My first disappointment was to find that the police fabric that she chose was discontinued. It happens from time to time, and I have ways of still getting it usually. That wasn’t the only problem I ran into though. After placing a special order for the fabric I went to find the perfect police baby toy to go on top of the diaper cake. I thought I would have several to choose from. Every single store I went to (and I went to a lot of them) had no police toys. Not for babies, toddlers or kids of any age. Everywhere I went had fireman toys, yet no police. Suddenly what I had envisioned became impossible. I had to get really creative at that point.

I ended up choosing a baby-safe stuffed dog (K-9) who was tan and light blue to tie the color into the cake. I put baby keys under his chin, and made him a little bandana in the same fabric as the hand sewn items in the cake.

The next part was the ribbon. I really had pictured caution tape printed ribbon, but was disappointed again to find that it just doesn’t exist. The color theme was blue and black so I made my own combination of black ribbon with a thinner blue ribbon down the center. It was totally by chance that this ended up being perfect because apparently there is a thin blue line in police work to represent fallen officers.

The cake was finished…very cute, but very frustrating to me. Why are we not teaching our children that police are heroes anymore? I’ve tossed this around a lot in the past week and I’ve heard things like, “well there were those incidents with the LAPD….” Just because there are a few bad apples (and I’m sure we never received the full story) does not mean that we should teach our kids that the police are not the heroes that they really are. When you dial 9-1-1, which I hope none of you ever have to do, it is the police that come to help you. Their job is not an easy one…how many of you could deal with murderers, rapists, child abusers, etc…I know that I could not, but if there was no police, these people would be the undoing of our society. Police are our everyday heroes, not just an irritation on the road when you are talking on your cell phone or speeding. I can’t tell you how many times I see people cursing the police for these very reasons in front of their children. All that does is create a generation of children fearing/hating police officers.  Not just because I have police officers in the family, but because I realize the importance of the police, I think that we need to re-think our opinions, and re-invent police officers as the heroes that they really are.

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So excited to announce that I have the rest of the pictures of Keegen! Really, how can you not enjoy looking at this adorable little man?

Thanks Keegen’s Dad for sending these pictures my way.

Here is Keegen in Dad’s car…can’t you just tell that he loves his new seat cover??

Here he is using his new hooded towel! He has got to be my happiest customer ever!!!

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Here he is in his baby carrier. (He doesn’t stay awake very long when he rides so warm and cozy next to Mom.)

Here he is in Mom’s car seat with his new cover on the “Head Trip” side. Still waiting on pictures from Dad’s car, and of his hooded towel (that’s a hint Mom and Dad!).

Here he is out and about in his shopping cart cover.

He seems like a very satisfied customer to me!

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What’s worse is with cold and flu season here all those extra germs are getting added to the list. It all makes me want to wash my hands….with bleach!

So you can spend all your time and money wiping down everything with disinfecting wipes, but really who has time to do that every time they go out? I’m going to use my grocery cart/high chair cover everytime from now on! If you don’t have one we sell them on our website, or you can get one elsewhere…..just for the sake of your children….please, please don’t forget to use it!!!

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You see I have this table where the kids like to put our seasonal decorations. The wood is old and scratched, and it has some really sharp corners that seem to act like magnets to my youngest daughter’s head.

My goal was to create a cover that was appropriate for Autumn on one side, Winter on the other, that would hide the scratched wood, protect the table, and cushion the corners. I went with Fall colors (and skulls of course) for side one, green snowflakes for side two.

First I figured out the measurements, cut out the pieces and pinned them together to see what I had. As you can see the corners in the front didn’t match because of the curve of the sides of the table top. I simply cut a curve so that they would match. (I have to admit that I totally eyeballed this part!)

I cut out the pieces for the other side next, simply lying the fabric for the sides on top of eachother so that the angle would be the same. What could be simpler?

Next I sewed the pieces together, and then sewed both sides together as well, adding a little padding of batting into the corners.

I wanted the cover to fit snug on the table, so I created a casing for elastic to go around the bottom.

After sewing in the elastic, here’s the finished cover on the table. Side one…..

And side two….

Now finally I could let the kids decorate for Halloween!!

 (At least we can enjoy the decorations for about two weeks before we have to switch them again!!)

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She didn’t specify her fabric choice so I just chose some that I felt she would like, and the first side will probably be a little harder for Princess Sophia to destroy as fast. Side one is a faux suede tiger print, side two a brown micro cord.

