Decorate A Bag Fundraiser - 2 more

 I picked up 2 more bags when I delivered my 3 pieces of art for the Four Seasons Member show on Saturday.

You can find the details of the first in this post. 

I was gifted the batik embroidered leaf squares by a fellow quilter a couple of years ago.  I made a quilt with several of them.  Check out the details - Applique Leaves Quilt.

I added a 2" wide strip of black cotton fabric around the square.  I was thinking of making a pocket but I felt the leaf had to stand up straight so that idea was out.  I pressed the edge over and pinned it really well and appliqued it to the front of the bag.

I found on the first one it helped to have a strip at the top to stabilize the top edge.

Here I added a strip of black.  I cut 2 inch strips, sewed them together to have a strip at least 30 inches long.

Sewed it up and turned it inside out.  Once well pinned I appliqued it along the top edge of the muslin bag.

There is a tab of strip which is held down by the blue button.  This gives a place to hook something should the need arise. 

Again, the strip provides some stiffness to the top edge which is helpful with such a light bag.

Love the wonderful blue colors in the leaf.  

The black sashing really makes the leaf the focal point.

The blue button picks up and repeats the blue in the leaf.

I just love the watercolor effect of batik fabrics.  The background as well as the leaf are this type of fabric.

 

The button is simply decorative.

On this third bag, I did put a pocket.   I used leftovers from a man's shirt which I turned into an apron a couple of years ago. 

The pocket was cut from one of the sleeves.  Wonderful navy and burgundy stripes provides a bit of a different style to this one.

Tacked the upper corners well.  Added another strip along the top edge.  I wanted the stripes to go up and down so I had to combine several pieces to make all the way around the bag.  I chose 3 buttons to go on the strip. The center one is shanked to accommodate the loop from the pocket.

I am really happy with these contributions to the fundraiser.  I will deliver them to the gallery later this week.

I like that fact that the loop is long so it will accommodate a book or something a little taller than the 8" pocket.

The loop is just a piece of fabric folded the edges to the center then onto itself and I put one line of stitching down the edge.

The bags are about 13 inches square with fairly long handles.

Makes a great bag for all kinds of purposes. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The weather has been so good!  My aunt and I took a long walk in the white spruce forest on Saturday.

In the center of woods people have set up bird feeders so when we could not yet see the clearing the chickadees and nuthatches were welcoming us.  Unfortunately, we did not have food with us but I did have a chickadee sit on my hand for few seconds. Amazing.  I have seen many pictures but had not experienced it.

Woodpeckers were around as well.

When we walked the river trail we found Canada Geese on Big Lake.  There was very little open water on the lake and the river was frozen but they had found the bit.  I really don't know why they are hanging in here.

It's been a couple of weeks since I dropped 13 quilts off for charity.  

These quilts are headed to fire departments and ambulances where victims of emergency situations are given a quilt to keep them warm and to provide comfort.  They get to keep the quilts.

They were all made by my sister as I have not sewn a quilts since I got since last fall.   I am glad to have passed those anniversary with no further issues and improvement in several areas of my health.  God is good.

I am so grateful for those who distribute these to organizations who made a difference every day as first responders.

We are decorating cotton bags as a fundraiser for the gallery.  I think it is a fabulous idea.

I picked mine up the other day and gave some thought how I might decorate it.

I decided to add 3 stripes of fabric wrapped around the top edge of the bag.  I chose 3 different colors of green fabric.  The strips were cut to about 35 inches long by 2.5 inches wide.  I sewed and turned it inside out.  Then I started on the left hand side and ran it across the front, then across the back then back to the front again.  I left a tab on the front which was not sewn down.  I sewed an orange button on the end of the tab to hold it down and add an accent.  As you can see in the first photo I staggered the ends so the buttons where offset.

Despite not blogging I have continued to read.  

I finished this book a while ago. Between You and Me by Susan Wiggs.  It takes place in an Amish community.  I found it interesting to learn more about the life style and beliefs.

