New Mom Gift Ideas!

So, if you missed it, I had a baby almost two weeks ago. Most of the gifts you get when you have a baby are for the baby (of course!). But sometimes I've had friends ask what they should get for a new mama friend. Here are a few suggestions for a New Mama Gift Basket (or a New Mom Survival Kit!).

Photo by storkbitesforyou

1. A book, especially one of short stories or essays. The shorter pieces are great to read while nursing, but novels are good too.
2. Want a really awesome gift? If Mom doesn't already have a tablet or eReader, a Kindle or Nook is much easier to handle than a print book, and they start as low as $70. (Obviously you'd have to be a pretty great friend to splurge on this!)
3. Mom not a reader? Try a small, handheld game--but make sure you can turn off any noises it might make (and play one handed!)
4. Cute nursing tops, if Mom's nursing. Baby isn't the only one who needs clothing! I never had body image issues until I had a baby, and new moms often spent a lot of their time feeling pretty gross. Something to make a new mom feel pretty & normal again is great!
5. Baby calendar & pen (archival quality!). Let's be honest: these things are mostly for moms, right? 
6. Along those lines, a journal, either blank or with baby prompts. All of these help remind us how far we've come in when the days can easily blend together.
7. Small treats. With this baby, my husband's company sent a gift basket from a local bakery to the hospital, and we got to enjoy some delicious treats there and at home. (Keep in mind that Mom might be worried about getting back to her pre-birth weight, so don't go overboard here.)
8. Meals! The traditional gift might feel cliche, but sometimes preparing dinner (even if Mom & Dad are the only ones eating) is just one thing too many for a new mom. Especially great: meals that can be frozen to use in the future.
9. Too far away to send meals? Look for gift certificates to local restaurants--especially ones that offer delivery or pick-up/to-go options.
10. Help. Most of the time, when someone says "What can I do to help?", a new mom will blank, or might be too afraid to ask for what she really needs. Try to be specific in an offer to help: "Can I clean your bathroom?" "Can I take your other kids to the park for you for an afternoon this week?" "When would you like me to watch the baby so you can shower/sleep?"
11. Adult conversation. Although a new mom's schedule can be crazy, and it's hard for new moms to find time to reach out, call, email, text or IM to help give Mom a lifeline to the adult world when she feels isolated with a child who can't even make eye contact. But if it's not a good time for Mom, don't be offended, and try again later!
12. Sanity! Especially if you've been there. Let Mom know that the first few weeks and months are often hard, and it's okay to feel overwhelmed but that things will get better. A handwritten note or an email can help. (NOTE: while feeling overwhelmed is normal, it can also be a symptom of postpartum depression or even postpartum psychosis. Never minimize a mother's feelings, and if ever you think a mental health professional might be necessary, please do get help!)
13. A date night. A new baby can be especially hard on a marriage. After my first was born, I felt like I'd never be able to spend time with my husband ever again. (This isn't true, but it feels true.) A stay-at-home date can be best: a DVD, a dinner and a dessert.
14. The healthcare basics: This might be a little too personal for some friends, but ibuprofen/acetaminophen, sanitary napkins (I've heard tampons are okay after C-sections), Tucks pads & Dermoplast spray (for vaginal delivery), ice packs (for C-section & nursing), a rice bag or heating pad, lanolin, nursing pads, and ear plugs for emergencies will all come in handy.
15. Although we're teetotalers for religious reasons, I hear that after nine months of abstaining, wine or champagne is a welcome gift, and a good way to celebrate the new baby.

What do you think? What's in your new mom survival kit?

Big news! (And help me pick what to knit next!)

I've been keeping a secret from you (and my mom & sisters have helped), and I'm sorry.

I'm having a baby! In about 8 weeks! And it's a girl!

Photo by Kristin Ausk of Meringue Bake Shop

And now I need your help—I'm putting out the CRAFT CALL! (It's like the Bat Call, but for crafters. Right?)

Naturally, having a baby means I have yet another reason to craft. This time, even more so. This will be my third girl and fourth child. I've started a tradition with my first two daughters. In the LDS Church, babies are traditionally given a blessing in church from a priesthood holder (usually their father). It's somewhat like a christening, but it's a blessing only, not a baptism, which happens later in life, when we believe children are old enough to be accountable for their actions.

It's traditional (but optional) for infants receiving blessings to wear white, and both of my daughters have worn the same Swiss dot blessing dress that my mother made me for my blessing, and which my sisters wore for their blessings. (My son wore the same little yellow suit that my father wore for his baby blessing.)

To go with the white dress, I wanted to make some sort of blanket for each of the girls—but my first two daughters were both summer babies, and most blankets would be too warm. So I had another idea: why not make a lace shawl?

I've always loved the idea of knitting lace, and I also love the idea of giving the shawls to my daughters on their wedding days.

For my older daughter, I bought the back-issue magazine with the Swallowtail Shawl pattern from Interweave Knits. Now, four and a half years later, the pattern is free. It took about three weeks to knit—including taking time off to actually have the baby!

Here she is, two weeks old, modeling my dress and matching bonnet, as well as the shawl. (I think she has on booties that were my mother's too!)

I kept up the tradition for my next daughter and made her a shawl too (she's a month old here):

This shawl is the Aeolian Shawl from Knitty online magazine. It's also free! I knit the shawlette size and omitted the beads from the pattern. It took me two weeks to knit.

