Category Archives: baby accessories

Beautiful Booties

Posted on February 24, 2013 | 2 comments
DSC06170

booties by Mela Wilson

I love to see babies in pretty booties.  It’s true that the generic, elasticized, pull-on socks are very serviceable and sometimes stay on tiny feet better than the classic style.  Still,  it is a visual treat to see a wee babe wearing pretty booties, even boys. To me, such footwear seems to say, “This baby is special.”

Vivian Rose is wearing a pair in an  earlier post.  The three pairs in the above photo were made by Mela Wilson and purchased at Farmhouse Fabrics long ago.

pink cashmere flannel Mela Wilson booties

Pink cashmere flannel Mela Wilson booties have batting between the lining and the top.

For my own newborns, I knitted about a dozen pair for each and enjoyed every stitch.  Several years ago, a young mother confided to me that she and her friends had agreed that a baby can never have too many bibs, booties or burp cloths.  And that’s because they get lost or ruined.

yellow roses

The diamond pattern that surrounds the bullion roses is such a nice detail.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, infant clothing

Precious Baby Gift~Old and New

Posted on January 17, 2013 | 7 comments

Great, Great Aunt Marian’s baby jewelry

This has to be one of the most precious baby gifts ever given.  Great Auntie Jeannette presented her newborn niece, Vivian Rose, with antique baby jewelry.  This finery belonged to Jeannette’s Aunt Marian.  That would make her Vivian Rose’s Great-Great Aunt Marian.

Since falling heir to these treasures, Jeannette has been waiting for a baby girl to be born to the family, heavy with sons.

The jewelry included two baby rings, an engraved gold bracelet and a gold beauty pin.  Making it even more special, Jeannette included photos of Aunt Marian and a tiny envelope with her newborn calling card.

 

For this special presentation to Vivian Rose, Jeannette had a silver jewelry box engraved with Baby’s name and birth date. Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in baby accessories

Vivian Rose and Her New Smocked Daygown

Posted on January 7, 2013 | 18 comments

Vivian Rose 2 hours old

 

Hurrah! Baby Girl arrived today, Monday, via C-section weighing in at 8 lbs. 7 oz., measuring 21 “.  Mother and Vivian Rose are both happy and well.  We are thrilled!

From the moment she was placed in her mother’s arms, she latched on and nursed for almost 2 hours.  Of course, it was not non-stop, but she never let her little mouth stray from the source of her contentment.  She screamed when she was moved to the opposite side and then went silent when she was in the vicinity of lunch.  So she was 2 hours old before we got a good look at her and took this photo.

Rebecca was very pleased with this pink Swiss flannel bishop daygown.

 

 

It matches the bonnet made earlier.

Continue reading →

18 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery, Nana fun, smocking

Bonnet, Monograms and Chicken Soup

Posted on December 28, 2012 | 13 comments

What does this baby bonnet

have in common with chicken soup? Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in antique textiles, baby accessories, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, machine embroidery, Nana fun

Bassinette Skirt Finished!

Posted on December 19, 2012 | 6 comments

Hurrah!  The bassinette skirt is finished.  I’d make a lot of changes if I were to do it again without feeling rushed.  But it’s acceptable.

I  really dislike being interrupted in the midst of a big project, but that is what happened with this bassinette skirt.  After time passed and other projects rose to the top of the list, getting back to the UFO skirt was more like a chore.

Rebecca was so pleased with the first skirt that she took it home so at least the presenting side of the bassinette was covered.  Nesting, you know. But in the interim, I forgot—and neglected to check the photos in the earlier post–that all the sheep appliques on that skirt were satin stitched with white, pink or ivory.

With the Time Out Bad Boy sheep below setting the mood for skirt 2

and the curious, mischievous bee challenger,

this bassinette skirt will show the dark side of mutton flock behavior. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, machine embroidery

Sweet Baby Duds

Posted on December 8, 2012 | 4 comments
The scallops and embroidery are a very soft pastel yellow, not nearly like the bright color that shows up on my monitor.

