Gifts for a Baby Shower... and my niece's birthday!

So, I'm supposed to be attending my cousin's baby shower today... but, my little boy is sick. :( So, I'm sending my gifts with my mom, and I hope she takes good pics of my cousin and his wife opening their gifts! My cousins and their family are majorly into the "surprise factor" with everything... so it comes as no surprise that they won't tell us the sex of the baby until the day of the shower. I'm gonna have my mom text me "boy" or "girl" today! Hee hee!

While browsing my cousin's baby registry lists, I saw that they were doing a "hippo" theme in greens, yellows, and browns for the baby's crib and room. I saw this fabric (Zoo Menagerie by Eleanor Grosch) and thought it would be similar to what they were registered for, but still different. When I got the fabric in the mail, I realized that the "hippos" were actually rhinos. Oops! Oh, well! It is still super cute fabric! So, I quickly made up a simple patchwork/checkerboard quilt with 5" squares, alternating with white.

I did my usual stipple using a pale yellow thread. It's kinda hard to tell unless you look really close.

I found some lovely Riley Blake dots in yellow and green on a white background for the back, and added a little strip of more squares. Hmm... I believe my strip of squares is actually straight! I can't believe it! :)

I used some Mingle fabric in brown for the binding, and added my tags. Usually, I have a tag that reads, "Handmade with love by Mama Mel", but since my cousin's wife also goes by "Mel", I thought that might be confusing. So, I specified "Cousin" Mel. :)

I also whipped up some quick baby burp cloths using leftover pieces of fabric and some new cloth diapers. ;)

Of course, I had to make a sock hippo. I think he's looking rather "horsey", but I added teeth (post photo shoot). I also put in a onesie of their choice... depending on whether it's a boy or girl. I put a necklace onesie in a pink bag, and a tie onesie in a blue bag. I kinda think they're having a boy, but my husband thinks they're having a girl. I can't wait to find out!

Oh, and here's a pic of the sock giraffe (with a crooked neck... oops) that I made for my niece's birthday. She had her giraffe themed party at the zoo and we got to feed the giraffes! It was very cool!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Gifts for a Baby Shower... and my niece's birthday!