Pieced Together.

I’m officially halfway through the steps of my very first quilt. Woohoo!! I’m having a blast with it, and I’m already looking forward to future quilts. :)

A Quilt is a Quilt.

I would love to tell you I’m using some professional quilting pattern. {Ha} Check out this puppy. I grabbed some markers and drew it up myself. I’m still crossing my fingers that it’ll work out! :)I’ve mentioned several times the lack of fabric stores in PR. Unfortunately I was stuck working with Walmart on this one. {@$2.98/yd. I can’t complain.} I was really hoping for a more neutral collection, but this will work. These are {absolutely} NOT the tools I’d recommend. However, they’re what I have. It worked. :)It only took 2 days to get all of these cut out. {ah!!}And this will be the binding. It’s my favorite color in the bunch.

I’m about halfway through piecing it all together. Woohoo!It’s pretty exciting watching it come together. Besides the fact that I bought way too much fabric, I’m happy.

What projects are you working on?? Thoughts on my quilt?? Leave me a comment!

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I’m No Quilter: Inspiration

I grew up with a rather crafty mom {super thankful}. She always made sure my sisters {and brothers} and I were involved in some sort of arts & crafts. I’m pretty sure  we all took it for granted. We entered 4-H projects every summer, took music lessons weekly, and every school project was handmade. The church we grew up at held monthly sewing classes for young girls. Some of the sweetest older ladies you’d ever meet, took time out of their days to teach us! Oh the memories… How I wish I could have all of their sewing wisdom as I take on this next endeavor.

I came across this photo on Pinterest a while back, and failed to pin it. It’s taken me forever to find it, but I finally located the source. Tallgrass Prairie Studio

This quilt has given me the itching desire to make myself a quilt. I am beyond excited! I know whatever I come up with will look nothing like it, but I needed the inspiration…the little kick in the pants. I’ve previously mentioned, that fabrics/stores are hard to come by here in PR. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find something… The stitching detail is crazy and somewhat out of my league. Wish me luck!

wear-no-more: this dress

After I made my first maxi dress, I had to make another…This dress has been chilling in my closet for over 4 years. Here I am wearing it during my junior year of college, with my 2 sisters. So many memories…Here I am with 2 of my best friends. As you can see, it was a great college dress. I tossed a tank underneath, a little sweater over top, and I was good to go. That’s not going to happen anymore… This is how the dress is supposed to be worn. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cute. But, it’s a lot of material, it looks like a pregnancy dress and it’s too low-rather uncomfortable. It was screaming to be transformed, and with my new found love for maxi skirts…I got giddy. Here’s what happened after I got a hold of it. I love the vibrancy, the comfortable-ness, and everything! I’m wearing heals in the photos, but I’m all about a pair of flips-flops and a tank top for a casual day. Thoughts?

DIY Maxi Skirt

I made myself a maxi skirt! Not only are they super in right now…but they are so versatile. They are perfect for my Puerto Rican lifestyle…crazy heat outdoors/crazy air conditioners indoors. There are very few fabrics stores here, but of course I’ve found one. I believe this fabric is almost like a swimsuit material…not easy to work with. {for $5 who’s complaining??}I scoured the web for a tutorial…and this is what I ended up doing:

Turn fabric right-sides together.I used one of my own skirts as a ‘pattern.’ It gave me the basic size/shape. I continued through to the desired length by cutting to the end of my fabric. Giving somewhat of a triangle effect.I sewed the two sides together using a zig-zag stitch.

As for the waist: I double folded the top, and stiched across the bottom edge. I left 2 ” for inserting my elastic.One of the many sewing tricks, use a safety pin to help guide the elastic all the way through. {ignore the nasty nails, they are now painted a nice glossy pink}Once you are through to the other side, stitch the two ends together. Be sure it’s sturdy! (don’t worry about the looks!) Then stitch across the remaining opening. I didn’t photograph the hemming…it’s rather simple: Double fold to desired length and stitch away. I used a zig-zag stitch again.For my first attempt, I’m rather pleased. $5=fabric + $1=elastic + $2 thread + 1.5 hours = $8 new skirt! I’ll take it!Top is from Express and necklace was a gift. It’s SUPER comfy. I have big plans for another maxi skirt…or 2. :)