The scallops and embroidery are a very soft pastel yellow, not nearly like the bright color that shows up on my monitor.

I’m approaching the panic mode as my new granddaughter concludes her cozy stay in utero. So few items have been sewn for her! A few smocked daygowns (Liberty of London, striped Swiss dot), a smocked white pique diaper shirt, a Swiss flannel slip, the ho-hum bassinette sheets, and the bassinette skirt.

On my cutting table sits a tall, tottering stack of fabric and patterns which I expected by now would have been stitched into an even taller stack of sweet baby garments.

back w pants

So now, with less than a month to go, I have launched Plan B. rather than begin the elaborate beauties I long to stitch. This plan consists of making ruffled diaper covers to match the precious embroidered diaper shirts I bought in Puerto Rico. On one of my teaching trips to San Juan, almost 9 years ago, these shirts were purchased a few months before the arrival of my first granddaughter, Laurel. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, infant clothing, serger

Tagged , , , ,

Fabulous Nursery by Kathy Dykstra

Posted on October 24, 2012 | 8 comments

I love writing this blog.  Aside from the satisfaction of  recording my sewing projects and learning from readers, I have met so many new sewing friends.   Seeing pictures of your projects and hearing about your sewing makes my heart smile and my face grin.

Kathy Dykstra is one of these treasured new friends.  Her projects are seen frequently in Sew Beautiful  magazine and also have appeared in Australian Smocking & Embroidery which featured her extremely popular and highly sought after pattern, Temily. (If anyone has a copy of this issue with the pattern intact, I would LOVE to buy it from you.)   In fact, the current Sew Beautiful, Vol. 26, #6, features her pattern Wrap it Up! in sizes 4-10.

 

 

 

Her projects are Pinterest  pinned and repinned again and again.

Kathy shared these photos of the absolutely wonderful nursery she and her daughters made for little Olivia.

 

 

 

They began with Plan A, painted the walls bright turquois with lime green for trim.  When it was apparent that this baby was to be feminine little Olivia, Plan B was initiated and pink was added to the color palette. Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, home dec, machine embroidery

Making a Scene~Bassinette Skirt and “Francesco”

Posted on September 29, 2012 | 11 comments

Side 1 is almost finished. A pretty bow will be made from the wad of ribbon sitting above the pleat.  A 3-dimensional bell will be hung from a silk ribbon and tied around the neck of the plain sheep on the far right.

Though it is not yet finished, this bassinette skirt has been such fun to embroider.  It is for our daughter who is expecting her second child and first little girl.  When she bought the bassinette, she saw the blank, unadorned side panel skirts as blank canvases. Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, boys, machine embroidery

Fluffy Lambs & Happy Chaos

Posted on September 17, 2012 | 5 comments
bassinette skirt~work in progress

bassinette skirt~work in progress

 

I really haven’t dropped off the face of the earth!  I had hoped to post photos of a finished bassinette skirt several days ago, but instead have only a picture of the work-in-progress project and a synopsis of the last several hectic days.

We’ve had a houseful of grandchildren and their parents.  The happy chaos that ensued has been delightful—-and exhausting! Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, machine embroidery, Nana fun, recipes

Tagged , ,

Toddler Toys

Posted on August 22, 2012 | 2 comments

Our church is very active in the Operation Christmas Child program.  This meaningful charity gives a shoebox of presents to individual children around the world who would otherwise receive no Christmas gifts.

I was asked to make something for  the 2-4 year olds, an especially challenging age group. Everything in the box must be safe for little ones who regularly put things like buttons in their mouths.

Another consideration is that 2 year olds are still babies while the 4 year olds are likely marching full stride into the big kid category. The box contents must be appropriate for all  the children in this age range.

 

OCC-animal toys

Anita Goodesign’s Baby Stuffed Animals

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, machine embroidery

Tagged