Bits and Scraps of This and That

Sometimes I'm at a loss for something to write and sometimes I get on a roll.  Every once in a while I start typing with an idea in my head, and it takes a left turn at my fingers making the keyboard go in a totally different direction.

I wonder about my brain!  Whether it's even tethered to the earth...

Oh well.

Last week I finished up a quilt for the preschool at our church.  It was one of those kiddie hand print block things and was probably the only thing besides mending that I actually sewed on during the month of May.  It was so nice to see it completed.  I posted it to Facebook and got some 'likes'.  The lady who does the actual quilting is so talented and we make a good team.  Good job, Suzi!

I have so many projects in my head.  This week has been mad crazy busy at work, and of course I have lots of financial things that must be done, so no slacking off!  But I'd so much rather be off work and sewing.  Maybe this weekend, since it's a long one, I'll be able to go into the sewing room.

But the weather finally got nice here, so even though last Sunday was a free day, I was loathe to go into the basement when the sun was shining so delightfully!  Besides, I needed to rest up from our last day of Sunday School.  The kids were so excited to recite their memory pieces, they were literally vibrating as they stood.  It was adorable.   My little opening message was using Legos to tell them how they're building a foundation for their faith by learning the commandments and prayers.  I do so love them all.

But now I'm excited that my book that was backordered from Nancy's Notions is being shipped, so I want to get back to sewing again.

First, I got all those nice patterns from Samina at the Sew Everything blog.  I am looking forward to making that Sandra Betzina green blouse.  I have the perfect fabric in mind...

Then I bought that lovely stash of stuff from Sewing Weekend.  And I also won a book from Randi at the Barrister's Block blog.  And here is where I would post photos of all that stuff if my camera was working.  Imagine cool stuff.

This week I did sew up a little skirt for Miss A.  She was in the sewing room with me while I was finishing up the quilt.  She spotted this pink plaid half yard of fabric that I bought to make some doll skirts.  I should have predicted she would love it, it was three shades of bright pink. 

Not the right fabric but the one she has is this color.

Miss A:  that's good dress fabric.

Me:  it's too small a piece for a dress.
Miss A:  well, is it enough for a skirt?
Me:  Probably, if it's a small skirt.
Miss A:  I wear a small.
Me:  I can see that.  Do you want a skirt from this fabric?
Miss A:  Yes, please.  And can you do it now?  You're not doing anything right now anyway.
Me:  to myself -- you mean not doing anything with YOU right now...

So she went home wearing a new skirt over the top of her leggings.  No picture though, she ran too fast.

Tonight when I get home, my book "It's All About Embellishment" by Gail Yellen should be there.  Time to read and dream about more projects.  And wish for more time.

Sew on!

The Twins!

I work in an office that is dominated by testosterone.  Yes, it's mainly men... with a smattering of women thrown in for spice.

This summer, three of the ladies who sit within 25 feet of my cubicle are having babies.  The mood swings and snack and potty breaks are kind of on overload right now, but that's another story.

One of the moms-to-be is a third-timer.  She quietly went off to have her third son in summer, without much more than a few complaints about a tired back.  We expect her back any time.

The other two are having respectively:  twins in August and a boy in November.  I'm working with the mom of twins on getting her paperwork caught up before she goes, because she could go any time.  Both babies are over five pounds, and she's ready.  If you've had a baby, you KNOW what I mean!!

So I'm sitting in my sewing studio thinking about baby quilts the other day.  I blogged about making the jacks blocks a bit ago.  I had lots of help from the girls and we made a big stack of blocks.

I sorted the blocks into 'boy' and 'girl' colors.  Had enough for two boy quilts and one girl... must be my fixation with the color blue.  Anyway, pulled from my stash some fabric for an inner border, and also made a second border of those four patch blocks I make with my 2 inch strip bin periodically.  I have bags of those, sorted by color.

What to do for a final border??  The pink in the inner border of the girl's quilt wasn't quite true pink, it was more peachy than anything in my stash.  So off to the fabric store -- I know, poor me!  I found a great stripe from the Jennifer Chiavarini collection from the Union Quilters book.  I also picked up a backing/binding fabric for each quilt.

The result is what I'm calling Fraternal Twins:

Same pattern, different fabrics.  I apologize for the lighting, this was on my kitchen table and the patio doors are to the right...  some of the whites look kind of yellow on Baby Girl, but we decided it might be because some of the white-on-white prints really reflected the light, and the solids not so much.

I gave them to the new mom early in the week.  She cried.  I asked why she was crying and she said 'Because I'm pregnant'...  good enough!  But she and her hubby really liked them.  I'm hoping the babies do too!

