It's a Sister Thing Swap sign ups are still open

The list for this fun summer swap is steadily growing but there is still room for more to join in. There is no limit to the number of players for this swap.

 

All of the details can be found in the original post here. Sign ups will continue to be taken through June 29th.

 

You only need to make one homemade item for your swap sister, though you certainly can do more if you want. If you'd love to "meet" a new quilting Sister, if you'd love stalking someone else's blog to learn all you can about what they like, if you love being a Secret Pal and surprising her with goodies chosen just for her, don't wait...sign up today. 

Mission accomplished!

The back story: In the Fall of 2011, a few months after Jammer started school, I was thinking about how very grateful I was for the teacher he had. Barely into the school year I already knew that she was beyond terrific and that he would really excel under her guidance. At that time I was working on my Christmas list, wondering what to get the teachers as gifts and also started wondering what sort of gift would be appropriate for the end of the school year gift. I figured that a they received a lot of gift cards to restaurants and Starbucks and I didn't want to do that. I wanted to give them something that was much more long lasting, a gift that would continue to remind them of my child and their year together and that would truly demonstrate my deepest appreciation for all that she does. It was then that the Teacher Quilt Project was born.

I can say without hesitation that the memories of gifting the quilts last year will stay with me forever. The look on his head teacher's face when she saw what I made is etched in my mind and it is what kept me going through the hours of making this year's quilts. All 3 teachers from last year have mentioned to me many times over just how much they love their quilts. That was definitely Mission Accomplished...they continue to remember that school year and the kids they taught which was the whole point in the 1st place.

 This year's 4 teacher quilts have been gifted and I can say that they are a complete and huge success just as they were last year. Each one of them was totally surprised and ecstatic with their quilt. Here are a few pictures from the "giving". Unfortunately we were inside and the lighting isn't the greatest but at least we were able to capture the moment.

These are Sunshine's teachers receiving their quilts. We gathered all the parents and kids from the class and everyone celebrated the wonderful teachers together.

Sunshine's head teacher. She was totally blown away with the quilt and absolutely loves it.

Sunshine's assistant teacher. She was shocked that anyone would give her such a great gift.

This was the giving of the quilts to Jammer's teachers.

The room was chaotic, with all the kids waiting for the graduation ceremony to start, but we were still able to snap a few photos.

This is Jammer's head teacher. She was beyond thrilled. Unbeknown to me before, it matches the colors in her bedroom.

Jammer's assistant teacher. I think she is a happy with her quilt.

Making these quilts is a lot of work and I'm not sure yet if I will do it again next year. Both kids are changing schools so they certainly won't be expected but if I don't make quilts I'll definitely make their teachers something extra special.

This project is such a work of love for me and I truly enjoyed the process. Using patterns and fabrics of my choosing was much easier than last year's plan and they all turned out great.

Teachers are so important! They hold such young lives in their hands and the lessons they teach our children go beyond the basics of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. They teach lessons for life and for that they should be celebrated. I know that these quilts do just that.

I'd say that is definitely Mission Accomplished!

Guiding Creative Thinkers - 2013 Teacher Quilt Project finish #4

This is the 4th and final teacher quilt for this school year. This one is for Jammer's assistant teacher who will actually be teaching Art next year to all the school's students. The name I came up with is:

Guiding Creative Thinkers

Again I used a very simple tutorial from Moda bakeshop called Jungle Path and I love the way it turned out. This is another pattern that I will definitely be keeping in my file for those quick gift idea needs.

I used one Charm Pack and one Jelly Roll of Moda's Grand Finale line along with one coordinating solid, in this case a light Yellow.

The Plum and Turquoise prints in this line are an unexpected addition to the other prints and colors but they add a great fun element to the quilt. Swirls of course was my choice for the quilting pattern.

This quilt is actually double sides since the 2nd half of the jelly roll strips are pieced together for he backing.

Pieces of leftover jelly roll strips were even used for the pieced binding. You can see how the quilting softened up the straight vertical lines of the backing. Finished size 43" x 53".

It will be hard to give this quilt away too but I know that the teacher who will receive it will love and appreciate it for many years to come.

Since this teacher is another one who is new to the profession, in fact she's still working on finishing her Masters Degree, I'm betting that she won't expect a gift such as this but I can't think of a better way to start her off on her career....finding out just how much the parents treasure the work she does with our kids and the love that she puts into teaching.

Inspiring Grand Ideas - 2013 Teacher Quilt Project finish #3

Do you wonder as you are sewing a quilt if you are actually going to like it or not when it is done? I certainly did with this one. I just wasn't sure of how it all worked together but once I added the border it felt just right and I'm very happy with it.

