a week of baby love, day 1: embellished tops and ornaments

My sister-in-law is pregnant with her second girl (and about to give birth!), and I was so excited to get to put together a package of handmades to send to her.  I think I went a little overboard, but it's not every day that I become an Aunt!  [The first time was when I got married and acquired a brother, sister and niece all in one day.]  I even created a board on Pinterest where I collected ideas for a few days before settling on a set of gifts and diving in.  Instead of dumping everything into one huge post, I decided to break it all up over a week.  Today I'll show you some embellished tops and ornaments.

I embellished some simple shirts for the baby and her big sister.  I've seen this idea all over, but I never would have attempted it with my old sewing machine as it's only speeds were fast and insane.  I never would have been able to maneuver those tight curves without hand turning the whole thing.  I did a big R for big sister, and a little r for baby.  I could have done this without a pattern or instructions, but I did briefly glance at the instructions in this book to make sure I was on the right track.

I was a little worried about the rib knit on the big girl top, but it turned out quite well I think.  I used fabric that I had in my stash already.  The purple print might actually be considered vintage, as I think it's from the long-gone days of country rabbits.  I used to make those flop-eared muslin rabbits for every. one. I. knew.  We're talking probably 20 years ago.  The fabric on the big R is from a top I was going to make for myself, but never did.  That seems to happen a lot...

And see those little tags there?  That's my new logo!!  I'm so excited about it!  I couldn't afford to have real labels made yet, so I made my own.  I'll talk about those more in one of the other baby posts this week.

Next up are the ornaments.  They're the adorable birds from Last Minute Quilted and Patchwork Gifts.  I made these for new(-again) Mum and Dad, using the same fabric as for the tops; and embroidered the girls' initials on each one.

I was nervous about these because I tend to have difficulty with fiddly little projects coming out all wonky and crooked.  These came out looking quite nice I think.  The only regret I have with these is the stuffing.  I have terrible trouble stuffing things.  Everything turns out lumpy and bumpy no matter what I try.  Any suggestions on that one?  Other than that, I'm quite happy with these.  The embroidery even turned out pretty well, which was surprising since I haven't embroidered anything in... um.... years.

Up tomorrow: Diaper Clutch and Burp Cloths