Baby in the Hood Jacket

Hello friends.  Thank you for all of the kind words, congratulations, and comments recently.  I apologize for my lack of response and engagement.  Recovery from the birth of Owen has been difficult for me in the extreme but I think the worst of it is finally over.  I had a scheduled c-section and anticipated the recovery to be similar to the last two, but it ended up being a lot more than I bargained for.  Nothing life threatening, thank goodness, but difficult nonetheless.  Thankfully Owen has been healthy overall but my health problems resulted in some feeding issues for him, so life has been pretty crazy lately.  

My husband still has this week and next off of work and has been an amazing help with everything.  The kids were hyper and a bit unruly following our hospital discharge, but have soon calmed down and even have been very helpful on occasion.

Thanks for letting me share.  I am trying to be a little more personal in this space but will always be focusing on sewing here.  I have one last pre-baby project to share:

I was incredibly nervous before the scheduled c-section and spent the day before the procedure making Charlotte a coat to keep myself distracted.  I ordered the Anne Kelle kitty corduroy off of Etsy on a Monday and it came on Wednesday from Ohio.  Thankfully, the purple lilac pearl bracelets from my stash was a fun match for the project.  This pattern is called "All Set Kid Pattern Set" by Anna Maria Horner, also found in smaller sizes from her book Handmade Beginnings.   I made the jacket is size 4T, Charlotte fits perfectly in most 3T's, so I think it's safe to say that the sizes run a little small.

Unfortunately, this jacket gave me a lot of trouble.  The most aggravating part was getting the sleeves to line up with the arm holes of the jackets- there was way too much extra fabric to get it to all connect neatly.  I finally gave up following the directions and gathered the sleeves to make it work, luckily they didn't come out puffy at all.  I also had issues with one jacket placket being longer than the other!  Really not sure how that happened but I did manage to fix it.

I also had lots of trouble with my machine doing button holes correctly: the machine would stitch them incompletely, too long, and inconsistent in size.

I made this pattern two years ago in sizes 18-24 months with a different Ann Kelle corduroy print.  The sleeves didn't give me trouble then and I did the loop button method instead of traditional buttonholes.

Despite some frustrations, I love this pattern and the look of the jacket.  Charlotte wore the whale version quite often and I am sure the kitty one will be just as favored.  

Currently, my machine is being looked at by a local Janome Dealer due to all the problems I have been having with it.  A few different people have told me the computer may be dying in the machine: which is not good news, especially after owning it for less than two years.  A postpartum mom in the throes of illness and breastfeeding problems does not take that kind of news too well!!!  Let's just say that there have been a few tears shed and a few prayers given that it is a more minor problem causing issues.  Having it looked out now is good timing, I have not had time or energy for sewing although I do miss it!  

Posting will be sporadic but I hope to sneak in some sewing now and then, if only for my own sanity and enjoyment.  Thanks for reading!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts at Finish it up Friday.

Total stash fabric used in this post: 1.25 yards
Total stash fabric used since 1/1/15: 57.75 yards
Total stash fabric used to date:  59 yards