This Past Month

I haven't been idle...  

In Lawrence, Kaw Valley invited us to have a Quilts of Valor booth.  Here's a picture of me & my good buddy, Shirley.  She cranks out Quilts of Valor like a woman possessed.  Seriously.  She and her sewing group are prolific and generous.  I've become a far better quilter just by being in her company & will always be grateful for having known her.

Here's me with Tammy & crew from Marmalade Fabrics.  Tammy lives dangerously near me (less than a mile, people) and she has all of this beautiful fabric in her home.  For this show, she brought it all to sell.  Check out the stack of solids I got!  And the vintage sewing box!  Five BUCKS for that sewing box.  SCORE!

I put those fabrics with some other blue and orange solids I've been hoarding collecting and I think they make a lovely palette.  These will be used to make a robot for Owen.  Not sure yet what pattern (if any) I will use, though.

Next on my sewing to do list was to make a weighted blanket for Wyatt.  They say that children with Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder sometimes sleep more soundly & are comforted by weighted blankets.  I used poly fil beads that I found at Michaels next to the batting.  This was a first attempt.  It's a little bigger than a placemat & I plan to try using it to keep him at the dinner table by using it in his lap.  He is "sensory seeking", so the added weight is a little like a hug to him.  Gives him sensory input & makes him feel calmer.  At least that's the theory.  I used 1 or 2 Tbsp poly fill beads per 3 inch area. Turned out ok.

  

Next up, I used a quilt top that I'd made with 2 charm packs (I might've added a few squares... Cannot recall).  This has been in my WIP pile for some time now.  I used a sheet that I thrifted a while back for the backing & sewed it right sides together like a pillowcase.  Then I turned it right sides out, top stitched around 3 sides & sewed shafts in the ditch along the lines vertically.  As I filled the shafts with 1 Tbsp poly fil beads, I sewed horizontally in the ditch to seal off each row.  I hope my description is clear...  Each 5 inch square has 1 Tbsp of poly fil beads & is sewn shut like a bean bag.  I broke several needles, so go slowly if you make one of these.  Slow sewing isn't something I'm accustomed to. 

I wish I could say that Wyatt likes his new blanket, but that wouldn't be accurate.  When I get him to fall asleep each night, I cover him with it.  I really do think it's made a difference.  When he gets restless in the night, the weight of the quilt seems to comfort him. 

This is a quilt that I'm working on from a tutorial by Ali in the Lovely Linen Bee.  The blocks were made by myself and my bee mates in the KC Scrappy Bee.  I am not sure if it's finished or not.  I would like to add a row on each side to make it larger, but I'm out of white flannel for now.  We shall see.  At the least, it will need a dark border.

Here I am quilting a lap quilt for a veteran.  It's not a Quilt of Valor because it's smaller than their required minimum size, but it will be a comfort to someone who is wheelchair bound as they recover.  My friend, Pam made the top, but I worked a little in the ditch to get it quilted.  Sharon is binding it.  We really have a great team.

Additionally I went to a retreat last weekend and finished THREE tops!  Yay!  Unfortunately, I don't have those pics on my camera just yet.  Will post again soon.  Thanks for reading!