Scrap Bibs, Hung with Care

I have been in my suitcase of scrap fabric, whipping up bibs for the unborn! It's the perfect project for an hour of sewing: a tiny bit of two different fabrics (I used a template from this book) stitched together and turned inside out, a random button from my jar, and one buttonhole. Voila! A little stack would make such a great shower or Christmas gift.

I've hung them on an Amish Fireplace in celebration of our upcoming trip to Pennsylvania for Christmas. Happy Holidays to you all!

Off the List

Wow, where have I been, huh? The answer is, that I've been fulfilling a lot of Christmas/end of the year obligations. These are the kinds of things I expressed enthusiasm for when I had more time and energy. Then time became short, and people around me became anxious for their completion. Now, with almost everything crossed off my list, I can finally see some Christmas relaxation on the horizon.

This was one big accomplishment:

Back in Summer, I solicited recipes from many of my coworkers for this company cookbook. The recipes were so great! Then I lost energy. With the help of the Mr. Jones, and the lovely Vera (who drew this sweet cover and additional little drawings inside), and Jocelyn on proofreading, I madly rushed to complete it over the Thanksgiving break.

In the end, we had 136 recipes from 82 people, sold out all 130 copies, and made over $600 for the Oregon Food Bank. It felt good to do something for charity (something I'd love to get back to doing in the New Year), and felt even better to get it done!
How is your pre-Christmas list looking, good people?

How Little I Know

I've been making a few things in "newborn" size, but I think they've all come out too big. If I'm giving birth to a newborn this size in April, I really have reason to be frightened.

At any rate, this adorable top is "Tummy Warmer" (free pattern here). It was the easiest and most satisfying pattern I've worked for months (and the pattern photos sold it to me; how cute is that baby?!). The bloomers are from this book, which I recently bought for a deep discount, following my rule for craft books: they must have at least 3 patterns I would definitely make. Baby will probably wear/use none of them, but I'll give it a try. After all, what do I know?

Playing in the Leaves

Happy December, everyone! 4 months from tomorrow is my due date. It feels like a long time to go, but I'm hanging in there and looking forward to meeting our Strawberry (that's how she's referred to, these days). In the meantime, I'm still sewing homemade maternity clothes. Most recently I made this shirt:

I found a bag of Liberty fabric at an estate sale for $5 (don't you just love estate sales?!). Most of it was smaller pieces, but this (almost) 3 yard cut made a really comfy maternity blouse. I like the buttons at the back.

I used this vintage pattern (found at the Goodwill, in a bag of patterns for $4.99). Of course I was attracted to the Peter Pan collar, but in the end didn't put it on. I thought it got lost among the fabric's print. I've also made the jumper, though there are still some decisions to be made. It looked too plain and frumpy when first donned, so I was thinking about chopping it up. I pulled it out of the closet this morning, however, and thought its plainness sort of cute! So decisions are still up in the air.

At any rate, I'm enjoying this free and easy blouse in these final days of Fall. I know the blouse's colors are more Springtime, but as I play in the season's last leaves, I can feel the small person inside me kicking and squirming.

I guess when I chose this print, I gave her some leaves to play in, too!