Seriously . . .

I'm not currently sewing for the baby. I know it sounds sad and likely awful mommish but man when I'm pregnant the last thing I get is bursts of energy and the few I'm getting right now are being directed at reorganizing, decluttering and managing the troupe of already birthed children. However, I am sewing, just not for the baby. I'm working on the stash of large diapers that will replace the soon to be worn out ones I sewed up last time I was pregnant.. No that is not a coincidence - I apparently only manage to crank out diapers when I hit a hard and fast deadline. Can't get much harder and faster than a baby to throw the household into upheaval for the next several months.




Typically I stick to my color scheme of blah and blah, aka beige and white because I'm OCD like that and having to come up with cute combination of fabrics for diapers would literally be the rabbit trail that sucks the little bit of focus I might have completely dry. However, I made a huge mistake this time around when I was ordering fabric. For some reason my brain was out to lunch when I ordered only 3 yards of fabric (I typically order 5 yards of each type, inner/outer/etc.). Not only that, but this time I wanted to make more diapers. Like 40 and I only ordered enough fabric to make 15. Nothing like that smacking you in the face at 11pm about 4 weeks before your due date. So I've been scrambling to cobble together more fabric. Which is why on top of the beige soakers you see some bright green and red, soon to be joined by turquoise and finally some lilac PUL (waterproof outer fabric). It's going to be one grand old multicolor circus inside these diapers but I might just have to use the beige as a topper on the bright layers just to keep things under control. I have a feeling Mr. Maricucu is going to think I've lost my mind when he opens this batch up.


Ahhh nothing like a little beige to bring things back to order.

I've got a super power.

Oh yes I do and you might want to sit down before I lay it all out. I have a skill, a talent, so finely honed that I consider it a super power along the lines of Mr. Maricucu's beloved X-Men, League of Whatchamcallits (he's going to kill me for that one) and Superman.

Okay, so take a deep breath and clear your mind. My. Super. Power. Is.




I hold birthday gifts hostage. What? Doesn't impress you? Or does it not qualify as a super power but more of an evil genius power? Oh I'm quite serious about this. Without any effort on my part whatsoever, I will buy birthday gifts months in advance. Then I will carefully place them in a safe place (read: away from the kids) and forget about them. Then I will call the loved one I so esteem on their special day and midway through the conversation mention that their gift will be in the mail soon. Then I hang up and get caught up with the kid intent on using that screwdriver he found but on something without screws. Or the child who insists she has a super power too - the ability not to crack her skull. Or the one who's so eerily quiet that I go on a hunt to see what he's done with a lump in my throat. And that, folks, is when my super power kicks in. I then proceed to cycle between forgetting to pack up the gift and remembering but only when a sleeping child is in my arms or when I wake up to pee at 3am. Over and over, the weeks go by, *blush* the months go by. And these are people I actually love. I'd hate to think what a poor soul would suffer if I really didn't like them.




You would think that with the ability to craft this super power would have lost its stronghold on me. I mean, I have the supplies in house, then there's me in the house and the shipping supplies are also in the house. Heck my mail carrier will pick up the darned package right at my doorstop. Has that helped? You underestimate my only-slightly-less-impressive ability to procrastinate. I mean I've only been doing that since birth (quite literally I think I was a few days late). So now instead of forgetting to mail a gift that's in the closet, the gift now needs to make it out of this snare that is my mind, into fruition and meet its fate in gift limbo.




How impressive is this awesome skill of mine? My sister in law's birthday is in September, my mother in law's in October and my niece in February. They all live in the same household, and I still have their gifts in my possession. Oh and if we're being honest here, the last one is still ensnared in my mind. Blessedly Mr. Maricucu remembers his brother in law's birthday like a person with normal brain receptors and actually orders him a manly magazine subscription on time for his birthday. On time people! There are people out there who get out gifts on time. Tsk, tsk those mere mortals.




So I finished my sister in law's gift last year, and now I've finally finished my mother in law's gift. She's had some surgeries on her back and I figured a nice rice wrap and matching eye rice pad would come in handy for hot/cold therapy. Yes that's my mother in law that sends me free fabric pretty often. The rice wrap is about 39" x 6". I segmented the wrap about every 5 inches and sewed a line of stitching down the width to keep the rice from ending up all at one end. Very easy, just a little tedious to fill, pin back the rice and then stitch each section up.








The eye pads are about 8"x4" and a lot easier as they're filled just once. I've been swiping Mr. Maricucu's eye pad for those days when I have a sneaking headache and a cool, heavy eye pad is heavenly. I did not contour the nose area of these pads since I found that the rice is easy to mold around the bridge of the nose. The second one is made of scraps from my grocery bags and is headed to my mom who suffers from sinus issues.






So now, I must harness the nesting that is sure to last oh but briefly and make my niece's gift. Thankfully, my loving family members all still speak to me and appreciate their gifts even if they are obnoxiously late. So what's your super power?

Oh my, I may have scarred her for life.

