Surprise! A book cover!

When I was enlisted to make the class art project, Miss Shelley told me that a lot of the parents made a little photo book to go with it. So I took my camera, along with my markers and fabric squares, and proceeded to record the crap out of my project. And then my battery died.

I borrowed the school camera, but it was set on "no preview" so I was snapping away hoping I was gettin' the good stuff and occasionally scrolling through to see if I succeeded. So old fashioned!

The photos were okay, but there were not nearly as many as I would've liked.

So, photos I had. Book? Not so much. I wanted some crazy origami folded paper photo thing that was super excellent. And non-existent. I emailed muses, (that's you, Blazer), and molested the internet looking for the perfect thing.

Then, Captain Cough-ie woke me up. With my allergies, if I'm up, I sneeze. And can't get back to sleep. So I grabbed my iPod and searched for something to do for the photo book. At 2 am.

I found this tutorial at kirin notebook. Pretty amazing. A reversible note book cover. I got a book and some photo corners at Target and got busy with my cover.

Here is the quilt top:

 

The inside and my feet:

 

 The inside/reversible part:

 

And the back:

I did a photo of each kid holding up their artwork.Here's a photo of my guy:

  

I think it turned out pretty cute. I was a little worried because the tutorial is the kind where you just do what they say and then turn it right side out and see if you succeeded. Which I did!

(I don't know who put Vaseline on my camera, but they need to stop. It looks like a Moonlighting episode up in here).

Super Quilt

In September I signed up for a preschool art project. September may as well have been 1993 because I barely remember signing up. But it sounded like something I would do. I spoke to Hartwell's teacher and we decided to do a quilt.

I used these two quilts and just adapted them for kid participation.

I went to Hartwell's class and brought some 6"x6" squares of muslin that I ironed on to freezer paper so the kids could color more easily. Then we used some fabric markers to color the squares.

Before I started, I drew what was in my brain:

 

  

  

  

  

I clipped the seams every 1/8". They said 1/4" but that didn't give me that fluffy look.

 

I really like this quilt a lot. I think I'll make more. It was simple and the "rag" part leaves a lot of room for mistakes. Which I make a lot of. If I've ever made anything for you, I will gladly point them out.

 DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land!

Kids Quilt

 

I'm almost done with the rag quilt for Hartwell's School's Silent Auction. I think it is sold rather than auctioned, but I'm not exactly sure.

I went to school yesterday with some muslin blocks and fabric markers for the kids to color. Miss Shelley had them draw a garden or bugs. It was really cute. Some kids said they couldn't draw, and Miss Shelley said, "You can draw a circle!" And I loved watching them draw bugs. The legs! The eyes! One little guy was absent, so I left the supplies so he wouldn't be left out. 

Hartwell just kind of scribbled and said, "I'm done." Which I think was due to his mom sitting right there. Little Bee had a super fun preschool day which made me want to sell my body so he could attend next year. (He has a late birthday and will still get 2 years of preschool, just not next year).

I just have to sew on one missing garden piece and then snip the edges and wash. Then it should look something like this. Please let it look like that.

Things to do in Altadena when it rains.

My mom came to visit and took me to the fabric store to pick out a couple of fabrics to complete my quilt. They had a row of Timber by Jessica Levitt which I instantly fell in love with.

 

So I got the aqua trees. Maybe it doesn't exactly match. So it may be the back. But it's so pretty it doesn't matter.

In other news, I was asked to sew something for Hartwell's class art project for his school's silent auction. I'm not sure if they expect someone to actually buy it. Or if it's a presentation of how amazing our children are. His teacher thought a small quilt with squares designed by the kids would be cute. Crayola has some fabric markers and I found this quick and easy quilt tutorial to use.

I can't wait to see what the kids do! I love kids art. I'm having trouble throwing it away. I want to wait at least until I have his entire preschool collection. Then I can photograph it and frame the good stuff.

Quilty, quilty, green squared.

Thought I'd give quilting a whirl. Last time I visited my mom in Seattle (more like Canada), she bought me this pack of squares. I thought they matched my living room and that maybe I'd eventually make some pillows or something. Now that we're trying not to spend any unnecessary money, (i.e. on fabric and jalapeno poppers), I've been digging through my stash of unfinished/never started projects and gettin' busy.

The projects do two things, keep me busy so I don't leave the house and give me something to post about. I'm also slowly finishing all the little bits that I have laying around. I found an embroidered drum set and some great vintage pieces that I meant to turn into something amazing.

I keep stumbling and finding really fantastic quilts people whip together. Which makes me want to try it. I remembered I had this pack of fabric, arranged it in a pattern I liked and started sewing. It's not perfect, but it'll make a great nap quilt for John. Something I can keep in the living room that I don't have to hide if someone comes over.

My mom is coming to visit for Hartwell's birthday and she's an uber-quilter. So I'll probably drag her to my local quilting store to finish the edges and get a cool backing fabric. It's only 3' x 3' right now, not quite enough to cover my feet.