hooded baby towels . . .

So I was in need of a gift for our sweet new niece and since she already has enough quilts, I went to Etsy for inspiration - after finding over 1000 listings for hooded baby towels, I headed to our local fabric store's sale for some terry cloth and flannel. These came together super easy and there was just enough fabric to get out some matching washcloths. And I think this is my first sewing project for Justin since he's been born, so it was about time!

a bit of sewing . . .

I managed to get in the sewing room today to work on a birthday present for one of Elayna's friends. It's a little art tote, filled with gel pens, pencil crayons, markers, stickers and pads of paper. Elayna loves it and we hope the birthday girl does too.

annual quilt retreat . . .

Last weekend was our second annual quilt retreat. The organizers did a fantastic job again, the food was yummy, and the group of ladies was fun. It is so inspiring to see what others are working on and such a treat to have time away from all the mommy-duties for a day (although I did take Justin along, but he was very well behaved). I managed to get a baby quilt top done (which I'll finish up before I post it) and this quilt top for Elayna's bed.

how far this cloth diapering thing has come . . .

So this is my post to admit that yes, Justin is a full-time cloth-diapered baby. I haven't bought disposable dipes for him for about three months - and I still have a handful left from that last package. (I do make the exception that I still put him in our church nursery with disposables on Sundays and for Tuesday morning bible study).

I still find the whole cloth-diapering thing a little out of my comfort zone; my circle of friends and family does not include many that have tried it. Thankfully there's a lot of online sites like DiaperSwappers and personal blogs that offer reviews and advice. And I never cloth-diapered my girls so this is all new to me, but it was my baby that made me decide this - not the "green" factor, or even the money saving factor; those just both came as bonuses along the way. And I'm excited to report that Justin hasn't had any diaper rashes or eczema on his belly in months now!

So, just for fun, here's a pic of my "stash" to show you what's in our rotation right now. Most of these were bought new and a handful are from DiaperSwappers.

first row - Fuzzi Bunz one-size pocket dipes (except the dark blue one is a size medium)

second row - two bumgenius one-size pockets, and three bumgenius one-size organics

third row - red and green are size medium Thirsties (bought for half price on a daily deal at babyhalfoff.com), two Crazy Critters size large in ooga print, and a Mommy's Touch one size in Dump Truck print

fourth row - these are Alyssa's - two pull on Kushies trainers, and three size large Fuzzi Bunz

*picture of Justin at top of post - TwinkleToes one-size in blue flame print

I do want to say that the dipes I use are EASY - I'm not really interested in folding or pinning, or even putting covers over top of fitted diapers. So there are more options to be more frugal or natural than the way that I've been doing this.

And I've been trying to convert Alyssa to cloth-diapering with very little success. She is so against it, that even after getting some special purple ones just for her, she refuses to wear them. Hopefully if I keep persisting, she'll just decide to potty-train instead. This is a pic of her during the ten minutes that I got her to wear one today (I'm pinning her legs down).

little aprons . . .

Chantel is going to a birthday party today and was quite impressed with this little apron for the birthday girl. I used this tutorial, only I put elastic in the neck strap so it can just slip over their heads. She was pretty excited when she woke up this morning to one wrapped up for her friend, and one for her. One of my new goals is to make something for the girls just as often as I give things away - and that way I can enjoy them too!