One last day...

I don't usually post personal things on this blog, but it seemed like the most practical way to post these pictures so they'd be available to any friends and family who want to see them.

What a blessing a day can be...

Tiny Guy Tie Applique Template

Here's another project that I finished a year ago and never managed to get it posted.  I thought now would be a good time with Easter coming up.

I was reminded of it when I went to make a friend a baby shower gift...paired with some Comfy Newborn Cuffed Pants in grey or black.

One more unicorn...

I was just about ready to mail off the unicorn I-Spy Quilt to my brother's new baby, when Eric (my husband) pulled out his star chart to have a look at the night sky and casually mentioned there is a unicorn constellation named Monoceros.

Uhhhh...what?!?  You didn't mention this before?  I'd been thinking the back of the quilt looked a little blah.  (Now mind you, I usually make my quilt backs totally plain fabric, so using the night sky fabric was already a little fancy for me...but with the row of I-Spys and the moon there seemed to be a lot of empty space.

So I decided to add one last unicorn to the quilt in the form of stars.

Pi-rate (pirate) Shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil Pattern

Katie needed a new Pi shirt this year since she'd outgrown the one I made her two years ago.  I had a couple ideas and was about to go for just a plain Pi symbol when I did a quick google search for "pi puns."

Comfy Newborn Cuffed Pants - Free Printable Pattern

I've got a baby shower to go to this evening.  For years, I've used my old standby of burp clothes as my go-to baby shower gift.  I decided I'd branch out a little this time and make my favorite newborn church outfit, which includes my favorite Comfy Newborn Cuffed Pants.

(You can click here for the template to make your own Tiny Guy Tie Onesie.)

I made several pairs of these pants for Anson and LOVED them.  I love cuffed knit pants on newborns because they're so comfy.  The cuff keeps the pants from sliding up those skinny newborn legs (or sliding way down past their feet) and also offers a place for those tiny baby socks to cling to.

I had a problem when I went to make a new pair as a baby gift for a friend because I never blogged about it and I couldn't find the pattern I made anywhere!  Then I discovered I had a pair already cut out, so I was able to remake the pattern, and I'm posting it this time so I'll be able to find it next time I need it.

Continue Reading for Free Pattern and Instructions.

Winner of the Boutique Academia Giveaway

A big congratulations to Mirja M., winner of the Pi Necklace from Boutique Academia!  Mirja, I just sent you an email.

If you weren't lucky enough to win the necklace, you can head on over to Boutique Academia to order one.

Please show my sponsors some love...

Onyx Constellation Southern Cross Necklace from Boutique Academia	Star Field Necklace from Boutique Academia	Carpe Noctem Necklace from Boutique Academia

I-Spy...A Unicorn Quilt

I was under a bit of a deadline (self-imposed) to finish the quilts for the hospital, so I put aside some personal projects.  So even though I started this one first, it's taken a little longer to get finished.

This one is for my newest niece.  I'd been sewing the first of my 16-patch I-Spy color blocks and was falling in love with them.  I'd been sewing them together just for the fun of it and planned on making some quilts for the hospital.  I loved how they were turning out so much that I wanted to keep a few of them...but I just finished a different quilt top for Becca...so I figured sending some of my favorite squares on to my brother's new baby was just as good as keeping them.

Happy Pi-Day 2013!

I'd meant to get this post up yesterday, but we were so busy celebrating Pi-Day that I didn't have much time to blog about Pi-Day...which is really as it should be.  We snapped this picture at the end of a long day.  Becca didn't want to be out in the wind and was trying to run back in the house.  Seth was being goofy...but this proves we are nerdy enough that we all were wearing Pi-shirts for the big day.

We made round Pi cookies this year instead of the mini-pudding pies.  The mini-pudding pies are a little more fun...but I didn't feel up to making enough for two classrooms of students.  We celebrated with Katie's second grade class and then went straight down the hall to Seth's kindergarten class for some marathon math parties.

The kids (mine and their classmates) had a lot of fun, and Becca always enjoys getting to go to school for an hour or so whenever I got help in their classrooms.

The second graders played with fractions of pies to make whole pies, measured round objects to calculate pi, and did a clock worksheet that ultimately gave them the decimals of pi when they decoded their answers.

The kindergarteners did pretty much the same activities that Katie's class did two years ago.  I have to say that this years circle pictures turned out extra awesome.  I need to go back to school in the next day or so and take some pictures of the circle pictures out in the hall.

