I'm not much of a hand sewer, I love my machines. But with my daughter being sick, we could have some to alot of hospital trips for us in the future. There is a Hancock close to the hospital and what my mom and I did was pick out some fat quarter packs and we make a bunch of yo-yo's. I made a cute mug rug for my daughter to keep on her table for her drink and I made a caterpillar out of yo-yo's for her. She loves it. :)
I was thinking that maybe you guys could come up with other ideas for us to have a bag packed at all times and ready to go. I can't think of much to do on my own. I know you guys can come up with something more creative that what we were doing. Yo-yo's get boring after a so many days of doing them.

Have you ever tried english paper piecing? that could be something to take. Hope your daughter gets well soon.

You can get those nifty knitter things that you make hats and scarves out of using yarn. They are easy to do and your daughter actually might like to make some too for her friends. I sometimes will take mine with me when my husband has a doctors appointment that takes time. I have also taken a quilt with me that needed the binding sewn on and I do that mostly.

I really don't have many ideas. But I am sure that others will have lots of ideas.
:)

I should look into that. I've never tried paper piecing before. My daughter is doing ok now, but she is on day 11 at the hospital. She has a chronic disease that could have her in the hospital in the future.

lol...I wish I would have thought of that. I have all the hat sizes and a scarf one of the knifty knitters that I bought for the kids a while ago. See I just needed to talk to you guys to kick start the ideas. All of our heads together are better than one....lol. Thanks :)

I made a travel kit for a GFG-(English paper piecing) which I posted photos of about 4 weeks ago-cut out the hexagons from scraps and FQ's, cut out the heavy paper hexes and added the bits and pieces in the bottom tray. Would threads in different colors on bobbins and keep them in a sectioned pill organizer, snips, thread wax, paper clips (which are easier than pins), a few needles and your ready to go. It is really easy, and don't need a machine as it is all hand-pieced. I don't know how to post the link, but it is listed in my topics started. The whole kit is packed in a t-tier clear plastic snap together tote with a handle I got at Joann's.

Do you hand applique? You could have a couple of blocks ready. Or redwork, have the design all ready and the threads and supplies with it.
Prayers for you and your daughter.

I will go and check your topic out. Thanks

I don't normally do anything by hand, but maybe I can find some neat patterns online.

I made a small travel kit with needles, thread, thread heaven, small clippers, paper hexagons, and squares of fabric. It's very small and easy to carry. I love doing that on my lunch break or while waiting for Dr. appts.
When I get a few hexagons made, I take them out and put them into another bin at home. Keeps the small bin manageable. I figure in about 30 years i can put them all together into a GFG! :-)

Applique is what my mom worked on when she was taking my dad to chemo and now for follow up visits and checkups - I am blessed to still have both of them well and very silly :) - I remember when we were putting it together she learned from her applique teacher.. she keeps it in a trapper keeper (a notebook that zips all around) with sleeve protectors we bought at walmart and a zipper pouch we got in the school supplies aisle. Straw needles in a little tube and a couple of spools of silk thread (grey and cream match most) those were kept in the zip pouch in front. She was working on 6" squares, a very simple pattern of baskets and flowers, and she put them all together in a very pretty lap quilt. It was handy because it was all inclusive in the trapper keeper - all she had to carry or worry about grabbing on the way out the door. She could leave the square she was working on the little hoop and just drop it in and zip it up. :)

Your being there for your daughter is wonderful and I hope you are blessed with a good outcome! Prayers and good thoughts your way!

Grandma's Flower Garden is made of hexagons and goes very quickly by hand. You can have the satisfaction of finishing the units, knowing they will get put together later. I used to piece them between classes at UofA.

I hope your daughter does well.

What about hand-piecing a tumbler quilt made of charm squares?
There was just a post here on how to cut them without a template, very simple, and charm squares are very portable. (and fun to buy). I like the trapper keeper idea for holding everything. You could fit a mini cutting board in it with a small rotary cutter. 6 inch ruler would work for this pattern.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-116674-1.htm

I used to hand piece at board meetings. It is very relaxing.

