Teachers Gifts...

Oh what grande plans I had for these and wouldn't you know it... they are finished at 9.40pm the night before school finishes but our main teachers last day was today! Grr... SO annoyed! Anyhoo...

Ages ago these caught my eye... I thought 'hmm, pretty in Christmas fabric' and set about finding the time to cut the fabric out. With a 'know your sewing machine' course booked a few weeks ago I had to have a project that I was working on to the point I was unfamiliar with my machine at. So round one of cutting was done, some hasty sewing done and I was shown how to use the walking foot on my machine.


Then on Saturday I set about putting the binding on the mats. I tried to remember what I was quickly shown in the class but failed. I researched you tube sites and watched video after video but there was something in my brain blocking me from doing a mitred corner. No matter what I watched or how many times I tried my mats looked dreadful. The backs were messy, the mats mishappen. Not something I could give as a gift that's for sure! I unpicked, I tried again and again and again and then in a fit of rage I (gently) kicked my machine and threw the mats in the bin and stormed off to our bedroom in a major huff (not just because of the mats there were a LOT of factors on Saturday that lead to my explosion!

Determined not to let this get the better of me, I decided that Monday would have no distractions of housework, husband checking emails or playing cards and daughter wanting to help me so I set about again making the teachers gifts...

I prefered the original colour combinations I did but the machine binding a plain fabric on a plain fabric was a recipe for disaster as every stitch was visible and that was one of the things that made the mats look like Amelia had sewn them! So I wanted to change things a bit and put a patterned fabric on the back and the binding.

Knowing it was the binding I had the biggested problem with I remembered Jen does great tutorials on her blog so searched through and found this one. Very helpful! An my mitred corners are, well, 'almost perfect'. Now to work on keeping things square... not tonight though, too tired! I am not a perfectionist and half the joy of giving and receiving a gift is the thought that went into its creation...

So, Mrs. Connell, Mrs. Symmonds, Mrs. Garret and Miss. Phillips (and to a lesser extent Mrs. Torfique, Mrs. Allcorn and Mrs. Lazamatos) - thank you for being Amelia's teachers this year, thank you for helping her when she needed help, a cuddle when she fell off the play equipment, the direction in lessons, the extention in learning, the discipline when she was out of hand, the comfortor when she had a rough time in the play ground and was excluded from the 'club' of the moment and above all, helping shape the love of learning and wanting to know things that has given her a good foundation to her education. Amelia loves each and every one of you the same but perhaps Mrs. Connell juuuuuuuuuuuuuust a little bit more :-)

Amelia chose the mugs these go with and I think each choice reflects the teacher that it is for.

I made 5 but one isn't up to muster so I am not gifitng it. I might play with it and turn it into something else. I like the Dresden Wedge and have loads of ideas now on things I would like to make! Always running before I can walk...