Mending

Recently I've been in the mood to do mending. Here are a few before and after photos of some mending projects.

Replaced the cuffs on these hoodies with sweater knits.

This sweatshirt had lots of snags. I pulled them all through to the back.

Took this pillow apart to repair the top seam.

Pillowcase from leftovers and a remade quilt

Going through my scraps I came across these quilted strips that I had trimmed from a lap quilt I did a few years ago. I have no idea why I trimmed such large pieces after quilting. I must have really messed up with my basting and things shifted.

 

 I sewed the strips together. Added some white quilted pieces and made myself a pillow case. I'm pleased with the results.

In 2005 I made my sister a large quilt from 12-inch squares of fabric. Instead of quilting, I tied it. Her dog, Sadie, decided right off the bat that the quilt belonged to her. You can see the quilt and Sadie in this post  http://craftypat.blogspot.com/2008/11/for-many-years-i-had-good-intentions-of.html

Sadie is now getting on in years and everyone knows she won't be around forever. A few months ago my sister mentioned when the time comes she wants to bury the quilt with Sadie. Honestly, my first reaction was a bit of shock. Then I thought about I made the quilt to comfort my sister and if that brings her comfort then she should do it. A few days later I came up with the idea of dividing the quilting into two quilts. My sister was all for that! She said she had thought of it but hated to ask. 

When I got the quilt I kept thinking it seemed very thin. When I took it apart I found the polyester batting had disintegrated! Apparently I had not put the ties close enough together. 

I cut the quilt top in two pieces. Removed the backing and batting. With new batting and backing, I machine quilted each piece using straight-line quilting. I then used solid red for the binding.

A few weeks after finishing them I went to visit my sister and return her "new" quilts. Sadie approves:

Her sister, Ruby, had to also test out the quilt.

Sewing Update

After many months in the shop, my Viking Quilt Designer II is back home and sewing nicely. Last all it developed a problem of raising and lowering the presser foot randomly as I sewed. After trying a few different parts replacement, the step motor had to be ordered. I seriously think they had to have it shipped from Sweden because it took 2 months! Thank goodness I still own my trusty old Pfaff 7510 and could still do some sewing. Also, thank goodness for the warranty coverage on the Viking - I didn't pay a dime to get it repaired.


I recently made this basic blouse. I will be making it again in other fabrics and with a longer shirt tail. This one is short because I messed up when cutting the fabric out. This is a shirting fabric I got from Hancock's for not much money so even if I just give it away it was money well spent to try out the pattern and getting the fitting correct. Patter is McCall's 5052.




I also have been working on a fleece jacket that hopefully will be done soon. I had to do a lot of resewing to get the shoulders to fit the way I wanted them to. I got up enough bravery to cut the garment back, front and sleeves based to bring the sleeve-shoulder seam up to a higher point on my shoulder. The pattern was loose fitting with dropped shoulders. On me, it just looked like it was way too big and bulky. It's looking better but not complete.
I also ordered some Melton Wool last week. Now I'm afraid to cut into it since it was $16.00 per yard, which actually is an excellent price but more than I'm used to spending on fabric. It is heavier than I expected so I'm waffling on which pattern to use. My original idea was the short version of Vogue 8089 but now I'm thinking Butterick 3573 . Decisions, decisions!

Fleece coat

Last year I made fleece coat of blue and cream fabrics. A few days ago I left it in the car and then my 17 year old son borrowed the car. A few days later he said one of his female friends liked the coat and would I make her one in red & black. Of course I will !

The pattern is McCall's 9576. Hancock's Fabrics happened to have fleece on sale this week also. I used Fireside Anti-Pill Red and Black.

I didn't use interfacing like the pattern called for because it is not noticeable with fleece. The one I made last year was a large size. This one is a medium. I'm happier with the fit of the medium on me. I had been thinking of making me another one with a different color choice. Now I know I really do want another one, this time in medium. The jacket is reversible and has side pockets on both sides.

The jacket goes together quickly and only has 3 pattern pieces. I think the instructions would be confusing for someone new to sewing.

Quilts from Fleece and Fabric Bookmarks

Someone had given my mother this huge piece of fleece with little bears and bunnies on it. My mother passed it on to me. The fabric was 60 inches wide. I made 3 quilts/blankets out of it for my great-neices and great-nephew. The little girls are my nephew's children and the boy is my neice's child. They are all my brother's grandchildren. I found this cute fabric with bubbles somewhere online. I got blue for the boy, baby pink for the girly-girl and dark pink for the tomboy-girl. I didn't really quilt them but just sewed around the edges and bound them. That fleece stretches and slides way too much for quilting much. Each blanket is about 60 inches by 36 inches.

I have also been working on making fabric bookmarks. I combined a few different ideas I have seen online. I think I like the ones with the pinked edge best. The larger ones have a piece of cardstock that is 1 1/2" x 7" with the fabric cut 2" x 8". Then I sewed about a 1/4 inche from the edge. To make the fabric stay together while I sewed it, I backed the fabric with heavy duty Heat & Bond. I think the next ones I will just use some temporary adhesive spray like is used for machine embroidery sometimes.

Newborns in Need

Earlier this year I started sewing for a charity called Newborns in Need http://www.newbornsinneed.org/ . This is a national organization providing items to families in need who have newborns. This includes burial outfits for the tiniest ones that leave this earth too soon. Also, we provide blankets and clothing for preemies and newborns staying in the hospital and those from families with financial needs. The local chapters of NIN make and gather donations then give them to hospitals to distribute. Our chapter meets once a month to sort items, share ideas and make things. You can find a local chapter on the website and find out how you can help. I do this because I believe every baby deserves clothes that fit and a warm blanket.

