Sweater Blanket in Honor of Grandma Rose

You know when you have an idea for a project, and you look online and see that pretty much no one else has done it, and then you think: Maybe there's a reason no one else is doing it this way?

Well, I'm happy to say that I did my project anyway and got away with it!

This is kind of a quilt in that it has three layers: old sweaters, an old wool blanket, and old sweaters.  The reason that you're probably not supposed to do this is because the sweaters were made out of different kinds of weaving -- close weave, loose weave, everything in between -- and they are likely to pull, warp, and generally not hold their shape.  I decided to reduce the risk by doing WAY more ties than normal.  The usual rule of thumb, according to the collective wisdom of the internet anyway, is to space them so that whenever you put your hand down, you cover at least one tie.  I did a lot more than that, and I increased the frequency of ties around the edges.

 The resulting quilt/blanket is HEAVY.  It was a gift for my husband and he really loves it!

 

Above is the worn-out wool blanket with holes that I used for the batting.

I ended up just cutting off a section because it had too many holes.

 

Unwanted sweaters and a scarf from my husband.

I did lots of pinning.  I was worried about the stretchiness of the knits leading to lots of warping.

I just serged the edges.  Not at all the correct way to bind a quilt!

 

 

A Gift for Hailey Victoria

Here are some photos from an early foray into making stuffed animals.

First I did the small one:

Then I started on the bigger one.  The hardest part was picking out the fabric for the patches on the shell.  I wanted some that had a family connection; for example, the one with the tulips is from a skirt I made, the big polka dots are left over from a costume my sister Rachel wore, but I also wanted them to be fun and suitable for a baby.

The eyes were hand-drawn with non-toxic fabric markers.  I like to think they look soulful.

Below one from assembling the ruffles.  I couldn't resist using the ribbon somewhere because it matched the monkey print I used for the underside of the turtle.  (The monkey print fabric was the very last I had from a tooth pillow that Mom and I made for Hailey's cousins Alex and Conner.)

Here I'm sewing on the neck, which was quite a challenge.  Too much neck sticking out made it floppy.  Not enough was hard to sew.

Here she is with her turtles doing tummy time!

Isn't she just darling?

#CoronaCreative

 A sample of some of my creative endeavors....

 

The above headband is designed to match all of my jeans, regardless of the varying degrees to which they have faded. :)

The tops I just added ruffles to, but it's nice because it transforms a tank-top with spaghetti straps into something I can wear in public.  They are SO comfy -- I'm not a huge fan of bras so I love them -- and now they are modest enough to go anywhere.

I hope you've been having some creative fun this summer, too!

Still sewing!

I'm working on headbands, although I think it might be good to make some masks.  COVID-19 is peaking in our area.

Pillow Update

This has been on my to-do list for months. I had stuffed two homemade pillows with leftover bits of fabric. This turned out to be one of those times when being frugal has a less-than-desirable results. The pillows were really heavy and lumpy.

Fortunately, my sister Rachel likes really flat pillows, and she had me remove some stuffing from some pillows that came with a couch they bought. So I had leftover stuffing to replace the fabric scraps that weren't working.

It's going to be an immensely satisfying to not have this on my to do list! The whole thing will probably take half an hour, but I just haven't gotten to it.

Snow Day Pillow

I did this back in February, but I want my readers to know that I do still craft....

This is entirely from recycled materials.

We had a blue pillow that didn't match our living room decor.  Now it's been nicely hidden by the homemade pillow cover made from old T-shirts.

Lately....

I'm taking Improv 102.... We are on track to pay off the house this spring...... Arwen is coming over to paint tomorrow.    Robert bought one of these and is planning all kinds of adventures.....

My dear friend Stacy taught me to crochet....

I've been using my handy, dandy dremel on what I've decided to term My Mysterious Project.....

       

I've been playing in my art studio...

I'm hemming a dress to wear to my brother's wedding.

Lots of fun stuff!  Hope all is well with you, my dear readers!

Hanging out with Rachel

Book for Later

This book is on sewing using pillow cases, but it ends up being "how to make stuff without a lot of yardage."  Aprons and skirts are included, but I can see myself making more of the other stuff: hats, slippers, bracelets, and scarves.

Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Pillowcase
by Suzanne Tourtillott