Sewing For Happy Campers

Several years ago, far too many to count, I bought these panels for the girls' bunks at camp.  In my world, the urgent tends to crowd out the important, so they had to wait....and then wait a little longer.....until, finally, my world got a bit less structured and I was able to put them together for this summer's camp. 

So, I got started.  I cut out the Sugar Daddy pillow and quickly realized the manufacturer goofed:

Oops!

By adding the words, "Delicious Milk Caramel Pop," they made the front at least an inch larger than the back.  The grain of the fabric wouldn't easily allow for fudging, but I did the best I could. Really wish pattern designers would proof-read and double check their patterns--crafters are limited in how much time they can spend on their hobby and this type of bump in the road only wastes valuable time.

The other pillows went a little easier and the tootsie roll one is the favorite:

Gives whole new meaning to "Super Sized"

Love sending handmade gifts with the girls when they are at camp--sort of like I'm right there with them, but without the bugs!

Fifth Grade Art Project 2011--Part II

You may remember from an earlier post I've been honored for a second year to help our elementary school's art department by tuning their original art into a quilt ( Fifth Grade Art Project ).  Well, it's been stitched, quilted, bound, sleeved, labeled and is now ready to go on display!

Think Friedensreich Hundertwasser would be very pleased!

The students did a fantastic job capturing Hundertwasser's vision under the art direction of Mrs. Randi Gordon at Marlton Elementary School.  Each child made a flower with paint sticks to keep with this year's art festival theme, "Fantasy Flowers."

Flowers lend themselves to bugs, so I took some liberties with the quilting and included a critter or two.

A tiny spider's web and spider....

A butterfly looking for a good place to land...

And a dragonfly near our daughter Sarah's flower.

Given our Sarah's intense dislike for spiders, she requested a dragonfly near her flower.  The spider and his web were banished to the other side of the quilt.

Sarah is going to be a demonstrator at the art festival this year, showing others how to create a gargoyle like hers!  She is thrilled with this special honor and thankful for the opportunity!  (Pictures will follow!)

"Hairy" Up And Make These!

Found a fantastic project you can make in under an hour, but the process is so much fun, you may become addicted!  Our two girls have lots and lots of hair that needs to  be tamed and this reversible headband is perfect for the job! 

The step-by-step directions can be found at KC Quilts: Reversible Fabric Headbands and I was able to make three in about an hour, including the learning curve.

Here is a sampling of some I've made:

 

Made one for each of our daughters and one for a friend.  The elastic feature prevents any sized noggin from getting a headache.  If you don't have the time to make your own, some will be on sale at the Love Apple Quilter's quilt show in March (for details, go to Love Apple Quilters).  Hope to see you there!

Fifth Grade Art Project 2011

Have been spending the last two days immersing fabrics into dye and am amazed how every pair of gloves has an invisible hole so my hands match the fabric!

More fabric than what we need, but it was too much fun to stop!

This year's fifth grade art project is going to be influenced by the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.  

Here's an image of his work:

Found on Bing Images

The fifth graders will use paint sticks and textures to create their own fantasy flowers on a strippy quilt. Can't wait to see how the kids add their own flair.  

Stay tuned for the finished quilt.....

Spring Break Sewing Class

This year's spring break is a little unusual this year due to the snow--our older daughter had only Monday off while our younger daughter had the week off. Having only one child to entertain allowed for a long-overdue sewing lesson with her dear friend, a young lady quite enamoured with sewing.

Dug out my first sewing machine, a Singer I purchased when we first were married. This machine is something of a dinosaur, but provides a full education without the risk of overwhelming the user.

After finding a beginner's appropriate apron pattern (cooking is another of their passions), I took the girls to Joann's and had them to pick out whatever fabric they'd like. One young lady selected a chicken print for the main part of the apron with an egg fabric for the pocket. (Very clever!!)

Chicken and Egg Apron

Our daughter selected cherries for her main section with a back pocket--Mary Engelbreit would be so proud! (And who will be able to tell if it gets dirty?)

Cherries Jubilee

And, since Father's Day is around the corner (more honestly, at that time of year, I'm either at a loss for gift ideas or up to my eyeballs in deadlines), decided to make a very handsome one for my sweet husband. Here it is modeled by our older daughter....

