sewing

My Lard Butt Jacket!

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 Sewtropolis1 Comment

Every once in a while I make something that I am super proud of…. This jacket is one of those items!

It started out a gray hoodie that was 2x too big and had Lard Butt XXXL written across the front. Let me explain…. There is a fun run here in Seattle called ‘Lard Butt’ because it’s only a mile and they serve donuts and beer. Sounds fun right? Well it was and I got caught up in all that fun and decided to buy a sweatshirt 3x too big to memorialise that fun!….. and then never wore it because … well…. Having a XXXL “Lard Butt” sweatshirt really isn’t that funny outside of that fun run.

So the sweatshirt went in my sewing room because I thought one day I would make Sweet Grace a dog sweater from it. However, after I came across my 100th bin of scraps while cleaning out my sewing room I decided I would sew some of the scraps to the hoodie and make a quilted jacket that are all the rage in the Quiltisphere these days.

I REALLY wish I would have taken pics as I went along but it’s one of those projects where I wasn’t sure what I was doing until I was doing it! I started by cutting the hoodie up the Center to open it up…. And then I removed the pocket(s) (there were now two of them since I cut it open), took off both sleeves, and finally the hood, so that I could lay everything flat.

I then started sewing cotton scraps together until I had pieces large enough to cover the different sweatshirt pieces. I then quilted the scraps down to the sweatshirt pieces and trimmed them down to size.

I used the new pieces to cut out the lining fabric which was some knit fabric I had for a few years… I think at one time I was going to make t-shirts, but decided that the fabric didn’t have enough stretch in it…. But it was perfect for this project. Finally, I added a zipper, sewed all the pieces back together and attached the lining!

I decided to leave the hood gray, as it reminds me that it was once something I was embarrassed to wear outside the house…. And now it’s not!

Fifty Years and a Jacket

October 14, 2016October 14, 2016 SewtropolisLeave a comment

This past week I flew out to Minneapolis to celebrate my 50th birthday with my friends. I normally don’t care to celebrate my birthdays. Not that I’m against them, but they are a reminder to me that time flies way to fast…. and I’m kind of obsessed with the concept of time. (don’t get me started).

I wanted to celebrate this birthday because I was in a new city and I wanted to ward off those sad feelings of turning older and not celebrating in some way. I haven’t met too many people here – so, I flew to Minneapolis where I knew enough people who I knew would celebrate with me.

I stayed with my friend Jennifer and on Saturday Jennifer, her mom, and I spent the day in Stillwater, MN at their Fall Festival (which would not be a big deal were it not for the biggest pumpkin contest!)

We couldn’t have asked for a better crisp Fall day! We walked the vendor catwalk -I bought a pillow made with bamboo fibers and let me just say – YES!! We stopped in at Darn Knit Anyway and had lunch overlooking the St. Croix River. It was such an enjoyable day with two of my favorite people!

My party was held in a small Irish Pub near my old neighborhood. The party was small, but my friends who were there laughed and talked and had a good time…. and that’s all I ever want for my friends. I was amazed that friends who had never met – had other friends in common. Everyone sews or quilts so I guess that makes the connections even easier.

I want to thank my friend Jennifer for all that she did to make my day so enjoyable! I love you girlfriend!

Okay, onto what I’ve been working on. First, let me say, so sorry for the very poor lighting. I had no way to take pictures of myself outside so I bought a small tripod… and since I received it it’s been raining when I want to go out and take pictures.

Anyway, here is the jacket!

The pattern is McCalls 7199, I started out making version C with the toggle closure, but when I tried it on for toggle placement, I decided I liked it better without the toggle. The fabric is a sturdy ponte knit which I love, but the front is self facing so having 4 layers (6 if you count the pockets) makes it a little front heavy. I obviously don’t care – there’s so many other things I like about this jacket: it’s longer in the back and almost covers my bumm, it’s comfortable, it has pockets, and it’s versatile! I’ll definitely be making this jacket again.

Projects

Falling into September

September 2, 2016September 2, 2016 SewtropolisLeave a comment

I can’t believe it’s September already! I see all these ‘first day of school’ photos on my Facebook feed and it makes me miss my boys! When we moved into our house in Minneapolis I would take a picture of them in the back yard on the first day of school! I look back at those pictures now and can’t believe how little they were! Time flies by so fast!

So other than looking at all the back to school photo’s on Facebook I have been sewing up a storm! (BTW – did you know September is National Sewing Month?) However, I haven’t finished anything! I suppose if I were working on just one project I might have – but this week had three going: a bra, a shower curtain, and the fusion quilt. I had to order the bra fixings on-line so I didn’t get started on that till Tuesday night – I cut out the pieces and have the cups sewn together. I can tell already that I ordered the wrong lining fabric, but I’m not worried about it. I am expecting to make lots of mistakes on this one – if it actually fits it will be a bonus. I’m counting on the next one to be perfect.

Before the bra I had been working on my shower curtain I had all the rows sewn, just had to join them. But I got so excited when the bra fixings came in that I set aside the shower curtain. I finally picked it up again tonight and got it all sewn together. All I need is to add grommets and hem it and then I’ll be done. As for the fusion quilt I’ve crocheted edges to all of the squares and have started to join them – which amazingly is going pretty fast.

My hope is that by this time next week I’ll be wearing a new bra, have a pretty shower curtain and a new lap quilt to take me into Fall!

Speaking of Fall, nothing like Pumpkin scones to transition from Summer to Fall! I made these one day last week when it was cool enough to turn on my oven! I thought I would be clever and try and make chocolate pumpkin scones , but I didn’t add enough chocolate powder so they ended up looking like dirt. But they tasted SO good! Just ask the guys I work with! Scones tend to be on the dry side which is why I added the glaze on top. So, so good!

Until next week!