Stashbusters #3 and #4

Okay, I know it's February and I should have at least 4 stashbusters posted. I really have been sewing and knitting every night but I just can't get outside to photograph because it's always cold, raining, or snowing.

Stashbuster #3 is a dress for charity from one of my underwear factory remnants. I added a bit of rick rack and little heart buttons to the pockets.

Stashbuster #4 used up a seersucker remnant for two more little dresses. I already had bias binding and elastic so I didn't have to purchase a thing!

Coming soon is my entry for the Patternreview Little White Dress Contest. The deadline is Saturday and I got a late start because my daughter and I couldn't decide on fabric and a pattern. I've always wanted to enter a Patternreview contest and the timing was great on this one. Daughter needs a dress to wear to the Kentucky Derby and this just might be the one!

2014 Stashbuster Totals
Yarn - 295 yards
Fabric - 3 yards

The Painted Turtle Camp

A couple of years ago, the American Sewing Guild chose The Painted Turtle Camp for our national project. ASG members across the U.S. made 4,241 turtle pillows to be given to the seriously ill children who attend the camp. The original post can be found here. A few months ago, a wildfire damaged the camp and it had to be closed for the summer. It is in the process of making repairs and is in need of more turtle pillows. I pulled out my pattern, searched through my fabric stash and got busy sewing more turtle pillows for the campers. I love it when I have exactly what I need. I get to destash and help out a worthwhile cause.

The face is embroidered so that the pillows will be safe for the little campers. The pillows will be stuffed later by the camp as they are needed.

By the way, did you know that September is National Sewing Month? What are you sewing to celebrate?

Goodwill Project #1

I thought I'd better get busy on that 38 yards of fabric I bought at Goodwill for $5.75. I mailed the two yards of ski fabric to duckbucket today. I can't wait to see what she makes with it. I used 2 1/3 yards of green cotton crinkle fabric to make 3 pillowcase dresses to send to Haiti. I used this pattern from Nancy's Notions which includes sizes small to extra large.

At 15 cents per yard, these dresses cost about 12 cents each for the fabric. After adding for the bias binding and elastic, I'm up to about $1.50 per dress!

Total Goodwill treasure                        38 yards

ski fabric sent to duckbucket                2

3 green cotton pillowcase dresses         2 1/3 
__________________________________________

Remaining yards to sew                       33 2/3 yards

Stash Busting for Charity

So it's been a while since I blogged. I didn't realize how long. I really have been sewing. A LOT!  I just haven't had time to stop and write about sewing. I have another excuse also. I decided to catch up on Downton Abbey by watching the first season online. I couldn't stop. I've now watched Season 1, Season 2, and all but one show of Season 3. I'll sure miss watching it when I'm all finished.

I always do a little stash busting in January. I've been gathering up remnants which were about 1/2 to 5/8 yard to make these easy little girls skirts. No pattern is necessary. I use the width of the fabric which is usually 45", seam up the back, hem with a border or regular hem, and add elastic to the top. I really like the "paper bag" waist treatment for little girls. Check out this blog for inspiration.

Excuse the poor quality pics. I couldn't get good pictures in the dark house and it was too cold to go outside!

 

  
I gave the skirts to my sister to distribute at the school where she teaches. She told me about 3 sisters who love to wear skirts to school even on cold days but really need new ones. I bought some tights at WalMart to match so that they can wear their skirts right away and stay warm!

Community Service Blanket Project

Wow! It's getting to be that busy time of the year. My sewing machine misses me. I did get in a little sewing earlier this month for a very worthwhile cause. My American Sewing Guild group met to make blankets for Hotel, Inc, a local organization whose goal is to break the cycle of poverty. We made twin and full size blankets from fleece fabric. They were quick to hem either with the regular machine or a coverstitch machine.

Each year, the American Sewing Guild chooses a community service project for all the local chapters to participate in. This year, each guild was encouraged to donate the blankets locally.

With temperatures dropping, I hope our blankets help to keep someone warm this winter!

