Blogger's Quilt Festival - Recycling Blues

I am so excited to participate in another Blogger's Quilt Festival! 

For those of you who read my blog regularly, this is not a new quilt.  I was really hoping to finish a new quilt for the festival, but it just wasn't in the cards for me this time.

Instead, I am linking up our families favorite quilt.  I designed it around the idea of using a pile of blue fabrics from my stash in addition to some upcycled fabrics.  The quilt includes some upcycled work shirts belonging to my husband, some old jeans and a bunch of non-standard quilting fabrics.  Unfortunately, one of those fabrics in particular did not work out as planned.

See that shiny fabric (roughly in the center)?  The one to the left of my husband's initials from his work shirts?

It was a Chinese brocade made of polyester/nylon.  I knew it probably shouldn't have gone in the dryer, but... well... sometimes these things just happen.  And sometimes they happen more than once.  I didn't realize when I made it that it would become the house favorite and greatly abused.  It has been used as a picnic blanket, a throw, a dog bed, it's gone camping...

... but the dryer has destroyed that brocade and, clearly, it needed a rework.

But what to do?  How do you fix an old quilt?  I really didn't like the idea of trying to somehow replace all of those pieces.  Should I try and patch it?  Then I thought about how hideous a patch would be.  And then I thought some more... and realized that an applique is basically a fancy word for a "patch."  Eureka!

So, I carefully went over the quilt and marked every troubled seam and tear with a pin (and made them really obvious so I wouldn't miss any).  Then I dug out the only applique template I own.

After I sewed them all down by hand, I quilted over the top of each applique to help give the underlying fabrics a little more stability.  It worked.

I think I like this quilt more than some of the others I have made because it was a product of truly leftover and used fabrics, more like how quilts used to be made long ago out of whatever fabrics women could scrape together.  That fact that it is a bargello doesn't hurt either.

Did I mention that this quilt is much loved in our house? 

When I spread it out in the grass to photograph it originally, I only had about 3.4 seconds to snap pics before my son came running over to make use of it.  It sort of became a great big bulls-eye.

 

Oh.  And it also climbs trees.

 

I've washed and used the quilt dozens of times now since I added the applique hearts and it is holding up beautifully and is still the most well-used and well-loved quilt in our house.

I hope you enjoyed my entry to this seasons BQF... and I can't wait to see all the other beautiful entries!

Wading in W.I.P.s

Five weeks into summer and I am just hitting my creative stride.  And I am up to my ears in W.I.P.s.  

Urban Utility II has been sitting around for the moment.

I plan on giving this lifeless sweater dress a face lift.

The as-of-yet unnamed art quilt is in a holding pattern because I need to basically take everything off from this point and start adhering the bigger pieces to the fabric so I can start sewing them down.

My top secret handmade gift exchange project is in the works.

And this is a sneak peak at a project for my son that I will hopefully be able to post later this week.

And this... *GASP* ... is what my sewing room looks like at the moment and that's a problem (BTW, don't start cleaning and reorganizing unless you can do it all in one shot because walking back in on this is daunting). 

It's a problem because I start class again tomorrow.  And I should have a minimum of 200 pages of reading and a paper to write every week.  And my internship is about to ramp up in hours.  And not yet on my WIP list is the 400 baby quilts I need to make for all the pregnant women in my life.  And the only thing I want to do right now is anything on that WIP list and NOT the readings I am supposed to be doing for the first day of class tomorrow. 

Ugh.

"Recycling Blues" - Revisited and Revamped

I originally finished and posted this quilt about a year ago.  I designed it around the idea of using blue fabrics from my stash in addition to some upcycled fabrics.  The quilt includes some upcycled work shirts belonging to my husband, some old jeans and a bunch of non-standard quilting fabrics.  Unfortunately, one of those fabrics in particular did not work out as planned.

See that shiny fabric (roughly in the center)?  The one to the left of my husband's initials from his work shirts?

It was a Chinese brocade made of polyester/nylon.  I knew it probably shouldn't have gone in the dryer, but... well... sometimes these things just happen.  And sometimes they happen more than once.  I didn't realize when I made it that it would become the house favorite and greatly abused.  It has been used as a picnic blanket, a throw, a dog bed, it's gone camping...

 ... but the dryer has destroyed that brocade and, clearly, it needed a rework.

But what to do?  How do you fix an old quilt?  I really didn't like the idea of trying to somehow replace all of those pieces.  Should I try and patch it?  Then I thought about how hideous a patch would be.  And then I thought some more... and realized that an applique is basically a fancy word for a "patch."  Eureka!

So, I carefully went over the quilt and marked every troubled seam and tear with a pin (and made them really obvious so I wouldn't miss any).  Then I dug out the only applique template I own.

