Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Comfort Incoming!!!

Hi, all!

Welcome to Can I Get A Whoop Whoop Friday!  For a change, I'm actually writing this on Friday instead of Thursday night - I forgot my husband and I had a work-related obligation last night, so I'm up early this morning.  Excuse me if I'm a little bleary-eyed!!  But I'm chugging caffeine, so all will be well shortly!  Are you ready to get your dancing shoes on? I know I am!  So let's get started!!

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If you follow me on Instagram (@fabricaddictquilts) you know that for the last two weeks or so I've been working on a pair of weighted blankets for a customer.  Many people on IG have been asking the purpose of weighted blankets, so I'll share a little info here that I found on the internet....

Traditionally, weighted blankets are used as part of occupational therapy for children experiencing sensory disorders, anxiety, stress or issues related to autism.  But even kids without such a diagnosis find important benefits.  The extra pressure on the body is helpful for kids of all kinds, but particularly for kids with autism and sensory processing disorder.  The added weight causes the brain to release neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine that improve moods and induce a calming effect.

A couple of years ago, at the request of a school teacher friend, I came up with a tutorial for a simple, inexpensive, weight-adjustable weighted blanket that she could make for her classroom.  I've also made these for my grandchildren (the deaf ones) and we've found that they help with some of the sensory issues they face, and improve their sleep.  However this was the first time I had made any as commission jobs.  I had to adjust the pattern for the larger twin size - and now I will need to add that info to the tutorial!  

Everything started with this enormous pile of 90" wide muslin...

...which got cut into strips and sewn into this (note to self: press as you go, not after assembly!)...

...and ended up looking like this!

Here's another view of the weight pockets.

Then it was off to the chain sewing races, putting together 140 little bean bags for the weights.  It helps if you remember that for 140 beanies, you need 280 pieces of fabric!

Whew!  That's a lot of chain stitching!!!

Then it's time to stuff those babies!  My postal scale came in very handy, because each beanie was filled with 1.3 ounces of pellets for the lighter blanket, and 1.6 ounces of pellets for the heavier one.  I use a weighting pellet similar to what you would find in a Beanie Baby - made of a poly substance, so liquid doesn't affect it.

140 weights, all sewed shut and serged around for added strength.  Did you know that sergers are v-e-r-y s-l-o-w??????  That took a LONG time!

Then it was time to stuff all the little pockets on the blanket.  There are ten rows of seven pockets on the twin size blanket.

Next comes loading the blanket into the cover.  The blanket has loops sewn into the bottom, top and sides, and the cover has tie strings sewn into the seams at coordinating spots to secure the blanket in place.  It's rather like putting on a rather complicated pillowcase!

And in the end, two finished weighted blankets, ready to go to their new home!  

For any who are interested, the tutorial for the crib size blanket can be found by clicking the Weighted Blanket Tutorial page tab under my blog header.  I probably won't get the twin size info on there for a couple of weeks, but if you need it, email me and I'll be glad to send you a pic of my notes!

And I learned a funny thing while working on these blankets - I really don't like the feel of fleece!  I actually found that handling fleece for any extended period of time (like folding, cutting, pinning, sewing, you know, all the important stuff!) totally sets my teeth on edge, like fingernails on a blackboard!  Who knew?

And one more fun thing to whoop about, even if it is a day late - Thursday was Cochlear Implant Day!  Having two grandchildren with cochlear implants, I can testify to what an amazing difference they make in the lives of people with hearing disabilities.  Hooray for cochlears!!!

Oh, and one more thing!  Remember this?

Well, on Savannah's Sweet 16 birthday, 2/23/16, my friend Robin filled up this truck.....

 with large storage tubs filled with 17,212 pairs of socks and took them to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital!!!!!  (If you want to see a video of the many tubs she filled, check out her Facebook page, Savannah's Sweet 16 Sock Drive.)  Savannah is surely smiling down from heaven at the sight of all those happy feet at Vandy.  The socks are still rolling in, so I imagine that number will increase, but what a wonderful showing of support from the global community!  She received socks from all over the world, including Spain and Australia.  Many of them came from readers of this blog. You should be proud of yourselves!!  

