Garden Quilt in the Making

Today I decided to share a project that I am in the process of making. I was inspired by a picture I saw on the interwebs and then began to make my own version. I am always in the need of a hand project that I can take with me to work on. Small projects work best, but big projects that can be broken down to little parts work just as good.

This project which I am naming Garden Quilt, was chosen in order that I could use the plethora of 5" charm pack squares that I have ready to use. I also enjoy crocheting and so this project combines my favorite hobbies, quilting and crocheting together in one.

I am part of a charm pack club where I receive 4 charm packs a month for a discounted price. I have been receiving these for about the past 2 years or so. Since I don't get to choose the charm packs, I sometimes end up with fabric that I normally would not choose for myself. Sometimes, you receive some that inspire perhaps a different idea that you may not normally make. This is kinda one of them.

So, I have about 5 or 6 of these type of charm packs in my stash currently that contain floral designs in 5-7 different colors. White, pink (red), blue, yellow, green, grey and a touch of purple (I personally wouldn't mind if they added a little more in the purple shades). They are all very pretty and very floral in design.

Choosing 2 squares of like or blending color, I have sewn those together, along with some batting in the middle creating many "mini quilts".

Using a double strand of crochet thread, I sew a buttonhole stitch around the outside edge.

I also machine quilt a rose pattern in the center of each square.

I will show more complete and detailed instructions in another blog, but here is the final design. Front and back. The plan is to make an entire quilt measuring 92" square. This one will take a while.

More to come later.

Happy creating!

Lavonna ZWB

Teaching Kids to Sew - Project #3 Felt Ornament

Project #3 - Hand Sewn Felt Heart Ornament

Here is our first hand sewn project. You will need 2 different colors of felt and either cookie cutters or card stock for patterns.

We will be using cookie cutters for our patterns. I traced the heart shape onto paper and cut around it adding a generous 1/4", traced that onto card stock and created the larger heart in that manner.

Materials needed:
2 Large Heart Shapes
1 Smaller Heart Shape
7" of 1/8" or 1/4" Ribbon
Embroidery Floss or Pearl Cotton and Needle
Needle and Thread



Trace the pattern - cut 2 large and 1 smaller heart shape

Fold the ribbon in half and tie in a knot

Pin to the back of the large front heart

Tack in place using needle and thread (I have used white so you can see it)

Place the smaller heart in the middle of the front heart and pin in place

Using the embroidery floss or pearl cotton, begin with the knot in the back and hand sew the 2 hearts together approximately 1/4" from the outer edge of the small heart

Knot in the back

Place the back and front together (wrong sides together) and pin or clip in place - begin with the knot in between the hearts

Hand sew the large hearts together approximately 1/4" from the outer edge

Be sure to catch the ribbon with the needle (you might want to do this a couple of times)

Once you have sewn completely around the heart, knot in between the hearts 

Slide the needle to the left side of the heart catching both sides to help hide the knot

You can add buttons and include many different shapes to create some fun ornaments

Thank you for joining us - stay tuned for more projects!

Lavonna ZWB

**All of our "Teaching Kids to Sew" projects are designed for beginning sewers to learn during our Sewing Camp to be held at Clackamas Park Friends Church in Milwaukie, Oregon, June 18-22, 2018 for Session 1 and July 30-August 3 for Session 2 from 10-3 daily. For more information, please contact the church at office@cpfchurch.net or me, Lavonna via this blog.**

Teaching Kids to Sew - Project #2 Pincushion

Project #2 - Pincushion

For our second kid's project, we are going to make a simple 4 patch pincushion.

Materials needed:
1 - 4 1/2" square
4 - 2 1/2" squares
OR 3 - 5" charm squares *(which will be shown in the instructions)
2 buttons
Polyester stuffing
Embroidery floss or pearl cotton and Needle
Needle and thread

*For this project we will be selecting 3 5" charm squares and trimming them down to size for our needs. It can also be made out of the sized squares that are listed above, but the following instructions will use charm squares.



Select 2 charm squares for the top and 1 for the bottom

Cut the 2 squares in half so they measure 2 1/2" x 5"

Trim 1 to 4 1/2" square

Sew the 2 rectangles together length-wise using a 1/4" seam and iron them open

Cut the 2 rectangles in half creating 2 "2 patches" measuring 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"

Flip one 2 patch - put right sides together alternating colors

Sew together using a 1/4" seam and iron them open

Put together the 4 patch and backing, right sides together

With a pencil, mark 1 1/2" opening on one side

Beginning at the bottom marking, sew around to the next marking with a  1/4" seam

Trim the corners

Turn right side out and stuff with polyester stuffing

Hand sew the opening closed with needle and thread

Using embroidery floss or pearl cotton, sew the buttons in the center (one on top, one on the bottom)

Thank you for joining us!

Join us again for the next project!

Lavonna ZWB

**All of our "Teaching Kids to Sew" projects are designed for beginning sewers to learn during our Sewing Camp to be held at Clackamas Park Friends Church in Milwaukie, Oregon, June 18-22, 2018 for Session 1 and July 30-August 3 for Session 2 from 10-3 daily. For more information, please contact the church at office@cpfchurch.net or me, Lavonna via this blog.**