I love the idea of using a trapper keeper. That is clever. I have a ton of the paper protectors. I really like that. Thank you for your prayers. You can never have enough of them at a time like this. :)

I've never done these and I've always thought they were so cute! See, I knew you guys would be a great help! :)

I like to bring Redwork with me when I'm going to be sitting at the hospital or elsewhere. All you need is a small bag to carry: the piece of cloth with the outline of the redwork on it, a small pair of scissors, a spool of thread ( I use Sulky 12 weight in whatever color I choose )needle and needle threader, and a small bag to put trash in.

How about embroidering? U could make baby blankets, pllow cases. Whatever. Knot baby hats and booties and taKe them up to nursery. Take scraps and make little bags 5-6 inches to put ice in for patients. I've seen those too. Hospitals need all kinds of little things! Ask a volunteer!U get rid of scraps, don't take anything home and help another patient!! Hope your DD gets better and problem is stabilized so u don't have to go too much to hosp.

The last hospital stay my husband had was 1 month long. I always have my hexagons with me and finished a lot of a quilt while sitting with him. Presently I am working with QAYG framed hexagons. I take a piece of felt and cut out the hexagon pattern, I cut another piece the same size as the felt piece, and then a hexagon about 1/2 inch larger. I safety pin through the middle to stabilize and then I fold under each side as I come to it and sew it down <it miters the corners as it goes.> If you are interested, pm your address and I will send you a sample or two. And if you get energetic, you can use them to embroider, quilt or add pictures, embellishments, so you do not get bored with them.

Linda Franz's Inklingo makes hand piecing much easier. For more information see ...

http://www.inklingo.com/

Of course, it is also for machine piecers She has a number of freebies for those who want to try it before buying a collection ...

http://www.inklingo.com/shop/inklingo-getting-started/3

She has oodles of info on using Inklingo on her site as well as her blog ...

http://www.lindafranz.com/blog/

NAYY

I am so thankful to have you guys to help. You guys have way better ideas than just doing yo-yo's....lol :) Thanks

Another hand project would be a Cathedral Windows. The cool part about it is you can make any size from pillow size on up from the same windows.

Prayers for you and your DD.

needle turn applique, You could do a baltimore album quilt

when my mother was terminal i did tons of counted cross stitch it was easy to transport and it soothed her watching me stitch i must admit i didnt quilt back then. i never could sew by hand very well and still dont although im crazy about machine piecing. she just loved to watch a piece of cloth turn into flowers or a verse or picture of some kind i still havent finished the last thing i was working on when she passed. its still a little painful. my mother sewed clothes embroidered did tatting and crocheted but i was always too busy to sit still long enough to learn.
carla

Prayers and super hugs to your family!

English paper piecing. :) I'm doing a Grandmothers Flower garden and I'm thrilled with it. It's so portable, fits into a ziploc baggie.

A hint so you don't have to cut tons of squares - use a Jelly Roll, cut the squares and then start piecing your flowers!

Traditional cathedral window. You can machine sew the "squares" in preparation, put them in the kit and hand sew the centers. I did that for a long time at meetings til the light seemed inadequate. You might also think about getting a portable Ott light to bring along--better for your daughter even than fluorescent. You could do it as an I Spy or random colors, or carefully planned. If you do it in 12-16 inch squares it won;t get heavy or too big until you sew the sections together,.

My vote would be for needle turn applique or applique using wool fabric. Some LQS have wool stitching Grab N Go kits and you would have everything you need except the scissor. The shapes are even precut in these kits.

Check out the Pacific Rims Quilts online. They have nice patterns that you use two pieces of cloth for. Use a glass door in the daylight to trace the pattern on one. You baste the top to the bottom and only cut the a bit at a time. It's reverse applique. I love their patterns and they fold up small. You'd be amazed at how much you can get done in a short amount of time.

You have some great ideas here. Perhaps you'd like this one.
Prepare some 12 x 12 inch, white fabric quilt squares by using Aunt Martha's Hot Iron Transfers. Bring a box of non washable crayons and a piece of fine sandpaper to place under the square while coloring the transfer. You and your daughter can color together and you can make a quilt of the colorings someday. I will pray for you both.