Good work!!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop??

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And now it's your turn!

What are you whooping about this week?

What's making you dance a little happy dance?

Share - we want to dance with you!

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - No Rest For the Wicked

Hi, all!

Monday came so fast this week!  Time just flew by and I had to do some scrambling today to get things on my list done... but that's okay - it felt good to focus on completing things.  So let's see how last week's list went...

1.  Finish the two weighted blankets.

Well, technically, the blankets are finished - I have two of these...

...and two baskets full of the weights for each of the blankets.  They are slightly different in weight, so I have to keep them separate, and I don't want to put them in the blankets until I've got the covers finished, just to be sure they don't get mixed up!

But I still need to make the covers - probably an afternoon's worth of work, and then they'll be done!

2.  Make the back for the secret gift quilt.

Done!  Isn't this gorgeous?  It turned out even better than I thought it would...

3.  Finish the fifth Nifty Nines quilt top.

Done!  I finished it up this afternoon, and I think you're going to love it!  There will be a reveal and tutorial on Sunday...

4.  Choose the design for the sixth and final Nifty Nines top.

Done!  No teasers on this one - I think it's going to be something special!

5.  Contact potential sponsors for the Hands2Help Challenge.

Done!  Keeping my fingers crossed as I wait for responses...

6.  Write the tutorial for the fourth Nifty Nines quilt top.

Done!  You can see it here.... and here's a pic of the quilt itself!

7.  Bind four ministry quilts.

Done - and of course, I forgot to take pics!

8.  Keep up with any quilt ministry need that come up.

Done!  February has been a quiet month, all around, but we did give away a few quilts this week...

This quilt went to a woman who just underwent a double mastectomy...

This quilt went to a baby boy who was just diagnosed with neuroblastoma in his chest that is also invading his spinal column.

And this quilt went to the baby boy's mother, who can wrap up in it in the hospital and feel the love and comfort of lots of prayers for her and her little boy.

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And I did get to spend some time with these two little munchkins...

...they were really hamming it up for the camera this morning!

So with a big push today, I did manage to get a good bit done this week! Hopefully I can do as well this week.  I've got lots of deadlines coming up in a hurry - so let's see what's on tap for the week.

1.  Finish the covers for the weighted blankets.

2.  Quilt and bind the secret gift quilt.

3.  Draft the pattern for the sixth Nifty Nines quilt.

4.  Start working on the sixth Nifty Nines quilt.

5.  Work up an estimate for a baby t-shirt quilt.

6.  Finalize the scrap challenge parameters.

7.  Bind two quilts for the ministry.

8.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

Whew! I think that's definitely enough to keep me out of trouble - I'm going to have to start getting up earlier, at least if I want to get in any exercise this week!!  It's a crying shame that quilting and piecing don't burn calories....  

So now, the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Little Bit of This And That...

Hi, all!

It's Friday again!  It's warm outside, and the sun is shining!!  That's definitely worth a whoop whoop - I hope you're enjoying something similar wherever you are.  Are you ready to get your craft-y whoop whoop on?  Let's get started!

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First up, let's do a little whooping for 

Savannah's Sweet 16 Sock Drive!  

As of two days ago, the count of socks received was 10,842!! The sock drive runs through next Monday, and I can't wait to see the final total.  You can follow the progress on her Facebook Page - Savannah's Sweet 16 Sock Drive!

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On the sewing front, I've been working on a lot of different things, and not finishing much of anything - but I did make this fun quilt back using up the scraps that I trimmed off of the Polaroid blocks!

And I finished assembling two weighted blankets today.  Tomorrow I'll be making the weights to go in them, and the covers.  Paying work rocks!!

And I received an exciting package today from Connecting Threads - some great prints from Tiger Lily by Heather Ross and a re-stashing of basic cream solid!  I can't wait to play with the Tiger Lily fabric - it's so cute!

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And finally, I had a great response to my Wednesday blogpost...

...and it appears that there is a lot of interest in having a challenge to encourage us to deal with all those scraps that are multiplying like bunnies in the nooks and crannies of our studios!  I'll be pulling this together over the next couple of weeks, with the first post on Wednesday, March 2nd.  I'll start then with an honest look at the state of scraps in my own studio - yikes!!  

