Giving it all away

I've found a little bit of time to sew lately, mostly making samples for classes at the shop.  The nice thing about those is that once the class I am advertising is over, I am free to give those samples away.

A friend who has been going through a tough time was the recipient of a Dresden Plate pillow

Instead of buying pillow forms (expensive!), I buy jumbo pillows from Walmart for less than $5, cut them in half, and sew them back together as two rectangular pillow forms.

I love an envelope back pillow so you can wash the cover.

and I am donating this little doll-sized quilt (or wallhanging) to a fundraiser at a local middle school.

I wanted to add the same motif from the outside strips to the inside strips, but my stencil was too big and I'm not talented enough to redraft at a different size.

Here's a close-up of the hand quilting, big stitch style with variegated crochet cotton.  I also machine stitched in the ditch along each of the vertical rows.

I have a rag quilt workshop coming up soon, and need to make a class sample.  I wonder who will be the recipient of THAT class sample?  Maybe I'll actually keep something for myself.

Getting it done!

It was one of those days, one of those rare days, when I seemed to just be on the ball, getting done everything I set out to get done.  Some of that was sewing:

I finally finished the pillows for the READY afterschool program students who didn't finish during our classes.  I love that they went scrappy like I did.

I also like the fun fabrics they picked out for the pillow backs.

I'll get these to the students on Monday - just in time, since the last day of school is Tuesday!

I finally made that bifold fabric wallet I wanted to make for myself.  I used this tutorial and here's what I came up with.

Sewing through those thick seams was a challenge, but what I loved about this tutorial is that she had us sew with a 1/2" seam allowance and then trim down to 1/4".  I felt more confident about catching all layers that way.  I can't wait to fill it with my cards and cash and start using it tomorrow.  I've had that brown outside fabric for ages and could never decide what to do with it.  I love brown!

While working on these two things, I managed a couple more blocks for my hubby's quilt from his mother's shirts.

I'm thrilled at how closely these stripes are lining up without me having to work too hard to match them.

I wonder if I can have the top pieced in time to present that to him on Father's Day?  Hmmm.  I might need to make that my goal.  As far as quilting, I saved all the buttons I cut off the shirts, and I hope to tie it with those buttons.  Can you sew buttons on with a sewing machine?  I love the idea of the buttons, but the thought of sewing them all on by hand doesn't excite me.

Some of what I got done was business related.  I got my federal employer ID number and my VA retail sales tax certificate.  I got my local business license and paid my estimated business taxes for the year (strange to pay taxes BEFORE I even open!).  I opened my business bank accounts.  I figure if I just tackle one step at a time, this seemingly huge undertaking will seem less overwhelming.  Oh, and yesterday, I visit a Baby Lock dealer and decided on the Grace for my classroom sewing machines.  They are over 4 lbs lighter than the Janomes, and there was a pricing special going on that saved me over $400 on the set of 6 machines.

Finally, I got our summer pool pass, and visiting the pool with the boys.  While there, I swam 10 lengths (gotta ease my way back into my summer lap swimming) and disassembled two more of my MIL's shirts.  But while there, a woman saw me cutting and said, " Are you the quilt lady?  The one I read about in the newspaper?"

How flattering! (But this is a small town - anyone know that country song that tells how EVERYONE is famous in a small town?  That's us.)

But what was more flattering is that she works for our local newspaper and told me she's been wanting to do a story on me.  Could the timing be any better with me opening my shop later this summer?  The trip to the pool turned out to be even better than I had hoped!

Lessons learned

I really shouldn't wait so long between blog posts.  So much happens in even just one day, that waiting almost a week means I'm bound to leave things out.  Perhaps you readers don't mind, but my blog is my online journal, so I hate to leave things out.

Anyway, last Friday's memorial service was painful, as expected.  My entire office shut down for several hours and walked over to attend together.  I armed us with "mourning tissues", made in black, but with musical notes lining the inside to honor my late friend's love of music.

the raw materials

The finished product.  I was kinda bummed that you couldn't really see the musical notes.

My tissues were almost gone by the time we left the church.  I'm going to miss him.

On Friday afternoon, Jason left for his first camping trip as a Boy Scout (as opposed to Cub Scout) - 3 days of fishing further up in the mountains.  He came back on Sunday half-frozen and reeking, but smiling from ear to ear.  Then, later on Sunday afternoon, I caught him practicing his cast in our yard. It is safe to say he is hooked! (pun intended!)

While he was gone, I had hoped to get lots of sewing done, but of course, I didn't.  Friday night I didn't feel well, and neither did Donald, so we cuddled together in my bed watching Mrs. Doubtfire on TV until we both fell asleep.  On Saturday morning, I felt better and took him to the doctor for some medicine to make him feel better, too.  Then, it was off to the Cub Scouts' annual Bike Rodeo.

