A Long and Hilly Day

Today started out at 5 am with Eric wanting attention, T.V. and to have the covers put back on. Then I put last night's wash in the dryer and started the laundry for the day. I think it was about 5 loads, but don't quote me on that.

Eric supervised and napped while I worked on his new bibs. I only got 4 finished today. I have 6 more bibs to make. If you would like to make some of the bibs I make for Eric you can find the pattern here. Please remember that this pattern is for personal use. You may not use this pattern to sell these bibs. With that said, if you are in love with the pattern and want to make some to donate to a local special needs program or school please feel free to make as many as you like. Just send or post a picture or two before you send them off.

There was also a final goodbye to my friend Faye today. We need more people like Faye in this world. Faye was always kind and generous in spirit. A wonderful student who also brought a great question  or thought to the Torah Study group. Always had a kind word to say. Was always a lady in the classiest sense of the word.  I wish that everyone could have known Faye. She will always have a place in my heart.

How to Make Eric's Bibs

OK, as promised here are the directions to make Eric's bibs along with pictures. Essentially they are made the same way for baby to adult sized bibs. The only thing that is different is the supplies. So as with any good craft project here are the supplies needed by size of the bib.

Supplies

Makes 2 bibs.
Baby bibs - 2 wash cloths, 1 bandanna, matching thread
Toddler through early elementary school - 1 kitchen towel, 1 bandanna, matching thread , bias tape
Pre Teen - 2 kitchen towels, 1 bandanna, matching thread
Adult - 2 Hand towels, 1 bandanna, matching thread

For all bibs - a Sharp scissors, a sewing machine and a nice thing for the toddler bibs is a surger but you can also use the bias tape which is less expensive than buying a surger.

Step One

For all the bib sizes take your bandanna and cut corner to corner so that you have 2 triangles. Fold the raw edge over and and sew a 1/4 inch seam. Fold over 1 more time and sew a 1/4 inch seam. This is what the first part will look like when finished. You can see how both the front and the back are suppose to look.

Step Two only for the Toddler Bib

Fold the Kitchen towel in half so that the bottom and top of the towel are lined up.  Be very brave and cut the towel along the fold.  Now you either surge the edge or cover the cut edge with bias tape. I have made them both ways and they both hold up well to repeated washings.





Step Three

Along the top edge of the towel position the bandanna so it is centered and both of the upper corners of the towel are covered. Pin into place.  I like to start pinning at the top center and work my way out to ensure a smooth wrinkle free bib. Next pin the bottom center and work your way out again.

The first seam will go along the top edge. When you get to the other side leave you needle down and turn your work to do the first side. When you get to the tip of the bandanna leave the needle in the down position and turn to go across the last side of the triangle. I like to sew the bandanna as close to the edge as I can. I find that the bibs tend to last longer that way. 

Then using the seam line as a guide I then do any personalization to the bib.  In a school or day care environment it is perfectly OK to add the persons name in block letters. Most sewing machines have at least 1 alphabet now a days. To make the bib last longer I have found it necessary to do a bit of machine quilting inside the triangle. You may either do a grid or free form it is up to you.

Now its time to clip all those loose threads and run it through the washing machine before use.

This pattern is for personal use only.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

So What Day of the Week is This?

After a long night with Eric, we went to the doctors today. The good news is that he has the crud that is going around. The bad news is that he will be home for at least 1 more day. My sincere hope is that with the grace from heaven above that he will sleep through the night tonight. And would it be asking too much for him to go to sleep by 10 pm?

On the bib front I was able to slip out of the house to look for bandanna's. The bad news is that I could not find any brown or tan bandanna's at the two stores I went too. Not even brown or tan fabric that was suitable was available. Not having a whole lot of time I came home empty handed. Thank goodness for Amazon they had just what I needed. So I will start the other bibs while I wait for the brown and tan ones.

A whole lot of knitting is getting done. I just need to do some finishing work so I can get my friend Nancy the hats and scarfs I have promised her for her work with Primavera Shelter for Women here in Tucson. I had promised 2 hats and scarfs which are done.  Being disorganized as I can get I also have one more scarf on the needles right now for her and I am positive that she won't mind the extra scarf. I will let you know later if I was wrong.

I think that I will go set up my bib production line now. Maybe just maybe my boss will let me have a little time to make some bibs for him during the day tomorrow. So have a great evening and enjoy your families.

Last Night

I should have known something was going to go wacky. I had the urge just to get out of the house yesterday. I had no real errands to do so I went to Starbucks for 2 hours of knitting and relaxing.

While at Starbucks I did figure out the shoulder repeats for the shawl pattern I promised to give as Christmas gifts on Friday. So that was good. I have less than a skein to knit and then I will type the pattern for my beta testers. Did I mention that the Beta testers are from my Friday Fun Knitters group and have wanted me to write this pattern down for at least a couple of years..

After Eric's dinner he started feeling yucky and pulling my hand to his tummy. Well the eyrping started at about 10 pm and that did not seem to ease the pain. Then there was the 3:30 am total change, I am so glad that I put the extra chucks down around midnight otherwise I would have had a full bed change instead of just PJ's,blanket and chucks*. Basically what that means is 1 load of laundry instead of 3 loads.

I feel very proud of myself that I did not start the caffeine till about 4 am, but I am beginning to wonder if I should have started earlier. By the way that's when I started the laundry too. I was up so why not start a load or two and warm up the house a little.

So Eric and I are home today. He had 5 days off for Thanksgiving and only made it to school for 2 days this week. I wish I could figure out how to keep him well. I also hope that he naps today, I know that is a totally selfish thought, but it's not quite 8 am and a nap sounds good already. I think it's going to be a very long day.

I hope that you have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

*Chucks are those pads they use in the hospital under patients so that they do not have to change the bed as often. I consider them a resource saving device. They are less work to put on the bed then a total bed change. They require less water to clean than a complete bed change. Can you tell that I love them.

Eric's New Bibs

Every once in a while I need to make new bibs for Eric. I try to find some nice hand towels and add a half of a bandanna to make the tie. I have tried to find nice ones pre-made,but after about 4 years of age I had to start making my own.

Friday I made 6 more for him. 2 penguins and 4 octopus's. I would be willing to write up the instructions if anyone is interested in the pattern. The current pattern is the result of trial and error over the years.

Have an wonderful day and enjoy your families.