Wanderlust Quilt

I love to travel. Ever since got off of the plane to study abroad in Barcelona when I was 19, it's been in my blood. I lived abroad for 2 years and during that time, traveled to around 15 countries. This wanderlust inspired me to start my globe collection (currently at 7 globes and 2 big pieces of map artwork), my travel-themed scrapbook paper collection, and, though it's harder to find, my travel-themed fabric collection, the latter of which led to this beauty: 

I found the fabric with the cancelled postage stamps a while back and, though I didn't have a specific plan in mind, I just had to have it. 

My mom found these iron-on embroidery patterns on clearance at Hobby Lobby and knew I'd love them. I'd never done any embroidery before, but she was right, I did absolutely adore them. My initial plan was to only use the patterns for the countries I'd visited, but another plan began to take its place once I found this fabric:

I picked it up at a garage sale last summer, and the kitchy world landmarks print initially reminded of Roisin at Dolly Clacket, though I didn't think I was quite adventurous enough to wear it like I imagined she would. I snagged 3 yards of it and once I got it home, it all began to come together. 

I only used 10-12 different colors of embroidery floss for all of the prints - I really like that the instructions have you use colors that coordinate so well.

Once I got the idea, I could barely stop. Even when it came time for all of the tedious bits (interfacing, squaring up), I plunged through it like a champ.

I'm so so happy with the way it turned out, especially considering I'm a relative novice at both embroidery and quilting. I didn't cut many corners on this like I normally would - I wanted it as close to perfect as I could get it. (It looks much wrinklier in these pics than in real life.)

Will definitely approves, too. I barely got all of the cat hair off of it before he jumped on it again! Everything but the bias binding was from my stash - great start to the new year!

Where's your wanderlust taking you these days?

Oh! I also finally joined the bandwagon on Instagram - my username (is that what the kids are calling it?) is forwhoitsfor. Lots of sneak peeks on there, and I'm always looking to follow more crafty ladies (and gents)!

Floral skirt makeover

This is the last project I have to post from 2014 - finally! On to even bigger and better things, right?

 

I'm still really on board with the floral trend that was everywhere last year. I hope it's still on-trend this year, but even if it's not...I'll keep wearing them, because they rock (and most of the fabric I bought last year was floral-print, so...gotta use that up!). 

This skirt started its life as one of my mom's. No idea where she got it from, but it didn't fit her anymore and she figured I'd like the print.

This was horribly unflattering on me. In addition to the bad length, it gave me awful muffin top. So nothing to do but take it apart, right? I kept the original waist band and hem and shortened it up significantly. If I'm being honest, I did not do a great job keeping the hem even. But that didn't stop me from wearing the skirt once a week!

[Blowing in the wind.]

Unfortunately, I wore this so much that the stitching at the waistband started coming apart, and I now have a big hole to mend. Should be a quick fix, but right now I think it's buried in with a bunch of other projects. Gotta get on that!

This is probably my favorite upcycle - what's yours?

Still catching up on 2014

On the docket for today: one of the skirts I made for my business trip in...November?

This fabric was in my grandma's (very very tiny) stash. Since she wasn't using it anymore, I snapped it up! It's a herringbone corduroy and is quite warm, actually - perfect for winter.

I knew that I wanted a simple skirt to properly showcase the fabric (and because there wasn't a ton of it to work with). Since I haven't had great luck drafting A-line patterns before, I dug through my stash. Butterick 5214 had just the shape I was looking for, so I drafted a quick waistband and was on my way!

The hem is finished with bias binding (my new and bestest fave). All together, this skirt probably only took about 1.5 hours to make - just the way I like it!

(I just realized that i was looking at my feet in every one of these pictures. And I still really need to work on ironing. *sigh*)

The sad part in looking at these pictures again, though, is that it's a super cute outfit but I've only worn it once or twice. It sticks to my leggings pretty terribly and I always feel really uncomfortable walking around in it. I really need to work on a couple of slips (they'd help with my circle skirts, too). Add it to the to-do list!

Is anybody else already feeling overwhelmed by 2015?

Top 5 of 2014 - part 3

Happy New Year! For those of you who are sick of these round-ups, I think I've mostly saved the best for last in this year-end top 5 (or top-however-many-I-can-think-of). I'll keep this one short and sweet.

