thelongthread – Page 106 – the long thread

May 20, 2011May 20, 2011

Yo-yo Bot

Here’s another project from Jessica of scrumdillydilly — a yo-yo bot! If you’ve never made fabric yo-yos before, you will find them highly addictive. Reminds me a bit of Rashida Coleman-Hale’s new Cute-bots fabric? Perhaps you could make a robot bed and some matching clothes. You can find the full tutorial for the Yo-Yo Bot over on Jessica’s blog.

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Howdy, Jessica again from scrumdilldilly. Today I have a nifty old-school style yo-yo doll done up a la dilly-style! A yo-yo bot. Enjoy and thank you for dropping by!

May 19, 2011May 19, 2011

Stitch Home Alabama

I grew up in Alabama and was shocked to see the utter devastation created by the tornadoes a few weeks ago that left more than 200 people dead and thousands without homes. Thankfully my family was not in the path of the tornadoes, but there are still many people who need help, as their lives will be forever changed by the events of that day. I think the news cycle kept moving and left the people of Alabama behind. With a costly clean-up and reconstruction effort that will take years, Alabama still needs help.

So, check out this great fundraiser that they are having on Stumbles & Stitches. For every $10 that you donate to the Salvation Army, you will get a chance to win one of 4 awesome prize packages from some of your favorite people in the sewing community like a $100 gift certificate from The Fat Quarter Shop, patterns from Oliver + S, adorable new fabric from Rashida Coleman-Hale of I Heart Linen, and more patterns, sewing books and fabric. I was happy to donate a copy of my book to the mix. So, get over there and enter to win. The instructions are clear and simple. So help out and win a prize. What could be better?

May 19, 2011February 10, 2012

May Flower Hair Clips

I know there are lots of flower tutorials out there, but as I was making these for my daughter’s class fundraiser, I felt that I had gotten them down to a science so thought I’d share. This is a great way to use up those precious Liberty scraps. Head over to Alpha Mom for the full tutorial.

May 18, 2011

Guest Post: Embroidered Growth Chart

Today’s guest post is from Emily of The Student/Teacher. I came across her blog when she commented on a post and I saw this wonderful felt and fabric memory game that she made for her kids. I asked her if she would do a guest post for The Long Thread, and happily, she agreed! Emily has made this lovely growth chart for her daughter that is sure to become a cherished family heirloom. I know you’ll enjoy this project.

I love this photo of her daughter looking up at how tall she’ll become. It makes me have an “Oh, how quickly they grow” moment. Thanks for sharing this special project, Emily!

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Hello! I’m Emily from The Student/Teacher. I am a writer, crafter, and unschooler living near Washington, D.C. with my husband and our two young daughters. My blog is a journal of love and learning, a place to celebrate childhood and creativity. I use it as a space to discuss alternative education and to share the exciting crafts, projects, and activities that fill our busy days. As far as crafting goes, I am mainly a sewist. Quilts are my current favorite thing to make, but I love sewing clothes, accessories, and home decor, too. (You can read more about me and my blog on my About page.)

I am thrilled to share my tutorial for an Embroidered Growth Chart here on The Long Thread. This project is simply a long, narrow wall quilt designed to be a stylized version of a traditional children’s growth chart. Each patchwork square in the left-hand column of the quilt is one inch long, so these colorful bits serve as pretty stand-ins for numbers. Additionally, the horizontal rows of machine-stitched quilting that cascade down the quilt’s length serve as built-in straightedges; as your child grows, you will embroider his or her ever-changing height measurements along these lines, effectively capturing special moments in time for your family. Click here for the full tutorial!

May 17, 2011May 17, 2011

Lego Necklaces

Last week my daughter’s kindergarten class had a fundraiser at school that they call “Kindercollectibles” where they sell baked goods and small toys to kids throughout the school. This year they raised money for a local organization that helps the homeless. So it was a good lesson in charity, math and economics. The big hit of the sale were these brilliant lego necklaces that one of the mothers made. Holly has agreed to share her process with you, so here she is:

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Last summer when my daughter and I were in Cambridge, Maryland, we went to this cute shop, Sunny Side Shop, and found these cute Lego necklaces. We got pink ones. I was wearing it one day at drop off and the kindergarten boys all ran up to me and went crazy over this pink lego necklace. The teacher asked me if I would be willing to make some by the end of the year to sell at the school’s kindercollectibles market.

I started looking into it and found out that I could make these for about $3.00 a piece. Then, when the teacher asked me to make a couple hundred, I got busy and tried to find a cheaper way. I got them down to $1.91 a piece. I had paid somewhere between $8 – $12 for mine last summer.

My materials:

Quick drying epoxy from Fire Mountain Gems.
Bails from Fire Mountain Gems.
Ball chain from Ace Hardware ($.48 a foot, but $.39 a foot if you buy the whole 100 feet roll of it)
Clasps for ball chain from Ace Hardware ($.13)
Legos from Bricklink

Where I really started shaving off the cost of my materials is when I found Bricklink. You can go on there and find legos that are less than $.01 (a penny!!!). So we just stayed with the basic 2×2 lego brick in cool colors for this school project. To be really creative, you could build colors together, use different shapes.

This was a project we were supposed to do together. My daughter could help with some, but not all of the assembly. I did not want her dealing with the epoxy, so I did that myself. I also cut the ball chain in 16″ links, and I had to affix the fastener (she tried, but could not). My daughter did thread the lego onto the chain. She was so proud when we took the necklaces in to school.

Things I considered when getting my materials together:

1. You have to get a bail that has an opening big enough for the ball chain and one where the flat part has enough surface area to hold the glue and affix to the lego itself. I think the best is one big enough to also reach the middle of the back of the lego so you have that surface area contact.

2. I found these cute paw bails that were cuter for kids than the fancier, more expensive classic looking bail.

3. I thought Home Depot would have the ball chain and fasteners cheaper, but they did not even carry them in bulk like Ace did. I bet you can even find that stuff cheaper somewhere.

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Thanks, Holly! What a great idea. I think these would be a wonderful party favor or birthday gift for kids (and adults) of all ages. If you aren’t feeling up to making these, there are quite a few sellers on Etsy who sell some version of a Lego necklace.