Envelope t-shirts

At first glance, this blog implies that I have been quite successful in keeping up with my crafty and foody hobbies. But if you look closely at the dates of the posts, and look even closer at the dates of the pictures from the posts, you will see that I binge-sew and binge-cook.

The cycle usually begins with a mild depression. Pregnancy and then early motherhood (and then regular being-a-girl) has been a rollercoaster ride of crazy emotions for me. I always tell people (and by "people", I mean Dustin) that what makes me crazy is also what makes me awesome. Boringly sane people are rarely awesome.

My mild depression usually ends in sobs of how I miss doing things for myself. So I cry it out, decide to make time for me, binge out on me-time, and then feel ready to rock it out with Lily again. Until the next depression hits, then we rinse and repeat.

But during the me-time, I get lots of great blog-worthy stuff done, and most importantly, I catch up on many of the things I've been wanting to do.

My dear friend Emily has taken wonderfully to motherhood and she has also been able to keep up with so many of her passions. Her blog leaves me in awe.  She always remembers my birthday, and even shopped for Lily this Christmas. I was determined to return the thoughtfulness by sewing something nice for her darling baby Lucas.

I've had my eye on Dana's 90 minute shirt tutorial for a while now. I find the envelope-style neckline makes it so much easier to get over big baby heads. In early January, I made my first attempt and used one of Dustin's old orange tshirts. I think I got lucky and the tshirt was almost perfect.

I just needed a couple changes to neckline, a little more room in the torso, and I was ready to make one for Lucas!

Wrong. Attempt #2 left me with a neck that was too big, armholes that didn't match up, and an express ticket back to devoting my time to Lily and muttering mean words to my sewing machine.

I slowly worked on a 3rd revision, which quickly led to a 4th. I finally went back to Dana's tutorial and restarted a new pattern from scratch.

The final pattern is definitely for a bigger baby; I'd guess it's in the 12-18 month range, but at least it wasn't too small. And I'm not ready to make a smaller size yet. Lucas will just have to cuff up his sleeves for a while.

I finished off Lucas' tshirt with an 'L' and then continued on my streak and sewed another one for Lily.


Usually when making gifts for friends, I wait until I give them the gift before blogging about it. I thought it would be neat doing it the other way around this time. I had already told Emily of my plan to sew Lucas the shirt and that I was have "trouble". So it's no surprise a tshirt is on its way. Now we can look forward to our next playdate where we may force the kids to wear their shirts so we can take pictures and be "those" moms. Maybe we can get them to hold hands...

Read more...

Ma! The meatloaf!

Lily is a pretty good eater, and it's amazing how much she consumes. It took me some time to figure out some good homemade food that she enjoys. For a while, I just couldn't figure out why she preferred the jarred green beans to homemade green beans. I borrowed books from the library, scoured the internet for recipes, and asked all of my friends what foods worked for their babies. I've been so consumed by making food for Lily that I have been neglecting my own meals. We've been getting by on throw-together meals that are still satisfying, but not very adventurous or blog-worthy.

Until now.

We made a quick stop at Costco on the weekend to pick up some essentials -- at least that was our intention. Why is it that a trip to Costco always ends up in $200 worth of random stuff? This time, included in the plethora of random stuff was Ina Garten's new cookbook: Barfoot Contessa Foolproof.

You likely already know about my crush on Ina Garten. I was in awe and deeply envious of Joy Wilson (from Joy the Baker) and her cookie swap hosted by Ina herself. My favourite go-to cookbook is Barefoot Contessa at Home and not just because it's the pink one. It was as if Ina knew I was in a culinary funk and needed a little inspiration. Her new "foolproof" cookbook looks great. I've already dog-eared several recipes to try, including marinated artichoke hearts, lamb shanks with orzo, amelia's jambalaya, and chocolate chunk blondies.

My brother's birthday was this week, so I used this as my opportunity to debut a recipe from the book. Inspired by my brother's love for meat and ketchup, I bring you: 1770 House Meatloaf.

