Saturday, March 24, 2012
Sentimental Value Brings Healing, Comfort & Joy
From the t-shirt, blouse and jeans of a loved one I made a sweater, pants, vest and bow for the teddy bear. This way they can keep the memories close at heart and help with healing. bringing comfort and joy to those left behind!!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Living with Laugh Lines: The Purpose Given Life
Living with Laugh Lines: The Purpose Given Life: "Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence." ~ Henry David Thoreau ...
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Easter Dresses for Two Adorable Twins
It was quite the adventure shopping with two adorable twins for the fabric to make their Easter dresses! I love when they can be the designer from the beginning. They searched the Simplicity Patterns and narrowed their search to the cute pillow case dress pattern. From there we searched for the perfect fabric, walking the aisles at JoAnn's Fabrics. To my surprise they have very different tastes in what they wanted their Easter dress to look like. I love to see their joy and surprise as we pulled bolts of fabric for them to see. I think the ribbon selection was priceless -- I see future designers! I love their original and unique taste. This one, no that one and then the decision was made. You can see the pictures from fabric to finished. Let me know your thoughts!
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Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Curtains from Beautiful Tapestry
These curtains were made from a beautiful tapestery to go in the doctors office. I made them 2.5 times the width of the window. The will fit inside the window frame! They turned out beautiful. I made the four tie backs so that they can be open to let light in.
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Sunday, March 4, 2012
Extraordinary Seven-Year Old Seeks To Quilt for Kids in Need
Meet Maddie. She’s seven years old, and while her birthday in April will bring her to the fresh young age of eight, her grandmother Nancy likes to say she’s going on 25. After a couple of us here at Craftsy spoke with her on the phone a few days ago, we couldn’t agree more. After all, we hardly know any seven-going-on-eight year olds who can finish a quilting project from start to finish all by herself. Rarer still are those seven-going-on-eight year olds who want to make even more quilts for the sole purpose of donating them to people in need. But then, this is Maddie; and she’s pretty extraordinary.
Seeing her latest project, you might think she’s been quilting for a while. But, really, she’s relatively new, having only started this past holiday season. But her reasoning was really pretty simple. As Nancy explains, “Maddie reasoned that if she can chop onions well, then she should certainly be able to use a sewing machine.”
Maddie’s suspicions were correct. She had a natural talent for it, and soon wanted to do a project of her own. But with Maddie’s grandmother on a fixed income, they didn’t have a deep stash to dive into. So Maddie went out and collected cans of food for a food drive. “For every can, the local fabric shop would give you a fat eighth,” Nancy explained. With that, Maddie got what she needed for her project.
“I never made a quilt before” Maddie told us. “I had sewn things like a pillow. But it's really fun to do,” she said. Between Grandma’s pointers (she’s dabbled in quilting since 2002), and some Craftsy classes, she soon got the hang of it. “I didn't know how to do all that stuff like the binding. It was kind of hard to understand all of it before the Craftsy classes,” she told us.
With that, she was off and running, stitching in the ditch, decoratively stitching, and perfecting her techniques. And we do mean perfecting: “She's very much a perfectionist. She pushes herself to make sure it's just right,” Nancy says. “She'll rip something out and restart it if it’s not perfectly straight.”
Nancy was so impressed by her granddaughter’s project, she snapped a picture and sent it to family, friends, and Craftsy. Within minutes, the picture was circulating around Craftsy HQ, with the whole staff marveling at the wonderful project by the talented seven-year old. Meanwhile, family and friends had taken notice. Maddie and her quilt were even featured on the closed circuit television broadcast at her school. “Everyone thought it was very neat, and they really liked it. They said it was really good," Maddie said of the school’s reaction.
We reached out to Nancy and Maddie to send our congratulations and words of encouragement, expecting little more than a nice conversation. That’s when we learned even more about this incredible young crafter, and came away wanting to help.
Nancy explained that they are considering a charitable foundation or organization. Maddie loves to make quilts, but she doesn’t want to keep them for herself. Her motivation is simple: “I want to donate quilts to help kids. If someone is in a crash or a fire, it will help them to not be scared. If they end up without a house, it will keep them warm. It will make them feel better,” she told us.
