Buy:
1 yard each of 6-8 different colors of gingham fabric. Make sure that the size of the squares differs too.
          One spool of white thread (if you don’t already have one).
          Fiber fill (crib size).
          Double stick fusible web.
          A coloring book with a picture of an animal that your child or grandchild loves.
          A scrap of material that is the appropriate color for the animal you have chosen, as brown for a dog or green for a frog.

         This quilt is crib size although you can certainly make it as big as you want. The idea is to make 9” squares out of the gingham that you have bought. You can cut 9” squares, or you can make 9” squares by sewing together four 5” squares. I’m allowing ½” for seams as gingham does tend to unravel easily. See Figure #1.

Sew your squares together to form a width equal to a crib size quilt and a length 2X the length of a crib size quilt.

Iron double sided fusible webbing to one side of the solid color fabric that you have chosen for your animal. Hint: The pictures in children’s coloring books make wonderful patterns for children’s quilts. Place the drawing of the animal on the fabric and cut it out. Iron the fabric animal to one of the squares in your quilt. My example (below) has patches of gingham fused to a solid boarder. See Figure #2.

Fold the quilt in half and sew up the two sides. Turn the quilt inside out and carefully place a crib sized piece of fiberfill into the quilt sack. Center and sew the open end closed. See Figure #3.

With 3 strands of embroidery floss or pieces of yarn (about 6” long) and a large eyed sewing needle make a close stitch through the quilt top, fiber fill and the underside of the quilt. Bring the needle right back up through all three layers close to the first. Tie the two pieces of yarn/floss together in a double knot. Repeat every 6 to 8 inches. This will hold your fiberfill in place. See Figure #4.

There are so many things you can do with this idea. We'll explore more on this subject next week.

Quilted animals and curtains

            There are so many things that you can do with this patchwork idea and for a small investment you can create a wonderful children’s room that is full of bright colors and shapes. Try making a length of patchwork fabric large enough for pocket curtains or café curtains and back your curtains with muslin.  Or you can make muslin curtains and place patches on them. I love coloring books because the pictures in them often make great patterns for animals and children. You can cut these patterns out of your gingham fabric and you can fuse onto a quilt or curtains. Make a small throw pillow for a rocking chair. Be careful not to put the pillow in a child’s crib when they are sleeping as the child could suffocate.

Here’s another idea. Buy a pattern for a stuffed dog, cat or teddy bear and make a piece of patchwork material large enough to cut out the pieces for the stuffed animal. Be sure to find a pattern that does not have many pieces. The simpler stuffed animals look better in patchwork because the patchwork material is so busy.

Make patchwork blocks and stack them in a corner of the room. Older children love to play with them and they add color and dimension to a room. I hope you have as much fun with this idea as I have had. The possibilities are endless!

Quilted Hot Pad

Cut the material of your choice to 12’X24”. Center a piece of 11”X11’ fiberfill at one end of your material. Quilt with stitching lines 1 ½” apart. Cut two hearts out of contrasting material and place them together. Sew around the edges leaving a three inch opening. Turn the heart inside out and whip stitch the opening closed. Place the heart in the center of the quilted side of the hot pad. Sew to quilted side of material with straight stitch or zigzag stitch. Turn fabric with right sides to right sides and stitch around two sides and ½ of the way up the third side. Turn right sides out and whip stitch closed. Use to protect your table from hot dishes. The hot pad matches this week’s project for sewing.            

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Family Heirlooms

          When I was still involved with museums, and the accession process (the process by which museums accept donations) I found that we would be offered many items that we simply could not take. Chief among these types of donations were wedding gowns and family Bibles. It was always so hard to tell the donor that their grandmother’s wedding dress/Bible was not something that we could accept. The simple truth is that when a museum accepts an artifact, it is also accepting the responsibility to care for that artifact forever. That entails a great cost both in curator’s wages and in the equipment necessary to care and store the artifact.

