Storybook Quilts -- Presented to Local Library!!

The Storybook Mini-Quilt project our guild had was a huge success!

Myself and the Children's Librarian, Linda Branson

Our guild is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year and decided to make 20 little mini-quilts that coincide with children's books.  They will be used in the Children's Storytime and also used to decorate the local public library.

We ended up making 35 quilts and we presented them to the library Wednesday, during National Library Week.  They were thrilled to receive them.  Here are a few of them!

Valentine gifts for grandkids!

NAME TAGS!

These tags are for luggage, gym bags, music bags or sports bags!

I've had the embroidery applique designs for several months and kept delay making them as I had not done anything like that before.  (It uses the heavy stabilizer inside, so it's pretty thick.)

However, once I got started the instructions were very easy to follow.  The designs are from "Tag-A-Long" Embroidery Collection by Hope Yoder.

You can't tell, but these tags are 5-6" long, a nice size.  I am going to get some ribbons to tie on the flip flops for the girls and maybe a chain for Jake's.

There is a danger of having name tags on kid's bags (everyone is aware of those dangers I think), but in my grandkids' situations they are never anywhere that their parents aren't nearby. 

They turned out so well, that I think I'll be making me a new ID tag for my quilt guild!  Now to go get something (candy??) to go with these tags!

IPAD 2 Quilted Case

My IPAD has a nice cover I received as a gift, but I felt like I needed to completely cover it, in case I dropped it and also just so it wouldn't be so "exposed" when not being used.

So I did a little research on what was out there and decided I could make one much cheaper than buying one.  (ya think??!!)  In my stash I had some quilted fabric that I had  leftover from another project and thought why not.  The work was half done for me.

This one was done in 30 minutes or less! That includes figuring out what I was going to do.

I cut the fabric into a rectangle 9 1/2" x 25" long. Turned down the short sides 1/4" and then turned down again about an inch or so and hemmed again.  (Use your ipad to measure exactly by folding fabric in half and adjusting the depth of case.)

Put right sides together and sew outer edges. Turn inside out.  Sew a button on the front and add an elastic hoop sewn on the inside of the back of the case that pulls over to the button keeping the ipad from falling out!  DONE!

   

Another Storybook Quilt!

I couldn't help myself, I found this very cute fabric depicting "The Grouchy Ladybug", so I decided to make another mini quilt for our guild project for the library!  I ordered the book from Amazon and am very happy with the result.

You can't really see much of the quilting, but I just cross-hatched it!  Simple and quick!  The guild members are beginning to turn in their projects and I think it is going to be a great service project for our community.



Storybook quilts!

As a community project to commemorate our 20th anniversary in June, my quilt guild is making STORYBOOK QUILTS! 

We are making mini sized quilts (from 12" squares to door sized) that are based on children's pre-school books.  Then the quilts and the books together will be presented to our local public library during National Library Week in April.  They will be used by the Children's Librarian during story times at the library. 

These will be  "hands on props" to be used when the books are read to the children and then hung periodically on the library walls.  It also will give the librarian a chance to explain to the children just what a quilt is, therefore promoting quilting, even though these will be wall quilts instead of the kind used on beds.

We have had good response for signing up to make these and I can't wait to see all the different interpretations of the different books.  I retired from the library and we have several former teachers in our guild and we are all very excited about this project!  They aren't due until March, but here is my first one.  I thought it might be good when they have a program on "manners".

Christmas Pic

Every Christmas I purchase pajamas for my grandkids and have to have a photo of them.  It's so much fun to see how they change from year to year.  They used to be all the same but as of last year, Jake gets his own.  The girls, Lyndey, Kayley and Paige love wearing matching ones!



A quick and FUN gift for machine embroiderers!

Okay, I have seen these before, but never attempted them.  It was on my "TO DO" list SOMEDAY.  Well, I was needing some inexpensive fun gifts and thought of them last night when I couldn't sleep. 

Embroidering on toilet tissue is interesting.  I had no trouble with it tearing at all.  I was careful though.  Using three thicknesses folded under and cut-away stabilizer, it was really quite easy.  I would suggest not using a dense design.  I liked the lightness of the snowmen.

The toilet paper brands I used were Cottonelle and Angel Soft.  I prefer the Cottonelle, a little more durable, but the Angel Soft worked fine too.  I am sure that I need to change my needle too, after sewing through all that paper, it's bound to be a little dull.

They are so easy and depending on what design you choose pretty darn quick!  I made the flowers first and then decided I didn't want to change threads because I needed several rolls and found the SNOWMEN!  I think they're cuter anyway.

So instead of cleaning today, I was in the sewing room.  That dust will still be there tomorrow! Put that off as long as possible. Here's what I ended up with:

I may have gotten a little carried away!  Here are some closeups:

When my husband saw these, he laughed and said, "what will you do next?"  Who knows!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas came early for me this year!

The past six months I have swapped gifts with a new internet friend--Sandy from Ohio in the SANTA SACK SWAP.  Each month we sent two wrapped gifts to each other and they were put in a specially made "sack" and told not to peek!!   We could open them yesterday and this is what I got.

