Fidget for Alzheimer's

I belong to a sewing group that meets once a month to socialize and share our interest in sewing. The group consists mostly of quilters and often we will sew a group project for a charitable organization. We have sewn quilts for the Cancer Society, Haven House and friends who have been ill. One evening our 'leader' came with a story about how care facilities for Alzheimer's patients have a need for Fidget Quilts. I had never heard of Fidget Quilts but was about to have a quick lesson. These quilts are designed to provide textures and stimuli for patients so they can fidget and soothe themselves.  We needed 30! 

This quilt is for a woman with leather fringe, zipper, a knit fabric with wooden buttons, beads, satin ribbon and a head band.

Here we have a quilt designed for a man. Mr. SW came up with the idea of attaching screws and washers. I added a leather zipped pocket with a large button hidden inside, burlap pocket, rope tied in knots and a sweater knit pocket. 

Here is a closer view

Honestly, I found adding all the elements quite tedious as each item took a separate set of skills and/or pressure feet etc. But in the end, I'm glad I signed up because it felt rewarding knowing the quilts were going for a good cause. 

Here is a link to a similar project in Manitoba if you are interested in learning more about Fidget Quilts and Alzheimer's Disease.

http://www.alzheimer.mb.ca/touchquiltproject/

Thank you for visiting me here at Sew What?

It's all in the Sleeves

Sew What? This is What....I'm sewing and this is my first blog post. Yay!!

Burda Split Seam Tunic 11/2015/109B

http://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/split-seam-tunic-112015

This tunic may be all about the Split Seam that goes all the way up to the high hip, but it's also about the sleeves, I think.

I did not think about the length of the sleeves until I was at the trying on stage only to discover they were about 2 inches to long. In hindsight, I should have shortened the sleeve pattern before I cut the darn sleeve out. There's always something to think about when sewing. 

Here we go...on the mannequin

I used a lovely wool jersey from Fabric Mart that I purchased a couple of years ago when buying online from the US was affordable. I recently stopped doing that and really miss receiving my little fabric packages in my mail. In this town, we are sorely lacking in choices for fabric shopping.

This was a fairly straight forward sew. The pattern was originally designed for a woven but I changed some methods to accommodate the knit.

Here is the line drawing from the BurdaStyle website

This is what happens when Mr. SW steps in and takes a turn at the camera. Thank you for reading and  I look forward to posting again shortly.