Make mine a double scoop!

Amanda sent me a few yards of this adorable fabric and said I could keep it...all she wanted was a cute crossover dress made from it and an ice cream cone cover to match. The cover is a white pul outer with the embroidered ice cream cone and a bright red 'cherry' button on top. Super soft lime minkee inner and sherbert colored snaps! The dress is reversible and has matching red buttons.

Bootsie is going to look adorable in this!

Bones & Roses

There was a thread at Diaper Swappers about skulls and Dia De Los Muertos that I found interesting. It seemed that the consensus was pretty evenly split with those who love skulls on clothing, particularly childrens clothing, and those who think they are creepy. Personally I think they are pretty cool, punk and retro. My kids love to sport skulls, especially if it has to do with pirates!

This set is my favorite of the skulls I have done lately. The combo of skulls with roses is just cool to me! Megan, obviously your set is ready to go...I will have it out in the mail for you tomorrow. Thank you!

Kickin' Leukemia's Butt

Gavin is fighting the good fight. He has been feeling pretty icky, but Kristin says he is resting and hopefully will be perking up soon. Kristin, the dipes are done and are in the wash again so they will be ready to be worn as soon as you receive them. I should have them on their way to you tomorrow. Hugs for Gavin.

*edited to add this cute pic of Gavin in his new threads that Kristen sent me this morning! Gavin is doing better, free of tubes and wires for now and will be starting his next round of chemo in a few days. You can check in with his progress at his Caring Bridge site. Kristen has been updating it everyday and I know she appreciates your continued prayers for her little man.

Thoughts on Van Gogh

Since I was a young girl, I have loved the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh...and in particular his painting 'Vase of 12 Sunflowers'. Looking at it just makes me happy and I have a framed replica hanging in my kitchen. During our long Idaho winters I look forward to late spring when I can plant a row of sunflowers (among the squash and melons) in my front yard planting bed. I can look out my sewing room window and see them with their cheery faces tracking the sun as it moves across the horizon.

When I came across Van Gogh's Sunflowers embroidery design several years ago, I immediately made 2 sets with the design on a diaper or cover, I forget, and a crossover dress. I cannot remember who bought them, but I remember that they were well loved. So fast forward to a few weeks ago...I had dyed some bamboo velour this winter and was anxious to use it. Deep oranges and yellows and it seemed like the perfect compliment to the embroidery design.

Now, don't ask me how, but the design was perfectly centered on the rear when I began sewing, but somehow it has ended up slightly 'off'. It made me chuckle when my friend Elsa commented that Van Gogh was slightly 'off center' as well. As most brilliant artists are. Truth. So this cute diaper has been sitting on a shelf making me smile for weeks. I wasn't going to sell it because of it's obvious flaw, but have been convinced to offer it up in a lottery on my HyenaCart. So the next time I stock...hopefully by the end of this month, look for Van Gogh's slightly offcenter 'Vase of 12 Sunflowers'. Maybe it will bring a bit of cheer to your cloth diapering stash. :)

Pink Skulls for Cassandra

Hey Cass, your set is on it's way...I hope you like it, this has been one of my favorite themes lately! Thanks again for your business. :)

A few updates

Amy, I received your Thirsties cover today and have it done and ready to go out. It will be on it's way in the morning. This color looks MUCH better to me, so I hope you like it!

Kendra, I am finished with the sealing and am going to finish the elastic repairs tonight, so your dipes will also be on their way to you in the morning. :)

Cassandra, your pink skulls set is finished and will be on it's way tomorrow. I am sorry, I forgot to snap a pic before I wrapped it up and packaged it.

Kristin, I have the prefolds in hand and will work on digitizing the leukemia ribbon tomorrow, do a test sew, and if it is ok, I will embroider them all. Hopefully to be finished Thursday and out on their way to you. I hope Gavin is feeling a little bit better today after his awful weekend. (((hugs)))

Amanda, I received your fabric packages and you were right, this ice cream cone fabric is adorable! It will make a great crossover dress. :) I will be starting the set sometime this week, probably Thursday.

Tina, I have one more batch of fabric to dye and then will be starting your fitteds. I should be able to start on them mid-week next week as planned. :)

Mega fluffy day for Kendra!

Embroidery on your diapers is finished and now I just need to get the PUL sealed and they will be ready to go. It's supposed to be a nice weekend here and I plan to spend most of it out of the sewing room, but if I get the chance, I will try to get all the diapers sealed and those three elastic repairs done so they can be back on their way to you Monday morning...but please don't shoot me if it ends up being Tuesday!

I will work on the digitizing projects we talked about and let you know how it goes. Here are your Fuzzi Bunz Pockets...

And the Preston's Pants Pockets...

Thank you so much, I had a great time doing these!

Happy Mother's Day

I want to wish my mom and all my customers and friends a Happy Mother's Day! It is an especially happy day for me because my oldest son is also celebrating his 18th birthday today. My youngest son gets to celebrate his 5th birthday tomorrow!

