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!

Hives, Sharks and Athena’s New Look

September 16, 2016September 16, 2016 SewtropolisLeave a comment

I spent most of my weekend painting Athena (more on that later), Saturday was absolutely beautiful out! Not too hot, not too cold – it was just Goldilocks – except there was something in the air that caused me to constantly sneeze and made sweet Grace break out in hives! I was in and out of the trailer all day and each time I came inside I would find her scratching at one part of her body or the other. Poor girl was just miserable. After I saw the bumps on her face I gave her a 1/2 a Claritin and hoped it wouldn’t kill her. It didn’t. In fact, she started to feel better within the hour! After that she was good and there’s been no sign of the hives since – Tis the season!

So remember those shark slippers I made? Here’s a picture of the recipient wearing them! LOL I love the smile on her face! Made all the frogging (rip-it, rip-it … get it?) worth while!

Okay, now onto Athena! Here is the before picture!

And here is the after!

I’m not quite done, I still have to do the hitch, tank, bumper and a few minor details, (which I am doing in orange) but I can’t believe what a difference painting makes! It’s like I have a whole new trailer!

The hardest part was getting up on the roof – I have a slight fear of heights, plus I had a hard time trusting that the roof wouldn’t collapse. Once I realized it was going to hold I actually did okay. That big box is my A/C & unit – the one that kept me cool on those hot-ass summer days! One of these days I’ll get it replaced with a new one which are half the size and twice as quiet!

I first put on a clear coat of Kilz to seal it, then used this enable paint from Home Depot.

I had the colors picked out since I bought the trailer 3 years ago! I’m so glad I hung onto those paint chips – if I hadn’t it would have taken me another week to decide on colors. (I can make a decision – I just like to take my time doing so) As it was it took me all day Saturday to put the Kilz on – then all day Sunday to paint just the top half. I worked on the bottom half on Sunday and have been coming home after work each day to do the trim.

It’s supposed to rain this coming weekend so I may not get the chance to finish painting everything. What I don’t finish can wait till we have a stretch of sunny days again – even if that isn’t till Spring. Plus, it’s not like I don’t have a host of other projects I can work on.

Nikol

Athena · Projects

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Napkins

July 22, 2016July 22, 2016 Sewtropolis4 Comments

I’ve been living at the KOA for about a week now and still really enjoy it. Every morning I take my dogs to the dog run to do their “biz” and thanks to living in the apartment for a year they know to hold it till they get there – which means I’m not pissing off my neighbors by having my dogs crap next to their RVs.

I’ve had to make a few ‘adjustments’ since living here the first is purchasing a Jetpack so I can get internet!! There is WiFi here at the KOA, but there may as well not be once everyone starts jumping on it to watch movies. So last weekend I bought a JetPack from Verizon, my new plan includes 24 GB – which I can already tell won’t be enough with all the Netflix binging I do. I figure now that I don’t have a cable bill I can probably afford to up the GB a little bit and still come out ahead cash-wise.

I’ve also been going to the library to check out DVD’s of programs that are on my list of things to watch… This week I watched the original “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”. I had just finished watching the remake before I moved out of the apartment. (actually I only watched it because it had Benedict Cumberbatch in it and then was pleasantly surprised to see that Tom Hardy was also in it!! (those lips!!)

Anyway – where was I??? Oh yes…

This past week I also made some cloth napkins to put between my pyrex nesting bowls. I’m heading to my sisters in Spokane this weekend and I don’t want them to get scratched in transit. I purchased these bowls about 5-6 years ago at a vintage store in Minnesota. I used them only on special occasions because I didn’t want the boys to break them. If they were to get damaged or broken now my boys would never let me hear the end of it!

Anyway, to make the napkins I cut two pieces of fabric about 18″ x 18″, sewed them wrong sides together (leaving a 6″ opening) and then turned right side out. I then pressed and edged stitched around the edges – sewing the opening close. Easy, peasy and no scratched bowls. Hopefully!

Next week, I’ll share how I made Athena Jelly!