Most Unusual Sewing Project

I've sewn a lot of different stuff through the years, but this is a first. Hubby decided to build a sandbox for the grand kids to play in when they come to our house in the summer - we don't really have a lot of outdoor toys for them so we thought this would be great. We knew that we didn't want an in-ground sand box because if they sat in it sand would get in their shoes and pants and eventually end up in the house. So he made a table sandbox just the right size so they can stand around all four sides and access the pails, trucks and shovels. 

We have a real problem with the neighbor cats using our yard for their litter box so we knew that  the sandbox needed a cover to prevent that from happening in there (yuck!). I expected just a board to place on top of the sandbox when it wasn't being used, but hubby constructed an arched framework using PVC pipe and wire.

It wasn't too hard to trace off the shapes and take measurements to sew a cover from fabric for the framework. At first I wanted to use bright cheerful colors - JoAnn had their outdoor fabrics on sale awhile ago for 50% off and I thought that would be perfect - tough and semi weather proof. However, I needed four yards and that would have set me back $40 - too much money. I ended up finding this lightweight fabric - sort of like rip stop nylon - at Walmart for $1 per yard and it worked perfectly even though it's kind of boring. There are fabric tabs underneath with velcro attached that wrap around the PVC pipe to hold the cover in place.

As an added bonus our little grandson has discovered that it makes a fun hiding place when the cover is placed on the lawn and he crawls under it - kids that age LOVE hiding! Now we just need to convince him to keep the sand in the sand box instead of dumping it on our brick patio! LOL

On the quilting front, I have finished the top of my RW&B pinwheel quilt - I might get it machine quilted by Thursday, but it's not a sure thing. I tried to find some red, white & blue variegated thread at the store this morning, but had not luck so I'll just use variegated blue. (unless anyone has a better suggestion?)