Handmade Whiteboard Erasers!

And so begins my attempt to actually post about some cool things I've been working on...well, at least I think they're cool...and this one wins teenager seal of approval!  (A very hard thing to earn indeed ;)

Somewhere, and I forget exactly where, I got the notion of using flannel as a whiteboard eraser.  I use little individual whiteboards in my classrooms.  Recently, I've found myself having students use "big" versions of the showerboard whiteboards for group work.  And, I've started using those old printable transparency sheets as cover sheets so that students can "write on" my multiple choice tests without actually writing on them!

All of these things seem pretty popular with my students, but they left my little erasers (essentially felt glued to a piece of wood) really, really disgusting!  So, it was time for a change.

Washable flannel whiteboard erasers!  No more waste...and they're cute and cuddly.  My students love them.

To make your own:
Cut long strips of flannel 6.5 inches wide, fold right-sides together hot-dog style, and sew a 1/4" seam to create a really long tube.   Press the seam open down the center of the tube and trim to 5" long.

 

Chain sewing, sew across the bottom of each.  Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of each pocket.  Cut the threads, turn right side out, and you'll have these :)

Chop up scraps with a rotary cutter...

 Until they look like this..

By the way...chopping up the scraps was fun for awhile...as I dug through the waste I was reminded of lots of old projects.  However, if you're going to make a class set of these, I recommend doing your wrists a favor and chopping over an extended period of time.

Gather the scraps in a bowl.

Use your scraps to stuff your pockets.  Pack the filling in there pretty good because the kids will take the loft out of them once they get their hands on them.

Use clips or pins when you turn the edges under.  I just did this by hand.

Once you have a bunch queued up, sew a straight seam close to the edge.  Don't forget to backstitch!

Et voila!  (As my French-speaking husband would say)  Your erasers are complete! 



Please comment or share pictures if you make your own :)

Knitting finishes...two gifts given, three to go...

It has been so nice to spend this week with family.  I got to celebrate my Christmas birthday TWICE which is just about unheard of...my birthday normally gets absorbed into the holiday season.

AND...I've been knitting up a storm!  Most of my December was spent working on knitted gifts once I realized that my Dad was in need of a warm scarf.  I already had an ambitious project underway for my sister so that meant "much knitting" for me. 

The Leftie scarf by Martina Behm was for my sister.  I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this project (I'm normally not a fan of garter stitch), but don't attempt it unless you're ready to weave in LOTS of yarn tails!

 I wove the tails in as I went.  It helped keep me motivated.

 

Dad got the much more masculine Cinder by Jared Flood.  This was a total treat to knit...I used Ella Rae superwash chunky and the project flew off the needles (and thank goodness for that!)

  

 The Ptarmigan Cowl (also by Jared Flood--I am absolutely in LOVE with all his patterns!) has yet to be given away...but it is so lovely that I snagged yarn for three more next year when MissBabs put Sojourn on sale.  It's an amazing yarn...cashmere and silk...so soft that no one would dare call it  "itchy."

 

 More photos to come of this one with its new owner...I still have three or four hand-knit gifts that need to meet their new owners post-Dec. 25.

Next up will be quilting...so much sewing and quilting.  I'll have to share the haul from my favorite SC fabric store a little later...it's already packed for the trip home.  But I picked up some great patterns for knitting needle cases :)

The last crafty stop of the trip will be Quilting Adventures in Richmond, VA on the trip home...my plan is to match a few of my new prints with some solid shot cottons for a new circular needle case...yay!

I'm off to knit some while reading a book...it's my newest crafty trick.  eBook plus knitting equals doubly-productive downtime.  Happy crafting y'all!

Quilting AND Knitting Again!

Oh my goodness...I've moved many, many times in my life.  But our short, local move that started one week before school started and extended three weeks into the start of school was TOUGH!  And, totally worth it.

I spent the week after we closed on our first home painting rooms and installing shelving.  Five fully painted rooms later, we started building IKEA wardrobes, then shortly thereafter the furniture was moved in.  We did everything except for major furniture ourselves--and in short, my husband is my hero...he did so much of the heavy lifting while I was packing, unpacking, or painting.

Meanwhile, I started my second year teaching at the Sci and Tech Governor's School where I teach Biology.  I may have set myself up with too ambitious a plan for the year--I've decided to "flip" the classroom by creating online lessons that are annotated with voice recordings so that we can do more Q&A, activities, and review in class.  Our pace is ridiculous since I basically am teaching AP Bio and Research/Stats to high school freshmen!...and they are awesome...and we all work really, really hard--which generally leads to AMAZING results.

