And the Winner is!

https://www.facebook.com/thehomespuntreadler/

Glenda!

It's a Giveaway!! Baby Girl Trio.

If you follow me on Facebook you may have seen my posts yesterday and today that I only needed one more like to make 80, and a few more followers on Instagram to make 100!

I asked that if people would help me reach those goals, (Easy Peasy!) that I would host a giveaway!

Well here it is!!

Today I'll be giving away what I call "The Baby Girl Trio"

All three items were made by me on vintage sewing machines.

The hair bow is approximately 4" long with a barrette style clasp on it, made in a soft teal blue cotton with purple flowers. There's even a bit of gold sheen to the lattice pattern! 

This is a pacifier lanyard. It's approximately 6" long with a sturdy plastic clasp on it. And trust me, I made my son one of these! It's strong, but it won't hurt like metal would. The opposite end has an elastic loop for going around the pacifier. It's made in pale green linen with white crochet lace.

 And then there's this little guy! Made in a soft grey flannel, with pink satin ears, this little bunny is meant as an un- stuffed "Lovey." E-bug has one with blue ears that we call "Andrew"

  Showing of her stuffed bunny tail

The giveaway will run for a week and a day, that is until the 18th.

One entry you'll notice is a "Blog Post Comment." It's a bit of a survey. I've recently acquired an embroidery machine, (I know! Modern machine!) and am now able to monogram ect. So in your comment, please let me know of a handmade item that you have searched high and low for but couldn't find. Preferably something you can monogram. Or you can mention something that you like to buy "Home Sewn" on a regular basis. What catches your eye?

Thank you all so much for following me and enjoying my work, I hope you'll enter and share with your friends!

~Megan


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Late Edwardian Silk Blouse

 

Just before my wedding I ordered in a length of China silk, meant to be a nightgown for a certain night. Sadly I ran out of time, so my mother gifted me one in my style from the Victorian Trading Company. (Which I still wear and love!)

But what became of the silk you ask? I'm coming to that.

Around Thanksgiving I began to wonder what I would do for myself as a Christmas outfit. I was short on time, low on energy, and slap out of money due to shopping for others.

So I started rummaging around in my stash and came across the silk. I realized I had bought enough for a blouse AND a nightgown! (Which I still have yet to make..)

I dug around in my patterns and pulled out my copy of Past Patterns 8643 And got started.

It came together beautifully, and it felt so elegant sliding it on. I used leftover wedding buttons as well to finish it off.


 My Husband and I then went on a photo shoot around our historic neighborhood

                                               

  I think E-bug enjoyed it as well! 

I hope everyone had a very happy Christmas, and I wish you every blessing in this new year! 

 

A Christmas to Remember

I just so happen to have been excited all year for this Holiday Season, knowing it would be our little one's very first!

 

I had big plans to deck the halls and trim the tree and make something very special for a certain little boy to cherish.

Sadly very little of that happened.

Unforeseen circumstances meant that Christmas was much quieter and humbler than I had hoped. But wasn't that the way of the very first one? Quiet and humble Our Lord entered this world, and we were the better for celebrating it that way.

Two weeks before the big day, though, I realized my hands were still empty and I had nothing prepared to go under the tree. A desperate search and I found what I had been looking for.

A few clicks and THIS old time teddy bear kit was on its way.

E-bug's favorite movie of all time is the original Disney "Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" so I wanted to make him his own old fashioned "Steiff" style Teddy bear. 

It does go to show that you should always read the fine print. His name is "Tiny Ted" for a reason! lol! He only stands about 8" tall. But for a little boy, a little bear was perfect. This kit came with the pattern and fabric for the bear and the little red felt jacket. It also had a small piece of teddy print cotton to do with as you please. She even traced the teddy bear pieces onto the mohair so all you had to do was cut!

HOWEVER this kit did not come with the eyes or joint components needed to finish it off. And sadly a trip to Hobby Lobby came up short when it came to teddy bear parts. The only things they had were plastic and for much bigger bears!

Not having time to spare to order the parts I decided to improvise. I sewed the arms and legs on sturdily and used one of the bigger joints I had bought for the head. I then embroidered a little face on to him as best I could.

Before I added his face

I'd not like to introduce you to "Theodore Reginald Bear" Or "Teddy Reggie" as we like to call him.

E-bug was not quite sure what to make of him upon opening the box Christmas morning. But he did give Ted a kiss after a moment. (Which was so quick I didn't catch it on camera... :/ )

He still needs a few things before I feel comfortable giving him to E-bug for keeps, but I think he will make a lovely little companion for our Boy!

All in all I think our baby boy enjoyed Christmas, and now it's time to look forward to a first birthday party! 0_0!!

Six months of "Mommy Made" Items

So you may remember that I knitted Baby E's Coming home outfit, well, that gave me the idea to make something each month for his official monthly pictures.

Some months I succeeded more than others. lol!

For month one, I simply repeated his coming home outfit. Breastfeeding struggles and an utterly exhausted Mama lead to zero time or inclination to make anything.

 

Poor baby, it wasn't long after this that we decided to make the switch to formula. I just wasn't producing enough for him! Best decision we made! But that's a story for another time.  

By two months things were a bit better, but I still wasn't up to making much, So I used one of his daddy's creations! 

 

We had been planning on going to some highland games over the spring season, so his daddy made him a kilt! Wasn't it just perfect! He just looked so dapper! 

By three months, we had finally gotten ourselves into a rhythm, and mommy had her groove back!

A full on vintage sailor suit it was! I used THIS pattern from Etsy which I would highly recommend, and had it together in a couple days. Sadly, he had just woken up when we got to the park to take pictures, and was in a foul picture taking mood... lol! 

