Pandemic Sewing

I am staying at home during the pandemic as asked by Indiana's governor. But even though I am retired and home quite a bit already, I have felt restless. I like to sew, I like to serve, and so what better way to do something worthwhile than to sew masks?

I looked at several online patterns and tutorials before selecting the pattern I liked best.

I have lots and lots of fabric on hand, both in the form of scraps from other projects as well as fabrics that I have bought because I liked them and knew that I could find something to make with them. (Every sewist does that, and we pile up tubs and tubs of fabrics!)

 Small prints work best for the masks and I have plenty of that in the fabrics I use to sew quiet books.

Other past sewing projects have included Christmas stockings, pillowcases, tablecloths, and pot holders. Leftover fabrics from those work well.

 The adult masks aren't hard to make, but the children's masks are so tiny and more difficult. This set is for Jessica and her family in Utah.

Since people around the world are sewing masks, too, there is a real shortage of 1/4 inch elastic, and I have had to get creative since I ran out of my supply yesterday.

I had some colorful rolled elastic and tried that in the masks for Julie, Kate, and Susie in Nashville.

Their mama is getting this fabric (one of my favorite fabrics ever!) and I am still working on Cole's plain black one. He gets my last two pieces of elastic.

Lisa asked for orange fabric, and Craig requested argyle.

I still need to hear from Sarah, Kyle, and Curt if they need masks, too, and I need one as well. I will choose something horsey, of course.

I love all three of these and have enough to make pot holders, tablecloths, and aprons out of them, but I think I can spare an 8 x 14 inch rectangle to make my own mask.

Now I wait on more 1/4 inch elastic. Everywhere in town is sold out as are the online sewing places I shop. Amazon has it, but it comes from China and there is a two week to one month wait to get it here. I'll either have to use the rolled elastic for myself or keep digging and see if I can find another source.

In the meantime, it has felt good to use my sewing skills to help out my family. And if I am able to get more elastic, I'd like to make some for the two local hospitals as well.

Susie & Lukie's St. Patrick's Day Pillowcases

Fabric for St. Patrick's Day without drinking motifs is a little tough to find, so I used the same fabric for both Susan and Lukas when I made these pillowcases.

 A finished pillowcase.

A close up of the print.

Lukie's Valentine Pillowcase & Some for Siblings, Too

I made this Valentine pillowcase for Lukie,

and when Ian and Mila saw it, they asked me to make them some more pillowcases. I was happy to oblige - I love sewing for them!

Mila wanted Belle and Ian couldn't decide between Mario and Spiderman so he got both.

Christmas Aprons!

Using a pattern, fabric, thread, and bias tape that I already had on hand, yesterday I whipped up Christmas aprons for Ian, Mila, and Lukas.

 This fabric looks black in the photo, but it's really dark brown. Lukie got this one.

 Mila wanted this one when she learned that it had sparkles (glitter) on it.

 Ian really wanted the penguins.

 I think they turned out very well.

 Purple frosting on a horse cookie. (She asked me to make horses when I asked what shape to use.)

 Ian wanted gingerbread men cookies, so I made five of those for him.

 Oh, dear! It looks like Lukie's nose is running but that's really frosting on his face.

Lukie's Christmas Pillowcase

I finished Lukie's pillowcase this afternoon and will give it to him tomorrow when they come over for Sunday dinner.

The Christmas Tablecloth

As I mentioned a few blog posts ago, I love to sew.  With Christmas fast approaching, that means I am sewing several things for gifts or home decor.

One of my current projects has a lot of sentimental value to me. When my kids were little, I wanted to make a Christmas tablecloth with horses on it. I looked and looked (this was pre fabric.com days) but couldn't find what I wanted. But, I did find something close.

Santa in his sleigh being pulled by a reindeer! If you can't have a horse drawn sleigh, a reindeer pulled one works almost as well.

After about thirty years of use, and many launderings, my tablecloth is faded but still functional. It is also highly sentimental, not only to me, but to my kids as well. Already I have been asked if I could pass it on to one of them "when the time comes." (How do you say THAT delicately - in other words, when I die!)

Since there are six kids and only one tablecloth, I decided to see if I could find the fabric online and make one for each of my kids.

I searched for several years, and then last January, found 15 yards of it on eBay. I snapped it up.

The seller said the fabric was in excellent shape, and they were right. And, compared to my well-loved tablecloth, the colors are bright and the fabric crisp. Mine is faded and more than a little limp. (Think well-loved.)

And now I am sewing tablecloths.

I love my reindeer sleigh tablecloth and all the family memories that are tied up in its history. But if I ever find fabric with a horse-drawn sleigh, you can bet I'll buy a couple of yards and make myself a new tablecloth, too.

Susan's Quiet Book

Susan's quiet book is done, and I am so happy with how it turned out!

 I love this woodland fabric (I also made a matching pillow for her.)

 This time I used felt for backgrounds on every page.

 That made the finished book larger, but only by an inch around the perimeter.

 Writing on the felt is much harder, so this is the only writing Susan got in her book.

The plaid fabric is a remnant from a Christmas dress I made Jessica when she was five or six.

The black velcro circle is an experiment. In the book, the Very Hungry Caterpillar eats holes in the food. The velcro circle can be placed on the food items to look as though he ate them.

 I designed this drum for Lucas and am very happy with how it turned out for Susan.

 For the first time ever, no buttons for the flowers. The buttonholes just tear up the flowers eventually.

The orange and blue is a nod to Cole and Emily's affinity for the University of Illinois. The gold and black are for Purdue.

 I drew the waves and added a double layer this time for interest.

 A family favorite, and reminiscent of Apple Jack and Granny Slash's apple orchard in Brookston.

 I drew the horse and fence in this page. The saddle is removable.

 I added some brown to her hair with fabric paint after this photo was taken.

 I created this page and just love it!

 I will give Susan her book at Thanksgiving. I can't wait!