More aprons...

A restaurant owner commissioned me to make some more aprons. She asked for ruffles and "maybe some denim."

 

The two denim aprons. The denim was donated to me, the print fabric of the top apron was bought for this project and the ruffled lace was some I've had for years, leftover from another project.The tie on the top apron is a ribbon, doubled over. The top apron also has three pockets made with the print fabric. 

 

Made with some leftover fabric, some new fabric and ruffled lace.  The anchor fabric is three pockets.

 

Made with all new fabric and ruffled lace. The blender fabric is three pockets.

Stashbusting:

1/2 yard donated denim

1/4 yard print fabric

2 yards ruffled lace

Quick Baby Boy Quilts...And A Baby Girl Quilt, too!

A week or so ago, someone commissioned a baby boy quilt, no preferences.  I had some boy fabrics in my stash, but still ended up needing to buy some yardage to finish.  Fortunately, I bought an entire roll of Warm And White batting at the last sale, so I have plenty of that!

I'm not sure why the colors didn't come out true camera-wise. This quilt is navy, red and gray, with the focal print the anchor fabric. The top strip is gray, not that muddy greenish look! I've had the anchor fabric for about 2 years, taking up room in my stash. The back of this quilt is white.  In real life, this quilt is very striking.

 The plane fabric has been in my stash for about 2 years.  The red stripe has been in my stash for about 15 years! I picked up the other fabrics to finish the quilt, the top strip is a pretty, soft taupe, not that same muddy green! (Hmmm. the camera may be losing it's ability to discern color at the top of the lens).

The back of the above quilt is the remainder of the plane fabric and the chevron fabric. 

I had cut the center panel and the two white strips for the plane quilt above. Then I realized I'd made a mistake in the length. So had to remove it, re-cut, and then re-sew. When I finished the other quilt, I took the remaining fabrics and put this little quilt together, too.

The back is white with a strip of the remaining stripes fabric.

 I also finished a baby girl quilt that I'd started ages ago with a 5-set of tropical colored fat quarters I've had laying around for years. The white fabric edging is an old stash fabric.

 The back of the baby girl quilt - 2 pieces of leftover fabric from other quilts!

Bought fabrics to finish each quilt:

8 yards

Stashbusting:

5 yards fabric

2 spool of thread

1 40 X 40 piece of batting leftover from another project.

Starting The New Year Right...

As always, when the New Year rolls around, I think of all my unfinished projects and make resolutions to complete them all. Despite my best intentions, I never actually do complete everything. And this month, I've been sick for several weeks, so nothing got done.

I did give away three large bags of scraps from the last clean-out.

But today, I made some double flannel washcloths for someone with sensitive skin. YAY, me!

Stashbusting:

2 yards of flannel (12 washcloths)

Six More Quilts Of Honor Tops...

I finished six more Quilts Of Honor tops.  Off they go to the volunteer long-arm quilter, then to the woman who will bind them and then on to the military veterans1 YAY! 

StashBusting:

1 yard of fabric (the rest was donated)

2 spools of thread

Scrappy Quilt Of Honor

There were still a few scraps leftover from the Quilts Of Honor so I made a sort of log-cabin block and then surrounded it with some fabric in my stash. This quilt will be donated to QOH, too.

Stashbusting:

2 yards of fabric from my stash

Partial spool of cream-colored thread

Quilts Of Honor

I've been pretty busy lately, and part of my time is going towards our local chapter of Quilts Of Honor. A kind soul donated a bunch of patriotic fabric panels and some yardage.  I've been putting borders on my batch, getting them ready to quilt. Another QOH member will be long-arm quilting them, and yet another member will be binding them. I've finished the six below and have six more to do.

 

 

Stashbusting:

3 spools of thread

About 5 yards of my fabric donated to the cause

The 2nd Quilt Of Honor...

This is the 2nd Quilt Of Honor I've made for the organization.  I wanted a random, scrappy look to the half-square triangles. All blues on one side, all reds on the other. Only the blue fabric was bought, the rest came from my stash. The organization will provide the batting and the long-arm quilting.

Stashbusting:

About 3 yards of various fabrics

2 spools of white thread

Quilt Of Honor...

Found some red, white and blue fabrics in my stash and made a Disappearing 9-Patch Quilt Of Honor top for a veteran.  I passed this top on to the organization's chairman. It will be long-arm quilted by a volunteer and donated to a veteran recipient.  

Stashbusting:

3 yards of assorted fabrics

4 flat sheets and 5 muslin curtain panels given to the Quilts Of Honor organization 

for backings for this, and other quilts.

From Chef's apron to more...

So I made my sister a chef's apron a few year ago, and she asked me to cut it down to a half-apron.  I did so, then I used the leftover fabric to make her a microwave bowl cozy, and a small table runner.  To make the table runner more absorbent, I used an old microfiber towel as batting. 

 

The "new" apron, a microwave bowl cozy and a tablerunner.

Stashbusting:

1 yard of assorted scrap fabrics

1 microfiber towel as batting.

And even more baby sewing!

