Things I've Made (so far) PIC OBESE!

 Yet another atomic photobomb! Here goes... From beginning to now, and what I did wrong...

My first diaper...
I thought after seeing all the cute WAHM's dipes that it would be fairly easy to make a serviceable diaper myself. (haha!)
I decided to start with a hidden PUL pocket. (Cue laughter, for those who know.)
I traced the pattern I wanted to use, pinned (ow! ow ow ow! fingers!) and then cut out my layers. I used crushed panne for the outer, PUL, and some kind of fabric that I don't know what it is for the inner...
Ok, pause for digression.
I got this fabric at Wallyworld. The only thing it says is that it's 100% polyester, and it was in the el cheapo section- $2.00 a yard, and labeled "ROBEWEAR". ??? It's very soft, wicks like nobody's business, feels dry on top, and is slippery as all hell to sew. One side is suede-like, the other knit, it doesn't fray in the wash and makes excellent diaper liners because of this. It's an ugly toffee color. If anyone can tell me what to call it, I'd be sooo happy :D Ok, moving on.
Sewing this thing was a total pain in my ass. It slipped everywhere. Pinning it seemed to do no good. Priss ate up the panne and then choked on it, making this yet another time I was wishing for a bat to bash her (or maybe the diaper) with. I stopped halfway through and cried because it was coming out soooo awful. The seam allowance (the "standard" amount- to the edge of my presser foot) I'd left was a joke. Because of the slipperiness of the layers, I was "chasing" it everywhere to get them all sewn together. I also realized halfway through sewing that I'd messed up the effing layers, so I had to work around that, too. Then, since every tutorial has you sewing around the leg elastic casings, I did that. What was bad got worse. So it came out waaaay too small, crooked, un-stretchy and I hate it.  Blahhhh!! Waaaaah! UUGGHHH! (yep, made all of those noises + ARRRGGHHH!!! several times.)
So here it is:

 The only thing I got right was the back elastic. It came out beautifully! So there's not one, but two pictures of it!

 The leg elastic fail: Comparing the 1st dipe to the 2nd

Closeup: On the top is the second diaper I made, with the elastic threaded through like any sane person would do, because it's easier, and it comes out better.

Failure... Errr... Diaper # 2....

This wouldn't have been half bad if I'd just used velcro. But, I unknowingly got the wrong kind- adhesive, not sew on. I tried to use one of those little snap-kits with the metal snaps. DO NOT EVER BUY ONE!! It's $2.49 of CRAP and STUPID. The first snap went on great. The next time, it mis-aligned, so I pried it out... Took me 20 minutes. :P Tried again with the same result. Couldn't get the good snap out for the life of me, so it's still there. I keep this diaper in my sewing bin to remind me NEVER TO DO THAT EVER AGAIN.

 The damaged PUL from taking out 2 snaps:

Next Adventure: BABYLEGS!!! OMG CUTE!!

I convinced GW to let me buy some knee socks from Target to make babylegs with. I got 3 pairs in boyish designs, which also happened to match the onesies and other things I'd dyed for Alex. (I had accidentally washed one of my dip-dyed skirts, thinking it had been washed before... WRONG! I dyed an entire load of Alex's clothes a girly pinkish purple, and it had to be fixed...) Towards the end of sewing the first pair (the aqua & argyle) I stuck my finger in to help push the fabric through, and I sewed my freakin' finger. Blood was everywhere. My first thought was "OMG! Did I get blood on the babylegs???" Not "Oh crap! I could need stitches for this!" Meh... go me...

Damaged finger...

 I decided to take a break from sewing diapers, obviously. Eff those things. I found a cute pattern and decided to make shoes instead. Can't be that hard, right?  For my first attempt, they came out pretty good. I enlarged the pattern slightly, but not enough for Alex's big feet. They're still too small, but dammit, they're sooo freakin' cute!! This is also when I got smart, and decided to test sew some of the fabric before actually sewing the shoes together. And I also discovered that Priss has a serger-like overcasting stitch. And she likes to use it! And sewing many layers is also ok with her! And she also likes to eat fleece.

 Third & 4th diapers:
Bolstered by the success of my babylegs and the cutest little shoes EVER, I decided to try a diaper again. I looked up the easiest thing I could possibly make, and came up with something that BBC CD making mommas call the RRP- otherwise known as Rita's Rump Pocket. They're fitteds, which means they need a cover, but I had one, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was a hell of a lot easier than trying to figure out PUL and all that crap. Slap two pieces of fabric together, and presto! It's a diaper! :D Well, it's almost that easy. It needs elastic and stuff. Then Fishnoodles was having a seconds sale, and I got two more covers, so now I have plenty... Anyway... This is the diaper I threw at GW because I was so pleased with how it turned out, and he wasn't paying attention. Both of these have the same inner lining as my failures. The first picture also has a few of the diaper liners that I cut from the same material.

