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!

Quarantine and me: Week 4

April 5, 2020 SewtropolisLeave a comment

What a week! It started off with me registering for Grad school. I am attending Washington University in St. Louis, Masters in Law program. All classes are online which meant that I needed to get logged into their system and store all my IDs and passwords – which I did. The next day, my computer crashed! It won’t even turn on!

I can’t say I am surprised. The computer is about 12 – 15 years old, and I have been waiting for it to crash… but a week before school starts?? Needless to say timing is not ideal and with the “Stay home, stay safe” order in effect it’s not like I can go out and pick up another computer! So I took a deep breath and ordered one from Apple.com and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives before classes start on Monday.

On the sewing front I finished a total of 100 masks; 50 were donated to the Seattle Indian Health Board, and 50 were given to my brother and his co-workers. When my brother came over to pick them up it was sad not to be able to give him a hug. But I had to laugh that we exchanged homemade chocolate chip cookies – unplanned! Yep, we’re related!

Once I was done with the masks I finished this beauty! Which was mostly long arm quilting and binding it.

Quilt, pillow shams, throw pillow front, and smaller panel (pillow).

I saw this at the Quilting and Sewing Expo at the end of February… before shit hit the fan on this pandemic! I saw it hanging there and stood for about 5 minutes just admiring it! It was so pretty and unlike any quilt I’ve seen before…… so of course I bought the kit!

Image of full quilt! Love at first sight

It was designed by Sarah Watts for Ruby Star Society, and the kit includes a queen sized panel, two pillow shams, 18” throw pillow, an small panel to make a baby quilt (or wall hanging), and a extra panel which I made into a small pillow! The fabric is a beautiful sateen that is super soft and makes all the colors bright and beautiful

I bought enough backing fabric to complete all the projects, including the binding, but after I finished quilting it I decided that the pink binding looked better, and added an extra pop of color.

If I were 13 I would put this on my bed and never take it off….. but as it is, now that I have admired it, pet it, and added my ‘artistic’ touch to it, I will list it on my Etsy site. My hope is that someone who admires unicorns, owls, flowers, full moons and pretty birds will find it and claim it as their own.

Stay safe my friends,

Adventures · Projects · sewing

Quarantine and Me: Week 3

March 29, 2020 SewtropolisLeave a comment

It’s now been three weeks of quarantine, and honestly, I’m scared and sad – mostly sad. I’m sad that this pandemic has affected SO many lives. If I think about it too long it becomes too overwhelming and too sad for me to process. I feel a constant lump in my throat and the littlest things, like seeing all the army trucks lined up outside of the hospitals in Italy, will start the tears flowing. There are parts of me that thinks that this is just a bad dream and that I’ll wake up and things will be normal again. But I know it’s real, and so this week I decided that the best way to combat this sadness was to take action:

Step 1: I mentioned last week that sewing was my therapy, and that I was working on this Blooming 9-patch quilt – I’m happy to report that this week I finished it!

I freaking love this quilt! I have wanted to make this quilt (for the 3rd time) for a long time. The pattern is from “Tradition with a Twist” – by Blanche Young – it’s seriously one of my favorite quilting books.

I used fabrics from my stash (#stashbuster) and realized that the pattern is similar to this virus in that it starts in the center and each color ‘spreads’ into the next with a 9-patch. Look close you’ll see what I mean.

Step 2: I joined my sewing sisters and brothers to make masks for those on the front-line of this pandemic. Actually, my first 50 are going to my brother and his co-workers who work in an assisted living facility. The next 50 will go to Crafters Against Covid-19 – Seattle who donates them to local hospitals. (check to see if there is a local chapter in your area) So far 4500 masks have been donated to area hospitals and clinics and that makes my heart feel better.

Step 3: I hosted a virtual Happy Hour (thank you Zoom) and told the story of my worst date ever! It’s a pretty funny story, and it felt good to laugh with my friends, to see their faces, and to just check in to see how everyone is doing.

