Baby Blessing Quilt: Part 8 (Putting It All Together)

A lot of time and heart has gone into this project, but now that it is finished I am very happy with the end result of this Baby Blessing Quilt. (I hope the new mother agrees.)

To be honest I have never seen or hear of  a Baby Blessing blanket before, but it was an idea I came up with a blessing for the new life and the friend who is now a new mother living a few states away. I couldn't be there when her daughter was born, but hopefully this will be something special to her.

Here is an  overview of how it all came together.

Embroidery Work of Five Pieces
Piece 1 (with short colorful blessing)
Piece 2 (with baby girl's name and birth date)
Piece 3 (with my own blessing)
Piece 4 (with Irish Baby Blessing)
Piece 5 (with Jewish Blessing)
 

The pieces were then sewn together using my trusty sewing machine and ironed. (See Step 6.)

I then added more embroidery and more fleece hearts. (See Step 7.)

I sewed the front to the back (wrong sides together) all the way around leaving a seam to be frayed. I chose a pink and white checked flannel for the back side. (Design choice.) Then using my machine I added swirls all the way around randomly to secure the two sides from creating a pouch inside.

It took awhile, but I then frayed the edges all the way around. This takes a lot longer then a more "finished" edge, but it was what I wanted for this project.

Finished and pressed it's ready to be packed and mailed to the mother and child.

God's Eye

I learned to make God's Eyes with sticks and yarn many many years ago as a Girl Scout. It's one of the ultimate camp crafts and also a great Cinco de Mayo project and decoration. Over the years I have made them with yarn, craft sticks, Popsicle sticks, sticks from outside, and even toothpicks with embroidery floss for little ones. You can use any mix of colors you like and add tassels or a string to make it easier to hand.

All you need is some yarn or string and a couple of sticks.

And, because I can't resist: Don't forget to take a moment to look at the other side. We don't remember that often enough.

4-H Woodworking

Bulletin Board

Book Shelf

I grew up doing woodworking, I took a cedar chest to state fair, I helped with 4-H State Fair judging, and I taught woodworking basics at camp. It seems the carpenter bloodline showed through. 4-H gave me great opportunities to build things and to learn new woodworking skills. It also let me build things for my room at the time, many of which I still use.

The blue bordered bulletin board was a 4-H woodworking project that I made for my room in elementary school and now use in my Craft/Sewing Room. At any time it can be holding any selection of instructions, patterns, sketches, projected (completed or in process). It was made with my woodcutting advisor in his wood shop, using the same pattern his daughter had used to make one before me.

 The year I made my bookshelf, most of the kids in that project had made a full size bookshelf, but I had a small bedroom and limited space. Instead, my advisor helped me come up with a smaller shelf that could hang from the wall or sit on my head board. (My bed at the time at build in bookshelf as the headboard and the width was perfect to sit this shelf on top of it.) I got to learn about making drawers. The shelf now holds many of cookbooks and herb books, a treasured piece that I use everyday.

The basket was a Club 4-H project on trees. We did all sorts of tree projects and activities; that included tree planting, trips to see the process of apple cider and maple syrup, and creating something from wood - in this case it was making baskets from wood strips.

Wooden Dove

The wooden dove is from a pattern of my grandpa's. He made them and he helped us make them.The wooden dove is made from one piece of wood with a small wooden heart attached with clear fishing line. I have two that he helped me make that hang in my windows. They serve as a reminder that we need Peace on Earth everyday.

Middle School Shop Projects

Across the country school systems are struggling to keep art and shop programs. Budget cuts of arts programs are partly the cause as well as people who consider some programs obsolete. When I was in seventh grade shop was 1/3 of a life class required (along with home ec. and a language class), by the next year the seventh grade shop was replaced by a computer skills class for 1/3 of the class. A sad commentary on the changing of times. (At least in my mind.) I was one of those kids who took in both the required 7th grade class as well as the optional 8th grade class. These classes & skills are important, more important than some school officials realize & help give kids excess to skills they might not otherwise have access to.

The aluminum owl was a project from my 7th grade shop class while we were doing metal skill work. After the hot metal was poured and let to cool completely, we filed the edges to clean it up. I have memories of my  shop teacher adding aluminum cans to the melted metal, possibly using cans for the entire metal used, but I don't know or remember. Budget-wise it would have made great sense for a public school. (It hangs on my wall even now as a piece of my past.)

The scotty dog lamp was an 8th grade shop project. Often we were given an option between two projects at a time, one being harder than the other. This was the harder of one of those options, but I do not remember the other one at the time. It was a combination of wood and electric with our choice of fabric pulled over wire mesh. To turn the light on or off, you push the tail.

Don't let Middle School or High School Ssop classes be cut.

Decoupage Accessories

Decoupage is a great way to personalize a bit of your world; whether it's a notebook or journal, a pen/pencil cup, or a jar to hold little things (like straight pins or notes). Using Mod Podge, doodles, old magazines, discarded ads, stickers, bits of scrap fabric or ribbon, I've added my own personal touch (and helped others do the same) to notebooks (often used as journals), cleaned out cans (that would otherwise be thrown out), jars, and boxes. I have a few decorated cans and jars in my sewing/craft room help keep my things organized and to hold everything from pens & pencils to markers and scissors and sewing notions.

