Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sunsuits and Bucket Hats

Oh, how I've missed you sewing blog.

  So, who is this mysterious and well dressed baby?


Why it's baby Jane.  Imagine that.  I'll go ahead and warn you that this is a baby picture heavy post just in case you're not in to that sort of thing.  What in the world is wrong with you if that's the case?!?!


I'm kidding.  No, really, I totally get it.  Before I had a baby I enjoyed looking at other people's baby pictures with sort of an apathetic interest.  I mean all babies are totally cute, of course.  No doubt about that.  But something changes when you have your own baby.  I melt in to a little puddle of goo every time I look through these pictures of her.  And I love looking at friend's baby pictures, too.  I've never commented on so many random facebook photos before.  J said he's become that guy at work that busts out his phone to show off baby pictures to anyone who shows the tiniest bit of interest.  We're dorks. 

 
If this photo had sound... :)
 
Anyway, moving on.  I sewed!  SEWED!!  Can you tell I'm elated about that?  Baby Jane is quite possibly the sweetest thing in the whole wide world and I love her.  But she does not sleep. Does not sleep.  She takes little catnaps.  Which doesn't allow me to do a whole lot during the day.  I'm lucky if I brush my teeth and put on pants.  Is that TMI?  Thirty minutes here, twenty minutes there.  That's it.  She does do about a five hour stretch at night but that is pretty much the extent of her sleep time.  Any tips on how to get her to take a longer nap are appreciated although I think this may just be her style.  She's not a great sleeper.  But who really cares with a face like this.  Gah! I love her. 


I made this little sunsuit and bucket hat along with a larger version for a friend's little girl over the past two weeks.  I literally sewed one seam at a time, stealing a few minutes whenever I could.  This little bit of sewing really helped me feel somewhat normal again.  It's amazing how wrapped up and reclusive you can become with a new bub. 


The pattern is a vintage reprint that Simplicity put out last summer.  I thought the gingham was appropriate but you could have a lot of fun choosing fabrics and customizing this.  Great pattern.  I highly recommend it.  I will definitely make it again.  It was super easy and is very cute on.  The only change I made was to use about a third of the elastic the pattern called for in the top casings.  The length they specified in the pattern barely gathered the top of the sunsuit.


The hat is a wild quilting cotton I found at Hobby Lobby.  The purple version is made of stash fabrics.  I absolutely love the hat but guess who hates it?


Hates it.  Bwahaha! I love that progression above.  Happened every time I put the dang thing back on her head.


Even her cry face is cute.  You'll appreciate my sewing one day, baby Jane.  Am I a terrible mother to make her wear it anyway? ;)

45 comments:

  1. The pics are adorable and so is the outfit. TFS

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  2. Oh my, she is absolutely adorable! All that hair, pretty eyes and cute little feet. And yes, the outfits are cute also!

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  3. She is ADORABLE!!! Love those cute little outfits! Congrats!

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  4. Cute! My first born was a non-daytime sleeper. So I used to pop him in the pram and sit him next to me at the sewing machines. He'd sit there for hours watching me sew, listening to the machines and "chatting" to me. Love the hat photos!

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    1. Oh, that's wonderful! I need to get her to be happy when she's not in my arms somehow!!

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  5. oh my goodness, what a cutie! love the playsuits and hats. glad you're getting a few minutes of sewing time in. my kiddos were all terrible sleepers, so no advice there!

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  6. She's beautiful and looking highly stylish! I guess I'm a weird one because I don't have kids and not planning to have any, but I do love looking at cute baby pictures :)

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  7. She's beautiful and so are the cute little sunsuits. Someday she might like wearing hats . . . and sleeping (:

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  8. You have the cutest little girl EVAH! And welcome to the other side...*LOL* I am impressed though that you are managing to sew a seam here and a seam there. With my first child, I think she was two before I started to sew again. I just couldn't handle everything along with a full time job and sew...so I give you four stars for that!

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    1. Well, I'm not back at work yet. I'm dreading that day :(

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  9. Your new baby garments are lovely and well done for keeping sewing and blogging. Your baby is gorgeous too. Totally understand why you both want to show pictures of her - I was the same!

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  10. Aw, she is gorgeous! Maybe she'll get used to the hat, because it does look very cute on her. Hopefully she'll also get used to sleeping!

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  11. She looks adorable! Shame about the hat. Most kids are like that when young. Maybe you should try a bonnet :)

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    1. I have one cut out and ready to sew... I just need baby to take a nap! ;)

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  12. Awwww cute!! The playsuit is adorable; I think she may appreciate a big brim more when she sits up?! I had my babies wear at least a light knit cap most of the time so they were used to having something on their heads and I had no problems getting them to wear warm winter hats or sun hats. Also, I'm the same with baby pics. Didn't use to move me much until I had my own babies, now they make me want to have more babies of my own (not likely)!!

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  13. Oh beautiful. THat little sunsuit is so precious. I made a brimmed hat for my niece too for her first summer and she always pulled it off. We got the photos though ;)

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  14. Awww, she looks so sweet and those little outfits are the most adorable things! And, um, there is absolutely nothing dorky about doting on your own baby... it's completely normal and every single parent on earth does it :)

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  15. Ah! I love it!!! She is adorable! I highly recommend reading Healthy Sleeping Habits, Healthy Child. It will change your life!!! Everything in the book is so true! And swaddling! Lots of swaddling.

