As promised earlier in the week on our Facebook page, here is the free pattern for a Small Fabric Elephant.

Isn't he just the cutest?!  And you can whip him up in an afternoon.  Any fabric will work, so any little remnant that you have lying around can be used.

I hope you like it!!

The last couple of posts have been dedicated to our sewing classes and I wanted to share some of the fabulous knitting that has been going on.

This brand new knitter has just finished the first leg of her bear.  She worked so hard on this!!

We also had a fun finish today - this 4th grade student finished her squirrel stuffed animal.  Isn't it so cute!  This project took quite awhile and comprised many new skills - increasing, decreasing, gathering and more.

Just look at that fun tail!  It is made similar to a pompom but in many sections to create the length.

This is also an impressive piece of knitting.  There are over one hundred stitches on these circular needles and the third grader knitting this has already finished about 25 rows - you do the math!!!  She has informed me that she is now going to change colors and add both a white stripe and a red stripe.  I cannot wait to see how this turns out!

We are starting up a new session in sewing today, but I wanted to share with you what we have been up to for the past couple of weeks!  There is soooo much that these students have been creating, I think I will have to break it up into a couple of posts.

I am continually amazed and delighted at the fabric combinations that the students choose.  This backpack is completely lined and so fun to make!

This third grader decided he wanted to make a quilt.  He chose to make all of his squares 2 inches and chose a pattern of flowers.  This is very precise work and takes a lot of patience and determination.

But he stuck to it and finished!!  Instead of making a quilt, he turned it into a pillow.

A close-up of his work.  Isn't it the best?!  He did such a good job measuring, cutting and sewing - way to go!!

This 5th grader is quite the accomplished sewer.  She has made many things and is ready now for the next step - a more complicated pattern.  She has chosen to make a summer robe.  There are many steps in making a garment before one can even get to the sewing.  The first thing she needed to learn was how to prep her pattern.  She did a fabulous job!

Now that the pattern is ready we need to pin it to the fabric and cut it out, transfer the markings, then learn to read the instructions.  Sometimes, just deciphering the instructions can be a bit like learning a foreign language!  Once all this is done...it's time to sew.

Here we are, she's just finished sewing and stuffing her pillow and now it's time to hand sew the opening.

Ta Daa!  This pillow is to the exact dimensions that this student wished it to be.A cute little blockhead pillow - look at those cute triangles at the top - such a great embroidery job done!

And the back!

I must go for now, but will share more of our sewing in the next post :o)

Our students started January with such enthusiasm it was had to keep up with them!

This 6th grader finished her back pack and as you can tell, she is so thrilled!  I LOVE the animal print with the orange - it's just the perfect combination.

A finished headband!  I am always amazed at the color/fabric combinations that these students use and they always turn out so cute!

This 3rd grader has so much patience!  His bunny, as you can tell, is super tiny.  It cannot be sewn on the sewing machine, it must be sewn by hand.  His stitches are so perfect and so small - isn't his bunny cute!  Now he is working on a quilt - 2"X2" squares that make up flowers.

Don't let this zippered pouch fool you, it took a lot of patience and determination to create and finish it.  The face was created and hand-sewn one piece at a time with teeny tiny hand stitches.  Then came the addition of the zipper.  If you have ever put a zipper in you know it can be hard work.  This student made it look so easy.

Another cute little backpack - the straps are just the perfect addition!

I just had to take another picture of it closeup.

This student used her hand as the pattern for this cute little elephant.  The project started out as a pillow, but after it was sewn together she decided that it looked like a "3-legged elephant".  I must say that I totally agree with her!  Note the cute little eye and the hair.

This is the other side of her elephant (so cute!) - do you see the tassel tail?  That tail is just perfect.

Lots of hand sewing taking place outside.  I can't believe this is January and it's warm enough to sit outside!

Adding a nose to her bunny stuffed animal.  This one should be finished next week.

Such a cute bee pillow!  This student worked so hard on her pillow.  The wings are fleece and while they look perfect on this pillow, they were kind of a bear to work with.  She persevered, with lots of ripping of stitches and re-sewing and finished up yesterday.  I absolutely LOVE it!

Don't you love it too?!

We came back after the holidays ready to knit.

At first this second grader wanted to make her knitting into a kerchief.  Later, she decided that it should be a blanket for one of her stuffed animals.  Doesn't she look so proud of her finish!!

The whole class of students knit and talk.  They help each other, encourage each other and get silly together.  Such a healthy and happy way to spend the afternoon!

This bag is so festive it makes me smile every time I look at this picture.  That button is just precious!

You just gotta LOVE those eyes!

I can't wait for class this Wednesday!