 At Four months there was a bit of an "Uh OH!" I threw together an overall romper, based on a store bought one he had. It was a size six months so I estimated and sized it down.... too much. On the day of the pictures it didn't fit!! 

So instead I put him in a sailor suit I bought from Dapper Lads (Not affiliated) And used his "Christening Blanket" as his "Mommy Made" Item. 

This blanket (Or Shawl) Should not be attempted by the faint of heart! It took AGES to complete. I had to use four sets of double pointed needles to make the "Lace" Edging. (I think my yarn was too thick, as it didn't turn out as "Lacy" as in the original. 

My Ravelry Review Here

At Five Months we were back on track!


This was the month I discovered that you can find a free pattern for basically anything you want on pinterest and went absolutely crazy!!


I used THIS pattern to make his vest. I also had to size it down, as the pattern was for toddlers, but I think it turned out OK in the end.

I Used THIS pattern for his shoes, but seeing as he had just discovered his toes, they didn't stay on long!

And lastly, though you can't see it, I used THIS pattern to make a little tie to go with it.

This Weekend My little baby turned SIX MONTHS! Where has the time gone?

I was once again short on time, so I did a re-fashion, instead of making something from scratch. I Bought these pants for E-bug at Easter and they were far too big, as someone had switched them on the hangar for a bigger size... But they sure fit now!

I loosely used Beauty from Ashes Plus Two's Tutorial to turn them into Knickerbockers. It was so easy that I intend to do it a lot more!

And then I just so happened to have a scrap of blue striped seersucker that I used THIS tutorial to turn into suspenders.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this look into our Little Man's life. Hopefully I can get back to doing more blogging soon, but you know how life is with little ones. :D

Bringing Home Baby

So I realized that three months have passed since Our E-bug came into this world and I still haven't posted about his coming home outfit.

I found This outfit on Pinterest and immediately fell in love with it!

I was certain it was the cuddliest thing I could ever bring home a snugly baby in. Sadly I thought it was outrageously expensive for something he would probably wear once. Plus I wanted him to come home in something I made.

So I went in search of a knitting pattern to match. After a long rummage I found this one.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-aran-bodysuit-hat--booties

Held together with hairpins, while I waited for the buttons to come in.

I then went in search of yarn. I wanted a traditional "Aran" color, but I was unsure of doing it in wool, just in case of an allergy. I debated for ages in the baby yarn section of Joann's where I couldn't find anything remotely close to the creamy white that I wanted. Instead I went with a soft grey, and ended up really loving it!

This pattern was really enjoyable to work with, and I didn't have any problems with it.

The buttonholes on the legs did end up being uneven, but that could have been pregnant mommy brain error.

I decided to go with natural wooden buttons to finish it off, and I didn't regret it!

Coming Home!

I wasn't crazy about the hat pattern with it, as it looked rather like pigtails in my opinion, and I figured that wasn't so good on a boy...

So I searched Etsy for another pattern and came across This one.The hat pattern only came in 3 sizes and one of them was not "Newborn." My option then was to keep looking, or attempt to resize.... Resize it was. I ended up just taking a wild guess and using smaller needles. It actually fit rather well, and actually still fits. :D

His one month pictures, it still fit!

The Day the Stork Dropped By

It has now been a week since our Little "E-Bug" Came into this world, and what a ride it had been since I can tell you. A gloriously Wonderful ride!

I wanted to go ahead and write all of this down while it was still fresh on my mind. I promise not to go into too many gory details, but if Birth Stories are not your thing, go ahead and skip this post. I've just waited a long time to tell this story.

I had been in pre- labor for two miserable weeks. I had been cramping on and off and had been dilated to 3cm one week, and the second to 4cm. The waiting game was killing me, as I was planning on going natural, the suspense made everything worse.

At 4:30 on Sunday morning January 17th, I felt my waters break. Apparently it was only a little, but at the time I didn't know that, I was just sure that's what it was.

A call to the doctor and we were on our way to the hospital.

Once there, it was confirmed that my waters had broken, but not completely, and I still wasn't in much pain. But no matter, Our son was on his way and we were given a room.

A little while later, our nurse Be-bopped in, proclaimed she was a doula, and would be so glad to help us on our way. It then took her three tries and help from another nurse to put my IV port in.

At 10:45 when my doctor got there, I still wasn't feeling much of anything, so they broke my waters the rest of the way and had me walking the halls. That was when things really started to ramp up. Intense contractions every 3-5 minutes. The only thing that helped was to stand and sway through them. So that meant no birth ball, no bed, no sitting, no rest. 

By 6:00 they were coming every 1:30-2 minutes, and when checked, I was still only at around 5-6cm. I also didn't have any energy left to push through a contraction. My doctor suggested pitocin, and I knew what was coming. I was ready for the Epidural. My nurse talked me out of it, but by the shift change at 7pm, I was done. I just wanted to hold my son at all costs. Our new nurse was wonderful, and understood I meant what I said. It took until 8:00 for the anesthetist to get there, get everything hooked up, and for the medicine to kick in.

The epidural wasn't easy either, I shook from the moment they put it in until baby was here. But the pain was gone and I could rest.

That phase didn't last long though! By 9:00 when they checked me, I was complete and ready to push. And at 9:38, he was here! All ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes of him! He weighed in at 7.14lbs and measured 20" long.

It's been a rough week physically for both of us, with healing issues on my part, which made breastfeeding difficult, and led to sleepless nights and weight loss on Baby's side. But we are both now on the mend and his weight is already improving!


I'll get back to blogging as soon as I can, until then I'll be enjoying my cuddles. :D

~Megan