As I kept sewing, I realized that I wasn't loving how wide the bag was on me, so I decided to sew the top corners together about 2 inches from the outer edge. To my accidental surprise, it created a great triangle shape to the bag. The outer edges fold toward the center now. I love the way it angles and how the inner-lining peeps out of the top of the bag.

I also added a magnetic snap to be able to close the bag, but still be able to reach in if I need to. With the top folding in toward the center, my items stay in the bag without needing a more covered closure.

The magnetic snap helps keep the bag closed, but offers
easy, quick access. 

The ruffle down the front was kind of an after thought, so it isn't sewn into the seams. I top-stitched into place. To make the ruffle, I just sewed together a long casing, turned it right-side out, pressed it, sewed a gathering stitch down the center, gathered till I liked it and it fit top to bottom of the bag, and then just straight stitched the ruffle to the bag. Since it was an after thought, I did not sew the ruffle down were it matched up with the magnetic snap. No need to break a needle. You can't even tell.

And just for fun and to add to the perfect play date look, I made Luvinthemommyhood's Commuter Cowl out of the inner-lining fabric. I bought the pattern a few months ago as part of a huge pattern-bundle sale. The pattern and tutorial were super easy to follow. It took me less than a nap time to complete the cowl from start to finish.

It will look great with a white t-shirt and jean skirt this summer as I tote around my 3 little ones.

With the bag and the cowl, I might actually look like a mom who has it somewhat together with 3 under 3. Looks can be deceiving, of course, but I am excited that I finally made something for myself.

Please excuse the large belly. Maybe one day
this little girl will make an appearance.
I'm 39 weeks pregnant today. 

Keeping them little

I can not believe how big my little ones are getting.

Calan is quite the toddler personality. He is always talking. He is always singing. He is always going. 

Maisie is gaining words by the day. She is very determined and very independent. 

Neither of my children are small in size. I just had to buy 3T summer clothes for my 20-month-old daughter. Seriously not small. 

But yet, there are just such adorable moments throughout our day that remind me that I am still the mother of babies. 

When Calan looks up to me and asked, "Carry you?," my heart melts a little. He means for me to carry him, but somehow he never got the me part and has always said you. Or when he is climbing into his bed and asks me to "Tuckle" him in instead of saying tuck me in, I just know that my little guy is still me little one. 

And then there is Maisie, my big little girl, who when heading to nap time or bed time, looks to me and asks for her "Borsch." No idea where that came from, but one day she just started calling her pacifier, which she only has when sleeping, a "borsch." I have always called it a pacifier, but to her it is "borsch." All I can envision is a little old Russian lady when she says it. 

These small things remind me how blessed I am to have them in my life. They make my heart smile. I love that they are getting older, but I love that they are still my babies. 

Maisie decided that her glasses worked better as a headband this day. 

Calan running around the family room stopped just for a second for me to take a picture. 

A little mommy prep

Good bye bad roots and dead ends, mommy needed a new look.

I am pretty sure that, once again, I will be seeing my due date come and go. I am not bitter or anything. OK, maybe I'm a bit bitter, but I am trying so hard to be patient. It isn't easy and I am not doing a good job of it.

So, to lift my spirits and get me focused and back into this pregnancy game, I spent the weekend doing a little mommy prep-work before the baby gets here.

I love pedicures. Pretty toes somehow
make me feel more ready for labor.
I can't explain, but they just do. 

First I FINALLY got my haircut and highlighted. My hair was way overdue for a little TLC. My last appointment was right before Thanksgiving if that tells you anything. My roots were bad; my dead ends were bad; my hair just looked homely.

Making the time to sit and get my hair done is not easy for me. I have no problem being away from my children, but somehow sitting getting my hair done for 2 hours just does not appeal to me right now. I would rather either be sleeping or running errands. However, I knew that it was time and that I needed to do it.

I loved every second of it. I needed the fresh look. My hair is now picture ready for whenever our little girl decides to make her appearance.

After my hair was freshly done, I headed to get a much needed pedicure. I am a true believer that every pregnant woman should have cute toes for when she goes into labor. The foot rub and special treatment just feels amazing at the tail end of pregnancy.

