preparing for Africa

In 24 days I leave for Africa! I think I've mentioned the trip a couple of times here on the blog, but I have not given much detail. I will be traveling with my daughter, Leigh Anne, and a team from her church, Liberty Church, to do mission work in eswatini. There will be 11 of us going, and we will work with Liberty Manzini and Children's Cup, helping at children's care centers, visiting families, hosting a family day for families of disabled children.... oh and a safari! 

I have 2 sponsor children over there who I am hoping to meet, Okuhle, an  8 year old girl and Phumla, a 13 year old boy. Both of them write to me frequently. In fact it was Okuhlel who wrote 2 years ago "wouldn't you like to come see my beautiful country?" which set this trip in motion.

I've been collecting little gifts for my kids and wanted to take something to their moms as well. So, I set to weaving....

This woven piece became dish towels that I can take as gifts...

The color palette came from a piece of quilting cotton I found in my stash. It looked African to me. I'm really pleased with how these turned out. One for each of the moms, including one for my daughter's sponsor child's mom, and one for me to keep.

I plan to write each mom an encouraging letter. Being a mom is hard work in the best of circumstances. I can't imagine doing it in extreme poverty. 

Meanwhile, I needed to make a new improv quilt as a shop sample for Not Your Mamas Quilt Store where I teach. Why not continue my color story? 

I'm calling this Okuhle's wish. I had fun with the quilting, matchstick quilting some of it and wavy lines for some.

I'll be teaching Improv Quilting next week at the shop and there are still some spots open. We have great fun! If you're local I encourage you to come.

Hexies forever

Friday evening I met for the first time with Stitched with Love's New Hexagonalong club. Six of us worked away on our hexies. It was fun to see what the others are doing. Amazing how six ladies can use the same lovely book and come up with such different results! Here are some of the hexies I've finished so far...

Next month I'll try to get pictures of the other ladies hexies too so you can see!

the year of littles

I wonder if I'll actually make any quilts this year? I'm sure I will, but so far 2015 has been a year of little projects. Bee blocks, bags, pouches, pin cushions.... everything but quilts! Here are my latest finishes.....

Bee blocks ready for Sarah....

Another Petunia Peacock pin cushion (a shop sample for the class I'm going to teach at Stitched with Love)

Petunia was soon joined by Daisy Hedgehog (also a shop sample!). Daisy is a new pattern from Jennifer Jangles, just like Petunia.

And lastly, another Dainty Tote, by Three Owls Handmade. This one I sent off to Debbie from A Quilter's Table and now that she has received it I can share it with you! I just love this pattern and I do think this aqua version is my favorite one yet!

I do love making "stuff" even little things!

tiny clothes

I've been busy making shop samples for the classes I'll be teaching at Stitched with Love in the spring.  How about some Easter finery for your tiny tots? Darling Geranium Dresses for all sized girls....

 And Mod Kid's Natalie & Nate romper for baby boys.....

Fabrics are from the Moda Pedal Pushers line and Moda Grunge. Won't you come sew with me?

Lila Lounge Pants and the Schoolhouse Tunic

Tonight I'll be teaching the Lila Lounge Pants class at Stitched with Love. I wanted a cute, easy pair of pajama pants that beginning garment sewers could make. I chose this pattern before I had tested it out (note to self, never again!)

Aren't they cute? I do think they are. And not hard to make at all. HOWEVER....

The pattern is, sadly, not well written. In fact, I rewrote the instructions so my students would have a clearer guide. The original pattern has steps missing and is very unclear. I was disappointed! 

I am happy with the finished garment however (this is the store sample which I made a month or so ago). I have added instructions to finish the seams with french seams which makes the pjs neat and sturdy for washing.

The other class I will be teaching beginning next month is the Schoolhouse tunic. I first made this pattern in 2011 and it was love at first make! I have made many since then, including this store sample....

As you can see, it fit Ally perfectly and put a smile on her face. Of course I made a second one, exactly like this one, and mailed it off to her for fall. And a new one for me to wear too.....

 I love it made up in teal grunge. Now if only cool weather would arrive here in Texas so I can wear it! The calendar says fall but the thermostat says otherwise.

What have you been sewing?

