About this blog

I am Amy, but here on the web I go by A.J. Dub. And hey, I like to craft!
Sometimes things turn out well so I will share with you how I did it.
Sometimes they don't turn out well and I will share that with you too! This blog is not currently active. Links may not be current.
Showing posts with label Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Service. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Some crafting catch up

I have done a little crafting lately, both sewing and paper crafting. Now that my home is more livable, I feel okay spending more time on my hobbies.

I have been using Instagram a lot to share project I have been working on. I forget to post things on Flickr these days.

December:

I wanted to make a gift for my fabulous Grandma for Christmas. I thought the Open Wide zipper bag from Noodlehead would be perfect since she travels a lot. She also likes southwest stuff and I had some fabric I bought a while back that was just right.



Then I could not find my toiletry bag when I was packing so I took a moment (ha!) and made one for myself, in a larger size. I love it!



While in Utah, I made a port pillow. My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in November. He was getting chemo and radiation in December and had a port* in his chest. They can be very uncomfortable, especially when wearing a seat belt. My dad apparently frequently removed his seat belt when going to his appointments because of this. I found a couple of tutorials (here and here) for port pillows and made him one (as well as a couple more to donate to the chemo center). He used it while I was there and told me it helped.
These are made with charm squares and finish up about 4 1/2" x 4 1/2".



I also finished the baby quilt that our Young Women had tied for a baby in our ward. I had made the top a while ago. I donated it to the group along with binding. They tied it at church one Sunday during their lesson. Then I brought it to my mom's during Christmas break to trim and bind it.

 



 January:
More cord wraps. Some really big ones for extension cords and some regular ones for regular cords and a couple of short ones for my earbuds and charging cords.


February:
 Valentines!
I have been following a Stampin' Up! gal on YouTube, Wendy Cranford and she made a really cute little candy bar pocket for a valentine. I made one like hers which was not great, and then went my own way a bit with them color-wise.


Blue for my boys.

 
Pink for my girls, some teachers and the gals I Visit Teach.


 And throughout January and February I have been alternating quilting on the robot baby quilt and piecing this Trip Around the World quilt I started at a historical textiles class given by Leah Zieber at Fat Quarters Quilt Shop. I used fabrics from a fat quarter stack I had of Tidbits by Kari Ramsay for Henry Glass.  It was really hard to do the strips. I could not keep them straight, even using my walking foot and marking my machine with a tape guide and pinning the heck out of them and starching the heck out of them.
That said, I still like how it turned out. Very pretty.


 And that is my 3 month summary!
Have a great day!

 * Implantable ports or port-a-cath. A catheter connected to a port is surgically inserted (tunneled) under the skin of the chest, or sometimes the upper arm, by a surgeon or radiologist. You will receive either local anesthesia or be consciously sedated. Unlike the other two types of catheters, a port sits entirely underneath the skin. You may be able to see and/or feel a small bump in your chest or arm, but you won’t see the tip of the catheter outside the body. Before each “access” or needle insertion, the skin over the port may be numbed using a cream. When treatment is given, the skin is cleansed and a special needle is inserted through the skin into the rubber seal. This allows blood to be drawn or treatment to be given into the catheter that is connected to the port. (http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/chemotherapy/catheters-and-ports-cancer-treatment)

 

Sunday, April 15, 2012

A Special FNSI for April

Handmade by Heidi


April is going to have a special Friday Night Sew In, on the 20th,  with Heidi and Bobbi asking us to pitch in and help with a service project of  sorts. They are asking participants to make a pillowcase for Conker Cancer, a group that gives critically ill children a fun pillowcase to brighten their world.

I love making pillowcases, so I am going to try to participate. Will you?
You can read more about it HERE and sign up as well.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Please help with Quilts of Valor

If I had any quilts completed I would do this, but I do not, but maybe some of my readers do.