It was fantastic, but I must confess to my abundant ingredient substitutions... I nixed the chives and parsley and stuck to thyme, no panko breadcrumbs so just the regular variety, skim milk instead of whole, fennel instead of celery, and rather than the garlic sauce that is supposed to be what takes this recipe to a whole new level, I made a mushroom onion gravy.

I have a problem following recipes. I need help. I definitely plan to try the garlic gravy next time.


Nevertheless, the meatloaf turned out delicious. My brother even told me it didn't need ketchup, but proceded to add copious amounts to his plate anyway. Lily approved as well! I love when we make food that Lily can also enjoy.  She is a demanding girl, making noises, gestures, and faces to make you understand that she wants the meatloaf NOW. "Ma! The meatloaf!"

Read more...

Baby mittens

Autumn is my absolute favourite season. This year in particular because I get to enjoy it with Lily. I think it's safe to say that Lily is in love with the outdoors. She craves the fresh air, the buzz of traffic, the kids running around the park. We would go on 2, 3, 4 walks a day sometimes -- even during this past sauna of a summer. Thank goodness for the crisp weather change.

Along with this cooler weather is a need for some warmer gear. I haven't been able to sew much for Lily; mostly because there hasn't been the need since we got so many great hand-me-downs from friends and family. But with our numerous walks a day, rain or shine, Lily was in need of some mittens. Her cute little fingers were icicles by the end of our walks.


I pulled out some flannel from my stash, grabbed some ribbing material that never turned into a cardigan for myself, and after two attempts (with some guidance from this tutorial), Lily hands now stay warm in a cute little pair of infant mittens! I made sure to make the ribbed cuff extra long so they stay on better.

Raise your hand if you love them.

Read more...

Pickled peppers, train trips, nursing strikes and more!

Inspired by Barney's one-minute recap of his relationship with Robin, I have decided to do a speed recap to update you all on the goings on in the Dunwell house!

Ready? *big breath*

We went raspberry picking with Emily and Lucas. Also got some hot peppers. Used Michael Symon's method/recipe to pickle them. mmmm. Highly recommended.

We rented a cottage in the 1000 islands and went on our first vacation with Lily. Lily played on the dock. She didn't fall in the gross green water, but Mackenzie did -- 4 times.



Lily is getting bigger, loving her solid foods, has two bottom teeth and a couple more cutting through on the top. She still doesn't like being on her tummy. It is unlikely she will learn to crawl.




She took her first train trip to Ottawa where she caught her first cold. *sniff* (Literally.)

A week ago, Lily went on a nursing strike. I cried a lot. She cried a lot. We forced her to drink milk from a sippy cup. The strike finally ended yesterday. Phew. 6-day strike. Not fun. Probably one of the hardest things I've ever gone through.

Dustin started his first job last week. 12 years of university. Big milestone. Next on the list: new car. Our poor '95 Corolla deserves a retirement.

Dustin is on a purge. He tried to donate my rollerblades to Goodwill. I fought to keep them. I won. He tried to donate my wedding dress. I fought to keep it. He won. Hopefully it helps raise some money for cancer research.

My goals for the next month: sew some fall/winter gear for Lily, finish a quilt, go to the theatre to watch Pitch Perfect, celebrate our 5 year anniversary (I know! 5 years! crazy!), bake a pie, eat a pie, and maybe I should really get started on finding Lily a daycare...

*exhale*

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Read more...

Wee Urban sleep sacks

Great customer service is just so hard to find these days.

All I want is for someone to pick up the phone. Someone to return an email. Someone who knows their product and stands behind it.

I find it so frustrating that a certain giant baby-toy store (that I won't be so unprofessional as to name) has such terrible service, product, and return policy. My friend actually had to argue about returning a baby mirror for the car after realizing that it makes you look like you're at the county fair where you pay $1 to look like you have a fat nose and one eye bigger than the other. They told her it had been opened and used. The fact that the product was terrible and that it was going to cost *unnamed giant baby store* pennies to make the customer happy was irrelevant. The teenage girl working the boring Wednesday afternoon shift didn't care and just wanted to get on with her day.