These quilts were almost entirely from my stash, done at the last minute because I build those pieces as I go...  I cut anything smaller than a fat quarter or straight quarter yard into units, either strips or squares.  When I want to sew but have nothing in mind, or want to do mindless sewing, or I'm sewing with kids around, I make strip sets and four patches.  Need a gift in a hurry?  Pull out the ziplocs, find stuff and viola!!  Instant or almost instant finish.

I did quilt this by machine, stitch in the ditch in the interior and on the edges of the borders.  Boring but necessary...  I feel quite virtuous for two finishes in one week.

Sew on!

The Adventures of "E" -- Teaching Kids to Sew Part II

Oh my goodness... this has been in my 'draft' folder for almost a year!  Well, have a read and you can chide me for being a bad blogger. 

March 2012:

I had the opportunity to take some time off work while the grands had spring break.  E, my oldest grand wanted another sewing session.  I have blogged before about how she's learning to use the sewing machine.  We were guest bloggers on the American Sewing Guild blog, found here.

This time she wanted to learn how to use the embroidery machine. OOOOOO-kay... well, she's pretty good at threading the Viking so I thought we'd give it a shot.

She picked out a few spools of variegated embroidery thread to use.  We found stabilizer and some white-on-white cotton fabric.  I showed her how to hoop everything. 

She picked a one color design, since the thread color would change automatically.  Little sister thought watching the multicolored butterfly appear was very cool.  When the design was done E removed it from the machine and clipped threads.  Then she went on to pick another design and another thread color.  Much discussion ensued about what would look the coolest. 

Her first ever thread next!!

E did four more designs, including her initial in gold in a scroll-type font.  We talked about how to use these squares in a project.  She decided to make a place mat.  For a pattern she pulled a placemat from the linen closet.  



She is good a choosing complementing colors.



From the fat quarter bin she chose a lovely piece of blue plaid that coordinated with most of the embroidery thread she had used.  She used a scissors to rough cut a large rectangle for the center, and I finished up with the rotary cutter.  (I think rotary cutters are just a bit dangerous for a beginner, especially with a little sister running around!)  I also trimmed out the embroideries.

E took some time to arrange her embroidered squares in a pleasing layout, and assembled her place mat top.  Next we went to the ironing board.  Oh-oh!!  Even though we were being very careful, accidents sometimes happen, and she touched the hot iron with the back of her finger.  (2013 update:  she has since learned to use the iron without ironing her fingers...)

We took a break for some ice in a baggie for the burn, and had a beverage.  After the sting wore off, she decided that it was time to read a book for a while.  Mom came home and we stopped for dinner.

Next day we returned to the project.  E had chosen a white fabric with multicolored dots for a backing.  She pinned it up, and we discussed how to sew almost all the way around, leaving a whole for turning the project.  She remembered having done this way back when she made her little dog blanket last year, so she happily worked her way around the edges, pulling out the pins as she sewed, stopping to pivot at the corners. 

She turned it right side out without assistance.  Once it was turned, I pressed it.  Not wanting another burn, E declined another trip to the ironing board!  I showed her how to use the edge stitch foot to close the gap in the seam.  Voila!  This is one very lovely place mat!  And one happy grand, with a success in the sewing room.

Things to remember:

• It's fun to choose your own 'ingredients'.
• Build on previous knowledge.
• Don't be afraid to try something new.
• Accidents happen.  Be careful but be prepared.
• It's OK to take a break.
• Make it FUN!!
• Be proud of the finished product. 

Happy sewing!

Birthday Wishes

One of the things that I've always tried to do is to call my children on the morning of their birthday to say happy birthday and I love you.

My mom didn't make a big fuss about birthdays when I was a kid.  I came from a big family and we didn't have a lot of money to spend on parties and presents.  Mom would bake a cake and put candles in it and we'd sing the happy birthday song to the birthday boy or girl.  Some of us had birthdays that were very close, so we might have to share.  My brother D's birthday is six days after mine, T and C are two days apart in September, and my brother K and sister are three days apart in November.

The November birthdays always had a candle in pumpkin pie.  K says he didn't have a birthday cake until he was in high school.

My best kid birthday was when I was 16.  My mom invited my boyfriend to come over after school, and he joined us for a cake I didn't have to share with D.  It was very sweet.

My worst birthday was when I was six.  My uncle gave me a pair of roller skates and I fell in the driveway and skinned up my knees.  The skates had plastic wheels, the driveway was lumpy and cracked, and get this people:  I AM NO ATHLETE!!  I didn't master skates until the age of 15.

My son is having a milestone birthday.  It's the big

...which is really strange because I am only 39 myself!  Ha ha, you know I got married when I was just an infant.  And if you believe that one, I have a bridge you may be interested in buying. 

Once when we were getting a quote for some insurance, the salesman asked my husband if the kids were from his first marriage.  Oh boy, THAT did not go over well.  No sale that night! 

