A sewing project for a boat... finally finished!

A while back I posted about a crib I was making for a couple who live on a boat. Unfortunately everything got put on hold while I waited for an online company to deliver the grommets that had been ordered.

They finally arrived and it took an entire day to install them!

Here is the side with the mesh screen. It has a roll up flap that's held in place with 5 straps that button at the top.

This is where a long edge meets the foot of the crib.

The two long edges will each have parachute line running through the length of them at the top (they have 1" casings) and then be secured to the wall of the bunk at each end.

The foot of the crib has grommets in the top that will also be secured to the boat (there is a overhang that comes down and allows this to be done). The boat itself will serve as a headboard so I didn't have to make one.

The bottom edges have grommets all the way around and they will be secured to the bunk with the mattress placed on top.

I hope this makes sense.

The grommets on the bottom edges.

This is the result of a day at Doggy Day Care! Not only is he like this in the evening, it carries through to the next day.

And that allowed me to spend the whole day cutting holes and pounding grommets without any pitty help!

While I wait... I sew.

I posted a while back that I was sewing a crib for a boat. Unfortunately I encountered a huge snag when the brass grommets that had been ordered to finish the job didn't quite arrive.


What did arrive was a total of 6 grommets, when what I needed was 6 packages of 12!



And that just won't work.



Anyway, the company has been very nice and finally realized that a new employee made a bit of a mistake and the remaining grommets are now on their way.



But in the mean time I feel bad about the wait (even though it's not my fault) and thought maybe I'd send a little condolence gift along with the crib (that is if it ever gets finished!!).






When I saw this 'pirate' fabric I just couldn't resist. I can't think of a more appropriate print for a little one living aboard a boat.


And since her parents' sailed around the world without a bit of experience and succeeded? Why not!



The pattern is McCall's 5416.



Very simple and I made a size 1.

I used heart shaped buttons at the shoulders and red ric rac along the bottom.
















The back view.

A close up of the fabric.























I'm a sucker for ric rac!

I also finally bought a 24" X 24" pillow form and covered it with some Steeler fleece for our Wilbur.

He loves it!!!

Look at that face!!! Is it any wonder he found a girlfriend during his first day at Doggy Day Care?

Sewing a Crib. For a Boat?

I spend a lot of time these days cruising (such an apt expression!) live aboard boat blogs.

During the short two months Hans and I lived on our boat this summer, I found that we were very inadequately prepared for such a life. Luckily we have a bit more time and a lot more experience under our belts before we head out again this January for the Bahamas.

I found the Bumfuzzles on Cheryl's blog. Cheryl and her husband have been working like mad on their 1987 Catalina 30 in hopes of someday moving aboard. I'm impressed and amazed at the amount of work they've done on their own, especially during this summer's heat (they live in Louisiana!).

Anyway, they mentioned the Bumfuzzles on their blog and Shazzam!!!! before you know it, I'm sewing a crib for a Bumfuzzle Baby!

So a little background on these Bumfuzzle people. In their late 20's, Pat and Ali made a decision to forsake moving to and living out their lives in suburbia. Instead, they sold everything they owned, bought a sailboat (with absolutely no boating experience of any kind), proceeded to sail around the world, and managed to become the absolute bane of even the most hard core sailors.

Why?

Because they dared to dream, acted upon that dream, and seven years later are still living the dream. You really should check out their blog.

When I grow up, I hope to be just like the Bumfuzzles!

In addition to adding baby Quest to their family in January, they purchased a monohull sail boat; their previous boat having been a catamaran (and I can just hear the cruising forums rubbing their hands in glee over this).


But with this new home, the Bumbuzzles needed a secure place for their daughter Quest to reside. So they turned to their friends on the Internet and sent a shout out for help. The 'canvas' guy they hired neglected to inform the Bumfuzzles that he was more interested in retiring than sewing, and left them high and dry.

Enter me, Laura, the Somewhat Sewist.

I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, I'll never discover the cure for cancer, and I'll never write a Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel, but I'd like to think I can do a bit of good for someone who needs it!


So I volunteered.

I only hope to be able to hold up my end of the bargain!!!!


This is a rough 'frame' of one of the long sections of the crib lying on our carpet.


Remember; a crib has two long sides and two shorter ends.


This long section will have a mesh insert and a roll up/down panel for warmth (and/or privacy).

















Here it is with the mesh insert.



I have it hanging off my ironing board (so please forgive that odd X formation in the background).

I'll post more pictures of it when I'm done.

Wilbur has been fascinated with this whole process.



Here he is when I told him it was for a baby.



"I thought I was the baby!!!!!" was his reaction.