Mei Tai's

I've been on a Mei Tai making spree.  First, I made one for me, while I was pregnant last summer.  The reasons I wanted a new one (old one found here) was for more head support for baby, and since I wear a mei tai about 90% of the time I'm out with my kids, I wanted it to be more attractive.   I tried some new features with it, sleeping hood, longer straps, etc.

It took me a long time to find the print I wanted.  Jo-Ann's had nothing good for me, but I did notice that I really liked the tree print on the shopping bags up front, so at least I knew there was a print style I really liked.  Then I tried a large quilt shop.   There was some cute prints, but nothing I wanted to wear around for the next 2+ years.... but I did find a  remnant I liked.   It was small, but enough for me to piece it on the front.  Here it is, Mei Tai #2:

I also made a mini  version for my daughter with the leftover fabric.

The only problem was, once Ike was born and I started using it, I found out I hated MT#2.  The straps were more supportive, but annoying to put on and off quickly (which I loved about my other one).  The hood was annoying to use, and didn't work well as a storage pocket either (which I also loved about my old one).  The biggest annoyance was the body fabric.  It was too thick and didn't have enough drape.  Bleh!  I went back to using the 'gold standard' until Isaac was old enough that I had time to sew again.

Here's my current new one (MT#3). No hood, but a 'proprietary' sleeping design (not shown), shorter straps that only wrap around once, and the same type of fabric I used last time.  The body cut and shape and strap placement are what really makes it different then my first, and fix all the problems I had with that one.  I tried to simplify for this one.  I mean, that is what I like about mei tais isn't it?  I bought the same print in a different colorway. Seriously, I love this mei tai! 

My current awesome one!  Isaac's legs are tucked in (he's around 6 weeks old).

I think he looks manly without needing to flex :)

This is the next one I made.  It's was my sister's Christmas present.  She gave me the choice of fabrics she liked and I picked the one I liked best for her.  There were two small changes I made from mine that weren't worth taking the the time to 'fix' for me, but I knew I wanted to change for other designs.  So, this is the final design.  I tested it, and yup, I love this design

My sister's mei tai.

 This was the last one a friend commissioned me to do.  I used the same pattern I did for my for my sister's and it turned out great!

So, I've officially finished developing this pattern.  I'll be drafting it on the computer soon.  I've decided to sell it instead of offer it for free (I know, :( ), but  I did put a lot of time into the design.  

Potty Learning and Free Potty Charts

I couldn’t find any quick, free potty charts online, and certainly none that didn’t waste a ton of ink, so I made my own. The way I intend to use this chart is to give my son one sticker for every pee on the potty all week. Every time he gets a sticker, he gets a new a hot wheels car. We did M & M’s for my daughter, but my son is not really that interested in candy, so he gets ‘pee-cars’  :)






And without further ado... Here’s the results!

The first few days were slow going with no success. But once we got him to pee on the potty (okay still with his undies on) we broke through.  He was almost completely potty-savvy by the end of the week. The chart was great motivation,w but he didn’t want to do it day by day… which worked okay, when he filled the chart his grand prize was Mac!

Anyway, I've posted the potty chart I made here.  I plan to add some more variety as I get more time.

New Tutorial

 
I put up a new tutorial on how to make a zippered travel wetbag here.  The DIY/Sewing section of the website has been slow going (it's been an idea of mine for 2+ years now...), but I decided to start putting up the tutorials before I finish all of them...  so there are a lot of dead links and incomplete sentences.  I figure putting them up as-is  is better motivation for me to finish them than letting them sit forgotten on my computer.

I plan to be putting up more detail on diaper sewing at some point...  but I'm not sure about some patterns.  I'm torn between wanting compensation and control of my patterns and posting them for free for the good of the sewing community.   We'll see....

Our own Diapers!

I took some time for building up our own diaper stash this week.  I finished 7 more pocket diapers for Isaac!  Yay!  Pocket diapers in these prints will be hitting the shop soon :)