Sharing this information from Mary at Making Stash Quilts from Stash:

Quilts of Valor

January 18th, 2012 | Author: Mary
I received this email and thought I’d pass along the information in case any of my readers are able to help.
I know you support Quilts of Valor and I wanted to point out to you that they have a special group request for a squadron coming home to Ft. Riley (Kansas) after a tour with many injuries and losses in Afghanistan. They are trying to get close to 400 quilts. Further information including contact information can be found here: http://www.qovf.org/content/quilts-needed.html I wondered whether your group has any quilts they could contribute? I just mailed 8 myself but they are still 200 short. Thank you! Regards, Almut




Thursday, November 10, 2011

Sharing For Alyssa and David, Morgan and Broden

Love you guys!

http://lous-land.blogspot.com/2011/10/fixing-me.html
http://www.autismspeaks.org/





Autism is hard to live with. I see my sister and her children and their fight for a more "normal" life. Please help!
There is always a link to Autism Speaks on my sidebar for more information.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

30 days of Gratitude Quotes

Crystal Wilkerson is doing a fundraiser for a friend who is dealing with a brain tumor.


 (Image from http://www.crystalwilkerson.com)

Just go to her blog to read about it and get started!


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

4Patches4Hope: My blocks


I made 6 blocks for 4 Patches 4 Hope today while littlest miss watched Cars 2 (cute movie, btw).
They went pretty fast, even though I had to pick out 6 seams, as none of the centers matched up the first time around. :P I just used fabric from my scrap bins.




I hope you can whip some up too and send them out.
Here is the blog link 4patches4hope.blogspot.com
and the block requirements are as follows (from Regina's blog):

 Make light-dark 4 patch block(s) using 2 1/2” squares (assembled blocks should be 4 1/2” square).
Use any colors you like for your “dark” but please try to use white or ivory for your “light.”


 Send the finished block(s) to:


4Patches4Hope c/o Regina Arlauckas, 
PO BOX 363
CHURCHVILLE NY  14428-0363 


A MONETARY DONATION IS NOT REQUIRED but Please consider making a $4 donation for each block you make to the American Cancer Society via the link at The American Cancer Society or enclose a check to the American Cancer Society with your blocks. (Please do NOT enclose cash and be sure your checks are to the American Cancer Society.)

There is more information about what will happen with the blocks on Regina's blog.
Happy Sewing!





Saturday, October 29, 2011

4Patches4Hope

Regina started 4Patches4Hope "to create comfort quilts for those undergoing cancer treatments and also raise money for cancer research." She is doing this to honor her mother who passed away this summer after battling cancer.
http://4patches4hope.blogspot.com/



Just go to her blog and you can get instructions for the blocks she is looking for and make donations.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Pillow Fight for a Cause: Fourth Pillowcase

The other girly pillowcase I made for this:




This one is my favorite. I had a hard time putting it in the envelope.  I am sure someone will love it as much as I do!

My sham is still sitting basted waiting to be quilted. I hope to work on it today. Toddler Bed Day is looming!

Now you all make a pillowcase (click here for easy pattern), donate it, and link up your case and any pillow project you have at http://www.ladybirdln.com/2011/06/pillow-fight-enter-your-pillow.html.

Oh, one more thing. I used the Post-it note technique to speed things up when doing the 1/8th inch seam for the french seams. It was so fast and so much straighter!
Just put a small stack of Post-its on the seam line on the machine with the edge that is glued together towards your fabric. Then your fabric lines right up and the Post-its help guide the fabric and stay straight! Cool!




Have a great day!


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Pillow Fight for a Cause: Second pillowcase(s)

Today I made the boy pillowcases. Technically I could do separate posts for these, I guess, and get two entries, but that seems a tad selfish. :)
This is fabric from Michael's (I talked about it a bit in this post) and my son picked it out. We discovered that while they have some really fun fabrics, they are, in general,very feminine or floral. I also learned that our Michael's is a test store for the fabric. I hope they keep it. It is pretty nice fabric, if a little short on boy stuff.  It did turn out to not be so great for pillowcases because it wrinkles rather easily.
I bought a yard of each fabric, which makes 2 pillowcases. 3/4yard for the body and 1/4 yard for the cuff.