Here are a couple of preemie shirts I have made:

One of the ladies from the group taught me how to use my serger to make the t-shirts and baby sleepers. We have a lot of fabric that is donated to us and we do our best to find a cute way to use it. The diaper shirt shown above has velcro on the sides and the front so it easier to use on babies in ICU. There are free patterns on the NIN website for sewing and crochet items.

Please take a moment to check out the website to find out what they do. There are also other groups out there that provide some of the same services, so if there is not an NIN chapter near you do some googling to find who is doing this in your area.

A tote bag

Okay, so it's been months since I've done an update. I swear I'm going to try to do better.

A few months ago my mother showed me a drawsting tote bag that she had that she liked a lot but she was tired of the cutesy fabric it was made from. She wanted to know if I could figure out how it was made and make one. Sure, I was up for the challenge. She wanted something nice enough looking that she could carry it to church. She said colors of gray, black or brown. Here is what I picked out for her....there are pockets on the outside and inside....

Here is a peek on the inside....

It was fun to make and my mother was very pleased with it. I used 1 yard of the black-on-black print and 1 yard of the white with black print. I used a little bit of solid black for beding around the top and the top of the pockets.

I've got the fabric to now make one for a friend of my mother. That one will have a lining of fabric with University of Georgia Bulldog print since her friend is a big Bulldog fan.

Winter has arrived

It is mid-January and we are finally getting a bit of winter here in Georgia. Yesterday we had sleet and snow. Really there was snow, big white fluffy flakes. Enough to cover the yards and rooftops then it turned to rain. Kids all over the state went to bed dreaming of a day off from school. Only the ones in the northern most counties saw that dream come true. DS was one of the ones that was disappointed this morning as I woke him to get ready for school.

Thanks to the cold weather I can now wear my latest sewing adventure -- a reversible fleece coat. This was made from McCall's pattern 9576. The pattern instructions were easy to follow, quick to make and I love the way it feels. I did not use interfacing like the pattern recommended, I just don't see the need for it in fleece.

It's hard to tell from this picture but that is a navy blue and off-white (think antique white). It comes down about to my knees and has side pockets. I went through my quilting stash to find some fun fabrics for the pockets instead of using "lining fabric" as instructed by McCall's. Here are a couple of close ups, you can see the fleece colors better in these also.

Lat night at the bookstore I picked up the January/February issue of Mark Lipinski's Quilter's Home magazine. I've only one other issue of Quilter's Home. It's a "different" quilting magazine. It's not a lot of patterns. It is like a conversation with a good quilting friend. I went looking online and found Mark has a blog that he apparently updates regularly. WARNING: there are a few pictures that are not for the easily offended. For example, he has pictures of the much-whispered-about fabric with drawings of a certain male body part on it. If that offends you, oh well, you've been warned. http://marklipinskisblog.wordpress.com/

Mark, love your blog and magazine!

I hope to do some major quilting and sewing this weekend since my son will be at his father's house. When I'm alone then I can leave thread and fabric throughout the house and have a sewing frenzy without anyone commenting. The cats like sewing frenzies because it means piles of fabrics and quilts for them to inspect as sleeping pads.

Here is one of those cats....His name is Cosmo, he weighs about 15 pounds, he's a bit "fluffy". He's a funny cat.

Cardigan Sweater

I enjoy wearing sweater cardigans during the winter. They are nice to have at work when I'm never sure what the building temperature will be. I decided to be brave and try to sew a cardigan from a sweater knit. The pattern I used is Loes Hinse Sweater Set No. 5201 http://www.loeshinsedesign.com/categories/blouses_tops/sweater.html



This was the first time I had used a Loes Hinse pattern. I was very impressed with the simple pieces and how quickly the sweater went together. For the cardigan there are only 3 pattern pieces - front, back and sleeve. I had to keep telling myself to NOT stretch the material as I sewed. There is a little problem with the right facing not hanging correctly. The thread is such a perfect match to the material, I am having a horrible time trying to take out the sewing.



Here is the cardigan before buttons and buttonholes...

Mending Night

I took one evening this week to do some mending. Replaced buttons on shirts and restitched a few seams. One of the items I mended was a bulky sweater that may not look great but is comfy to wear around the house. It is cotton but warm enough for Georgia. Somehow both underarm seams had come out. I used an overcast stitch on my sewing machine and had the sweater back to wearable in 10 minutes.

Here is a look of the inside of the seam, you can see where some sweater threads are missing...

Here is the outside of the seam....no one will ever know...




I feel so thrifty and virtuous :)

Garment Sewing

I decided recently to try again at garment sewing. Here is my first attempt. This is McCall's 5538 view C done in fleece. It is very warm and comfy even if the sleeves are a little too long. The pattern called for the zipper to be fully exposed even when zipped closed. I didn't like that so I sewed in the zipper so the fabric would cover most of it.

This next one is not so great but I tried to at least learn a lot from it. It is McCall's 5191 done in a woven polyester faux suede that I got on sale at Hancock's. At least I didn't put a lot of money in it. This fabric was not easy to work with and I had some fitting problems in the shoulder area. I can at least wear it around the house.

I used the Viking Quilt Designer II to do the buttonholes on this jacket. I learned a very important lesson about the QD II....it really does adjust the foot pressure based on what you tell it. I had a difficult time with the first couple of buttonholes then I realized the machine thought it was sewing on lightweight woven. I changed the setting to heavy woven and the buttonholes came out fabulous! This machine will make perfect buttonholes all day long! Take a look at this...all I had to do was tell it heavy weight woven and the size of the button in millimeters (use the handy-dandy measuring stick painted on the machined) and it produced this....