Enter Diaper Eez: a cute little baby shop in Bloor West Village where Dustin and I chose to get our cloth diapers for Lily. We tried to do our cloth diaper research online but it was actually mind blowing how confusing everything was. We stopped by Diaper Eez and got the low down from an incredibly knowledgeable sales lady. They always answer their phone. They answered my emails when I complicated our baby registry. Best of all, they stock their shop with products that they love and recommend.

Lily has always been a feisty baby, even in the womb. She quickly learned how to wriggle her way out of swaddles and kick off any blankets. I was in need of a sleep sack. With leftover gift cards at *unnamed ridiculous baby store* I figured I'd look there first. The selection was dismal: polyester polar fleece, made in China, no special features, overpriced. And I was scared to open it and try it out since they would likely never accept a return or exchange.

At Diaper Eez they had not one, but two Toronto-designed, Canadian-made sleep sacks to choose from. I was debating between a multi-layered cotton sleep sack with front zip and extra breathability, and the Wee Urban sleep sack made with extra soft sweatshirt material. I decided to opt for the Wee Urban because of the shoulder snaps and side zipper that made getting our super-wriggly Lily into and out of the sack much easier.

We loved it. The giraffes were an extra bonus.


Then disaster struck.

After using it for about 2 months, the snap on the left shoulder ripped. Is this common? If I buy another one will it just happen again? The other 2 snaps looked to be in great shape... Dare I try and ask for them to repair it?

I went to the Wee Urban website and wrote them a quick email. Hours later (not days -- hours) I received the kindest email from Wee Urban apologizing for the defect and offering to send me a new one as soon as possible. You see, they wanted to ensure that Lily's sleep was disrupted as little as possible.

I was beyond shocked. What kindness. What fantastic service. What confidence in their product. All they asked in return was for me to send the defective sleep sack back to them so they could see what went wrong.

I wish more businesses were like this. I can't tell you how many times Dustin and I have called companies looking to give them business: window repair, driveway snow removal, physiotherapy, and they just don't call us back, let alone offer customer satisfaction in guaranteeing their product.

Good customer service is so important to me. Since discovering Diaper Eez, three of our friends have gone there to purchase their cloth diapering systems. I'm pretty sure the next few baby gifts I give will be the Wee Urban sleep sack. The next time you think about going to buy a baby-something from the store that rhymes with Shmoys R Us, try visiting a local baby shop. You will be pleasantly surprised!

Here is Lily modelling her GroVia pink peacock diapers from Diaper Eez.

Read more...

Rollin' with the homies

Lily turned 6 months old on Thursday and she has hit some major milestones!

As with most things in life, her wonderful achievements have not come without hardships.

1. She has learned to roll over! Lily has never been much of a "lie down and play" baby, but now that she can roll, she seems to enjoy it more. She will roll and roll until she reaches the end of the quilt, then we pick her up and start her back at the beginning. You see, much like Derek Zoolander, she is not an ambiturner: she can only roll in one direction. So the one downside to all this rolling excitement is that she has been getting stuck in her crib, unable to unwedge herself from the edge. We are hoping this is a short phase and she will quickly learn to rectify this problem. The sobs are unbearable.

2. She has started solids! She is loving it (she has the Fong gene in her!) and could not get enough of it in the early days! She has since gotten over the initial excitement but is still a relatively good eater. The downside is that she has always been a finger sucker, eye rubber, and ear puller. Solid food is a messy art and by the end of our meal she will have baby cereal in all nooks and crannies of her face.

Along with these two major milestones, she is very close to sitting up on her own and we also think that she may be getting some teeth. She is chewing on anything and everything she can get her hands on -- including her own feet.

It is really incredible how much Lily is maturing. It wasn't long ago that I would spend all day sitting on the couch trying to stop her from crying. Now she's eating solids, pooping like a Dunwell, singing along to my silly songs, and rollin' with the homies!

Read more...

Oh bring back my bonnet to me

I lost it. The brand new bonnet that I sewed for Lily. Yes, the one I just posted about.