Caught between two worlds, Caleb Stoltz is bound by a deathbed promise to raise his orphaned niece and nephew in Middle Grove, where life revolves around family, farm, faith—and long-held suspicions about outsiders. When disaster strikes, Caleb is thrust into an urban environment of high-tech medicine and the relentless rush of modern life.

Dr. Reese Powell is poised to join the medical dynasty of her wealthy, successful parents. Bold, assertive, and quick-thinking, she lives for the addictive rush of saving lives. When a shocking accident brings...   I really enjoyed this book.  I look forward to another book by this author I picked up the other day.

This is my first of Sue Grafton's books featuring Kinsey Millhone the detective.  W is for Wasted.  Not sure I get the title.

Private investigator Kinsey Millhone finds shocking connections between two seemingly unrelated deaths in this #1 New York Times bestselling mystery in the Alphabet series.

This was okay.  The detective seems to have a moral compass and leans toward doing the right thing.  Love life is a bit come and go.

The twist was very good.

I have another novel in this series.  I will decide if another story with Kinsey will add her to my reading list.

Another card for my Dad who is still in hospital   We were all called down on Sunday October 31 thinking he would not survive the next few days.

There were many of us seeing Dad, feeding him his meals, spending the night with him in hospital, helping Mom with anything she needed.  He pulled through the crisis but has a long ways to go.

A move for each of them is in their future so the cleaning process has started.  We went through that when they moved from the house to the apartment and now downsizing needs to happen again.

I was there for 3 days and spent most of my time with Mom.  She is doing well despite the circumstances.  She sees Dad every day for lunch.

We shall see what the future holds. He will celebrate his 92 birthday in early December, God willing.

Fundraiser - Caramel Popcorn Bowls

Our art group is having a Dessert Auction and Paint Battle tonight to raise funds for our programming.

I was going to be away this weekend but my plans changed so I decided to at least donate some desserts to the auction.

I have been making this famous Caramel Popcorn for many years and I can almost make in my sleep.  With a last minute plan I could whip some of this up in a hurry. 

I purchased some bowls with wide mouths to ensure the max amount of treat in these bowl.

I has peanuts and almonds in my version.

It is well covered with caramel and is mouth watering.

I wrapped the bowls in cellophane, tied them with wide ribbon and added a tag with the ingredients.

I hope the event goes really well.

Dropping these off this morning.

Card Making Session - OSW Cards - Fundraiser

I have been making cards with a friend once a month.

This is a One Sheet Wonder card kit.  I brought the kit to Compassion House and these are the left overs.  The ladies there wanted the Thank Yous so I have birthday greeting in this set.

These cards are designed with the One Sheet Wonder design which makes efficient use of designer paper.  This my OSW1 layout design for 6x6 inch paper.

The greeting is from the So Happy For You stamp set in the same color as the card was trimmed with scissors to the frame. The greeting is cut to 3 inches. It was then layered onto a square of white card stock.  This layer is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape centered on the card front.

The greetings are for these 2 card are designed with Stampin Up So Happy For You, Owl Occasions and Blooming Marvelous stamp sets.

The designer paper is from the Patterns Print III pack.














These will be in a Greeting Card Gift Set in our fundraising event at Welcome to my Kitchen.  This effort was unsuccessful as only 2 of us brought contributions.

Fundraiser - Fold Top Snack Bags

I continue my effort to reduce my stash of fabric and contribute to my grand niece's funds for her trip this summer.

I had a discussion with my sister the other day about making reusable bags.  She was considering making bags for girls to carry their feminine hygiene products discreetly in their purses and or back packs.  Great idea.

After that discussion I thought I had a great simple idea to make fold top bags.  I mostly made snack sized ones but the sky is the limit for size.  The fold top concept is familiar to most of us and likely to school aged children who take lunches to school.

These bags have no zippers are Velcro.  With a total of 4 seams they are quick to make. I basically let the size of my fabric dictate the size of the bag in order to make efficient use of my resources. 