All that is to say that I haven't really been generating a whole lot of crafty things lately.

During the first few weeks of school I did try to finish up my "Entropy" sign for my desk.  I picked it up one morning before work--and boy, did I show how LONG it had been since I quilted.  I needed to add a few inches to the binding, so I cut and ironed one more bias strip and sewed it on--at a 90 degree angle.  I didn't even rip the stitches...just cut off the seam and tried again to remember how to attach strips together so that they form a straight line.   I should've stopped there.

I started decorative stitches along the seams to attach the binding and reached the point where the binding needed to be joined.  And I joined it twisted!

That was it for me for the day, although I'm happy to report I did finish it later that week.  My students love it--nerds that we all are, they love to knock one corner down so that it hangs crooked (entropy is the law that says the world descends into random chaos, after all).

The whole episode also gave my mom and I something to laugh hysterically at over the phone since I used FaceTime to show her my sad, twisted binding.

After a few really LONG, hard weeks I've reached some sort of equilibrium.  During their first test I knit to my heart's content (I can look up while knitting in the round--allowing both test monitoring and sock/sweater knitting!)  I got most of the foot of this sock done and reached a point on what felt like an ENDLESS sweater where I could put the stitches on scrap yarn for the sleeves.  I'm almost ready for waist decreases because I can also knit and read technical articles on my Kindle app.  Life for me is GOOD when I can both knit and read :)

Yesterday was my first "free" day in a long time.  So I pulled out the charm packs of Aspen Frost by Moda and started setting up for the Lil Twister tool by sewing squares together.  Have you used the Twister tool line?  So much shrinkage!  But so cute.

The fabric scraps are also quite extensive.  Ideas for dealing with bias scraps anyone?

The pattern is Stocking Sweet Stocking by Bean Counter Quilts.

Now I'm back to making a lesson on macromolecules.

UFO is back in progress!

I love DC Modern Guild meetings...they really keep the momentum going.  And this week, my skills were stretched yet again with group project led by Linda and her friend Anne.  We were working on Pockets to Go Caddies!

Nifty zippered pocket with lining :)

The interior pockets!

Mine is almost finished...It needs a little more hand binding and the top binding/handles.  Trying to sew the binding on the sides nearly made me throw the thing against the wall--but both Linda and new friend Sarah talked me off the ledge of insanity/frustration. 

I really cannot say enough great things about this guild.  It's full of wonderful, enthusiastic, supportive people that have become a delight to see each month.  We had so many new attendees at this meeting that people had to sit on the floor!  I will definitely bring my portable table to the next meeting.

Today, with the charity project handed off to the guild (Linda again...she's amazing!), I got to pick the Hooterville quilt up again.  The pieces are FINALLY together! 

Now...my first attempt at quarter triangles was a bit rough, but it's so colorful and fun that I don't care...and I'm leaving it as a record of where I started in my quilting journey--this was the first pattern I decided to tackle, and I didn't know yet to starch the fabric first. (Always starch first to make your life easier.)

A few corners did meet up a little nicer.  I'm so happy to see it together, hopefully I'll add borders tomorrow and get back to machine quilting soon.

Well, I should get back to my hand sewing while I still have some movie left to watch with my hubby!

I'm linking up with UFO Sunday at The Free Motion Quilting Project.  It's a great place to see a variety of projects young and old.  Check it out!

Steph's Surprise! Cute Cork Board Tutorial

So my students and my sister both love my "cork board." (I forgot to take a picture with all my students' cute stuff...I was moving out)

Here's how to make it:

1.) Gather all your materials: (1/2 yard cuts of fabric)  A 1/2 yard is enough to do a pack of four 12x12 cork squares...but I always use multiple colors!

 2.) Cut the cork board into 2 inch strips.

3.) Tack pairs of cork strips together with hot glue.  I use six dots around the edges.

4.) Cut (or tear) your fabric into approx. 4x14" pieces.  I tore a 14" piece off the 1/2 yard cut, then cut it into 4.5" pieces.  I like tearing...it's a welcome change from very detailed quilt cutting.

5.) Anchor both long sides.  Be careful not to burn yourself and do the second side in stages if you want time to pull the fabric taught.

6.) Fold the corners of the ends in and glue in place.

7.) Clean up any hot glue strings and threads and repeat until satisfied!

I use Command brand poster strips to hang these on the wall...one on each end with the tabs sticking out.  You can attach them any way you want!

I'm linking up with T.N.T Thursday since this is my first stab at a crafty tutorial :)