Maddie is thinking about calling it Quilted Hugs From Maddie. And she and Nancy are already in the midst of their next project: a quilt with all of Maddie’s classmates’ handprints on it (along with their names). The theme of the quilt is anti-bullying, and when it is finished, the quilt will be auctioned to raise money for Maddie’s school, in the mountains of Tennessee.
One roadblock to getting Quilted Hugs From Maddie off the ground is that, as Nancy explains, they need the fabric. They’ll get a little help at an upcoming Quilting Club of America retreat, at which Maddie will be the only child. Some of the other attendees have promised to bring some of their fabric so that Maddie can start some new projects.
But, as they point out, it can be tough building up a large stash on a small budget. And the way Nancy sees it, Maddie might want to quilt for the benefit of others, but Maddie herself is benefitting, too. “This has been huge for Maddie's self-esteem and maturity,” Nancy says. “It’s been a great builder for her growth and personal development.”
As for Maddie, what she gets out of quilting is pretty simple. “I feel happy,” she says.
If you’d like to help Maddie keep quilting for kids, Craftsy welcomes you to send us your fabric. From here, we’ll collect it and send it on to Maddie and Nancy. Send your donations to:
Quilted Hugs From Maddie
c/o CRAFTSY
2150 West 29th Ave
Suite 400
Denver, CO 80211
Meet Maddie. She’s seven years old, and while her birthday in April will bring her to the fresh young age of eight, her grandmother Nancy likes to say she’s going on 25. After a couple of us here at Craftsy spoke with her on the phone a few days ago, we couldn’t agree more. After all, we hardly know any seven-going-on-eight year olds who can finish a quilting project from start to finish all by herself. Rarer still are those seven-going-on-eight year olds who want to make even more quilts for the sole purpose of donating them to people in need. But then, this is Maddie; and she’s pretty extraordinary.
Seeing her latest project, you might think she’s been quilting for a while. But, really, she’s relatively new, having only started this past holiday season. But her reasoning was really pretty simple. As Nancy explains, “Maddie reasoned that if she can chop onions well, then she should certainly be able to use a sewing machine.”
Maddie’s suspicions were correct. She had a natural talent for it, and soon wanted to do a project of her own. But with Maddie’s grandmother on a fixed income, they didn’t have a deep stash to dive into. So Maddie went out and collected cans of food for a food drive. “For every can, the local fabric shop would give you a fat eighth,” Nancy explained. With that, Maddie got what she needed for her project.
“I never made a quilt before” Maddie told us. “I had sewn things like a pillow. But it's really fun to do,” she said. Between Grandma’s pointers (she’s dabbled in quilting since 2002), and some Craftsy classes, she soon got the hang of it. “I didn't know how to do all that stuff like the binding. It was kind of hard to understand all of it before the Craftsy classes,” she told us.
With that, she was off and running, stitching in the ditch, decoratively stitching, and perfecting her techniques. And we do mean perfecting: “She's very much a perfectionist. She pushes herself to make sure it's just right,” Nancy says. “She'll rip something out and restart it if it’s not perfectly straight.”
Nancy was so impressed by her granddaughter’s project, she snapped a picture and sent it to family, friends, and Craftsy. Within minutes, the picture was circulating around Craftsy HQ, with the whole staff marveling at the wonderful project by the talented seven-year old. Meanwhile, family and friends had taken notice. Maddie and her quilt were even featured on the closed circuit television broadcast at her school. “Everyone thought it was very neat, and they really liked it. They said it was really good," Maddie said of the school’s reaction.
We reached out to Nancy and Maddie to send our congratulations and words of encouragement, expecting little more than a nice conversation. That’s when we learned even more about this incredible young crafter, and came away wanting to help.
Nancy explained that they are considering a charitable foundation or organization. Maddie loves to make quilts, but she doesn’t want to keep them for herself. Her motivation is simple: “I want to donate quilts to help kids. If someone is in a crash or a fire, it will help them to not be scared. If they end up without a house, it will keep them warm. It will make them feel better,” she told us.
Maddie is thinking about calling it Quilted Hugs From Maddie. And she and Nancy are already in the midst of their next project: a quilt with all of Maddie’s classmates’ handprints on it (along with their names). The theme of the quilt is anti-bullying, and when it is finished, the quilt will be auctioned to raise money for Maddie’s school, in the mountains of Tennessee.
