The Restitcherator: kids

Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Saturday, October 25, 2014

T-Shirt Quilt number 2, back from the dead

Wow is that scary. Months and months go by and I barely pick my head up to look around and see what I’m missing. But we had an awesome summer, with some really fun vacations, and I have been sewing, just not taking pictures of my work or taking any time to reflect on it.

This t-shirt quilt that I made for my son was the second one I made. I made one for a customer earlier this year, and my son loved it so much he immediately made a pile of his old shirts for me to make him one. Like with SO many other projects, I had it all cut out and the top sewn in less than a week. I did it all while we were at the Cape in June.

20 of his old favorites

Flash forward to last week and I was just putting the binding on. But look, he loves it, and I’m already working on one for my husband.

(photo approved by new quilt owner)

I use Pellon 101 woven fusible interfacing to firm up the t-shirts. It’s time consuming, but the body of the quilt is nicer, and it’s thin enough that it doesn’t take away from the awesomely soft t-shirt feel of the finished product.

This shows the back - one of the first fabrics I ever bought

I’ll probably make one for myself out of my race t-shirts. I never wear them, and I won’t feel so lazy resting under a quilt made of shirts I had to RUN to earn!

Friday, November 2, 2012

Indygo Junction Girly Gored Skirt #2

Just wanted to quickly share the my second version of Indygo Junction's Girly Gored Skirt.

I made this one entirely from Jennifer Paganelli Queen Street fabrics. (Which by the way...are TO DIE FOR).

This one came together even faster. Now I have two friends whose girls are in school together who get to twirl the day away. Can't say enough good stuff about this pattern.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Indygo Junction Girly Gored Skirt - Review

Right out of the box, I'm going to say I LOVED this pattern. The directions were fairly basic, but that's all they needed to be. The whole thing, start to finish, took me around an hour.

The number of panels you cut is determined by the size skirt you're making. There are three length and gore size variations. I made this skirt for the big sister of the baby I made the Seven Seas Quilt for. When the new baby comes, I wanted her to have something new, too.

The skirt is very simple. I made the smallest size, which called for 9 panels, so I chose three fabrics so there would be an even number of each one. I also turned up the bottom and hemmed it...the pattern showed a simple serged bottom, but my cutting wasn't neat enough for that.

This will make a fantastic twirly skirt. My daughter's already picking out fabric for hers.

Overall I would give the pattern and "A". Simple directions, lots of sizes to choose from, options on how to finish it, and a spectacular finished product!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Pony Saddle Pad For My Little Equestrian

Ever since my daughter started taking riding lessons a year ago, I've been wanting to make her a pony saddle pad. I clarify "pony" because she is so little (maybe 45 lbs soaking wet) that she rides ponies only so far. But lots of the girls at the barn bring their own saddle pads with them, and I thought "I can MAKE that". Of course, I've been hoarding Heather Ross' West Hill fabric for just such an occasion.

I will admit, I did use a pattern. The pattern overall, I was NOT happy with, so I will be making my own pattern for the next version. The shape is too boxy and the directions were awful. And once my daughter sees this, I'm sure I'll be making MANY more. For the back I used Sis Boom (Jennifer Paganelli) Poodle.

It's a simple shape, with simple quilting. The most challenging part is using webbed binding. It's a tiny bit slippery, and I was using vintage stuff I had on hand. You really need to use webbed because of the crazy wear and tear it takes. Overall, though, really, it looks fantastic I think.

Here she is last winter winning her first ever blue ribbon. Now wouldn't this picture be cuter with her Heather Ross Saddle Pad?

Monday, September 3, 2012

1, 2, 3 Quilt Pattern Test - Fun Two-Sided Game Mat

I realize it's been a long time since I last posted. I've been working on not one but TWO super double top secret projects. But I have been told that I can give a sneaky little peek at one of them.

I am a huge Twitter lover, and saw a call for pattern testers by author Ellen Baker, (of 1, 2, 3 Sew fame). She is working on a new book and needed testers, so up flew my hand, wating around like that annoying kid in the front row of grammar school.

The pattern I got to test is an adorable reversible (better said, two-sided) game mat. The pattern was pretty straightforward, but it definitely would give a newer sewer or quilter a chance to work on a number of basic skills in a less stressful, smaller format.

The directions were nice and clear, and the finished product is just adorable. I am glad I didn't have to send it in because my kids will for sure be using it. I used some hoarded Castle Peeps by Lizzy House. It has just the perfect amount of whimsy and the blue colorway is perfect to use for younger boys.

I'm sure the book will be full of wonderful projects if this one is any indication.

I've had a super busy summer, and a glorious Labor Day weekend. I hope you did too!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Designer BOM #3

This is the third block for the Fat Quarter Shop's Mystery Designer Block of the Month club. I get so excited when these blocks come. There is such immediate gratification when I get one completed. This one took me about an hour and 15 minutes total, cutting, sewing and trimming.

