KCCO

Riggs has taken to his crib so well and has transitioned to sleeping all by himself in his own room better than I ever imagined he would.  He actually sleeps so much better now it's amazing.  And although he still occasionally wakes up crying from naps, often I hear him playing in his crib or jabbering away to himself and that's how I know he's awake.

Last week I worked out and took a shower during his morning nap.  It had been nearly two hours and I hadn't heard anything from his room, so I went in to see what he was up to.  Despite the silence, he wasn't asleep.  Oh no, he was quiet because he had had his mouth full of his crib rail.  There he was, standing up in his crib, his teeth firmly anchored in the wood, stopping only for a toothy grin when he saw me come in the room.

As you can see, it wasn't pretty.  I was horrified, not only sad about the damage to the crib but worried about the chemicals he had just ingested by literally scraping the stain right off the wood and eating it.  Seriously, his cherry colored drool covered his chin and had stained his onesie.  Luckily, his crib rails are versatile and can be flipped over so that this chewed portion is hidden by the mattress.  But I did not want this happening again, so I dug through the fabric I had on hand and sewed up a quick crib rail cover, using this tutorial.  It was pretty quick, I think it took me about three hours from start to finish, and it was really easy.  The most irritating/boring part was ironing and sewing all the ties, but really even that wasn't so bad.

The finished product is not perfect by any means, but I think it turned out pretty good under the circumstances, and I like how the fabric doesn't stand out too much but is still pretty adorable when you notice it, with the little red starts and mushrooms.

What do you think?  I thought the contrasting white thread would look cuter than it does, in hindsight I think I would have used red, but I'm still pretty happy with it.  And I cut out all the pieces to make another cover for the back rail but didn't have the patience to keep going and sew that one too.  Luckily he's only shown interest in the front rail thus far, but I know I need to get the other one finished soon.

I am linked up with Nicole at Frontier Dreams for KCCO {keep calm craft on}.

KCCO

The other day I posted about thrifting, and here is another thrifting success story.  While browsing around, I happened to pick up a few picture frames, one with a cute little picture of a mouse and two others that matched with nothing in them.  They were about $1 for all of them, and when I  got home I painted the two matching frames a bright blue to use in Riggy's room.

They've been dry for quite some time, but I wasn't quite sure what to use them for.  Then today I decided just to make up a little something to put inside them and get them up in his room.  I've really been into Longfellow lately, and one quote of his in particular stood out to me, so I jotted it down on some lined paper, cut it to the right dimensions, and slapped it in there.  I thought it turned out pretty cute:

 

For the other, I used some scrapbook paper and jotted down the specifics of Riggs' birth, which was eight months ago tomorrow.  And now excuse me while I go cry somewhere and beg Riggs to stop growing (for the record I tried this with my nephew Corbin, and he's in Kindergarten now, so I don't think this method works too well).

I really like how they turned out, but I might have to redo the one with Riggs' birth stats - the '5' just sticks out like a sore thumb to me.  I love how they turned out in his room too, they fit just perfectly on the little bit of wall left over next to his closet.

Riggs likes them too.  Here he is telling you all about it!  My big-nearly-eight-month-old baby boy.  SOB.

linked up with Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

KCCO: Tutka edition

Both in our old apartment, where we brought Tutka home, and in our new home there is not carpet in the living spaces.  The floor is hard, especially for the growing puppy who doesn't get to go in the bedrooms where there is carpet, or on the couch (like Beau).  We have been meaning to get him a dog bed, but haven't wanted to shell out even the $20 they are at Costco (which is a great deal compared to everywhere else).

Luckily, Steve had a piece of foam out in the shed that was quite big and so I searched around for a piece of fabric to cover it.  I found what I was looking for, a thick and sturdy vintage sheet, at the thrift store, and brought it home, ready to cut and stitch it to the necessary proportions.  It turned out well, very simple, yet cute.  And I actually ended up love the fabric much better than all of the dog bed fabrics that I have seen in stores.  Tutka seems to like it too, which means it is truly a success.

linked up with Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

KCCO

Having gotten all of the squares and triangles cut our for my pinwheel quilt, I've slowly been working away at piecing together the squares.  But a package came in the mail that sort of put that hold for a day or two.  It's a funny story, actually.  A month or two ago, I started work on a cowl - a lovely pattern that was very quick, easy and mindless (my favorite ha).  I think I may have even mentioned in it a earlier Keep Calm Craft On post...but anyway, back to the point.

I encountered a pretty significant problem, about an hour or two into the project - I didn't have enough yarn.  And I had purchased the yarn over a year before, and I couldn't find the same color and dyelot to purchase anywhere!  I had thought I had more of it when I started the project, but never could find that elusive extra skien (I'm convinced now that I imagined it and there never was an extra skein to begin with).  As a sort of latch ditch effort, I looked on Ravelry to see if anyone had that particular yarn for sale or trade, and one person happened to have it!  I was so happy and proceeded to personal message them right away.  They got back to me quickly, but I was disappointed by their answer.  They said that they would send it to me as a "gift" and that they wanted no money or yarn to trade in return.  I was disappointed because I thought it was just a scam or a joke of sorts.  But I sent them my address anyway and laid the project aside, forgotten.  Forgotten, until a few days ago, when I received a curious package package in the mail, from Canada of all places (I love Canada!).

Thanks to the generosity of this kind soul, I had enough yarn to finish the project, and I started work on it right away.  It was quickly coming together, and I was held up only by a few distractions.  First there was a cute little baby gnome, playing with his cube and sending me little smiles that nearly melted my heart.  Then there were the maple strawberry banana muffins I made for Steve's lunches that I had to sample (of course).

Then I decided to try the cowl on that cute baby gnome, and decided right then and there that I need to crochet him one or two for the upcoming winter.  How adorable he looked in it!  And he seemed to loving having something to pull and chew on as well.

When the sun came out I decided to work on it outside, and then finally it was done and I tried it on and wore it around the yard despite the heat.  I am very thrilled with how it turned out and plan on making a little miniature one for Riggs very soon.  Maybe after I finish the top of my pinwheel quilt...

linked up with Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on} 

KCCO

I finished sewing the binding on the birthday quilt, yay!  And it will be just in time too, for its little recipient.  I love how the quilt turned out, all the colors and patterns and textures.

I had a pretty productive weekend, it's so exciting!  I was able to finish the top of my Christmas quilt (that I started last year before Christmas, ahem) and love how it turned out!  I can't wait to buck some backing fabric (I'm thinking thick, warm flannel) and snuggle up under it in front of the twinkling tree with a mug full of something steaming.

I also started cutting out pieces for my pinwheel quilt, and hope to be ready to sew by this next weekend.  Lots of crafting around here and other changes too, that I hope to post about sometime soon. We are still changing things around in the house and getting completely settled in and it feels so good.  Happy Tuesday!