Baby blog updated

Only two pictures. But they're worth the trip.

Practice, practice, practice!*

I have revamped my place mats. The main reason for this is I mistakenly washed them, and most of them became horribly frayed. The Christmas ones were completely shot, which made me sad. BUT, as you shall see, it all worked out for the best.

The first place mats I made were really just glorified pillow cases. Really cute pillow cases, but pillow cases nonetheless. Not very practical for eating. Fortunately, I have learned a bit about sewing, and I actually listened to my mom who knows much about sewing.

For this new batch . . .

• I went matchy-matchy with the coloring (remember how my matchy-matchy Thanksgiving ones ended up being my favorite?).
• I used fusible interfacing to keep the seams ironed and flat and in control.
• I ironed!
• I didn't double the place mats (Thanksgiving on one side, Halloween on the other); this is less space-friendly, but it's much easier for eating.
• I used double-fold bias tape around the edges to further flatten everything; plus it makes them pop.

And I am so very happy with how the new Christmas ones look.

Todd picked the fabric on the back--it's so fun! Cute ornaments.

I used the previous Thanksgiving and Halloween ones (especially because the Thanksgiving ones were so marvelous), tore all the outer seams, cut to make them less wide, ironed, interfaced, and bias taped. I've only finished two Halloween ones, but here's the finished product. I'm not sure what I think of the bright orange binding, but it's definitely Halloweeny.

I absolutely adore the fabric I got for the back of most of the fall mats. I was giddy when it was on sale.

*This quote comes to my mind often. The person has a (Russian?) accent, but only for this phrase. Google said it's from "Sneakers." Does anyone know if that's correct? Now I want to watch "Sneakers."

Baby blog updated

Grinches? Or are we not alone in this?

Because this is our first Christmas with a non-newborn, we had to consider the possibility of sitting Nadine on Santa's lap. We're into photo ops, and a child on Santa's knee seems to be one of the quintessential ones (I love that word; many thanks to my Communications Law professor for introducing it to me). We passed Santas set up in the malls, and Santa was available at our church party. But we didn't get a picture with Nadine on Santa's lap.

We did this mainly because Santa arrived during Nadine's bedtime, and she's really not into people who aren't me or Todd.

As I have stated many times on this blog, I am a bit paranoid, and I think that plays into the Santa picture thing. We've decided we're never going to force Nadine into physical contact with people--no forced hugs/kisses from "great-aunt So and So," etc. If she doesn't want to go near someone, she won't have to; it's important for her to listen to and follow her feelings. So how does that work if we force her to sit on a stranger's lap? It doesn't.

She may be the only child in history never pictured on Santa's knee. Oh well.