Refashion Sunday - the Double Edition

Ever since I made a skirt out of an old sweater, I have been meaning to make another one.  I was waiting for just the perfect sweater to come my way when my mom showed up with this extra large beauty...

 

Even though I meant to make a skirt, that is not the first thing I thought of when I first saw those beautiful stripes....  but I digress.  Let's make a skirt in a couple easy steps:

  

1 - Cut the sweater just under the arms

2 - Trim a bit off the upper part of the sides, where the sweater starts widening for sleeves.

3 - Create a waist.  I used a wide elastic, about 1 3/4" wide, and a piece of stretch jersey about 4 1/2" folded to cover the elastic.

4 - Attach the waist to the skirt using a stretch stitch  (no picture) and... Voilà!  Skirt!

 

So, what to do with the arms of the sweater?  Leg warmers? Not exactly.  the sleeves screamed "Leggings" for my favourite girl!
 
1 - I used a pair of leggings that more or less fit her (yes, they have holes and she'd still be wearing them if I had not stolen them from the laundry pile).

2 - I used the leggings as a pattern, just making them a little longer.  I am lucky the sleeve was just wide enough to accommodate the crotch where it is much wider. 

3 - I had to add a separate waist, made of the same jersey as my skirt (would have been too thick anyway), with a narrower elastic inside.  There was a lot of sewing and unpicking because I forgot to use a stretch stitch, which I think is essential in a fitted garment like this, and the frustration lead to no pictures being taken of that step.

In the end, it was all worth it:

A matching set - the first - and maybe the last - matching clothes for mom and daughter...

 

As much as I love her cute little face, I decided not to share pictures of my family in this forum, but I assure you there is a lot of cuteness going on:

 So here is the before and after transformation:

From to big sweater to matching skirt and leggings!

I am counting this refashion as a double success!

Personalized Pillow

December 6.

I grew up in Montreal and for me, this date is forever linked to the killing of 14 female engineering students at École Polytechnique.  It's been 25 years, but I remember is like it was yesterday. 

When I moved to Halifax, I learned that December 6 was also the date of the largest man-made explosion prior to the development of nuclear weapons.  It killed 2000 people and injured 9000 more.  Today marks the 97th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.

But December 6 is also a very happy date because someone special is celebrating a birthday!  And what`s a birthday without a personalized pillow?

I was going to go with the blue-green combo I can't seem to get enough of these days, but taking a page out of Adrienne's book, I went for orange as my accent colour. 

I also quilted wavy lines, again, totally stealing from Adrienne.  Really, really like the wavy lines.  It is easy, and very forgiving, and it looks really nice!  Thanks for the double inspiration, Adrienne!

In other quilty endeavours, I made another zippered pouch.  This time, using laminated fabric for the inside.  The outside fabric was from my husband's last trip to Hawaii.  He went a little crazy with the Hawaiian prints, so expect to see them make an appearance in my projects from time to time.
 

I finished hand stitching the binding on a simple quilt made from a Snoopy vintage sheet and backed with some "what was I thinking" fabric that was languishing in my stash.

And before I leave, look what has started arriving in the mail... sewing machine blocks from my bee mates!  Yay!

It's been a good quilty week around here, but I have so much more to do before Christmas.  What about you?

Infinity Scarves

It's only November, and I am well ahead of my usual schedule!  Here are a few Christmas gifts I whipped up in the last week.

Nice, huh?

I am even more excited that I learned how to make a photo mosaic tonight!  I am not very technologically inclined, so even the thought of using yet another program was not very appealing.  But, seriously, that was so easy I should have done that a year ago!

These were quick and fun to sew.

Are you sewing for Christmas ?

"PLUS", a finished quilt for L + T

It's a finish, ladies and gentlemen!  Finished AND delivered!

This quilt has been in the making for a while.  It started as a bee block for my Bee mate Chelsea back in February.  I loved making this block so much that I could not stop at just one.  I made two for Chelsea and 30 for me.

Love these!

Soon, there was a quilt top...

Really love this shot.  A great use for a hammock in the winter!

The quilt top sat all spring and summer as an unfinished object.  For no good reason I might add - I already had the backing picked out and the right piece of batting ready to go. But the September sew-in of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild and an upcoming trip was the push I needed to get this done.  

Many hands make light work.  Thank you, MMQG ladies...

This quilt was destined to a newly married couple living in North Carolina, but first, it was coming with me on a trip to Victoria, British Columbia where I would be meeting up with relatives who would be able to deliver it safely to the newlyweds back east.  Having procrastinated all summer, I had some serious work to do!

I debated for a while on how to quilt it.  In the end, I simply outlined the outside of the "plus" signs, leaving the signs themselves unquilted, and used a meandering for the low volume background.  I was pleased with the texture, and I know it will be even better once it is all washed and nicely crinkled.

It was my intention to finish the binding on the plane, but I had underestimated the time it would take to hand stitch a double size binding.  I was only half way done by the time I stepped off the plane, and I had to hand out the quilt about less than 48 hours later.  And this was not the only thing on my agenda.  There was a get together with some MQG Victoria members, a fancy dinner at the Empress hotel and, small detail, that marathon running business, that was going to take up some of that time...

So when my host took me sight seeing, what did I take with me?  Why, an unfinished quilt and a sewing kit, of course!  And a camera.  I had one window of opportunity for the photo shoot, and it was going to happen, finished or not.

So even though this looks like the picture of a finished quilt...

