Favorite Shirt Re-Invented as a Cardigan

This was one of my favorite shirts.  Then it mysteriously obtained a stain on it that would not come out.  I mean this was a stain like no other.  I really didn't want to part with the shirt so I decided to try turning it into a cardigan.  There are tons of blogs with info on how to do this.  It seems to be all the rage now.  I went to Joann's and bought some Heat and Bond Tape.  I bought two sizes because I wasn't sure what size I wanted to use.  I ended up using the 3/4 inch.  I measured (well not really, I just eyed and pulled it to the center) and pinned the shirt in the center.  I then cut down the middle.  I followed the directions and made two seams on each side.  I thought this is going great.  I am totally loving this.  Then I realized the stain was still visible.  This was a big stain.  So I added some buttons.  The center button is covering the stain.  Is it perfect?  No.  But it was a great learning experience and now I have a nice summer cardigan.  I think I may try this again with some old sweaters or a Goodwill find.  Try it.  No sewing required.

Tree of Life

This is my Tree of Life watercolor.  It is a work in progress (WIP).  My mom had given me all of her watercolor one inch squares the she had left over.  I searched around for an idea.  I am not a hearts and cats type of girl.  I wanted to do something more with my watercolor quilt.  I really like this tree.  I feel like some of the leaves are falling off and the ground is a little mossy.  At my local fabric store you can buy grid material that you can iron on.  So once you have your design complete you iron the squares on the grid.  Then you just have to fold and sew on the lines.  My mom says this is cheating but I say it is evolution.  Why should I sew each square to another square when I can sew an entire row all together.  This way at least I have a chance of getting straight lines.  I still need to decide on a boarder and a backing.  And then I need to decide what to do with it.  I may keep it or I may give it away to a friend.

Baby Girl Fun

My friend had a baby girl.  And what an adorable baby she is.  So of course I had to make some baby girls things.  Who doesn't want to make baby girl things!!  The dress is a onsie that I sewed a skirt on.  I used a blind hem stitch for the first time which was amazing and gave it a very nice finish.  I used a gathered stitch at the top.  I think this may be the cutest thing I have ever made.

Next I used my acuiquilt and some wonderunder to make these cute cut outs.  I ironed them on and then free stitched a rambling pattern to secure them.  So cute and super easy.  I also made the mommy a nursing cover.  I had made these before so it went together quickly.  I almost want to have another baby just so I can make tons of cute baby girl things.

Butterfly Strip Piece Quilt

Happy New Year to my 16 loyal followers. I have left you a drift for several months.  But have no fear I have a couple of new posts coming up.  We will start with this one.  This is a strip piece quilt, sometimes called a string quilt.  It uses all scraps and was made one block at a time.  This took some orchestrating as I had to make sure to make the correct number of colored blocks so that the pattern would work out.  This is my own design and I laid everything out like a map before I started quilting.  The scraps were sewn onto 10 inch blocks.  The base of the block was made from a white IKEA sheet.  I figured since only one strip of the sheet would show I didn't need to spend a lot on a base material.  I added some butterflies that I cut with my acuquilt.  I also added pink rickrack when I was binding the quilt.  This quilt possibly, maybe, has too many things on it.  But since I was making it for myself I decided to go all out.  I took this quilt to work as I felt by cubicle needed some color.  So now it hangs on the back of my chair and just blasts color.  I actually received a compliment from a male co-worker!