June Fun Days

Here are some fun holidays to brighten up your June. 

June 1^st is Global Day for Parents so do something nice for those who gave your life.  If you are social distancing from them, give them a call or maybe have a nice meal delivered to them as a surprise.  And add some olives because it is also National Olive Day.

Have an egg breakfast on June 3^rd since it is National Egg day.  In fact make all your meals that day egg related.   And burn off those egg calories byt riding your bike since it is World Bicycle Day.

Make sure cheese is in your diet on June 4^th for National cheese day.  Maybe even try some new cheese.  But don’t share the cheese with your cat as you hug your feline for Hug Your Cat Day, also on the 4^th.

If you have started getting out more since hopefully the weather is nice where you are, pick up litter you see for June 5^th is World Environment Day.

June 6^th is National Yo-yo Day so get out that childhood toy and try some new tricks.  I am sure there are videos on the internet.  And if you do learn any new tricks, celebrate the next day (June 7^th) with National Chocolate Ice Cream Day.  Ah, even if you haven’t celebrate with a scoop or two.

National Best Friends Day is June 8^th so spend the day with a friend.  If you can’t get close talk to them on the phone or have a online date.

For some different entertainment, find some videos of the Disney character and watch them on June 9^th which is National Donald Duck Day. 

Quench your thirst on June 10^th for National Ice Tea Day – either sweet or unsweeten.  And save some for June 11^th to drink while you munch on corn on the cob for that veggies national day.

Get out those stars and stripes for Flag Day on June 14^th.    And keep celebrating the flag with some fudge on June 16^th, National Fudge Day.  

June 17^th is a good day to go to a farmer’s market if one is near you sor it is National Eat your Vegetables Day.  How about a salad for lunch?   The 18^th is International Sushi Day but if you like fish but not sushi, it is also National Go Fishing Day.

Summer solstice is on June 20^th followed by International Yoga Day on the twenty-first. Also on the 21^st is National Smoothie Day and National Selfie Day.   So get out that camera while doing yoga or drinking your smoothie and snap yourself having some fun.

National Hydration Day is June 23td so carry water with you wherever you go.  Get out those old records and listen to the Beatles because it is Global Beatles Day on the 25^th.  June seems to be the chocolate month because June 36^th is another serving of chocolate in National Chocolate Pudding Day.

June 29^th is Hug Holiday so hug all those people you can (and give an air hug for those you can’t meet with) and maybe take a picture of someone hugging since it is also National Camera Day.

 With everything that is going on in the world today, it is good to celebrate those little things that make life wonderful.  Happy June Celebrating!

©2020 Cheryl Fillion

 

 

 

Mini Yoyo Trees

I mentioned a couple of blogs ago that I have been busy making yoyos during the shelter in place orders in my county.  I will admit that this pandemic has got me distracted and I have had trouble concentrating on anything.  But believe it or not, making yoyos is relaxing to me and making tiny ones (finished size about the size of a nickel or even a dime) also helps me use up even the smallest of scraps.

Since I have a lot of green ones, I decided to make some yoyo tree ornaments to put in my etsy shop.  Yoyos are easy to make but if you have never made one, here is a tutorial on how to do just that (be careful, they can be addictive to make).

For this ornament you need 10 green yoyos and one brown one.  You want to arrange them in a triangle shape with one yoyo at the top and 4 at the bottom. You don’t have to use different fabrics for your green yoyos but I like the varied it gives.   I put them a little off center from one row to the next so they fit together better (this is a little different from my tutorial).

I also sew them first by rows and then sew the rows together. 

Once that is done that last part is the brown yoyo which is the trunk of the tree.  Sew that under the last row.

Now sew a thread hanger through the top yoyo and you have an ornament.  You don’t have to make the yoyos as small as I did but remember the bigger the yoyos, the bigger the ornament. So go find some green fabric and start yo-yoing.



©2020 Cheryl Fillion



Bias Tape Ties for Masks

So masks are part of our daily wardrobe now.  I have been late in starting to make them (I had some other masks I could use).  This means elastic is hard to come by.  I found a pattern on the internet which uses bias tape ties.

This is great.  Don’t need to buy anything extra.  I even have bias tape makers.  Yeah!  I celebrated too soon. The size bias tape I want for a tie is too small for one tape maker and too big for another. So what do I do? 

I tried using the small one but when I would put the fabric strip through the maker and press the fabric, a pleat would appear on the back.  That pleat would make it difficult to sew the tie on the mask.

