Clutch Purse Sewing and Baby Updates

Lets do baby/pregnancy updates first.

At my weekly doctor appointment we found that my blood pressure is high...lovely. I knew something was up because for the last week I've felt my racing at times or that it's hard to breathe (similar to an anxiety attack). So when the nurse took my bp and took it again the be sure and goes, "Hmm" I start to worry. I think I am a professional worrier. I worry about everything from the known to the unknown. Of course, immediately I start to think of the worst possible things....So the nurse has me lie on my left side for a little while and then comes back to check my bp again. It got a little better but still high. I was ordered to take it easy and rest. They pushed my next weekly appointment up a few days because they want to check my bp again and order labs to check for preeclampsia if my bp remains high. I am still dilated only 1 cm (bummer) but I kinda knew since the contractions haven't been as strong or frequent as the last few weeks. The doc estimates baby to be currently 7.5 lbs! No weight gain for me this week which is good but surprising to me since my eating habits haven't changed. I am getting more uncomfortable each day. The humidity has set in due to the monsoons, so even if the temps cool off from the storms that roll in each day, the humidity makes me feel awful. Sleep is difficult and the leg cramps are just mean. Oh well, it could always be worse! I hope E gets here soon! Officially we are down to 8 days, wow! I can't wait to meet him.

Our neighbor brought over baby gifts and my Dad sent us a huge mountain of clothes/towels/blankets etc! We are ready to get this show on the road and the anticipation is killing me! I feel like I am waiting in line for a really exciting roller coaster ride and the line is barely moving...

This week I began my maternity leave from work and hoped with all my heart that my little guy would arrive...no such luck. So, I cleaned and rested and did a sewing project (which probably didn't help my bp since I got frustrated with it!) It has been nice being able to take naps and stay on top of household chores etc. I even have time to fit in some yoga which always makes me feel great.

Now, onto the clutch sewing project!

I follow Noodlehead (for any crafters out there, there is an awesome blog) and I found this tutorial for a clutch purse so I decided to give it a whirl. I am a very very novice sewer and I have never done anything like this. I had a little trouble which means I got upset at myself, contemplated throwing it into a fire but then decided to take it apart and start again when I had regained my patience. After my temper tantrum, I started over and had a much better result. Have a look!

Yes, there are things that are wrong with it (like the band on the front is totally not straight), but hey, this is my first one and it is still functional so I'm excited. It's a clutch purse with 2 card holders on the inside. The whole project only cost me $7 and I still have enough fabric to make another, I just need another zipper. Plus it'd be nice not to haul around a purse along with the diaper bag. I can just toss this in the diaper bag or stroller and be on my way. I am definitely going to try more of the Noodlehead blog tutorials!

Sewing Projects Continued

This weekend I took Friday off and relaxed and did some more projects! It was nice not to have an agenda. I made a couple of things and surprised myself that they actually turned out!

I made 2 cloth diaper covers. In the first picture you can see the bottom cover has the pattern turned upside down....that was my first try and I did a better a job on the second cover. They are cute but it's good to know they'll be covered by clothing!

I made another boppy cover. The striped fabric is the bottom of the cover and I ended up adjusting the design a little because my original cover was hard to put on the pillow. This design was MUCH easier to get on the pillow. I just moved the opening to one of the legs when originally it was in the middle of the U.

I made a nursing cover, too. I was really disappointed to find that something so simple ran around $30 to $40. I liked that I could just make my own that would fit me and be unique in fabric pattern. I was SO proud that I did this because I had no pattern and guess how much it cost me to make it......$1.75. The fabric was on sale and I didn't need that much and I had fun making it. This was the first time that I made my own button hole and it worked out! Now, if you were to look closely you could see how awful my stitching is BUT it is still functional so I'm not crying about it.

I have 2 other projects that I am working on today and hopefully I'll have something to show for it by next weekend. This hobby that I have come back to after so many years has proven to be fun, satisfying and a great way to beat the heat. It has also helped me forget that we have put cable on hiatus!

More to come soon: more project results, nursery pics and 36 week belly pics!