{Kickin' Back Sweats}

I can hardly believe February is almost over!  I'm getting this in just under the line, well I suppose this year there is an extra day.  February's Sewing for Boys assignment over at Boy, Oh, Boy, Oh Boy! was to create a pair of Kickin' Back Sweats (or Mr. Two Face Pants if you have a littler guy). 

Since my guy is into wearing "soft pants" now I thought it would be great to use sweatshirt fleece for a comfy pair of pants.  The color choice at my local fabric shop was a bit sparse but I chose a nice navy blue and used a patchwork navy, light blue, red plaid for the pocket.  To highlight the light blue in the pocket I accented around it with some baby blue knit fabric. Without a hem the unfinished pant legs roll up a bit after being washed, it gives them a nice cozy, lived-in look.  My guy is super skinny so I did take the pattern in a bit when I made these so he wouldn't swim in them and they fit him perfectly.  To embellish them and create a personal touch I found a distressed letter M and used a little fabric paint and fabric marker to make it coordinate with the pocket.  Every time Milo sees a letter M he proclaims "there's my M"!  He is very fond of his soft M pants but refused to let me take of picture of him wearing them.

It took some doing but if I held them just right they would stand up
by themselves for just long enough to snap a photo!

{Heart}

February is Heart Month and Feb 7-14 is Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) awareness month.  A great month to celebrate this little guy...

...who 5 years ago was fighting for his life.

Milo's first diagnosis, before he was even born, was a heart defect.  An aortic coarctation, a very narrow spot in his aorta that prevented blood flow from his heart to areas below his arms.  Little did anyone know, that was just the tip of the iceberg.  At 7 days old Milo underwent a 6 hour surgery to repair the aortic coarctation and his incredibly narrow trachea.  As the days wore on new diagnosis and concerns were being added to an every growing list of critical problems.  Many of his issues were not directly related to his heart but Milo also has very narrow portions of his pulmonary arteries which was causing added pressure in his heart.

Milo's surgery was a success and although the next 16 months were spent in the hospital the scars are now fading.  He came home with a trach and was ventilator dependant but by 2 1/2 those issues were behind him.  He still has a feeding tube but is eating a little bit my mouth now.  He is still followed by a host of specialitst, has had several cardiac catheritizations and now sports a metal stint in his right pulmonary artery.

Above all I am so proud of my little warrior!

It was hard to capture Milo's scar but if you look
closely you can see his trach scar then his heart
scar and abdomen scar that run from his neck to
his bellybutton.

I'm posting this in conjunction with a project on Pintrest (yup, I'm hooked) to raise awareness for Congenital Heart Defects.  Click here to go to the Faces of CHD board on Pintrest to read the stories of many, many people affected by CHD.  It really is inspiring to read all of their stories!

{Raglan Tee}

About a year ago I stumbled upon a sewing blog and began searching for similar blogs and I came across the blog Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy! written by Stacey, a mother of 3 boys, who chronicled many projects for her boys.  I was hooked! 

Last Fall a book called Sewing For Boys by Shelly Figueroa and Karen LaPage was published. I quickly went out and bought it, there really aren't many commercial patterns for boy clothes and projects and this book is full of wonderful ideas.  Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy! is hosting the Sewing For Boys Sew Along this year and I just had to join in the fun.  For January, Stacey chose the Raglan Tee from the book.  This shirt is easy and quick to put together and looks adorable.  I chose to make a swim shirt for Milo to match the swim suit we had to buy at Christmas.  I forgot to pack his and had promised him we would go swimming at the hotel.  Nothing like going out in sub zero temperatures to hunt down swim shorts .  Thank goodness for clearance racks, this pair of shorts only set me back $3.  Because Milo has a g-tube and many sun-sensitive scars a swim shirt is a must so I used this pattern to make one to match.   

I think the Raglan Tee pattern lends it's self well to this project.  I used swimsuit fabric which is slippery and has lots of spandex in it.  I did have to use lots of pins to keep things from shifting. I tried something new and used the reverse applique method to add an adorable sea horse.  Milo is super skinny but has a long torso so I used the 2/3 size but lengthened the body and sleeves to the 4/5 length and it turned out just right.  If I make another swim shirt I will definitely make the neckband a bit longer.  It goes over his head but it is a tight fit and it gathers a bit more than I would like for a boy's shirt.  Overall I had a great time making this shirt and Milo LOVES it!

{Hello There}

Hi!  My name is Janay.  I'm a single adoptive parent to a medically complex little boy.  Now that he is 5 years old and the medical stuff is consuming less time I am getting back into sewing, crafts & amature photography.  While my time for such endulgances is limited it not only allows me to have a mental break from the day to day stress, but my creativity has allowed me to problem solve issues that have arisen while caring for an infant/toddler with a tracheostomy & g-tube.

While I am not new to the blogging world I had never seen a sewing or crafting blog until about a year ago.  For years I had been following blogs about international adoption and then medically fragile kiddos.  I even write a blog about my son called Milostones to keep family & friends updated about his progress.  The world of sewing and crafting blogs inspired me to get back into my pre-kid hobbies and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Please stop by from time to time!  I plan on sharing my quilting endevors, adventures in making kids clothing, and small sewing & craft projects.  Some of the posts will be about lving with a special needs kid that will entertain and hopefully enlighten everyone about parenting a special needs/medically complex kiddo.  Once in a while I will share ideas about creative projects for the special needs community.  You will probably even see some posts promoting adoption & foster care because that's how my wonderful son came into my life.