Made for Charlotte: Poncho, Cloche, and Ballet Slippers

My mom has amazing crochet skills, I tell ya.  Thank you, Mom!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My most favorite part of the outfit - the shoes.  The colors, the styling, the flower and leaves...I love it all.

Here's my mom with Charlotte Rose, all fancied up in her new poncho, cloche, and slippers.  Funny - when my mom told me she made a cloche, I had to look it up.  "Cloche" sounds so much more fashionable than "beanie," don't you think?  My mom has since sent a larger cloche for Charlotte, since this first one was was a bit snug.

Let's have one more look at those shoes.  My mom used this pattern from The Lovely Crow.  Did I tell you how much I love the shoes?  Love them.  Mom, will you please make me a grown up pair of these for Christmas?

Made for Charlotte: Afghans

This is another beauty from my mom. I think she all but slept with her crochet hook attached to her before Charlotte was born. Things haven't changed, either. My mom's been making oodles of baby booties and hair bows - originally for Charlotte - but now that word's gotten out, people are requesting baby shoes galore. But I digress...

My mom crocheted this afghan to match the lavender of Charlotte's nursery. Also, see the detail in the butterfly pattern?  Love it.

This was the afghan Charlotte wore in my favorite photo of her as a newborn.  My sweet baby.  My mom also made the head band.

This white afghan was knit by my husband's aunt.  It's so soft it makes me want to snuggle up in it - if only I fit.

This is a dressy afghan, if that even makes sense. Maybe because it's white? White is such a timelessly classy color. Plus white + baby doesn't work for everyday use. This is the afghan we wrap Charlotte in at church. And yes, I was a nervous wreck bringing it outside for fear the wind would blow it into the grass and leave it with a permanent green stain. Fortunately the photo shoot was uneventful...

except for this little guy walking in front of the camera.  This is Chester, the wonder pug.  He was our first "baby" and still gets pampered more than most dogs should.

Made for Charlotte: Knit Cardigan + Booties

Wow. Just WOW. Isn't this one of the most beautiful cardigans you've ever seen?  It's feather light and oh-so soft - the perfect gift for a Heaven-fresh newborn.

When I tell myself I want to learn to knit, making something like this isn't even on the radar.  Ever.  Look at the detail.  Look how perfectly even each row is.  I'm blown away.

A sweet grandma at my church made this for Charlotte.  I think I'll see if this grandma will let me adopt her.  You can adopt neighborly grandparents, right?

The back of the cardigan is just as beautiful as the front.  I can't wait until Charlotte grows enough to fit into this.

The same sweet grandmother also knit a pair of baby booties for Charlotte.

If you look at the ankle, you can see the ruffle trim just under the strap (Mary Janes!) and sweet pearl buttons.

Also, not to detract from the cardigan, but can you tell I'm starting to learn how to use my new camera?  I've been reading about photography (a little) and playing with various settings.  I like how blurred and buttery the backgrounds are in these photos.  It really draws attention where I want it - on the cardigan.

Made for Charlotte: Burp Cloths

I finally found the secret to perfect burp cloths.  More correctly, the secret landed in my hands thanks to my friend Lisa, who whipped up these little gems.

With my previous babies, I packed my diaper bag with two burp cloths.  One was the standard, white type that I used for nursing or when no one was looking.  The second burp cloth was the cute one I only brought out in public.  It was attractive, but not very absorbent.  These new burp cloths from my friend are fantastic: fashionable and functional.

Do you see the secret?  Chenille!  This is one of those times when I want to slap my forehead because the solution is so obvious, yet I never thought of it.  Chenille is absorbent and snugly soft so my baby can rest her head on my shoulder for hours.

Backing the chenille in the attractive fabric of your choice is easy peasy.  (Layer right sides together --> stitch --> turn --> topstitch --> add additional quilting stitches for stability if desired.)  Lisa backed all three of these burp cloths in feminine fabric designed by Amy Butler.

I have to give another nod to my friend Pam for these lovelies.  Pam made her burp cloths long and skinny, perfect for tossing over the shoulder.  Like Lisa, she used quilting fabric on one side.  But Pam backed the burp cloths with waffle weave toweling, similar to what you'd use for dish cloths.  It's absorbent, but not bulky.  And look what Pam added to the bottom of the pink burpy - pom-pom trim!  How cute is that!  The pom-poms hang on the back of my shoulder now.  But I'm sure the day will come when I'll flip them to the front so Charlotte can grab and tug the little balls of fluff.

These were the perfect homemade baby shower gifts - useful, attractive, and stitched with love.

Made for Charlotte: Mary Janes (Cute alert!)

These aren't your Grandma's baby booties.  These are stinkin' adorable!


