Charity Quilts

One of the reasons I started this blog was to document and share the charity quilts that I make.  I try to spend at least 20 hours per month on charity sewing projects and belonging the ASG gives me a boost on this by giving me a date (i.e. monthly meeting) to have things completed.  Below are the three quilts that I will be donating for the month of November with comments on the construction.

This is approximately 40 by 40 inches.  The middle is made of 5 inch charm squares and along side are 2.5 inch strips, all left over from other projects.  I added the rainbow inter-border to tie it all together.

Another kids quilt.  Both of these will go the Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  This one was suppose to be a base for a sample for my pattern "Down by the Sea".  I can't remember now why I didn't finish it, but I found the center part in a box, so decided to add a few fish appliques and a border and make a charity quilt.

I made this one out of "layer cake" pack and a "jelly roll" pack from Connecting Threads.  I cut the 10 inch squares down to 8 inches.  The quilt is 42 by 55 inches and it will go the the local nursing home.

Now for a preview of tomorrow's blog.  I meant to finish it for today, but still have some hand work to do, so hopefully I'll get that done tonight.  Someone brought this fabric to one of our sewing groups.  They are fabric samples, each about 10 by 15 inches.  The "wrong" side was more attractive to me than the "right" side.  There are 5 of these pieces, but each is different.  I've had them for 2 or 3 years, not knowing how to use them, but knowing something would come along, and something did.  You'll see what I did tomorrow.
Forgive my photography, the "right" side is blurred, but I'd already cut it before I realized this.

          This is supposed to be the right side.                            

 

This is the other side.  Don't you like this better?

Lots of Socks

I love to knit socks.  This is a picture of all the socks I have knit for the past year not including a couple of pairs I gave away.  15 adult pairs, 1 child size pair and 2 baby size.

I have been using the same sock pattern for years with variations for the cuff.  Since I can knit a pair of socks without referring to a pattern, I wanted to make a child-size pair, using the same basic pattern, just reducing the number of stitches.  I knit one sock, using my new formula, and took it with me to Philadelphia to try on my granddaughter.  I was afraid it would be too big, but it fit and she loved it.  I just finished the second one and will send them on to her this afternoon.
Here are the three sizes, all using basically the same pattern.

I will have this pattern written in Word this weekend and if you would like it, please send  your email address to me at kitty@weirwoodstation.com
The yarn I used was by Deborah Norville and it is a little thinner than most of the sock yarn I use.  However, I was able to get both socks out of one ball of yarn.  Since I bought it on sale, 2 balls for $5.00, the pair of socks only cost me $2.50.  I plan to make a scarf out of the extra.

Don't forget to send me your address if you want the pattern.  Hope you have a good weekend, I will be sewing.

A Little Weather Adventure

I'm finally back from Philadelphia.  My intent had been to go up Saturday and come back on Halloween morning. 
I did leave on Saturday morning, a little earlier than planned because of the weather forecast.  By the time I got to the Delaware/Pennsylvania border, the snow started.  Normally that's about 45 minutes from my daughter's house, but it took me almost 2 hours to get there.  It really started to snow (heavy,wet snow) by the time I arrived.  She had planned on an outdoor Halloween party on Sunday, but the ground was still covered and it was just too cold for the kids to be out, so it was inside.  I dressed up like a gypsy and read palms.  I also made a ton of macaroni and cheese, they will be eating it all week.

Here is a picture of my cute (?) scary little granddaughter.
I decided to stay an extra night and go trick or treating. 

Also there was an old friend I wanted to visit and I called and to see if she was available for lunch and, luckily, she was.  I also spent the day going to the costume parade at my granddaughter's school and shopping.

I told you in my last post that there were no quilt fabrics at Jomar's. I lied.  They had a couple of really nice "basic" pieces and one print with a few flaws, for $1.00 per yard.  I also bought a piece of black and white tweed that is absolutely beautiful from their "designer" table for $3.99 per yard.

Note the wing chair in the background of the picture;  I made the slipcover about a year ago from fabric I got at Jomars for 3.99 per yard.  Disclaimer:  I own no stock in Jomars, I just like to find bargains. 

Now I am home and plan on staying here through the holidays.  

I'll have a child size sock pattern for you before the end of the week.  It's a modification of the adult sock pattern that I use all the time.  I had to take my first one with me and try it on my granddaughter to see if I got the size right.  Now to finish the second one.  I asked her if she'd like for me to make her a pair for Christmas and she told me she wanted red and white striped socks.  Not a chance.

An Easy Gift

I found a tutorial for a little zippered case on Sweet Verbena.  After making one, I modified the pattern just a little and made the two shown below to use for giving money gifts to some of my children or grandchildren (don't get excited, kids, it won't be much this year). 