Top 5 Hits:

1. There was a lot of Cascade love this year. I think my absolute favorite is this one, though. I love the colors, I love the layers (fashion fabric plus a lining, because the top one's so see-through), I love how breezy it is, and I love how this red cardigan is the exact same red found in the roses.

[Still my favorite picture of this outfit.]

2. More Cascade love, obviously. I think this one got more wear than the first one, and it's certainly gotten a lot of compliments! Plus, it only cost me a song - maybe $1 worth of fabric? Can't beat that!

3. These Tania culottes. They're by far my favorite pair and got worn to death this spring, summer, and fall. They're pretty darn short, but hey, I have nice legs, right? I have to say that I don't love my other 2 pair nearly as much as I love these...

4. My Aidez sweater. It doesn't get worn as much as it should, but that thing is a work of art. I poured a lot of time into it, and it's my first knit sweater, so I'm proud! Now to find some more outfits to pair it with...(I'm also just realizing there are a lot of reds in these outfits! Good to note for the future...)

5. My rainbow quilt. Full of problems, but also full of...awesomeness?

Now on to even bigger and better things for next year!

Top 5 of 2014, part 2

I was originally going to do one quick post for the top 5 of 2014, but this year's topics really gave me a lot to think about, so I figured I'd spare you the brain dump (though this does make it harder to skip if you're not interested!)

Top 5 Reflections:

1. Unlike Becky at SewandSo (I think every point in her list gave me my own point to think/talk about), after the first quarter of the year, I mostly walked away from  refashioning and jumped headfirst into making things from scratch, and I much prefer it this way. There's something about starting with a whole length of virgin fabric that appeals to me much more than working around existing buttons and darts and seams and and and... Luckily, I did get to use a lot of the skirts I'd intended to refashion in my rainbow quilt, at least!

2. I like sewing easy fluff (or "frosting," as many of us call it). I don't have the patience to sit down and sew fiddly things like jeans, or boring (to me) things that require a lot of precision (like t-shirts). I like pretty skirts. I wear pretty skirts. I mostly have enough of the basics in my wardrobe that I can find things to pair these with (though I would like a more complete rainbow of cardigans). 

3. I'm not good at not buying things. I mostly stayed away from the scrapbooking stuff, but I also did very little scrapbooking in general this year. I bought quite a bit of Black Friday yarn, and TONS of fabric, but I've also been going through the latter at a good clip. I still need to slow down with my buying, though, because I'm not sure I could ever make it through what I have, but I've also realized that some of my stash just really needs to go. There are things that I know I'll never use, and I don't know what possessed me to buy them in the first place. I slowed down significantly on my pattern buying, thankfully, but I need to get better about trying out the patterns I *do* have. Most of them are still uncut!

 [This is less than half of my stash. :-/]

4. As always, I got into some new projects. Not really the stuff I was anticipating needing/wanting for my new house (yet), but fun projects nonetheless, including candles, embroidery, cross stitch, and quilting. Part of me thinks that I need to focus, but the rest of me just really enjoys making in any form that inspires me. 

5. I used to think that having a few projects going at once was a bad thing, but now I'm not so sure. I *do* have too many UFOs right now, but I've found that it's really nice to have a variety of things to work on when the mood strikes. Sometimes I feel like sewing, but sometimes I just want to sit on the couch and watch TV. I still like to keep my hands busy, so that's when a knitting or embroidery project comes in handy. I got *so* much embroidering done in the last 2 months because I couldn't be bothered to get off of the couch, but I still wanted to create. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going...

Top 5 Goals:

1. Learn to make bras. There are lots of great bloggers out there making cute stuff. This might be one "fiddly" thing that I have to try, we'll see. If Gertie ends up designing any bras, I'm sure I'd be all over that!

2. Finish more of my UFOs. I did wrap up a few that had been lingering, but I added a BUNCH more. They tend to weigh on me and really, who needs that?

3. As stated above, try different patterns, including my intended Anna hack/look-alike.

4. Work on my serger skills. They're rudimentary at best and I know I could be doing so much more.

5. Two words. Zombie. Quilt. I'm trying to keep the details hush-hush until it's done, but I am SO. EXCITED. for this. I hope it turns out as well as I'm anticipating.