Both of these were made from the same skein of Baruffa Cashwool laceweight yarn in white. (It was some of the only natural fiber laceweight wool I could find in white!) Each took a little over a third of the skein, so I hope I have enough left!

Since the day I finished my last shawl, I've been collecting patterns for another. I've got a collection of 18 patterns and now I have to choose one to knit!

A couple notes I used to narrow the selection down a bit:

• Both of the previous shawls feature "nupps" (the white dots, or little balls, on the shawls).
• Both of the previous shawls are triangular.
• Both of the previous shawls feature points along the edging.
• I love my lace light and airy. Large fields of plain stitching defeat the purpose of lace, in my opinion.
• A pattern with charts is a lot easier for me to follow.
• A minimum of yarn would be ideal. I'd hate to run out!
• I'd really like a free pattern!

My top choices (mine will still be white; clicking on the photos will take you to the Flickr page for that picture; clicking on the pattern name will take you to the pattern page on Ravelry):

Echo Flower Example by WoofBC	Percy Example by sand_and_sky
Frozen Leaves Example by ulygan	Fragaria Lace Example by designer, Alina Appasov

What do you think? Which of these four is your favorite? Come vote!

Poll closes 11 Feb 2013.

Want more gorgeous lace shawls? Check out the runners up:

Glasgow Rose Triangle Summer Cherry leaf pattern Filigrano North Roë Omelet Bitterroot

Regrowth Oceanspray Crinoline lace Haruni Lovely lacy heirloom Laminaria Wisteria Lace

The Fastest Crib Sheet in the West

This guest post originally appeared as a guest post on Creative Cowgirl last summer.

Flannel crib sheets are one of my favorite baby gifts. Although they're perfect for cold winter nights, flannel crib sheets are hard to find in stores (at least for me!), and even then, your choices are always limited. So I like to make my own!

Materials:

• 2 yards of 45-inch flannel (or any other fabric) (1 7/8 m of 1.1m wide fabric)
• 48 inches of elastic [I use 3/8 inch] (1.2 m of 1 cm elastic)
• Thread

Equipment:

• Washer & dryer
• Measuring tape
• Rotary cutter
• Iron
• Sewing machine

It helps to know exactly how big the mattress is—if you're making one for yourself, this is easy. If this is for a gift, the standard crib mattress size is 52 inches long, 28 inches wide and 5 to 6 inches deep (132 cm x 71 cm x 13-15 cm), and that's what we'll use here.

Wash and dry your fabric. I know, I know, I promised you fast and this will take at least an hour. It may not be lightning quick, but sewing with fabric that might shrink later is the fastest way to ruin the project and waste your time! Trim off loose threads on the end if they're too tangled for the fabric to lay flat. Measure the exact width and length of your fabric. If it's longer than 71 inches (1.25m), or wider than 45 inches (1.15m), you'll want to either trim it down to that size or take that into account when you cut out the corners.

Now, fold the fabric into quarters, matching all the corners carefully. Using a rotary cutter, cut out an 8 inch (20cm) square of the corner where all the fabric edges meet.

Zig zag or serge the raw edges. They raw edges are less than 30 inches (75 cm) now. I actually did a 1/2 inch (1 cm) hem, folded twice, in the example and I made the square one inch deeper on the side perpendicular to the raw edge to compensate.

Sew the corners together. In each corner, pin right sides together. If they don't match perfectly, line up the outside corners/edges of the sheet. Sew the sides together, backstitching at both ends. Trim the excess if the fabric isn't even. Serge or zig zag stitch over the edge. Repeat on each corner.

Pin in the elastic. Cut four 12 inch (30 cm) pieces of elastic. Fold a piece of elastic in half and mark the middle. Pin that to a corner seam. Measure 12 inches (30 cm) from that corner down one edge, and pin the elastic there. Repeat on the other side of the elastic. I like to pin all the corners before sewing any of them.

Sew the elastic. With a wide stitch width and a short stitch length on a zig zag stitch, tack down one end of the elastic. Once you have enough of the elastic sewn down, make sure the needle is through the elastic and lift the foot.

Turn the fabric 90 degrees (so the corner seam is closer to you) and lower the foot again. Make the stitch length longer. Hold the elastic and the corner seam where you pinned tightly with your thumb and index finger, and pull the fabric taut, stretching the elastic out.

Sew the elastic to the fabric until you reach the seam, ending with the needle in the elastic. Stretch the other half of the elastic to match the fabric and sew until you're almost at the end of the elastic. End with the needle in the elastic. Lift the foot and turn the fabric 90 degrees. Lower the foot. Switch the stitch length back to short and tack down the other end of the elastic.

Voila! You're done!

Don't want to make your crib sheets quite so fast? Here are some more custom details you can use:

• Hem the raw edges, or all the edges.
• Enclosed or French seams on the corners: pin them wrong sides together and sew a scant seam allowance. Iron. Pin right sides together, and sew a wider seam allowance.
• Full elastic: sew a tube or wide seam around the full length of the sheet, leaving the end open. Get a long piece of elastic narrower than the width of the tube. Stick a safety pin in the end of the elastic for better grip. Thread it through the entire perimeter, often redistributing the bunching. Tie the elastic ends together once you reach the end. Try it on the mattress if you can and adjust the gathers and pull the elastic so the sheet is snug. Sew the ends together and sew up the hole in the elastic casing.

What's your favorite fast baby gift?