Still sewing things for the baby.  The baby's room is camo and pink.  The bed set is regular camo with pink accents.  It came without a crib skirt, so I made one to match. Due to miscommunication, I had thought the baby's room was done in pink camo, so I'd bought fleece and flannel in pink camo! The parents thought it was great, and like the idea of mixing and matching the camos. So I went ahead with the sewing.

The top row is flannel washcloths, I was experimenting with flannel backed with flannel and flannel backed with terrycloth. The green ones are flannel/flannel, the pink camo ones are flannel/terrycloth.  I cut a 10 inch square and just sewed the right sides together, left an opening, turned and sewed around the edges on the outside. 

 

The middle of the crib bed skirt will not be seen. The dimensions are 53"  X 29" and the skirt drop is 14 inches, including the 1 inch pink trim.

Stashbusting:

1 spool of black thread

53" X 29" cotton fabric from an old curtain

More Baby Sewing...

I've been doing more baby sewing using my Featherweight.

The breast pads and washcloths are from the previous sewing session, but I made more.  I am experimenting with baby washcloths - 2 sides of flannel, OR one side flannel/one side terrycloth.  The burp cloths are one side flannel and one side terrycloth.

Stashbusting:

about a yard of flannel

about a yard of terrycloth

various colors of thread on old bobbins

New sewing for babies...

Making more breast pads and some washcloths.

The breast pads are 3 layers of flannel and one layer of fleece.  The fleece faces out when in use. 

The washcloths are 2 ply - flannel and terrycloth, then topstitched.  I alternated machines by sewing with my Kenmore 19000 and the Singer Featherweight.

Stashbusting:

Multiple bobbins of various threads

About a yard of flannel

About a 1/2 yard of terrycloth

More Christmas gifts...

The red kitchen set for one of my kids. 

Triangle potholders, dishmat, potato bag, microwave cozies, hot mat, 9 patch potholders, and prairie point towels.

Stashbusting:

1 yard polka dot fabric

1 yard striped fabric

assorted small pieces of batting seamed together

Around age 16, I got into making things with a needle, learning to do embroidery, crewel, bargello, burlap weaving, etc.  I couldn't afford to buy kits, so I made do with what I had.  I did a lot of embroidery on denim pants, jackets, and muslin squares that were later made into quilts.  At one point, I made myself a wall-hanging with the Serenity Prayer.  

My sister saw my wall-hanging and mentioned she'd love to have something like that.  So here it is - a replica of the one that hangs in my kitchen.  I drew it  freehand with a #2 pencil, and then embroidered with a straight stitch. It is lined, has binding and a sleeve on the back to hang it from a rod if she chooses.   

I also cut made one of her shirts into a short sleeve shirt, and repaired a quilt for her. 

StashBusting:

About 1/2 yard of muslin

Leftover blue binding from another project

Assorted leftover embroidery floss

I finally finished the Christmas quilt I started on June 5, 2014.  It is the Disappearing 9 patch block done with scraps of Christmas fabric leftover from other projects.

I bought fabric to finish the back, but still had to piece it after miscalculating the size.  :(

I stitched in the ditch around all the blocks and the bindings, and then stitched and X over each block.  The binding is folded over from the back.

Stashbusting:

2 yards of various Christmas scrap fabrics

2 yards of polyester batting (given to me)

2 spools of white thread

More Small Gifts...

I've been working on Christmas items - I can't mention what they are because they're gifts for someone who reads my blog.  However, I have made 8 "things" and intend to make 10 "things" for each person who will receive the "things." for Christmas.

 

This is leaving me with scraps of fabric that are odd sizes.  So I decided to try a little project I found on a blog that was written in Spanish.  I didn't translate the blog, but followed the photo tutorial...changing the centimeters to inches, too. 

 

Here is a little pocket tissue holder:

 

 

Stashbusting:

 

About 4 yards of various fabric remnants for the "things"

160 inches of various remnant trims

2 partial spools of thread

 

Clothing Hanger Dust Cover with Accessories Pocket

When you live on a dirt road, dust gets everywhere, including in closets.  It often settles across the shoulders of hanging clothing.  Oftentimes, I can just brush it off. But when it settles on clothes I don't wear much, rather than brushing it off, I have to actually wash the clothing because the dust/dirt has settled into the fibers. 

 

I searched the net to find a pattern for dust covers, and in so doing, discovered another item called a "clothing safe." It is a clothes hanger covered in fabric in which there is a pocket to hide valuables.  You hang your clothes OVER the fabric, thus hiding your goodies. It didn't suit my purpose - I wanted to hang my clothes UNDER the fabric, to protect from dust.  

 

However, a lightbulb went off in my head.  (Stop laughing).  Why not combine the two, and make a dust cover AND a clothing safe, or even better, use the pocket for accessories? How many of us have belts, or a brooch, or a scarf, or special jewelry that only goes with one outfit?  And how many of us can lay our hands on all those accessories at a moment's notice?  And what about packing?  Wouldn't it be great to simply take an article of clothing along with it's accessories and pack it all at once? 

