Baby Bliss

My daughter-in-law is staying with me overnight on Wednesday, and she is bringing baby Alex with her – yes!!! So I spent the weekend working on a few gifts for him. Above is a baby flannel blanket with cowboy theme…

… and pirate-themed fabric on the back – I had to have the major boy stuff covered!

The blanket is super soft… My 16-year-old son did not want to let go of it when I showed it to him (I promised not to publish his picture with the blanket). It has no batting yet I quilted in the ditch so the blanket will retain its shape after many washes. I used Aurifil monofilament (such versatile thread!) and topstitched with Aurifil 28 wt brown thread.

Then I made this laundry bag using mesh fabric and scraps from a quilt I made for his older brother, Nicholas. You know how it is: the dryer eats their socks and I get pictures of cute little feet wearing mismatched socks. I LOVE those pictures but figure Daniela must go crazy trying to match them after the wash is done… So, here is some help for mama.

I used French seams so the bag would like nice on the inside!

Finally, I tried dying Onesis for him but it did not turn out all the great. First time trying and you can barely see the “A” I ‘wrote’. Oh, well. He can wear these under his cute clothes.

I got ideas for these projects from the book “Baby Bliss” by Kim Diehl and Pat Wys. These two highly creative artists came up with wonderful projects for babies, no doubt inspired by their own gorgeous grandchildren. The projects are very practical and easy to make including blankets, pacifier leashes, burp clothes, very cool bibs, overalls, etc.

The instructions are detailed and have plenty of diagrams so you will know exactly what to do. Here are some photos for you to drool over (All photographs by Brent Kane for Martingale; used by permission):

These pacifier leashes are adorable – I can see them becoming heirlooms!!! The next photo showcases the Onesis (I have a long way to go before mine turn out so perfect!).

These blankets are soooo cute! I love the applique’ and will make the next blanket using them. Now, look at the laundry bags… They used store-bought zippered laundry bags which speeds up the project, as well as ric-rac for whimsy. I did not have the bags and had to improvise using the mesh fabric.

I am glad I got this book for review because I was running out of ideas for gifts to make for my grand babies. Baby Bliss has more than 15 projects so I will be covered for a while!