A close up reveals that there is still work to be done:


Binding held on by WonderClips!

The photo shoot was an adventure to say the least.  While my friend was trying to find the perfect place to take pictures of the quilt, he took me to a lake with a small dock that was just a short walk away from the road.  As we got closer to the lake, we saw a few sunbathers on the dock, but pretty soon, it became clear that these people were all in their birthday suits!  Unbeknownst to him, my friend had taken me to a "clothing optional" place - apparently well known in the community!  Needless to say, we had to go elsewhere to take pictures.  Although, come to think of it, these would have been quite unique...

In the end, just before the sun started to set, we found a beautiful spot at the Goldstream Provincial Park.  For an East Coast gal like me, those trees were such a stunning backdrop for a quilt... and much better than a bunch of naked guys, I might add.

 

And I can't resist adding just one of the pictures I took of those impressive trees...

I did finish the quilt that night, and managed to take one picture before I went to bed I must admit, I really felt like keeping it on the bed to sleep...

I got news yesterday that L + T received their quilt and they are very pleased with it.  This is a fun an adventurous couple, and I know they will get a kick out of the adventures I have had with this quilt!

Edited to add - linking up to TGIFF at Persimon Dreams.

Quilt top finished, auditioning binding

Happy Friday night everyone!

 

I have had fun playing with the colours blue and green lately..

 

 

It started with the pouch I made for our swap with MQG Victoria...

 



 

But I wasn't done with that combo.  One evening, I just started cutting 4 1/2" squares to make a Blue and green baby size quilt.  Blue, green, aqua and teal squares, solids, batiks, large prints and small prints...  my only rules for fabrics were: no other colours (other than white) and no flowers or girly patterns. 

 

As for placement, I did not overthink this, I only avoided similar fabrics next to one another.  Overall, my random method worked out, although I do see my four squares of solid royal blue are all in the top right side.  I am now trying to decide on binding, and here is where you come in.  Please voice your opinion!

1 - Should I go dark wavy stripes:

2 - Or a geometrical print in a lighter tone:

3 - Or perhaps a solid teal:

4 - or even a light aqua? (not really feeling this one):

What do you think?  Perhaps it would help to see what I have in mind for the backing: Sunglasses wearing dolphins!  Yup!  You read that well!

I know, I know!  One minute I think these dolphins are really cool.  Then look at it again and think they are kind of freaky!  The fabrics used for the top are mostly graphic and geometrical, quite different from this novelty print.  It isn't very baby-ish.  Heck, it might even scare babies!  But... it is in the right colour scheme (despite those coloured sunglasses),  it's been in my stash for about 10 years, and I have about 3 yards of the darn thing!    Feel free to try to talk me out of it, but at the end of the day, the bizarre sunglasses wearing dolphins are probably here to stay!

 

So... back to the binding.  What's your pick?

Linking up to TGIFF at What a Hoot.



Welcome Blogathon Visitors!

If it's your first time here, welcome! I am Dominique and I love to quilt.  I bet we have that in common!  To those of you who are regular readers, I don't have anything new to blog about, so I will be revisiting quilts I have shown before.  I hope you enjoy your visit.

 

I have been sewing most of my life, and quilting for about 10 years.  Over the years, I went from traditional to modern, but I still enjoy many different styles.

 

This fall colour quilt is very traditional but still one of my favourites:

Ma Saison Préférée (My Favourite Season) - 2009

These days, with a busy family schedule, I naturally gravitate towards simpler quilts with less pieces...

Girly Girl Quilt - 2013

...which are decidedly more modern.

Up, Up and Away - 2013 based on a quilt by Amanda Jean Nyberg in Sunday Morning Quilts

 

I have learned that minis are a satisfying ay to try new techniques without spending too much time...

Circles mini - 2013

and I dabble in improvised piecing.

Colourful Scraps Improv Quilt - 2014

 

I like to make small, pretty, useful items like luggage tags...

... lanyards...

...pillows...

 

... and pouches.

 

 

 

Oh, and I am a proud member of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild, an awesome bunch of quilters.

 

I hope you enjoyed your visit!  If you have not done so, please go check out my fellow Atlantic Canadian bloggers.  You can find their blogs via Linda's (Scrapmaster) and Linda (Stitch Lines).

 

Thanks to Sew Sisters for sponsoring this Canadian Blog Tour!

Small Finishes

Nothing like a tight deadline to get the job done.  One of my kids is going to a birthday party tomorrow and I did not have time to make the gift before tonight.  But I got it done...
I present to you, another personalized cushion!


I did not reinvent the wheel - squares seemed like the easiest option - but I am pleased with the result.  This boys favourite colours are red, yellow, and blue.  I was surprised to find that I had enough scraps in those colours that were not flowery.  I think the boy will like it!

As the November Queen Bee in the Canadians Quilt Bee, I asked my bee mates to make me sewing machine blocks.  ANY sewing machine blocks.  I finished a second sample, this time an appliquéd antique machine.  Don't know if anyone will go for appliqué, but I think it will look great even if it's surrounded by pieced machines. 

Probably would not have hurt to iron that block...

 

I received my first block and I have to say, this queen bee business is really nice!

 

And speaking about bee blocks, here is the arrows I made for the October Queen Bee.  I don't think I would ever make a whole quilt with arrows - a bit time consuming for my liking - but actually very easy to make using this this tutorial.

 

Just noticed they are pointing in different direction in the picture

They may be small finishes but hey, I'll take them!

Linking up to TGIFF at Quilt matters.