I know you've been waiting...

So sorry for the huge lapse in posts. For some reason, my camera and computer were having a fight and they didn't want to work together. But they have made up and I was finally able to load my pictures. Although, there are still photos on a different card in my husband's camera that I still need to get my hands on, so those will have to come later.

To start the line-up of projects:

A refashion!

Can you believe that this shirt, just a plain old T-shirt...

now looks like this!?!

It all happened because I received a beautiful shirt for my birthday. I wore it once and felt so pretty in it. It then got washed and accidentally dried. Needless to say, I could no longer wear the lovely shirt without somehow making myself 6 inches shorter. I was heartbroken. So I sat and stared at the shirt wondering if I should just donate it or make something for Iris out of it. I went to my stack of shirts that I have held onto to make into something else and saw sitting right there on top 4 plain white T-shirts that Evan was getting rid of. They were given to him but were too small. They were too big for me so I threw them in my stack. Anyways...my brain went to work and I came up with a pretty cute shirt. I took the collar from the birthday shirt and worked my magic on the T-shirt. What do you think? Improved?

Next is another refashion of sorts. I needed a birthday present for a young girl. So my mind went to work again. I looked through the bag of fabric I had just gleaned from Grandma Jessie's and found the cute pink flannel. I snatched a pair of jeans from the box of hand-me-downs sent to me from my dear friend Kayla (thanks again Kayla)...

and made them into this! A perfect little purse for a cute little girl.

I used the flannel for the lining. I even put some pockets on the inside. And stitched in a magnetic closure that I happened to have in my sewing box to keep it closed. Hope she liked it.

It had been a while since I made some soft-soled shoes. I thought Clara could use a cute black pair. So I used the black leather skirt I found at Savers for the soles and pink scraps for the lining. I wanted to put something on the top and happened to have this super cute pink lace in my box. I love them!

And the last is another refashion. Actually it's just an alteration. I really liked this shirt but it was always just a little to big and baggy for my taste. So I just took it in a little and wear it all the time now. Much better in my opinion.

Well that's it for now. I guess it's not too much, but it does make me feel better about finally getting something on here. Let me know what you think.

Another Repurpose

I have another repurposing project I just finished that I want to show you. I went through my sweaters and found a couple more that I absolutely love but that don't really fit anymore. I just haven't had the heart to get rid of them. I'm glad I didn't. Now that I know that I can make Iris new clothes out of my old ones, it's a lot easier to "get rid of them". So here is what the sweater looked like before. I really liked this sweater. So comfy. 

I took the sweater dress that I made a while ago and turned it inside out and laid it on top of the new sweater. I wanted this one to be a little more loose so I didn't cut right next to it. I added about 3/4" for seam allowance and to make it a little bigger.

This is how it looks after cutting.

Then I took the sleeves and laid them on top of the sweater sleeves. Line up the ends and that way you don't have to hem the sleeves. Again, leave enough for seam allowance.

For the second sleeve I just laid the first one on and used that for the pattern so that they would be the same.

Then I pinned the sleeve onto the sweater making sure to line up the middle of the sleeve with the shoulder seam on the sweater.

To sew, since I don't have a serger (someday) I just straight stitched and then zig zagged the edges.

This is what it looked like after sewing on the sleeves. After this I just folded it in half matching up the bottom edges and then sewed one seam from the edge of the sleeve around to the bottom edge. On both sides. And I was done. The best is that there is no hemming or making collars. 

And it looks so darn cute. My sister informed me that sweater dresses are very "in" right now. Iris loves them. She likes being my little model, when I can get her to sit still. Donevan thought the whole thing was pretty funny.

That's how easy it is. Hope I inspired you to go through some of those clothes you just can't part with and make something "new" and wonderful.

I mentioned that I was really into repurposing lately, and I finally took some pictures of some of the other stuff I've done. This shirt I made for Iris mostly because we didn't have any coordinating shirts for family pictures and she was the only one that didn't have anything grey. So I took one of my old long sleeved t-shirts that I don't wear anymore and made one for her. I love how it turned out, especially the ruffles on the front. You can see one of the family pictures on my other blog HERE.

I didn't know what to do for Donevan's Christmas outfit. I'd have to say that girls are easier in that department. All there really is is sweater vests. I didn't have time to crochet one, so I decided to make one out of an old men's sweater vest. Of course I wanted to have a nice shirt to go under it too. So I used an old men's button-up shirt and made it into a little boys shirt. I think they both turned out quite nicely. I tried to get some pictures of him in the outfit, but that boy doesn't sit still for very long. Next time he wears it, I'll have to snap some.



This year for Christmas treats I tried my hand at making chocolate truffles. They were surprisingly easy and very yummy. I think I will have to make them more often. Let me know if you want me to post the recipe.

Christmas Goodies

I am finally posting about the stuff that I made for Christmas. Now that the recipients have seen them I no longer have to keep them a secret. Of course some of them weren't a secret, like this one. Iris' Christmas dress. I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out. I got the fabric for really cheap at Wal-Mart and the ribbon finishes it off really cute. She loves it and wore it for almost two days straight.

I made these shoes for Donevan. He had almost worn through his John Deere ones already. I made the top part out of leather too since that is where he was wearing it through. I like how they turned out. I'll have to get some brown fabric for the back for the next pair.

Lately I've been on this repurposing kick. Using old adult clothes to make kids clothes. I had this old sweater that I absolutely loved, but had shrunk a tiny bit and was a little too short for me. So I turned it into a sweater dress for Iris. It makes me happy to see it. It turned out fabulous. I have a few other things that I've made, but I haven't taken pictures yet. So when I do I'll get them on here. Isn't she so cute, being my model. It looked even cuter when we put tights on underneath.

Evan's Aunt Kathleen asked me to make a cradle blanket and pillow using this fabric. It was pretty easy. I just followed the lines that were already on the fabric to machine quilt it together. And made a little envelope pillow cover (not sure the correct term, but that's what I call it) to go with it. Her son is having a baby boy. I kinda like the red and black.

This is a cute little beanie I made for my sister's unborn little girl. Iris had a beanie like this and I loved it so I kinda copied the pattern, except that one was knit and this one is crocheted. Still cute though. Like a little neapolitan sundae with cherries on top!

I made this for my sister's family to hang on their tree. I used to make a lot of these. Most were needle tatted, but this one is crocheted. I need to make one for my tree! Of all the snowflakes and ornament covers I've made over the years, I don't have a single one on my tree. I always manage to give them away! Maybe next year.

I tried my hand at Scrabble Tile Pendants. They were really easy and turned out super cute. I made two for my sister and two for me. I want to make a whole bunch more. I could make one for every outfit. 

These beanies I made for my nephews. The Simply Soft yarn is the best for stuff like this. It is so soft and flexible. And by flexible I mean that it's not stiff like some yarns. Especially with crocheting, stuff tends to be stiff, but this yarn makes a huge difference. I hope they can wear them. They'll need them after they move back to Alaska!! Bbbrrrrr!!!

So that is a few of the things that I have been keeping under my belt. I still need to take some pictures of some stuff. But I love Christmas and being able to make most of my gifts is half the fun for me. Hope you like 'em.