Have you thought about a child-size sewing machine that just does straight stitching and skip the handwork? You and your daughter both can get many hours of entertainment from sewing simple 4 or 9-patch blocks that you can partially sew into tops (until they become unwieldy for the sewing machine) then finish at home. You can take a kit with the machine, scissors, a seam ripper (yes you'll still need it-lol), thread etc. You can precut the squares or strips and take a small cutting mat and rotary cutter with your travel kit. The small machine will sit on the hospital bed tables. Will be fine if your daughter can be sitting up part-time. If not, you can do the sewing and your daughter can do the block layout on her bed (or directing you on how to place them!).

How about red work. Sorry about your daughter.

I love to do the English paper piecing of hexagons to make Grandmother's Flower Garden. Very addictive....and even start to put together a block when you get all the hexagons done for one block. I have a plastic box with this and ready to go when I need to go.

FYI to all who have or want Niffty knitters. I carry one on occation when I know I will be waiting somewhere. I have been working on a large one on the same project for 2 years because I have weak hands from so many broken fingers as a child. Anyways- my son unwittingly set his trumpet and backpack ontop of the backpack holding the knitter in the back of the van and snapped off 3 pegs. I wrote to Provo craft asking about replacement pegs and instead they rushed me a brand new knitter- no charge.
Ideas for sewing in the hospital. Tiny items for your daughter and friends to enjoy. Doll cloths or quilt. A small sleeping bag, carrying bag, hat etc for a stuffed animal who is a companion through the stays. Buttons in different shapes, colors and design that say things like- Brave, True Friend, Courage, Smile God Loves You and so on (Pin backs can be found most craft stores. A Soft picture frame. Some other small craft ideas which are usually quick can be found at www.favecrafts.com.
Make a Necklace or bracelet of fabric and other colorful beads-Rolled paper beads would be fun too. A bracelet made of braided embroidery floss in clors your daughter likes and share them with eveyone as a symbol of their friendship. Find things to make both yourself and others there smile. You may already have a great staff around your daughter but those little things can help them to remeber your daughter is extra special.

I appliqued all 13 of the Dear Jane Blocks when my husband was in the hospital for a 5-way heart by-pass. Kept the pre-cut out parts to each block in a separate zip-lock - packed silk thread in a few neutralcolors, needles, and sharp scissors. My other favorite thing to take is hand quilting - usually something small and aleady basted(one of my miniatures, or a "white on white" (or any solid color fabric), marked with a quilting pattern and basted. Then all you have to take is thimble, thread, scissors, extra needles and a needle puller. Great time to practice hand-quilting or learn how to do it). Cross-stitch is portable, crocheting is portable too.

Everyone is coming up with such great ideas...I like them all. Now I think I'll have to use a suitcase on wheels to haul it all around with me. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Thank you everyone!!!! :)

One Block Wonders! Stack and Whack cut them.
Make 6 piece hexagons. Put each stack in its own little baggie. Put the needles in a needle case, and put it and thread, little scissors, etc in another little baggie. You can carry a few, or a lot. and the fun thing is how the design comes out differently on each set.....not much sewing either! JP

Try making a Grandmother's flower Garden quilt with a lot of quilt as you go hexagons. You cut the top hexagon and batting the same size. Then you cut the backing fabric hexagon half an inch bigger all around. Sandwich them together by folding the back fabric over the batting and top fabric. Sew the edges down and hand quilt as desired. When you have a lot of hexagon sandwiches you whip stitch them together to form a quilt and everything is finished. It is sort of like English piecing but you don't remove the template as the batting acts as the template. The Japanese do this type of quilting and the reverse side is just as interesting as the front. You could make squares if you don't want to cut hexagons.

It's so wonderful that you can do something with your hands to keep busy while sitting at the hospital. I wish you luck with whatever project you choose. I will be praying for your daughter!
Have you ever tried hardanger? Google it...you might want to give that a try!

I take a large bag. I often cut out a lot of quilt blocks and keep them, needles, thread, sizzors, a book of word games, Power bars, pen and paper, and a scrap book to write down things. When I was in the hospital for several days I sent a small gift each day for each of the boys. Why not try a small gift for her Lie a hair bow, a connect the dots book or a story book, Maybe do her nails for her. How about a small hand lotion? Maybe you could make her a bag to keep all her treasures in. Just hope some of this helps. Best wishes and God Bless all of you.