 

I figured someone had already made a dust cover with an accessories pouch, so I searched to the ends of the Internet (well, it seemed like it) for a pattern.  Nothing.  Nothing at all.  Apparently, if someone else has thought of it, they've not acted on the impulse. So I had to think on it for a few days and figure out a pattern all by myself (which can be a daunting task!). And by the way, one of the main reasons I hate sewing clothes is because I can never put a zipper in right! So, I had to consider putting a zipper on the pouch (because you don't want anything falling out), too.  I decided I was up to the task.  I wouldn't let a teensy bit of 18 inch cloth and teeth stop me! 

So after I spent a few days thinking on how to do it, I set to work.  Amazingly, I finished it within an hour!  Even the zipper part!

I will be making these as Christmas presents for a few people who travel extensively.  They can not only protect their clothing at home in the closet, but can pack their accessories with the garments they take!

 

So here it is - my dust cover with a zippered accessories pouch.

 

 

The dust cover, embellished with a little lace.

 

 

A scarf hanging out of the zippered pouch.

 

 

Dust cover doing it's job on one of my outfits, and another scarf, hanging out of the zippered pouch. 

 

StashBusting:

 

1/2 yard of leftover fabric

18 inches of leftover lace

 

 

 

Using Up Christmas Fabric...

I opened one of my wirebasket drawers and found quite a bit of Christmas fabric.  I have wanted to try the Disappearing Nine-Patch technique for a while, and decided this would be a good project.  Basically, you make a 9-patch square - any size (I used 6 inch patches) and then cut it right down the middle, both ways.  And then you simply turn 2 of the blocks inward and the chain effect happens. 

 

 

Christmas Disappearing Nine-Patch. Note that I also did random patches - I tried to keep the reds and greens mixed up.

 

 Not quilted yet as I've not found a satisfactory backing fabric.

 

Stashbusting:

 

2 yards of various fabrics.

Half a spool of thread

TableRunners, Coasters and a Quilt

I've been working on the stash, still doing some Christmas fabric things, but also playing with some other fabrics I found, too.  So, I made a couple more tablerunners and some matching coasters. 

 

 

The left one is an old Hoffman Japanese fabric, chrysanthamums lined with a faint gold line.  The right one is grapes and grape leaves, also lined with a thin gold line. Stashbusting stats at the bottom of the post. 

 

I then decided to do something with some scrap fabric I found in the drawer. It is leftover fabric from the quilt I made my grand-niece, and because some was already cut in 3 inch strips, I decided to do a jelly roll race quilt. Here's a link to the You Tube video on how to do one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bEJLnaZQOU

 

I also had trouble doing the mitered corners, I got about half backwards, so I finally gave up and just sewed the strips together in straight lines! Then, I set the quilt aside to go get a drink and came back to this:

 

 

Emmy the cat cops a nap on the unfinished quilt. So I waited a while and finally, she left.  I went to the kitchen to get  a drink before I started quilting and I came back to this:

 

 

Dinah cops a nap on the unfinished quilt.  She stayed on it all evening, so I decided I'd work on the quilt the next morning. I ate breakfast, got a drink, came into the room to work on the quilt and there he was...

 

 

Christian, settling in for a nap on the quilt!!! Eventually, he moved on, so I was able to finish it. The finished quilt is 46 X 67 inches, a good size for a toddler.

 

The polyester batting I used slipped and I didn't discover it until AFTER I'd stitched-in-the-ditch quilted it! I ironed the offending part towards the very edge, and then put a binding over the wrinkles. It looks a tiny bit wonky on that edge, but a baby won't notice.

 

Stashbusting:

 

Tablerunners & Coasters: 1 yard or so of various fabrics

 

Quilt: 1 1/2 yards of various fabrics

1 1/2 yards of polyester batting

1 1/2 yards flannel backing

1/2 spool of thread

Random Scrappy Christmas Tree Skirt

To get back into quilting, I started setting a timer for 1 hour at various times during the day and working at my sewing machine.  It's been a good thing. The other thing I decided was that I had to open one of the drawers and work on whatever was in there until everything in the drawer was finished.  The first drawer I opened had Christmas fabric and scraps from other projects in it.  So today, I made a scrappy tree skirt. This is the pattern I used, with some changes.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Thimbleberries-Star-Dance-Tree-Skirt/dp/B00DVW9WXK

 

 

 

If you notice in the booklet, the skirt had appliqued stars and binding. I didn't do either of these things. 

 

This is a foundation-pieced pattern. Cut the wedges from muslin or other junk fabric, and then piece the strips onto the foundation wedges. I "birthed" the skirt. After I got the strips on the foundation pieces, I sewed them together, leaving one opening the length of the wedges to be able to wrap it around a tree. I cut another piece of backing fabric the same size, pinned right sides together and raw edges even, started sewing halfway up the open edge wedge, around the center circle, and then all the way around the bottom of the skirt, clipped the corners and curves, turned right side out, ironed the seams and then finished the open edge.  I then quilted stitch-in-the-ditch on each wedge edge. Technically, the skirt can be reversible, because the back is one solid piece of red fabric with gold stars on it.  

 

 

 

Stashbusting:

 

3 1/2 yards of various fabrics

3 partially filled bobbins of various colors

1 half spool of white thread.