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  16. Omg she is just the cutest! I love the little au suit and hat. What an adorable combo. Made even more adorable by miss baby Jane. She's a great sewing model :)

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  17. She knows what a beautiful head of hair she has and doesn't want you to mess it up with that silly hat! She will probably dislike the sun in her eyes and be relieved when you put the hat on.

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  18. She is just gorgeous. As for hating to sleep or wear hats, I have no advice as my babies were the same.

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  19. Love love!!! She is just the sweetest thing! I can completely relate to what you are saying about sewing 1 seam at a time! My little princess and I do that too. As for sleep, I do have some suggestions . Are you nursing, if I may ask? How old is Baby Jane? I found my little princess didn't get better with sleeping until about 7 weeks. Also, nursing was very soothing to her. I would just let her kind of hang out there long after she got her fill and she'd fall asleep. Then Hubs and I would do what we call "the transfer" where he would gently take her to the bassinet and lay her down for a nap. If done carefully, she'd usually stay asleep! If you can, try it and see if it works.

    I love baby Jane's hair! Babies are so funny about hats, aren't they? My little Princess won't wear them either. And it's like you read my mind about other people's babies: until you have one of your own they aren't as interesting. Looking forward to more pictures!

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    1. I'm so not good at "the transfer." I always wake her up! Truly, I don't have a lot of trouble getting her to go to sleep. But staying asleep is another story. I do the nursing thing, too. It's my magic fix for anytime I need to settle her and get her to sleep.

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  20. Oh my god, what gorgeous photos and wonderful narrative. You're a born storyteller. That is one gorgeous little baby and how funny that she hates her hat. Of course you're not a bad mother! Good to see you thriving and enjoying life and this little bundle. Well done on managing to sew. Hello!!!!

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  21. I did a few squeals over Baby Jane's cuteness. She will appreciate that you made her do a few things for her own good--like wear an adorable hat to protect her lovely face! After Colin was born, I was itching to sew so badly! He eventually settled into a decent napping routine (which he would change every few weeks to keep me on my toes!), but it takes a few months. Baby sleep is the most frustrating thing in the world. Clearly, you are doing an excellent job though. :-)

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  22. Cuuuuuuute! She looks so sweet in her little sunsuits!

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  23. She is gorgeous, as are the outfits! Don't worry about the naps, she'll get there in her own time but that catnap thing can be frustrating when everyone tells you how much they 'should' be sleeping! It gets better :-)

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  24. oh my gosh sooo cute! i love seeing all the photos! it makes me melt and i haven't had kids yet.

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  25. oh, she's beautiful in her cute little hats, even if she doesn't love them!

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  26. Ah, so so sweet. Is it bad that I sometimes find little cry faces cute? Just a wee bit? The bottom turned lip turns me into a puddle.

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    1. The bottom lip gets me every time-- J, too. We always scream "no, not the bottom lip!!!" every time it pops out.

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  27. Your baby is so beautiful, and so nicely adorned with lovely sewing.

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  28. Ooh, thanks! This is just the sort of book suggestion I was looking for!

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  29. I just want to eat her up! :D She's so cute in her little hat and romper-- what a cute pattern. I keep wanting to sew for my 9 month old, but each time I think about it, it seems someone hands me a gigantic bag of hand-me-downs for her. Ha!

    Way to go, Mama! You're doing grea!

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  30. Ohhhh my goodness!! She is seriously the cutest. Those crying pictures made me laugh out loud. The outfits are darling!! Kudos on being able to sew a few things. It sounds like you have your hands full!

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  31. So cute!!! Reminds me when my girls were that little....I was making hats to match their little outfits! So much fun!

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  32. Oh my gosh, so darling! I love both of the little outfits you posted. You are a much better sewing mama than I am - my girls get a birthday dress each year and maybe something for Christmas and that's about it. Offering sleep advice to other mothers is so tricky as each child is different and each situation is unique. The one thing I've learned that I think is pretty universal is to not give up - kids go through tons of phases. Some last days, some last months, but they constantly change. My oldest was a terrible napper . . . until she became 5-months-old and then she turned into a great napper. Both of my kids went through periods of not sleeping during naptime when they were 2-3 years old (while still clearly needing the nap judging by behavior), but they always started napping again if I didn't give up.

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  33. OMGGGGGGG!!! This is a terrible thing to do to a woman whose children are no longer babies!! Ooh, my ovaries hurt just looking at her sweetness.

    She is gorgeous, truly! I love her chic little baby ensemble! Even if she's a bit indignant about wearing it, lol

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  34. This is SERIOUSLY the most adorable post ever. She's so sweet and that little hat! AHH!! Glad you got a little sewing time in also

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  35. Cute! I love sewing for children and babies :)

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  36. She is so cute!
    My parents used to purposefully take picture of my sisters and I when we cried, especially if it was about something stupid they would say "Should I take a picture?" and right away go get the camera. It made us stop crying because it pissed us off, ha!

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  37. How can babies not know how adorable they are in hats? I love that one! Maybe she'll come around to it ...

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  38. So adorable! My son and daughter-in-law are expecting a little girl in October and for the first time in my life I get to sew some little girl clothes!!! So I'm enjoying baby pictures again.

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