Baby hangers

My mom sent me some wooden baby hangers that she found at a store that was going out of business. They are a great shape, but they were plain white with an ugly "Taggies" logo smack in the middle. Using this tutorial, I gave them a facelift with scrapbooking paper. The end result is quite worthy of display.


The crocheted blanket on which they're laying was one of the many beautiful handmade gifts given to Edmund. It amazes me how the birth of a baby inspires women to get so creative with their hands!

Most delicious spinach salad

I made up this salad for Valentine's Day dinner with my husband. It's sort of a conglomeration of various salads I've had over the years... but the end result is utterly delicious!! This recipe makes enough salad for two, so adjust your amounts as needed.

2-3 c. baby spinach

1 apple (I used Jonagold)

~3 strips of bacon, fried and crumbled

1/4 c. walnuts, chopped

1/4 c. feta cheese, crumbled

2 T. maple syrup (do NOT use the fake stuff!)

2 T. olive oil

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Fill two salad bowls with baby spinach. Cut an apple into eighths, then slice each eighth into pieces. Scatter a handful of apple slices over the spinach (be generous). Scatter crumbled bacon, chopped walnuts, and crumbled feta cheese over top of it all.

Mix together the maple syrup, olive oil, and vinegar with a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle over the salad.

Nursing bra tutorial

First of all, if there are any men reading my blog, this post is not for you. Instead, go visit my dad's blog, CreationPath (although you still won't escape the nursing theme!!).

...Now, I would not normally post pictures of my underwear on the Internet. :-) However, I made this tutorial in hopes that it will be helpful to other nursing moms. Since I've started breastfeeding, I've found that nursing bras are generally

A) hard to find in the first place
B) plainly utilitarian
C) not of the style I'm used to wearing
D) expensive

Since I am a big fan of breastfeeding, and Douglas and I are hoping the Lord will bless us with many children, I did not want to spend the rest of my pre-menopausal days wearing ugly bras. ;-) A few weeks ago I decided to convert some "regular" bras into nursing bras by way of some front-closing bra clasps. You could also use nursing bra clasps, but for whatever reason I like this kind better.


I ordered these from Sew Sassy Fabrics. I'd recommend stocking up when you order, since shipping is on the expensive side. For what it's worth, the black clasps that I ordered seems to be a bit sturdier than the clear ones.


You could really use just about any style of bra, provided the cup will bend easily to uncover the breast for nursing. (Test this when trying on bras.) This particular bra comes from Target and sells for around $10. It is part of a line from Gilligan O'Malley, called 'Everyone's Favorite Bra' or something like that. It is particularly suitable for this project because of the ring at the top of the cup. Plus, they have a variety of colors and prints so you can choose something a little more sassy if you like. (I'm showing a plain beige in this tutorial because I really don't want to post pictures of my sassy underwear on the Internet.) ;-)


First, unpick the stitching at the top of the cup to release the plastic ring.


Next, cut the lingerie elastic just below the loop sewn near the adjustable slider. (You could also unpick here, but it was sewn so tightly I found it easier to just sacrifice that little bit of elastic.) Cut the remaining loop off of the slider and discard.


Remove the plastic ring from the elastic and replace it with one half of the new bra clasp (making sure the clasp is facing the right direction). Re-loop the elastic through the slider as shown, then pull tight to make a new loop.


Stitch down the new loop. A zipper foot will be handy to get up close near the slider, but don't stress if you don't have one. Just make your loop a little larger.


Slip the other half of the new bra clasp through the top of the cup (making sure it's facing the right direction), fold over, and stitch in place. If you choose a bra that doesn't have a plastic loop like this one does, you could use extra lingerie elastic or matching ribbon to sew a loop at the top of the cup to hold the clasp.


Ta-da! A finished nursing bra. Now that you've got out your thread and needle, you could make it more feminine by adding lace, bows, ribbon rosettes, or whatever. It irks me that nursing bras are so unattractive, when women will be wearing them at a time when they're not in the greatest shape and they really need something extra to feel pretty! So have at it, Moms!

Ceylon dress

I recently finished my Ceylon dress from Colette Patterns and I LOVE how it turned out. This was my first time working with a Colette pattern but it was a super experience. It's well-designed and the instructions are great. Definitely worth the price!

I went fabric shopping at Jo-Ann Fabrics to try to find something suitable for this project, but everything I saw was rather "blah." I remembered this lightweight gray wool I had in my stash, but I thought I'd only bought two and a half yards of it. I was about to order some fabric online when I decided to double-check. Lo and behold, I had four yards! Yippee! This wool turned out to be the perfect color and weight for this dress.

The pattern is described as 'intermediate' and I would say that sums things up pretty accurately. The hardest part (for me) was getting the front yoke pieces to curve evenly during pressing. I love all the extra details of topstitching and gathering. I also like the buttons down the front, but making 16 covered buttons and buttonholes was a bit of a drag. I did make a fabric belt (as suggested in the instructions, but not included in the pattern), thinking I've got to make the most of what little waist I currently have. ;-) However, once I tried it on I wasn't sure I liked it that well -- it seemed to break up the line of the buttons too much. I think I will wear it without.

I am so happy to have a cute, vintage-y dress that is nursing friendly and that flatters my postpartum figure! I think I'll be wearing this nonstop for the foreseeable future!

Daffy-down-dillies

It's around this time of year that I begin pining for spring. After the hustle and bustle of Christmas, winter begins to drag and I'm ready for some warmth, already! Douglas kindly gave me these potted daffodils to lessen my impatience. As each bud unfurls, it's a reminder that it won't be long now...