Basically you need 2 pieces of fabric the same size.  I chose bright colorful patterned fabric for the outside and light colored solids for the inside so you can easily see the food inside.

1. Cut the fabric 7x12 inches.
2. Sew all the way around leaving a two inch gap on one of the short sides.
3. Trim the excess fabric in the corners and turn inside out.
4. Iron flat.
5. Sew the gap closed.
6. Lay the rectangle tall in front of you on the table. Bring up the bottom to be 2" away from the top.  Fold the 2" flap down over the piece you brought up. 
7. Sew all the layers together on the right and left sides with narrow seams. I back stitched a bit where the flap connects with the other layer as that will be the stressed connection as the child opens and closes the bag.

Based on these measurements your finished bag will be 6.00"W & 4.75"T.

The bags can be placed in the laundry for cleaning then be ready for another day. 

Having a stack of these on hand will ensure plastic baggies do not end up in our landfills and oceans.  Saves you money because think of how many you use in a typical school year!

These are not waterproof so are not suitable for snacks with liquids.

Great for pretzels, popcorn, any cereal, fresh fruit like apples or grapes, or crackers.



Easy to open for small hands.  I hope that they sell well.

Pocket Washcloths - Yellow

Check my previous post for more background information on this project.

Set 6 - Having run out of blue microfiber I switched to a yellow texture one.  This one is quite light and paired with the white terry cloth it makes a light wash cloth.

The hang towels had a white satin ribbon hanging loop in their center and I decided to just go with that style.  I added this nice striped cotton strip which again does not make it too girly.

I prefer the hang loop at the side but diversity makes the world go round. 

Set 7 - I put the hang loops on the side for this set. 

A strip of warm yellow, green polka dots across the top edge. 

White terry cloth on the back.

With the last few pieces I decided I would like to try this idea out so I made myself one.

It is cut larger for adult at 6.5 inches by 9 inches tall.

I put the hang loop on the side which is what I prefer.

Fundraising Project - Pocket Washcloths

I volunteered to make these for a fundraiser my niece is participating in on May 1st as a Girl Guide Leader.  Her daughter needs to raise fund for a trip with GG this summer so these hopefully will sell well and put a few bucks in the trip fund.   It was my niece who suggested Pocket Washcloths for kids.  They had small hands and a pocket makes it easier to manage.  She suggested microfiber and terry cloth. 

I purchased a couple of microfiber towels from dollar stores.

The left one is the blue one and I have just scraps left and at a cost $1.30, that was good value.  The yellow towel was one of the 3 this the red packaging set so that is less than $1.00 for each.   I selected terrycloth from my stash and reused the white ones I made to go with my aprons.

Set 1 - This is the first set I made based on some samples I had seen on line.  I cut fabric 5x8 inches.  I made .25 inch seams.  I sewed a strip of cotton butterfly fabric across the microfiber layer first. Then I sewed the front (microfiber) piece and the back yellow terrycloth piece together right sides together.  I added a yellow grosgrain ribbon aligned with the cotton strip in this step.  It is aligned along the cut edge and sits in between the 2 layers.  I trimmed the corners then turned the pocket inside out.  For this set I hem the top edge. I then top stitched the pocket on all three sides.  For sets going forward I took full advantage of the finished edges on the microfiber and terry cloth and placed the finished edges on these pieces at the top.  The other edges will all be covered during the top stitching.

Set 2 - Finding the first set a bit small I chose to make this set cut at 6 inches square.  I found that it may be a bit short for my liking.   I must remember this is for small hands.  All the fabric used in this set is the same as the first set.  Now you can see the finished edge of the microfiber at the top of the pocket.

Set 3 - For this set I cut the fabric 6.00 x 7.5 inches. Now they are a big rectangular.  I chose bug fabric for this set.  Still using the yellow grosgrain ribbon and the yellow terrycloth fabric.