2nd RRP- Pirates

After I cut this out, I did a /facepalm. The back would be upside-down. :( So, I decided to add a patch from the scraps, and fray the edges of it to make it look more piratey. 

Inner 

Back Detail

All folded up

Next up... Re-Attempting Hidden PUL...

Physics are pretty cool. The same properties can be tested over and over again with a fairly consistent result.

 However, I decided that I could ignore diaper making physics. I could put flannel on the outside of a diaper, and it wouldn't wick. I was wrong. /facepalm again. But, it's still cute... I didn't make the same mistake I made with the pirate RRP. I carefully placed the pattern over the parts of the design I wanted showing, and I just love the result! Isn't it adorable?!?!? It needs a cover, but, I can still use it. The lining is black Alova suedecloth, which is fairly common and blah, so no pics of that. 

Hidden PUL AGAIN...

After the wicking fail, I decided I couldn't ignore physics, because I am really not all that special. At first, I was just going to use the green fleece and the bat fabric for a blanket (what I made the shoes from). I tested out the fleece to find out if it was the wicking or repelling kind in a half-assed way. I was sewing up the shoes when I started thinking about how freakin' cute they were going to be, and my boobs started to leak. So, I grabbed one of my practice scraps, and shoved it in my nursing tank. Since my tank didn't get wet, I thought it would need further testing... Water rolled right off it, so it was perfect for a hidden PUL! YAY! And so, the bat diaper was born, along with a matching pair of longies. Which Alex really likes. To eat.

Do you see my sock? SEE IT! SEE IT NOW!

I love my pants! Sing a song of pants!!

HEY! Woman, where are you taking my pants? They are MINE!

Oh, such lovely pants!

I also sewed up the Halloween babylegs I mentioned previously, here they are! Awww!

I still have to finish up these wipes, and I was allowed to get some new fabric, which will go on fleecies like the bats did. I also got some more of the pirate patch fabric, because I love it, and there was only a yard left at our Joann's. I also still have to finish up those other upcycled fitteds. I hate elastic.

Miss Priss, in all her badness...

I was sewing a diaper. (No big surprise there) Was. I hate my machine with a passion. I stopped sewing last night, and everything was great. I hadn't screwed anything up, and Miss Priss didn't eat anything. Go team! I decided to leave the top-stitching & elastic for another time.

So I thought maybe our little tiff was over. I was wrong. As soon as I started to sew, she started being a bitch. I got through one seam, said "Hey, that looks pretty good!" only to turn it over, and find not a bird's nest, but a rat's nest- all along the entire thing. WTF? Why do I not own a baseball bat for smashing inanimate objects? Oh, right... Because I'd smash inanimate objects. Like my sewing machine. I would probably smash her into tiny bits, and then regret that I don't even have a crappy machine to play with.

On a note of sadness, GW has informed me that I'm cut off. 

No more fabric until what I have is gone, or at least reasonably used up. But... But... I just found the most adorable Japanese fabric on Etsy, and I'm dying to have it... Not to mention, the flannels are on sale at Joann.com. And there's a free shipping code available today, too :(  For those interested... Joann.com Today & Tomorrow Only! Free Shipping with No Minimum on your Joann.com order. Take advantage of the great sale prices & get free shipping when you use promo code ECD301 in your shopping cart (code valid thru 10/28/10).

Buy something cute 'cause I can't... *sigh*

Busy Saturday: First Real Food, Kitteh Nommin', and Dawn's Party

Alex has been begging at the table for well over a month now, so we thought we'd give some "real food" a try. I know it's a little earlier than the general crunchy recommendations, him being about 4.5 months. The only readiness cue he didn't have was being able to sit totally unassisted. (He can, but only for a few seconds.) His head control has been advanced since he was born, and he no longer has the tongue-thrust reflex. He's been making chewing motions and lunging at my plate, and trying to steal my utensils for a while.
We decided to start with avocado instead of cereal. I explained why to GW, and after some questioning, he said fine. I smushed some up and added a little bit of expressed milk to it. Bibbit freakin' loooooved it!

>begin atomic photobomb!<

And then later, Scoot got lovered an then eated a little bit. GW is not in boxers, BTW. Those are his "laundry day" shorts. 

 Then, we decided to piss Alex off entirely. We took him to Dawn's party. He cried almost the whole time. It was loud, and he was quite overwhelmed by all the attention. Everyone wanted to hold him & love him, but he just didn't want any part of that at all. So all the pictures from there look the same. Crying baby, bouncing relative.

SIL getting a face full of fussy Bibbit

Yay Followers!

I think I'm among the many who are disappointed with BabyCenter's decision to take the blogs off the sidebar. I have found most of the mommy blogs I follow through there, and I sure do miss it! I wanted to say thanks to those who have found my blog, and who are following.

