The word of the day is Enjoy!
SAY WHAT??? Another Sew It - Show It Challenge??? Well, shut my mouth!
When Joan of Moosestash Quilting challenged us this month to come up with some kind of project featuring words I almost decided to pass. What sort of quilting project features words? I've made quilts with quotes before but I just wasn't getting inspired.
Then I saw this little magnet on my fridge -- "How Do You Feel Today?" An idea was born!
When my kids were little they couldn't always find the right word to explain how they were feeling. If they had possessed a poster (or quilt) to point at to show me how they felt, we might have communicated better. Of course I had boys, so their Emoticons would have included Grumpy, Stinky, Indifferent, Poopy, and Rabid. Just sayin'.
So for my project, I made a small emoticon quilt to hang up in a child's room.
I only chose 9 basic emotions, but there are dozens more I could have picked.
To save time, I decided to embroider the words explaining the expression. I used raw-edge machine stitching to outline the faces and features, using a flesh-colored zig-zag stitch for their noses.
If I had included an emoticon for myself, it would have been Exhausted. Although it's a tiny quilt, only about 33" x 37", it was time consuming to draw cut, paste, sew, embroider and embellish each 8" block. The things I talk myself into! But I love the finished result, and it will look cute in my grandkids' toy room.
And then another idea came to me. I have been wanting to make placemats for kids for a long time. I thought these would make great Christmas gifts for my sons and their little ones, but little ones don't stay little long, and that time has passed. Still, it was a cute idea.
I call these "Yummy in My Tummy Placemats." I have a dozen more, but I just didn't have the time to make them all. My reasoning behind these placemats was to encourage kids to eat their dinner. There is no incentive on earth that will encourage a kid to eat broccoli, but a mom does get tired of saying, "Just one more bite, please, honey?"
These were a lot of fun to make, but also time consuming.
I made 4 of these placemats to encourage kids to eat . . . and 2 to remind me to step away from the table. But just like the broccoli, I would need a lot more persuasion to skip dessert. Not all of us have Joan's willpower!
So much fun!!!! I love the How do you feel quilt and the placemats are as cute as a button. I think the shark is my favorite, but they all are adorable
ReplyDeleteAdorable projects. You really did spend a lot of time on all of your projects.
ReplyDeleteYour projects are so charming! I really love all the characters you created.
ReplyDeleteI happen to LOVE gabby bloggers! HAHAHAHA And you have grabbed my attention! These are just incredible. From the emotion quilt...yes, exhausted would have to be included in mine...to the placemats. With me watching my grandies, I have have have to make these up. Please don't ever shut your mouth, cause you have no idea the inspiration you are!
ReplyDeleteBoth projects are so fun and cute! I like those placemats the best! My son when he was little actually asked me to buy broccoli when we were at the Farmer's Market and every person within ear shot asked me how I was able to get him not just to eat it, but ask for it? I had no idea. I never made a big deal about eating food. Then one day broccoli became his worst food to eat. I only asked him to take one bite of it (since he loved it before) and he would carry on and gag choking down that one bite. So I didn't force it on him again. But he loved it again after a few more years. Kids go through phases. As an adult he loves about every vegetable out there. My daughter ate anything I gave her. We all love broccoli.
ReplyDeleteAdorable ingenious projects. The grandkids will love them. My daughter when she was a toddler would gag on mashed potatoes. As an adult, she always has the largest pile of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. My grandson when he was little one Thanksgiving all he ate was carrots and ranch dressing! He will eat just about anything now.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Charlene, you can be gabby all you want, especially about these adorable projects. I wish I'd had the mood hanging and those placemats when my kids were little. They are amazing! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLove it! I had the magnet for the longest time too. I love how you bring the simple line cartoons to life!
ReplyDeleteSuch cute placemats! And the 'feelings' quilt is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Such cute projects!!
ReplyDeleteYour projects make me smile. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLook at all those projects - I'm not sure I've ever added words to a project so you are way ahead! Love the quilt with the kids and 'how' they might feel. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteCharlene I giggled my way through your post, remembering the facial expressions of my grands when they tried to express feelings or get out of finishing their dinner! Your sweet projects would have been perfect for all 8 grands and 5 great grands. Thank you for sharing them. I think I need your motivational placemats to keep me from having that second slice of pie! 😉 Carol
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https://quiltschmilt.ca/
Thank you so much for your sweet comments, Carol!
DeleteWOW - Both of your projects are off the charts. So creative and so appropriate for the goals you set.
ReplyDeleteAww, these are so good!!!! Charlene, I love all of them.
ReplyDeleteOMG!! "How Are You Feeling" is such darling project for the Hop! I'm SEW glad that you decided you had something to say, after all.
ReplyDeleteWow! All of your projects are just amazing! xx
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