Quilts I Have Finished

This quilt is a block of the month quilt that I did with a group at Quilt Play in Grayslake,IL. All the blocks were wonky variations of traditional blocks. The border print was in my stash and was the inspiration for the color scheme. All the fabric for the blocks was taken from my baskets of scraps. The sashing and binding were stash items as well as the backing. This was a fun quilt and it makes me smile to just look at it.

The next quilt was a wedding present for a dear friend's daughter's wedding. I was told she liked purple, blue and green and that she is traditional with a modern twist. I found the perfect fabric at Sew N Save in Racine, WI. It took longer to piece the top than I anticipated but I think it turned out great.

This last one was a high school graduation present for my niece. She is a huge Blackhawks fan but they don't make NHL fabric. I had to buy a t-shirt and cut off the logos and applique to the quilt when it was all done. When we got to the party and I handed her the bag she immediately opened it saying she couldn't wait to see what her quilt looked like. She was quite pleased with it.

Beginning Sewing Camp June 2012

                                              


                                               
                                                   The first camp is finished. The girls all had a great time. They got a lot accomplished in just four days. The first two days they earned their 'Sewing Machine Driver's License', made a drawstring bag and a belt with 'D' rings. By the end of day four they had made blouses, shorts and nightgowns.







 

          Annie made a round neck blouse and a pair of shorts. Julia also made the same round neck blouse and shorts. Greta and her cousin Melanie made a peasant nightgown and almost finished a pair of shorts. They did an extra step with their shorts, adding a band of contrast fabric down the side of each leg.

       

















 No camps this week as I have several meetings. Next week is Children's Charity Sewing Camp. I am hoping to take lots of photos to show off the girls work especially since they will be donating everything. I still need to make copies of all the directions so they can continue to make items at home if they wish.


















                  It has been very warm and windy these past few days. I am hoping for a little cooler temps and less wind this weekend and John and I are doing a duathlon on Sunday in Pleasant Prairie WI. We did this race last year on a spur of the moment decision so we really want to see how we do this year with some training.

                                     

Summer Sewing 2012

 

        Well summer sewing has started. This is a photo of Julia, Annie, Greta and Melanie. In the first two days of camp they have earned their 'sewing machine driver's licenses', made a sewing bag and a belt. They have started on their first garment projects from the Kids Can Sew book.

      Julia and Annie have both chosen the round neck blouse. Unfortunately they both chose a knit fabric instead of the woven that was recommended. Annie has been having some difficulties with hers especially as it is quite lightweight. Greta and Melanie (who are cousins) opted to make the peasant nightgowns. They both chose a lighter weight flannel and made sure to prewash it so that it won't shrink later. This is going to be a fun filled week.

      Next up for camp is Children's Charity Sewing the week of June 25th. There is one more spot open.

      I did the North Shore Half Marathon on Sunday. It was a warm race. They provided an extra water station and had cooling sponges and misting stations also. Even with that they wound up cutting out 3 miles of the race towards the end because it was getting too warm. I did manage to come in under 2 hours though. Last year, in better weather I did 2:00:01. This year I was 1:59:37. Not too bad considering the weather.

       Next up is a duathlon on June 24th. My husband and I did it last year. We signed up on the Tuesday before the race and just went out and did it. Since then we have gotten ourselves road bikes and actually have done some training for it. I will be interested to see how we compare to last year.

Final Week

                                       

              It's hard to believe that afterschool classes are already over. It has been so fun to teach the girls. Lauren just needs to do the hems on her nightshirt, Ellen just needs to hem her skirt and Hayley needs to hem her peasant nightgown. All of them were so close to finishing their projects.


   






       In Tuesday's group, Izzy did finish her peasant nightgown and even worked some on a pillowcase. Meghan was working on the casing for her capris and will also just have a hem to do.






           Monday morning begins the first beginning sewing camp. The first day is always quite hectic as everyone is learning the basics of operating a sewing machine. The next camp after that is the Children's Charity Sewing camp.

           When not teaching, I have been working on a non-tradtional wedding dress and also a dress for the mom. There have been some fitting challenges but I think overall they are working out just fine.

           My next half marathon is on Sunday and then time to start training for the duathlon and fall marathon.