Giant Hexie Quilt Love

[sew and snuggle].

I have giant hexie quilt fever. 

Its almost an exact replica of my last Blueberry Park-inspired hexie quilt, the one that got away, but with more low-volumes in it and a touch of cream with the teal/gray combo. And of course the pop of cherry-rosie-pinky-make-me-feel-happy red. Which really does make me feel happy.

Hello Anna Maria Horner backing. I still love you. That's why I scooped up yards and yards of you and your cousin in red. She's next on the chopping block. Quilt backology is an art unto itself I am finding ...

Just add lots and lots of children and you've got a recipe for warm snuggles in the winter. 

And maybe a book for the quiet times? This week I've been captivated by God's Smuggler, my New Year's attempt to have an inspirational spiritual classic on the go most of the time. Oh, I love this book!! You could read this aloud to your kids, I think, at least there is nothing so far that is not appropriate. There are two things I love about this book: first, reading about the countless incidents where God works incredible miracles and how Brother Andrew responds. Second, this was a bit of a personal wake-up. Andrew describes his time at the Evangelization Center headquarters, and how they all get up very early to have quiet time with God, pray, read Scripture, and so on. Hey, I've read about people like this many many times, and I have friends like this who are disciplined and get up early (as in, before the kiddos wake up), to have a Holy Hour with the Lord. I've always thought how good that sounds. Yet I've considered myself *exempt* in a way, because my kids get up early enough as it is, I often stay up late to recharge my own batteries in the peaceful quiet, so as a result I fit in my "prayer" time whenever and however I can during the day. Its never a quiet time with God except of course for night prayer. Reading this excerpt however, it just struck me. If they are getting up early to centre their day on Christ, well gosh, why on earth can't I? I mean, I love the Lord, passionately, just like them. It made me think maybe I'm not so exempt. They have no special gene that makes the getting up easier. 

So it all has made me rethink very carefully what I'm called to do right now. I'm not naturally a morning person but once I'm up, its all good. I wonder if I could sustain this kind of habit. I don't have a lot of confidence in myself to do this. The spirit is willing but the flesh is just so weak, and the snooze button is well-used. 

Lets just say, it all struck me and stood out for me. So I'm contemplating. Contemplating is a very good start I think.

Linking up to Elizabeth's needle and thREAD. Go and check it out, always lots of fun over there.

Christmas Mug Rug Blitz!

[sew].

Mug Rugs are a great gift. Bigger than a coaster, smaller than a placemat, perfect for a drink and a treat. So very much fun and quick to sew!

Pinwheel Christmas Mug Rug: Sew Charm Squares into Half-Square Triangles

I have two friends who sew with me, and I think they're converted - they recently took the plunge into patchwork and made mug rugs. Really, mug rugs are the perfect introduction to quilting - its a small project but you get practice with rotary cutting, 1/4" seaming, proper pressing, making a quilt sandwich, quilting it, then binding it. Of course, we use the cheater binding where the backing flips over to become your binding. Much easier for this type of project. 

Strip-Pieced Christmas Tree Mug Rug

These make great gifts and many of my friends and family are going to receive one! Add a mug, some tea or hot chocolate, a couple of candy-canes or cookies, and voila. Handmade goodness.

It's as simple as piecing together squares and rectangles in a way that's pleasing to your eye (and uses up your scraps!). We trimmed our piecework to a 5x10" rectangle, then quilted it. I really love this size - I learned this method from taking Andrea's Sewing Summit class, and you can find her tutorial right here, cheater binding and all. Easy peasy. And did I mention fun?

More Christmas Mug Rug Madness

My sewing friends and I are doing some really heavy duty Christmas sewing together this weekend (an annual event we hope), and to kick-start our fiesta we have decided to have a mug rug exchange among us (also an annual event we hope!). 

What can I say, we are desperate housewives.

This is as wild as I get with mug rugs. I actually prefer the straight-line quilting, I think its more modern and fresh. 

Want to know what else is on my sewing list for gifting?