In deciding on a name for this quilt, the colors and prints of some of the fabrics reminded me of a basic school composition notebook and after a ton of thought, that image led me to think about what goes into that composition notebook. One thing led to another and so this quilt is appropriately named

Inspiring Grand Ideas

I used a Moda Little Black Dress layer cake and another pattern from the Moda Bakeshop, Easy as Pie. The finished size is 61" x 68".

During the construction of this quilt I was worried that it would look too dark in the end, all Black and Gray  but as soon as I added the border in one of the tan prints, it took on a lighter feel.

It is a directional print that really worked well to finish off the design.

You'd be surprised I bet if I didn't choose another swirly pattern for the quilting for this one. Just like the other teacher quilts, the quilting design softened the sharp lines of the blocks.

I just love the backing print and it is why I was drawn to this fabric line in the 1st place. It was another challenging pattern to match up for the pieces but even my long arm quilter had a hard time finding the seam.

The binding I chose was a Taupe solid fabric and I think it was the perfect choice. It works well with the backing fabric and it enhances all the colors and prints on the quilt top.

The overall feel of this quilt lends itself to a bit of sophistication I think and knowing this teacher as I do, I think it is the perfect choice for her.

Being happily surprised by how much I like this finished quilt gave me a new insight into the colors I might want to use more in the future.

Tending Young Gardens - 2013 Teacher Quilt Project finish #2

Here is the 2nd completed eacher quilt for this year. This one is for Sunshine's assistant teacher. She is a young teacher and I've actually known her for a long time. Her parents are members of our fire company so I've watched her grow up.

I decided to title it

Tending Young Gardens

The fabric line is Flora from Moda and the pattern is called I Spy Ten Little Things from the Moda Bakeshop. All the floral elements in the prints had me thinking that it is similar to the Pre-K teachers' job...they tended little seedlings all year long...hence the quilt's name.

The fabrics are full of great prints and bright, fun colors. This was the simplest pattern of all to do and I am most definitely going to keep it in my binder to use again when I need to whip up a super fast gift.

Another fun swirly quilting pattern was the choice for this one. The quilter used a rainbow variegated thread and it looks great.

One of the fabrics in this line, my favorite print of them all, was my choice for the backing.  I love that you can't see the seam line at all. I've gotten quite good at matching up patterned fabric to join pieces together for borders or backings and I'll have a tutorial with my method to share with you soon.

The Orange/Red lattice print from the line made the perfect binding fabric.

It looks great with both the solid sashings on the front and the print fabric on the back. The colors in this quilt are so bright and cheery that it will be tough to give this one away. It's finished size is 45" x 48".

I'm sure she won't expect to receive a quilt as an end of year gift but I'm hoping that this quilt will always remind her of all the great the memories she has of her 1st year as a teacher.

Nurturing Young Explorers - 2013 Teacher Quilt Project finish #1

I'm very proud to showcase the 1st of this year's Teacher End of Year Thank You gift quilts. I deeply believe that teachers are a very important part of our children's lives. They deserve much more at the end of the school year as a thank you than a gift card to Starbucks for all the hard work they did throughout the entire year and all that they taught our kids. When I first came up with this teacher quilt project last year, it was because I wanted the teachers to know just how special the parent felt they are and based on the continued comments I get from last year's teachers, they honestly and truly appreciate the sentiment, they love their quilts and they continue to remember the kids. That was the whole idea. 

This year I needed to make the entire project simpler so instead of designing the quilts and having the families each choose fabrics, I chose patterns and the fabrics and the families contributed to the cost. One of last year's quilt recipients helped me decide on fabrics that suited each teacher the best and then I went to work.

This 1st teacher quilt is for Sunshine's head teacher and I've named it

Nurturing Young Explorers

It is made with a jelly roll of Moda's Coming Home along with a coordinating Yellow solid. The pattern it is based on is called Skinny Dip by Me and My Sister.

I deviated from the pattern for the block layout. When I laid them out as the pattern instructed, the quilt didn't sing to me. After fiddling with a few other options, I came up with this layout. With the alternating of the solid framed blocks and the print framed blocks, it turned a straight rectangular block quilt into something more visually interesting.

The block construction was super simple and it really highlighted the prints well. Even though the quilt might look quite wonky when you look it, it is an illusion because of the layout and when you look closer you can see the blocks aren't wonky at all.

Those that have been following me for a while know that I typically pick some sort of swirly quilting pattern and this time was no different. My quilter and I auditioned a number of different patterns, even some without swirls, but this one turned out to be the best choice.

The backing that I chose is a quilt block print and the binding is Red scattered dot print, both from the same line.

The quilt finished at 59" x 74". It will be well loved as it is snuggled under for years and years to come.