Of Socks And Sweaters

I've had a lot of fun over the past few days making tights and diaper covers out of used clothes. YOU, TOO can make these things - so easy, (but I have yet to see if the diaper covers really will work... my husband has many doubts!)

Start with a pair of socks that are headed to the garbage can (like the one on the right in the photo below), and chop off the bottom part that is pictured on the left hand side in the photo below (this is the part of the sock that CAN go to the garbage can!). If you then trim the heels off a bit, you should be left with a lovely pair of socks that looks like the image above. Sew up the bottom part (so they fit baby-doll feet), and cut a 2-3 inch slit down the top of each sock and then sew them together to make a pair of baby doll tights:

(the inside-out view)

TA-DA:

Yup, I came up with that idea all by myself. It took a total of 10 minutes to complete a pair!

And now "Baby Dechen" is WARM... and has a pair of tights to match Annie's tights. :-)

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My second project was a diaper cover for my big boy who still wets his diaper nearly every night. He's at least 10 lbs heavier than the max weight on his current diaper covers (which are therefore ripping and too tight on his legs and waist) and I have tried several times fruitlessly to get a cover big-enough for him from the US. THEN I stumbled upon a tutorial for making your own wool covers complete with a pattern and lanolizing instructions. I dragged my family to the Bazaar to buy two wool sweaters for about 8 dollars (but YOU can certainly get them much cheaper if you have thrift stores nearby). I felted them, cut them up like in the pictures below, and sewed them back together according to the instructions given on this website.

The finished product!

Today I lanolized the covers and am waiting for them to dry before we get to try them out! Yippee!! If it works, I'll be a super happy mamma!

pictures

When there's no cello at home... ... just use a guitar and a bowling pin!

The kids like to race around the house chasing each other with these mesh laundry hampers over their heads. I've personally never tried it, but it does look like lots of fun when they're giggling uncontrollably.

Annie fast asleep in her 'new' bed- notice we even have a side rail for it so she won't fall out (except for the time that she was leaning on the rail and tipped herself over the edge onto the floor... but she should have been sleeping anyway instead of playing, so we didn't give her much pity for that one!)

There's something peaceful about seeing dozens of clean diapers strung out to dry on a laundry line in the sun.

Last Saturday we took a hike to visit some friends of ours. We were bringing them a crib mattress and walking on this narrow path that clings to the side of the mountain with a steep drop-off down into the valley hundreds of feet below. We thought our mothers would appreciate the pictures:

We haven't gotten many pictures of Annie being messy at meal time because she really generally keeps fairly clean. Here's a good one, though, bad hair-day and all: