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How to Craft the Lap Blossom Quilts

You are going to make a finishing quilt measuring 36 x 51 inch with the finishing 8 x 13 inch block. You will need sewing materials to complete your mission.

What materials to purchase: 1/4 yard of fabric. (Greens; at least eight different shades) The green fabric will make your foliage. Purchase � yards of background fabric. Creamy colors or your choice of colors: If you want the blossom lap however, choose the creams. Buy 1/2 yard of floral in a variety of colors and shades. The material will be used to create your external borders. Buy 1/4 yard of pink fabrics. Purchase up to eight or nine shade variety. The materials are needed to make your blossoms, or flowers. Purchase scraps of yellow assorted prints. You will use these scraps to make the center flowers. You will need 1/3 yard fabric, shaded yellow to finish your internal borders. Purchase 40 x 55 inches (I yard) of part fabrics that match to create your background. You will need 1 yard of 40 x 55 inches to create your inner area, therefore purchase the measure of low-loft batting. Purchase six yards of binding material, preferably green and some all-purpose filaments/thread to coordinate with your green, yellow

, pink, creamy colors, etc.

Purchase a transparent craft ruler, rotary cutter, scissors, needles, etc so that you have all your materials together to complete your blossom.

Once you purchase your materials, start trimming your parts. You will need to snip narrow pieces of your material to create borders. The material will make up your sashing as well. Your floral fabric is needed to create two A-Borders at 3 1/2 x 45 1/2 inches, as well as two B-Borders at 3 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches. Use your yellow fabric to create C and D borders. You will need two each, which the C will measure at 1 1/2 x 43 1/2 inch, and the D at 1 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches. The creamy colors are used in sashing E and F. E should value 12 at 1 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches, and the F should value at four, 1 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches.

Use the guide and trim the cream fabric creating G, cutting eight small squares per block valuing 72 and sizing at 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch. You will need 36 H blocks at 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches large per foursquare blocks. Use your pinks to make eighteen I-blocks at 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches over squares to make two counts per block. Make your J-blocks as you did the I-blocks, using the same measures. Create K-block using your pink fabric cutting 36 narrow pieces to form four strips per block at 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Cut L-block in the same method as you did the K block.

Use your yellow print and cut M-block. You will need four blocks per center equally 72 and the pieces should be 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch. Next, use the creams to form N and Q block. N should have a value of nine and bands per block at 1 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches. The Q block should have units, i.e. 18 parts and two units per block. Measurements should be 2 7/8x2-7/8. Cut your green prints. Form O-block using the amount of 27 to craft #1 green block, cutting three for each block at 2 7/8 x 2 7/8. Do the same for your P-block. Now you are ready to start crafting your blossom quilt to keep your lap warm.

Woodworking: Basic Safety Tips Woodworking can be a dangerous undertaking if you are not careful and choose to disregard safety guidelines. A circular saw, router, or other piece of power equipment can disfigure and even kill if not used properly. Even hand tools, which must be extremely sharp to provide best results, can cause serious injuries. In addition, the sawdust and fumes from wood can be harmful to the lungs if inhaled on a regular basis, especially if the wood was harvested from an orchard or tree farm where pesticides were used to control insects.

Imagine your are five years old. As your family arrives at the train station, your hand slips free of your Mom's and you dash over to the tracks. Looking left, then right, your eager eyes scan the horizon, searching for your train.

Woodworking: Tools Of The Trade, Part 6 - Finishing Equipment A civilization's maturity and intelligence is judged, in part, by the diversity and sophistication of its tools. When it comes to woodworking, the human race is quite advanced. There are general tools that work well in many situations, and there are specialty tools made for one specific purpose. There are tools that require only manpower and a rudimentary knowledge, and others that utilize computer programs, a wide range of knowledge, and a powerful motor. We have even learned how to harness power for our tools and package it in a small battery component, giving us the freedom to take our tools wherever we need them.