Quilted Burp Cloths

I have wanted to try making some burp cloths for a long time now. I have noticed that most burp cloths that you purchase at the store are thin little things and not really much help. They may look cute but the smallest bit of liquid goes right through them. The best ones we have are actually cloth diapers that we use as burp cloths. While I have been lucky and none of my kids have spit up a lot, I still wanted to try making some more useful cloths to give out to friends and family. So this is my first shot at creating a shape I thought would work well.

I drafted a pattern on paper first and then edited a couple time before cutting out this gorgeous fabric from the Quilt Blocks line by Ellen Baker. The fabric is so soft and great to work with. I want to make a whole quilt with it and maybe some more fun summer skirts for the girls. I love how it looks geometric and simple. I think these two in particular are perfect for a little boy.

The first looks like building blocks and the second looks like it could be gears. I simply backed them with a nice terry cloth so that they are thick enough for those leaky bottles or burping babies. I really like how they turned out.

I may adjust the shape a bit. I think they look a bit like diapers so I was thinking of making the curves a bit softer. I like that they are thinner over the shoulder yet cover a good portion of your clothes. What do you guys think? Do you like the shape? What things do you look for in a good burp cloth or what were your favorite burp cloths?

Pink and Turquoise Animal Prints

In the new house Sydney will have her own room. After looking at too much inspiration and becoming overwhelmed by the possibilities we have settled on a pink and turquoise room. I did not want a theme that was too specific that we would be limited or tied down to it. Sydney is very eclectic and definitely has her own style and I wanted to give her the freedom to express that through her room. 

Now that we have a general idea of what we are going to do I am having fun looking at different prints for her walls. Above are some animal prints I saw, here are the links.

1. Hummingbird and Nest
2. Narwhals
3. Elephant
4. Turquoise bird
5. Egert
6. Two-part Alligator
7. Pink on pink Deer

Quick Matching Skirts for the Girls

Michelle and Bryanne at Michelle Patterns had a little Pinterest challenge going on this past week. Pinterest is such a fun site and I keep finding myself on there adding all kinds of goodies and ideas to my boards. I have slowly been making stuff but when I saw her challenge to sew up something I had pinned I jumped at it.

I have a bunch of skirt patterns and tutorials pinned that I'd love to make for Sydney. As I've mentioned before my oldest daughter is very tall for her age and the styles right now are short. This leaves my sweet girl with not many dresses and skirts to wear so I have wanted to make her some so that I can just add a little length to them.

I decided to start with a simple pattern so Saturday morning I pulled out some fabric I had been saving and got to work. Of course once I was making one for big sister, little sister wanted one too. The fabric is two prints from the Early Bird line by Jane Sassaman, it is a quilting weight and just right for summer skirts. I used this great tutorial from Hickety Pickety Handmade. I love the lighter weight fabric with this pattern because that bottom band of fabric is folded giving it double the thickness. This works perfectly to keep the skirt in place when the girls are running all over. They have already worn them twice.

This exercise showed me that with just a little time I can be turning those inspirational pins into actual items for my home and family. Now if I can just fins a little more time maybe I'll make some more skirts and dresses. What have you pinned that is at the top of your list to sew, craft, or bake? I think next I'll be trying some fabric flowers and orange push-up smoothies.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winner

Wow what a fun week. Thank you to all of you that took the time to come visit me this week and comment. I had lots of fun finding new blogs and I hope you did too.

The Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day winner of the 2 yards of fabric is Lynne. I've emailed you.

Now I don't know about you but I sure put a lot of things on the back burner in order to browse through all the lovely blogs participating in the giveaway this week. I really need to get back to finishing up a couple projects and working on more packing. What did you procrastinate this week in order to look through all those blogs?

Banana Fosters Bread Recipe

If you are looking for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway it can be found here.

I mentioned making Shane banana fosters bread for his birthday. We have made this bread three times this month. It is that good. In fact I'm already trying to figure out an excuse to make it again. I combined a couple recipes to make the first round and then adjusted and perfected it along the way. Would you like to make some? Here's the recipe and tips for a great yummy bread.

Recipe for Banana Fosters Bread
Adapted from the Basic Banana Bread recipe from the Better Homes & Garden Cookbook

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 5 medium)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup rum
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Rum Drizzle Ingredients:
1 tablespoon rum
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9X5X3 inch bread pan.

2. Mash the bananas and combine with rum, butter, and 1/2 cup of brown sugar in a pan on the stove. Heat over medium heat until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are well combined.

3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl or mixer. Add the other 1/2 cup brown sugar. Pour in the banana mixture and combine.

4. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. When finished make a well in the flour mixture.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the well made in your flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula just until combined.

6. Add chopped nuts if you want and fold gently into dough.

7. Pour dough into pan and place in the oven. Bake for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the bread.

8. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then run a butter knife along the edges and remove the bread from the pan. Allow bread to continue to cool on a wire rack.

9. Meanwhile, combine rum, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to make the frosting. I like to make mine a bit thicker by added a touch more powdered sugar. This way it will not all run off the bread.

10. Place bread on a plate and pour frosting over the top. You can serve immediately or once the frosting is set, wrap in plastic wrap for later.

Tips for a great bread.

• Use plenty of bananas. If you error on the side of fewer bananas your bread will be a bit dry. However, if you add an extra half a banana your bread will be moist and have lots of banana flavor.
• To mash my bananas I simply peel, lay them of a plate, and use a large fork to mash them up. 
• Do NOT over mix your bread when you combine the dry and wet ingredients. Over mixing will make your bread tough and dry.
• If you prefer you can make use two 7 1/2 X 3 1/2 X 2 inch pans. Only bake them for about 40 minutes.