the duh moment

why do i have so much trouble thinking outside the box?

i sew. i see dresses or clothing or photographs or fruit or shapes or graphics and immediately my brain jumps to how i can translate that into clothing for my girls or pillows for my couch.

but sewing, as we all know, is hardly limited to clothing and pillows.

and for some reason…i tend to forget that.

so, when five needed some little things to look at and stimulate her rapidly expanding little baby brain, i figured i’d pick something up at Ye Olde Big Box Baby Items Store.

but i didn’t want anything musical or noisy. the “songs” that come from those cheap toys are certainly designed by a cruel and sadistic mind. nevermind their propensity for playing at all the wrong times—like in the hushed quiet of sunday worship. (eek!) nothing like trying to pretend the strains of electronica “here we go round the mulberry bush” are NOT coming from your seats. (what? huh? who’s cell phone is that? how rude.)

and most of them really are designed for the parents to be suckered into buying them—cutesy animals and fluffy and colorful and squishy. not something that the baby actually wants to look at. (ever notice that? mobiles of little stuffed animals that hang over the crib so from baby’s perspective they’re staring at fuzzy bottoms? am i the only one who sees a problem with that?)

something simple, just to hang in front of her so she can look at them. a strong graphic pattern—maybe black and white? hmmm…wherever could i find those????

duh.


welcome to The World’s Easiest Project. literally done as a “break” from a more brain-intensive sewing project, in about 10 minutes.

i gathered scraps of 3 different black and white prints. (these are heavy-weight upholstery fabrics, because i gathered them at work. but i know you could find similar graphic black and white prints in the quilter’s cottons)



drew shapes and sewed ‘em up, with simple white fabric loops sticking out of the top.

 

boom. instant (free) baby enchanter.

 

i hung them from her car seat using the little linking plastic rings i already had.

 

of course, once i did that i realized my error—they all hung
s
i
d
e
w
a
y
s
so she couldn’t see them well. 



back to the machine we went, for a quick row of stitches creating a permanent pinch in the loop. problem solved. (also, sounds like a nasty gastrointestinal disorder)



and you know what?



she really likes these bad boys.



especially that checkerboard circle one.



and you know what else?



they were free, and they’re not making any tinny electronic noise…



so i really like these bad boys too.