Unusually Useful Receiving Blanket pattern page

Unusually Useful Receiving Blanket Pattern

Every new mother receives tons of receiving blankets as gifts, and 95% of them are useless – they’re either the wrong shape to swaddle a baby, or made of dry clean only fabric, or so bulky that the kid would sweat to death if you actually used it.

This receiving blanket, on the other hand, is just about perfect. It’s big and square, so it’s perfect for swaddling. But don’t stop there – you can use this for so many other things! This blanket has been used to: swaddle babies, protect babies from the sun in strollers, keep babies sitting upright in strollers and high chairs, protect adult laps from diaper leakage during nursing, protect the carpet from urps during tummy time, cover up during public nursing sessions, give babies something familiar to sleep with when traveling, etc. And the best part is, you can whip a couple of these up during one naptime, so they’re perfect to make for yourself or for friends who are expecting. Oh, and did I mention they’re cheap and washable? Approximate finished size: 40" square.

This is a perfect pattern for people who are just learning to sew, or for experienced sewers who need to turn out a baby gift pronto. Because the patterns is very inexpensive, and it requires about 1 1/2 yards of flannel, this pattern should be very profitable for you!

A person with average sewing skills should be able to finish this project in less than one naptime (two hours).

Photos from the pattern:

Mitering the corners

How to swaddle

Pattern includes color photographs of the sewing and swaddling procedures, and it is packaged in a resealable plastic bag (6"x9"), ready to hang and sell.

Wholesale price: $1.50/pattern

Suggested retail price: $3-$4, or whatever the market will bear in your area

Free shipping on your first order! Shipping charges for subsequent orders will be the actual charges for USPS Priority Mail to your destination.

I am willing to make free samples to display in your shop, if you are willing to provide the materials. Please contact me for more information on this service.

For more information or to place an order, please contact Gretchen Woods at Lazy Mama Designs: lazymamadesigns (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Thank you for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Jack Pack pattern page

Jack Pack Pattern

The Jack Pack is ideal for corralling blocks, trains, doll clothes, and other small toys. It would also work as a preschool backpack. Decorate the optional (but highly recommended) pocket to label the contents or identify who owns the bag. Skip the pocket and use the suggested shortcuts, and you can have a pack out the door in about an hour.

This pack looks cute made of juvenile or novelty fabrics, and even cuter when made of "hipper" fabrics for tween or adult use. A great first project for new sewers, the Jack Pack requires a little quilting, a little embellishing, a little fancy stitching, and a drawstring pocket.

A person with average sewing skills should be able to finish this project in about one naptime (2 hours).

Photos taken from the directions:

Embellishing the pocket

Leaving room for the straps to come through

Pattern includes illustrated directions and a full-size template for the bottom of the pack, and it is packaged in a resealable plastic bag (6"x9"), ready to hang and sell.

Wholesale price: $4.00/pattern

Suggested retail price: $7-$9, or whatever the market will bear in your area

Free shipping on your first order! Shipping charges for subsequent orders will be the actual charges for USPS Priority Mail to your destination.

I am willing to make free samples to display in your shop, if you are willing to provide the materials. Please contact me for more information on this service.

For more information or to place an order, please contact Gretchen Woods at Lazy Mama Designs: lazymamadesigns (at) yahoo (dot) com.

NEW!! You can also place orders through my shop at etsy.com - just convo me with a request, including the number of patterns you'd like to buy, and I can post a custom listing for you at the wholesale price.

Thank you for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Happy Hexagons Placemat pattern page

Happy Hexagons Placemat Pattern

Delight your little one (and keep your table clean) with this easy holiday project. If you can sew a straight seam, you can make these cute placemats, perfect for decorating your home or giving as gifts. They go together super-fast, thanks to a technique that combines appliqué and quilting in one easy step. Use novelty prints to make these for a holiday (like in the sample above), or use subdued fabrics for a more traditional look. No matter which you choose, these placemats just get better each time they’re washed!

Raw-edge applique techniques make this placemat simple to construct, and the pattern goes together so quickly that your customers can make a set for every holiday! Perfect to display with your seasonal and novelty fabrics, this pattern also looks nice when made using all-over prints.

A person with average sewing skills should be able to finish this project in about one naptime (2 hours).

