Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I made the finals!!

Last week I shared one of the pillowcases that I made for Carlee and Malynn's charity Pillow Fightover at Ladybird Ln.  It was so much fun to make that I ended making a second one with some fat quarters that I had, but I didn't photograph it.

There were some adorable entries and I'm pleased as punch to tell you that I made it to the finals!  Woohoo!

Now here's where I need your help!  You have until Friday to vote for me (and 2 others that you like).   - Yeah, I'm begging you to vote for me.  I'm cool like that!

In case you need a reminder, mine is Pillow #9 Raggedy Ann and Andy Pillowcase


Hopefully the voting links will work when you try.  If you don't get some sort of confirmation, please let me know.

You can go HERE to vote!!!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Raggedy Ann and Andy Pillowcase


      

Ladybird Ln

The lovely ladies over at Ladybird Ln are having a charity event/contest this month and given my recent sewing binge, I thought I'd participate!  Their young friend, Malynn (just 14 and having suffered some medical battles) has some mad crazy sewing skills and has decided to put them to good use by making a goal to donate 100 colorful and cheery pillowcases to a Children's Hospital.


Having searched through my own personal fabric stash, I came across a couple of Raggedy Ann and Andy prints that I thought would be perfect for such an occasion!

   

I didn't really have a pattern, but I figured it only takes a couple of rectangles to make a pillowcase, so it couldn't be that hard!  I measured a pillow to find the right dimensions.  It just so happened that the blue piece was almost exactly the right size for the main body of the pillow!  Score!

I then measured for the ruffly piece I would need as the border of the pillowcase.  The white fabric actually had two different Ann and Andy borders on it, so I decided to use those as the border of my pillowcase.  With the remaining white fabric, I cut a strip about 3 inches wide by 44 inches long to act as a "ribbon" detail.

As I started to work with the fabric, I could tell I would have to do something about its tendency to fray, so I decided to finish all of the seams using a french seam method, which sounds complicated and fancy, but it's not really.

To make a french seam:  1)  Pin your fabric WRONG sides together.  2)  Stitch a small (1/4 inch) seam.
3) Turn the fabric wrong sides out and press the seam so that it comes to a sharp edge.  4)  Stitch a little bit larger seam (1/2 inch) so that it encases the small seam.  When you are finished, you should have no raw edges showing at all which takes care of the problem of any fraying!
After just a few hours, my very cute Raggedy Ann and Andy pillowcase was all finished!  I will be sending it off to Malynn for her to include with all of the other pillowcases!  I hope that it helps to bring a little comfort and joy to the child who receives it. 

 

It's time to get cracking!


It's time to get cracking!!

Today is day #706 of 1001, so I have just under 300 days to get really moving in terms of crossing some things off of my 101 in 1001 list!!

To date, I have completed just 15 of my 101 items.  Unfortunately I have to remove 2 items from the list (#42.  Attend a taping of the Oprah Show - I TRIED to get tickets every chance they had over the last year, but no luck! and #60.  I had made several reusable plastic grocery bags using plastic grocery bags, but in my urge to purge, I've gotten rid of most of the extra plastic bags that were laying around.  Fabric ones are so much easier to make and last just as long!)

So, if my math is right, that leaves me just about 3 1/2 days PER item to complete the rest of the list!

It's most definitely time to get cracking!

This is where I could really use your help!

I have a few things in the works for the coming months like visiting Rockefeller Center over Christmas this year and planning a trip to stay at the Wigwam Motel.

But if you see an item on the list that you think you can be of help with, give me a shout!  Are you a big fan of golfing and want to take me on one of my 10 golf outings?  Do you have a huge jar full of pennies and you're looking for a good way to donate them?  Do you know of a street fair or a parade that I just shouldn't miss?  Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you or a favorite fruit or vegetable that you think I should try?

Whatever it is, if you want to help, I'm willing to accept your help!

Just a word of warning though.  I take lots of pictures and I'll brag about you and your good deeds all over the place!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Oh, Vacation, why were you so good to me?


I'm back from a lovely bit of time off from my 9-5 job.

I spent it cleaning, organizing and spending some quailty time with family and friends.  I've got lots of great photos and stories to share, but for now I think I need to slip on my sunglasses, grab a really big cup of coffee and try to take the edge off of "real" work.  I think I have a bit of vacation hangover to recover from.

Stay tuned for some fun stuff later this week!

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