Make It New Monday! Treasured Heirlooms

Recently while at my mother-in-law's house I came across this wonderful quilt buried in a chest that was hidden in a closet. I asked her if she knew where it came from. It was her mother's, she said, and would I like to have it? Um, YES!

There are so many things I love about this quilt. All the beautiful fabrics, some of which look very much like the reproduction fabric that I have been stashing. The fact that it was made by my husband's grandmother. And the story behind the quilt. My husband's grandfather was a fruit farmer. His grandma worked in her garden all summer, and in the winter she would sew. Apron after apron she would create for the church bazaar. This quilt was made from her scraps. Can you imagine how many aprons she must have made? Look at all these different designs and patterns! I love the dogs playing baseball.

The quilt's new home is in Zoe's room. Out for everyone to admire. And next to the quilt hangs another heirloom, this one made by my own grandmother.

I've had this sweet needlework of a little girl praying for as long as I can remember. I never had a place to hang it - until my little girl was born. All those intricate little stitches - this was a work of love from my grandma to my sister and me.

These may not be worth a lot of money, but they are priceless. Through them I feel a connection with our grandmothers - a love for creating "treasures" with our hands, a love for family, a love for the Lord.

Future heirloom creator!

Make It New Monday! Princess Costume for Zoe

I was so excited this year to make a princess costume for Zoe for Halloween!

We have always used hand-me-downs or things we find around the house for the boys' costumes, but I really wanted a girly-girl outfit for little Z.  Well, we were given a size 7-8 princess costume, and I found this fabric in the 50% off section of the fabric store, so I thought I'd try making something out of the two.

First I took off the puffy sleeves. Then I took in the inset, the sides and the armholes to make it smaller. The long part of the sleeves just happened to be the right length for Z, so I just reattached them to the bodice.

I measured Z from waist to ankles and made a skirt from the discount fabric. Then I took part of the old costume's skirt and sewed it onto the front of the new skirt to make an inset that matched the bodice.

I attatched the gathered skirt to the bodice, added velcro in the back to close it, and it was finished! (It didn't come together quite that quickly, but I'll spare you the details.)

Of course every princess needs a tiara. I made this one out of felt, a striped cotton print, and some gold fabric that I had in my stash. I used a patch from the old costume as a jewel on front.

I put a strip of velcro on the back to make it adjustable and easy to get on and off. I could make up a tutorial for the crown if anyone is interested.

Of course after all that, Zoe is equally at home in the Spidey outfit. :)

Make It New Mondays! Sweet Felted Bird

Today's Make It New Monday project is a sweet little bird fashioned from an upcycled felted sweater, nestled in a knitted nest of yarn scraps.

My sister and I hit the jackpot awhile back at the local thrift store. Gorgeous wool sweaters, all waiting to be taken home and felted. This little bird (and another for my sis) came from this sweater.

The pattern came from the 2009 summer issue of Sew Somerset and was created by Jenni Horne.

There are only three main body pieces - two bird-shaped sides and a pointed oblong gusset - which are whipstiched together. A seed bead for each eye and fabric wings are sewn on before assembling the body, and strips of felt and yarn are tucked in the back before stitching it up.

I had scraps of some lovely eyelash and fleecy yarn that I thought would make a great nest.

 I knit them together into a long rectangle with tapered ends. Then I twirled the rectangle into a nest shape and secured it with some yarn stitches.

Jenni Horne adapted the pattern from the felt bird in Betz White 's book Warm Fuzzies - a great resource if you're interested in making more items from felted sweaters.

Make It New Mondays! Jeans Wallet

Here's my first project for Make It New Mondays! A funky little wallet upcycled from an old pair of jeans.

I had heard the term "upcycling" before, but I wasn't sure exactly what it meant. I found out that upcycling, like recycling, uses something that would otherwise be thrown away. But whereas recycled materials are usually broken down into something of lesser value, an upcycled item will have equal or greater use or value. I knew a greater good could come from these holey jeans!

I'd been saving this old pair of jeans for a project such as this, and I picked out some fabric and ribbon scraps to use with it. I found a sweet pattern by Lola Nova in the 5th issue of Mollie Makes - a fabulous craft magazine from the U.K. (it's available at Barnes and Noble.)

The inside has six little pockets to hold business cards, Starbucks card :), cash, whatever.

The first one I made was a present for my niece (along with an iTunes card, of course.) There was more than enough jean material to make another one (or six or eight!) On the second one I appliqued wool felt leaves cut from some thrifted felted sweaters (more upcycling:) to decorate the front.

Are you into upcycling?