The block is called Weather Vane by Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobson of Me and My Sister Designs. Another great HST skill builder.

Clearly my cutting was a little sloppy on this block, my lines were only so-so.

I realize my blog has been quiet...we had friends here from Colorado (the ones we visited in March) and spent time with them for a few days. It was supposed to rain so we planned a day at Mystic Seaport and then Mystic Aquarium so that we could be mostly indoors. It ended up being a really ok day weather-wise.

Their son is the same age as our daughter...and clearly...they get along really well.

I'm working on some baby quilts that I am MADLY in love with. The thing is, I have to give them to the moms-to-be first, then I can post pictures. Don't want to give away any of the goodness!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Sweet Upcycled Girl's Purse Pattern/Tutorial

I have made tons of these small purses. It's made from a felted sweater, some vintage trim, and a little fabric (I used new) for the interior. I've sold them in my Etsy shop, I've made tons to give away. Now you can make them too!

Here is the link to a PDF of the pattern:

Girl's Purse Pattern

This is what the first page should look like:

Please feel free to use the pattern as many times as you like. You can even share it with friends! If you'd like to use it to make bags to sell, that's fine too! My only requirement is that you don't sell the pattern itself to make a profit.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Starry Night progress and how to enjoy a snowy winter

It's hard to believe, but February is the 8th month of my Starry Night BOM. With each of these that I do, I can really see improvement in my piecing. I really like the colors on this block too. I'll for sure be making one of the filler blocks with these colors.

Switching gears...as you may well know, it has been the snowiest winter in VERY long time around here. The result is that my sweetie has gotten full on back into skiing and has pulled me along with him. Last weekend we drove up to Stratton Mountain in Vermont on Friday so we could ski for the day Saturday.

Here's WBR (that's World's Best Rob) at the top of the mountain...look how low to the ground those trees are and how caked they are with snow!

I'd never been to a "big" Vermont mountain, so I really enjoyed the view from the top. It was challenging skiing for me for sure, but there were loads of trails to try, and many lifts, so we got a full day of skiing in. I went down my first "glades" trail (where they don't take out the trees and you have to ski through the woods) and only fell down four times!

Just so you all can see what a goober I can be...this is a picture I took of myself (with my new iPhone, my old one got dropped in a bathtub and died the night before). You can see how giddy I am, both to be at the top of the mountain, but also to be enjoying my new toy.

We had so much fun on our day away, that when we came home, we decided to take the kids to a smaller local mountain in Massachusetts called Butternut on Sunday to see how THEY liked skiing. These pictures were taken BEFORE any skiing was actually done. Note the happy faces.

And here's Ally, making sure her big brother is actually smiling for the camera (which he wasn't).

For better or worse, they both did ok, but neither of them seems to be clamoring to go back. So for now, it looks like skiing will by my thing to do with Rob. Which is ok by me.

What do you do with your family outdoors in the winter? I'd love to hear about it.

Next up, an update on my argyle quilt for my little (big) man, and my first wonky block!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Vacation Week Sewing Treat - Kyoko Dress

This is the week my kids have had for April vacation. Crazy late it seems to me. Everyone else has been on vacation, come home, and is back at school. My "day" job has been really busy (see my earlier post), so I couldn't take the whole week, but I did manage to squeeze in 3 days off. I knew I had only so much time, so on Tuesday night I cut...and yesterday, I dove in.

I've been saving some Meadowsweet from Sandi Henderson that I bought, you guessed it, from Melanie at Above All Fabric. I really love the color palatte, especially the orange and the lime...and for some reason, the plaid just SPEAKS to me. I decided to try it with Patty Young's Kyoko dress. My five year old is dress crazy, and I know how beautifully Patty's patterns are and how well they fit my peanut. The result was nothing short of stunning!

We ran a few errands this morning, and without exception, everywhere we stopped, someone commented on Ally's dress. Maybe she's used to it now...but she sort of smirks and says an exaggerated "Thhhank you!" Truth be told, I love when people ask me where I bought it. And when I say "oh, I made it for her" their mouths always fall open. *LOVE THAT*

One of our stops today was at CVS, where she got some new sunglasses. She didn't really want to pose, so her focus is more on Snow White on the arms of the glasses.

The pattern went together super smoothly. I would say maybe 2 hours of actual sewing and pressing time. I take forever to trace patterns, and cut them out. I also take forever to pin. I am mad-crazy over pinner. Mostly because I keep trying to NOT pin, and I have to "un-sew" because it's crooked.

The only challenge I ran into was in making the obi. I had another print cut, and was informed by my lovely daughter that it wasn't "the one". So I cut a second. Funny, I like her choice better than mine, but in cutting the second set, I rushed. And the two were not 100% equal on both sides (from my too-quick rotary cutting), so I had to go over some of the areas twice, because one side was narrower than the other and the stitches didn't catch the fabric underneath. *NOTE TO READER* this is not a short coming in the pattern in any way. The directions are clear, and actually really easy. I just tend to get ahead of myself.