I've finally gotten around my mental block and picked up the waldorf doll again. In a burst of inspiration, procrastination or misdirected nesting I put a bit of a dent in the dolly's body this week. Now, the last time I worked on the boys' dolls it was all secretive evening work but this time I've been working on the third specimen out in the open. I had heard there was a bit of a risk in doing this. Some children might be horrified to see their dolls without facial features, hair or limbs and *sniff* never want to see them again.




I must admit that once I closed the seam on top of the head (yes it's supposed to look like that) I made a concerted effort not to let baby see the doll in this particular stage to avoid having such a moment. So I set the doll aside in my sewing room and added to my list of professions I would suck at - surgeon, right there next to singer and anything requiring an attention span longer than that of a squirrel.




Looks pretty gruesome huh? I promise the position of the needle was totally a mindless thing. Just like I do with all my other hand sewing. Little did I know it would look so, um, bad.




But I was worried for nothing. The minute little girl entered my sewing room she saw dolly from across the way and it was all I could do to grab the needle before this scene played out. Cue the music maestro.








And now this momma has a fire lit under her bottom to finish this particular project.

The first of many wristlets.

I made this on a whim for a dear friend's birthday. I had seen a zippered pouch tutorial on the Flossie Teacakes blog and bookmarked it because I wasn't really inspired just then. This month the inspiration came. My friend, a busy mom, loves to go on walks with her kids and I figured a well-sized wristlet with a snappable strap would be perfect to tote on such outings. Where the flossie teacakes tutorial shines is in her attention the detail (check out the tabs covering the end of the zipper) and firm suggestion to use interfacing. The interfacing gives the wristlet proper body and makes it feel like one you could buy in any boutique (but not really because it's one of a kind). I've also been itching for a project to use this bird print. I love the super bright colors against the deep chocolate background. I had used a teensy bit of it in my mom's log cabin pillow but really needed to showcase this print some more.




The lining is of course a super bright color. Lately, I'm embracing my love for bright color but since this project was not for me I played it safe and saved the punch of orange for the inside.




I started with 10"x6" rectangles of fabric and sewed up the wristlet with 1/4" seams so it would hold a large bifold wallet, a phone and a few more odds and ends.






I couldn't help but add a bit color to the outside as well. An atom red zipper . . .




. . . and some matching snaps on the the strap so she could attach the wristlet to her sling rings, other bag or anything else.




Oh and I'm definitely making more. At the very least one for my niece and one for me which is odd for this fickle ADD-proned sewist. We'll see . . .

Oh ye of twitchy organizational urges . . .

. . . avert your eyes. If you're the least bit bothered by mess, disorganization or displacement of items you've been warned.




Now for the rest of us who live in reality (kidding!) here's the current state of my sewing room. I figured since I've got a bunch of stuff in progress but nothing actually finished quite yet I'd 'fess up to my mental block. It's all my own doing of course. I imagine some sort of self sabotage if you want to get all phsycho-babble but really out of the many works-in-progress I have about three items that are in the last step of completion and I can't stand to look at them. Happens every time, I'm giddily working on something at quite the clip when I'm nearing the end and I set it aside. Fear of not getting the project right, my procrastination at actually packaging (if it's a gift) or just feeling blegh. Either way, said item will sit on that mess of a cutting table not only unfinished but also blocking the way to working on anything else. If anything I'm quite self-aware of my limitations and quirks.




But! There's hope! At some point soon I will go on a finishing rampage and clean the sewing room. Then I'll sit and stare at it for fear of making a mess all over again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Behold my ironing board. Filled to the brim with prewashed fabric that Mr. Maricucu finally tired of having to work around in the laundry room. Underneath, more prewashed fabric overflowing from a laundry basket that I was in the process of pressing enthusiastically - before I got pregnant.




Finally at least some progress. My little girl's waldorf doll body parts and the rest of the supplies all rounded up in one box to take out in the evenings. For now she pats the wool batting gladly. On top, the fingerless mitt I've now had to pull apart a record three times just to get the buttonhole for my thumb the right size. Apparently aside from my man-sized head (long story) I must have man-sized thumbs to match.



Signed, Marielle. Your local spastic and unproductive crafter.

'Cause she's got . . . personality!

I've shared before how even I, the lyric mangler, has songs randomly popping in my head during the day like some kind of personal soundtrack. Today's soundtrack is brought to you courtesy of Lloyd Price. Definitely an oldie (shhh don't tell my dad I said that) but a goodie.




Back to Miss Personality as you listen to the music. She sure has enough to go around and good thing considering the food stained shirt she seems to be sporting at any hour of the day. Indulge me for a moment as I present her newest kissing fish face. Nothing melts a parent more than when your kid first learns to kiss. Although I could do without the *ahem* slobber issue but I'm willing to overlook it.








And yes all of these pictures were taken of her on my dining room table. After a short reprieve during which Mr. Maricucu and I were breathing a sigh of relief she's gone back to climbing up there and this time dancing like a mad woman. It's enough to give me a heart attack several times a day.




