Happy Fall!

I few years ago  my mother in law found a pack of fat quarters in fall colors and bought it for me to make her a table runner with. A few weeks back I finally decided on a pattern to use with them!

I took it to my longarm quilter, QuiltstoaT here here in Hernando, and she quilted it with this cute pumpkin and leaves pattern!

Love it! The quilting is just as important as the piecing! 

Sewing for the Spectrum

I know many of you have loved ones or know someone "on the spectrum". Someone diagnosed with Autism, Asperger's, ADHD, or any sensory issue really. These projects are for them, or for teachers and therapists who work with them. I hope you like our projects!

These started when Evie and I were trying to think of ideas to help younger ones with sensory issues sit still for carpet time at school. The school itself has vibrating pillows, but not all children like them. One therapist suggested bean bags, but the teacher said they were too large, and the children who needed them would be at the back of the group, and they really need to be closer to the teacher. So being Evie, she asked if there were bean bag pillows that would work. We searched for any that were for sale, that were big enough for a child to sit on, and the answer was no. They are either bag types or small neck rolls. That was the birth of this little seat, or as Evie likes to call it, Miss Muffet's Tuffet...

It's a 16 inch round pillow stuffed with bean bag beans. We found the bean bag beans from Walmart, a HUGE bag is about $10, and we found them in furniture by their bean bags.

We were able to make 8 pillows with the beans and our scrap fabric. The pattern is a free pattern from CluckCluckSew, The Sprocket Pillow. The only thing I changed was instead of a center button, I made a yo-yo and sewed it on the center to cover the seam.

When you stuff, leave enough room for movement. Our first tester loved the pillow, and instead of trying to get up during our test story, they rocked around on the pillow.

Evie was so happy with the results, she has decided that this is her science project this year! We are working to come up with a way to quantify if the pillow helps children on the spectrum sit on the floor for longer periods of time. We are waiting on approval and figuring out how to set up the experiment.

The next project we did was therapy balls. They are stress balls filled with different materials that the children can keep in their desks and feel when then need that sensory stimulation. For this we went to Walmart and bought a few different things to fill them with.

We chose rice, split peas, and navy beans. I can say our tester liked the feel of navy beans best, and that is the one kept as their desk. Again, these are made from scraps and a free pattern for Fabric Balls from Grand Revival Designs. We filled them less than halfway, so the beans and rice had a lot of movement. you can also buy polyethelene pellets online to fill them with.

I hope these projects are usesful! Let me know if you make any of them. These would be perfect little gifts for someone who works with kids with sensory issues!

Happy Sewing!



The Three Year Quilt

I bought the Bonnie Blue Belle Meade pattern before we moved from Nashville. I also bought about 85% of the fabric around the same time, picking up scraps and fat quarters from The Quilting Squares. It was a hard move for me, because we really loved that area, and I loved bitch and stitch nights at the squares. I learned more there than any class I have ever taken. Belle Meade is a pattern modeled after the Belle Meade plantation in Nashville, which is why I chose to do it. That was over 3 years ago.

Fast forward to 2 years ago, when my baby girl was going through a rough patch in preschool. That is when I started cutting the fabric out. I just couldn't work on it before that. Everytime I looked at the pattern and fabric I missed my Nashville peeps. It wasn't until I joined the Quilt Guild here and settled into life in Mississippi that I could start it. I'll never forget it, I was frustrated with everything my little girl was going through, newly pregnant with little man, and had just bought the Carolina Chocolate Drops CD. After it was cut and the spinning squares and the big half square triangles were done, I put it away again.

So this summer I was able to see The Carolina Chocolate Drops live at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Arts fest. Live, they totally blew me away. I ended up buying their new CD and as soon as I popped it in, I had to start back on the quilt. In about 2 weeks (I only get to sew during little man's naptime) I finished piecing it. I took it to QuiltstoaT here in town, and just finished putting the binding on! I am so in love with this quilt. Unofficially it is my Carolina Chocolate Drops Quilt, because everytime I look at it I have their music in my head!

