Shalini's Sewing Space

I have made Aanya's cloth diapers for a while now. I guess about 2 years now! I started doing cloth diapers for her because they're good for the environment and less expensive in the long run. They are a wee bit more work but once you get started they're not so much different than washing laundry. If you make/buy them with snap in inserts, no need for putting them together. I feel really good about having done cloth. When Mehul was little I didn't even know them and they weren't quite as popular as they're now. In the last 2 years itself I've watched them work their way into mainstream. At first I wasn't sure if they'd be worth the investment. Let's face it - at $18-20 per pocket diaper they seem way more money than disposables. That's what I paid for my initial batch. DH was not on board and he saw this as something I could never stick to. I didn't either. Very quickly I got into the rythm of washing them every day (I had very few...

I fell in LOVE with this doll while doing something else on etsy the other day. I had thought of making one for Aanya at some point but this little one was just perfect. I had to get her. Let's face it. It would take me a million tries to get the doll sewn just right and it would take tons of time and I'd have to get the supplies for more than 1 doll. It was expensive but when I count the time and frustration saved, it doesn't seem pricey at all. Aanya immediately took little dolly and started feeding her. and then feeding herself and then the doll needed a nap. She is in need of a good name and a bunch of cloth diapers and outfits! Now that is definitely something I can do.

After a few months of lusting after gorgeous quilts I started my first one this year. It is not yet finished, not even close yet. It is the Craftsy Block of the Month project. 2 blocks are released each month. The last blocks will be released in October and then we'll walk through the process of quilting, binding to actually finish the quilt. I wanted to try a quilt but didn't want to spend too much time or money on it. I didn't know if I'd actually enjoy the process and finish the quilt at all! So I bought some fabrics I found on ConnectingThreads on sale and then supplemented from my stash. Funny how well everything goes together. The format of the class is working out really well for me. I do the couple blocks for each month in a weekend and then go on to my other sewing and put them away. Here is how much I've done so far. January - Slashed blocks   February - Half square triangles March - Foundation piecing These are my favorite blocks! I loved pu...

It's one of those times where I get to say never say Never! I wasn't ever a fan of quilting. It's not that I don't like the look - I love the look but it is so precise and seems like it would not be something I would be able to enjoy the process of making. I was afraid of messing up a whole bunch of fabric. The finished product would be worth it but I didn't think I could get all my seams to line up and make a quilt, much less have the affinity for all the cutwork. Well, I tried it and surprisingly it is not as hard as it looks! As my friend N told me, it's not as hard. Just enjoy the process. And I do enjoy it now that I've gotten a little better. Not all my points match up but I was never a stickler for perfection. Gives things a little handmade charm I say. At the moment I am making 3 quilts. One top is completed and the other 2 are still being pieced - meaning I'm making the blocks. The one top that is completed is ready for the machine quilting ac...

Thanks for your comments!! I still have readers yay! Every 6 months or so I get into boxes and bags of Mehul's old clothes and find some treasures for Aanya to wear. These jeans were the result of one of those hunts and I kept it in the sewing room for the longest time. Everytime I would start a new project I'd look at these and a bunch of Aanya's RTW (ready to wear) skirts, shorts that had been piled up there, waiting for waist to be taken in. My kids never fit the waists of RTW garments. Thank goodness for buttonhole elastic waists! This pair of old jeans didn't have an adjustable waist but it did have nice wide legs. Have you noticed how boys jeans are cut so much differently from girl jeans? I was hoping to use them as is for Aanya but they looked way uncool on her so chopping was in order. I cut the legs on an angle. I had some bias tape leftover from a quilted project that I thought would work really well with this. I just encased the raw edge into t...

Whenever I sit down to blog, so much thought goes through my mind that I end up just leaving everything out and posting pictures of my sewing or of kids. Again, today I want to blog about how great our day yesterday was (even if it was HOT) but then I want to talk about the new nanny, the departure of my good friend from work, about Aanyas newest tricks and I feel like I can't contain it all in one post. I know the solution is blogging more but there is always something else I need to be doing. So. One thing at a time. Yesterday we took the kids to the celebration in the local community park where they had wagon rides, face painting and all that. I was looking forward to this 4th of July specially because this is the first time I made my kids special outfits to wear on the day! They matched (somewhat) and I got some great shots before we left. I didn't take the camera to the park because I always feel like I'm stuck with the camera along with a million other things and ke...