Back to School... and a new trick!

Ah, September...the time of year when parents feel a rush of relief and teachers kids feel a gnawing anxiety that their life is over.  I love September, and as a kid I loved going back to school.  I was the complete opposite of the kids in this commercial.  I know you all remember it.

I used to spend my allowance in Staples.  There is nothing I love more than a fresh notebook and a brand new pen (or freshly sharpened yellow #2 Dixon Ticonderoga pencil!)...to this day.  I know, I'm strange.  Of course, now that I am a teacher, I don't quite like back to school time as much.  I do love getting new supplies and decorations for my classroom, and I like the teaching part, of course!  It's the waking up early and time spent away from my knitting needles and sewing machine that I dislike so much!

I suppose its all relative, though. This past Sunday, I was with my mom in Princeton.  As we walked around, I looked at all the college kids and thought to myself, "Boy am I glad I'm not going through that again!"  I loved college, but it's nice to get a paycheck.  On Tuesday, as I was getting ready for my first day back at work, I thought to myself, "Man, I wish I was still in college, driving to class, music blasting, singing at the top of my lungs, instead of going to work."  I guess there are two sides to everything.  But, I digress.

 I love all that September means...cooler weather (hopefully soon), leaves changing colors, apple picking...it really is a great time of year!  Fall is my favorite. Do you agree?

With that said, work starting back up means less time to craft, and as you know I have to get my charity quilts back in about three weeks.  The weekend before school started, I was in a crafting frenzy.  I sewed all day Monday.  Good news: the first one is finished!

Quilts for Kids obviously does a better job at choosing materials than I do!

 (and I made a bag for work- please ignore my doorway and pile of ironing.)

Spice Market Tote (small version) by Amy Butler
sewn in
Classica by Annette Tatum for Westminster Fabrics

Bad news: I'm still not crazy about my sport one...even the second attempt.   I haven't started sewing it together yet but this is my basic idea.  I'm sure a teenage boy will think it's cool enough.  As a former teenage girl, I can't help but think that it's ugly!

ugly boy fabric

I also had my needles flying on the perfect shawl-cowl-poncho whatever you want to call it for apple/pumpkin picking.  The pattern is Shaw Hill by Alicia Plummer and I am knitting it up in gorgeous, soft, squishy Malabrigo Chunky in the rich pumpkin-y Cinnabar colorway.  I am in love.  It can be worn as a cowl or around your shoulders.  Here's what I have so far.  There will be some adventures in steam blocking to share when I 'm through.  The picture doesn't do the colorway justice.

Pumpkin Picking Accessory!

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for.  A new trick!

Drumroll please....

You can bind a quilt with the backing!   

 I bet most of you will say "Oh, I knew that already."

Well, pin a rose on your nose!  (Name that character!)

But hey, there may be someone, somewhere reading this who didn't know!  I was going to do my own tutorial on it, but there is such a good one by Jera over at Quilting in the Rain , that I figured I'd just share it.  While I definitely wouldn't do this for all of my quilts, I think it's a great option for the Quilts for Kids.  These quilts are in hospitals and are washed daily.  They need to be able to stand up to the stress of constant hot soapy water and agitation.  Since the binding is quite literally attached to the backing in one solid piece and then machine sewn on, it makes me feel really secure that it's not going to fall apart.  It is a really neat trick, and much faster than traditional binding.  Let me know if you try it!

Well, I must get back to grading summer assignments now...I hope you all have some great fall projects lined up so that I can live vicariously through you!  Keep on stitchin'!

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ADD like you wouldn't believe and a Charity Challenge...

Confession time.  Sometimes, I go a little overboard on a few things. But, most of the time, I go way overboard on a lot of things.  Oh, yeah, and my attention span is about as long as a mosquito's.  For example: I try to quilt, knit, crochet, read a book, and write a blog all at the same time.  Literally. At. the. same. time. Clearly, the blog has suffered, but the charity work has not and I will try and redeem myself today.

Let me backtrack a little bit.  I was wasting time on facebook a few weeks ago, and I saw a little ad on the sidebar for the Mother Bear Project.  This organization sends hand knit bears to children in Africa who have been orphaned because of AIDS.  I thought this was a really sweet idea and then I read the brochure and two of the testimonials had me near tears.  Here's the first one:

 "This bear is my only friend," said a child in Zambia.

His only friend!!! :-( and here's the second:

  "One little boy risked his life to rescue his bear.  