Fall purses!

A few weeks ago, I finished a black and yellow Cross Body bag for the fall. You can find the pattern in my etsy store. I love this bag, the zippered front pocket is where I stash my things, and the roomy inside fits snacks, diapers, a few toys, and anything else I need for a day out with my toodler! The side pocket is great for a sippy cup or phone.

I feel in love with the fabrics because I am a Pittsburgh Girl, and these are Steel town colors! I bought a bunch of fabric, so I also made myself another smaller bag for days I only run to the store and such. I chose to do a Lazy Girl Designs Margo. It's one of my favorites!

The bag just fits everything I need, wallet, diaper and wipes, chapstick and phone and a few other things.

Last week at piano lessons, Mrs. Donna my daughters piano teacher commented how much she liked the Margo. A few years ago I made her a music themed Lazy Girl Designs Claire for Christmas. After talking for a while, we came up with the idea of maybe putting a Claire and Margo together. When I got home I noticed the bags were the same size... which meant NO MATH to create a Margo-Claire MashUp!!

She wanted Season themed bags, and found these great fabrics at Joann. It was so easy. I just cut 1 piece for the Claire, so the upper part of the middle is the same as the side fabric. The lining I did as a Margo so it would zip.

fall bag... and

winter bag!

I am a huge fan of Lazy Girl Design bags, love how they sew up! I hope Mrs. Donna likes them!

Adjustable Strap bag pattern

I feel as if I am neglecting blogging :( School has started, my little man is now 19 months and into EVERYTHING, and I spend my free time in the sewing room.

This is my new bag... a cross body adjustable strap bag big enough for a day out with little man.

I made the front pocket a zippered pocket.

I put an elastic pocket on the side

Plus the strap is adjustable!

I wrote out the pattern for this bag and it is now for sale on etsy as the Cross Body Bag.

I found the fabric for this bag at a cool local sew shop, Sew Memphis.  They have a great selection of fabrics, and wonderful classes. Speaking of classes, I will be teaching there! Check out my classes coming up:

Fat Quarter Frenzy! a beginners class

Disguise Yourself Workshop -Halloween accessories for kids!

Childrens Quilting

at heart I am a teacher, and love sharing my passion for sewing with others! I hope you can join me!

-p-

Easy scrap baby quilt

If you are like me, you keep leftover fabric from each project. I take my scraps and cut them into 2.5 inch strips and 6.5 inch squares, since I use those most in kid quilts. Yesterday I grabbed a bunch of the strips and about an hour later I had one of these baby quilts (36 by 36).

It was super easy. I just randomly took 3 strips and sewed them together. After I had 8 sets of 3 I trimmed them to 6.5 inch squares. I took those squares and placed them in a rail fence pattern, putting them together to make 2 sets of 12.5 inch blocks. If you look close, there are 2 types of blocks. I layer these out in 3 rows of 3 alternating blocks. Easy Peasy!

 

Happy sewing!

 

For a Special Teacher

This is the project that has consumed me since February, when we found out Evie's second grade Spotlight teacher, Mrs. Roehm, was retiring. I thought it would be nice to do a small signature quilt for her from the second grade, so I asked a few other parents what they thought, and it blossomed into us getting signatures from not only the second grade, but also many of her former students! We took blocks to all the schools here, and then some former students stopped by my studio to sign. I also had a lot of former students email me signatures for the quilt. What impressed on me most was how LOVED she is. I heard over and over, "She was my favorite teacher! She believed in me! I still think of her!"

I feel blessed that Evie was able to have her. Evie helped a lot with the piecing of this quilt. We gave the quilt to her this afternoon after our field trip.

We are losing a great teacher this year, but I know she will enjoy her travels and time with her family. She has touched so many lives during her career. Bless you, Mrs. Roehm!


Happy Sewing Ya'll!