Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Trip to Northern California


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We just got home from our trip to see some family up in Nor. Cal. We stayed with my dad and his girlfriend Sandi, and on friday Dad, Elliot, Zach and I went to the Oakland zoo. It's the zoo I used to frequent as a child, and it brought back many fond memories. I remembered riding the giant golden metal lions near the entrance, and using the "key" that they give children to listen to fascinating facts about the animals. It has grown since I was last there though, and the larger animals now have much more space, and there are more exhibits overall as well. Zach enjoyed himself for the first hour (although probably not as much as I did!) and then fell asleep. But I loved being up in the hills in oakland. The smell of eucalyptus and acacia trees and the greenery all around was so refreshing. I think people who live in that area don't always realize how truely beautiful all the plants and wildlife there can be. I even saw a seagull! And the air in San leandro smells so great- like the bay and orange trees. Other than the traffic, I think it's pretty nice there! Elliot was not to happy with the number of U turns he had to do while driving to get to our destinations though.
After the zoo we got to spend the evening in good company. We had a wonderful visit with my brother and my dad's high school friend Tom over a delicious dinner of turkey and fingerling potatos. We got to listen to some music my brother has been composing on his computer which was entertaining. We topped the evening off with a video on baby massage, which Zach seemed to enjoy.
The next day we visited my Aunts house (although she was out of town) and had a little party with my mother and grandmother there. We were fortunate enough to have a visit from my mom's Aunt Geri (her father's sister) and some friends Ray and Julie. We had a good day, and spent some time swapping gifts, and talking. Elliot was abig fan of my Aunt and Uncle's pool table and now thinks we need one. But we have no room for one. Oh well. We went out for dinner to a favorite childhood eatery, called the Hickory pit. The last time I went to one (when I was a child) it caught on fire while we were there. It was scary! Anyhow, dinner was less eventful. Elliot and I shared a plate of ribs and tri tip that was yuummy, and Zach had some corn and beans. The drive home was long and we are all tired, but in a good way!
When we got here my new serger, some fabric, Elliot's valentine's day gift (knife making stuff) and a new diaper from Elliot's Aunt Cathleen had all arrived in our absence. Luckily we have a fantastic pet sitter who brought it all in for us. Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Bad dream

LAst night I had horrible dreams. I dreamt that I couldn't find Zach. When I finally figured out where he was, he was at the hospital. I called them and they told me he had gone into congestive heart failure. I told them to fix it, and then they told me it was too late and he had died. After screaming into the phone and crying for a long time, I had to tell my own mother, who was somehow here with me. Then I went to pick up his body, only to discover he wasn't actually dead, just blue. So I did some chest compressions (as in CPR) and he was okay. But it didn't last, and he had to be airlifted back to the hospital from our house. When they came to get him, they dangled down this strap that I was supposed to tie around him, and they lifted him up up and away. I remember watching his scared little face get farther and farther away and thinking about how much I loved him. I was so sad and scared. I'm not sure what happened because I woke up, but the raw emotion of that dream was so real and I still feel really sad and scared. I'm glad it was just a dream, but I hate it when I have bad dreams like that.
On a happier note, Zach is now CRAWLING!! And he says Mama all the time. HE can also clap and we're working on waving. As soon as I can I'll try to get a video of him crawling up! I cannot wait for this weekend, when we get to go see my dad On friday/saturday and my mom and aunt on Sunday.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Wool in one





Here is my pattern for a wool diaper cover from old suit coats, along with directions on how to make it have a snap in liner so it's a wool-in-one with interchangeable liner! Please keep in mind I have not as of yet tested the snap part since I don't have snap pliers (they're on the way!). I have made the cover, and it was super cute!

Regan Wool-in-one diaper pattern directions

Made from old wool coats, this diaper has a snap in liner, and Velcro closings, making diaper changes a breeze! This pattern is also highly customizable. Here are some options:

**If using wool coats or suits, you best option is to use two layers, as most wool coats are fairly thin. However, you may also use one thicker coat in a single layer, or a very felted sweater, and bind the edges with wool jersey or fold over elastic.

