sewing with/for kids
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February 5, 2016
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Like many of us, I have WAAAAYYY too much sewing stuff in my craft room. I have become the repository curator for many of my friends who get sewing or crafting things given to them by friends and family. Yesterday I was attempting to reorganize some shelves to make room for more stuff (why don’t I just get rid of some of it? Oh no! I might be able to use it some day!) and decided that I need to come up with some projects to use buttons. I’m talking lots of buttons. You know those boxes that are made for storing 4 x 6 photos, slightly larger than a shoe box? Well I have about 8 of those of buttons. One is full of white/cream buttons, another dark buttons, another metallic buttons, etc. So today when I got an e-mail from Fave Crafts about […]
December 15, 2014
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I was quite surprised this morning when I looked at the date of my last post. Almost a month has gone by–where has the time gone? Anybody else running around like a chicken with no head trying to get everything done for the holidays? Yikes! What have you been up to in the sewing room (if you’ve had time to get in there!)? I have made a few adult bibs for elderly patients in a nursing home. I copied the outline of the institutional one that is given out, and then make them with hand towels from the dollar store and novelty fabrics around the upper body and neck. They have been quite popular-I did pumpkins in October, wacky turkeys for November, and birds in Santa hats for this month. Those have been sent off so the patients can enjoy them for a bit before […]
September 9, 2014
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Perhaps you have a new little one on the way in your family, or perhaps you make toppers as charity quilts for newborns and preemies. This technique shown in the video (click here) would be perfect. My only suggestion to those of you making this sort of quilt to give to a hospital NICU is to find out the size restrictions if any. Some hospitals put them on top of the isolette and some put them inside. Some hospitals are particular about the sizes they will accept. Just check so your efforts can be used and appreciated. I recently signed up for the free subscription to the group making the video above (along with others). I’ve watched just a few so far. To date I’ve recognized the names of all the featured quilters as belonging to the staffs of Quiltmaker magazine, and both McCall’s quilting […]
July 31, 2014
Hi everyone, hope you still believe this is summer? Brrrr…a bit chilly I have to say, although I am really not complaining!! Some rain is always good for my sewing and cool nights are just wonderful to snuggle under the quilt and sleep well – nothing to complain about! 🙂 Today I am just popping my head in here during the lunch break to share few quick finds that I liked: Here is a lovely quilty quote for you – maybe framed and up on the sewing room wall? And as long as you are in your sewing room, how about busting that scrap basket by making a … SCRAP BASKET?? You will find a complete free pattern HERE. Did you notice how this year all the flowers in the garden kinda just “rush through”? They open to bloom, lovely for few days and – boom! – all gone! […]
June 27, 2014
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I finally got the mulch spread all over the flower beds. Wow, the body protests a full day of labor. Remember those days when we could work hard for 8 hours and then go partying until all hours? Those days are long gone for me. I still enjoy the parties, but the recovery period is a killer. I should buy stock in one of the analgesic companies! Cool feather block. Great for Gen X’ers or scrap hoarders: click here. Very cute for fashionistas of any age: click here. She calls it a scrapbuster, but I think this block would be nice in coordinated fabrics too. How about shades of one color, or for honey bun strips? click here. Just finished up a series of classes for beginners. Thinking about what new projects to do when the class series is repeated in the fall. The first […]
May 28, 2014
Hi everyone, Mary Ellen here. This post will just be a collection of links to free tutorials. a quilt for when you’re not in the mood to be precise: crinkle quilt pincushion pattern, but that’s not the interesting part: hair receiver! button art for you or the kids: button art I’m so done with pantyhose!: pantyhose flowers If you want to get in the running for a prize celebrating my talkativeness, read yesterday’s post (a milestone). If you leave a comment on today’s post you will also be in the running. And yes you can enter more than once, so comment away!
April 24, 2014
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Lovely sunny spring morning. Shh! don’t jinx it! Here in WNY we’re still in the “anything could happen” stage of weather. Was thinking about going out to get new sneakers today and came across this in my inbox. Love it! All of you zentangling ladies might like it too. click here Lovely idea here for coloring stitchery blocks. She has a free BOM quilt available too. click here Same woman’s site-great idea for a mother’s day gift, either the gift itself or its wrap. click here If you have an upcoming graduation or wedding for a social media junkie, then this hashtag block might be just what you need for the quilt you are going to make. (Don’t we always make quilts for those occasions?) click here
February 13, 2014
Hello all, Mary Ellen again. This will speak for itself. (Click here for an interesting point of view on what our hand-made things are really worth.) I wonder if you”ll agree with her. I’ll be honest, I stopped selling my quilts because I couldn’t get very many folks to pay what I felt they are worth. And I’ve learned to be judicious in choosing gift quilt recipients who appreciate what they are getting. Here’s a cute project for spring. Some cheerful shoes and digging in your button box. Have a look at this. (click here.) If you’ve sewed a lot lately, it might be time to take care of your scissors. I do this now and then (training from my old tailoring teacher who was a strict old bird!), but not often enough. If you own some really good scissors, and you do this “maintenance” routine, along with periodic sharpening, […]
June 28, 2013
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. How are you this fine rainy day? I just finished marking a set of place mats for quilting. They will be another set of samples for the seminar class I am teaching this fall: Get Out of the Ditch. I borrowed some hand quilting stencils from our guild library and am adapting them for walking foot quilting. I used my favorite marker for this task: Crayola washable markers. That’s right, the ones kids buy for school. I have been using them for this sort of thing for several years and love it. They are very easy to work with, to see while stitching, and to wash out when you’re finished. It’s actually time for me to start watching for them as loss leaders in back to school supplies since some of mine are drying out and/or have worn out tips. Also time to stock up […]