This left one other option, fold and iron the bias tape without the maker.  It is possible but takes a bit more time.  And there is the problem of possibly burning your fingers with the iron.  That would not be fun.

The first thing to be done is lay the fabric strip on the ironing surface wrong side of fabric up.  You need to press this strip in half long way.  Now you can do this with your finger as you move the iron along the length of the fabric.  Or you can fold it in half (again wrong side together along the length of the strip) and pin it ever couple of inches to keep it in place.

What I do when I do this type of pressing is to use long quilt pin and make sure only the pin part (not the decorative or ball top) is in the fabric.  You are able to press the fabric without having to take the pins out.  (A hint here: I usually do the pinning while sitting and watching TV.  It isn’t quite as boring that way.  Just don’t poke yourself with the pin).

Now pressing is different than ironing.  When you press you lift the iron up and place it down on the area you are working on and then lift it up and move to the next area.  Ironing usually means moving the hot iron around on the fabric without lifting it for each section.

With this you want to press.  If you iron it, the iron can catch the pin and move it.  Either causing the pin to rip the fabric or move the pin around so it creates a wrinkle.   Just press the iron down, over the pin, pick the iron up and move to the next section.  Make sure not to let the iron touch the decorative top of your pin (a ball or flower or leaf) as the iron might melt the top and then you have a whole other mess on the fabric and your iron.



The ironing the strip in half is the first part.  The next part is opening up your folded strip and folding the edges to the center.  This is what makes the bias tape useful.  When it is completed you should not see any raw edges along the length of your tape so nothing unravels.  I did the same thing I did with pinning the strip to press it in half.  This is usually where – if I don’t pin it – I burn my fingers.  And again you want to press not iron.  And be careful not melt the top to your pins.

The next step is to attach the binding to whatever you have made it for, in this case my mask.  (what the pictures are going to show is the binding on the side of the mask.  I’ll get to the binding as ties in the next step.)  You want to open up the binding with the sides still folded in and place the mask on one half of the binding.



Then fold and pin the other side of the binding over so the raw edge of the mask is covered.  Now you stitch it down. Often with a binding a straight stitch is used.  But I read a hint to use a small zigzag stitch so that the stitching is stronger and more durable as the mask goes through many washings and wearing



Another hint I found personally is that some time the mask itself especially where the pleats are doesn’t stay in the binding and will shift.  So I actually found it easier to sew with binding clips. My philosophy is if one technique doesn’t work, try another. 



Now time to make the ties.  I cut the fabric the width of the fabric.  This way it is adjustable for all sizes of heads.  It can also be tied behind the ears but I found it difficult with my glasses on.

First find the center of the top and bottom of the mask and mark it.  Find the center of the bias tape and mark it.  The match the center of the mask and the center of the bias tape.  Doing the steps above put the mask inside the fold of the bias tape





Before you start sewing the ties, take one end and fold the fabric down by 1/4 inch width wise on the tape,  then fold it inside the length wise folds. Then do the other side. This gives you a nice clean end to the ties so they don’t unravel.

Now starting with one end of the ties stitch from one end of the bias tape all along across the mask and then sewing the bias tape to the other end.  I pinned the ties part of the bias tape but clipped it along the mask.  For me, clips all along the bias tape length were too difficult to handle at the sewing machine.   





You now have one side done.  Repeat on the other side and your mask should be done.  And that is how you finish a mask with bias tape without a tape maker.  I can’t share the pattern I used because it is copyrighted but there are all kinds of mask designs out on the internet with elastic or with bias tape ties.  Make some for your family and in that way you are helping to keep them safe.  Happy Mask Making.

©2020 Cheryl Fillion



Mini Yoyos

I hope you don't mind this report.  This week I am busy with finals at the college where I teach.  But this is what I am busy with these days.  In fact I am doing another pink heart.

I like making fabric yoyos, little round pieces of fabric gathered together at the edges to make a little textured piece of fabric.  You can use it for all kings of things.  At one time women would sew the completed yoyos together to make comforters for a bed – often used in the summer.  I have made Christmas ornaments, pins, table mats and wall hangings.

Usually a finished yoyo is anywhere from 1½ inch to 3 inches in diameter.  But a few years ago someone challenged me to see how small I could make a yoyo and that began it all.  My yoyos were as small as ½ and ¾ inches in diameter.  Yes that is small.  So what do I do with tiny little yoyos?  I make things. 

