First off, Jeannie of whatthehay is sharing a tutorial on sewing your own cribsheets. She writes:

After finding out that we were pregnant with our first baby, I began the long and fun process of collecting all of the things that a new human needs to survive. First on the list? A CRIB of course! Beyond the crib (which we found at a consignment sale, along with the crib mattress) a baby needs crib sheets. Happily, Rosie has a talented grandma who was more than happy to provide her with many of the essentials of baby survival – a quilt (with strict instructions to USE it), a few totally cute outfits and 4 crib sheets.

Rosie’s Grandma is a sewing kind of lady and back when I was a kid, money was tight and so, well, she sewed. Beyond making nearly all of our clothes that weren’t hand-me-downs, she also devised a pattern for a crib sheet. Back in the day, people actually made their own sheets for their big beds, too, and she adapted this pattern from one of those patterns.

If you have a baby shower coming up, check out her crib sheet tutorial for a very useful, unique gift.

Secondly, I started another blog called craftevolution.com. It’s still in early development, but come visit to see some ideas for Halloween costumes based on basic sewing patterns and let me know what you think about the blog.

With a $4 tension rod and 1 yard of fabric we have already had hours of fun around our house playing with puppets and stuffed animals, having musical concerts, and using as a special door into my son’s room with a “doorbell” you have to ring.

Two of the sides of fabric didn’t even need hemming because they were the finished edge off the bolt and the other 2 ends I serged and turned over and hemmed across to make a casing for the rod. I have specialized curtains too by “monogramming” with a large felt letter sewn on and sequin ribbon stripe near the top, to make it more girly. There is so much you could do to personalize this to your child’s taste, like the different fabrics shown that I have used. And with it less that 3 feet tall it is perfect for a toddler to stand behind or an adult to sit behind.

I love a 10 minute project that can really spark his imagination and turn our ordinary hallway into a fun place!