Back: Jane(me), Rachel(my sister), Kim, Mary  Front: Julie(my sister:bride), Landyn, Lauren(dd), Gina(my niece)

Alec, myself and Lauren getting ready.

Dad, Mom and Julie

Children’s Bunting Tutorial

I made this bunting for my children’s birthdays … although it IS still hanging in the living room. This reversible bunting has interfacing for stability but also helps when you hang it in front of a window. You can hang it the other way with no letters showing through for plain FUN!

Items:

9 fat quarters for flags
1/4 meter solid for letters (.3 yards)
one package of double wide bias tape
double sided fusible webbing
computer with a word processor (openoffice or word etc.) and printer for letters
x-acto knife or scissors for paper
fabric scissors or rotary cutter
iron
a straight edge (ruler)

Here are the colors I chose for the flags. You can use one solid consistent color for the letters or many different would also look nice.

Print your letters from the computer and cut them out. You don’t really need a computer, you can just draw them freehand on paper. My letters are approx 4″ high x 2.5″ wide

Place the letters on your letter color with a layer of iron-on double sided fusible webbing and cut.

Cut the width of the fabric to 13″ and the height to 11″. Yes it says 14 and 12 on my mat BUT the bottom right corner of the fabric is not at the 0 mark, its at 1.

Fold the fabric in half. With the fold on the bottom cut from the top to the bottom corner. You have to push down hard. You can always open it up and cut the triangle with two cuts.

This is the result of the last cut

This is what your cut fabric should look like when you open it up. Base is 11″, height is 13″.

All 9 of my flags are cut. Make sure you set them in the order you want to see them in the end to get a good loook. Alternating a mostly solid and then a print is more pleasing to look at. I also tried to make the color flow smoothly by incorporating a color from each flag before and after.

Iron on a letters with the bottom of the letter 7″ from the top.

Zigzag stitch around the letter.

Stack the layers right sides facing with interfacing on the backside of the letter.

Iron the interfacing in place.

Stitch 1/2 seam around the flag leaving a 2″ gap for turning. Cut the corners off to get better points.

Turn inside out, tuck inside the raw edges from the turning spot and iron flat.

Topstitch the outside 1/4″.

Place the top of the flag inside a wide bias strip and sew along the left edge of the bias tape. I used one package of double wide white but you can easily make your own.

Leave an itty bitty gap (~3mm) between the flags to help with folding when you put them away.

My finished bunting. Both my daughter and son are happy to have it hanging for their birthdays and I am sure it will hang at mine and my husbands as well.

Here are a few pics from a few weeks ago when my sister Julie visited from Toronto. She arrived for my cousin Laura’s wedding dance. It was so much fun! The speeches were so romantic it brought tears to my eyes. Laura is so lucky to find a great guy like Steve.

Alec (7) is the photographer for this next photo. He loves to take pics but does not like to be in them.

Pic of the cousins having fun at the mall in Bedford.

Awe, sisters.

Thats it for now. Time for power sewing …. I wish it burned more calories!!

I am very impressed at the maintenance in Shubie Park this year. There are many new benches to sit and enjoy the view. New trails are always fun when you’ve been going to the park for almost 30 years. Wow, i’ve really lived in the same neighborhood for 30 years. Its just such a nice place. I’m not saying I’ve been here the entire time but I always seem to return. I love the house my Dad built!

Yes, I am flying! Lauren loves to speed down the hills.

Last week a crafty acquaintance of mine gave us some dyed wool and a very sharp needle so we could try needle felting. Alec set to work poking at the wool until it stayed in the shape he wanted. It didn’t take more than half an hour. I helped with the little legs but he made the body himself with only a few finger pokes. I have to say I don’ t recommend needle felting unless you have very good hand eye coordination.

The girl I borrowed from makes cool animals and ‘nudies’. Angela can be found at the Dartmouth Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.

The kids are in charge of watering the home garden this year. Its caused a great big water flight which ended with us all getting soaked Actually it started when Lauren had the hose and I was supposed to turn the water off but instead I turned it up FULL BLAST and she soaked me! It was a funniest home videos moment.

To end my post today here is a photo one of my pink tulips. I love it!

Sorry about the image quality, I grabbed this from one frame of a video. His class did a french play about a moon that the animals thought had fallen into the water. They did a great job! Alec is the sheep with the beige pants. I am amazed at the amount of french these kids can speak after only one year. The french teacher has been teaching the kids using a new method with hand gestures. If I ever get around to converting the video to a smaller format I will post it.

The grade 5/6 did a Capoeira demonstration that was fantastic. The class had a local group come to the school on Wednesdays this term to teach them this Brazilian martial art. How can anyone top that performance next year?

Time to pick up Alec at school. Only 13 more days!! Soccer doesn’t start until August and I have absolutely nothing else planned! It is going to be a great summer

We baked all day Friday to get ready for the weekend. Missy loves liking the bowl

The spring garden cleanup was done including tilling and planting the vegetable garden. I hope the seeds still sprout in the chilly weather. I am keeping my fingers crossed for no frost. Jason used a small rototiller while I howed around the raspberries.

Nothing is better than a bowl of hot soup to warm you up. Check out how slanted the floor is!

It was a holiday and all the fishing boats were docked.

I took this last week in the park. What good is a puddle if you can’t go in it?

She is riding Abby’s bike, wearing Abby’s clothes and carrying Abby’s pony in her basket. We are very grateful to our neighbours Jen and Tom for passing along Abby’s belongings.

My favourite day of the year is tomorrow. Alec made me something special at school. He has been keeping a secret all week.