So sonny boy was born at 8:38 a.m.  I usually call him around that time and ask if he remembers what we were doing all those years ago.  That's always good for a chuckle.

Now my daughter was born at 3:22 a.m.  I wait to call her later in the morning because believe me, neither of us would want to go there for that 'actual time' phone call! 

So dear son, love you lots.  Happy birthday.  You turned out OK.  I'm proud of you. 

And don't forget to eat some

Reflections on the Day

I'm enjoying a little peace and quiet after an afternoon full of grandchildren.  The three smaller ones are 4,5, and 6 years old, and generally speaking they get along and play well together.  Two of them stayed overnight while their parents enjoyed a night out.  The other two live next door.

Miss E was a little put out that she couldn't stay over too, but the three of them together and none of us would have gotten any sleep!

I was thinking about when I was small.  I was telling Miss K about having five brothers who picked on me and made my life miserable sometimes.  This was after her little brother did something, or maybe she was telling me about something he did last week.

My brothers are all younger than I am.  When we were small we were grubby, snotty nosed little kids who fought and played and never sat still.  When we would fight our mom would make us sit together in a chair, and give each other a hug.  This would generally provoke some poking and pushing which turned into laughing, and you can't be mad at someone with whom you are laughing.  Trying to avoid hugging would be so funny we'd forget about being mad.

These are the dearest people to me... next to my own kids and grandkids they are the people I would give a kidney to, or send my last dollar if it would help them. 

I found out that one of my youngest brothers has an incurable disease that has no treatments, and has had it for seven years. We live half a continent apart, and my brothers are all from the John Wayne school of keep-your-weaknesses-to-yourself. It's devastating to find out that a sibling has something from which they will not recover. What do you do? I'm offering it up, as they say. Tell your troubles to Jesus. Well, Lord, this is a big one!

As I was waiting for the grands to go to sleep, and they were wiggling and giggling and generally NOT going to sleep, I was thinking what a nice day it had been with them.  I don't like to send kids to be hungry.  Or crying.  But they were in need of a little incentive to drop off, so I went in a fourth time and administered a stern warning.  Five minutes later there was only the sound of gentle breathing from their room.

Thank God for every day I get to spend with them. I thank Him also for my fairly decent health, and the fact that I am still employed and that the family is nearby.  I thank Him for the gift of brothers and sisters and cousins and in-laws and other family.  I thank Him that he has ALL of my brothers in his hands... and that He keeps us there.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Sometimes what does kill you does the same.  None of us gets out of this world alive, but none of us is ready to go right now.  But like Tim McGraw sings, we should all live like we were dying.  Because we are.

Some days there is great happiness, and great sadness, all at the same time.

Good night, wherever you are.  Don't forget to say "I love you".

Guest Blogging Friday

My granddaughter E and I are guest blogging this Friday on the American Sewing Guild blog again.

You can check us out at www.asg.org by clicking on the Blog icon in the upper left corner of the screen.  It's open to the public.

While you're over there you might want to check out the member benefits, and if you want to join you can do that right on line!  ASG has lots of great things going on, including meetings in a neighborhood near many of you, on line classes that come free with your paid membership, newsletters and quarterly publications, member discounts at lots of merchants, and the best national convention you will ever attend.  This year the conference is in Houston, Texas, which just happens to be the home town of ASG headquarters.

If you love to sew you should be a member of ASG!

Keep on sewing.

Learning to Sew

This is a reposting of the day I was guest blogger on the American Sewing Guild web site, http://www.asg.org/ in March.

If you have a child or grandchild or know a child, maybe they want to learn to sew.  My grands have always played in my sewing room while I worked.  My kids did that too, although for many years they didn't have a choice because I sewed in the kitchen or a bedroom!  You might have small people underfoot while you're sewing too.

One of the first things I did when the kids wanted to sew too was to establish some basic rules.  Don't touch the scissors or the rotary cutters without permission, don't sit near the foot peddle, don't cut anything except your OWN stash, etc. (A cut a chunk out of her hair, so we now have a rule about who cuts hair too!) Once they understood the rules, they each got a plastic bin to keep full of their own treasures.

The most recent acquisitions

Two of my grands have their own stashes. I let them pick things from my scrap box, and have taken them shopping at the 'scrap sale' at a local quilt shop, where at the end of the year they sell their left-overs by the pound. They also have ribbon, trims, rick rack and buttons, and beads for bracelets and necklaces. They add small balls of leftover yarn, and I bought a stack of plastic canvas sheets for their use. This is theirs to use as they choose.  Of course they have design in their genes!   

E's Fabric Collage

A's quilt, designed by her but sewn by me!  Yes, I sewed everything just where she placed it!

