A Hopscotch Quilt

I don't remember why I thought to make this Hopscotch Quilt. Maybe I saw it somewhere and realized it would be a great piece of entertainment for my grand kids when they come over. Due to knee problems, I can't get down on the ground anymore like I used to, so I can't draw the hopscotch with chalk on the driveway or patio anymore. Shame to have to get old!  But..with a HOPSCOTCH QUILT ...I can still teach the kids a game from "back in the day"while getting them out from in front of the TV or game box!

I was pretty darn good at hopscotch, back in the day. The best ever "marker" was a piece of chain..like from a necklace or those little chains that are on a key ring. But, I never got to have one so I always had to  use a rock...but made sure to get one that was NOT round!

Each square is 12x12 (finished),  And is appx 100" long by 36" wide. The numbers I cut from black cotton fabric that I had pressed iron-on interfacing to the back of for extra stability and then appliqued the number to the center of the block.Once done,  I noticed the 6 was backwards but I wasn't going to rip it all apart all over that! I remember having trouble making the 2 and  the 5 with straight lines - they looked to much alike so I  figured how to make them with more of a curve, and was able to redo those two before I assembled it, but I didn't catch the 6. I made the numbers by hand... I wanted  them 5 inches tall by 1 inch wide. I just did the math and cut the strips, pinned them down and appliqued with zigzag stitch around them and I used a thin fleece blanket as batting. I wanted it to "hold up" to all the jumping so I FMQ'ed it with a meander stitch.

  I used my fabric stash to make the outer squares, then sewed 3 together in the correct order by the numbers position and then sewed the rows together.  Outer sides of the  hopscotch is a sheet I had in my stash.

And it isn't just a hopscotch! I always have to make things practical. Just "nothing" on the back..what a waste! So I created a Bag Toss game on the back!   I sewed rows of 6x6 inch squares together.  The child tries to toss their little rice bag into that square! I personalized it a bit, and machine embroidered each of my grand kids names onto a square that can be chosen also! The rest of the back is a sheet.

I chose fabric that had images on it and cut the image out into the square. The Bag Toss game is... stand at the end and (for instance) I will tell the child to toss their bag (a bag of rice) into the (say an image name of a square) and they are to toss their rice bag into that square. Teaches technique, motor skills, balance and concentration and recognition. The little ones weren't quite sure about this...but they will learn and they loved tossing the rice bags!

In this picture I'd say... "Toss your bag of rice onto the...snowman square" or "toss you bag onto the square of dollar bills!"

I took it to their house for the first time last week, and they Loved it! The 5 and 3 year old were a bit awkward with the jumping on the hopscotch  and learning to jump over markers and things like that but they still had a blast...and they will learn! The 8 year old was so cute to help them learn. And the funniest thing...all three of them liked the little bean bag markers....BEST!!! I couldn't believe it! Each of them asked if they could keep the bag! I started to think, 'oh good grief...all that work and they like the stupid little bean bag things best?" but then I caught myself and realized... I really enjoyed watching them jump and hop and SMILE some of the biggest smiles I have seen in a long time so who cares what they liked best.. I like THEM best!

Fabric games are also a great travel item. Take the hopscotch camping, to the beach, on sleep overs and if needed...use it as a quilt to cover up!

This is a set of alphabet stencils...6 inch tall. Just use a regular pencil and trace them onto your fabric (which has been pressed with iron on interfacing on the wrong side of fabric), cut and applique!
            

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Thanks for stopping by and...keep on sewing those memories!