Washi dress

I have exciting news to share! After many years of teaching young ladies to sew here in my home, I am able to officially add the title of Teacher to my resume! I have been asked to teach some classes at Stitched with Love, one of our fabulous local quilt stores. I will be teaching garment sewing classes, beginning with an intro to garment sewing class (tomorrow!) and then moving on to some patterns I selected.

After making my first Washi dress in the spring I knew I wanted to make more, and I knew it would be a great garment to teach. I made this Washi as a store sample......

Then I set out to make myself another, to wear when I teach (and to church, etc). I knew I needed to do some fitting adjustments (most notably to the bust! sadly most sewing patterns are geared toward petite little b cup ladies which I will never, ever be!). I found this Full bust adjustment tutorial, referenced on Made By Rae's Washi dress page and I went to work.

 I eliminated the extra little scoop in the neckline on this one and added some extra length (about 3 inches).

 The shirring on the back went so smoothly and guess what? IT FITS PERFECTLY! Yay!

 The fabric is from Sara Lawson's Jungle Avenue line and I think it will be great all through the winter, with a bright colored cardigan and some tights.

Local folks who want to learn to make a Washi should check out the class schedule. It's an awesome pattern and I know you'll want to make more than one.

pillows

The girls came to put backs on their pillows today. Two of them finished up their pillows. I always put a band of contrast on the back and they liked that idea so I taught them how to do it too....

 The third pillow will be finished soon. The maker decided to add a lot more hand quilting to the front of hers, so it is taking a little bit longer. Didn't the girls do an awesome job?

After I took them home (with a stop for lunch on the way!) I came back to make a few pillows too. Ally had requested some throw pillows for the dorm and had picked out colors she wanted them made in. Three are simple squares, but on the fourth she requested that I applique her name. Not something I am great at! But I did it and I'm quite pleased with the results....

 and the backs....

In case you are curious, the backs are two pieces overlapped (envelope style so they can be removed & washed). I simply band the top piece with a strip of contrast, just like you would do a binding. On these I tucked a piece of ricrac underneath so it peaks out. Oh, and the orange ones needed a bit of an extension so I made the contrast a little bit wider. Easy as pie and it adds a bit of pizzazz to the back.

That's what I've been up to today! what about you?

teaching kids to sew, big stitch quilting

The girls were back at ellyn's place today to work on their economy block pillows. They liked the big stitch hand quilting I had done on my sample & asked if I could teach them that. Why certainly!

 I love to hand stitch (I know that makes me an oddball to some of you!). I find it very relaxing. And ever since I discovered tiger tape, my hand stitching looks so even and tidy, I love it even more! So I got the tiger tape out and the girls set to work.

They did a wonderful job! Two of them found it very relaxing and fun. The third.... well, not so much! She openly declared that it was not her favorite part of sewing. I assured her that it was quite all right. She tried it and it wasn't for her! I told her many of my adult sewing friends feel the same way.

Teaching kids to sew... economy blocks

 Three of the teen girls came to sew at ellyn's place today.....

 I taught them how to make economy blocks. Each of them made four blocks and assembled them into a pillow top.

 The girls have become expert quilters, sewing with minimal instruction, pressing their blocks and having a blast as they go.

I just love having them here. They will be back soon to finish up their pillows.

teaching kids to machine sew - our last day

I know I promised to take you along on a field trip today. Unfortunately it was cancelled at the last minute. The girls were actually happy to have another day to sew! First they finished off the bindings on their little quilts, so they could take them home with them.

 Then I taught them how to make half square triangles. They had so much fun laying them out in different patterns and deciding how they wanted to sew them together.

I'm so proud of how hard they worked this week and how much they learned in a short time! 

teaching kids to sew - handsewing the binding

Day three of sewing camp! First we took a little field trip.....

The girls picked out backing and binding for their quilt tops. Then back to the house where their little "extra" quilts were quilted and bound, ready for them to hand stitch the binding down on the back...

Wow! this was HARD! So glad I had two helpers today to help the girls through this step. They did really well on this tough step. Tomorrow is our last day together...

Teaching kids to machine sew - first quilts!