Some of the photos that illustrate the directions:

Template placement to fussy-cut the hexagons

Turning the corner on the binding

Pattern includes illustrated directions, a full-sized template for the hexagon, illustrated binding directions, and suggestions for additional variations on the project. Pattern is packaged in a resealable plastic bag (6"x9"), ready to hang and sell.

Wholesale price: $4.00/pattern

Suggested retail price: $7-$9, or whatever the market will bear in your area

Free shipping on your first order! Shipping charges for subsequent orders will be the actual charges for USPS Priority Mail to your destination.

I am willing to make free samples to display in your shop, if you are willing to provide the materials. Please contact me for more information on this service.

For more information or to place an order, please contact Gretchen Woods at Lazy Mama Designs: lazymamadesigns (at) yahoo (dot) com.

NEW!! You can also place orders through my shop at etsy.com - just convo me with a request, including the number of patterns you'd like to buy, and I can post a custom listing for you at the wholesale price.

Thank you for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Busy Baby Book pattern page

Busy Baby Book Pattern

Treat that new arrival as an excuse to raid your fabric stash (or hit the store for new goodies!) to make a soft cloth book to stimulate all of baby’s senses. Choose washable fabrics in bright colors with bold contrasts, or pick fabrics that have a variety of different textures. Go crazy with the embellishments, adding more color and texture with fabric scraps, yarn, or whatever you have handy.

This pattern would be perfect to display near your selection of fat quarters, or it could easily be made into kits using the awkward ends leftover from your finished bolts of cloth. It looks adorable made in black-and-white prints with bright accents, or it can be made in a variety of diffent colors and textures of scrap fabrics.

A person with average sewing skills should be able to finish this project in about one naptime (2 hours).

Pattern includes illustrated directions and is packaged in a resealable plastic bag (6"x9"), ready to hang and sell.

Wholesale price: $4.00/pattern

Suggested retail price: $7-$9, or whatever the market will bear in your area

Free shipping on your first order! Shipping charges for subsequent orders will be the actual charges for USPS Priority Mail to your destination.

I am willing to make free samples to display in your shop, if you are willing to provide the materials. Please contact me for more information on this service.

For more information or to place an order, please contact Gretchen Woods at Lazy Mama Designs: lazymamadesigns (at) yahoo (dot) com.

NEW!! You can also place orders through my shop at etsy.com - just convo me with a request, including the number of patterns you'd like to buy, and I can post a custom listing for you at the wholesale price.

Thank you for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Simple Snowflakes Table Runner pattern page

Simple Snowflakes Table Runner Pattern

Temperatures (and snow) may be falling outside, but your table will look cozy under this simple quilted table runner. The blue and white color scheme will dress up your table all winter long, while variations in green or red make quick holiday gifts.

Snowflake appliques are applied using a raw-edge technique that allows them to get fluffier each time they're washed. Approximate finished dimensions: 36”x12”

A person with average sewing skills should be able to finish this project in about two naptimes (4 hours).

Some of the photos that illustrate the directions:

Placing the template

Turning the corner when binding

Pattern includes illustrated directions, a full-sized template for the snowflake, illustrated binding directions, and suggestions for additional variations on the project. Pattern is packaged in a resealable plastic bag (6"x9"), ready to hang and sell.

Wholesale price: $4.00/pattern

Suggested retail price: $7-$9, or whatever the market will bear in your area

Free shipping on your first order! Shipping charges for subsequent orders will be the actual charges for USPS Priority Mail to your destination.

I am willing to make free samples to display in your shop, if you are willing to provide the materials. Please contact me for more information on this service.

For more information or to place an order, please contact Gretchen Woods at Lazy Mama Designs: lazymamadesigns (at) yahoo (dot) com.

NEW!! You can also place orders through my shop at etsy.com - just convo me with a request, including the number of patterns you'd like to buy, and I can post a custom listing for you at the wholesale price.

Thank you for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Basket Case Baby Quilt pattern page

Basket Case Baby Quilt Pattern

Small pieces make a big impact in this faux-woven quilt, which gets fluffier and more touchable every time it’s washed. Sure, the pinning will make you a “basket case,” but you only have to sew 35 seams!

This quilt features raw-edge applique which is applied to look as if the strips are woven. A quick trip through the wash fluffs up the edges and softens the effect. Approximate finished dimensions: 40”x40”.

A person with average sewing skills should be able to finish this project in about four naptimes
(8 hours).