Donald has the red helmet, blue sweatshirt and green bike.

Next, we delivered the baby quilt and bib to my co-worker.  Good news, Ella should be able to come home this week!!!

All washed and ready to welcome the new babe!

It'll be a while before she is big enough to wear this, but I wanted her to have it anyway.

Finally, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying crafts and food with some friends as we prepare for another friend's baby shower. By the time we got home, it was all I could do to brush my teeth and crawl into bed before falling asleep.

Sunday, we picked up Jason and drove him to the gym at the university for a shower, since I wanted to take them somewhere before heading home for the day.  After a quick lunch of Mexican, we drove out to Cabin Spring Farm where they were having a two-day sheep shearing and fiber arts celebration. What fun!  My kiddos really took to weaving.  In fact, on the way home, we stopped to buy an old picture frame from Goodwill for Donald to make his own mini loom, per his request!

I thought the peg loom was fascinating and watched for quite some time.  She was making rugs out of cut up wool clothing.  She had another basket full of "t-shirt yarn" that I was coveting!

There was wet felting...

This is going to be a gorgeous rug!

As well as a woman needle-felting, but when I found out she was from Maine, too, I got to talking and forgot about taking her photo.  She made the neatest needle-felted dolls - fairies and mermaids and all manner of creatures.  I know next to nothing about yarn and wool and what can be done with it, so it was a true learning experience for me.

I had the opportunity to fondle some alpaca fleece, too.  Oh my goodness!  I just wanted to roll around in it, it was so soft and luxurious!

But we couldn't stay forever because I start back up with the after-school program this week.  This time, it is only 4 weeks long.  I learned some valuable lessons from last time:

• limit the class size: I only have eight K-2nd graders this time - yay! 
• set realistic goals: I ordered 14" square pillow forms, and the kids are each going to design their own patchwork pillow. We are using 2" squares and designing on an 8 x 8 grid. (yes, I know that makes 12" finished pillow size, but this was the pillows will be nice and plump!)
• keep everyone's work separate: I bought 8 new, sturdy pizza boxes from a local pizzeria, and inserted a 14" square piece of batting in each.  Each child will have a box to keep their project in.  Hopefully we can be more organized this way.

Here's my sample pillow top (E for Erin, not yet quilted).

I'm going to mock up some more on paper grids for them today.  I kinda wish we had an odd number grid (7x7 or 9x9) because sometimes you want to have a center for your block, but oh well.

It's going to be a crazy work week for me this week, too, long days with a ton to do.  Two more months...only two more months. Then I'll have more time to enjoy this...

This was taken on the road to my house this weekend.  My house in the one on the left at the tree line.  I LOVE living here!  So quiet and pretty and peaceful...paradise!

Still have Dresdens on the brain

Have you seen the great stuff coming out of this Dare to Dresden blog hop?  My day was last Friday (be sure to visit that post if you missed it, as there is a giveaway!), but I've been so inspired that I completed another Dresden project today.  A friend and her son watched my kids a week and a half ago when I had to work on a Sunday and my husband was out of town.  I wanted to give her something as a thank you gift, but what?  A co-worker suggested that I make her something.  I have no idea what she would like, but I had these leftover dresden wedges and a pillow form, so...
TA-DA!!

pillow is 12" x 18"

How do people get good photos of their hand stitches???

 Envelope style back with my little label

I like it, so I hope she will, too.  Machine pieced, but hand appliqued and hand quilted.  My only real criticism of it is that I should have lined the center circle as some of the dots and stripes show through from the ends of the wedges underneath, but whatever.  This pillow plus a thank you card with two coupons for free homemade ice cream at the shop in town should suffice, don't you think?

Work is kicking my butt.  Seriously.  I was on the verge of tears all day long.  A karate class and some time hand quilting and I feel almost human again.  Now for some restorative sleep before tomorrow, which I already know will be another hectic day.  I just hope to have time to do some hopping, as I haven't visited any of this week's blogs; have you?

Day one of winter vacation

When I left work yesterday, starting a 12 day vacation, I was nearly giddy with excitement.  What to do first?  My twin sister and her family are arriving tomorrow, so the house needed cleaning, but that could wait until today.  Instead, I sewed!  And while I did work on Hurricane Sandy quilts a bit, for the most part, I sewed for ME!

First of all, I've been wanting a patchwork stocking for years now.  I just never took the time to make one.  Yesterday, was the day.  Voila!  And it is the biggest stocking in the house, too!  I hope Santa fills it up for me!