I topped off my afternoon with buying a new pair of pajamas for the hospital. Even though, I hope to be there only 24 hours like I was with Maisie, no one wants to spend that time in a hospital gown. However, I had summer babies, and it is most definitely not summer out this time. I knew I needed some warmer pajamas this time around.

I am now officially ready for this little girl to come. Now I just need to sit back, relax, and wait as patiently as I can.

T-minus 9 days till my due date.

Wintery Spring and her Hangout Hoodie

The Hangout Hoodie is comfortable and perfect for the below-temperture Spring we are having this year. 

It is no secret that the weather this Spring has been nothing short of horrible.

I am so tired of being cold, wet, and never seeing the sun. I have become that pregnant lady that is emotional, cranky, tired, sore, and just plain annoying. And I blame it on the weather.

I think the only thing that has kept me sane is my new love for sewing. Yes, I have become a bit obsessed, but honestly it has become my emotional outlet too. I get excited when another project turns out right.

It hasn't been easy for me getting up and down this pregnancy and my energy has been pretty non-existent. So being able to sit and be a little productive has helped pass the my days.

Maisie has obviously been the one who has benefited the most from my new obsession. I love making clothes for her. And with such a cute muse, I just want to keep making more.

Main fabric is Acorns Apple Pink knit

Today I am sharing the Hangout Hoodie by Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop that I made a few weeks ago.

The knit dress has been perfect for the horrible weather. It is warm enough for the low temperatures, but could still work if the temperatures ever rise about 45 degrees (F).

The pattern calls for either short sleeve or long sleeve with cuffs, but I wanted the sleeve to hit right above her elbow, so that it was not exactly short sleeve or long sleeve, but still was flexible enough for her to move around in.

I wavered back and forth about adding the front pocket, but decided that it looked better with out.

This is just a great simple pattern for a great play-date outfit. I am sure that I'll be using this pattern for years to come.

And seriously, how cute are these two snuggling on the couch together.
Love my babies. 

This post is linked to Trendy Tot, Trendy Little, and Too Cute Tuesday

Nursery wrap up

Today is the last day of showing off my nursery and I have 2 last projects to share. Thank you for all the sweet comments. I am (obviously) really happy with how it turned out.

If you are wondering how I found the time to do it all, let's just say my house has been less than perfect (it has been hard for me to bend down) and it is basically the reason I did not blog at all last month. Most of the projects were done during nap time and a few after bed time. But all together, the projects were as easy as they seemed.

For those interested, the fabrics I used were all from Jo-Ann's:

• Keepsake Calico Etchings Vine Blue
• Keepsake Calico Violet Paisley
• Nursery Baby Basics Dots White on Lilac
• Country Classic Cotton Solids in Lilac
• Soft & Comfy Dot Fabric in Purple
• White denim

Box-pleat window valence

The window treatments were my first attempt at pleats of any kind. I kind of just knew the look that I wanted and I had a tutorial (See Pin below) that I loosely followed, but overall the treatments are kind of pieced together. Nothing is flawless, but I still love how they turned out. 

For me, the treatments took a lot of measuring and math work to figure out how to get them pieced together. I was so afraid to cut the fabric and for them not to work out. I probably measured and redid the math 3 times before I bit the bullet and finally started cutting the treatments out. 

I wanted the valence to be on a rob and not attached to wood like a lot of tutorials out there have you do. To do this, I just top-stitched a rod slot at the top of the valence. This stitch holds my box pleats in place. 

To finish off the look, I hand-stitched ribbons at the top of each pleat. 

I cheated bought the sheer drapes at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but since the windows are a bit narrow, I just cut two panels in half length-wise and sealed the raw edge with fusible interfacing (well, actually, my mother did, but who's keeping track). 

Taggy jingle blocks

And what nursery wouldn't be complete without a couple of special toys. I have quite a bit of leftover fabric scraps from my projects and I just could not resist making these for her.