I love when I start something, and it goes together this easily, and the result is so fantastic. I also traced this pattern, instead of cutting it, so I could use it again in another size. It was the first time I had used a tracing wheel. I love it when those "easy" tools work as well as this one did. I will be much more confident using it now, and will likely get a lot more use out of my patterns.

What do you think of my print mix? I'd love to know what you think works about it, or what you'd do differently.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Ally in Julia

DSC_7494
Originally uploaded by restitcherator

I am totally addicted to Twitter.

One afternoon as I was driving, I saw my phone light up with a Tweet from designer Patty Young. She was looking for new pattern testers for her new girls' clothing patterns that are coming out at the Fall Quilt Market.

Needless to say I jumped at the chance. It's a two layer skirt with a shirred drawstring that shows off the underlayer, and appliques put onto a purchased top.

I used fabrics from Patty's Mezzanine fabric line. Maybe it's because I'm a child of the '80s, but pink and green as a color combo just make me smile.

I got to use my new Pfaff overlocker on this pattern that I got for my birthday. And I got to use that great dark green large rick rack that I bought during my first Shop Hop.

The pattern went together like a breeze, and Patty's pattern was laid out beautifully. The fabrics from Michael Miller are a very nice quality. Over all, more fun than I think one sewer should get to have!

P.S. Fabric was purchased online at Above All Fabric.

DSC_7449
Originally uploaded by restitcherator

DSC_7483
Originally uploaded by restitcherator

Saturday, July 18, 2009

My kids never seem to have a shortage of great, new, creative ideas. This project was no exception.

My son, for some crazy reason, has been asking for a pillow with the state of Connecticut on it. He does love maps, and we do live in Connecticut...other than that, who knows why.

So I showed him some of the stuff from my ridiculously growing stash that I thought he might like for the back. He ended up choosing some very cool Echino that is black with pigs and cobwebs.

For the front, I used a grey base from a reclaimed men's wool sweater, and then I cut out the state freehand from a reclaimed men's black wool sweater. Thank GOD we live in a relatively easy state to cute out! Can you imagine if we lived in Virginia, or Alaska...EEEK. But here's the final result.

The whole project took me maybe an hour or so, and he LOVES it. He slept with it last night. I used a 12" x 16" pillow form and slip stitched the opening shut. I am thinking these might be a cool thing to offer in my Etsy shop? What do you think?

Friday, April 3, 2009

The Art Smock

Maybe it's because I grew up during the '80s, but I just LOVE those old reversible raincoats. In my constant search to find materials to salvage and make into something else, raincoats are one of my favorite finds. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I can make out of which materials. I had this brainstorm about making an art smock for my daughter, because she's forever painting with those so-called "washable" paints, that always seem to leave color in her clothes. But if you know Ally, any smock would have to be pretty special to go over whatever her outfit-du-jour is. Old raincoat...washable...perfect art smock!

Lucky for me, I found this amazing opalescent purple girls XXX raincoat at the Salvation Army. It had a few stains on the INSIDE...how perfect is THAT? So I paid a whopping $3 for it, and brought it home. The result was the new "FAB" art smock.

Now, leave it to Ally to wear it over a chicken costume...but the good thing is that you an see what it looks like. It was a simple kids apron pattern, Simplicity pattern 3802 (Which I got on sale at Joann for $1!!).

Just three pieces and some double fold trim. I must admit, I used new trim, not reclaimed. I was too excited to finish it to wait to find just the right one. I also stole the pockets from the front of the raincoat and put them on the front, which was a bit different than the original pattern.

I'll have to have Rob take some better pictures, but if you look closely, it's been used already, and has been christened with some blue paint near the collar. And Ally loves it. Mission Accomplished!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Rrrrrribbit!

Well it's finally finished! This is what I've been working on for the last 2 weeks. It's a baby blanket for a co-worker (and neighbor!) who is having her second baby very soon! She had mentioned to me that she and her husband bought a frog stuffed animal for the baby, and I remembered this great flannel that I had for the back...

I'm actually at the point where I've made enough blankets that I'm ready to move on to something new! I've got some ideas all ready and the fabric all purchased. Now all I need is for my new Pfaff to get here!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Come on Baby Light my Fire

I've been busy doing a whole bunch of things other than my usual sewing projects for the last few weeks. I did make a second doggie sweater, but then I was on to a baby hat, and these...some flame pajama pants for my step-son Schuyler. We had been in JoAnn and he saw the flame fabric and his eyes just lit up "what could we make with THIS?" he said. So pajama pants it was.

When I went back to buy the fabric, the woman at the cutting counter said "you must have a son, that's the only people who like this!" Pretty funny, but he loves them, so I guess that means they're perfect!