Most of what I make are table mats or doilies as I often call them.   It started with a miniature challenge.  I made a wall hanging that was about 14 inches wide and long.  It had about 225 yoyos in it.  Sounds crazy, huh?  Yes well, I won a blue ribbon in a miniature category in a quilt show for it.   I don’t mind crazy for a blue ribbon.

them in quilts and other needle work where a button is required as an embellishment. But I can also take small cross stitch or bead designs and use those designs as a guide for my yoyos.  Where you would put a cross stitch or a bead just sew a yoyo.  So for example if you are making a design with 3 beads in a row, take that design and sew 3 yoyos together.

With that I have made all kinds of table mats or wall hangings.  I have a small 2 inch heart cross stitch design, which I have made into mats with my yoyos.  I used a bead design of an awareness ribbon, to create a pink ribbon out of yoyos.  My favorites are some bead designs for a pumpkin and jack o’lantern.



Now these designs could work with bigger yoyos but understand that it would make the entire piece huge.  Let’s take my little heart. It needs 9 yoyos across and 9 down.   With ¾” yoyos, it’s about 7 inches square.  A nice size for a table mat.  But if we use let’s say   2 inch yoyos, that would make it finish at about 18 inch.  Now we are talking about more of a table cloth.  (My Blue ribbon yoyo piece I mentioned above used 15 yoyos across the top and 15 down.  With 2 inch yoyos that would make it 30” wide and 30” long.  This could be more like a baby quilt or coverlet.)

To make the small yoyos you need a piece of fabric that is twice the size as the finished yoyo with about ¼ inch for a seam allowance.  So for my 3/4 inch yoyo, I start with a circle about 1 3/4 inches in diameter. What I really like is it uses all kinds of small pieces of fabric (I was taught by my Grandmother to never waste fabric.).  If you are not sure how to make a yoyo of any size, here is my tutorial on making yoyos.

Now yoyos are one of those things that you either enjoy making them or you don’t.  I enjoy them.  It is not something I have to concentrate on.  It is very repetitious so it tends to be relaxing.  I often do bunches at a time when I am really busy and just need a little relaxation or am mentally exhausted and need to keep my hands busy like when I am grading term papers.   I often have a supply of hundreds of yoyos and then it is just fun to see what I can do with them.

So if you are one who likes yoyos and likes the challenge of making tiny things and don’t like to waste even a little bit of fabric, try making some mini yoyos. They are fun to make but I warn you they are addicting.  You can’t make just one.

©2019, 2020- Cheryl E. Fillion



May Fun Days

Now to keep May a little exciting and fun, here are some special days to have fun with.

May 1, of course is May day. May Day has different meanings for different cultures but here in the US is is a celebration of spring.  So spend some time outside (if you can, it can also be a wet rainy day), and maybe plant some flower seeds.

For all of you who like Star Wars, May 4^th is Star Wars day.  A good day for movies and popcorn.  If you are still in a stay at home order, have a Star Wars marathon.

Cinco de Mayo, May 5^th is a great day for some tacos. To some people it is thought to be the Mexican Independence day.  But if you don’t like tacos, May 5^th is also National Hoagie day.

National Nurses Day is May 6^th.  And at this time more than any, say thank you to your favorite nurse.  Maybe have the kids draw some thank you cards to send to a local hospital or clinic.

Mother’s Day here in the States is May 10^th.  So bring Mom breakfast in bed and surprise her by cleaning your room without her telling you to.

If you are one who likes hummus, May 13^th is National Hummus Day. But if you are more of a traditional food person, it is also National Apple Pie Day and National Fruit Cocktail Day.  

Staying with food, May14th is National Buttermilk Biscuit day and May 15^th is National Chocolate Chip Day as well as National Pizza Day.  So there you are for a menu.  Pizza for dinner and chocolate chips (in a cookie or ice cream) for dessert.

May 21^st is National Waitstaff Day so if you can go dine in a restaurant, leave a big tip and if you can still only do take out or delivery, give a tip to whoever brings you your food.

Sunday, May 24^th is National Scavenger Hunt Day so what if you planned a hunt for the kids (or kids do it for your parents, or both) and get some exercise outside in the yard.  Remember to social distance.

Here is a day you can celebrate indoors or out, May 26^th  is National Paper Airplane Day.  Maybe make an airplane out of a note of good wishes and throw it in your neighbors yard to brighten their day.

May 28^th is National Hamburger Day so either go to a favorite hamburger joint or get out that grill.

 Just like with April make the month of May something a month of fun things to brighten up these gloomy times. 

 

©2020 Cheryl Fillion