Only the front is quilted.  The back and the lining are that solid green, which I upcycled from an old sheet. 

I also  bought some flannel pig fabric about 6 weeks ago with a co-worker in mind (she LOVES everything PIG!).  I had meant to make her something ages ago, but never seemed to find the time.  I decided to make a pillow, but gosh, the pillow forms are so expensive.  My solution - I bought a jumbo 20"x28" bed pillow at WalMart ($4 or $5), cut it in half, and sewed the two halves closed to make two 14" x 20" pillows.

Then, I made an envelope style pillow, but with big 1" seams on the outside, and then snipped the seams like a rag quilt.  When it came out of the washer and dryer, it had ragged up nicely and the pillow is SO SOFT!

I just may have to make the other half into a pillow for ME!

Today, I helped the kids clean their rooms (ugh!), cleaned out the refrigerator (double ugh!), and did some laundry and some floors.  I also took the kids to see a local ballet company's production of The Nutcracker.  I've never seen it before, and enjoyed it immensely.  My boys were tolerant and well-behaved, but not impressed.  For being such good sports, I took them out to eat afterwards with a friend and her 3 boys, who had met us at the ballet.  Then, it was grocery shopping in preparation for having a full house of 8 people for the next few days.

As I sit here in the dining room, blogging by the light of the Christmas tree, I can't help but think of how blessed I am.  It is cold outside, but I am cozy here in my house.  I bought groceries without having to wonder if I had enough money to pay for it.  My children are healthy and happy and here with me.  I wish that everyone could be as secure and as content as I am right now.  It makes me want to get back down to the sewing room and work on some projects for others.  I'll definitely be making at least one pillowcase to send up to Sandy Hook.  And I have many more Hurricane Sandy quilts to work on.  The mail counter guy at the post office (where I am always shipping either quilts and/or fabric or books) shared with me yesterday how he was filling Toys for Tots orders and a kid had asked for a blanket, and he just started to cry because he didn't have one to give, and felt helpless for not being able to fulfill such a basic need for someone.  It just about broke my heart.

Many more disappearing 4-patch blocks have come in over the past week.

Plus two quilt tops:

a crib sized quilt

And this wonderfully scrappy HST quilt

But look!  There are about 5 of these blocks interspersed with all the HSTs! What fun to find them in there!

A woman from my guild donated lots of backing yardage:

Also, I was contacted by a reporter from the Republican-Herald newspaper in Pottsville, PA, I am believe our project is going to be featured in an article in Monday's issue.  I'll keep you posted on here, hopefully with a link, if it goes to print.  Thanks, Becki W, for making that connection.

Another Hurricane Sandy quilt was mailed out from here this week, and I have another one to mail tomorrow.  I also have 5 completed tops in my house waiting for quilting, and, of course, many blocks waiting for assembly.  The Blankie Depot will stop accepting Hurricane Sandy donations on February 15, so now there's a deadline.  Gotta get cracking!

Not sure how much blogging I'll be doing with company in town.  Happy Holidays to all of you, whatever it is you may celebrate at this time of year!

READY to quilt!

During the Mountain Days Festival earlier this month, I was approached about teaching a workshop to kids through an after school enrichment program at a local elementary school.  Well, I'm doing it!  The school received a 3-year READY grant (I don't know what the acronym stands for), and there will be workshops offered to the kids each quarter.  For now, I'm just starting with this marking period - we'll see how it fits into my schedule and how well the kids and I like working together.  I'll be doing 2 workshops per day, twice per week, one with grades K-2 and one with grades 3-5.  My workshop is called READY TO QUILT!

I set up a blog to be able to communicate with parents about what we are doing and so the kids can show off their work.  I made my first post today (http://centralquilts.blogspot.com), outlining workshop goals and displaying my class samples (since Hurricane Sandy canceled our Open House on Monday).  Basically, I want the kids to:

1) make at least one take home project, either a pillow or a composition book cover.  In keeping with the season, here are my class samples:

I recovered one of my couch pillows.  I drew the design freehand.  If I were doing it again, I think I'd leave out the word EEK and make the spider bigger.

I figure the kids should be able to do a backstitch, right?

For the first time, I made the pillow cover small enough that the pillow is plump, without wrinkles or empty corners

Envelope back so it can be removed

 

Donald wants this composition book cover for himself!  I told him I'd teach him how to make his own.

I don't know where I got that skulls fabric, but I love it, and have been trying to figure out what to make with it for a while now.

2) contribute to a group quilt to enter in the quilt show at the 2013 Rockbridge County Fair, along the lines of this quilt that I made with my cub scouts two years ago

The boys won 2nd place at the County Fair quilt show that year.

