Baby Gifts and New Insanity

Lots of people having babies over the next few months 

so am sending out these baby gifts in the mail. Come this weekend, 

these little balls, bibs and fleece blankets will go to new homes. 

Am always excited when I hear of another happy event, 

not only because I think babies are great and smell nice, 

but also because it means my bib stash gets to shrink a little.

Since we are on the subject of baby stuff, I thought I'd share 

another obsession: these soft balls with a bell in the center 

and ribbon tags all over. I began making them almost three 

years ago when my eldest was teething. I'd noticed that many 

of her softies were unusually pristine save for their laundry tags, 

which were frayed, faded and perpetually damp. I decided then 

that the ideal teething toy was featureless (why waste time 

including ears, nose, hair etc?) but covered with these little tags. 

So set about sewing my favorite shape with folded ribbons and 

ric-rac trims sticking out- the more, the merrier. Then discovered that 

these already existed, and with sincere imitations all around, besides. 

And as blankets! Was gratified to know that there were other odd 

children out there with a tag fetish. So I kept sewing - and giving 

them away. Plus it was such a good way to use up bib remnants. 

The balls in the photos are just some of what I have left after giving 

many away. I finally stopped when I ran out of room to store them. 

Sadly, there is no similarly convenient limitation for bibs, which are 

flat, so that particular addiction has continued unchecked.

I have many happy memories of sewing these while Emily 

(my eldest) was napping. I had just moved into our new home 

and left all my childhood /teenhood sewing machines behind in 

mom's house. My mother-in-law, understanding only slightly 

my almost rabid need for a sewing machine in those early days even 

before we had furniture to speak of, loaned me her old Singer. 

I didn't feel quite ready to jump back in to sewing clothes, having taken 

too long a break from it while in paid employment, 

so baby stuff was the prefect re-entry project. 

When I grew a little bored of the balls, I tried some blocks

and blankets

Along with the balls, I've since given quite a few cubes and blankets 

away and these are what are left. Wish I'd taken pictures of those

 that have left for better homes but that was in the pre-blog days 

and it never crossed my mind that there'd be a reason to.

And here is evidence of further insanity: new fabric I've been 

buying over the past few weeks. Not exactly impulse buying, 

considering how long I stood in the store rationalizing buying 

them. I am pleased to say I know exactly what each piece will 

become. The challenge now is to find the time to make them 

before the weather changes and renders the particular garment useless.

These cotton-lycra knits will become shorts for little girls 

(or maybe pants if I don't get to them by the fall)

These are for secret projects for birthdays, 

so sadly I will have to reveal their outcome only later.

And these (shameful glee) will become more bibs!