This is a great way to personalize all sorts of things and appeals to multiple ages from elementary school kids to teens and adults. It was super popular at camp in the Craft Hall with campers, counselors, and adult staff of all ages. We decorated containers as well as pieces of wood for wall hangings. Decoupage can be done with thinned down glue or using something like Mod Podge (which available in most craft departments and at craft stores). to secure everything and give a smooth finish.

Personalize your world.

The Ladies Who Craft - Part 2

 

These are just a few more of the things we've done with the nursing home ladies. We often try to do seasonal projects and take into account not just the things I plan, but also things they have an interest in doing or sharing, just as the Indian corn pins made from triangle beads, pipe cleaners, a little raffia for decoration, a pin back, and a few drops of hot glue. Very festive fall pieces that can be worn or altered for other Thanksgiving/Fall decoration. (My grandma loved them and I still need to make her one for next fall/Thanksgiving.)
 
We painted little birdhouses, the added a touch of craft moss and faux birds and they are ready to hang in a window or sit on a table or dresser.

The jeweled fall leaves were a great fall decoration for windows or bulletin boards and super easy to make.

Jeweled Leaves

The Plastic Canvas Needlepoint Calenders were something the one of the ladies had done before, getting the pattern from someone she had been in another home with. We used the one she had as our original pattern. Each one was a different combination of colored plastic canvas and yarn (I preferred the fire colors pictured). It was something we could start together and then be worked on in the down time in between. I worked on mine at the hospital when my grandpa was in. (There are slots on the back not pictures to store the extra months and other pieces when no needed.)

Needlepoint calender

Camp Crafts - Part 3

Sand Art

Yes, there are still more camp crafts to share. (Multiple summers at more than one location it's bound to happen.) Hopefully you will find inspiration or memories with at least one of these.

The tiger is a sand painting that used pre-stuck templates that were peeled off one by one then covered with colored sand, color by color, until everything was filled. You can also use a paint brush and glue for the same effect with coloring book pictures or your own design. If working with younger kids you can find much simpler designs, but I love tigers and grew up with posters and pictures of them on my walls (much to my younger sister's dismay at times).

The teddy bear picture frame in the picture was decoupaged using torn pieces of tissue paper and Mod Podge with a piece of lace as a hanger. I had a stash of these that ended up painted and decorated in all sorts of ways. There are a few that hang on my mom's Christmas tree painted and with pictures of us kids. Some got ribbon or lace hangers while others had magnets attached to the back. (It still amazes how often the projects of young kids end up looking at lot a show girl to the adult eye, with feathers and glitter and splashes of color.)

Teddy Bear Picture Frame

The paper box is a simple little thing that can be made from pretty much anything. It was another one of those things I learned years ago, but shared with a lot of kids to keep trinkets, treasures, or to put gifts in. It involved two pieces of square paper, one piece slightly larger than the other for the lid, a pair of scissors to make a couple slits, and the no how to fold them. Over the years I have made them in all sorts of sizes and using various paper to make them.

The peace sign medallion was made using a woodburner to burn the letters into the slice of tree, then stained. Wood burning was a popular thing for a lot of the kids to do, but took a lot of care in making sure everyone was safe. There is something strange about basically handing a bunch of nine to 14 years old branding irons and pieces of wood and saying, "Have fun!" Yet somehow, they with careful instruction they went home unmamed and unbranded (at least from the Craft Hall). I'm a stickler for safety and wouldn't tolerate any less from my campers or the counselors that I worked with everyday. The peace medallion was probably inspired by one of the many theme weeks or a themed dance one of the camps had. ("Hey man, give peace a chance. Won't ya?")

Needlepoint - "Listen to Your Heart"

I learned to needlepoint and hand sew as a young age, young enough I don't remember learning hoe to thread a needle. I learned embroidery first, then cross stitch. My mother was afraid if we learned cross stitch first, we'd never learn the fancier stitches. I used a pattern, but not the pre-printed kind. (I never like the way they look for cross stitch).

I entered it in our county fair, but this one didn't place.

The Ladies Who Craft

Turkey Hat Wall Hanging

Part of the time I volunteer my time at a nursing home doing various crafts with my aunt and a couple of older women. It started as a result of a friend of the family feeling the activities offered at her facility lacked in projects that she would enjoy. They are based around getting as many people involved as possible and often offer rather simplistic projects. In a smaller group we could give more individual attention and chose projects that were a bit more in depth, even those that took more than one day or one hour.

There have been a few goals in this endeavor:

Making Turkey Hat Wall Hangings

     (1) To take on projects that are too much for large groups with many needing special attention.
     (2) To make things that would be usable or decorative for their living space.
     (3) To keep their limited space in mind... decorative and storage needs.
     (4) To have fun.  

We have taken on many different crafts that include some of the things I have pictured here as well as card making, various painting and decoupage projects.

Making Fleece No Sew Pillows

Before Thanksgiving we took straw hats, felt, and rafia to make turkey wall hangers to be used to decorate walls or doors. (I even made one for my mom. She really gets into decorating for the holidays and didn't have have anything for the front door for Thanksgiving.)

We also made no-sew knotted fleece pillows for Thanksgiving so that they had one for their own room and one to give away to someone they were thankful to or for.

Clay Pot Scarecrows

Another fall project was scarecrows made from clay pots. The scarecrows took a couple days of of painting and decorating with straw, felt, buttons, straw hats, and little black crows, but turned out adorable.A nice center piece for rooms.