Name Books

You wouldn't believe it by reading the internet, but making handmade gifts for babies is difficult!  Most of what I find on the web (that's something cute and something I would actually want to or could make) is for toddlers.  So this year, I was wracking my brain, trying to think of something to make for Daniel and Nickolas (last written about here).

Then, I went shopping with my girlfriend, Karina.  We talked about soft books and Daniel's incessant desire to chew on things.  We talked about how many baby gadgets Daniel owns already.  We talked about how Karina didn't purchase any books for Christmas.  Enter my bright idea!

Faithful readers, I give you the name book.  This personalized book measures about 5" square and is made entirely of scraps, including some of my precious Jay McCarroll stash.  Each page is dedicated to one letter of the child's name.  I tried to choose bold, bright prints for my letters, and I'm pretty sure I was successful.

I used an iron-on adhesive in order to attach the letters to the page and top-stitched around each one for durability.  In order to keep this book truly soft and satisfyingly puffy, the pages are stuffed with fusible fleece.  Every page is neatly top-stitched.

These name books are based on an alphabet instruction concept commonly known to instructors of early and emergent readers.  When learning letters, it's a great idea to start with a child's own name, since those are the most interesting letters of all (it turns out that reading your own name is pretty motivating)!  Many teachers will help students create alphabet books using a child's name (and the names of their family or classmates) to help enforce alphabet recognition.

Books like this are excellent toys because not only do they enforce letter recognition, they enforce print concepts, too!  When children play with books (and when we read to them), they learn that books start with a cover, that letters are found on the page, that we read from left to right.  Although this book is a little simple, it's a great introduction to print concepts like turning pages and seeing print on a page.

Although I made a soft name book for Nickolas and Daniel both, what you see in this post is a custom product created for a client.  Okay, not a client.  Karina asked me to make one for a coworker as a Christmas gift, and I obliged (And then she obliged by paying me. Cha-ching!).

I have future plans for other soft books and am considering creating a tutorial and pattern with templates for the name book and others.  Any interest?

Rainbow Baby Quilt

The photo above shows Nickolas chilling out maxing relaxing all cool on the quilt I made for him recently. Is he not the cutest almost-nephew baby you've ever seen?

I made this quilt using the block that Solidia chose for her month in The Incredible Shrinking Quilters' Bee.  I have no idea where that block pattern came from, but when I saw this I knew I had to use that block to make a baby quilt.

I'm especially proud because I made not one but two quilts like this, and almost all of the materials came from my stash.  I had to purchase one or two pink prints and about four orange prints.  Kristal gave me a few black and white prints from her stash.  I pieced the batting out of scraps and made backing and binding from several yards of fabric I had in my closet.  I did, however, buy some nice thread for quilting.

Overall, I'd call the project a success.  Cute!

Sew Productive

Behold, some ingredients for a quilt!  It's what I'm working on.  And really, I'm almost finished!  Best of all?  Almost everything in this quilt was from my stash or someone else's-- including the batting!

Baby Crafts

I finished a few projects today, just in time for Christmas!  First was a set of cushion covers for my aunt.  They turned out beautiful, but I'm waiting until they arrive to show pictures.  This is mostly due to the fact that I didn't take any myself; instead I'm going to let my uncle do it.  He is an illustrious photographer with many talents, one of which is capturing action shots of furniture.  For now, feast your eyes on these cute packages!

The bows are fabric strips cut from the same material I used for the covers.  Look at that perfect bow.

Also completed today are some baby toys I for Nickolas-- the baby of my fiance's cousin.  No relation to me, right?  Oh well!  I have claimed this baby to love and spoil, nonetheless.  It will be handmade toys until he's old enough to read, and then I'll load him up on books.

I made this adorable puzzle ball [mostly] from the instructions in Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts.  I say mostly because that book is heavy on text and light on pictures.  I had to rely heavily on intuition, and even got help from the local quilt shop.

The ball itself is only about as big as a tape dispenser.  Excellent for little hands to grasp (and then shove directly into mouth).  This project only took about 5 hours to complete, though I didn't work on it all in one session.  It was very easy to piece-- I used the machine for most of it and finished by hand.  Oh, and for the record: you don't need a fancy stuffing fork.  A chopstick works just fine.

I also made Nickolas a cute little fabric ball with a rattle inside.  I stuffed the ball mostly with filling, and then inserted a cat toy similar to this one.  Then I finished stuffing and closed up the opening with a [very ugly] ladder stitch.

Now I have finished all my wrapping, including my fiance's stocking stuffers and the gifts he got for his secret santa.  I'm feeling pretty good about Christmas!  In fact, compared to many, I think I'm ahead of the game!