Dog-gone Good T-shirt Quilt Idea

Saw Shelley's memory quilt project using Elizabeth Hartman's Dogs in Sweaters pattern on The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts blog (go search around her blog - she has made memory quilts from at least a dozen different patterns!)

While it's a great idea, these sweater-sporting dogs are tricky

This is my ONE doggo from that pattern.  Made with my quilt guild's challenge fabric from 2017, but still not completed quilted.  Fifty-plus pieces in there, for those keeping count.

Perhaps a simpler dog could be used?

This dog was the Block of the Moment for my guild, also back in 2017.  Pattern for a very similar block is available here from Quilter's Cache.  Super cute, and great to use up scraps

So, somewhere down the internet rabbit hole, I saw a block made by Emily Herrick (posted on her Crazy Old Ladies blog) that made me really think this schnauzer was a possible shape for a t-shirt quilt.

I felt like, if I could adjust the proportions a touch, this could be done! I needed a bigger canvas for the sweater/t-shirt.  But still want it to be recognizable as a pup.  Whaddya think?

Courtesy of EQ software + my brain

Yep, I think I can do this!  I'll have to try a prototype soon...

(This digression exploration prompted by the recent Xmas fabric/UFO organizing, and the realization that 3 of the offending bins are primarily made up of t-shirts waiting to become quilts.  3 bins!  For reals.)

Xmas finish: stockings for my siblings

ONE of my 4 goals for December got checked off:

finished making three Christmas stockings, for me and both of my siblings.  

Made from my own pattern and technique, detailed with a tutorial here.  It had been so long since I sewed up the first of the 3 stockings that I actually referred back to my own tutorial.  Hooray for taking good notes!  (And posting them online where I can find them again.)

Interior: reproduction fabrics (left) vs. back of actual vintage quilt (right)

Raw materials?  One vintage 1930s quilt, well-loved and used by the whole family during our growing-up years; I was so surprised that Mom still had this among her possessions.  
 

Reverse sides

There was no salvaging this quilt.  There wasn't even enough "good" area to make a throw pillow.  So these Christmas stockings are the perfect choice:

• They will be taken out and admired once a year
• They will receive minimal handling
• They might never get washed (have you ever washed a Christmas stocking?)
• Many of my holiday decorations invite nostalgia and strong memories--these will fit right in 

 

Although I had set four December goals, these stockings were my must finish item.  So I'm linking up with One Monthly Goal.  Check out some other finishes there!

Elm Street Quilts - One Monthly Goal December finish link-up

I like that writing down my goals helps me to remain focused--even when I take a detour mid-month.  I should do this more often...

A Beautiful Bouquet

My friend Bianca has made an utterly amazing yo-yo coat.  Which I got to see in person at Quilt Market Houston.  To. Die. For.  Honestly.

As Bianca posted in November about making some mends to her yo-yo's after swishing and sweeping about the Houston convention center, I was inspired to show you my own yo-yo project: the crafty bridal bouquet I made back in 2014.

Ok, you can't really see the yo-yo action in this picture, so I'll have to take some of my own pix, just to highlight the details.

(Wedding photographers are not paid to get detail shots of the DIY elements.  For good reason, I suppose.  Still extremely happy with everything New Morning Photography was able to capture.)

The beginning stages of this process were documented in early 2014, when I started wiring up various buttons, brooches, yo-yos and such; then tried (unsuccessfully) to put them into a bouquet shape; then tried a second construction method by working with a friend (more successfully).  But darn it, in the lead-up to the wedding, I neglected to actually blog the completed project.  Which is just a crying shame.

All crafty finishes deserve their moment in the blogging spotlight.

Basic yo-yo tools, while not absolutely necessary, definitely speed up the process.  And I LOVE the heart-shaped one! (Who wouldn't, I ask you?)

My favorite yo-yo heart, made from scraps of the heavy satin used to make my sister's wedding dress, got given extra oomph from a tiny dark purple silk yo-yo (lighter weight fabrics fared better in the small yo-yos), and a lilac bead.

In fact, for this project, every yo-yo was paired with beads or buttons (or both!), to make more of a statement within the bouquet.

My siblings: we clean up nice!

In the end, it was the event that was special here.  But my amazing, DIY bouquet really was (and is!) beautiful, full of memories associated with the brooches, earrings, buttons and yo-yo's that went into making it. 

