School Auction!

As promised, here are the things I made for the annual auction:

This is my first quilt made with my new machine.  I didn't have a pattern, just an idea from some other banner quilts I have seen recently, and of course, those fantastic Japanese travel-inspired fabrics -- Parisian landmarks, Hawaiian hula dancers, Eskimo children, subway maps, London double-decker buses and Japanese geisha girls!  (I think this quilt is headed to a new baby in Michigan, whose parents were in the Peace Corps - perfect!  I had bought the fabrics with a quilt for my little friend, Georgie, in mind -- I had started a sweater for him when he was born, but he has grown like a weed and I thought a quilt would be a wiser choice -- I have plenty of fabric to re-create this quilt for him.  Plus, knowing his family, I think as he grows he will appreciate the worldly theme of this quilt!)  I machine appliqued the flags onto the white backing, then appliqued on bias tape for the ribbon.  I cut out the letters with my Cricut (not sure I'll do that again -- I think I have better luck hand-cutting them with freezer paper) and appliqued them on, then machine quilted around everything.

 The backing is a piece I've had for a few years -- "hello" in many languages -- and the binding is a Russian-inspired print.  

Speaking of Russia, this babushka quilt is my own design, too.  When  Clay goes to Russia,  he brings home vodka and matryoshka dolls, which I just love (the dolls, not the vodka).  The fruit fabric in this quilt is a collection I've had for probably 10 years; I had planned on doing a basket block with each of the fruit designs, but never got around to that -- so, the fabric was perfect for this quilt, and I wish I had another 1/2 yard of each so I could make another quilt just like this one!

Each of the dolls has a little pocket, and I embroidered their mouths and french knot eyes, then added a little colored pencil blush on their cheeks.

 I added a strip-pieced strip (!) on the back for a little color, then quilted in lots and lots of curly-q's -- I didn't quilt over the doll appliques, though -- I'm not sure if I should have or not.  Hmmm.  I need a lot more practice with free-motion quilting, but was happy with how these first attempts turned out.

Yet another stocking in the Cascade pattern:

 I knit up one Christmas stocking for the auction, and gave a certificate for three more.  After my friend, Barb, had the winning bid, two more people came and asked me if I could knit them a set of stockings for their families, too -- of course I will, but I should have offered to teach them to knit!

For the dessert auction, I made our famous Pinkalicous cupcakes.

Peace.

Make Stuff/Be Happy - School Auction Edition

(This might be the last of the make stuff/be happy series for awhile -- I need to get some things done around here besides crafting!)

Our school auction/chili supper is one of the most anticipated events of the year. I don't know how many years we've been doing it, but it gets better every year -- this year was no exception.

We had a great time, got to sit with the King and Queen of Mardi Gras and ate King Cake. I got to hold Sloane for a while and won a sock monkey. What more could you ask?

Here's the stuff I made for this year's auction:

Each class was asked to make something commemorating our parish's 150th Anniversary. Hmmm. What to do with kindergartners? We had had great success with Sister Anna Rose's big birthday card last year (we had the kids lay on the floor in the shapes of the letters, took their pictures, then put the letters together into "We Love You Sister!") so we decided to try again. This time, however, we tried to do it in one take; we had ALL the kids lay on the floor of the gym in the shapes of 150 YEARS, and took their picture from a tall ladder Doug put on the stage for us. (Yes, I did climb that ladder to take the picture, and no, I didn't like it one bit!) Getting 20 kids to be stay quietly in position was a challenge, but I think it came out pretty nice. Wacky, but nice.

Last year's Red Riding Hood trio did pretty well, so I thought I would try another knitted set. For this nativity, I used the same pattern as Red (from Petite Purls ), but changed it up a bit, knitting in the round instead of on straights and adding a bit more length in the bodies. I didn't add faces, as I thought the last time I tried this, they looked too cartoony. See? And, I felted them. Sort of. As usual, I ran a little short on time, so the shepherd and angel are made from felted sweaters and the shepherd's head is actually a sock. The other two kings, who are still in pieces on my work table, will be delivered shortly. The manger for baby Jesus is made from hot glue (my favorite adhesive), and the bits of Will's laundry hamper lid that I keep finding on the floor, although it really looks like pretzel sticks. I wish I had taken a picture of the stable Stan made to go with the figures -- it was really perfect. I'm hoping he'll make me two more, as two dear girls I love were interested in the nativity set -- I think I'll start on theirs soon, one for an 8th grade graduation present and one for a wedding gift.

I've made a quilt for the auction for the past several years. Here is the 2011 installment: This quilt, machine pieced and quilted, is made up from the leftovers of my Nursery Rhyme quilt, which is still in the works. I only had to purchase the batting and two yards for the backing. (That reminds me -- the nativity set was knit/sewn up with stuff from my collection of yarn and crafty stuff. Use it up, wear it out, etc!)

Here is the back -- I love how Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! adds color to the backs of her quilts, so I did, too!

The woman who won the quilt told me she's going to put it into another auction, this one for special needs kids. See? Make stuff and be happy.

Finally, Clay baked our favorite chocolate cake for the dessert auction. I hope whoever won it is enjoying it! Peace.