Stay tuned - it's going to be exciting!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop??

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you dance a little happy dance?

Share - we want to dance along with you -

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight -

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Take It Easy!! (HA!)

Hi, all!

I hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's Day!  I know for us, the high point was the return of The Walking Dead - funny how something like that can get under your skin!  I never would have thought I would look forward to a show about zombies, but I'm so glad it's back.  As my husband said, we had our own little Pride, Prejudice and Zombies last night, watching Downton Abbey AND The Walking Dead!  But here's a peek at my three favorite little valentines - 

Lilli as Elsa...

Emmy as Elsa... (you should have heard her perform!)

And Nathanael as our very own IronMan!
He was much more excited when he saw his picture...

But enough about that - let's take a look at how last week's list went.  I haven't looked at it all week, so this should be interesting!

1.  Work on a new commission job - two weighted blankets.

In progress!  I've got both blankets ready to sew the backing piece on and then stitch the lines that will create the pockets.  But to get to that point, I had to cut up fifteen yards of muslin - and that's a LOT of muslin!

2.  Keep working on the secret gift quilt.

Hooray!  The top is done, and I've started working on the back.  Here's a peek at the top - with some sunflowers hiding the incriminating info on this picture!  I'll have a full reveal after this commission job is delivered and gifted.

3.  Keep working on the fifth Nifty Nines quilt top.

Still in progress, but coming along! 

And I'm even making some little "bonus" triangles along with this quilt top - I have so many ideas of what to do with these!

4.  Contact more potential sponsors for Hands2Help.

Oops - haven't gotten to this!  I keep falling asleep when I sit on the sofa at night - except for last night during Downton and TWD!

5.  Write the tutorial for the third Nifty Nines quilt.

Done, and posted here - the easiest quilt EVER!  You can get PDFs of all three tutorials by leaving your email address in a comment requesting them.

6.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

This was pretty easy this week - we only had one request.

This quilt went to a gentleman who was diagnosed with cancer of the jaw.

So, not perfect, but not too bad!  Considering how many irons I've got in the fire right now, I think I did pretty good.  So let's see what's up for this week...

1.  Finish the two weighted blankets.

2.  Make the back for the secret gift quilt.

3.  Finish the fifth Nifty Nines quilt top.

4.  Choose the design for the sixth and final Nifty Nines top.

5.  Contact potential sponsors for the Hands2Help Challenge.

6.  Write the tutorial for the fourth Nifty Nines quilt top.

7.  Bind four ministry quilts.

8.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

Whew!  More than enough to keep me out of trouble!  

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So now, the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - The Lovely Blog Edition!

Hi, all!

It's Monday again, and the beginning of a different kind of week for me - I'm going to New York City!!  I'm really excited about wandering around the city, and exploring all the fabric shops in the Garment District!  

But before we move on to other things, let's see how last week's list went...

1.  Take pictures of and mail the baby quilt.

Done!  This turned out really cute, and it's on its way to my niece for her baby shower!

2.  Quilt the H2H quilt top.

Also done!  I love the look of this quilt...

3.  Work on the second gift quilt.

Done!  The blocks are finished and the sashings are cut.

4.  Work on the pattern for that quilt.

5.  Work on the pennant quilt tutorial.

6.  Continue the repair of the antique crazy-patch quilt.

7.  Cut more scraps!

And here's where my week fell apart - I ended up working on some other things!  I'll share them below...

8.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that arise.

Done!  We had a really busy week at the quilt ministry - and a lot of them for the very best reason - new babies!!!  But first let's check out the illness quilts...

This quilt went to a 15-year old boy who had a serious 4-wheeler accident...

This beautiful quilt went to a woman going through treatment for leukemia.  This whole top was donated to us, ready for quilting, and it is a beauty!

And this great little boy's quilt went to a 5-year old who had surgery for appendicitis and is having some complications.

And now for the babies!!

This one is for a new baby boy...

This one for a new baby girl...

