Monday, July 9, 2012

Yo - Yo, It's an UPDATE!

Waaaaaaaay back in 2010 I had this great idea.  That idea was to make a king-sized bedspread out of little tiny yo-yos.  The finished yo-yos are 2" in diameter.  You need A LOT of itty-bitty yo-yos to make a king-sized bedspread.  (Plus two pillow shams)  Sheesh, you cannot forget the pillow shams.  In total I needed to make 2,808.  That is two thousand, eight hundred eight in expanded notation.

Last year I posted about my endeavor and gave a tutorial on how I make each yo-yo.  You can find that post HERE.

Let us remember WHY I took on this crazy project in the first place!

A lot has happened since I authored that post.  I got strep throat shortly after I wrote that post (detailed HERE), my husband started his own law firm (HERE is his awesome website), and my son started Kindergarten. Those events and countless others have been my life this past year.  Throughout them all, though, I have continued to make yo-yos. 

Today I'll give you an update on my progress.

Last year I was just over half finished making yo-yos.  This year I have completed over 2,700+ of the yo-yos needed to complete the bedspread.  I have less than 30 yo-yos to go before I move into phase two of the bedspread project.  I am really excited about the progress.

I have a bag that I carry around that holds my fabric circles, thread, scissors, and thread conditioner.  I take it everywhere!  I make yo-yos while watching television.  I make yo-yos during car trips.  When taking my son to karate class I always have my bag of yo-yos.  I complete a few here a dozen there.  I just keep making yo-yos. 

I am working on the last pattern of fabric right now.  It is a white on white pattern of spots.  It is super cute, but it is extremely difficult to sew through.  Sewing through it is rough on the thread and rough on my hand.

I solved this problem by applying the Thread Conditioner after each yo-yo I complete.  Let me tell you, this stuff is AMAZING!  I could not do this project without it.  Earlier on (like in 2010) I used beeswax, but it just didn't cut it.  You need a great Thread Conditioner if you are doing any type of hand sewing.  Your hand will thank you, your thread will thank you, and ultimately, your finished project will thank you!

A couple of weeks ago while I was watching my kids in swimming lessons, I settled in with my bag of yo-yos.  I had just begun to stitch when...SNAP...there went my needle.  The needle that was brand new when I undertook this project.  Of course, I did not have another needle with me so I was stuck playing Sudoku on my cell phone until lessons were over.  I felt a little out of sorts without the yo-yos to work on.  I took a photo with my cell phone, but I don't have a cool phone so I don't know how to show it here.  I took some shots when I got home.  Here they are...

Here is my sad little needle that worked so hard for me!

You can see the pattern of the fabric that is so tough to sew through. 


I have completed over 57 yards of fabric worth of yo-yos, and I have less than 1 yard of fabric yet to finish.  I am already planning phase 2!  Stay tuned for more updates!






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