Just look at them!  Little mary janes with a girly pink accent.  If ever I thought I wouldn't overindulge my daughter with shoes for every outfit, I'm doomed.  It doesn't help that my mom is such an enabler.  She's the crafty chica who crocheted these and all the other booties you'll see in this post.  Our conversations go something like this:

My mom: Ooh, I just bought the most velvety soft black yarn!  It'll be perfect for the shoes I'm making to go with the Christmas dress I bought for Charlotte!  (remember, it's June)  How about I make a pair to fit her now so you can see what you think?

Me: Um, heck yeah!  And by the way I just mailed five skeins of yarn for you to make shoes for Charlotte's summer outfits, too.

The indulgent grandmother type - I love it!  Thanks, Mom.

As for the velvety soft black mary janes, they arrived in the mail yesterday.  LOVE.



These white mary janes are one of the first pairs my mom made.

You can buy the patterns HERE, though my mom has started tweaking the design a bit, especially the straps.  Disclaimer: the day my mom bought and downloaded these patterns she got a virus on her computer.  Mom mom's tech-savvy enough not to do any risky clicking.  She says this was the only thing she can think of that might have affected her PC.  However, this etsy seller has a high, 100% positive feedback rating.  So obviously if this is how my mom got the virus, it's far from the norm.  Just something to consider.

This is the same pattern as the white booties, but in lavender.

Side view.  These patterns curve in and around the heel to help keep Baby from kicking them off.

These use the same pattern as the white and lavender shoes, but in pink.  My mom also embellished the toe box with little crochet flowers.

You can see why we're getting carried away with this shoe business.  :)  I just sent yarn for shoes in ivory, gray, brown, and light denim colors, plus red and pink yarn for lots of flowers, two-tone soles, and other girly accents.  I don't know when my mom will get tired of making these.  Maybe she already is.  But I sure am glad she's indulging me.

Made for Charlotte: Cuddle Sack

I love handmade.  I love creating with my own hands, I love giving handmade, and I love receiving handmade.  And when all this creating, giving, and getting involves babies, it's even better.  Fortunately I have friends and family who either share my passion for all things handmade or are willing to indulge me since they know I like it.

So for the next little while I'll be blogging the amazing gifts people made for Charlotte.  There's a little of everything, from cardigans to blankets to hair bows.  The handmade lovelies also represent a host of skill levels, from grandmas who've spent years honing their crochet skills to the elementary-age girls next door who sewed their first sock monster softies.  Melt my heart.

Let the parade begin!

It seems fitting to kick things off with a gift set made by my own mother. 

My mom crocheted this cuddle sack and bonnet for Charlotte.  I've also heard cuddle sacks called cuddle cocoons or swaddle sacks.  When you put Charlotte inside, the cuddle sack is a great way to keep her swaddled.  The yarn has a little give, but not so much that Charlotte's arms flail.

I took these photos when Charlotte was a week old.  My mom has what Ben and I call Baby Magic.  She has a way of reading a child, calming her, getting her to sleep (or at least be contentedly quiet so I can sleep.)

When my mom left, I cried.  How am I ever going to handle a household, two active boys, AND a newborn without her?  True to my mom's belief in me, we're managing.  But I still can't wait for her to come back.  I miss my momma.

Charlotte's Nursery

This is my happy place.  It's clean and uncluttered.  It's feminine.  It's calm.  My husband and I put hours upon hours of love, sweat, and probably a few tears into preparing this haven for our daughter.  Now with the arrival of our sweet Charlotte Rose, the nursery is complete.

Allow me to show you around...

As I mentioned here, Charlotte's room is a knock-off of the Scallop Pique Nursery from Pottery Barn Kids.  You can read the DIY info for the wall stencil HERE.  The photo above shows the view from the doorway looking right.  The photo below pans around.  I think you'll see how the photos connect to show the layout of the room.

Framing the window is a pair of lavender Audrey Chenille Dot Panels from Pottery Barn Kids.  The bookshelf and lamp are from Target.  I've since added scalloped basket liners to the white wicker baskets, another feminine touch to continue the scallop theme in the room.

The ever-necessary diapering area and rocking chair.  Seriously, how many times am I here each day?  A dozen?  Seems like it, at least.

The baskets on the dresser are both from Pottery Barn Kids, though I couldn't find either on the PBK website.  I bought them in the store.

Isn't that doll adorable?  My boys like to hold it by the feet and swing it at each other, caveman club style.

I had new white cushions made for my rocking chair.  The old cushions were ivory, so not a match for Miss Charlotte's lavender and white nursery.  Before you gasp about white upholstery in a child's room, be assured that the covers are removable and I chose washable fabric (that I bought on sale for $10 per yard - score!).

Going back to the opposite wall, here is a closer look at the wall art.  Click HERE for more details about how I made each piece.