            The truth of the matter is, unless your family was very important, your artifact is very unusual, or your artifact is connected to an historic event, the chances are that it will be refused. Museums simply can’t take on everything. There are some things that you can do to perpetuate the use of family artifacts.

            First of all the family Bible. While the book itself might not be taken in by your local museum the information in the Bible is priceless. If it lists weddings, births, deaths etc. then your local historical society will want to know that information. Please, share this with them. Also, you might want to post this information on line with the genealogical sites so that your relatives can use it in making family trees.

            Secondly, old wedding dresses. My mother was a very tiny lady. She was 4’ 10” tall and weighed 85 pounds. Her dream was that I would walk down the aisle, on my wedding day, in her gown. Unless I had married at the age of 4 this was not going to happen. No one in the family is anywhere as small as my mother making it very unlikely that any of us would wear her dress. As mother’s wedding dress was a 1930’s sleek satin gown from Europe, and the fabric was no longer available, it was not possible to enlarge the gown. What to do? Preserving it was pointless. I mentioned this to a good friend and she shared with me her answer to the problem. I thought it to be a great idea and so I’m passing it along to all of you.

            Save the veil and any other part of grandma’s wedding dress that you can. These can be worn by you daughter/cousin/granddaughter as “something old” when they marry. The gown itself can be dismantled and remade into a beautiful christening quilt or christening gown that you can present to your daughter when she has her first baby. Thus you have created a beautiful way to honor grandmother and a new family tradition.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An easy quilt / duvet  made from sheets

            To make a sheet quilt or duvet you will need two flat sheets that are one size larger then your bed. If you are making the curtains (see sewing page in this posting) you might want to use a contrasting material. Buy a roll of high loft fiber fill the size of the quilt you would like to make.
           
            For the duvet place the two sheets together right side facing right side and sew around the edge of the sheets just inside the existing hems. Be sure to leave the end of the sheets that has the large hem open. Turn right inside out so that the right sides are now facing outward. Make button holes across one of the sheets at 12” intervals. On the other large hem sew decorative buttons. Place your comforter inside the duvet and button closed. C’est fini!

            For the quilt, place the two sheets together right side facing right side and sew around the edge of the sheets just inside the existing hems. Turn inside out so that the right sides are facing outward. Place a sheet of high loft fiber fill the size of the quilt that you are making inside the quilt and hem shut. With 3 strands of embroidery floss or pieces of yarn (about 6” long) and a large eyed sewing needle make a close stitch through the quilt top, fiber fill and the underside of the quilt. Bring the needle right back up through all three layers close to the first. Tie the two pieces of yarn/floss together in a double knot. Repeat every 6 to 8 inches. This will hold your fiberfill in place.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clouds for Babies

What you will need:
            2 yards of bleached muslin
            1 yard yellow
            A roll of high loft fiberfill
            White thread
            Clear plastic thread

            With the muslin still folded in half, cut out pieces of cloth in the varying shapes and sizes so that they resemble clouds. With your sewing machine, sew around ¾ of the edge of the clouds leaving ¼ inch salvage. Stuff the clouds with the fiber fill and whip stitch closed. Hand quilt the clouds in irregular patterns to enhance the cloud look.  Be sure that you don’t make the clouds so large that they can’t be hung from one single thread. Make several clouds and attach a length of clear plastic thread to the upper side of the cloud in the center. Hang the clouds from the ceiling using a stapler. Staple the end of the plastic thread to the ceiling and cut off any extra thread that dangles. Be sure that the clouds very in height.
            Now with the yellow fabric still folded in half, cut out a moon, a sun and some stars too if you like. As before, sew about ¾ of the way around leaving ¼ inch salvage, stuff and whip stitch closed. Attach plastic thread and hang as for the clouds.
            As air currents move through the room, the clouds will move too, lulling your child off to sleep. Add a little soft music from a radio and your child will sleep like an angle! Turn your baby’s ceiling into a wonderful mobile that you child will enjoy for years to come.
           
