Back to Sewing

I hadn't sewn a stitch in three weeks until today.  I had planned to meet Holly for dinner in Rochester after her meeting at Oakland University for her final class for her Masters degree.  I figured I had better get going and make the car seat protector I had told her about a few months ago.

So I got out my Bernina and set her up on the kitchen counter, the easiest space to get her going.  While standing in the aisle at Costco one day I spotted some dish draining mats and figured they'd be perfect for this project.  Well they absorb don't they???

I followed the tutorial from Home Sweet Homebodies and made this in about a 1/2 hour.

It will fit on Denver's car seat and protect it in case of a massive explosion or spillage from a drink cup.  I cut the slits for the side straps and zigzagged around the edges.

Next I sewed the darts at the top to draw it in where the seat back rises.  Here's a shot of the back side.

I cut a 3 1/4" slit in the center, 9" from the top, for the crotch strap to slide through.  And lastly, I sewed 1" squares of Velcro to the side strap openings to close them up a bit once it's in place.

It's completely washable so if when disaster strikes, it will be easier to clean up the mess!  I gave it tonight to Holly as a prototype.  She will see what kind of tweaking is needed to make it perfect.  

We had a fabulous dinner at Georgio's in Rochester.  I had their specialty, 

"Wild Cherry Chicken . . .Almond breaded chicken with mushrooms, onions & dry cherries sautéed in a Cherry brandy cream sauce" and it was out of this world good.  I will definitely order it again and soon!  I just wish I had remembered to take a picture of it before digging in.  Darn.

After dinner I headed over to Cristina's Quilt Shoppe and found some must-have fabric for a future project:

It's a new line from Michael Miller called Backyard Baby and it's designed by Patty Sloniger -- so cute!!  And yes, Joyce, there is a more girly line called Bella Butterfly.  The dog in the center fabric reminds me of Maggie -- she will just sit there in my backyard, even on the hottest of days and stare endlessly out into space!

Now that my Craft Cave clean up project is nearing completion, I can't wait to get back to my sewing machine.  So many ideas floating around my head -- sometimes I think I might burst!!