At the age of four to five to six, I taught each one how to thread a big-eyed needle with some yarn and pull stitches through plastic canvas.  That got them used to using an instrument with a pointy end, and how to go in and out of a base material.  These gems are now wall decorations and coasters.

My oldest grand, E, progressed to hand sewing with regular fabric and thread at about the age of 8.  Once she asked me how I managed to do this without sticking my fingers.  I said "I still stick myself once in a while."  We both laughed about that.  (If you bleed on your work, your own spit will remove the blood!)

At some point E wanted to make a doll sized quilt.  She was able to reach the foot control of my sewing machine, but when the needle started to whirr she removed her hands and decided she wasn't quite ready for this!  We sat next to each other on one chair and she worked the foot while I guided the fabric.

Our next projects were all hand sewn.  But last year when I was sewing doll garments for nieces and cousins, E wanted to try the machine again.  So we had a lesson on where to hold your hands, she sewed on some scraps, and she sewed some lines of decorative stitches on the bottoms of the pants legs for some 18" doll outfits.  I then finished the pants.

Some suggestions for teaching, from E and me:

• Wait until the child expresses interest and is not afraid of the machine.
• Start simple, with a project they pick.  Or just let them play with stitches on the machine.
• If they pick a project that looks kind of advanced, offer some interim choices or do practice pieces.
• Slow the speed on your machine.
• Tell them to watch the fabric and the foot, NOT the needle!
• Boys can sew too.  Sewing machines are power tools... 
• Finishing the edges is optional on some fabrics, and those make good first choices.
• Let the kid choose his/her own fabrics.  Even if you don't think they go together, they will enjoy it more if it's their choice!

·        Give them some scraps to practice on.  E sewed on striped fabric to get used to following a line. 

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Practice on scraps... us paper for stabilizer if you need it.

• If they get bored, let them finish another day.  (Encourage them to finish though, because that's what gives the sense of accomplishment.)
• It doesn't always have to be a project.  Sometimes we just like to play with the materials.
• Do cool stuff.  Make things they will use, like pillow cases and iPod/iPhone bags, and tops they can wear.  Or sew dog or cat scarves and hats.
• Relax the rules sometimes.  DON’T be surprised if they don’t want to hem knits or do French seams!!
• It’s fun to embellish ready-to-wear garments. 
• Listen to music while you’re sewing and sing along if you know the words.



Try all the fancy stitches!!

• Have fun with it!

Kids love to sew in groups, just like adults do.  However, they need to be kept ‘engaged’.  Have enough machines so they can work in small groups.  They can watch each other and learn, but if they have to wait too long for a turn you can lose their interest.  We have sewed with Girl Scouts and 4H groups and church groups.  Two years ago the kids at our church sewed over 100 dresses for the Little Dresses for Africa project.  Girls as young as 6 tried their hand at some pillow case dresses. 

Next time E and I will talk about a second phase of sewing with kids – choosing a project.

Lost My Place... and found it.

Last night I went downstairs to my sewing studio to straighten up from the weekend and get started on my April pile of Phone Guy's Wife Sow-Along blocks.  I had a pile of half square triangles sewn, and another pile ready to pin and sew.

But I forgot to mark what blocks I was planning to do!  I couldn't find my place, where I left off, what my plan was when I finished up last time I sewed!!  Have you ever done something like that? 

I remembered going through the block patterns and placing HST paper in between the pages where the finished sizes matched, along with some strips and squares of fabric I intended to use.  But something must have gotten into the plastic bin and rearranged everything because some things were obviously mixed up...

...hmmm, Miss A was working on her project this weekend.  I wonder if, while I was busy with E working on HER project, A wandered over to this bin and went shopping.

Oh oh!!  Under the table sits a little pile of scraps.  On this pile of scraps is a little piece of patchwork.  Not a WHOLE piece, mind you.  A chunk of a piece, cut from a block I had in a bin of practice blocks.  It was a portion of a mariner's compass.  If you've ever done one of these, bless you!  They are gorgeous but kind of intimidating.

You paper piece or template cut all these triangles and when you're done it's amazingly beautiful.

The one I did was very basic.  One row of points in an arc that would have made a quarter of a circle if I had sewn the last piece in.  It was to have had a quarter of a circle sewn to the center, with the arc around the outside edge.

I had used a pack of fat quarters that were reproduction fabrics from the Civil War era. 

I'm quite sure I would never have made a whole quilt with this pattern.  Heck, I couldn't even finish one square before I lost heart.  But seeing that little pile of scraps under the table made me sad.

However, I am quite sure that Miss A loved that piece of patchwork, so I cannot be TOO sad for it.  The piece has served a purpose, and after all, if something I did brought a little joy to at least one other person, I am happy.

But I'm going to make sure that the things I really care about are put away high up on a shelf!! 

Lesson learned.

Keep on sewing!