Brief construction details

With help from extra hands, I finally got my crafty bridal bouquet all put together.  (See Take 1 and Take 2 posts for how we got to here.)

The big change this time around was twisting groups of stems together into clusters.  Each cluster then worked as a single element to thread through the fake hydrangea bouquet.



I made about 10 clusters, using around two-thirds of the approximately 80 individual stems.

The clusters were then inserted, one at a time, into the fake hydrangea as before.  I had an extra person helping me (mandatory), and we wrapped each cluster around the branches of the hydrangea and then continued wrapping down around the stem area to keep everything secured. 

Under construction: Take 3

Unlike the previous attempt, this version managed to have the brooches/buttons/bling be the star, rather than the hydrangea overtaking and swallowing all the bits I was trying to insert.

View from underneath it all

 Once we had all the stems/clusters arranged, all that remained was to make the "stem" be able to be held in one's hand.  It was already plenty thick, with massive amounts of wire wrapped all along the fake bouquet's original stem.
 

Buttons? No, corsage pins

Still a 2-person job: We wrapped the hefty wired stem with 2 layers of polyester quilt batting, and then wrapped a rectangle of the heavy bridal satin fabric around the whole thing.  The raw edges of the fabric were just folded under (ironed to hold the folds in place).  And the whole shebang was secured with corsage pins--a heavy-duty pin with decorative pearly head, that I had no worries about bending or ruining (I think they came in a package of 100).
 

That's it!  The key to this project being a success was starting early and having plenty of patience for the complexity of what I was trying to accomplish.

Here are links to the things I used/found helpful in making my own crafty bouquet:

Blue Petyl, who wrote the best cautionary tale on the brooch bouquet process, has an eBook, various DIY kits, and sells completed bouquets from their Etsy shop.

My favorite YouTube video, among the many I consulted, was by Jessica Flores, who has the same video plus more info on her own website, Domesticated Me (so I'm including links for both). 

Weddings can be so magical!  And we worked very hard to make ours so personalized.  From the family stash of buttons/brooches/earrings that were included in my bouquet, down to the sand we used in our sand ceremony (mine from Puget Sound, Sweetie's from Virginia Beach).  I wish you all the best as you CRAFT a wedding that makes you feel magical, too.

How to turn a Quilted Wallhanging into an Advent Calendar

For years, Sweetie has been on the hunt for a crafty/DIY Advent Calendar.  And been thwarted every time.  But not this year!

Charlotte, the long-needled Southern pine (flocked, for modesty)

This year, as we took out the holiday decorations, and put up our gaudy Christmas tree (aka Charlotte), she happened to mention an "advent calendar" that I apparently had put away last year.

I was perplexed.  I had no such advent calendar.

Ah, but I did have a neglected small holiday wallhanging.  Made from scrap fabrics, it was inspired by a project Barbara shared over on her Cat Patches blog.  In 2015 this was a class at the shop, teaching all the different techniques I know for making half-square triangles.  (How many techniques do you know?)  But it had languished in our house since then, not even getting a hanging sleeve put on.

 

So, how does one turn a quilted wallhanging into an Advent calendar?  I quickly rejected the idea of creating pockets, since the wallhanging was quilted and bound and finished.  I settled on buttons.  Twenty-five buttons, nicely spaced, that would hold small "somethings".  (What exactly was to be hung from the buttons was not mine to decide.  Sweetie is excellent at internet research.)

 In addition to a robust fabric stash, I have a surprisingly large button stash as well.  I found 16 identical green buttons, and filled in with red and silver/metal buttons, all from stash.  In order to be able to hang things from the buttons, they needed to be shank style.  Unfortunately, only the metal buttons came with shanks.  So I sewed each red and green button on over an object in order to make a thread shank after the fact.  Do you recognize said object?

It's a bobbin-holder.  I have used a toothpick for this task in the past, but I wanted to raise these buttons pretty far off the surface of the wallhanging.  This gave me uniformity from button to button, and worked like a charm.

Other note: my thread here was YLI Jeans Stitch, a high-quality 30-weight polyester thread that is strong and remarkably lovely to stitch with.  Its heavier weight meant that the shank built up nicely with fewer individual stitches.

Button with thread shank: a thing of beauty

And what, you may ask, is adorning this Advent Calendar?