Well, I hope to make some Prairie Bonnets for the little girls - they love all things Little House and these look quick and easy:

Bonnets from My Cotton Creations

I also hope to dabble in an apron or two. I've purchased and downloaded Jona's pattern - the Shopgirl Apron. There are actually a ton of free tutorials and apron patterns available online but I liked the curved lines of this, its reversible, and she has a killer method of making bias tape from half a yard of fabric - she sews a Mobius Strip! You know I like math, right?

I also printed out the free tutorial for her sweet little One-Hour Christmas Apron - I will probably do some fun patchwork and maybe add a box-pleat or ruffle along the bottom edge. Isn't it cute? Thank you Jona!

I think this version is pretty special also. Love all the patchwork in this Everyday Hostess apron:

Hmmm, what else will I be making for gifts? Probably won't have time for much more, but I'd really like to try these fabric "paper" dolls from The Prudent Homemaker.  I sure love what she did with them, my little girls would be over the moon with these! 

And maybe a baby doll carrier if I get really ambitious using Sewbossi's free tutorial. Isn't it sweet?

So I've probably gotten carried away but better to have plans and dreams than to not. Did I mention an unfinished rag quilt that's been cut and ready to sew for a dear son of mine? And a Snowfling Mittens kit that just arrived from Tanis Fiber Arts? Yeah, there's that too. I'll bring it along in case my sewing machine breaks down. You never know, and I like to be prepared.

And finally, I've made some slow progress on a plaid Hollyburn, which mostly involved very calculated cutting. Which kind of exhausted me and I put it away for a bit.

Well hey, its on to reading. My son's current classic is Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, and while I think most people know the story or have seen a movie version, I have never actually read the book. But I am certainly enjoying it now on the handy dandy kindle. Its an easy read, not too long (I'm over half-way and I've only put in a few hours), and its so intriguing!! Loving it, loving it.

Looks sinister, huh? It is.

And that's a wrap my dear sewing and reading friends. I'll be back later to link up with Elizabeth for needle and thREAD. In the meantime, two words.

Mug Rug.

And here is that needle and thREAD link.

xo

Class Picnic Shorts - Oliver + S

[sew].

Dilemma:
Lemon yellow 6oz stretch denim that was supposed to arrive from Fabric.com as a lovely mustard colour to make myself another pair of jeans. This is a problem when you order fabric, you takes your chances, sewing girl. I have always had good luck ordering online, aside from the time they sent me yards and yards of flower fairy fabric that I didn't exactly order. But they always make amends, so that's good. Still, its a bit of a crapshoot, this business. But when life hands you lemons ... (c'mon, I couldn't resist).

Solution:
Class Picnic Shorts by Oliver + S.  Oh yes. No? Yes. YES. They have been on my summer bucket sewing list since last year. I shouldn't have waited, because they are awesome! Two pairs to share today, one as written and one with ruffles.

Please excuse the tucked-in shirt! She was obsessed with "seeing" the birdies in all their glory! These shorts are really sweet and not difficult to make. Just a few finicky parts. And I'll tell you about them in case you need a heads-up before you sew your own.

Maria, age 4, is wearing the size 5 and they are plenty roomy. My sewing suggestions? 

One. Interface both the front waistband and the front waistband facing instead of just the facing. It gives the shorts more structure in this area, especially if you are using quilting cotton for the shorts. This was a great tip from Gail, who, by the way, has made a couple of really cute versions of these shorts.

Two. Be VERY precise when overlapping and sewing the contrast facings (the birdies). If you're out a little bit, the front waistband will be either slightly too big or too small. In my case, the front waistband was just a tad too big. If this happens to you, when you attach the waistband to the shorts, sew with the waistband on the bottom of the waistband/shorts layer, next to the feed dogs, and your feed dogs will ease up that extra centimeter or two (this works even with a walking foot I find). You can stretch the top layer slightly as you sew as well. I also find it helpful to sew from the centre-front outwards to the centre-back, then repeat going the other direction. 