Celebrating Daddy!

The girls did all the pressing and sewing--thought we'd save using a rotary cutter for another lesson. Am so very proud of their efforts and how naturally talented they are! Hope they continue to enjoy sewing!

American Patchwork & Quilting One Million Pillowcase Challenge

According to http://www.dictionary.com/, the first definition of the word "challenge" is "a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc." This challenge was designed by AllPeopleQuilt.com to help those in challenging life circumstances. Donna, owner of The Spider's Web Fabric Shop (http://www.thespiderswebfabricshop.com/) has decided to use her Ohio store as a drop-off point. Thankfully, she needed samples and I was able to volunteer my sewing services.

The basic pattern was the first one I tried. Donna sent me a lovely combination of horse-themed fabrics. Took me less than an hour to do the entire project and only required very basic sewing skills. Followed the directions exactly, except for the band/body seam--to prevent ravelling, I pinked the edges on all the samples.

The second pattern has a ruffle. Now I know the prospect of making a ruffle strikes terror in some of the bravest of quilty hearts, but this design element was a piece of cake! Certainly added a nice touch to the pillowcase and would be perfect for a little girl. As usual, Donna's choice of fabrics was exceptional. Took about an hour to make, ruffle included.

Pattern three has a pieced hour-glass block band--and the wallowing piggy fabric lent itself to having"peeking" pigs in the center square. This pillowcase took a bit longer to complete, perhaps around two hours. But, I've never been known for speedy piecing--way too busy pinning.

Finally, pattern four has a simple patchwork design in the band. The piecing was quick and easy, allowing me to complete it in under two hours. The hibiscus pattern is complimented by green and red fabrics, giving it a Hawaiian feel.

Since each of these pillowcases are quick and easy enough to finish in an afternoon, try them all! Make two--one for a child in your life and one for someone less fortunate. AllPeopleQuilt.com has a map of participating stores listed on the website or you could send it to Donna's shop (address listed on her site).

Dressing Up

Well, it's that time of year when I put aside my quilting to work on our daughters' Halloween costumes. Being Christians, we use this time of year to be creative and make costumes that can be a family project. Our older daughter is doing the work on her costume, now that she is a teenager and I concentrated my efforts on the other.

Last Halloween, it was decided that our sweet little girl would be the Travelocity gnome. Thought about this costume for better part of a year and had a plan. Then, FamilyFun magazine had their annual costume edition and there was a ready made gnome...and one on a mushroom! Our family's passion with fungi dictated that this was the costume to make.

After visiting quite a few stores, hot gluing pool noodles, sewing a mushroom cap, assembling a white skirt for a stem, gluing felt circles, stuffing pant legs and making a belt out of duct tape, cardboard and aluminum foil, the costume was ready for the school's annual carnival.

Much to our delight, her costume won the prize for "Most Original!" She happily claimed her prize--nearly knocking down anyone in her path. (It's quite a wide costume!)

Hmm, better get started on next year!!

A Whirlwind Existence

Seems like the month of May is worse than the Christmas season. Between end of the year activities for school, a big 13 birthday party, a host of quilting project coming due and the usual household responsibilities, time is at a premium and chocolate is a staple.

The first picture is of the rocket that involved the entire family to create. It may not have gone the farthest, but it was the best looking rocket, complete with nose cone. We were very proud of our effort.

Then came the blocks for the Good and Plenty swap with Block Buddies, my favorite on-line quilt group. Made six Sprocket blocks and six Paths and Stiles in black, white and pink. There was a paper pieced aspect of the Sprocket block that took forever. All in all, they turned out fine and it will be fun to see what I get in return.

After that, the fabric postcards with Love Apple Quilters came due. The best part is that I was able to get my American Flags, complete with the Pledge of Allegiance done in time for Memorial Day. (They didn't call me Betsy Ross in high school for nothing!!)

Finally, I finished an apron for another swap with Block Buddies. My swap partner wanted a tea themed apron in green and purple. While on the NJ Shop Hop, a tea cup fabric in purple and green jumped off the shelf and I had to purchase it. Also bought an apron pattern that made a very simple, easy to embellish apron. The only challenge was to use rick-rack. I had jumbo rick-rack that looked great on the pocket, complete with teapot. Got a very special red-headed model to show off the completed project.