Cow Pi T-shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil

We're getting ready for Pi Day around here.  I've been wanting to make a Cow Pi shirt for a couple years and finally got around to it.

Time for Pi - Second Grade Math Worksheet for Pi-Day

I've been getting some activities ready to help celebrate Pi-Day with my kids classes at school.  Since we celebrated it when Katie was in Kindergarten, I've already got materials and ideas for Seth's class (like our Pi Patterns Worksheet here).  Now that Katie is in second grade, though, we need something new.  I talked to Katie's math teacher about the skills they're working on already.  That way we can have fun celebrating Pi-Day and still keep the kids focused on the standards they're working on.  They'll be going to several different stations or "centers" as they call them.  This will be probably be the least "fun," but we needed something for one of the centers the kids can do independently.

They've been working on telling time for quite a while, so this is review.  I came up with a worksheet where after they fill in the times, they copy some of the numbers from their answers down to the bottom of the worksheet and they get the first 14 digits of Pi.

If you'd like to print off a copy of this worksheet, you can download the PDF version of the Time for Pi Worksheet here.

If you're looking for additional inspiration, you can see my full collection of Pi-inspired projects here.

And be sure to enter my current giveaway for a Pi Necklace from Boutique Academia.  The giveaway is open until March 18th at 12:00am.

Fresh Baked Pi Onesie (Cutting Files for Silhouette Now Available)

Pi Day is just a couple days away.

Here's Anson's little onesie he wore last year when he was just over a week old.

I LOVE freezer paper stencil for making near professional quality personalized T-shirts...but cutting out the designs by hand can be a pain.  Still I haven't been lucky enough to get my hands on a Silhouette yet, so I keep cutting my designs out with a razor blade.

New Pi Necklace Giveaway from Boutique Academia

It's that time of year again.  Pi-Day (as in 3.14...March 14th) is right around the corner.  Maile from Boutique Academia has come out with a new Pi Necklace just in time.  Love this!  And it comes in your choice of a gold or rhodium plated.

She also still offers her other Pi pieces as well, like Pi to 35 Digits...

...or her Pi Tie Bar.

All of Maile's pieces are classy enough that you can celebrate your geeky side anytime...not just on Pi-Day.  You can dress them up or go casual.

If you're not familiar with Boutique Academia, Maile sells all sorts of unique math, science, engineering, and geek culture jewelry designed with style in mind.

Mocking Jay Necklace, Onyx Big Dipper Necklace, and Doctor Who TARDIS Necklace

It's stuff for geeks with taste, and there are all sorts of pieces to show off your love for math as the biggest math holiday of the year approaches.

The Infinity Bracelet

Black and White Fibonacci Necklace

Q.E.D. Necklace

Maile is giving away one of her new Pi Necklaces to one lucky Helping Little Hands reader.  The winner can choose between gold and rhodium plated.

And we're going to try out using Rafflecopter for the first time to keep track of entries and give you a few more options to enter in ways that work for you.  This giveaway will close March 18, 2013 at 12 am.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


I'm linking to:

Car Quilt (and other Hospital Quilt Finishes)

Besides the 4 I-Spy Quilts we got finished up to send off to Seattle Children's Hospital this week, we also sent off 6 other quilts.

I'm especially excited about this little Car Mat Quilt.  Seth has grown out of it a bit, but he LOVED driving his little cars on EVERYTHING from the time he was about 18 months until he was 4 or so.  I've seen some other ones around the blogsphere and thought of a way to sew them up that takes very little planning.  I've now made 3 quilt tops like this and really like how they turn out.  I love that you can use whatever scraps you have on hand and although it looks like a lot of piecing...it's really just sewing 4 or 5 large blocks of green together and then sewing in roads.  Karen, the founder of Katie's Comforter's Guild of Seattle Children's Hospital sent me lots of green fabrics to play with, so I'll be making more of these.  When I sew the next one, I'll take some detailed pictures for a tutorial.  I tucked a little car inside the blanket, so a little guy has something to drive on the roads.

I-Spy Quilt Finishes

This last week I was sewing quilt bindings like crazy.  We were able to get a bunch of quilts done for Seattle Children's hospital at the little quilt party some ladies from church organized, but they needed bindings sewn on.  I always dread the finishing work involved with sewing bindings, but sewing all these reminded me they're really not that bad.  Anyway, here are some pictures of the I-Spy quilts.  I'll post some pictures of the other quilts tomorrow.