Three. Allow some extra elastic in the waistband so the shorts can carry through the next season. Even better, consider using buttonhole elastic - there are instructions in the pattern for doing this. The shorts are quite roomy in the waist, so its worth it to do so. Here's a look at the back:

I didn't have any buttonhole elastic though, so I added an extra couple inches of elastic on the end and tacked it for next year. I'll show you what I did, but on rethinking my method, its wrong. This is the WRONG way to do it, even though it will do the trick:

What I should have done was sew the end down permanently, but still use enough elastic to add the fold of elastic on the other side of where its attached, then tuck the whole thing inside the casing. So all you'd have to do was unpick where you sewed the fold of elastic. The way I've done it, I will have to unstitch where I sewed it down to the waistband, unstitch the fold of elastic, AND restitch down for the new length of elastic. Oh well, thought you might as well learn from my mistake :). Or, maybe just buy the darn buttonhole elastic and be done with it.

Now, let me share Alexa's version of the shorts. Ruffles!

Class Picnic Shorts modified to add Ruffles.

This version was fun and quite easy! Easier than the contrast facing I think. I saw these on Pinterest, of course, which led me to this tutorial for adding the ruffles.

 Alexa, age 7, is wearing the size 7 and these are also plenty roomy - she is a tall and solid girl for her age and they still have lots of ease. I am pleased with the length. 

I followed the tutorial pretty much exactly but a few tips here too. First, the tutorial is written for a size 5, so when she tells you to topstitch down 4 inches when overlapping, well, you want to go a little longer for a size 7. I also had some fiddling to do when placing the overlap since I cut my ruffle strips 1 1/2" instead of 1 1/4".  I wanted my ruffles to have a bit more depth. But keep in mind the overlap will dictate the length of the front waistband, so again my waistband was a smidge too big and I had to do some creative stretching. All turned out good though! And most importantly, she LOVES them.

I used my ruffler foot which is really more like a pleater. I rarely use this foot, so I'm not sure I'd recommend it, but boy it sure is slick when I do. And fast. I finished the ruffle raw edge with a rolled hem on the serger - that I definitely do use a LOT.

And a peek at the inside waistband using contrast fabric. Its Amy Butler.  In case you were wondering.

Hey if you're interested, I noticed that Suzanne for Whimsical Fabric is doing a sew-along on the shorts and blouse right at this very moment! They are releasing lesson 2 today! So check it out! 

Alrighty then, onto reading.

I am happy to report that I am officially out of my reading rut. While away camping on the weekend, I was able to get my head into a good book, that good book being Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, on my handy dandy kindle. I last read this in grade 7, and was not cultured for classics then. I am now, and this book is sooo fabulous. I'm at the part where Eliza is visiting Charlotte and Mr. Collins. I'm so interested to find out if she and Mr. Darcy will marry ... don't TELL me ... I'm savouring every minute. 

How about you? What are you up to? Summer is a-passing quickly. Fall wardrobe ideas? Reading list? Please share! Linking up with Elizabeth who hosts needle and thREAD, so make sure to pop over there to see what others are sewing and reading.

God bless all your sewing and reading endeavours!

my little bookcase - day 2

A book that makes your children laugh.

The first that comes to mind for my littles is Amelia Bedelia.

The second is a math reader. It is particularly humorous. Rabbit and Hare Divide an Apple.

Rabbit and Hare can't figure out how to divide the apple when Mr. Raccoon comes along and offers to bite it in half for them.

He eats it all up.

He does this repeatedly. But Rabbit and Hare eventually catch on and solve the problem themselves. We find this reader so funny!

The third book my kids laugh at is An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni. Have you read it? So sweet. 

Jessica, who is naturally curious and always bringing something interesting home, drags back a large white pebble that turns out to be an egg. Marilyn, who knows everything, knows it is a chicken egg.

"See!" exclaimed Marilyn, "I was right! It is a chicken."

Jessica and the "chicken" become fast friends, but eventually the chicken's mother finds her lost baby and she and Jessica say goodbye. Jessica returns home and remarks how the mother said the funniest thing to her baby...

Don't you just love it?

Interesting thing I discovered, in playing this Instagram game (hashtag #mylittlebookcase), is we don't really own any kids joke books. Nor do we ever check them out of the library. I had a joke book as a kid called Pop-Up Riddles and I loved it ... maybe time to revisit the library.