Thankfully at the end of the day there's sewing therapy. A little inspiration turned to actual sewing this time around. Still not done but I've never claimed to be a super productive sewist. It's the only way I can enjoy the process.

His and Hers Sewing

For Mr. Maricucu a rice pack for his eyes. A couple of weeks ago his ophthalmologist mentioned that in order to rid himself of dry eyes he should apply warm compresses to his eyes which should help unplug his eye ducts. Poor guy was doing warm, wet washcloths which would get cool after a while and I imagine kind of clammy. I told him I could sew him up a rice sock and I fashioned this one from tracing an eye mask of his, extending the ends a bit to fit his eyes. Filled it about 3/4 full of rice to make it firm but also flexible (so that the rice contours around his eyes and nose area) and after testing it once myself I'm pretty pleased with it. He nukes it for a few minutes and then goes to town.




For me an almost finished fingerless glove. I'm taking a progress picture because I've already gotten this far before and had to rip the whole thing out due to sizing. This time the fit is much better and I'm about two inches away from finishing then moving on to the second glove. I'm hoping that being fingerless, I'll be more prone to wear them out and about as well as in the evenings while knitting/crafting/sewing.

Ottobre pants.

Finally got around to finishing the Ottobre pants for my little girl. They are design #10 on page five of the Ottobre 1/2009 issue. Man I'm so sad I didn't cut out at least a half dozen of these in different colors. The extra long foldable cuff gives plenty of grow room without looking sloppy and the pants have just the right amount of ease for a very mobile little girl. I'll definitely be making her a few more although I will probably add about an inch to the rise since our cloth diapers need a good bit of room. I did end up applying two snaps on the shoulders of the tunic to bring the lap neck in a bit and compensate for not having stretched the binding more.




The closest thing to a modeling shot I'll ever get. She moves too fast for the camera these days. She's got plenty of room to grow with the arm and leg cuffs but I'm iffy on these lasting until next year. Thankfully the baby will inherit her hand me downs so all my work will get a bit more wear.

It only took forever.

But little girl's Ottobre tunic/dress is done (turn to page 5 here to view their design). I still have to finish sewing the matching pants (made from the solid blue fabric) but I'm not sure when that will happen so I figured I'd post this one first.




The blue in the heart fabric is much darker in real life and a closer match to the solid ribbing. I love that the sizing is generous and the cuffs are long enough to fold up, then let down when the child grows. The overall length of the tunic is very generous and I can see getting two season's worth of wear out of this piece (well, barring extreme growth spurts). I did leave off the kangaroo pouch because 1) I was not up to fussy cutting a pocket for a baby who does not use them and 2) I found it a bit too busy for the design.




The binding around the neckline gave me fits but only because I had fallen out of habit. For the next one I would use a stretchier rib knit for the binding and pull it just a bit more taught on the inside curves.




For the hem I did a faux coverstitch hem by using one of the decorative hem stitches on my machine. I used to own a coverstitch machine but really did not use it often enough to justify keeping it around. If you've ever had trouble with hemming very stretchy fabrics on your sewing machine I highly recommend the tip at Pam's Off the Cuff blog (scroll down to the post titled "Two Ways To Tame T-Shirt Hems"). Just be sure to adjust the presser foot pressure on your machine to a lighter setting if it's a feature on yours.

Why don't I do swaps more often?

Oh yeah, that lack of attention span problem of mine. I could totally handle one or two but any more and well, the house would go to heck in a handbasket while the kids would take advantage of momma's distraction. But it's oh so much fun to open a package intended only for me.

After sending out my recipient's swap package, this week I received my own. Joy, joy, joy! Look at this adorable little pincushion. Now, you did read before how I can't really do pincushions with too many small kids but I'll gladly make an exception for this one. It's a teacup pincushion. Nice and sturdy, easy to tote around and most of all absolutely adorable.




Then I noticed the pins! A garden full of shrinky dink flower head pins filled the pincushion. There's only one problem with so much cuteness.




Kids love cuteness and mine have adopted the teacup pincushion. They've spent a good bit of time rearranging the flowers to look just so and each child has their own idea of what is "just so". Of course, anything that entertains them while I'm sewing just means - more sewing.




But wait, there was something else in my box. My swap partner is into anything vintage and generously shared some vintage goodies with me. This tin is gorgeous and practical (with a hinged lid) all on its own.




Yet she filled it with pattern weights (in the front) and vintage spools of thread (back). The pattern weights are definitely a blessing. Before this I owned only four weights and was at the mercy of both my memory and my kids' stashing abilities when it came time to locate them.




Then she bowled me over with this beauty. A beautiful and generously sized bag that will become my knitting bag. Since my bag is usually hanging on a doorknob or thrown somewhere in the living room it may as well look pretty.






Swoon, and it reversible. Dangerous territory for a person who has a hard time choosing what to make for dinner but choices can be good.