            As a companion piece to this project, you can make one big cloud, as before, for a wall hanging. Then make and stuff smaller letters, in bright colors, to spell out your child’s name and the word “cloud” as in “Jaci’s Cloud”. Tie the letters to your cloud with satin ribbons. Hang on your child’s wall and enjoy for years to come. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Biscuit Quilt Window Seat Cover

            This is a great project for those times when you are drowning in fabric scraps and little scraps of batting. Choose one solid color fabric for your backing. Use scraps of fabric for your biscuits. The squares should be about 5” square.

            Take 2 squares (one backing and one scrap) and place them together right side to right side. Sew around three of the sides and then turn right side out. Stuff with a little batting and whip stitch the open edge closed.  Make as many more biscuits as you will need to cover your window seat. Sew the biscuits together and back with the solid material. You can stuff the whole quilt for added padding. If you want you can continue and make a quilt of biscuits. Experiment with different fabrics. Satin biscuits make a very elegant quilt and you can vary your quilt by making a solid round of biscuits and then a row of patterned biscuits.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Quilted Vest

            Buy any two coordinating fabrics
            One pattern for a vest
            Matching thread
            The number of buttons as noted on the pattern – or for a more exotic look buy frog fasteners or Chinese knot buttons.
            Fiber fill (low loft)
            Contrasting edging tape     

Place your 2 fabric pieces with the right sides together.
Cut out your pattern as per the directions.
Place your pattern pieces on the fiber fill and cut out as per the directions.
Sew the pattern pieces for the outside of your vest together.
Now sew the pattern pieces for the inside of your vest together.
Place the fiberfill between the 2 right front pieces of your vest and hand or machine quilt the right front of the vest.
Do the same for the back and the left front.
Take the edging tape, fold over the raw edges and stitch in place.
Make buttonholes and sew on the buttons or sew on the frog fasteners.
If you wish to you can choose a pattern that has sleeves and make this a quilted jacket.

_____________________________________

Quilted Book covers with pocket

            If you are like me you love to read and probably have a few books that are your very favorites. Books of poems, short stories or religious books are some of the types that you may revisit over and over again. After a while these much loved books start to look worn and tattered. Here’s an idea that will help to protect your books and keep them dry and clean.

            Measure your book from inside the cover next to the spine, all the way around the closed book, to inside the back cover close to the spine. Add one inch to the height and the width and this will be your pre-measured dimensions. Choose a fabric, or two contrasting fabrics, Cut the fabric, plus a thin piece of fusible fiberfill, to your pre-measured dimensions. Fuse the fiberfill to the wrong side of one of your pieces of fabric. With right sides to right sides sew all the way around (1/4” salvage) your fabric leaving an opening for you to turn your cover right side out. Whip stitch this opening closed and iron your cover flat. Sew small strips of elastic to the top and bottom of your cover near the spine at the front and the back. This way your can easily take the cover off your book and wash it. You can now whip stitch a pocket to the outside front of your cover for reading glasses and, if you are covering a religious book, you might like to make a pocket on the inside front section of your book cover to hold your family’s genealogical records.

__________________________________________________

Memory Quilt

            There are probably a thousand reasons to make a memory quilt. Make on for a neighbor who is moving away, a high school or college graduate, an older relative, a wedding present, or a retiring teacher or minister. There are just so many reasons to give a memory quilt and so many deserving people to give one to. Here’s an easy one to make.

            First you’ll need to find clear crisp pictures of the people that are special to the person who will receive the quilt. Cut one 12” X 12” square of white cotton fabric for each photo. Transfer the photos to the center of the squares of fabric via your computer, using any of many kits available at most office supply or craft stores. Have each of the people personalize their square by stitching, appliquéing or writing in indelible ink some of the personal remembrances that they have of the recipient of the quilt. Each square should be as different as the people whose pictures are on them.
            When you receive the personalized squares back again you will need to make borders for each on the order of a Baltimore Album Quilt. You can make the outer border as fancy or plain as you like but try to use colors that will bring the squares together. Put the top, fiber and backing together and invite the people who personalized the squares to a Quilting Bee. These quilts make wonderful keepsakes and if you are really, really lucky you just might get one yourself!

