I made 7 quilts last winter for a local women whose first husband died of cancer nearly 10 years ago. She had been saving boxes of his clothes all this time for a quilt project and through a series of events they ended up with me. I took boxes of his old clothing and turned them into 5 quilts for their 5 sons for Christmas across 4 weeks. It was probably more work than I should have tried to take on in so short a time.  After the holidays I made 2 more from just his t-shirts and polo shirts. These ones were much simpler to construct and came together quickly. The father was a collegiate and semi-pro baseball player at one point in his life so there were many special shirts in there from his youth and from years of local softball leagues. I didn't want the shirts to lose their identity when cut into smaller patchwork squares so that's why we agreed to let them be their own quilts that the family can share. Technically all of these are "blankets" and not "quilts...

I love rompers with snap crotches for babies. They are just so much easier for changing diapers than peeling off layers of onesies and bottoms. I made several rompers for the baby in the last year. Some I made from a purchased pattern and other from free patterns. I like to recycle old clothes for these or use clearance remnants from the fabric store.  Made from a thrifted t-shirt using a free online pattern I altered so it would have longer sleeves and pants. Pattern from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop Same pattern from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop My own pattern modeled after an existing romper. Made from an old t-shirt of mine.

 My friend commissioned me to make some Victorian-era inspired costume skirts. She gave me a pattern which was for a basic A-line Victorian skirt and I made improvements to it. I added linings, trim, and the red skirts I made with adjustable waistbands by adding hidden buttonhole elastic.  Of course they took longer than I thought they would because I was basically inventing how to make the changes as I went, I inevitably made mistakes, and I endured technical difficulties, but I am happy with how they turned out. They look pretty meh hanging there, but they looked very nice on bodies over proper petticoats. There were two other existing skirts I spruced up but didn't get a photo of.

 I finally made a dust cover for my serger similar to the one I made for my sewing machine. I had originally planned to make my own pattern like I did for the sewing machine but then today I realized my serger is common enough someone probably already figured out a pattern. Sure enough, I googled around and found  THIS TUTORIAL  for the pattern.  I used jelly roll strips again to make another quilted cover. Also like last time, instead of making a separate lining I cut lining pieces and spray basted them or quilted them to the wrong side of their outer counterparts. I basted a pocket to the right side panel. Then I assembled the cover and went back over the seam edges with my serger to clean them up. They won't be seen but I didn't want anything unraveling. To finish off the hem I serged the bottom edge then turned it in and pressed it about 1/2 inch and then stitched it about 3/8 from the edge.  Inside view I used a fusible fleece this time instead of fusible f...

The yellow purse I've been using the last year or so recently started having zipper problems. I've been like 85% happy with the purse overall and I decided I wanted something a little bigger these days, so  before taking it apart to replace the zipper I'd try to make another purse. I liked the look of this tutorial so I used mostly materials from my stash to make one. I did need to buy some interfacing, hardware, and heavier zippers. I'm fairly happy with the construction. Instead of a magnetic clip I put in a zipper across the top because I don't love magnetic closures. When I toss my purse into the car I don't want stuff spilling out. I also added an internal zippered pocket using the same method as the external pocket. I used the purse for a few days then realized it was smaller than I expected. It's deeper than the old purse but narrower. Also the nylon strap a bought to save myself the trouble of making a strap was uncomfortable on my neck.  Enter purs...

My children are doomed to a life of small butts and lanky frames because genetics. As a result they grow too tall for clothes long before they grow too wide. My daughter never wears jeans because none fit her proportions and instead we go for stretchy pants. She can usually wear these for years before they no longer fit her waist. After the first year we just pretend they were always capri pants. However she eventually wore out the knees of many pairs of these short pants so I decided to convert them all into proper shorts.  These pants make great shorts because the knit fabric doesn't unravel so no need to hem them. After cutting the pants my daughter made the brilliant suggestion of turning the leg remnants into pockets for the shorts. My idea was to make pockets like I did for my athletic pants where the pockets are on the outside of the thighs. After doing that to a couple pair she decided she'd rather have more typical pockets up by the hips. Pockets 1.0 Since these pants ...