Puppet Time!

We noticed some time ago that Lil Hoot will pay attention to our hands acting as puppets even without having a real puppet. I started searching for puppets, and not dinky little finger puppets, no I wanted a real hand puppet. I figured it couldn't be too hard to make one and I haven't had any luck finding one in a store so.... I searched the net for how to make a puppet and found this great tutorial on eHow - How to Make Puppets Of course, I added my own touches and changed a few things based on the materials I had available. The first puppet is certainly a bit...uh..."special", but the first one is always the worst one and Lil Hoot isn't picky. The second puppet I had a better idea of how things come together. I was a bit more careful and just generally took more time to make things symmetrical.

Matt had fun voicing the puppets!

Lil Hoot wasn't sure what to think, but she likes the orange one's hair.

Now, I don't think these puppets will work well for toddlers or kiddos - they're held together primarily with hot glue and the mouth is cardboard. If I want to make a more lasting puppet then I'll have to do some more tweaking.

Lil Hoot's Boheme Sweater

I just finished up this sweater - Boheme. I used the 6 month size pattern but my gauge is tighter than hers so it's smaller than intended, which works well for me since Lil Hoot is on the tiny side. I followed the pattern word for word until the bind off. I didn't want to do a picot edge so I searched the internet for a crochet scallop and did that instead. I had the the dragonfly buttons in my stash and had been dying to find something for them!

Lil Pink Kimono Sweater

I knit up this kimono sweater for Lil Hoot in case there were some chilly Spring mornings. However, we moved to Missouri so quickly and it was a rather hot June here so she had no need to wear it. Until last Sunday, when it was a very chilly July morning. To my surprise and delight it's actually still a bit big on her even though I knit it to the newborn size specifications. It looks as though she may still be able to wear it for awhile.

We tried out her other pair of baby booties this week too and, contrary to everything else, they're too small. Actually, they're just too short. Since she has her daddy's long, skinny feet and toes she's going to be needing longer socks, shoes, etc. Only problem about that is they tend to be too big around then, so I guess there will probably be a need for me to make her some more booties and soft-soled shoes for awhile!

I really didn't make too many things for her before she was born. She's slowly growing into the things I have made, so I'll post them from time to time. I'm still crafting here and there, sometimes because it's needed - like curtains for our kitchen - and sometimes just to take a little break from housework and baby raising - like a new fall sweater for Lil Hoot.

How I Became Queen of the Seam Ripper

I have been saying for quite some time now that I would start sewing up some cloth diapers. I researched the possibilities, knowing that I wanted something close to a Fuzzi Bunz or Happy Heinys pocket diaper. While on Ravelry I got a suggestion to try DiaperKit.com which is run by a work-at-home mom (WAHM) and fellow Raveler. So I priced our the diaper kits as well as buying a pattern, fabric and notions separately and it seemed like it was going to be just as much (if not more) to purchase those items myself (don't forget shipping) and I'd still have to make all the fabric cuts, pre-wash the fabric, cut the notions to size, etc. (Here's the DiaperKit comparison.) Now, I did all this back in January or so, thinking that I would start sewing when it got closer to baby's arrival - perhaps in March. As the time came to order and start sewing though, I kept putting it off. In all honesty, I have been incredibly intimidated by this project - it involves something I have been avoiding for quite awhile now - elastic.

So, here it is mid-May and I finally placed and received my order. I can't say enough good things about Amber and DiaperKit.com. I ordered on Monday and by the end of the week 10 diaper kits were in my mail box. I emailed her about one small issue, received a response almost immediately and it's corrected.

I chose to get the "Small" size since we expect to be in flux for most of the "newborn" stage and don't plan to cloth diaper until we get settled in. I requested both "scraps" and instructions since I'm a first timer. Their website also has tutorials for sewing elastic and creating a pocket diaper rather than an All-in-One. I ordered 9 AIO kits and 1 Pocket kit, just to see the difference. I think I will have to buy more elastic in order to convert all the AIO kits into Pocket diapers, but we shall see.

I read the instructions - three or four times - then watched the video tutorials on elastic, then watched other video tutorials on elastic, then started sewing on the elastic and fabric scraps. It was not pretty. I stitched, then ripped, stitched then ripped, probably half a dozen times until I got it to look somewhat "normal". Then, for the first step on the diaper - the elastic on the "pocket" portion at the back of the diaper. It's sewn within a fold, yet another challenge, but I managed. A few "easy" steps later (straight stitch on the hook'n'loop, hem the edges, etc) and I was back to the velcro - for the legs. I thought it would be easier since it wasn't to be sewn within a fold. Boy was I wrong! I stitched and ripped each side 2-3 times until it came out mostly even. Word to the wise - do NOT change anything from one side to the other (duh). The stretch in my elastic came out slightly different from one leg to the other because I was more comfortable by the time I got to the second leg and was going a bit faster on the machine. Unfortunately a bit faster meant a bit off from the other leg - oops! But by that time, I was d.o.n.e. ripping seams!

And now...PICTURES...keep in mind - this is a first effort...

Here it is all closed up.

And here it is open - note the pocket at the back where it gets stuffed. There are also two tabs on each side so the hook tape will be secured to the loop patches next to it while in the wash and prevent any "velcro chains" or fuzz build up in the hook tape.

I am also making up the "soakers" (stuff that goes inside the diaper to soak up the 'mess'). The kits come along with fabric for sewing those as well. I did one on my machine with a flip/top stitch method, but it's a pain so I'm going to wait until I can use my grandma's serger and just do one overlock stitch to hem them up - MUCH faster and easier (so long as I can figure out how to thread the serger).

And now...on to diaper #2...

Mini-Pillow

Both my brother and I had small pillows that we loved. I found the corners of mine to be quite chew-able - this was back in the day before "taggies". So, I naturally assumed that baby Hoot should have a pillow as well. I know it will be awhile still before it can be used, but I found some fat quarters that were just perfect for a pillow case!


I decide to purchase a pre-form pillow since they tend to hold shape better than one I'd stuff myself. I made a plain pillow case using some cotton broadcloth I had on hand for a protection layer. Then I used two fat quarters of this fantastic owl fabric that I found at Home Ec Workshop. It's about as simple of a project as you can get I think! It's overlapped in the back to form an easy on-easy off pocket style pillow case. Plus, I have a few scraps left over for some future embroidery plans!