What I've been up to

I haven't given up on this blog project. There's just been a lot less computer time recently. I've got a few unfinished posts saved so maybe I'll come back and fill in some gaps later.

Last week my husband and I decided to try and shift our daughter's sleep schedule so we've been getting up earlier and therefore trying to get to bed earlier too. Though this may mean more sleep for all in the long run (fingers crossed) it's meant less over the last week, and certainly less "me time". (Also my husband had another business trip, and we had a concert with a chorus we sing with last weekend so extra rehearsals beforehand.)

My ripple blanket is still growing slowly, I don't have another picture just now, but soon.

I've also done some bits of sewing recently. I bought some onesies for my daughter a while ago that I really love but she was never wearing. We've been putting her on the potty in a very low-key attempt at "elimination communication" for a long time now and for that shirts are preferable. So I finally got around to chopping the onesies (straight across at the top of the leg shaping) and hemming them so the girl has some spring/summery shirts. It's such a quick and easy thing, and I can do it by hand rather than waiting for time in the sewing room and feel like I've accomplished something. And I'm so happy to see her wearing the shirts - I love the print and the slight puff at the shoulders... Perhaps I'll let her wear some of her other shirts again soon!

Then when I get time in the sewing room I can work on bigger things. I have managed a few blocks of time for sewing over the last few days (with some help from my husband).

I've been wanting to try and make a mei tai/asian baby carrier for a while now and had looked at several tutorials on the web (mostly via this wonderful site), found some fabric in my stash and just needed some blocks of time to cut and sew. I'd made a couple of pouch slings (easy but not the most secure) and a podaegi (which I like a lot but is a little trickier at times since you need to be able to sit or be spotted to tie the baby on).

The ABC is pretty straightforward to make, although I must admit I had to keep staring the diagram and thinking a long time to make sure I wasn't going to sew the shoulder straps inside! It seems to have come out pretty well and is comfy for wearing the baby (except that when she's tied on my back she likes to pull my hair, but that's not the carrier's fault!). I've tried a couple different ways to tie her on my back, and also worn her on my front. (The out of focus and poorly lit picture on the right she's in a high back carry, although i moved the waist ties down to the waist rather from around the chest after a while as that wasn't so comfy.) I think my husband's going to try this one out too.

I pretty much followed the basic mei tai instructions at sleepingbaby.net but I did use a modification I saw which I thought made a lot of sense where the waist strap (which was one long piece is only anchored in the middle so that you can scrunch the body of the carrier in at the sides so it's more comfy for baby's legs. (If that was all gobbledygook to you here's the link to the tutorial where I saw the idea, it has diagrams.)

I think I will want to sew another one once I've worn this one a bit. Maybe next time I will pad the shoulder straps (I'll have a better idea of how far along the strap to pad). I'm going to think about whether I want to try a different angle for the straps too. Plus next time maybe I'll find some more interesting fabric for the body panels and make it reversible.