Umm, would you believe Lego ornaments?  Sweetie managed to find a kit to construct Lego Friends countdown calendar ornaments--make one each day, then hang it on the tree.  And, because Sweetie is secretly still 8 years old (falling easily in the 6-12 age range suggested on the Lego package), this seemed like the perfect thing to make 25 little "somethings" to hang from the buttons.


My favorite ornament so far?  The microscope.  This is in honor of my parents, who were both scientists.  And my brothers, who are both engineers.

I can tell you're jealous.

And thus, after several years of longing, we have our crafty/DIY Advent Calendar.  Turns out, it was (almost) here all along.

Anything you would do differently?  I welcome helpful comments and suggestions.

TGIFF: Hawaiian halter apron

Welcome to Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday, and presenting my First Finish of 2018!


This is only my 2nd time hosting (last was in October 2016, followed by a desert in my blogging presence).  What this means: you, too could be a volunteer host.  Do you have a New Year's Resolution to try new things?  Break out of your comfort zone?  Head on over to the tgiff link to sign up for a volunteer week (or two).

Happy birthday, cherub!

My finish this week is not the result of weeks or months of tedious work.  Nah, that would be the item I thought would be finished.  This week I celebrate a quick make: an upcycle (and a gift for my youngest cherub).



 
Before: a pair of Hawaiian print shirts, purchased at a thrift store because they reminded me of my recent vacation.  Actually a bit difficult to find said Hawaiian print shirts in cotton--mostly they are rayon.  But cotton is the better choice for an apron designed for actual kitchen use.

After: cute halter apron!

I couldn't find the instructions I used the last time I made one of these, so I just based my cuts and stitches on the apron at hand.  (I wear that one all the time.)

Made things intentionally a bit bigger, to better fit the recipient, but still threw a couple box pleats in the back.  Hope she likes it.

Now it's your turn:  Link up any finishes for this week and don't forget to stop by some of the other finishes--leave them some comment love! Grab the TGIFF button and link back to this post, so your  visitors can see other dynamite finishes.

An InLinkz Link-up

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First 2017 finish: t-shirt baby quilt

Huzzah, a finish!  And made entirely from stash (well, except for the t-shirts)

The challenge 

A request from October 2016 was to make a t-shirt quilt for a baby whose mother works at Mills College.  These were the two t-shirts I was given to work with.  And oh, by the way, could I possibly make the quilt entirely out of stash?  Why yes, I'll accept that challenge!

First things first: Mills colors are blue and gold.  And these t-shirts were decidedly NOT blue.  Or gold.  What to do?  Start with the back.

I had one yard of a blue ombre stripe.  Needed it to be bigger, so I inserted a slim strip of the delightful multicolor fabric (I think it has a nice blue-and-gold overall feel) and the long-stashed gold-with-blue stripe.  (Long stash = made a baby hat from this; said baby is now 26)  Proud to say that I used up ALL of the blue stripe and the gold stripe.  Only crumbs left.

For the front, I found a pattern I liked called Fractal, from the book Quilt Lab: The Creative Side of Science by Alexandra Winston.  Although Fractal is not a pattern for a t-shirt quilt, I saw potential in the oversized squares and rectangles.  I adapted the overall scale to be able to use 15" square t-shirts in the corners, with the intention of putting my purple and green lovelies just so.  Then I searched my stash for blue fabric to fill in the large empty spaces.

Blue fabric.  Um...yeah.  Not really a blue person.  Probably can't tell from the photo above, but my only large swaths of blue are really quite navy.  Sweetie looked at the mock-up on my design wall and reminded me that, "Mills colors are blue and gold.  I'm not seeing that.  And what's with the bandana fabric?" 

Indeed: stash, that's what's up with the red bandana print.  Hmph!

However, I am a resourceful person quilter.  I knew where to get some t-shirts that feel more "Mills".  Collected a big selection--not entirely blue and gold, but enough that I felt confident I could work something out.

the finished quilt front

I fussed.  And I fused.  Have you ever made a t-shirt quilt?  Most of the front is exclusively t-shirts--and they all have to be stabilized with fusible interfacing in order to behave.  And in a baby quilt, behaving is important for the usability and longevity of the gift.

Ended up using more of the multi-color fabric from the back: replaced the red bandana bits, and tied together both front and back with binding.