Next was my usual process of lots of measurements and illegible papers. Here are the pieces cut out and ready to go. (The brown pieces are underneath the tiger print pieces.)

The assembly of the cover wasn’t too difficult. I included matching arm rest covers. Here’s side one…

And here’s side two!

And here they are on the chair. Side one….

Side two…

I think it turned out pretty nice! It definately improves the look of the chair….while it lasts!!!

Well I can always make another one…..

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She chose to go with plain colors (no print.) She went with brown corduroy for the straps, pocket and inside of the carrier, and olive for the outside of the carrier. Here are the straps, padded for comfort over the shoulders.

Here is the body of the carrier, complete with a very convenient pocket!

And here is the finished carrier with my beautiful sister and my very handsome nephew Danny!

 These carriers are great because you can wear baby on the front or back, and they are machine washable!

The weather has become much cooler and drizzly, it’s really the perfect weather to stay inside and sew all day! Let’s see what I can come up with next!

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All that aside, I have completed the last piece of the Keegen project! Yay!!!

I saved this one for last only because I’ve only ever made it once before, for my youngest, and even though she loved it I vowed I would never ever make another one again! Now not only did Keegen’s Mom request one I’ve been asked to make one for my nephew Danny as well! Isn’t it funny how things work out that way? The good news is, with much more sewing experience under my belt it wasn’t nearly as hard as the first time around!

They let me choose the fabrics for this project as well and I’m a little nervous at my choice only because I noticed most everything else is red and black. As you can see I cooled things off quite a bit. If they don’t like my choice this time I guess that I will just be adding one more to my plate. Oh well that wouldn’t be such a bad thing (it would definately give me more to blog about! Tee hee!)

What I’m making here is called a Mei Tai. It’s an Asian inspired baby carrier. Most people I know like to call them baby backpacks all though you can wear baby on the front with these as well. They work from about 2 months all the way up to about three years old!

This next picture is the straps. You can see the top straps are padded where they go over the shoulders.

 The straps are reinforsed twice to ensure safety.

This picture shows the padding in the top of the carrier. This is nice for comfort and for a little extra support for very little ones without head control, or when older babies fall asleep. (This happens often in these carriers!)

I put a pocket in the back of the carrier. It’s perfect for carrying keys, your wallet, or even diapers!

And now…ta da! Here’s the finished carrier!

Of course I had to make sure it was the right size! A big thank you goes out to my wonderful models for these next pictures! This also goes to show that not only Moms wear their babies!

Now all of the sewing is done, but the Keegen project is not…I still have to figure out how to get all of this to Keegen, and of course they have to send me lots and lots of pictures of him using his car seat covers, his shopping cart/high chair cover, his hooded towel and his Mei Tai carrier!

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I’m happy to say that I did document the process and I’m ready to blog about it today.

The first step for any new project is figuring out exactly how I’m going to attempt it. This means lots of measurements and experimentation with different materials and things. I design all of my own patterns so this process usually takes a couple of days. There’s not much I can show you from this step because I didn’t take pictures of all of my scribbled on papers…I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to read them anyway! LOL!

Step two is aquiring all of my materials…I’d already done most of that. They did not select the fabrics for this cover, so I’m hoping they like what I chose!

Now for the assembly…..

Doesn’t look like much here….but you can see how big it is…with lots of padding and a pocket for keys, toys, etc.

I included toy loops which can be used to hold toys or a pacifier. I think the best way to attach things would be with one of those links that you can get in any baby section almost anywhere.

I took this picture to show that just like my car seat covers, these covers are completely reversible as well. This is nice if one side gets stained.

I almost fainted at this part…after all that hard work putting it together I had to cut holes out for the legs….AAHHHH!!!

I was soooo relieved when I finally finished the leg holes! I did however discover that I hate bias tape! I will be working with it quite a bit now just to get myself used to it because unlike many people I know, I didn’t have the luxury of  a Mom or Aunt or Grandmother or family friend who taught me how to sew. I simply taught myself right before my youngest was born, so every new thing I do truely is VERY new to me. Practice does appear to make perfect though so now I just have to learn to love bias tape….which is not likely in this lifetime!

So here it is!!

Complete with it’s own safety buckle.

It even fits on restaurant high chairs!

100% reversible and machine washable!

And now for my next trick…..

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So now for the pictures…Side one….

And now…Side two…

Ahhh…sweet relief..it’s done!!

Now for my next challenge………

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