I'm supposed to be doing something productive right now. I've sewed 2 pairs of Halloween-themed babylegs... Ummm. Yeah. Lame output... I have some things that are cut out, but Miss Priss is being her usual self, (bird-nesting and eating things), so I took a sanity break. Or I was gonna throw her right out the window.
Things I have cut out to sew:

• Lime-green fleece longies
• 10 terry wipes, made from a very pretty, soft, hand-towel set from Wal-Mart. (Yay for fall clearance items!)
• 2 recycled tee fitteds with Alova inners- all pinned, clipped, and ready to go!

I just need some motivation. And I'm not finding it. I'll probably do the wipes before everything else, I'm in dire need in that department, I'm always running out. Tomorrow will see NO sewing whatsoever during the day, we're going to Dawn's (GW's step-mom) surprise birthday party. 

I'm also having an issue with the fact that I'm home on a Friday night. In my world before baby, Friday would see me at Plague. (Heather & Holly or no Heather & Holly) I miss all my old friends & casual acquaintances, especially my close DJ friends... Scavenger, Chasm,  DeHuman8, 8-Bit, ZNUH, Rev Ben, Black/Mail, Neith, Doomsday Jones.... Oh, and my Amy. And Mel, and Roxy, and Damian, and Courtney, and Joie... and so many others who I didn't list.  

BUT... This is what I expected. I knew what having a new baby would mean. Honestly, all the superficial relationships fade when Alex smiles at me. 

I Love Me Some Boobies!

If you're on Facebook, and you love boobies (specifically, babies on boobies) then you should JOIN THIS GROUP! Just sayin'.

I chose to upload this picture, but I didn't caption it. I just didn't know what to write. What could say more than the photo already shows?

In other news, we had a visit to the "vet" (What GW calls the Dr's :P). We couldn't see Dr E, she's out caring for her mother, who is (sadly) dying. We saw the flaky NP. We asked about Alex's rash, because we'd done everything, and nothing was helping.

Turns out, he has a yeast rash. WTF? I've never even had an infection, and there were no other signs anywhere else. Alex's mouth was clean (no thrush), and there was none on my nips, either. Since TJ only had a rash like, twice, EVER, I was pretty much at my wit's end with this. She gave us a script for some super-yeast-killer, because she said it was too bad for OTC treatment. Damn.

Well, it works. Last night we slathered it all over his bum, bits, and the backs of his knees, because he had it there, too. (I chose to stick him in a disposable for this event.) It looked so much better this morning. He's sleeping now, with the same thing we did last night. I'm hoping that it clears up soon.

She said it generally goes away in a couple of days, and I was skeptical, but seeing it work overnight makes me think she isn't totally loopy. She also told us we didn't need to treat the cloth diapers, just wash 'em the way we had been. She CD'd her kids when they were small, and she was really impressed with the fitteds & babylegs I had made, and she positively cooed over the Fishnoodles cover. She said she was jealous, and wished she'd had a couple "back then", and the leggings were "brilliant!".

I think I hear a Bibbit fussing... and after looking at all the pictures of babes and babies, my boobs would love to feed him.

Goth Ball 2010!

I AM SO THERE! 

(if we can get a sitter... Sisterface maybe?)

Making Things...

Is taking up my time, and so, I haven't written anything with substance for a while.
I'm trying to perfect my diaper making, and it's slow going.
I made The Cutest Diaper Ever, only to find after testing it out that it wicks, which was a huge mental setback for me.
So I bought some fleece to line the diapers with. Get it home, and I find it's the wrong kind of fleece. It repels. I wanted the absorbent kind. :(
So I made some booties out of the fleece. And they're too small. (and misshapen, and don't stay on...)
So I made some wipes out of my scraps. They work, but Miss Priss (my sewing machine) thought they were tasty, and tried to eat most of them. Meh. :P
Go me.

Miss Spider, my sink pet, can't keep up with all the flies in the bathroom, so they are now all over the house. I opened the diaper pail to do a wash, and three came flying out. I'm doing some extra washing on those diapers. I was totally grossed out. I have to give her credit, though, she dumps her prey in the sink when she's finished with it. She's a very tidy spider. 

And just a little bit of cuteness (in case you don't think spiders are cute)... Alex being cute :D

 The one below is Alex in a WAHM diaper that I bought to match my bathrobe that I bought especially for the hospital (which he is on, if you couldn't tell). It was made by this seller, DypesByDixon. Sooo Cute And Soft! And it works (unlike mine). Alex is actually sleeping in it right now. She's doing a custom drawing right now, so of course, I entered. When I got my package from her, there was an organic lollipop in there. I'm sure she didn't know my favorite flavor is strawberry, but that's what I got, and it made me squee!

Oh, and GW has noticed that Alex's hair is red. And we had to have a discussion (not sure if he was totally serious, but it bugs me) about whether or not he was really his. Idiot.