The quilting shows up better on the back.  I used my walking foot to replicate the concentric circles that were shown in the quilt from the book.

I'm pretty proud of my efforts here.  I didn't make it to the baby shower (but the quilt did).  The mother-to-be was delighted, so that's a definite win.

1.  A finish
2.  Entirely from stash (counting this as a 2-yard stashbust)
3.  Done on-time for its intended recipient

Do you like the restriction of having to use only stash in a project?  Or do you chafe and feel like your creativity gets stifled?

A Special Stocking

One of my goals for September--Memento Stocking--finished!


Last seen during fabric auditions. I showed some of my color ideas to the recipient, and she gave me carte blanche.  As long as I used the pocket and name tape from the uniform of the Marine being honored, she had no opinion about the rest--yay, who doesn't love picking fabrics?

This stocking was made using my tutorial. I have had a great time personalizing each stocking I make for a specific recipient, and using special, meaningful materials.

I used part of a sleeve from the uniform to make a bias strip for the toe detail.  I also added batting to the cuff to make it feel more substantial.

Name obscured for the family’s sake

I felt so very honored to make an item that will remind the family of their fallen loved one.


Linking up with Finish it Up Friday, hosted this week by Sarah at Georgia Girl Quilts.  Happy to have a finish(!) and to check out marvelous, motivating work by others.

Cheers!

A Few Forgotten Finishes

Over the past couple months, I have finished a few small projects. No big fanfare. But I feel compelled to at least mark them: this blog is my place to keep track of and celebrate my worthy accomplishments, no matter how small.

 

A tissue-box couch, made as a gift. The ribbon and box-pleated trim was from stash (yay!) but the train fabric was purchased with a specific person in mind. Unfortunately, this was a gift that never found its way...

Altar cloths for the college chapel.  These guys were on my "hem me" pile for the longest time. So glad to get them done and off to be used.

Another Memento Stocking, this one made from one of my mom's t-shirts (University of Washington--go Huskies!) and a pair of her pajamas (cows; very typically Mom). I will be teaching this technique at a shop in September.

That's it. Little bits getting done a smidge at a time.

Memorial Christmas Stockings, Plus Tutorial

Welcome Blog-hoppers!  I'm Alla and I love whimsy, creative design, and all things new and shiny and fabricky.  I hope you enjoy your stop here.

Not new or shiny: this quilt has known love!

I'd like to invite you on a journey of rebirth: taking beloved items and making them into Christmas stockings.  There are two options here, maybe they will give you ideas...

From this

To this

From this

To this

Option A: using an embroidered sweatshirt as the stocking front

Option B: using a vintage quilt as the stocking front

The basic method is similar for each option.  Sarah asked if I could make a tutorial for these, so that's what I will share.

But first, a little bit of love to the women who are memorialized by these stockings.

Angel in reverse

The sweatshirt was among my stepmother's clothes--a slightly-dated Christopher & Banks design that was definitely her signature look.  As I was the one to clean out her closet after she died in January, I took the opportunity to remove a couple items of clothing, hoping I could turn them into mementos at some later date.  The 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop turned out to be perfect timing for me.  The angel stocking will go to my step-brother, her only son.  It turned out so well; I am super pleased!

The vintage quilt was among my mother's possessions that I inherited.  The stash included four vintage quilt tops and one completed quilt.  The completed quilt is the one I used here, and it has seen a lot of love.  It was our "couch quilt" when I was growing up, and was adored by three growing children and one cantankerous dachshund.  I'm not 100% sure who stitched it--maybe my great-grandmother?  Anyway, I had my siblings' permission to cut it up and try to reuse it somehow.  Even so, I needed steadying before I made the initial cut (there were phone calls and a bit of hand-holding involved).  I need to make two more stockings now: I'm sure each of my siblings deserves their own.

My inspiration for actually trying to reuse this vintage quilt came from the book

Recycled Hexie Quilts: Using Vintage Hexagons in Today's Quilts by Mary Kerr.  She gives hints on techniques as well as projects.

On with the Tutorial!

