Having fun

I belong to a Yahoo group called CoveredCaboose. They deal mostly with wool and bamboo fabrics for diaper making; they also sell some really neat knits and other fabrics. In addition, the group Mom has a pattern line called Ditto Daddy. I bought one of the patterns last week and made Little Miss A, my up-and-coming granddaughter, some new onesies. These are made specifically for babies who are cloth diapered. The name, fittingly, is Ditto Daddy Cloth Bum Onesies.

If you look, the snaps for the crotch aren't in the middle of the bottom. Now that place is hard enough to snap on babies wearing paper and plastic and petroleum diapers. There's a fullness to a diaper that doesn't lend itself to being squashed in the most abundant part. Oh no; these onesies snap up on the tummy, over the big mushy soft fluffy cloth diapers keeping the baby comfy and feeling all fuzzy. I have a snap press, like several other cloth diaper making people, and it makes applying the poly resin snaps much easier, not to mention a whole lot more fun because of the color variations and possiblities.

The tummy snap area, as well as the crotch one, is reinforced with my special blend of little pieces of fabric that allow stability while keeping the snaps from being pulled away from and possibly out of the fabric with repeated usage, which anyone who has ever diapered a baby knows their clothing gets a lot of.
So anyhow...I think this is my favorite pattern. I'm glad I bought it. The pattern itself is a little odd-looking at first but it explains itself fabulously well once you get going.
I will be using it again.

Now this dress is made from a Simplicity 50's retro pattern. It is also for Little Miss A, hopefully on her homecoming day (per Oma tradition). Before anyone thinks it - yes, I did put the snaps bottom side out. I happen to adore those little butt-ruffles and want to see all of them. The flat front is not as interesting as the ruffles, and little girls in ruffled diaper covers look absolutely adorable. The bonnet went together in a snap. I was really surprised at how easy it was to make. Actually, the whole pattern was pretty easy.


Here's a pic of the back of the dress and the whole lilac part of the diaper cover, which, by the way, is lined with Kona Snow fabric as is the bonnet, and the cover contains a hiddlen layer of PUL in case of leakage. Nothing like baby surprises on your Sunday best.

I also reinforced the snaps for the diaper cover with a layer of thick fabric so that they are stabilized and stronger. I don't want to take any chances.
I can't wait to see how son and his girlfriend like this outfit. They love the onesies. Nobody else will ever have one just like this one because it is made by an individual for an individual. No mass-produced BigBox dress-in-a-bag thing for my granddaughter. I try as much as I can not to support the proponents of a legal form or persecution almost to the point of slave labor all so that Americans can indulge their greediness and apathy for the people on the other side of their poor-quality cheaply abundant cookie-cutter possessions.


And enough of that.


The chickens have about had IT with the rain. They want spring and warm, not this weird weather we're getitng with cool and damp, warmer and damp, cool and damp, warmer and damp. We all get kinda cranky around those months when it's not winter any more but it's not spring either. I need to get my garden in, need to prune and rake as much as I can, and I need to paint the awful nasty stained inside of the chicken coop. I learned a lot this past year about what chickens can do with poop while they are sleeping. It ends up in the **strangest** places!!! Hubby is working more on the chicken coop. He finally got me another door at the other end of the run so I don't bonk myself in the head so much. I like this door. If it were a bit taller it would be nice, but you're not going to hear me complain.

Well, it's time to get going again. God's blessings on your and yours. Peace to you.

Newest quilts and a couple other treats

These are called Chicken Saddles. They are used to prevent overly amorous roosters from leaving their favorite hens with no feathers on their backs. I made them today. A lady asked me to make them for her friend and now she wants some for some hens she's getting this week, too. They alread have bad backs. The saddles are pretty popular with chickeneers.

This is a newborn size fleece diaper soaker. It is used in place of rubber or plastic pants. This is made of an outer layer of fleece with an inner centered "wet spot" protector consisting of ripstop nylon and another layer of fleece. The stretch on the legs and waist goes from side to side. It is very absorbent and helps keep the moisture in the diaper from leaking to the outside.

This is a flannel diaper. It will fit a baby from newborn size to toddler simply by folding in the tabs on the front and folding down the upper part of the back and front. You go from overlapping the folded-down back over and around the folded-in and folded-down front and pinning it with one pin to using it like a regular old-fashioned prefolded diaper. It is made with a layer of flannel on the top to start. This is followed by 8 precut layers of what is called an "insert" that is sewn together with a zigzag stitch and then straight stitch to prevent excess fluid loss through the diaper. This is placed on a bottom layer of flannel that has a layer of the same size of french terry on top of it. The diaper is pinned together all the way around and then fold-over elastic is applied with a lightning zig-zag stitch, stretching the elastic where needed like around the legs, in the front and back, and using it more like bias tape the rest of the time. It is very absorbent and soft. This, and the soaker above, was made as a requested sample from a prospective customer and mailed to her. They are in the process of deciding whether or not to invest this amount of money in something that they will then use as a constant thing. The difference between cloth diapers and disposables is significant but some people just can't commit to using cloth for their baby, and that is okay. We all have our own preferences and limits. She's sending me the samples back so I can use them to show to other people who might be interested in the diapers.

This is a freshly-made green bug-and-frog Oma Blankie. It is listed on my Etsy site in hopes of earning some extra finances. Hubby's pay grade got bumped back down when he did so it's going to be really tight this year. I can't work outside the home, but I can sew, and that is what I'm doing. I have two more quilts planned and partially assembled already.

This is the blue bug-and-frog Oma Blankie. It is also listed on my Etsy site. I am hoping this one sells as well. I've really had fun sewing this last week even in spite of people who don't show or who ask for samples and then disappear. I guess that's just gonna happen no matter what you do, isn't it? It's better to just let it slide than to get all whacked out about it.

Go here to find my Etsy store.