Mrs. Greedy-Pants Makes A Gift (Two Actually)

Call me greedy if you must, but the truth is that I'm generally a pretty selfish sewer.  Ninety-nine percent of the things that I make are either for myself or my children (with a little something sewn for someone else every once in while).  A few years ago, though, things were quite different and I often knit and sewed gifts for other people but the fact is that people who don't make things by hand rarely appreciate the time and effort that goes into handmade gifts.  At one point I was a bit bitter about this but I've come to realize that there are many, many things that I have no appreciation for or any idea of how much time and effort it takes to create.  So to each their own, I say.

So given that I'm generally Mrs. Greedy-Pants when it comes to sewing, I was as surprised as anybody to find myself sewing not one, but TWO baby gifts for co-workers who are currently expecting new little ones.  For the baby-boy-to-be I decided to make a Baby In The Hood jacket from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings and I settled on a 9-12 months size hoping that the coat will fit the little guy next fall.  The only modifications I made in making the jacket were to make the elastic in the hood a tad bit shorter so that it would be more fitted around the face and I added a little coat hook for easy hanging.  As you can imagine, those were both incredibly difficult modifications to make (that's a joke, people).

It must have been kind of entertaining to watch me at the fabric store as I tried to figure out what a "boy" fabric is.  On the one hand I didn't want anything too traditionally "boy" but on the other hand I know that I'm far more accepting of gender-neutral fabrics than other people and I didn't want to make something only to have them deem it too "girlish."  I also knew, however, that the mom is a lover of bright colors, so in the end I settled on this elephant fabric and some bright orange polka dots for contrast.

I decided to line the inside with flannel to make the coat a little more seasonally appropriate and once again I cut up an old baby blanket for the flannel (which coincidentally also has elephants all over it).  It's almost like it was meant to be.

For the baby-girl-to-be I cut into my Briar Rose jersey and made an Oliver and S Hopscotch Knit Dress (there are few things better than rediscovering a new love for an old pattern).  When both my girls were infants they had a little strawberry outfit that I loved to have them wear so little baby strawberry clothes hold a special place in my heart.  Although I guess this dress isn't particularly infant-ish since it's made to fit a 6-12 month old.  It's still absolutely precious though.  Man, I love this fabric.