I cut my fabric 4.5" by 9.5" instead of the 3.5" by 9.5" that is shown in the tutorial. Click HERE for the tutorial.  I also used ribbon instead of the charm.

After making these, I decided that I would make a smaller one to fit a gift card, since I am more likely to give these to my adult children.  I used exactly the same technique, but I cut the fabric and felt 4.5" by 4.5" and used a 7 inch zipper.  The finished product is shown below.  It would also make a nice little change purse or case for business cards.

I'm headed to Philadelphia for the weekend to visit my daughter and attend and help with my granddaughter's Halloween party on Sunday.  On my way home I'll stop at Jomar's.  If you are ever in Philadelphia, you have to go to Jomar's.  They have a fabric department with lots and lots of unusual and cheap fabric.  They get stuff that you don't see at the regular fabric stores.  I've gotten fabric left over from Anne Klein fashions and they sell Waverly decorator fabric for 4.99 a yard. Unfortunately, their quilt fabrics are just not the good quality that you find in quilt shops and they don't have much selection.  But for fashion and decor, I love it.  You have to go with an open mind and just hope for a real find.    I'll post what I find on Tuesday after I get back. 

Felted Flower Tuitorial

Today I'm going to show you how to make the felt flowers that you saw in my Oct. 16th blog.  Please go back and look at them, I did mine on a felting machine, but they are easy to make with just a few tools and some wool roving.
You will need:

• A large sponge that is covered in a fake lambskin or fleece (usually sold in the auto parts section of the store)  I got mine at the Dollar Tree a few years ago
• A felting needle.  These are available at most yarn shops, or if you live near me, I'll give you one
• Wool roving.  I used 2 shades of red, some orange and a tiny bit of dark purple
• Large black seed beads for sewing into the middle and using to attach the flower to a base

Step 1.  Pull the red fleece and arrange it in a circle (doesn't have to be perfect).   Keep it kind of thin, you can always add more fleece later if you think its too thin.

Step 2.  Begin to "punch" the roving with your needle, holding it as shown, but straight up and down.  Pick up the roving from time to time and turn it over.  Punch both sides until you get the degree of felting that feels right to you.  At this point, you can tilt the flower and punch the edges to make them turn up slightly.

Step 3:  After you have made the base (this will be about 4 inches in diameter), make a center layer and a top layer.  The top will have the dark felt in the center.  I used the orange wool on the edges of these smaller ones to accent the edge.

Last step.  Layer the three sections in a way that pleases you and punch the centers so that they are felted together.  You can then attach the flower to a garment, purse, or anything else by sewing it on with the beads in the center.  You may need to additional stitching through the bottom layer so that the stitches do not show.

I hope that you enjoy this technique.  I'd love to see pictures of any projects and will be happy to post them here.  I will be doing a class in this in March for my American Sewing Guild Neighborhood Group, Shore Can Sew.

Fabric Flowers

The t-shirt pictured is the result of two sale shirts that I bought at the end of the summer.  I'd been looking for a shirt to wear with the skirt shown in the background.  The skirt came from a shop in St. Thomas that I visit each time I go on a cruise to that island.  I always find something there that I like.  This skirt cost about $10.00 and is long, made of rayon patches.
When I saw this shirt, I knew the color was right, but I wanted something a little less generic.  The shirt was $5.00, so I bought 2, one in my size and one size small.  I cut strips from the small shirt, as shown below.

I then stitched these flowers from the strips.  The tutorial shown here is from a blog called "Cherry Street Cottage".  She has lots of other great ideas.

The only difference between what you see on that blog and the way I stitched these flowers is this:  once I made the center of the flower, I began stitching it directly onto the shirt.  Also, I left the "tail" of the end of the fabric hanging down.  Since its a knit plus on the bias, there is no way that it will fray.  Here is a closeup of the flowers, color is a little off, but it gives you the idea.
The rest of the shirt that I cut up is in my "rag bag", but I may be able to get a few more flowers out of it, or get some other idea.  I actually haven't worn this shirt yet, I made it a little late in the season, but will enjoy it next year.
Hope that this gives you some inspiration.  Have a good day.

Felted Flowers

This is a picture of a boiled wool vest that I bought at a thrift shop a year or so ago.  You probably can't see it, but I left the price tag on, $2.96. 

I got carried away with making felted poppies this week, so this vest and the wreath pictured below are the result.  I am now almost out of red roving and will have to switch to another color or buy more roving.

 The wreath pictured below is about nine inches in diameter.  The base is black felt, which I stitched with a blanket stitch and stuffed.

I think it's really attractive and will probably take it to my mother to hang on her door in her retirement home.
Tomorrow my sewing group,  American Sewing Guild meets.  Hope you have a good week.