The morning started off with a very sad email however. One of my customers, Kristin, emailed me to let me know her son was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on May 5th. Gavin is 9 months old. I would like to ask the readers of my blog to pray for Gavin and his family. You can also show your support by leaving a comment here for Gavin and Kristin...or visit his CaringBridge site. I know he and his family would appreciate your thoughts and prayers on their behalf.

Stay strong Kristin, and give my hugs to Gavin.

Attached Kids

There is a term used freely today called 'Attachment Parenting' which basically means developing a strong bond with your child through various ways. I have practiced AP since before my first child was born 6,573 days ago...that seems like so long in days! He turns 18 this Sunday. I am the mother of an ADULT...egad! Anyhooo... AP is kind of a way of life around here and it means something different for each parent that practices it.

For me, it meant that I was in tune with what my kids needed and what was best for them at the time. For my youngest child in particular, this meant I carried him. ALOT. In fact I would sew standing up with him in a pouch or ring sling on my chest. I have skills.

What this means today is that he prefers to be with me...AT ALL TIMES. On the same floor of the house, and often in the same room. I am constantly stepping or tripping over him. For example, about 30 minutes ago I tripped over this as I got up from the embroidery machine...

A bunch of PUL, some fabric scraps, and a seemingly harmless pile of pocket diapers. Kendra's pocket diapers sent to me for embroidery. There are 19 of them. Underneath them is a child...if you look carefully, you can see his socks. He took each diaper out of the shipping box and covered himself with them. It's a game he loves to play, 'Can you see me now?' and he plays it all day long. Today, apparently, with pocket diapers. Off to the laundry they go!

At least he was being patient about waiting until I was finished with my work so I could make him some lunch!

Sock Monkey's for Amy

Amy sent me a couple fleece soakers for some sock monkey embroidery...and these cute guys are headed back to her today. :)

Mary's Fuzzi Bunz

Mary, I will be sending these out along with your repaired HH trainers first thing in the morning. Thank you!

Fuzzi Bunz.

Fluffy mail today!

Mary, I received your 2 pocket dipes and the two trainers for snap repair. I have already done those repairs and will get the embroidery done on your pockets tomorrow. I may be able to get them right back out to you in tomorrows mail.

Amy, I received your two fleece soakers and am going to get those embroidered and back out to you in tomorrows mail.

Kendra, your overflowing box of pocket dipes arrived this afternoon! Get busy on picking out your designs! hahaha

Cheryl's Unicorn Cover

Hey Cheryl! I have your 3D cover finished and am going to have all your BG's and other stuff out in the mail to you this afternoon. Fluffy Canadian mail day coming your way!

Becky's monkey prince

Becky, I got these stitched out today and will try to get them sealed and back out in the mail to you tomorrow or Friday. I hope you like them!

Bum Genius.

Tara's BG's

Hey Cheryl...I have Tara's Bum Genius dipes finished and think they turned out cute! I hope she likes them. :)

I may be going up to Spokane tomorrow and if I do, I won't be able to finish your cover until Thursday...but everything should be good to go in the mail either that afternoon or Friday morning. :) I can't miss the opportunity to ride my motorcycle up with my hubby for his business meeting if the weather is sunny. :)

Laura's Skulls Set

Hi Laura. I have been unable to get a hold of you...my emails keep bouncing back. I have your set complete and will be sending it out in the mail tomorrow morning. Enjoy!

Embroidering pocket diapers

First and most importantly, if you are sending a PUL pocket diaper to me for embroidery, please read this entire post and let me know if you have further questions. By agreeing to send, and have me embroider your pre-made PUL diapers, you acknowledge that you have read this information.

Your PUL diaper (Bum Genius pockets and covers, Bummis covers, Fuzzi Bunz pockets, etc) must be completely clean with NO detergent residue. To ensure there is no residue on your diapers, please do a hot wash followed by one cup of vinegar in the first cold rinse cycle and then a second cold rinse. Removing residue is important to ensure that when I seal the embroidery, I am sealing to a clean surface, otherwise I cannot guarantee the seal will last.

There are many pocket diaper manufacturers and Wahm's, and each produces different sized openings on their products. In some cases it is pretty easy for me to get the embroidery hoop inside the pocket and ready to go onto the machine. In other cases, the opening is too small to accommodate the hoop and I must open up the pocket. This is the case with Bum Genius Pockets, all except large and x-large Fuzzi Bunz, and many others.

To do that, I simply cut the inside pocket material (the fleece or suedecloth) from the pocket opening to about midway down the center. The diaper is then hooped for embroidery and once completed and the embroidery is sealed, I sew the pocket back with my serger. As you can see from the first picture, the seam on the outside is smooth (where baby's bottom would be), and the serged part of the seam is on the inside of the pocket.

This bottom picture shows the inside of a pocket diaper (this one is a Bum Genius). Once the design is embroidered, I use a matching piece of polyurethane laminate (PUL) to seal the back of the embroidery so there will be no leaking issues.

If you have any further questions about seaming or sealing pocket diapers, please don't hesitate to pop me an eMail and I will be happy to answer them.