Send out the clowns

When Mabes was born, we soon realized that we needed a swing. After researching and looking around, we decided we really liked the idea of the swing/rocking chair combo. She didn't care for the bouncy seat we borrowed, but liked having an infant seat to lounge in while I showered or cooked. But at the time, selection was limited and the only pattern available was a hideous clown print. I hate clowns. But I liked the swing, and when we used the seat reclined, I'd just throw a blanket over the seat to cover the offending clowns. Seriously, they're disturbing.
A few weeks ago I was wandering through Babies R Us and saw how much cuter swings are now. Where were these 4 years ago? The blanket works fine, but I wanted to be able to use the seat belt. I thought about selling the old swing and buying a new one, but come on, that seems pretty wasteful.So for less than $10 in fabric and thread, I decided to make a new cover. Since I was making up the pattern for this, I did a trial run using fabric from an old comforter cover I hung onto thinking I may need ugly hunter green fabric someday. Look at me, repurposing! It looks pretty simple (and let's be honest, it probably would be for most people), but I was pretty proud of myself for making it all one nice machine washable piece with cover for seatbelt strap, finished edges, and buttonhole openings for the harness and straps. I had never done buttonholes before, but after practicing on my trial run, practicing on minky fabric (and discovering I needed to use an old crib sheet to reinforce and prevent stretching--more repurposing!), and then doing all the holes on the cover, I'm a buttonhole pro.


Last week, we got the quilt my mom made for Mabes' bed. She posted more pictures on her blog, but here are some pictures I took. I love this quilt. It all started when I was asking my mom about buying comforters and quilts, and she volunteered to make one. Knowing how much work my mom puts into one of her quilts, I didn't want to force her to do that. But she assured me that she had an embroidery kit she wanted to try in a quilt.

My mom knows I prefer lavender to pink, but like any little girl, Mabes prefers pink. And she loves princesses, castles, sparkles, and butterflies, so between the pattern and the embroidery, this quilt has it all. Pair it with the ballet slipper sheets Grandma Jackie got her for her birthday, and Mabes has pretty much the most awesome girly bed ever.
There are alternating quilt squares of embroidered pictures and...quilted stars with minky centers. There's probably a technical name for that, but I'm not a quilter. Heck, I'm just learning how to sew. The embroidered squares have rhinestones on them; in the crowns, on the flowers, on the castle, etc. Mabes likes the jewels.
And it's hard to tell from the pictures (I turned of the flash for the last one so hopefully it's more visible) but my mom has her quilts professionally quilted and this lady does an amazing job. Normally, she does a cute pattern all over, but she outlined each picture, did cute centers in the stars, and decorative vines in the borders. I'm kind of afraid to let Mabes use this quilt; I'm totally going to be like my Grandma Ostler and not let her sit on it!