They traced images and then colored the blocks with crayons

3) assist in making a denim rag quilt to donate to my guild's Comfort Quilt program.  I want them to understand quilting's history as a community building activity.

The denim quilt I made for Jason earlier this year

The back of the denim quilt

 I'm so excited!!!  One of the things I'm going to do is incorporate some children's books into my workshops, probably starting each session with a reading.  I know I'm going to use the following books, but if you have suggestions for others I can use, please let me know.  Since there are 8 weeks, I'd love to have 8 books to share.

Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt - to talk about how quilting is not just for girls, about entering quilts in fairs and how working together often allows us to make something even better than if we work separately

Reuben and the Quilt - another quilt that shows boys quilting and introduces the idea of giving a quilt to comfort someone else

The Quiltmaker's Gift - to talk about how it is better to give than to receive (and because the illustrations in that book are AWESOME!)

The Patchwork Quilt - showing how quilting is an intergenerational and a multicultural activity

The Keeping Quilt - I've not read this, but the READY coordinator really likes it and wants me to use it

Have any of you or do any of you currently teach quiltmaking to kids?  If so, do you have any suggestions for me?

Salvage, soccer and snow

Strange weather we are having!  Saturday was a warm, sunny 60 degrees and I participated in a charity soccer tournament (http://www.conwaycup.com/) with my co-workers to help support an office mate who was recently diagnosed with ALS.  What fun!!!  I played soccer in high school, but the last time I used my shin guards was Fall 1988.  I'm glad to say that I still knew what to do, but I must unhappily report that my body was about 3 steps behind my mind.  Also, I figured, since we were playing in the 30 years old and over bracket that we'd be playing against other hodge podge groups like us.  NOT SO!  Every team we played against had UNIFORMS.  With NUMBERS on them.  Because they were actual TEAMS!  That practice 2 times a week YEAR ROUND!  Needless to say, my team of has-beens, some of whom had never played soccer before got CRUSHED, but what fun!  Well, except for the pain.  By the end of our 4th match (short 25 minute games), both of my knees were bleeding and I had caught a ball with my face, somehow dislodging my nose piercing.  Luckily, I have spare studs at home.  I also found some lovely bruises in the shower yesterday.  Battle scars!

Then yesterday, Sunday, it snowed EIGHT INCHES!  I wasn't planning to leave the house anyway, since I could barely walk from my soccer escapades.  Know what that means?  Time to sew!

I worked on my hand quilting a bit on the Charm Quilt, and then remembered that my mother's birthday is in about 2 weeks.  Down to the sewing room I went. (Mom, if you are reading, this is your cue to STOP READING!)

Do you remember the summer coverlet I inherited this spring, made by my Great Aunt (or someone - I should make an effort to find out who made it), that was falling apart and needing to be repurposed? 

Summer bedspread made by my Great Aunt Somebody or other. Flowers are made from french knots on muslin.

I pulled out two of the embroidered blocks and some coordinating fabric to make a pair of throw pillows for my mom for her birthday.  The back has an envelope closure for easy removal and laundering.

I liked them so much and I had a tiny bit of the fabric left over that I made one more to be the first item in my new ETSY shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/mypatchworklife. 

Yup, that's right, I've taken the plunge.  I make more stuff than I have intended recipients.  And besides, at the Old Middlebrook Village Day last year where I had a booth, many people asked for a business card.  So now, I have a shop, business cards and labels to sew into my stuff.  Cool, huh?  Now, if I can just finish some actual QUILTS to put in there!

Anyway, today is a snow day for the kids, so I am working from home.  I just finished reading a bunch of files, and now my bed is calling to me to come take a little nap.  My bedroom is perfectly situated in the house, warm and sunny throughout the day, perfect for napping.  YAWN!  Happy Monday, everyone!

Canine cuisine?

Were any of you reading my other blog (at myquiltblog.com) when I made this pillow for our then-puppy, Biscuit?



If so, you probably remember I had to take it away from him at first because he kept chewing on it, but despite my best efforts, it ended up a disemboweled mess in no time.


Well, after seeing the bed that Nancy-Rose made for her cat, Gibby, I got to thinking that maybe Biscuit is ready for a bed again. He turns two this summer, and he hasn't eaten anything he wasn't supposed to eat in quite a while now. Besides, I feel sorry for him sleeping on the hard floor, especially since we don't have any carpets or rugs in our house. So, last night, I used more of that home dec weight fabric I used to make couch pillows this weekend to make a big floor pillow for Biscuit. I didn't do anything fancy, because I didn't want to be devastated if he ate it, but I think it is going to work this time.