. . . bump . . .

. . . i forgot one very important detail

 about making crib sheets . . .

. . . i learned how to make them 

nearly thirty-two years ago . . . 

. . . from my sister-in-law, debbie . . .

. . . she is a beautiful seamstress . . .

. . . she's also the one 

who got me interested 

in hand smocking . . .

. . . but that's another post . . .

. . . anyhow ~ thank you to deb 

for a lesson i haven't forgotten . . .

. . . not yet, anyway! . . . 

. . . today i'm having a close encounter 

with bumper pads . . .

. . . i've come a long way

since the first time 

i made a set of these . . . 

. . . i used to use batting ~ 

never with very good results . . .

. . . i need to thank karen 

for introducing me to these . . . 

. . . they're kind of like foam, 

but not really at all . . .

. . . they are awesome . . . 

. . . two pieces fit 

on each side of the crib . . .

. . . then one on each end . . . 

. . . but the best tip karen shared 

was this: . . .

. . . if one set of nu-foam bumper pads

 is good . . . 

. . . two sets is waaaaay better . . .

. . . two pieces of foam 

inside each bumper pad 

makes them extra poofy and cute . . .

. . . then i happened upon this tip 

from the sew4home website . . .

. . . a template for rounding the corners

 for an even better fit . . 

. . . i'm thankful 

for all these helpful hints . . .

. . . i just wish there was 

an easier way to stuff them . . . 

. . . and especially 

a magic wand i could wave 

instead of hand stitching 

six cushions closed . . .