6. Sewing meet-up. I would really like to participate in one, I'm getting too jealous watching everyone else have fun. Maybe I can try to organize my own, if no one else comes up with one? Would anybody in the Chicago area be up for it?

Top 5 of 2014, part 1

Jumping on the bandwagon that craftingarainbow started, I figured I'd share some of my top 5 lists for the year.

Because I'm a rule-breaker, I'm going to go with a 3-4-5 scheme for this first installment.

Let's start with the misses, shall we?

Top 3 misses - wadders. These were things that were so terrible that I couldn't be bothered to finish them. Disheartening, yes, but I'd like to think that I learned from my mistakes, at least.

1. The shorts that weren't. Maybe one day I'll find a pattern that works for me and my pancake butt...

2. This terrible "refashion" (I was about to say that I didn't learn a thing from this one, but I guess I did learn that this style isn't for me!):

3. The awesome tank that could have been if only I'd read up on bias tape before I started. I couldn't even bear to photograph this. I'd like to think there's a way to save it, but...probably not. But since then I *have* learned how to use bias tape, thankfully. I'd like to re-try this one with another fabric.
 
Top 4 misses - finished. I at least got to wear these once...

1. The peplum top that I thought it would be a good idea to make, despite me never having liked any peplum anything that I've tried on.

2. This hot pink ridiculousness. One of my friends says she loves it, but I just don't think it's "me." It was a pain and a half to make, and maybe a better skirt would save it, but...I think I'm over it. Might be time to give it to her.

3. This self-drafted tank. I like the pattern I drafted and need to revisit it, but the finishing on this one wasn't great and I never found myself reaching for it. It finally made its way to the donate bin recently.

4. My polo refashion. I loved it when I made it, but this has also recently been relegated to the donate been after not having been worn for a while. Just not my style, I think. Also, the shoulders are *way* too wide, which is just plain annoying.

Top 5 highlights of 2014 - I've got to end on a brighter note!


1. Holy hell, I bought a house!

2. And I got a new kitten to go with it! He brightens up my day so well, and is perhaps the world's best cuddler.

3. My trip to Puerto Rico with my best friend. Hiking, kayaking, seeing the little things glow in the bioluminescent bay, *and* not getting sunburnt? Win-win-win-win. 

4. My new job and a raise. I'm keeping busier, which keeps me happy, and I like the work I'm doing, although it *is* less related to my long-term goals. 

5. Ending toxic relationships and starting great new ones. I got to meet up with some super sweet people I met on my blog recently, and though we'd only ever talked online, we felt so comfortable with each other and talked the day away! Can't wait to go back and see them again, and for them to come here! I also like to think that I became more active in the sewing community with Me-Made May and the Flickr stashbusting group. Hopefully next year I can amp it up even more!

Any reflections on your past year? I'd love to hear about them!

Circle skirt madness continues

As promised, here's my second circle skirt made for my recent business trip, with fabric picked up from my Vogue Fabrics excursion. This is some kind of mystery polka-dot stuff...it feels *almost* like a very light fleece? (That does not sound like an attractive thing to make a skirt out of. I promise, it is.) I'm not really sure, but it's pretty warm, and soft, and only cost about $1.50/yard from the bargain table, so....

I took some inspiration from Handmade Jane for the color choices (damn you, Ribbet, screwing up the colors again - the first pic is more true-to-life than the second one) - navy, red, and white are so classic and so so cute. This one came together much more easily than the last one - it didn't stretch out nearly as much on the dress form, so there was less evening out to do (but using the proper technique from the beginning definitely helped!).

Again, another good circle skirt great for layering with fleece leggings. I made this one a bit smaller than the gray one, and it does fit much better. I should have interfaced the waistband, though. This is all unlined, but doesn't seem to stick to my leggings much, if at all. One of these days I'll get around to making a slip, though.

More twirling, because I can't resist. You can see a bit of green bias tape sticking out (you guys, this is my new favorite thing, I just stocked up at Hobby Lobby's 1/2 price sale!). It's what I had on hand, and I really like the extra peek of color!

And just for fun, I'll leave you with a pic of Will "helping" me cut this out, which also allows a better view of the polka dots. :)

What do you think - for or against circle skirts?