Set 4 - I decided to choose a more masculine fabric for this set.  A nice graphic design in light and dark green.   In this set, I started using the white terry cloth from the hanging towels I made for the aprons.  As these did not sell they were up for reusing.  I also chose to use turquoise satin ribbon for these to coordinate with the microfiber towel.  This white terry cloth is a bit lighter than the yellow stuff I had.  Just makes a bit lighter cloth.

Set 5 - This set continues with the last piece of blue microfiber fabric.  The turquoise satin ribbon and a bit of again masculine wavy square colorful fabric.  This allowed me to use small pieces of fabric as the strip is cut 2" tall and 6 inches wide. Turn over a .25 inch top and bottom and top stitch in place. 

I hope these are a good seller. 

Share Your Cup

We celebrated Canada's 150th birthday on the weekend.

I decided to have a red and white breakfast.  I made whole wheat pancakes. I put with high bush cranberry syrup in my red and white bowl.  I had my tea in the matching mug.  Cream for my tea and pancake syrup was served in a glass creamer. I chose a white IKEA plate with a bit of butter on a small china plate.

I did collect some small flags which I placed in a small vase.  I landed a Canada 150 commemorative water bottle.

I was very good and a nice relaxing breakfast.


A visit to the Community Garden gave me a lovely deep pink rose with an ant highlighted on the left.  I love the moody photo of a light pink peony on the right.  They have been so nice this year.

I bought a coffee table photo book by a local photographer, Daryl Benson.  It had been advertised and I was intrigued.  It is a wonderful book with photos from across the country.  Really enjoyed looking at and will go back to it for inspiration.

The scrapbook store was promoting 50% sales on quite a few items so I thought it was worth a trip.  I had been making a lot tea related cards for a challenge and had hoped to land a Tim Holtz Tea Time die. No luck and I am really in stash busting mode so no other product came home with me.


 

I spent several hours walking around Beaumaris Lake and captured a lot of wild life.  There was a hare baby, Canada Geese, ducks of all kinds, a Coot, a Ring Billed Gull and Red Wing Black Bird.These photos are Ring Necked Grebe on the left and checkout the little head sticking out on her back.  The little one is hitching a ride. The right has a Double Crested Cormorant and a American White Pelican sitting on a structure in the middle of the lake.  All eyes are on me.

I have been sewing.  We have a family event coming up and there a request for donations of items as a fundraiser to support the rent of a facility.

I made a set of flat ware roll and placement combo which facilitates outdoor eating.  I added a small coordinating napkin which makes it completely zero waste.  Just wash and reuse.

I chose a bright pink and purple floral fabric a coordinating pink solid.
I cut the place mat pieces at 13Tx19.5W one from each fabric.  The pocket was cut at 8Tx19.5 W.  It was hemmed at the top and then sandwiched between the layers and a white ribbon was added on the left hand side. After stitching all the way around and it was turned inside out.  I over stitched all the way around the outside edge.  I then created slots on the right hand side one for each knife, fork and spoon.  A wider one for the napkin.  I had just enough fabric left over to make a small napkin with a floral header.  Place the flatware, the napkin and there is still pocket for anything else you might want to include. Once the complete just fold the top edge down then roll from the right hand side going toward the ribbon ties.  This will ensure your flatware stays in place.  There were some designs which did not have the flap but I thought it was critical.



Sharing with Share Your Cup #255 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson.

Refurbished Card - Second Life

I have received many wonderful cards from friends, coworkers, family over the years.

These cards are way too nice to throw away.

When I heard that card donations were needed for a church fundraiser

I refurbished 25 of them and am ready to have them have a second life.

Nifty Notes - Landscape Drawing

This is a set of note cards I made as a donation to an event I am attending this summer.
This is a collaboration because the drawing was done by my aunt Maria. You can find her work here.  She did the drawing as a donation to our fund raiser and I thought it would be nice to have her art available in a different way.  Just used my standard template for Nifty Notes and it was done in a flash.  I made three sets.