Repurposing

Grumpy Quilt

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I’m very close to finishing the first quilt I’ve made for myself!! Such a nice feeling 🙂 Usually I only make quilts to give away. We have one that I made for a charity auction… my husband bought it because he didn’t want to part with it 🙂 1024091949

My Grumpy Quilt is actually a crazy quilt. A few years ago I decided I wanted to make a quilt to snuggle in when I was grumpy (hence the name), made of tons of red, pink, and orange scraps. The quilt includes pieces of clothing I used to love, and bits of fabric  from other projects I’ve done.

It’s taken me a while because projects for myself tend to take a back seat to projects for other people and purposes. But I sewed a bit here and there. It was a great stress reliever because there is no rhyme or reason. The only rule I made for this quilt is that all my scraps fit into the color scheme. Beyond that, the crazy quilt offered a really nice change of pace. I was able to just sew for the fun of sewing and seeing something come together without worrying about “messing up”.

Then last week, I realized I’d finally made enough blocks to complete my quilt! I pieced them together with bright pumpkin orange and backed it with a shade a bit richer than hot pink. Looking at it nearly makes my eyes burn, but I love it!

Right now I’m busy doing freeform quilting all over the orange areas. Hopefully it will be officially done within the next few days!! But for now, I offer a sneak peek phone-pic for your viewing pleasure!

Repurposing old tees to make baby pants

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dexty-in-pants-1dexty-in-pants-2

I love doing projects! I especially love doing small projects for kids. I have great ideas for things I will sew for my little girl… if I ever have one 🙂

So when I found out our baby was a boy, I hit a creative wall. I’m not about to attempt a button up shirt, and all the little romper patterns I’d seen seemed a little prissy to me (no offense to the romper-loving mommies out there, I’m just more of a skull tee and ratty jeans kind of gal).

I roamed the internet until I found a few great (and super easy) ideas for little boys. One of my favorites is a tutorial on how to make little pants from an old t-shirt. It’s a great way to scratch that creative itch while also recycling. Let’s face, it’s easier to part with your favorite shirt from 20lbs ago if a tiny person you love is going to be wiggling around it in 🙂

This pattern is so easy, you can practically do it in your sleep. It’s perfect for beginners, or for moms who love to craft, but haven’t quite gotten brave enough to tackle a time-consuming project. I do recommend that you pay enough attention to make sure the patterned side of your pieces face each other. I did not and had to spend more time ripping seams than it actually took me to sew the pants. Start to finish, you can complete a pair of pants in about 30 minutes, if you don’t mess up like i did 🙂

The first link gave me the inspiration to use tees. The second is where Rookiemoms got the idea. Handyprojects offers a slightly more complicated variation, showing how to add cute details to the pants, but I recommend referring to that site if you don’t know how to make an elastic waistband.

http://www.rookiemoms.com/make-some-easy-kids-pants/

http://handyprojects.blogspot.com/2005/04/how-to-make-easy-kids-pants.html

first-pantsI  did my first for practice from a western t-shirt that didn’t fit me. The second pair I made out of a stained polo my husband donated to the cause. I plan to use the leftover fabric to make matching hats or accents on onesies. In the meantime I’m on the hunt for other shirts to cut up (and trying to resist the urge to “accidentally” stain things in my husband’s closet) Happy sewing!