Click HERE for more details about how I made the crib bedding.

Still love the scalloped eyelet trim on the crib skirt.

For the finishing touch, we hung a crystal mini-chandelier.  As my six-year-old neighbor said, it looks like it was made for a princess.  My thought exactly.

Baby Girl's Nursery: Crib Bedding

There's something calming about white.  Combine white with feminine details like scalloped eyelet trim and this crib set becomes a restful haven for my little girl.

I made all three pieces of the crib set: bumper, skirt, and sheet.  The crib sheet was so easy!  I can't believe I never knew about this.  I actually made two sheets - the one pictured is made with quilter's cotton.  I made a lavender flannel sheet as well.  Here's getting the word out, moms - if you're having a baby, pick your fabric and I'll gladly make a set of crib sheets as your baby gift.  Not only can you pick the most snugly soft fabric - or go with whatever style floats your boat - these sheets fit much better than the store bought sheets you have to muscle over the mattress corners.  If you're the DIY sewing type, I took the best from these two sets of instructions: HERE and HERE.  I used the measurements and French seam instructions from the Michael Miller tutorial, plus the all-around elastic idea from Dana's Made tutorial.

The crib skirt is made from white cotton eyelet.  Not only does the sweet scalloped edge mimic the scalloped pattern stenciled on the nursery walls, a prefinished edge means no trimming or hemming.  Beautiful AND easy.

The eyelet fabric was 45" wide (on the bolt).  One edge is scalloped.  The rest of the fabric is embroidered with tiny polka dots.  Since I only needed about 18" from the scalloped edge for the skirt, I had enough of the polka dot fabric left over to cover the outside of the bumper.

I made the ties using packaged quilt binding.  (It's essentially EXTRA, extra wide double fold bias tape.)  I cut the length I wanted (about 22"), turned under the short ends, stitched along all four sides, then sewed the finished tie to the bumper.

I made the bumper using these foam inserts from JoAnn.  I've read good reviews about them all over blogland.  So far so good from me, too.

The photo above shows not only the ties, but the piping I made and attached along the top of the bumper pads.  To make the piping, I covered cotton piping cord with prepackaged extra wide double fold bias tape, using the same brand and color that I used for the ties.

There you have it.  Crisp and clean with just the right pop of color to coordinate with the lavender walls.  Hopefully my little girl will love sleeping in it as much as I love looking at it.  :)

Baby Girl's Nursery: Wall Art

Last night Ben and I finished hanging the wall art in Baby Girl's nursery.  This was the last big thing I wanted to accomplish before her arrival.

I promise I'll post pics of the crib set and rest of the room soon.  :)  Consider this a sneak peek.

Also notice the stenciled scallops on the wall.  Yes, my husband is amazing.  He stenciled 250 scallops, give or take a few.  Once he hit his stride he could paint 10 per hour.  Yes, 10 per hour was the fast version.  So yes, he spent forever paining.  And yes, I love it!

The most meaningful piece of art is this trio of necklaces.  From left to right, you'll see my first string of pearls.  It was a gift from a dear family friend.  He is Chinese by birth, but developed a close friendship with my maternal grandparents, who sponsored him and his family to help them immigrate to the United States. We now consider Daniel and his family part of our own extended family.

Hanging on the middle necklace is a diamond pendant from my paternal grandmother.  I don't remember a time when Nan wasn't battling one of life's demons.  Her last years were spent fighting breast cancer, then lung cancer.  As a child from a poor family, she never thought she'd own anything as valuable as a diamond.  I'm especially flattered that she gave such a treasured heirloom to me.

The silver locket on the right belonged to my maternal grandmother.  She passed away last summer after 91 years of life.  There's so much to say. For the sake of posting this sometime this decade, I'm going to move along.

Next is this shadowbox.  I painted the frame silver, then covered a piece of white scrapbook paper with Prima flowers.  The flowers came dusted with iridescent glitter, which adds such beautiful dimension and subtle sparkle.

Buttons, pearls, and knockoff diamonds - what's a girl not to love?  All three pictures in this post show the background paper as a much brighter green than it really is.  Hmmm...maybe it's just not a good lighting day?  Very few are here in the rainy Pacific NW.  Anyway, I arranged dozens of white buttons, pearl brads, and tiny white flowers with rhinestone centers into a heart shape.  Attaching everything took less than an hour.  Not bad and totally worth it, eh?  The frame was a clearance find that I spray painted silver.

Finally, we have this pair of sparkly, beaded butterflies.  You'll have to click on the picture for a close up.  The butterflies are ready-made scrapbook embellishments - gotta love easy!  Yet it still adds just the right touch.

Stay tuned for the crib set!

Take care,  Rachel