Sewing, Sewing

Even though I haven't blogged much lately, I have been doing MANY other things. I have taken a little break from the blog as the end of school came and went. I always end up over booking my schedule? Do you have that problem too? I

I had 4 quilts to make in 14 days! Each quilt was about 50"x60" - NOT small. I always make a quilt for each teacher at the end of the year. I have it planned each year. I start thinking about them around spring break. I have PLENTY of time to deal with this. But, I am a procrastinator. I wait until there is JUST enough time to get them done. Even if I have to work long into the night. SIGH. One day I will be better at scheduling my time and balancing all of my tasks. One day. :)

Do you want to see the quilts?


The first I am showing was done for my middle daughter's teacher. 1st grade. My daughter actually designed 2 of the fabrics in the quilt. We had them printed at Spoonflower. One thing that is always included on each quilt - a class picture. I quilted this in 2 sections on my regular machine (actually, my daughter's. Mine pooped out on me in the middle of the project!). Each color block was done in a different pattern. I think random wavy lines is my favorite to do - very forgiving. And yes - I used a walking foot. Once each section was quilted, I sewed them together. The only evidence of this technique is on the back - one seam that runs along the vertical line of the blue color block.

The second quilt I am showing, a chevron quilt. Yes, these are all over the place these days. I used ALL scraps for the colors on the front. The creams were all scraps and/or larger hunks of fabric I had on hand. The backing was a flannel sheet I had been saving for this project. This was for my daughter's assistant teacher. I do quilts for the assistant teacher for K and 1st only - as they spend soooo much time with the kids. This one I quilted the whole thing in one piece and simple followed the lines of the 'colored' chevrons.

The third quilt was for my son's teacher (3rd grade). She really enjoys the beach, so I thought I would tackle my first ever landscape quilt. I think it is ok, especially for a first try. I want to do one of the mountains next - but we shall see if that ever gets done. The picture isn't great, but there is a plane carrying a banner (class pic) and then I used a painted hand print of my son's to create a beach umbrella and towel at the bottom of the quilt on the sand. I quilted this in sections too (sky, water, sand). Each is quilted with random wavy lines.



The fourth quilt was commissioned for the assistant principal who FINALLY retired (after trying for 3 years to retire). He will be missed, but hopefully will be able to enjoy this time in his life.
The solid circles all have signatures from the teachers/staff. The other light colored circles are from a man's work shirt. The light grey fabric was a white sheet I had to dye (I couldn't find a sheet the right color for less than $50, this I did for $15). The dark grey was a sheet. The orange was scrap I had on hand. The back of the quilt was more light grey. I quilted this in 2 sections. I did random straight-ish lines that are on random angles. I didn't want to try doing straight horizontal lines - WAY too easy to mess that up. The circles were ironed on and then top stitched. What's that picture on one of those circles?? That is the school mascot.

So, this is one of the things that kept me VERY busy. We also had baseball, softball, end of school stuff, and life in general.

Now we are enjoying some quiet time with no standing commitments. I LOVE it! The kids are enjoying the summer so far too. More on that in another post.

What are your favorite gifts to give to teachers?