See you on Instagram?

In Pursuit of a Modest Wardrobe for a Young Lady - Part 2

Good morning! Welcome to all visitors who are joining us from Elizabeth's!  Its time to link up with needle and thREAD cause its been way too long!

I'm still in pursuit of a modest wardrobe for a young lady, my young lady of 15, and that's really difficult to do given the fashions in the store. You may remember my first post of this series.  Appreciating that many people have very different ideas of modesty, I am ok with where our family is at in terms of our guidelines. 

Today I want to share with you how I took a store-bought dress my daughter loved, made a paper pattern from it and adjusted it for modesty.  This type of technique is called a rub-off because you literally rub-off the pattern from the existing garment onto tissue paper; the bodice, the sleeves, the skirt pieces, the waistband and so on. There are several methods to do this; I used the method of laying the dress overtop tissue paper and poking pinholes around each individual garment piece through to the paper underneath. Then remove the garment, connect the pinhole dots, add seam allowance and make necessary adjustments. 

The beige dress on the left was purchased at H& M last Easter. She has grown several inches taller since, but even then it was still a bit too short, too tight, and had too low of a neckline for our modesty preferences, but we were in a bind at the time for a dress and I guess we could have done worse (you can read about that here).  My daughter loved the dress though, LOVED it.  

That was my cue, because I knew the dress style was something I could work with and make it better. When I first read about pattern rub-offs from Sunni over at A Fashionable Stitch, I knew it was worth a try. I used the book she recommends, Steffani Lincecum's Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit: Using the Rub-off Technique to Re-create and Redesign Your Favorite Fashions.  Sunni also gives some great visuals to demo this technique so make sure to pop over there. An all-things-sewing-goldmine, her blog.

We chose a fabric similar in stretch to the original, a really cute polka-dot knit. We made it a tad bigger overall, shortened the sleeves, raised the neckline, and gave it a few more inches in the length.  I did sew a practice muslin for the bodice out of bargain-bin knit first though, which is always well worth it! And yes, dear sewing friends, it was incredibly gratifying to take this project from start to finish and have my daughter love it! When you make a rub-off, you aren't given the sewing instructions so you need to think carefully as you proceed; you learn a lot about garment construction along the way. Brittany wore this dress for Christmas and to a post-Christmas wedding. Some fun, heh! I think this pattern is a great basic foundational piece - it's classy and cute - and can be made again in other knit fabrics for a different look.  Thanks Sunni, for inspiring me to give this technique a try, I hope its the first of many awesome copycat designs! I already have a skirt for me in the works ...

Now for the reading part of needle and thREAD. I'm reading The Chosen by Chaim Potok for my Classic Moms class tonight. Loving that class. The book has been on my to-read list for some time, and it does not disappoint. Its the story of two Jewish fathers and sons and how they each pursue their faith. Very insightful, highly inspirational, sure to be a favorite.

Christmas, all fancied up!

Thanks for stopping by!! Till next time, God bless your week!

Great books and socratic method

My son is all excited about the new script he and his friend are writing. They have been on the phone several times with each other, chatting and hashing out the plan; dreaming it up. He told me they were going to use the "traditional symbols" of good and evil in the script.  Traditional symbols. I love it, and I will tell you this is a direct result of a "Great Books" conference we attended on the weekend, where we pondered this literary concept in depth, intermixed with socratic discussions.