Materials and Equipment

Sweatshirt, including bottom band*
1/3 yard (or 1 fat quarter, FQ) cotton quilting fabric for stocking back
1/3 yard cotton quilting fabric for stocking lining
1/3 yard fusible fleece
1/3 yard fusible light/medium weight interfacing

Basic sewing supplies
Clover Wonder Clips, or other pins or clips to hold bulky fabrics when sewing
Walking foot (optional, for multiple layer sewing with no fabric shifting)

Pattern for stocking: I traced a commercial stocking and added 3/8" seam allowance

If you don't have a pleasing stocking to copy, you might try and reproduce mine by checking out the 1" grid from my cutting mat.  Or there are free stocking patterns available online, such as from Craftsy. 

Cutting

1. Cut the bottom band off the sweatshirt and set aside for a cuff
2. Cut one stocking front from the sweatshirt fabric, paying attention to placement of any design
3. Cut one stocking back; make sure to reverse the pattern from the stocking front
4. Fold the lining fabric right sides together and cut two stocking linings
5. Cut and fuse the fleece to the back side of the sweatshirt
6. Cut and fuse the interfacing to the stocking back piece
7. Cut a 2" by 6" rectangle from leftover fabric (either stocking back or lining, your choice); this will make the hanging loop

Sewing

1.  If desired, embellish the heel and toe area of the sweatshirt prior to assembly.  (My version has a fused applique heel that matches the stocking back, and two rows of hand embroidery along the toe line.)

2.  Make the hanging loop by folding the 2" by 6" strip in half lengthwise, then folding each side in toward the center.  Press.  This makes a strip 1/2" wide.  Topstitch along both long edges.

 
3.  Place all four stocking pieces together, in the order shown: both lining pieces, right sides together; sweatshirt/stocking front, facing up; stocking back, facing down.

4.  Fold hanging loop in half and place along seam allowance between the two lining layers, 1/2" below the top. Secure all the layers together with Wonder Clips or other clips or pins; sew along the sides and foot with a 3/8" seam, backstitching to secure at both ends.

5.  Clip curves along the seam, notching the outward curves and cutting toward but not through the seam on the inward curve.

6.  Turn stocking right side out, gently pushing all the curves out.

7.  Make a cuff: measure the width of the top of your stocking, double this and add 1/2".  Cut one layer of the sweatshirt bottom band 3-1/2" tall by the width you need (e.g. my stocking was 7-1/2", so I doubled this to 15" and added 1/2" = 15-1/2").  Cut a second rectangle, 3-1/4" by the same width.  Sew these two rectangles together along the long edge in a 1/4" seam.  Make a loop by sewing the short edges together in a 1/4" seam.  Turn the cuff so that wrong sides are together and raw edges even; press.

8.  Place the cuff, sweatshirt ribbing side out, inside the stocking.  Align all raw edges, use clips or pins to secure, and sew all layers together in a 1/4" seam.  Be careful to keep hanging loop out of the way of this stitching.  Finish seam with a row of zigzag stitches, if desired.

9.  Fold cuff toward the outside of the stocking.  Press as desired.

10.  Admire your work!

Many thanks to Sarah for hosting this blog hop!  I am so happy to be in such amazing company, and I'm busy planning some August stitching with the designs I am seeing from my fellow sewists.

July 14th:     Sharon Vrooman @ Vrooman’s Quilts

                    Carole Carter @ From My Caroline Home

July 15th:    Yanicka Hachez @ Finding Myself As An Artist

                   Chris Dodsley @ made by ChrissieD

July 16th:     Marsha Hodgkins @ Quilter in Motion

                    Leanne Parsons  @ Devoted Quilter

July 17th:     Tonia Conner @ All Thingz Sewn

                    Selina @ Selina Quilts

July 18th:     Lara Buccella @ Buzzin Bumble

                    Soma Acharya @ Whims and Fancies

July 19th:     Joanne Harris@ Quilts by Joanne

                    Suzy Webster @ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

July 20th:     Vicki in MN @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

                    Jennifer Fulton @ The Inquiring Quilter

July 21st:     Michele Kuhns @ Crayon Box Quilt Studio

                    Jan Ochterbeck @ The Colorful Fabriholic

July 22nd:     Alla Blanca @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.

                     Zenia Rene @ A Quilted Passion

July 23rd:     Joanne Hubbard @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt

                    Paige Alexander @ Quilted Blooms

July 24th:     Carolyn Jones @ …by CJ

                    Tisha Nagel @ Quilty Therapy

July 25th:     Susan Arnold @ Quilt Fabrication

                    Beth Sellers @ Cooking Up Quilts

                    Linda Pearl @ One Quilting Circle