Both of these will be getting sent off to the pillowcase drive at the link below.




Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Pillow Fight for a Cause: First pillowcase





I made my first pillowcase to donate to Malynn's Pillow Fight yesterday as well as started my pillow sham for the toddler bed.


The donation pillowcase



I used the Roll it Up pattern from All People Quilt to make the pillowcase. They are so fast and easy! I have one more girly one to make, (it is rolled and ready to sew), and 2 boy ones that are still yardage.
Come join in and help Malynn reach her goal!

Click here to visit today's link up.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Do you like helping? Do you like Jewerly?

image from http://www.caylinscure.com/


Then this post is for you!
One Happy Mama is still working on fundraising for Juvenile Diabetes and she has had some wonderful donations to help her along the way.
  Like this:

image from http://lorianderson-cupofbeadsoup.blogspot.com


You can see one of them here:
http://www.one-happy-mama.com/2011/06/beautiful-jewelry-auction.html

Read about why she is fundraising here:
http://www.caylinscure.com/

Read more about her fundraising here:
http://www.one-happy-mama.com/2011/05/jewerly-auction-and-caylins-cure-update.html

My own younger brother has lived with this form of Diabetes since he was little. I forget how old he was when he was diagnosed, 6 or 7 maybe, but it was life changing for all of us in one way or another and continues to affect his life now. Research is important, not just to find a cure, but also help find ways to make living with this disease a little easier in the meantime.

Monday, May 30, 2011

A new pillowcase cause!

Thanks to Kool Beenz for posting about this! I have friends who have been blessed by Primary Children's Hospital and I do love making pillowcases so I had to join in this one.
They have a contest to go along with the donations to make it even more fun. You can make a pillow and link it up during the dates set and get entered in the contest.
You can go to the link below to read about it.

Ladybird Ln

The link up starts June 15th and goes through the 22nd so that gives us all plenty of time to make some fabulously cute pillows for whatever and children's pillowcases to donate!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Help for Joplin, Missouri

Kari at Fresh Cut Quilts posted about where to send quilts to the folks devastated by the tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri,
Click the button to read:


Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Angelman Syndrome Foundation National Walk-a-Thon



This Saturday is the Angelman Syndrome Foundation National Walk-a-Thon, and my family and I are participating here in the DFW area. I got to volunteer last year, and I will be this year as well and it is a great experience. I participate because my little friend Covey has Angleman Syndrome, and we feel it is important to support and help our friends. If you would like to read a little about Covey and donate to Covey's team that would be wonderful! There are just 2 days left to try to reach the goal of $1000, but  Team Covey is not even halfway! Every little bit helps, so please, go read about Covey and see if this is something you can support. Thanks for your time!


Covey riding his bike


Saturday, March 19, 2011

FNSI project


I was only able to complete on  block during FNSI last night.
This block is the light blue star block made to donate to  the Cancer fundraiser quilt.
 It pretty much took all the time I had last night.
My iron was determined to steam non-stop which caused some fabric stretching and left my block looking puckery. :P Dagnabit!




I also did some sewing earlier in the day and completed the last 2 of my catch-up blocks for the MOTP Layer Cake Quilt along. Yay! I am not thrilled with either of them, but they are done.




Thursday, March 17, 2011

Day of Silence

To honor lives lost in the devastation in Japan, this group has decided to have a day of blog silence.
Go here to read about it:
http://www.ever-ours.com/2011/03/please-help-for-japan-with-love.html

I will be joining them.

PS Tomorrow is Friday Night Sew In, for real this time. For me it will be somewhat of a service sew in, since I want to make another block for the cancer quilt. How 'bout you?
See you on Saturday.