Step 4: Finally, I delivered cookies and an offer to help to some of my neighbors.

When I was done with that I felt a little better.

Stay safe my friends!

Projects · RV Living

Sewing and Quilting up a Storm!

October 24, 2016 SewtropolisLeave a comment

This week I managed to make quite a few things – because it pretty much rained all week! Last Friday the weather reports for the weekend said to expect the worse storm in 50 years! So I went home and battened down all the hatches on Athena, rolled up the awning, made sure the propane tanks were filled… And then waited and hoped that the storm wouldn’t blow all these trailers over like dominoes!

While I waited I made a sleeveless tunic for work. I’ve been trying to use up fabric that I have had for YEARS including this black with white polka dots- almost sheer knit fabric. I had to buy a lining fabric to line it with, because it was just a little too sheer!

(Once again I ask for forgiveness with the pictures! I recently took up running again and well – this is how I look afterwards.)

Because it is fully lined, I had to alter the pattern to compensate for a full lining instead of just a neck facing. So basically I made two tunics and sewed them together.

I like the asemetrical design, but next time I will make it all the same length so I don’t have to worry about it being ‘off trend’.

By the way- the storm of the century never did show up. It rained and the wind blew – but it was just another PNW day!

Sunday I rented time on a longarm and started quilting my Gypsy Wife quilt. After 3 hours of working on it – I am not even half way done. So needless to say I’ll be working on it again this coming weekend.

Projects · RV Living

A Day With Nothing To Do

September 30, 2016September 30, 2016 Sewtropolis2 Comments

Last weekend the stars all aligned in the right order and I actually had 2 days with nothing on my calendar! Raising my boys those days came few and far between – I’m talking years! But now it seems they come along every few months and when they do I bask in the glory of a day with nothing to do!

I started my day baking a loaf of Greek Yogurt Banana bread because I had a couple of bananas that were past the point of when I like to eat them and some Greek yogurt (of course) Then I made a loaf of The Best EVER Chocolate Zucchini bread to use up one of the zucchinis my sister gave me out of her garden. I found the recipe on Pinterest and let me just say – OMG!! It is SO freaking good! It has the consistency of cake – I’m sure it’s not good for you at all even with the zucchini, but I don’t care! I can easily eat the full loaf, which is why I took both loafs to work with me on Monday and shared them with my co-workers.

I also had a gallon bag full of huckleberries my sister had given me a few weeks ago. I love making jam, so that gallon bag is now 6 jars of jam – some of those jars will become Christmas gifts! (PSA: yes, it’s time to start thinking of Christmas especially if you like to make your gifts like I do!)

But the best thing I did this weekend was sew while binging on Longmire! I love that show and not to give anything away -but one of the main characters (Vic) is now living in a Airstream Argosy motor home! JUST LIKE ME!!!! (except I have a Argosy travel trailer – but STILL!!!) I think it’s becoming a thing!

Back to sewing – I finished my shower curtain!

Really all I had to do was hem all the edges and add grommets. I don’t know why I procrastinated so long. My bathroom is starting to look legit. I think it’s time to renovate!

Anyway, once I was done with the shower curtain I decided make a baby quilt using the left over fabric. I cut a bajillion 2.5″ squares for this quilt to assemble 49 9-patches. Once again a quilt I saw on Pinterest was my inspiration. (I love Pinterest)

I was able to sew this quilt together fairly fast (which seems to be key with me), so next weekend I think I may start another quilt just like it using all my leftover orange and white scraps.

Before you even ask – No, I’m not pregnant and as far as I know, neither are my boys. I’m learning that not all my quilts have to be queen size. In fact, it might stand a better chance of getting finished if I make fewer blocks (i.e., crib size). This quilt will probably end up in my Etsy store once I get it quilted – which is on my list of ‘to-do’s’ this weekend.

Till next week!

Nikol