Easter Wall Hanging

I'm gradually working my way through the bits and pieces of material in my sewing supplies. After browsing through various quilting magazines from 5-8 years ago, a simple applique wall hanging was chosen. Most of the scraps of material came from various dresses that I made for Amy, Katie, and Madelyn when they were little.

None of the Easter-themed wall hangings were what I was wanting. My children receive Easter baskets at Easter, but we focus on Christ's raising from the dead and our salvation, instead of the Easter bunny. So Easter baskets and cute bunnies were not what I was wanting for this wall hanging.

In the end, a simple egg pattern was drawn. After cutting out the eggs, I hand appliqued the eggs to the background fabric. Then embroidered around each egg by hand.
A segment of quilted fabric (from an almost new mattress pad was used at the backing and batting.

Overall, I pleased with the wall hanging. My youngest two girls are eagerly awaiting when they can hang it on the wall. The best part is that no money was spent to complete this project. It was completely made from items on hand. I love "free" projects!

New Quilt Project

I've been wanting to force myself to get back into more serious sewing. It's easy to cram projects in that need to be finished, but I want to enjoy the process on a few projects.

Melissa over at Happy Quilting is beginning a quilt sew along project. The finished quilt looks fairly straight forward. I'm hoping to complete a beautiful springy project for my bedroom. Come join the fun!

Sewing

It's been difficult to get into a sewing mood since Christmas. Yesterday, I forced myself to work on a nightgown for Allie, who is all arms and legs these days. It was a blast. I managed to complete the nightgown in about 1 hour. Everything went together smoothly. The sewing machine didn't act up. No alterations were necessary on the completed garment. The project went so quickly that there was enough time to whip up 8 luncheon napkins in spring prints.

The experience was so different than sewing under a deadline. Sewing 30 items in the 4 weeks before Christmas is never easy. In my hurry, things go wrong. The tension on the sewing machine invariable gets bumped and seams need to be ripped out. Elastic pieces are 2" short. (I have pieced together elastic scraps on Christmas Eve to finish lounge pants before.) The whole sewing crunch is stressful and a chore I almost dread.

I hadn't realized how much the sewing crunch has snatched the joy that I used to experience creating useful household items and clothing for my family. Sometimes, I get so caught up in crossing things off of my to do list that I forget to enjoy the process.

One of my goals for this year is to try to savor the tasks that I enjoy and try to find joy in the tasks that I dislike. Hopefully, focusing on the positive will help keep my seasonal depression at bay.

Since yesterday's sewing was so enjoyable, I started making an Easter wall hanging. It's a simple pattern of embellished Easter eggs that my youngest two girls will enjoy.

Sewing Aprons

I meant to write a post about this a few weeks ago, but time got away from me. Madelyn and her friends completed their aprons. The girls are learning to sew this year. This is the first project that they have completed.

Madelyn doesn't have much interest in learning to sew, but she does love getting to spend more time with her friends. Our next project is a pair of lounge pants and a Christmas ornament.

Sewing Update

A small amount of sewing managed to get completed this month. While sorting through a box of stuff that had been put in a closet for later sorting during our move, I ran across a quilt top that was completed last summer. The hand quilting around the applique was finished, but the borders needed to be quilted. The applique for this quilt was done the year we began to home school many, many years ago.

The quilt borders were quilted by machine and purchased seam binding was used. It's been 8 or more years since I've used purchased seam binding. Seam binding is no longer as stiff as it used to be. The fabric used is softer and works better with 100% cotton than the old polyester seam binding of my youth.

There are several flaws in this quilt, but I'm happy to have it completed and off my "to do" list.



Four skirts for Paige and Allie were made one day a few weeks ago. The pattern was slightly modified from 3 tiers to 2 tiers. Paige enjoys wearing long twirly skirts and this style met her requirements. While the girls were trying on the completed skirts, their friend asked if I could make her a similar skirt, so they could be triplets. I'll have to see if I can squeeze one from the remaining 2/3 yards of fabric.




Another large sewing project was completed this morning. I can't talk about it until Saturday, because Madelyn sometimes reads my blog and the project is for her birthday.

Sewing projects

The piles of material are gradually decreasing. There is a lot of stretch knit that my mom gave me over the last few years. Stretch knit is not my fabric of choice. Frequently, the neckline ends up stretched out of shape or the hem doesn't hang right. To help use up the knit fabric and gain better sewing skills, I decided to make several tank tops. The kids can use them for sleeping if the shirts don't look just right.

Paige and Allie were my first guinea pigs for this project. (They are the least fashion conscious.) The first top was made following the directions from the pattern maker, to fold the edges over twice and straight stitch in place. The neckline stretched and didn't lay flat...one sleeping shirt completed.

The second shirt was made folding over the neckline and armholes twice and stitched using a zigzag stitch. The results were a little better, but not of "day wear" quality. Another sleeping shirt completed.

On the third shirt, I decided to only fold the neckline and armholes one time and stitch with a zigzag stitch. The results were good. Paige and Allie would wear the shirt outside without any problem. The older children thought that it looked like it was "made with loving hands at home". Not good enough.

For the fourth shirt, a single fold neckline and armhole using a straight stitch was used. Success!@!! The fabric lays perfectly flat, no stretching in the neckline. I did not finish the edges of the fabric because knit doesn't fray and I thought that the extra stitching would make the neckline and armholes too bulky.

After spending an evening working with stretch knits, a reward was in order. The next day, I made two pairs of Capri pants for Paige and Allie. The fabric is a light weight summer-slacks weight in a khaki color. There is some drape in the fabric. I used some leftover fabric from the girls short sets (made earlier in the week) for the waist band. They turned out so cute! The girls look great in them. It will be wonderful to have light-weight Capris for them to wear in the evening when the mosquitoes are biting!

Sewing Projects

Last Monday, I heard the words that no sewing mom likes to hear. "Mom, I don't have any summer tops or shorts that fit." The weather was predicted to be hot and steamy all week. Poor Paige and Allie (who wear the same size) had almost completely outgrown their summer clothing. I am a bad mom. Both girls have grown 2" since January. Any normal mom would have purchased summer duds for her children (or planned ahead and sewed some outfits in the early spring.) Not me. I wait until it's 90 degrees and my kids have to wear corduroy slacks and long sleeve shirts.

Throughout the week, I managed to complete two short sets for each girl and two nightgowns each. They had been wearing blanket sleepers and flannel nightgowns. The girls are much more comfortable and are sleeping better too.

In my defense, the material stash was still in boxes in the basement, hidden underneath tons of stuff that belongs in a garage. Frankly, I've been too overwhelmed (and lazy) to deal with the basement. My time has been much better spent watching Judge Judy. Now that I have completed my legal training and am able to predict the rulings, I will HAVE to tackle the dreaded basement!

We're supposed to get a lot of rain this week, so Joe dragged all the material boxes and seasonal clothing upstairs. Madelyn should have quite a bit of summer wear, but the boys will need more clothing. Hopefully, a lot of projects can get completed and the basement will have some order.