Tuesday, February 15, 2011

N is for Nesting: Tutorial Round-Up

When I was pregnant with the Sunbean, we had 8 ultrasounds.  Yes, eight.  I was high-risk and my OB is *slightly* ultrasound-happy.  Not that I'm going to complain about all those peeks at our sweet girl.  Point is, we knew the Sunbean was a girl.  That 3D ultrasound pretty much sealed that deal.

Therefore, I had no qualms with going girl-crazy.  Everything we have is girly, girl, girl.  Perfect when you're having a girl.  Not so much when you're having a little dude.  What's a nesting momma to do?  Make some boy stuff, of course!

Let's start by talking about how ridiculously picky I am when it comes to boy stuff.  Even I know I'm ridiculous.  Get this:  I don't like light blue for boys.  Call me crazy, but I think it's feminine.  I don't like dinosaur and puppy-dog embellishments.  I just don't.  And I'm not too crazy about sports-team gear on my kids (unless it's a Buckeye football Saturday).  And that pretty much rules out 99.999% of baby boy stuff.  Oh, unless you're a millionaire and shop exclusively at Baby Gap.

I've been scouring fabric stores for some fabric to make a few blankets for my little guy.  I wanted some flannel and some knit.  It took me approximately 36 seconds to turn my nose up at everything at Joann's.  Hobby Lobby's flannel is a joke.  Boo.  I even went to two local quilt shops that sell the pricey stuff.  Seriously, some people don't like cars and trains on blankets for little boys.  Fabric designers haven't gotten the memo yet.

Anyway, I did find some knit and some cotton I fell in love with, so here's what I came up with, and the fantastic tutorials I used.

I did find some knit, at Hancock of all places.  I'm still going to order some Michael Miller stuff, but I wanted to practice on something that isn't $12 a yard.  I love a soft cotton knit blanket for a newborn, and this tutorial was perfect.  I made mine smaller since I want to use it right away, but I'll probably make the next one a little bigger.  And that hat.  Makes me excited to meet this little person!


Next, I wanted to make a soft flannel blanket.  Well, that's a pipe dream.  Couldn't find flannel I loved, so I went with some cotton, with a flannel back.  Still cozy.  This tutorial wasn't too bad.  It took me forever because I've never done mitered corners, but now that I know what I'm doing, these babies will be my go-to baby gift.  Pretty stinking easy.


My first-ever mitered corner.

And that pretty much sums up my Saturday night.  Exciting, I know.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

those are SOO cute. i wish i'd had stuff like that for charlie. but not being a sewer myself, I just had to go with what was out there. i get tired of all the sports and trains too. boo.

Chantel said...

Love it! :) Finding girly stuff really is so much easier. Before we knew we were having a girl last time, I was looking around for fabric for a "boy" room...just in case. I ran in to the same problem. NO good fabric. It was all too cutesy or it was sports themed. I think I ended up deciding on some Michael Miller fabric as well, had it been a boy. Turns out, I never had to worry about it since girl #3 was on her way. Anyway, The stuff you made is super. cute. Also, have you been over to http://www.dana-made-it.com/ ? This month she is doing "celebrate the boy" month and she is highlighting crafts for little boys! Might want to check it out. ;)

Unknown said...

In my opinion, I didn't care what the color was, but anything with farm animals, engines, or something near dirt is a big hit in my house. For what it's worth :)

Unknown said...

I think your whale blanket is adorable :) You are so creative and thrifty, but without reading your blog I don't think any one would ever know. Thanks for passing along all your tips and hints.