He told his sister, 'I have to get my bear. The heart on it means someone loves me.' 

Their house was destroyed minutes later by torrential rains, " said a teacher in South Africa.  

Seriously, rip my heart out, why don't ya? I can't do much, but I like to do what little I can, so I decided to knit a bear.  5 dollars for the pattern and 3 dollars for any extra bears you send.  They sew a red felt heart on it's chest and ship it off to Africa. With stash yarn, I think anyone can afford to make at least one bear.  Will you?  Here's mine, his sister is still in the works:

Then, I was wasting some time reading emails and came across one from Craftsy. (A great site to check out if you haven't yet!) It was from crafter and designer Vickie Howell of "Knitty Gritty" fame (does anyone else remember that show?) and I discovered that she has a son with epilepsy.  She started a non-profit called the Purple Stitch Project to raise epilepsy awareness.  The mascot of the organization is a ninja and he is the cutest ninja I have ever seen.  The idea is simple.  Make a ninja and it is given to a child with epilepsy to let them know they have a battle buddy against seizures.  (There are also patterns for hats and scarfs and other things, but the ninja is my favorite.  The best part about all this?  There are patterns for knitting, crocheting, and sewing! Crafters of all kinds can participate.  Of course, I had to try all three and I love each and every one of them because they are ridiculously cute, but the sewn one is my favorite.  (I wonder how many ninjas are getting annoyed that I keep referring to them as adorable and cute!) Check them out, which one is your favorite?  Which one will you make? Patterns are available for free on Ravelry and Craftsy. P.S. I also learned a cool trick on this one.  When making a knitted or crocheted plushie, use yarn to stuff it instead of fiberfil. Works just as well, and you don't get all those little white fly aways sticking out.  Now, maybe you already knew this, but I though it was genius.

Then, I was wasting some more time on facebook, and I saw a little ad on the sidebar for Downey and Quilts for Kids. I clicked on it, and reading through broke my heart, yet again. So, I decided it might be nice to make one.  I requested a free kit, and started searching the web for good teenage boy fabric.  (The company will send you a free quilt kit and they ask that you include a stash quilt of your own.  They mentioned that they are in need of quilts for teenage boys).  It is really difficult to find boyish fabric that is not babyish, just for the record.  While my other charity projects went so well, this one was somewhat of a disaster.  I found some Riley Blake fabric that was sporty and not at all babyish... the Play Ball line... and it was super cheap on etsy.  I was so excited.  I ordered three of the patterns and when they arrived just a few days later, I eagerly started my quilt.  Perhaps I should have planned a little better, or at least THOUGHT about it before I started because, holy busy-ness Batman! This thing is dizzying!  A solid (or two!) may have been helpful. But, I was just so excited!

Man, just looking at it makes me nauseous. Disappearing nine patch! Ha! Disappearing everything is more like it!  Obviously I can't use this, and yet I don't have the heart to cut it all up or take it apart.  I bought some more fabric, and I'm going to try again.  Luckily, I didn't get my quilt kit from Quilts for Kids until today, so I still have about 6 weeks to make them both.  My lovely friends from the NJMQG helped me pick out some coordinating solids for my new fabric last night at our monthly meeting.  I'm going to do the kit first, since that is all spelled out for me and then maybe I'll have an easier time with this one.  What are you waiting for?  Go order your kit now!

Lastly, I was visiting a quilt shop in south Jersey with my mom.  While at the register, I noticed a brochure for ConKerr Cancer.  Hooray! More charity crafting! This organization gives pillowcases to kids and teens who are in the hospital for cancer treatments.  LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea.  I've had too many family members affected by cancer.  Thankfully, no children, but I know how difficult it is to go through for adults, and I can only imagine how strong and brave children must be to battle it out.  I really got stuck on this one and whipped up six pillowcases.  It was so fast, fun and simple. (Love those little elephants!) Won't you join me?

So, there it is.  My excuse for not blogging.  I'd say it's a pretty good one, even if it did cause my ADD to spin out of control.  You should have seen my craft table...there was about 4 skeins of yarn piled on top of mounds of fabric, scraps and stuffing everywhere! Anyway...here's the challenge.  I want you, yes YOU,  to make one craft project for charity.  Which one will you choose?  Leave a comment, telling me all about it.  There are so many options out there, and so many people in need. Even if we can only help one person at a time, it's better than not helping at all.  I hope this post has inspired you! I better go get started on that quilt....happy crafting!

Jess

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