In a chaotic kerfuffle at the park, the bonnet was misplaced. We returned to the park a couple hours later, scoured the area, even checked if it was not atop another cute child's head, but alas, we have declared it officially gone.

I don't know if I was more heartbroken or more relieved that I had made the bonnet. All that hard work, gone, but at least I can sew her another.

To mourn the loss of the truck-bonnet, I did a one-eighty and sewed her new bonnet out of the leftover elephant fabric from her houndstooth quilt. A pink bonnet with lace ties. Sorry Dustin, pretty much as girly as it gets.

Lily was nice enough to model the new bonnet on my birthday picnic!

Read more...

Baby Sunbonnet: Success!

After a little encouragement from the peanut gallery, I have successfully sewn Lily a sunhat that is functional and fashionable!

My first attempt at a baby sunhat back in March was embarrassing. I had decided to create my own design with little to no research or hat-sewing-experience; after all, how hard could a hat be? I was very wrong. Not only did it not fit, but I realized it was not well designed. Children's hats need a tie so they can't swat the hat off. I also realized that Lily would benefit more from a bonnet rather than a sunhat whose brim went all around the head. With a full brim, she had trouble lying back in her stroller or carseat.

By June, I still had not sewn Lily a new hat. With this unending sunny weather, I desperately needed to purchase one to tide us over. I found a really great bonnet at Diaper-eez in Bloor West Village and it fit Lily for a full 2 weeks before it was barely shielding the sun from her eyes. Here was my chance to redeem myself (and finally be worthy of Jenn's praise) and make her a bonnet that was the right size -- and with room to grow so it would last into the autumn.

I took some pointers from the bonnet we had bought and reworked it a bit. A bonnet is essentially three pieces: the back of the head, the brim of the hat, and the piece in the middle that joins the two.

With some basic pattern drafting skills that I picked up from (none other than) the workroom, I created a cute little sun bonnet with a nice large brim for Lily. I chose a lightweight cotton with blue trucks, a boyish touch to an otherwise girly hat!

Read more...

Baby sunhat attempt number 1

I was chatting with my friend Jenn and told her about the sunhat I was making for Lily. She was amazed. I was flattered. My sewing time is limited and I was determined to be a good parent and shield Lily's sensitive skin from the harsh rays of the sun.

Precious hours later, I tested out the almost-complete hat on Lily.

Too small. I panicked. Far too small. No! Precious hours wasted!

While watching some fabulous figure skating this afternoon (yay Scott and Tessa!*) I practiced the art of seam ripping and at least salvaged the ruffled brim of the sunhat. I am determined to make this work (and earn Jenn's praise)!!! I'll let you know if/when I figure this out...


* My apologies for the spoiler, but honestly, none of you watch figure skating. I know it. I bet you want to tell me all about how your grandparents love it, though.

Read more...

Post pregnancy Marilyn Monroe dress

They call it the 4th trimester: the first three months after giving birth. I'm not sure why I didn't think it through, but for some reason I thought that after the baby was out, my belly would disappear. I had brought my favourite comfy clothes to the hospital only to find out that it was still incredibly tight at the waist as it takes several days for the uterus to shrink and for the belly to disappear. Silly me.

For the first month after Lily was born, I was still wearing my maternity pants, maternity jackets, and cardigans that didn't need to be buttoned up. Slowly, I was able to start zipping up my sweatshirts and wearing my old sweatpants. Slowly, I pulled out my old jackets for this springy weather. Slowly, I started to shed the baby weight.

Although this gradual reunion with my old wardrobe was exciting, I was not confident that I would be able to fit into a dress in time for my cousin's wedding. (Congrats Tiff and John!!!) The wedding was this past weekend, a little over a month after Lily's birth.

I took advantage of Lily's more sleepy days in the first couple weeks (and the extra adrenaline I had pumping through me) and sewed a dress from the book Famous Frocks that my (soon-to-be) sister in law bought me for Christmas. The book is a collection of iconic silhouettes from famous 20th century stars. From Audrey Hepburn to Twiggy. Jackie Kennedy to Madonna.

