Baby Gifts

Even though a nasty virus has plagued my house for the past couple of weeks keeping me and my sweet redhead miserable (thank goodness Lane has been spared), I have found some times, mainly nap times, to play with my new embroidery machine.


Shamefully, the first week I had my new machine, it went completely untouched due to being sick.  So last week, I couldn't take it anymore.  I read manuals and sewed and embroidered with a box of Kleenex and a bag of cough drops next to me.  


The first things I've had the opportunity to make were some baby gifts for some of my friends and family who are expecting.  


First, I made some carrier covers...

This is to keep strangers and greeters at Walmart and Target and wherever else you go from touching your baby!  It always amazed me that strangers would reach out and rub Jude's head, pinch his cheeks, and play with his hands.  Strangers still approach Jude and run their hands though his curly red hair.  This is a huge pet peeve of mine and I keep my baby bathed with antibacterial wipes.  I guess that's a characteristic of a NICU mom.


Well this carrier cover will keep baby covered and protected from those "baby touchers" and their germs!  I've made three so far... two for little baby boys on the way and one zebra and hot pink one for a sweet baby girl.  And trust me, Sweet Pea will definitely have at least one made for it too!!


The next gifts I made were burp cloths to coordinate with the carrier covers.

Then I get to personalize them with my new embroidery machine!!! 

I still have a lot to learn about my machine and the software that came with it: stabilizers, thread tension, sizing, editing, etc.. But it's coming.  I also have a lot of projects and ideas planned for it including more baby gifts, a couple of nursing covers, some baby blankets, things for Sweet Pea, things for Jude, some dish towels for a housewarming, some beach towels for the summer, some gifts for a new bride, and some birthday presents for our family and some of Jude's friends!  And, YES, you'll probably have to suffer through a post about each one ;-)


I'm also thinking about opening a little Etsy shop with some of my gifts in it to help make a little extra money and help raise some funds for Jude's preschool at LSU (fees have increased greatly for this upcoming semester- more on that later).  Lane and I have been trying to come up with some cute names for it.  So far we have Lane's idea of "Nap Time Designs",  "Merry Bobbins" which is another one of Lane's ideas and his favorite, and of course "The Mustard Seed Boutique".  It's just being talked about now, but I'm still a little nervous about it.  So feedback is greatly appreciated!


Well that's it for now.  Hope everyone is has a wonderful week!