Stockings for the Troops

I just mailed my last batch of stockings for this year which will be filled by CitizenSam and shipped to the troops. Every year, right after Christmas when the clearance sales start, I buy Christmas fabric to start making these stockings for the troops. The pattern is provided by CitizenSam and can be found on their website. It's a very quick and easy stocking to make. Last year, over 40,000 stockings were shipped to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Check out the CitizenSam website for other programs supported by CitizenSam such as Quilts for the Wounded, Cards/Letters of Support and Adopt a Soldier to name a few.

Shorts for Haiti

A few months ago, a group of ladies at church started making little dresses for 3 orphanages in Haiti. As the project progressed, we decided that we should make enough dresses so that all the girls in the orphanages would have a new dress. We now have over 125 dresses! For the little boys, we decided on shorts with elasticized waists in sizes 4 through 14. We now have about 100 pair of shorts and still counting. A week or so ago, I was not having much luck finding affordable, appropriate fabric. It was much easier for the dresses since we could pick up cute pillowcases at Goodwill for 50 cents. I just happened to be in the Design, Merchandising and Textiles Department at Western Kentucky University. A group of students and their sponsor from the Fashion Inc. Club donated enough fabric samples to complete the project. Thank you to Fashion Inc. for your generous donation!

I added little tags with sizes to the back so that the boys would know which way to put their shorts on!

The Painted Turtle

My neighborhood group of the American Sewing Guild met this week and made turtle pillows to be donated to The Painted Turtle Camp, a camp for children with life-threatening and chronic illnesses. The camp is sponsored by Paul Newman as part of his Hole in the Wall Gang Camps. This is the 2011 National Community Service Project for ASG.

The pattern is provided by ASG for members. The turtles will be stuffed when they arrive at the camp and given to the children who attend the camp.  

The eyes were digitized by  LindeeGEmbroidery, downloaded, and machine embroidered on the turtles.


Since there is a shortage of pillows in colors suitable for boys, we chose colors with that in mind. This is a picture of our turtles ready to be shipped to The Painted Turtle Camp.

A label template was provided by ASG  to iron on the back of the turtle. After checking the prices of printable fabric sheets, I decided to experiment with printing my own fabric. I cut a piece of  Wonder-Under Fusible Web to 8 1/2 by 11 inches. I fused this to white cotton fabric which was about the weight of Kona Cotton. I trimmed the fabric the size of the Wonder Under. So now I have an 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet of printable fabric. It ran very smoothly through my printer. (Don't tell my husband!) I cut out the labels and ironed them to the back of the turtles.

Treasure Hunt

I made a trip to Grandma's Attic in search of fabric or pillowcases to use for the Dresses for Haiti project we are working on at church. I found lots of pretty old textiles including linen calendars, pillowcases, and fabric.

I can't decide what to make with this old (1991) linen calendar towel that I purchased for $1.50. I love the little rectangles with the herbs on them. I think perhaps they would be cute appliqued on pot holders. Any suggestions?

 
I found this vintage looking pillowcase for 50 cents that will make an adorable little dress for our project. We are up to about 60 dresses now and still sewing!

I couldn't leave without this pretty printed cotton fabric. $1.00 for 1 1/2 yards! What a deal! I think I need to go treasure hunting again soon!

Little Dresses for Haiti

Recently, I have been trying to use up some of my stash which, of course, makes room for more. I made about 20 dresses from this pattern which is similar to the "pillowcase" dress. It is a great pattern with multiple sizes and armhole templates. My church helps support a mission in Haiti so I contacted one of the ladies who frequently visits Haiti and ask if she could see that the dresses get distributed to little girls who need them. She said that she knows of a particular orphanage where each little girl has two dresses, one to wear while the other is being washed. She thought they would feel like queens in their new dresses! Several ladies from church have donated fabric, pillowcases, and trim to make more dresses and we have a group meeting next month to continue the project.

This dress is made from a pillowcase I bought at Goodwill for $1

This is a closeup of a vintage pillowcase donated by one of the ladies at church.

The fabric this pillowcase was made from was only 36 inches wide! How long has it been since you could buy fabric that is 36 inches wide?

More 36 inch wide fabric donated by a church member. I also found the green gingham and the rick-rack in the same bag.