Let's get acquainted!

Hi everyone! Lots of love to my current followers, but an even bigger hello to those of you stopping by from the "Let's get acquainted blog hop":

    

My name is Libby, I am 28, I'm a secondary school English teacher and I live in Lincolnshire in England. I have been sewing a couple of years now, I made my first quilt about two years ago, then I made a quilt for my friend's baby and a quilt for her little girl, then a quilt for my chair at work, and finally my New York Beauty quiltalong quilt. I also love making bags, travel sewing kits, a kindle cover for my mum...I just love to sew!

While I've still got your attention, I will just mention please go and check out Jodi's blog, she is the other stop for today on the blog hop. I know she would be thrilled to see you! Ooh and check out Heidi from Fabric Mutt and Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans from earlier in the week!

Here's the Q&A section:

- How long have you been quilting about 3 years

- Favorite quilting tip(s) be liberated! Life is to short to unpick!

- Favorite blogging tip(s) check if you are a no-reply blogger

- Favorite fabric (or wish list fabric) I love Fig Tree and Co

- Favorite craft book All the Lintott's jelly roll books

- Favorite book I'm really into crime, both true crime and fiction. Love Ian Rankin

- Favorite children's book The velveteen rabbit

- Favorite quilting tool A brand new cutting blade, uhhh, I love how they cut like a hot knife through butter!

- Favorite music to listen to while quilting I only listen to music in my car, then it's Radio 1

- Favorite TV show while hand stitching How I met your mother

- Binding - by hand or by machine? On something important, hand-stitched. On wall hangings and mug rugs, machine.

- If I'd only known - what you wish you knew about blogging before you started your blog How amazing it is, how it's like being part of an enormous international family, how exciting it is to see your follower number or viewer count has gone up...

And last but not least, here is my tutorial!

 I make bags for an organisation called Beads of Courage:

The Beads of Courage programme is designed to provide an additional treatment and offers support for children and teenagers undergoing serious illness and treatments. The initial reaction to the Beads is “aren’t they pretty” but it is not until you see it in action and talk to children and care givers that you can see the impact that they have.

The childrens’ beads of courage collection helps others to understand what these children go through and shows their strength and courage. As their string of beads grows, it is something that they can use to remember and retell the story of their treatment. It is also about taking control of a tough situation.

With each procedure or milestone in their treatment, they get a special bead. Each bead is their way of saying “this isn’t easy, but I did it”. Another nurse said “I never would have expected for the beads to have such an effect on anxiety as well as compliance issues related to taking medications. I have also seen changes in patients coping skills and confidence with active involvement in this programme”.

Each child needs a bag to keep their beads in, so the organisation puts out pleas for quilters to make and donate bags following the instructions on their website. I found these instructions hard to follow. There is a photo guide as well, but the two don't run alongside, and I am rubbish with instructions at the best of times. It was a struggle to make my first bag, but they are actually really easy to make! So I contacted the organisers and asked if they would mind me doing a photo tutorial on my blog and they agreed, so here we go! I really hope that you will make and donate some bags, and I also hope these instructions are easy to follow, to encourage more people to get involved, as they are so easy to make and will make such a difference to the children involved, so if you spot any mistakes or have any suggestions for improvements, just let me know!

Bead bag tutorial

For one bag you will need 4 pieces of fabric, all 9" x 12", 2 for lining and 2 for the outer. You could use a couple of fat quarters, and you will have just under half left of each one*. You will also need a 26" length of cord or ribbon.

Place the two outer pieces RS together sew a 1/4” seam on both long sides making a tube. Do the same with the lining pieces:

Press seams open:

Turn lining right side out and place inside of outer fabric (RS together):

Line up seams and sew a 1/4″ seam around the top of the tube:

Turn right side out. Press seam towards lining:

Tuck the lining back inside and press the top seam flat. Sew a seam at 2″ from top. When you get to the two seams back tack about 1/4″ across the seam (This makes the seams stronger for the cording to be pulled through). Sew another seam 2-3/4″ from the top back tacking again at the seams:

Using a stitch unpicker, pop the seam between the two back tacks on outer fabric for cording to be pulled through. Put a safety pin through one end of the cording and pull through the casing:

Tie ends of cording together in a knot.

Turn project wrong side out. Line up the raw edges along the bottom (you may need to trim if the outer has ended up shorter than the lining) and sew along at 1/4", right through all 4 layers. Trim with pinking shears:

Turn right side out and press bottom seam. And then you're done!

Once your finished bags are ready, please forward to:-

Sarah Drummond

2, Park Close

Wickford

Essex SS12 9EH

* Beads of Courage also accept smaller bags, so you could use the left over fabric to make another bag. Cut two pieces 7" x 10" from each fabric, and construct in the same way, except stitch the casing for the cord at 1.5" and 2.25" instead.

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