One roadblock to getting Quilted Hugs From Maddie off the ground is that, as Nancy explains, they need the fabric. They’ll get a little help at an upcoming Quilting Club of America retreat, at which Maddie will be the only child. Some of the other attendees have promised to bring some of their fabric so that Maddie can start some new projects.
But, as they point out, it can be tough building up a large stash on a small budget. And the way Nancy sees it, Maddie might want to quilt for the benefit of others, but Maddie herself is benefitting, too. “This has been huge for Maddie's self-esteem and maturity,” Nancy says. “It’s been a great builder for her growth and personal development.”
As for Maddie, what she gets out of quilting is pretty simple. “I feel happy,” she says.
If you’d like to help Maddie keep quilting for kids, Craftsy welcomes you to send us your fabric. From here, we’ll collect it and send it on to Maddie and Nancy. Send your donations to:
Quilted Hugs From Maddie
c/o CRAFTSY
2150 West 29th Ave
Suite 400
Denver, CO 80211
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Leg Warmers and Purse from Plaid Sweater
When it's time to retire a sweater the best way is to recycle or repurpose it. The best part when repurposing is that you take something old and make it new. You become a designer!
The sweater usually dictates what type of purse I can make. I generally take the sleeves and make them into leg warmers. I wanted to make smaller leg warmers so I used a pair of socks for a young girl as my pattern be sure to add 1/2" seam allowance. Make them as long as you want. I added a knit ribbing cuff to both ends, finished 1". The purse shape and design depends on the sweater. This particular sweater was a button cardigan and I wanted to utilize the buttons for the purse closure. I buttoned the sweater and folded it so that the button flap was at about 2" from the top fold. I cut a semi-circle. Finish off the raw edge with a 1" or thicker grosgrain ribbon. This ribbon has a white pasley print on it and I thought it would work. Measure around your curved portion and add to that measurement of how long you want your shoulder strap to be. This purse is for a young girl so I didn't make it very long. Sew the ribbon on like bias tape. It's a nice simple way to finish the purse.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Pattern #2 design - no sew t-shirt apron
This is a fun and easy project for almost any age that can use scissors. All you need:
Supply List
One t-shirt
Scissors
Tape measure or ruler
Lay t-shirt flat, cut off both sleeves. Optional: you can use the sleeves as pockets but you will need a sewing machine.
Press the t-shirt flat so that the side seams are marked. Fold t-shirt so that the side seams meet and the front and back are folded on each other. The arm holes line up diagram 1.
Now cut the center back at the fold line all the way up back but DO NOT CUT the ribbed neck piece diagram 2. Measure in from the back center and mark 3” in from center back that you just cut. Place the enclosed pattern piece down at the 3” marks and cut out as diagram 3 shows.
To make your apron ties measure 3” refer to diagram 4 to see how you will graduate the ties into the arm hole, up around and to the back ribbing. Remember not to cut through the ribbed collar this will be the piece that goes around your head.
And here you have it as easy as pie no pun intended!
What a great way to recycle. Enjoy!
No-Sew T-shirt Apron
Fun and easy for almost any age that can handle scissors – approximately 1 hour project
Designer Lorraine Giannetto-Glach
Pattern #124
Supply List
One t-shirt
Scissors
Tape measure or ruler
Lay t-shirt flat, cut off both sleeves. Optional: you can use the sleeves as pockets but you will need a sewing machine.
Press the t-shirt flat so that the side seams are marked. Fold t-shirt so that the side seams meet and the front and back are folded on each other. The arm holes line up diagram 1.
Now cut the center back at the fold line all the way up back but DO NOT CUT the ribbed neck piece diagram 2. Measure in from the back center and mark 3” in from center back that you just cut. Place the enclosed pattern piece down at the 3” marks and cut out as diagram 3 shows.
To make your apron ties measure 3” refer to diagram 4 to see how you will graduate the ties into the arm hole, up around and to the back ribbing. Remember not to cut through the ribbed collar this will be the piece that goes around your head.
And here you have it as easy as pie no pun intended!
What a great way to recycle. Enjoy!
No-Sew T-shirt Apron
Fun and easy for almost any age that can handle scissors – approximately 1 hour project
Designer Lorraine Giannetto-Glach
Pattern #124
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