_____________________________________________________________

Cathedral Window Quilt

            These quilting directions can be used to make any sized quilt, a pillow or pillow shams, or a lap throw. Simply make the number of squares you need to make the item you desire.

            Although the finished quilt looks very complicated it isn’t at all. It’s really very simple and it is something that  you can do while sitting in the waiting room at the orthodontist, doctor, dentist, or at your kids soccer, baseball, cricket, basketball practice or while on the subway going to work…you get the idea. You make this quilt in small sections and you can take it with you everywhere. While it is possible to make a Cathedral Window Quilt with your sewing machine, I’m a purest and prefer the look of a handmade quilt. The pictures that I feature here are for a traditional quilt with an unbleached muslin background square and inset squares from scrap material. If you use your imagination you can come up with some wonderfully creative new ideas. Here are the basic directions.

Like all quilts, this one takes a little planning. First you will need to decide the fabric that you want for your background fabric and for your inset squares. You can choose any combinations that you would like. When you have decided on your color choices you will need to do a little math.

The background squares start out being 7” square.
They fold to 3 ¼ “square.

The Inset squares are 2” square.
__________________________

            Decide the size of the quilt that you would like to make.  If, for example, you would like to have a lap quilt 40”x60” the figure your fabric needs as follows;

40 divided by 3.25 = 12       So you will need 12 finished squares for the width.
60 divided by 3.25 = 18       So you will need 18 finished squares for the length.
12 x 18 = 216                        This is the total number of 7” X 7” squares needed to make your quilt.

If your fabric is 46 inches wide you will be able to get 6 squares out of the width.  To figure the amount of fabric needed;
216 divided by 6 = 36
So you will need 36 rows of 6 squares or;
36 X 7” = 252 inches of material or 7 yards of background fabric that is 46 inches wide.

You will also need 216 2” squares of fabric for the inserts.
Use this system to find the amount of fabric you will need to do your project.
__________________________

Also you will need several spools of
            cotton thread
            quilting thread
            sharp needles
            a small pair of scissors
            tape measure
            iron
            ironing board
            poster board
            metal ruler

            Cut the poster board into a couple of 6” x 6” squares. Keep one square for an extra.
            With the metal ruler measure the background material along the salvage and clip it at 7 inch intervals.
            Tear (do not cut) the fabric into 7 inch strips.
            Measure and clip each strip at 7 inch intervals.
            Tear the fabric at the clips making 7 inch squares.

            Set up your ironing board and iron. Iron each square flat. Place the 6” square of poster board (shows as red in picture) in the center of the background square and fold the excess fabric over the poster board square ironing the folded fabric on each side. Figure A
            When you have finished this for all your squares fold the square in half, keeping the edges folded, and sew up each short sides of the rectangle. Iron the resulting rectangles. Figure B
            Take each rectangle and pull the folded edges apart so that the fabric forms a square and the folded edges are together. Iron again.   Figure C    

Sew the corners of the square together so that the folded edges are now in the center of the square. The back of the square should be smooth.  Sew through the corners and all the thicknesses of the fabric to hold the corners in the center of the square. Repeat until all of your squares have been made. Figures D&E

Quilts for Kids

            You may never have heard of this group and if you haven’t, I’d like to introduce you to them. They are a not for profit that is encouraging fabric manufactures to donate there discontinued fabrics to quilting guilds worldwide. Guilds use this fabric to make quilts for sick children and children in need. They have more then 50 chapters in 29 states and the Caribbean and are growing fast. Quilts for Kids have saved more then one million pounds of fabric from ending up in our landfills. This is a very worthy cause.

            Encourage your quilting guild to join this worthy organization. You don’t have a quilting Guild in your town? Start one! You’ll be amazed at the number of quilters there are out there who would love to join! Make friends! Make a Quilt for Kids!

            For more information see:    http://www.quiltsforkids.org/     or Google Quilts for Kids.