Alternate colorway sample, made using bright flannels:

Pattern includes illustrated directions plus suggestions for additional variations on the project. Pattern is packaged in a resealable plastic bag (6"x9"), ready to hang and sell.

Wholesale price: $4.00/pattern

Suggested retail price: $7-$9, or whatever the market will bear in your area

Free shipping on your first order! Shipping charges for subsequent orders will be the actual charges for USPS Priority Mail to your destination.

I am willing to make free samples to display in your shop, if you are willing to provide the materials. Please contact me for more information on this service.

For more information or to place an order, please contact Gretchen Woods at Lazy Mama Designs: lazymamadesigns (at) yahoo (dot) com.

NEW!! You can also place orders through my shop at etsy.com - just convo me with a request, including the number of patterns you'd like to buy, and I can post a custom listing for you at the wholesale price.

Thank you for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Kid sweater of the week

Have I mentioned recently how much I love crochet? Soooo much. I started this at the hotel in San Diego, and only got to work on a little bit of it before we got home. A week after we're home, and it's done!

I made enough changes from the pattern I used for inspiration that I think we'll just consider this a Lazy Mama creation. Done in Paton's mercerized cotton, with three skeins leftover that are totally going back to Michael's tomorrow. Meanwhile, Liza loves her "new setter, new setter, new setter," to use her words. Threw a hissy fit when I tried to take it off of her this afternoon - that's always a good sign!

Depending on the kindness of strangers

We're just back from a vacation in San Diego, where I made an honest attempt to visit every quilt store in the county. That's a tall order, considering there are more than a dozen of them, and I was trying to fit in the visits around sightseeing with my family and visiting my sister-in-law. We did a lot of "Gretchen goes into the shop while Liza sleeps and Jason reads a book in the car," which was good in a way - no time to lollygag and shop too long when there's a cranky toddler waiting outside.

At first I wasn't sure how the area could support so many shops, but once I checked out their inventories, it became obvious that each store focuses on a different niche market. It's great, because each store has a REALLY good selection of fabrics and patterns within their niche - primitives, reproductions, brights, flannels, novelties, Asian fabrics, etc. I could tell almost immediately when I walked into a store whether they might be interested in buying my patterns.

You didn't think I was just visiting all these places to shop, did you? Silly, silly reader! I was selling like no tomorrow, and thanks to the kindness of some lovely ladies who didn't know me from Adam (or Eve), my patterns are now officially distributed in California! Thank you, Sue, Sue, and Karen!

So if you're near San Diego, check out the following shops for a selection of my work:

Quilter's Paradise

Mad Hatter's Quilt Box

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a boatload of patterns to print, and new patterns to type up. I'm all chock full of inspiration and ambition now that my patterns are distributed in three states. Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania - I'm coming for you at Easter!

Lazy Mama Designs - now available in Kentucky!

Thanks to Teresa Fritz at Corner Quilt Shop in Lexington, you can now buy my patterns within an hour's drive of my house! If you're in the area, be sure to stop by and say hi to the Jack Pack and Happy Hexagon Placemat displays!

The Corner Quilt Shop153 Patchen Dr. #67Lexington, KY 40517(859) 268-7467

Ahoy, matey!

My newest knit sweater is finished, and it's a smiling skull and crossbones for Kentucky's cutest pirate:

It's from a book I picked up at Christmas, Adorable Knits for Tots. There are plenty of other projects in there that I'm just itching to try, so you'll be seeing that title a lot in the next year or so.

Some thoughts on this project:

• Working a design that requires 8 different spools of yarn at once sucks.
• Finding out that you bound off the neck too tight - after you've sewn the neck and shoulder seam and worked all the loose ends in - sucks.
• Patterns that come in sizes 1-2 and 3-4 suck. I made it in the 1-2 (Duh. Dumb move), and it's going to fit her for about a minute and a half. As a matter of fact, the sleeves were already an inch too short by the time she took it off after dinner.
• Cheap synthetic yarn from Wal-Mart rocks ... at least when the wearer is too young to know the difference. The total cost for the two balls of yarn I needed for this project was under $10.
• I'm getting faster at the whole knitting thing. By the end of the sweater, I could bang out 1.5 stripes on the sleeves in the course of one Baby Einstein video. Because you know that's how I measure projects now, right?
• Thanks to my friends Sybil and Matt for convincing me not to use the white for the pattern on the front - it would have totally blended in and made this an even bigger waste of time than it was already.