I decided to make the famous Marilyn Monroe dress, but with criss-cross straps rather than an open back.

The pattern was simple, and I was able to easily tailor to my odd post-pregnancy shape (medium chest, large waist, still no hips or butt...) I also had the perfect fabric in my fabric stash: a shimmery stretch jersey in a rich merlot-wine colour.



I worked on the dress for maybe an hour every day for two weeks: whenever Lily was down for a nap and I just didn't have it in me to nap while she napped. After about two weeks, Lily decided her crib was not nearly as comfy as napping in our arms so the sewing came to an abrupt stop. I had finished everything except the hem, and the straps on the back. Since I had used a jersey fabric (which doesn't fray) I just left the hem as-is and pinned the straps on with safety pins!

The dress turned out great. It ended up being just a bit loose; I probably lost a bit of weight in my chest/back since my initial fitting, but I just pinned the straps a little tighter. (Photo cred to my cousin Kev.)


Lily also had her own custom made dress. No, I'm not crazy and didn't also try to sew Lily a dress at the same time. My friend Danielle, from beadmarket.ca, sewed Lily a dress intended for this summer, but it was just too cute that I wanted her to wear it for the wedding. I sewed a quick belt to tighten the dress a bit and added some red tights to complete her look. Unfortunately (or fortunately) she was asleep in her carseat for most of the wedding and didn't get to show off the dress until the end of the night. I didn't get a great picture of her wearing the dress, but you can still tell she was cuuuute in that outfit!

Read more...

The 20-minute bib tutorial

Here's an easy peasy tutorial to make a small baby bib that takes no more than 20 minutes! This really is a perfect crafty baby gift.

Enjoy!

For the pdf version, click here (thanks wordpress!).

The 20-minute Bib

Tutorial by Kelly Dunwell

done-well.blogspot.com

 For home-use only

Materials:

Front fabric (at least 9” x 12”)
Back fabric (at least 9” x 12”)
Batting (at least 9” x 12”) - optional
1 set of snaps or Velcro
Fabric Scissors
Straight Pins
Matching thread
Bib template

Instructions:
1. Cut out the two pieces of the bib template and tape together at dotted line.



2. Using the template, pin and cut 1 pattern piece of the front fabric, 1 of the back fabric and 1 of the batting (if using). To save time, you can cut all three at once if you are careful to pin and cut through all three layers.


3. Place the front and back pieces good sides together; it doesn’t matter which is on top.

4. If using a middle batting layer, place the batting piece on top of the wrong side of either the front or back piece.

5. Pin around all sides but leave a 3” gap at the very bottom. I like to mark it off with pins so I don’t forget to leave the gap when I’m sewing. 

6. Starting just to the left of the gap, sew all around the bib using a ¼” seam allowance.  To help pivot around the curves, leave the needle in the down position, pick up the presser foot and pivot the fabric. You can do that several times to get a nice curve. Backstitch at each end.

7. Trim along the tight curves of the bib straps. Cut notches in the neckline. Be careful not to cut through your stitching.

8. Working from the strap ends first, flip the bib inside out.  At the gap, carefully fold the fabric inwards and pin shut. (Unlike my picture, you should point the pin to the right side to make it easier to unpin when sewing.)

9. Press all edges with the iron. Edgestitch around the entire bib, including the gap that you pinned shut.  Backstitch at each end.

10. Attach your favourite snaps or Velcro of choice to the bib straps. I used sew-on snaps. Make sure you attach one half of the snap or Velcro to the front side of the bib, and the other on the back side of the bib.

You’re done! This basic, reversible bib takes only 20 minutes to sew, and you can modify to make it fancier if you want! 

To make a patchwork bib, sew together smaller scraps of fabric until you have a piece that is 9” x 12”. Give it a nice press with the iron. Continue with the above instructions.

To add piping or a lace fringe, sandwich the trim between the front and back fabrics in step 3 and pin with the raw edges lined up (fringe side facing the inside of the bib).  Make sure to place the pins perpendicular to the fabric so you can still place the batting layer on top without covering the pins.

Read more...