These are for a set of twins, one girl, one boy...

And last but not least, another new baby girl!

It's been prolific week at our church!!  Lots of new faces!

And here's the other things I did last week that took my extra time...

A weighted blanket for Nathanael...

A child's quilt top for Hands2Help...

A lap quilt for Hands2Help...

And a business card holder!

So all in all, a productive week, if not exactly what I was originally planning to work on.  I'm happy!

And since I won't be in town this week to do much sewing, I'm going to use the rest of today's post for something special!  

Last week I received an email from Sandra at Musings of a Menopausal Melon (don't you just love that name?) saying that she had nominated me for A Lovely Blog Award!  Needless to say, I was really touched that she would think of me and can't think of any better way to respond than by fulfilling the requirements and nominating some lovely blogs of my own!

The rules are simple - first, thank the person who nominated you. That's easy!  Sandra, thank you so much for thinking of my blog and nominating me.  I am honored and pleased to be in such good company!

Second is to tell you seven things about myself.  Not so easy, but here goes!

1.  I was born in a very southern state, North Carolina, but raised in Miami, Florida, probably the most northern place south of the Mason Dixon line!    Every summer when I'd go stay at my grandparents' home in NC, it would take a week before anyone there could understand what I was saying - they'd always tell me to "slow down and talk right"!

2.  When I was a kid, my dad taught me to fly small planes.  We always had a plane, sometimes the same one over and over - we owned the same Piper Cub three different times.  My dad always loved to repair them and get them back in the air.

3.  My grandmother taught me to sew when I was eight, and every summer I would make my school clothes for the next year.  But I didn't start quilting until about five years ago.

4.  Up until five years ago, I was a great starter, but a terrible finisher.  I would start projects that would then languish, unfinished, usually until I gave them away.  Needless to say, that has changed!

5.  Also up until five years ago, I didn't really like spending lots of time with women.  Then the quilt ministry got its "accidental start" (you can read more about that here) and it suddenly wasn't a problem any more!

6.  My husband and I were high school sweethearts.  This coming September we will have been together for 41 years!

7.  I love going to the movies!  About the only ones I don't enjoy are horror movies, but I'll take almost anything else!

And now I am supposed to nominate some more folks for A Lovely Blog award!  So many to choose from and truthfully, there's way more that I could choose!  But here are the ones for today...

Kate's Arty Bits Blog - I've been following her forever, and she's so sweet to send our quilt ministry donations occasionally, when her mom is visiting her in the UK!

Vrooman's Quilts - I've also been following Sharon's blog forever!  Or at least since I started blogging.  Sharon is a prolific scrap quilter, and sends us the most beautiful blocks!

I Dew Quilting - Diane is a local girl, so I've had the pleasure of meeting her and seeing her work in person.  She's also an amazing quilter and you must see her gorgeous quilts!!

Crayon Box Quilt Studio - Michele has a wonderful blog, full of lovely eye candy!  She hosts Stunning Stitching Sunday, showing the beautiful quilting she has spied across the internet.  She is also the adoptive mom of two adorable little kids, and has been a source of inspiration and help for our family as my daughter went through the adoption process for Nathanael.

Em's Scrap Bag - I've been following Emily's blog forever, and her pet cause, Happy Chemo, has been one of the Hands2Help charities for the past four years.  I love seeing what wonderful new quilts she has created!!

Love Laugh Quilt - Beth makes the most amazing quilts out of scraps, bits and bobs - you should definitely keep an eye on her blog for great inspiration!

The Way I Sew It - I think that P. and I are really sisters separated at birth - we are both tall, love bright colors and wild prints, and have delightful senses of humor!  P.'s blog is always interesting, frequently funny, and she makes beautiful quilts.  Additionally, she's the reason I watch Downton Abbey!

I hope you'll go check out these blogs - they are some of my favorites but certainly not all.  My life has been so enriched by all the friends I've made blogging - people I may never meet in person, but hope to some day.  And if you're ever in my neck of the woods, I hope you'll let me know so we can get together!!

I'll be back next Monday with a report on the fabric stores in New York City - who knows what I'll come back with!  

Hugs!

Sarah