Sandy did a fantastic job of choosing gifts for me!  I absolutely love the mug rug with the coffee cup.  I don't drink coffee, but I love tea AND hot cocoa.  So cute.  And the purse and table topper are just gorgeous!  She sent some charm packs and fat quarters so I can sew up something new, some sewing tools, the cutest ear rings, footies, an assortment of BEST PRESS, a wonderful cookie cookbook, and the neatest framed pin cushion, so clever.

This was definitely a fun swap!  Not often do we mothers/grandmothers get many gifts.  At least I don't.  And we got to open them early so we could actually enjoy them at the time.  Thanks go to Cheryl at Gone Stitchin' for organizing such fun for all of us.  And, Sandy, thank you very much for everything you sent!

Clara's Calling

Today I found out about something that touched my heart!  

Master Sergeant Clara Vargas and her team of American soldiers have a mission to teach 4,000 widowed Afghan women to sew, so they can provide basic necessities for themselves and their children.  These women have nothing.  Clara started this project last year and quilters and lots of sponsors are doing what they can to help.

They are asking for treadle machines and irons that are heated on a fire, like my grandmother used, because there is no electricity available.  When I think of how fortunate I am, I thank God.  Who uses fire to heat irons anymore?  These women do.  I may not be able to donate a treadle machine or an old antique iron, but I have many of these items in my sewing room that I doubt I'd ever miss.  How lucky I am.

Several quilt stores, have jumped on the band wagon and are providing postage to mail these items to Afghanistan. All we have to do is give what we can to help these poor women.

Some of the things they need are:

Fabrics*

Scissors

Rotary Cutters

Bags or Totes

Pins

Lace

Rulers

Bindings

Fabric Markers

Patches

Fasteners

Elastics

Buttons

Embroidery Supplies

Zippers

Needles (Hand & Machine)

Ribbon & Trim

Sew-In Interfacing/Stabilizers

Organizers

Thimbles

Pincushions
And much more!

Please go to clarascalling.com and read about this amazing project.  I'm taking this to my local guild.  I know they will be ready to give generously.  I hope you do your share.

Embroidered Burp Pads!

My sister asked me to embroider some burp pads for a co-worker's daughter so that's what I did this morning.  Pretty simple and quick! 

I got some Carter's cloth diapers at Wal-Mart to use.  They really are super for burp pads.   They have that extra padding in the center which is perfect.

I also made one with the baby's name on it.  Now get this--the baby isn't born yet.  Things change.  I made a quilt once and put the label on it with the baby's supposedly "name" on it.  Yup, you guessed it. They decided on another name.  I told them I'd take the label off and re-do it, but I never got it back.  Who knows if they took it off or not.  Hope so.  Rather have no quilt label, than the wrong name on it for the poor child.

I may have to start selling these for people.  Maybe I could make enough to pay for my thread!!  Anyone need some??

FINALLY--Quilts done started seven years ago!!

CELEBRATION TIME!!!   Seven years ago when my two oldest granddaughters were two, a long time friend made some embroidered doll blocks for them and told them that their Nana could make them a quilt out of them.

Patsy had just gotten a new embroidery sewing machine and she just has grandSONS, so was anxious to try the cute "Sue's Cousins" designs.  Well, then the ball was in my park and I used the excuse for a while of finding the perfect pattern. Then I used the excuse of finding the perfect fabrics.  So I finally decided if I was going to do it while they could still use them, I'd better get in gear.  So this year I finished them.

I then had another problem, because I had another granddaughter born later.  So I decided to make her one too.  Well, I do have a nice embroidery/sewing machine now, but didn't have the designs in the right format, so Patsy made the blocks again for Lyndey and I got busy and made hers too.

Their birthdays are within a month of each other, and the past weekend, we celebrated two of them.  So I decided to give them all at the same time.

Lyndey, the youngest, says "Paige got the prettiest--PINK!"  I knew that might be a problem, they all love pink.  Patsy had chosen the red for Kayley and I knew Paige loved pink, and Lyndey likes purple too, so I went with that.  I wanted them to be the same but different colors. 

My daughter had taken photos of me and each granddaughter at Easter so I used them on my label, so when I'm long gone they won't forget me!!

The girls were much much more excited with the toys they received, but someday I know they will appreciate the quilts and know that their Nana loved them so much!

Journal (Notebook) Cover!

When we were on vacation I spotted a similar journal cover that I really liked.  As usual, it was on display for a class and no pattern was available.   So....... I came home and made my own pattern!  Here it is:

I LOVE JOURNALS.  I can't really say just journals, but notebooks, too.  I jot notes down all the time.  Robert says I "make lists of lists"!  Things to do for the day, things to make (sew or quilt) and then every so often I have to prioritize what I'm going to do FIRST.  Please tell me I'm not the only one out there that does this. 

Anyway, back to the notebook cover.  When you open, it looks like this:

And behind the spiral notebook, there is a panel that holds the notebook in.

Sorry, for some reason I canNOT rotate this picture, but hopefully you get the idea. 

If I make another one, I'll make a change or two.  One being putting the velcro on the front cover before adding the inside cover and binding.  As you can tell, you can see the sewing on the little pencil holder which also made the cover of paper notebook NOT FIT!!  I was already to rip it out when Robert said why don't you just trim the paper cover.  HELLO.....sometimes he is amazing!!  Why didn't I think of that.