Restful Vacation

Breakfast on the balcony, felt like we were in the trees

     Our family vacation was derailed due to Covid 19 so my husband and I decided to getaway for a few days on our own.  We decided to drive to Fairfield Glade TN and stay at a Wyndham resort.  We had been to this place before with the family and knew we could get a small condo like accommodation.  

Waterfall

     We went to the grocery store and to a winery and then we just did a bunch of hikes and bike rides.  We ate all our meals in our place and usually out on the balcony off the dining room.  

Black Mountain

     We enjoyed sleeping in, leisurely dinners on the balcony and just generally relaxing.  We saw beautiful scenery and came back relaxed and refreshed.

Hiking in Fairfield Glade

    So glad we were able to get away for a few days while also avoiding people.

Beginning Sewing June 29, 2020

     I had three new sewing students at the end of June.  Meet Hailey, Evie and Maddy.  

     After learning how to operate the sewing machine, their first project was a patchwork pillow.  They had a lot of fun picking out their fabrics.

     Next up after learning about seam finishes was their drawstring bags.  It is always interesting to see what the kids pick/

     Then after learning how to sew curves they made their book bags.  They also learned about grain line and pinning on pattern pieces.  Evie opted to use her lining piece as the outside of her bag, she wanted a mis-matched look.

Evie's Projects

Hailey's projects

Maddy's projects

     Didn't get a chance to get a second photo of Maddy's pillow as she had already sent it to her grandmother as a gift.  So sweet.  The girls had a great time and Evie and Hailey are coming back for Three Rs camp on a few weeks.

Clothing Sewing Camp June 22, 2020

Mona's lounge shirt

     Mona and Nielli enjoyed their Beginning Sewing Camp so much they wanted to come back for another week of camp but make clothing this time.  I gave them a choice of several different items and they chose the lounge t-shirt, maxi skirt and lounge pants.

Nielli and her lounge shirt

     The shirt and skirt were made from knit fabric.  They both chose a jersey type knit for their shirts.  It was a challenge as the fabric wanted to roll.  They did learn to use more pins to help control the roll.  We also did some pattern placement with Nielli's shirt.  She chose to use the whiter 'stripe' as her center.

Mona's maxi skirt

     

     Next up was the maxi skirt.  Those knits that they chose were much easier to use.  The skirts went together quickly.

Nielli and her maxi skirt

     Lastly they sewed their lounge pants.  They both chose flannel fabric, so I had them wash the fabric in hot water and dry in a hot dryer to pre-shrink the fabric.

Mona's lounge pants

     After measuring the girls we chose the right size but added some to the length because they are both a little taller.  We did cut some of the extra length off of Mona's pants but Nielli's pants were too short in the crotch length.  What we did was add a casing for the elastic instead of just folding down the top edge.  That gave her about and inch and a half extra at the top.

Nielli and her lounge pants

     In just four mornings they were able to complete three garments for them to wear.  Plus they learned about difficult fabrics, pattern placement and fitting.  Great job girls!

Design My Bedroom Sewing Camp June 15, 2020

Maggie's Projects

     For Design my Bedroom sewing camp I had three students.  Maggie and Monika were new students last summer and Timothy is in my after school program.

Monika's Projects

     I bought a plan from Hipstitch Academy this year instead of scouring Pinterest for ideas.  It was good and bad.  I didn't have the time to make the projects before sending out the supply list as supplied by Hipstitch.  It turns out that the yardages called for weren't exactly accurate.  It is impossible to cut a 12 inch square from a quarter yard of fabric.  Fortunately Monika had a couple of fat quarter packs and we were able to use them for a couple of the projects.

Timothy's Projects

     They started by making a pillow sham, then an organizer tray that they used a fancy stitch on the edge, then an applique pillow, a bedside organizer and finally a bunting with banner flags that also had applique.

Maggie and her appliqué pillow

     It was really fun to see their choices and hear the reason behind them.  Maggie for instance really wanted a triangle shape for her banner flags, to her that was the way it should be shaped.  There wasn't that in the pattern packet, so we drafted a pattern for it.

Monika and her pillow sham

 

     Monika chose to do FAITH as her banner/bunting because that was important to her.  Timothy chose a leaf fancy stitch because it mimicked the leaves in his fabric.

Timothy and his organizer tray

     I can't believe how much they got done in just four mornings of sewing.  I did cut some of their projects with the rotary cutter and ruler since the shapes were just squares or rectangles.