After I sewed them all down by hand, I quilted over the top of each applique to help give the underlying fabrics a little more stability.  I think it worked.

Did I mention that this quilt is much loved in our house?

When I spread it out in the grass to photograph it originally, I only had about 3.4 seconds to snap pics before my son came running over to make use of it.  It sort of became a great big bulls-eye.

 

Oh.  And it also climbs trees.

And just a reminder... the Blogger's Quilt Festival, hosted by Amy's Creative Side, starts on Friday!  I'll be working into the wee hours to finish another quilt by then and I can't wait to see what everyone else will post!

I'll be linking this up to all the fun parties on my Link Parties page including Met Monday! Check 'em out!

Butterfly Journal and Haul Out the Holly

A friend of mine just celebrated a birthday.  I was able to make her a quick journal the other night.  The pictures aren't the greatest because I forgot to take them until after I'd given it to her.  I actually took all of these with my cell phone in a parking lot.  Here's to improvising.  :)

Just like when I made my Field Journal, I started with one of these (for more explicit directions you can check out the earlier post)...

I covered it in fabric, added some graphics, courtesy The Graphics Fairy, and a few odds and ends to get this...

Here's the back...

And the inside cover... the interior fabric is a brocade. 

I also alternately stamped some of the actual pages as well...

I also wanted to let everyone know that I'll be participating in an awesome upcoming event...


 

It will consist of 12 days of holiday tutorials from 12 amazingly crafty bloggers.  I'll be working on my tutorial behind the scenes till then.  You can get more info by clicking on the button above.  Can't wait and I hope you get a chance to check it out!!

I'll be linking this up to many of the awesome parties included on my link party page, including Met Monday!  Check them out!

Upcycled Baby Quilt

Finished!

I made this quilt for my son using a bunch of his old t-shirts and onesies.  It was my way of holding onto those memories a little longer in a way we could all enjoy. 

I made it basically like you would make a t-shirt quilt except I opted not to fuse the shirts because I wanted to use really thick batting to give it a really poufy look and wanted to retain the "give" and stretch of the t-shirts as much as possible. 

From each onesie or t-shirt (I used 48) I cut two 6 inch squares.  Then I separated them into lights and darks and paired coordinating fabrics into four patch blocks.  THEN I spent about 3-4 hours arranging them on my design wall in a way that made me happy (basically keeping similar colors adjacent as much as possible).  After that I sewed the four patch blocks together.

Sewing with the unfused knits was a little tricky and involved some patience, but I wasn't too worried about everything being perfectly aligned because I figured the batting would disguise any irregularities and I was mostly right.  I also couldn't stick to a strict 1/4 inch seam because the knit kept getting pulled into the machine so it was more like 3/8 of an inch.  The finished quilt is 44" x 66".  I used two layers of the highest loft batting I could find and tied it in the corners of each block using a coordinating yarn from my stash.  I bound it with satin blanket binding (just cause it saves me a step and I'm lazy like that).  The finished quilt has the feel of a comforter.  Theoretically, the blocks should tighten up a little more after it's washed and dried and should make it look nice and fluffy (I'll let you know how it washes).

My son loves it.  He like looking at all the different images on the front and pointing out all the animals he knows.  AND he likes the back.  I wasn't sure what I was going to use as the backing fabric until I got to JoAnn's, but as soon as I saw it I knew there was no turning back.

Buzz always wins.  :)

Linking up to many of the awesome parties in my sidebar including Sew & Tell Friday and Met Monday... check 'em out!

Project Peek

Here's a peek at what I've been working on this weekend.  It's a project I've been planning for a little while now.  It's an upcycled quilt made from a bunch of onesies and t-shirts that my son has grown out of.

I took this pic while I was pinning the quilt "sandwich" together. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it sometime this week.  I'll post more pics and details when it's done.  Hope you all had a great weekend!

Some Cameos from the Wedding

I had the privilege of helping the bride get ready, so while she was in the shower I was able to snag some of these detail shots.

This one is a shot of the porch of their cabin.  It had a great view of Lake Michigan.

The bouquet.

Ready and with a Rolls Royce waiting. Oh, did I mention that I got to ride with her to the church in that Rolls Royce? Since I was in it I don't have pics.

Their reception was at a beautiful country venue that included an outdoor tent space and a renovated barn.

Each table was set with a different pair of salt and pepper shakers from the collections of both the bride's mother and grandmother.  They rented the vintage china and stemware.

The centerpieces were all different as well... this was one of my favs.

And the hair jewelry in action, as promised.

It was a really special wedding and absolutely beautiful from start to finish.