Thursday, August 25, 2011

Back to School Mini Quilt

I love schoolish things!  And that makes sense as I’ve been a teacher for 34 years now!!  I have a Snoopy “Back to School” flag that I put out front the night before I go back to school each fall for the last 18 years or so. 

It is quite faded, but I love it anyway!!

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I also have a fun little mini flag out front that says it all for me regarding education!

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And I have this fun flag that goes out on my deck!  I love Peanuts, especially Snoopy!!

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I’ll be putting them all out on Sunday night as Monday starts the new school year for us teachers here in Fairfax county…sigh!

Where did summer go?  :-(

So, I’ll also be taking down and putting away all my summer decor stuff and putting out some other school decorations inside this weekend.  Yogi and I decided we needed a mini quilt for my metal stand to go with the whole school theme.  Yogi is very decisive, you know!!  :-)

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So, I sketched out an old fashioned school house then selected some fabrics from my stash to use.

Notice how Yogi is actively helping me audition the various fabrics…

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I traced each part of the design on the paper side of the fusible,

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then pressed it onto the wrong side of each fabric.

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Then I cut out each piece.

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I scored the paper on the back with a straight pin and peeled the paper off.

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The mini quilt has to be 12” square finished, so I used a school stripe I’ve had for years for the 2 1/2” wide border and made a viewing template in order to preview and then fussy cut four cornerstones for the border.

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I need an 8 1/2” square for the center and so I pieced this square with a blue for the sky and green for the grass.  After the background is finished, I pressed the fused pieces of the school, roof, steps, door, bell, sun, flag and bushes onto the background.

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I used black thread and a straight stitch to stitch around each piece. 

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I used a light blue thread to then quilt the sky and a green thread to quilt the grass and a red, white and blue variegated thread to quilt the borders and cornerstones.

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I added black rickrack on the seam lines of the borders and cornerstones.  I trimmed the extra batting and backing away.

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I used a solid black fabric for the binding.

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I hand stitched the binding down on the back and TaaaDaaa!!  All done!  :-)

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Don’t forget a label on the back!!  Oh, and I hate putting hanging sleeves on these little quilts, so I hang it using 4 quilting safety pins!! 

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So, what are you working on today??

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16 comments:

  1. ohmygosh, I love your mini quilt...it's spot on for you!

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  2. How wonderful! I was particularly taken with the fabric with the cursive writing on it. What a 'blast from the past'! It (cursive)was superceded in my state over 30 years ago and I remember having to learn to write the new Queensland script so I could teach my classes. By the time I retired, I hardly wrote on the board anymore...typed on the laptop connected to the electronic whiteboard or used the digital pens on the EWB. Your lovely little quilt reminds me of times past!

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  3. I love those little minis. I have that same hanger and have made a few minis myself. Your schoolhouse is terrific. (I used to be a teacher, too)

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  4. that is the cutest little quilt! Love it! I am a Paraeducator in Special Education. We went back to school on Monday. Hope you have a productive weekend an a great new school year. Jana

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  5. Oh, I love the little quilt! You are so very talented, Polly. I love reading your blog. Have a wonderful school year this year. :)

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  6. Your litle school quilt is gorgeous Polly and Yogi was a great help. LOL

    Did not sewing today.Hope to stitch tonight.

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  7. What a wonderful, creative little quilt!!! You did a great job, I love it!!!!

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  8. Polly, that is so delightful!! Well done.

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  9. OH MY GOSH Polly! What a gorgeous little quilt. You amaze me. So does Yogi. He is so helpful. The fabric that he picked out is awesome.
    Now don't overwork him. He is too cute!
    ps where do I get one of those hangers for my minis?
    A fan of snoopy and peanuts as well.

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  10. What a great mini quilt, it came out perfect. I know you couldn't have done it without Yogi. Thanks.

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  11. A perfect mini quilt for back to school! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. Wow you really do amaze me with your creativity! Also thanks for being a teacher I know its a thankless job most of the time...yet one of the most important!!

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  13. Cute stuff Polly - love the schoolhouse. And the rickrack really makes it pop. I'm working on table runners for one of my daughters - have finished Autumn, am ready to hand stitch the binding on Christmas, but am still doing some hand blanket stitching on Thanksgiving. :) blessings, marlene

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  14. I am a teacher, too, and yesterday I sewed a schoolbag to my self out of school fabric and blogged about it today. Have a nice weekend!

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  15. Fantastic little quilt..great colours, and you do have the best helper...

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  16. This is absolutely adorable!! The use of the black rick rack just set it off. I love little quilts, and dabble with them from time to time when I get tired of big quilts.

    It doesn't seem possible school is starting!!

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Thank you sooooooo very much for taking the time to leave a comment! I am always happy to know that someone is reading my ramblings!! Polly :-)