custom baby carrier cover

awhile back i was shopping at the fabric/scrapbook store with my daughter when i ran into another shopper with the cutest customized baby carrier seat i've ever seen. its been popular for a few years now to purchase boutique carseat covers to replace the run-of-the-mill and often tasteless covers that come with carseats, but i've never taken the leap. as much as i admired everyone elses, it wasn't high on my priority list of purchases, especially when told they often cost more than the carseat itself.

i looked at the amazing cover and thought, "she only has one or two kids tops. moms with lots of kids never have time to do that." i complimented the mother on her creation and asked how many kids she had. "She's number six" was the reply. well, there went my theory and my self-esteem shot down into my shoes. to myself i said, "why is it everyone else on the planet can manage so much better than i can and finds the time to be mommy and creative? dang it! i want to do something cool like that, too." then we got talking about life with so many kids, how challenging but worthwhile it is. my new friend was pretty beat down and weary at the moment, actually, and our conversation lifted both of us. i love talking to other moms in the trenches and being reminded how important and fleeting the work we do with our children really is. they'll be gone so soon - all seven of them. the oldest will be out the door in just a handful of years. chin up and carry on! the sewing can wait or be skipped altogether. being there for my kids is what's really important, not making cute stuff for them.

check out the shade cover. don't you just love it?! wow.

she told me she isn't much of a sewer and freehanded the whole thing by simply "tracing the original pieces." when i kept oohing over it, she said "it really wasn't that well done, don't look too closely." heck, who cares how perfect her stitching is or how precisely it fits? look what she did all on her own! quite impressive and inspiring. i was so overcome by it's shabby chicness i didn't even notice the imperfections she was apologizing for. she was good enough to allow me to photograph her work right there in the paper isles.

a few weeks after i saw this cover, i noticed another one at church. it was simpler, but done up in designer fabrics, too. this other mom told me she did the same thing: no pattern, just sorta laid out the original cover, squashing it as flat as she could to trace, and went for it. geesh!

i've thought about the process they described over and over, but every time i look at my own carrier, i get completely intimidated. no way i can do it. but now that i think about it, i bet there are tutorials all over cyber craft space, don't you? i'm gonna look them up right now. and maybe, just maybe, my baby will get a more stylish ride.