It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish

That line from the Broadway show "Seesaw" is my quilting motto.  I can probably count on one hand the quilts I started with one idea and finished with the same plan.

For instance:

I was giving a demonstration for the Modern Athens Quilt Guild; the above quilt was one example of a disappearing nine patch.  It served it's purpose but when I pulled it out a while later I was struck with pure boredom.  Maybe it would get cute cuter when I quilted it, but I doubted it.

So, I took the squares apart and added some red polka dot and bright yellow strips. 

This baby was waking up!.

Now for the back.  What could I do with this pile of leftovers?

What do babies play with?  Blocks.  At first I tried the rows of blocks with fabric between them.  The blocks didn't look stacked.  Luckily I decided this before I sewed all the blocks together.

I used a crosshatch pattern for quilting.  I chose some leftover yellow and red bias binding from two other quilt projects that matched perfectly to finish it off.

 Now I can imagine a baby spending many happy hours playing on this quilt pointing out the bears, bunnies and trains.





My next challenge is to use yet another set of disappearing nine patch blocks from this same demonstration--a smaller version.  First, I need to take them apart.

Repurposing Project Journal

Last night I participated in the Olives and Wax Repurposing Fashion Show with Josie as my model. 
I love the challenge.  Maybe more than I love trying to decide what to do with a whole piece of fabric.

Each contestant was given a bag of clothing with a silk flower as a mystery component.  The rules said you needed to make one outfit from the clothes. This is what was in my bag.

The pencil skirt was really long so I was sure I had enough to make a jacket.

Although it looks like enough, I had already decided to use the sleeve of the shirt if I ran out of skirt.  When all of it was cut out, I had to use most of the shirt.  I lined the shirt pieces with a flannel sheet I got from Goodwill and then quilted it to give it the same weight as the skirt.

I made a skirt from the embroidered dress and used the waistband as a contrasting yoke.  For the fabric Josie and I decided that a corset-like top would be the best option.  Since the fabric was a plain off-white cotton I dressed it up with cotton lace from a dust ruffle and used the buttons from the man's shirt lined up on the bodice front.  Josie and I both thought that the top should not be dyed.

Once the jacket was finished I wanted to dye it to match the skirt; even though I liked the blue and the yellow jacket.  Trying to be earth friendly I put the jacket in a pot of beets and cabbage.

It sat and it stewed for several hours until I looked at the shirt label and realized it was a polyester blend.  No way would it absorb any of that rich beet color.  As my sister might say, this is probably the only good use for a beet.

Off to the craft store I went and found some dye that worked on polyester.  The skirt must have been all polyester because the beautiful shade of violet washed right out, but luckily it stayed in the shirt part.

I still had some dress left and the embroidered part of the waistband was a focal point of the dress so I thought I'd better use it.  A small quilted purse was my answer.  Off to the ReStore where I found a blue macrame belt.  I tinkered with the idea of leaving it blue to match the jacket but then it might not be worn together so I used some more violet dye for that.

Getting Josie ready for her modeling gig was a lot of fun.  We bought her some new espadrilles and a little make up but not much was needed for this beauty.  Originally the hair stylist said she should leave her hair down but the night of the show, they styled it.

 Mission accomplished!