They were very simple to construct. For me it was just a lot of pinning and piecing together. After cutting my fabric scraps into 5X5-inch squares, I cut and pinned each ribbon piece into place. I then used a basting stitch to secure the ribbons into place. Then it was just a matter of stitching each block into a box like shape leaving about 4 inches on a seam without a ribbon open to stuff each block.

To make the blocks a little different, I added bells to one so it jingles, leftover buttons in a sealed container in another so it rattles, and lined the third with plastic grocery bags so it crinkles. I then stuffed each block and hand-stitched each opening closed.

They have been Maisie approved.

I hope you have enjoyed my Purple Pinterest Nesting nursery. I think only thing the room is missing is pale purple walls, but other than that it is pretty perfect to me. I hope she and Maisie (once they are sharing) love it for years to come.

Now to finish up all the other loose ends before she gets here. I'm still counting the days.

Simple DIY changing table

The dresser is what set the tone for the room. It was my great-grandmother's and I knew
one day it would be in our little girl's room even before we had girls. 

When you are tight on space, it just makes sense to use a dresser as the changing table, or at least, that is what makes sense for me. This long dresser gives plenty of storage for not only our little one's clothes, but for Maisie's and her diapers. It is a functional decorative space that keeps the room together.

Scalloped fabric bunting

To make the bunting, I followed Sew, Mama, Sew!
Scallop Fabric Garland tutorial.

It is quite the trend right now to add bunting to children's rooms. I have seen them used in all different ways and in a lot of different shapes and textures. I guess I am trendy because I knew that a banner hanging on the mirror would be perfect right away. It was actually my first nursery project.

This project was very easy and while I sewed mine, there are plenty of ways to create a garland without sewing a single stitch.

To create the garland, I cut out half-moon shapes of fabric and sewed 2 matching fabrics with right sides together with a simple straight stitch. I turned each piece right-side out and pressed flat. I took purple extra-wide double-fold bias tape and pinned each half moon shape into place. I then used a large zig-zag stitch and top-stitched the garland together.

Small hanging fabric baskets
The hanging baskets are probably one of my more favorite projects in the nursery. One of my biggest pet peeves of our previous changing table was that everything was just thrown into a large basket that sat on the table. I could never find what I was looking for like creams, wipes, etc.

This idea came straight from a Pinterest Pin (see below). The woman found hanging totes at Ikea and hung them on the wall. While hers look great, I knew that I probably could create the same look. So, I again went searching through Pinterest and found this great tutorial on making small fabric baskets. I used white denim for the outside and my coordinating fabrics for the inside. To add the handle, I just added a large button hole on to each folded edge and hand-stitched the handles into place hidden behind the flap.

The top bag holds our cloth wipes; the middle bag holds all my creams and lotions, and the bottom will hold toys for her to fiddle with once I bring a few up from storage.

Minky-striped contoured changing pad cover
Again, changing pad cover tutorials online are a dime-a-dozen. You can find pretty much anything that fits your skill level. I choose this one because it had the elastic exposed. I hate feeding elastic through a casing, so if I can avoid it, than that's what I'll do.

I found several helpful tips online for sewing with minky fabric, which is very stretchy. I highly recommend investing in a walking foot. My machine is great, but not top of the line and eats fabric easily. Having the walking foot, helps guide the stretchy fabric. Also, when cutting your fabric pieces remember to follow the nap of the fabric. It will show up in different lights if the nap isn't going in the same direction.

Little Stuffed Birdy
To add a little decorative touch to the space, I sewed a little fabric bird that she will be able to play with. I found this pattern online, but it was a little too small for my needs, so I just printed it larger. The bird is very simple to sew together, but I had some issues closing the tail where I stuffed it. So to close it up, I sewed ribbon onto the tail, and I think that it actually looks better that way. It gave the bird a nice flipped up tail.

Using the pattern I did, gave the bird a flat belly, so it sits up on its' own. The wing is just appliqued into place with a small zig-zag stitch.

Kind of fun, right?

And of course, I needed to get the kids involved, so I had them paint little bird houses for their sister. It really is the small things in this nursery that make it so fun and personalized. Nothing is perfect, but it all seems to work perfectly together.