Traditional symbols in literature mean: a dragon is always evil.  Witches are evil. A hero is always a good guy. A good character always behaves as a good character.  Good always wins in the end. Dwarfs are mischievous. You get the idea.  If we read to children classic books and stories with traditional symbols, they begin to develop a clear distinction between good and evil; right and wrong. It provides a framework from which to spring from when they encounter real-life situations.  Consider that author C.S. Lewis would have agreed. In Voyage of the Dawn Treader from the Narnia series, the character Eustace  ventures away from the group and goes off on his own. It is foggy, and he finds himself at the bottom of a cliff at the entrance of a cave, out of which "two thin wisps of smoke were coming." The thing that comes out of the cave is something he had never imagined, and C.S. Lewis goes on to describe the thing as a dragon. He writes of Eustace: "He never said the word Dragon to himself." "Edmund or Lucy or you would have recognized it at once, but Eustace had read none of the right books." So we know that C.S. Lewis likely placed great value on the role of good books in forming the imagination which informs our character and even our behaviour.  However, if you look at what's popular in juvenile fiction these days, what's lining our bookstore shelves and our libraries - the subject matter is the occult, and the lines between good and evil are blurred.  Why are we so attracted to this genre?  Is it because we are fascinated with the "supernatural" - the stuff we cannot see - but we are unwilling to go the God-route?  So the other junk - the Twilight stuff, etc - does it attempt to fulfill in us a desire to believe or play with the supernatural? Because the desire to know our supernatural God is written deeply in our hearts; the desire to know that there is a God; but we just keep refusing to acknowledge.  Maybe?

Read good, classic books to your children, not the junk food for the brain! Read books that will clearly portray good from evil! Want to hear more about this? Want some good reading lists to give you a start? Read A Landscape with Dragons - the Battle for Your Child's Mind by Michael O'Brien. Download it to your handy dandy Kindle.

Then, take it a step further.  Read classics to your kids, but be active in your reading.  Discuss.  Ask questions like "Why do you think he did that?" "Do you think 'blank' was a hero? Why? What is a hero?"  "Was it okay for Jack to steal from the Giant?" "Do you think it was okay for her to 'blank?'" And before you know it, you've got yourself a good socratic discussion.  Socratic method refers to the method Greek thinker and philosopher Socrates used to engage his students in intellectual conversation - he asked questions, and answered questions with questions, in the pursuit of truth and understanding.  But you know, Socrates didn't pioneer this method, not really.  It was the method Jesus used. "After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded by his understanding and his answers". Luke 2:46  If good enough for Jesus, then good enough for me :)  I truly believe that this method is essential to getting yourself and your kids to learn to think, and I need to do even more of it! At the conference, it was pointed out that unless you are active in your reading, asking even yourself questions and jotting down ideas as you read - if you don't do this you will miss some important things!  Some important insights!  These insights aren't just going to fall out of the sky and onto your lap because you read the story. No - you have to actively seek them.  Keep a journal. Read. Write. Discuss.  Have your kids do the same. Because the whole point of reading the classics is not only to delight, but to change you for the better; to enlighten.

During the Great Books conference, we broke into groups based on age and discussed the assigned readings in this manner.  It was WONDERFUL!!  It was so awesome to be among kids, from ages 6-18 plus parents, so clearly, eloquently, and thoughtfully articulating and discussing together.  These kids are great; so open; so willing to jump in and put their opinions out there. Its one of the things I love best about the homeschooled community - the kids are usually confident with who they are, comfortable in their own skin. A good sense of self.

And because I was a parent participant, I affirmed something for myself and my kids agreed:  A good, in-person socratic discussion, group setting, is far more valuable than any online socratic class.  And also, a mix of adults and kids is ideal so long as you reserve the adult participation for the latter part of the discussion (otherwise we tend to dominate).

My kids have been in online socratic classes this year - the classes have been quite good - but in no way a replacement for the in-person real deal.  Interestingly, one parent at the conference admitted that she put her kids in online classes to "abdacate" her responsibility to the online provider, while she read to the younger kids (that sounds like my life!).  An online class rep lovingly explained that made her cringe a little to hear, because the online classes in question were never meant to replace outright the parent's role, but to supplement the home learning.  You should still be discussing the material with your kids in addition to the online, and I need to do more of that.

I have resolved, therefore, to create more opportunities for in-person socratic discussion groups going forward. In the last city we lived, we met with another family once a month for "family bookclub." We picked a book, read it, then got together on a Sunday afternoon for a potluck and book discussion.  Often we'd watch the movie of the chosen book.  Fun!! The kids have fond memories of this!

So, if you are one of my IRL friends, expect a call and an invitation!!

I hope you all have a wonderful week, blessed by God, and blessing others on your way.