I have a huge bin of 5 inch squares (come on, tell me you don't?) and I let the girls dig through them yesterday to plan their first quilt tops. We talked about value, showed how different fabrics show up best next to contrasting fabrics with a different value. We also talked about math (haha they were so very pleased about this! NOT!). Both girls laid out their planned quilts on the floor.

Then they began to sew them together. They did a really great job, with only a few small appearances of the dreaded seam ripper.

By the end of the day today, we had 2 completed quilt tops! Here they are with one of my teen helpers

Tomorrow I am taking them to Hobby Lobby to pick out backing fabric and binding, then I will quilt the quilts for them. And on Thursday we have a fun field trip planned! Stay tuned.

teaching kids to machine sew day one

Last year I had a group of young crafters come to my house every day for sewing camp. We did all hand sewing projects and they had a blast! This year, 2 of the young ladies asked if they could learn to sew on the machine. At age 11, I was confident that they could handle it. Today they arrived for their first lesson.

I found several awesome resources online for free printable sewing machine worksheets. The girls loved doing them and quickly became comfortable sewing on my machines. They did most of the worksheets without thread in the machine, but for the dot to dot it was fun to stitch with thread until the picture evolved!

Here are links to the sites where I got the printables:
Free craftsy download by So Sew Easy
Free sewing sheets by Skip to my Lou
Free sewing practice sheets by Crunchy Frugalista

The girls got so good at it today, they began sewing fabric squares together for small quilts. I'll share more about that tomorrow!

girls in my studio and a WINNER!

It's been quite a while since my young teenage friends from church have come over to sew. In fact, they have never been to my new house! Two of the girls came today to make pillows....

 They learned to make half square triangles and had a great time arranging them into patterns. I just love how their pillows turned out! Nice job girls!

 Also, I didn't forget that I owe you all a winner of the gift certificate from Pen & Paint from my last post. You all found things you loved in the shop. I knew you would. I pulled up Random.org on my phone and couldn't believe my eyes when this number was chosen.....

Number one! I've never seen that chosen before! So our winner is Happy Cottage Quilter who said: Oh my, I had to look at all of them. They are so wonderful!! Do What Makes Your Heart Sing, and My Cup Runneth Over are my TWO favorites

Congrats to you! I'm off to email you now, I know you'll love your little shopping spree. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

getting ready for summer

Spring is here (FINALLY!) and summer is right around the corner. As much as I hate the summer weather in Texas, I am looking forward to some things. For one, our new house has a beautiful front porch. Yesterday we bought some new furniture so we can sit out there and watch the world go by (aka spy on the neighbors, HA!)

Another thing I'm looking forward to this summer is teaching sewing to the teens from church. It's been a while since they've come over. They're just so busy! I want to teach them some new quilting skills, but making a whole quilt is probably too much for their schedules. I came up with the idea to teach them some new things making pillows! That way they can finish up a project in a day or two. So far I have 2 pillow samples ready for them. This one, using 4 economy blocks to make up the front...

And this one, with half square triangles (which they can have great fun arranging in any configuration they want.)

 Did you see who is helping me in the studio today? Lexi loves the sun that comes in through my skylight!

I'm a fan of dressing up the backs of pillows too, usually with a little ric rac. The first pillow has contrasting ric rac tucked under a binding...

 I didn't have contrasting ric rac that worked on the second pillow so I used a matching ric rac along the edge....

So, in making 2 pillows they will learn to make economy blocks and half square triangles, do some straight line quilting on the machine and big stitch quilting by hand and learn to assemble envelope style pillow covers. Should be fun!

it's that time of year again

Two of my young sewing friends are freshmen in High School this year. That means they get to have mums for Homecoming! Today I helped them put theirs together.....

One is a garter for a date and one a mum for herself. Don't they look terrific? Ally is working on her final mum too. I'll share pictures of that soon. I'm so glad these girls are willing to let me help them out!

sewing flowers

It's been hard to get my sewing girls together this summer. They are so busy! Today, two of the girls came over to sew. They wanted to learn to make fabric flowers. 

 They've come so far in a year! They caught on really quickly and made cute flower pins....

We can't wait to get back in a routine this fall so they can come sew more often. Both of them had ideas of what they want to sew next. I love seeing them excited about sewing!