As a ticket out the door activity at a recent club session, I asked students to anonymously write down what they thought about the Crafty STEM club.   Here are their comments:

• “Crafty STEM is really fun and it’s great to come to.”
•  “I love Crafty STEM because you always have something fun and I love the teachers.”
•  “It is really fun and cool!”
•  “Crafty STEM is a fun club that teaches us to sew.”
•  “Crafty STEM is awesome!”
•  “I love Crafty STEM because we learn and have fun.”
•  “I think Crafty STEM is a fun process for us kids to learn how to craft. I love learning how to craft using the STEM process.”
• “I think that Crafty STEM is the most fun thing to do when I’m bored or just have nothing to do.”
•  “This club is awesome!”
•  “It is the coolest thing!”
•  “I love Crafty STEM because there is always something new planned for us to do every time we come, it’s always the best part of some of my Fridays besides going home.”

And to the student who wrote the last comment – you are a mind reader because sometimes Crafty STEM is what keeps me motivated on Friday afternoons.

My current project is to create a couple of throw size blankets out of a HUGE stack of cashmere sweaters that belonged to a customer’s beloved family member who passed away.  The sweaters are all solids.  Fortunately, there is a great range of colors, along with a variety of different textures.  There are also a couple of fun details like kangaroo pockets that I will incorporate into the finished design.

Pinterest was a great place start for design ideas.  As much as I loved the larger square designs, the sweaters I started with were small and medium size women’s sweaters which shrank to about 60% of their original size after felting. My design is random placement of 6-1/2″ squares in a 9×10 grid with a few 4 patches thrown in for interest.  I am going to need at least 180 6-1/2″ squares for the size I am trying to make.  I plan to use every last bit of cashmere possible. Haven’t quite figured out the backing fabrics yet, but it will probably be a cotton/bamboo velour or flannel.  I ordered some velour fabric samples and will be able to make an informed decision once I “feel” the samples.

Sewing those little squares is going to be interesting with all of the variations in thickness of the cashmere. After much experimentation, I opted to stitch the cashmere squares on my Janome 3160QDC using a zig zag stitch set for 1.5 width x 1.5 length, a stretch needle, walking foot and foot pressure set on #3. I am also using So Fine thread to sew it all together. I will use 1/4″ seams and press the seams flat where I can (some of the cabled seams can’t be pressed flat). As much as I love my Janome 6600 for quilting, it doesn’t do so well on lightweight and knit fabrics.  I normally pull out my vintage Elna Carina for that type of sewing (the old mechanical Swiss Berninas and Elnas are legendary for their ability to handle fine/delicate fabrics). With the 3160QDC, I won’t have to!

***Backing update – the velour samples have shipped, but I scored a luscious silky cotton wide back during a going out of business sale at a LQS this afternoon.  It looks marvelous with the color palette.  We might go with this one.