**The snap in liner may be sewn in a variety of ways. You may sew two layers and turn and topstitch as the directions say, or you may sew one layer and bind the edges. Keep in mind that if you sew one layer, you will need to add soakers for absorbency, or just lay a prefold or insert inside.

**This pattern is for a size LARGE.

**If you don’t have a snap press, you can still make the cover from wool suit coats and omit the snap in liner.

** This pattern could also be serged instead of turned and topstitched, but the directions are written using a regular machine.

You will need:

-Two old wool coats, or pieces of wool approx 20” x 19”

-Two pieces of liner fabric can be flannel, Sherpa, microfleece, suedecloth, old t-shirst, anything you want really

-Fabric for soaker layer that needs to be something absorbent. You can also use a prefold cut and serged or hemmed for this if you want

-Elastic

-Snaps and pliers or press

-Velcro

-Polyester thread

Now to the directions:

  1. Print three copies of the pattern and cut along the outline of the cover on one, the outline of the liner on the second one, and the outline of the soaker layer on the third one. Alternatively, print out one copy of the pattern and cut it down as you cut your layers, starting with the cover, then the liner, and finally the soaker layer.
  2. Remove any lining on the wool coats. Cut the backs out and fo ld in half. Place pattern on fold where indicated and cut. Repeat with second coat.
  3. Fold liner fabric in half. Place pattern on fold where indicated and cut out. Repeat for second layer.
  4. Cut out soaker layer as follows:

You may use any material you like for your soaker, but this is how I do it. I take a piece of brushed flannel a little longer, and 4 times as wide as I want my final soaker. Then I take a microfiber terry cloth hand towel and fold in thirds and cut to proper length. Then I lay the hand towel on the edge of the flannel and fold the flannel as follows:

  1. The green is the hand towel and the thin black lines indicate a fold. Then Sew up the two ends. Not sewing down the center of the soaker allows for more flexibility in the soaker and makes it less stiff.
  2. Sew the soaker into one layer of flannel, sewing along the two ends of the soaker.
  3. Pin the right sides of the liner together. Mark which side face in and which faces out with a fabric pen. This will help you apply the snaps facing the right direction. Apply the snaps to the layer of the flannel that does not have the soaker layer sewn in. You may need to reinforce the fabric where the snaps are with a small strip of sturdy fabric on the inside. Repeat this step with the Cover layer, making sure to put the snaps facing the right way on the layer you want on the inside of the cover.
  4. Sew up the back and sides of the liner layer with right sides facing each other, leaving the top open. I left a large seam allowance in the pattern, so you don’t have to sew too close to the edge. Add the elastic, stretching as you sew, to the back and legs using zig zag stitch. Repeat this step for the cover. Clip the corners and trim excess fabric away.
  5. Turn right side out and iron if desired. Then topstitch around the entire liner, making a casing for, but not sewing over, the elastic in the legs. Also be sure to tuck down the fabric at the turning hole (front of liner) and be careful not to sew over the snaps, as this could break your needle and hurt you with flying debris. Repeat for cover.
  6. Add Velcro using a zig zag stitch (or snaps if desired) for closing to the cover only.
  7. Make however many more liners you want available.
  8. Handwash and lanolize wool cover.

That’s it! Now you can snap your liners into your wool cover and go! Personally I would make several covers so that one could air out between each diaper change, and I would make about 14 liners for a baby my son’s age (8 months).

Here is a link to the pattern. Make sure you are viewing it as large as possible (I think there is a zoom button) then copy and paste into paint. It should be about 19" x 10" (check under attributes) then print and measure with a ruler to make sure it is about 19-20" by 10" at the widest part. I am working to get a picture with a cleaner background up. Check back soon!!

THE LINK TO THE PATTERN is here



Please note you can also download the picture(instead of copy and paste) using the button at the top of the page after opening the above link. You could also adjust the stretch and skew in paint to get a smaller size if you want one.

Feel free to make and distribute this pattern. You can even make and sell the wool in one diaper cover and liner, but please don't sell the pattern itself. Thanks and enjoy!