Sewing at Sara's in February

Sara volunteered to be the February hostess for our monthly quilt group meeting. And she provided a delicious spread for breakfast of breakfast sausage, fruit, and delicious cinnamon rolls.  It all tasted as good as it looked, too.                               

For our "Sew and Share," Susan shared a "nap mat" made for her granddaughter. It rolls up for transport with a handle...

...and it rolls out for naptime on a napcot or the floor with a built in pillow and fleece blanket.  Directions for the nap mat can be found here.  It is very simple to make, and the grandkids loved them.  The pattern instructions do recommend using buttonholes and buttons to hold it closed, but Susan's grandson tested out the buttons, and they had to be replaced with velcro!

Margaret was inspired by a project shared by Grace Mc last month.  It is a rolled crayon holder. 

Very cute.  Margaret shared step-by-step instructions which we photographed for the blog:

First, cut 2 pieces of the background fabric which are 5 inches by the number of crayons you are going to put in the roll and add 3/4 inch for seam allowances.  Also cut a piece of thin batting the same size.

She was making a roll for 16 crayons, so her background pieces were 5 inches by 16 3/4 inches, and her batting was the same size.

Then you need to cut one piece of pocket fabric which is 6 inches by the same width as the background piece.  Margaret cut hers 6 inches by 16 3/4 inches.

Place the batting on back of one piece of the background and iron the two with a hot iron on the background fabric.  It does not have to be fusible batting, but it will stick anyway.

Next, iron the pocket fabric in half, so that it is 3" by 16 3/4."

Then measure in from the end 1 1/4" and mark the spot where the first pocket line will be by placing a straight pin at the top folded end.  Mark every inch after that with a straight pin. The last pocket will be wider to allow for the seam allowance on the other end.

Then, Margaret "fingerpresses" folds into each marked pocket sewing line using a bone folder.  This will make it visible when you get ready to sew in the next step.

After the fingerpressing, stretch the pocket down on top of the fabric background/batting.

Then sew down each fold to create the 16 pockets, backstitching at the top of the pocket.

The fold lines are actually easier to see when the fabric is not striped.

When you are finished sewing the pockets, it should look like this:

Next, using a stretchy ponytail holder to create the closure, pinch together the end, and wrap thread around the end 5 or 6 times.

Then place the wrapped ponytail holder in the center of the seam allowance on the right end of the crayon holder and hold it there for securing.

Stitch down the ponytail holder on the machine within the quarter inch seam allowance.  Use a stilletto or bone folder to hold it down while you stitch.

After it is secured with a few stitches, you can remove the thread wrap.

Next place the other piece of background fabric on top of the crayon roll, right sides together.

Pin to secure for sewing.

Stitch around the edge using a 1/4 inch seam, and leave an opening to turn the project through.

Clip the corners after stitching, being careful not to cut stitches.

Turn it open...

Press seams.

Be sure to press the seam at the opening so you can stitch it closed.

You can hand stitch the opening closed, or you can topstitch across the bottom to close the opening.

Then do a test roll up to find the placement of the button on the outside for closure, using the ponytail holder as the buttonhole.

Sew the button on the outside.

Place the  16 crayons in the pockets.

Roll it up...

Button it closed...

...and you have a crayon roll!

Grace W. worked on her Mystery Quilt!

And she got a pile of piecing done!  It will be a quilt before you know it!

Grace Mc finished yet another baby quilt top....

...and started another one!

Ouida continued working on her star quilt.  Nearly finished!!!

And Karen worked on her Jelly Roll Quilt.

Then it was time for lunch...

...and dessert!  Yum!

With so many good cooks, lunch is always a hilight!

Thanks, Sara, for hosting us this month!

We Start the New Year Out With Grace

To begin 2010, the quilters met at the home of Grace Whitis, and everyone brought something to work on individually.

We enjoyed some delicious breakfast snacks, and caught up with all the news.



Several quilters brought something for "Sew and Share."

First, there was a darling Crayon caddy, which could be expanded for more Crayons or even larger for Hot Wheels cars.

Next Grace shared a "Ten Minute Table Runner."  What a cute project!

 And she brought an example in fall colors, too!

Sue brought her Mimi tote bag, which she had received as a Christmas gift.  So cute!

Sue also brought a baby girl quilt she is working on.  It actually is a modified Log Cabin pattern.

And she also brought a beautiful brown triangle quilt.  We are always so inspired by all the quilts that Sue brings.

Margaret also did a quilt for a baby girl - a butterfly quilt.  Beautiful!

Sara shared her new project - crazy quilt squares made out of ties. 

This is going to be a gorgeous project.

Carole brought her latest completed cross stitch project.

Her work is so beautiful!  How does she do it?

Carole also made an apron!  A sewing project!!

Grace has completed her Falling Leaves Friendship Quilt top.  It is absolutely wonderful!  She has put a black frame around each square with a light sashing and a red border.  It really set off the squares. 

Karen's new project is her new Bernina sewing machine.  Wow!  We are all so jealous!  Can't wait to see what new projects she whips out with this new wonder machine!

Everyone got to work on their projects for a while.

Then it was time for lunch.  What a great day.  Thank you, Grace, for having us in your home.

When we meet in February, bring ideas for sewing and service projects for the rest of the year.  We will discuss those ideas then.

NOTE:  We also decided to bring our Falling Leaves Friendship Quilts to our May meeting for our "Sew and Share" (at least the quilt top).  Hmmmm...I better get busy!!