a quilt for our little guy . . .

Instead of taking a book along camping, I brought Justin's quilt so I could finish hand-stitching the binding. It is so nice to see this quilt finished and in his crib now! This was the last in the trio of quilts I had been working on ~ Meagan's and Carter's were finished in July.

I'm linking this up to Sew & Tell Friday ~ go check it out for some sewing inspiration!

sewing for the boy . . .

A couple bibs and soother straps for Justin . . . I decided that I need to make a conscious effort to sew more for my own kids and enjoy some handmade stuff around here than always just making for baby gifts and birthday presents for others. And Justin was in dire need of some more of these, so they'll get used lots!

toy shopping for kids made easier . . .

Over the years, we've given our kids lots of gifts - Christmas, birthdays, and other special occasions. I am a bit of an "over-thinker" when it comes to gift buying. I'm quite picky, and like to find the "perfect" item. The toys that last and get played with the most always end up being the ones with the most "imaginative play" ability. So when I found out about this online toy store called Ebeanstock, and started looking through the way everything is organized by gender and age, I was interested. They even sell one of our favorite toys for the same price as in the store locally. And I really prefer to shop online than dragging all my kids out shopping or finding a time to go without having to take them all with me. Ebeanstock also has a policy of testing out all their toys by moms before they list them on the site.

Some of my favorite finds were this from the baby toys, this from the toddler toys, and this from the kids toys. I'm looking forward to being a part of their motherboard and getting to test out one of their toys for them ~ I can't wait to see what they pick for us!

little girl baby bibs . . .

One of my favorite baby gifts for Justin was a little sailboat bib with snap closure. It's just the right neck size, has a bit more coverage than most bibs, is really cute, and extra special because it's handmade by a friend. So when we got the call recently that a new little niece was born, I right away got to work on a couple little bibs for her. And it was a great excuse to try out my new toy, a pair of KamSnap pliers. They are super easy to use, and I have a big selection of snaps to choose from ~ lots of different colors and engraved pictures on them. I used some butterfly snaps to finish off these little bibs.

Petal Knot Dresses . . . and little petal knot purses . . .

Have I mentioned that I sew for fabric? I came accross a request for some custom petal knot dresses on a forum that I frequent, and couldn't resist answering. It turns out that the person asking also happens to work at Joanne's Fabric and since we don't have any close by, I was more than willing to make the dresses in exchange for some fabric from the store. She picked out a great assortment of knits and flannels for me, and I'm hoping to get working on some projects with them soon! The pattern that I used for these dresses is Portabellopixie Claire and the matching little purses were made using the Luscious Bow Tote pattern (I scaled it in half and instead of a bow, I made petal knot straps and knotted them). It was especially fun working with someone else's fabric combinations; each one is so different but so cute! These little sets will be on their way tomorrow and I'm hoping that some little girls will get lots of wear out of them!