not quite finished, but...

i'm going to post the pictures anyway. it's now been about a year since i first started the project. i probably shouldn't admit that, but oh well. i've been really excited about this quilt for a long time. it's the first project for me that i've done in a really long time. i've had the fabrics since spring 2004. believe it or not, most of the fabrics for benny's quilt came from this stash. i didn't want andy's quilt (that he'll get some day) to look just like benny's, but i couldn't justify buying more fabric, so i decided that i needed to use the fabrics for what they were meant - a quilt for me.
several years ago i made a quilt for my good friend holland that was completely random. i had her pick the fabrics she wanted and the different blocks she wanted. she chose pinwheels, nine-patch, log cabin, and roman square. i added what i call four square (four equal squares) and some solid blocks. honestly, i thought it would turn out horribly. the colors holland picked out were some different browns, black, olive green, tan, and a brick red. i was so surprised when i ended up loving the quilt! i still think it's one of my best (even though there are several mistakes).
although the fabrics i have are quite different from the fabrics in holland's quilt, i used that as my guide. it's definitely not the same, but i did the same blocks (except for the solid). i'm very happy with how it turned out. i still need to pick out a back and quilt it, but it's such a feat having the top finished!

the pictures aren't the best - you can't see detail of the different fabrics. you can click on the pictures and they'll get bigger, but the quality gets worse. you'll get the idea.

two different views of the fabric selection. i actually used some of every fabric.

i got to this stage before we moved. i wanted to try to push and get the border done, but there was packing to be done.

and with the border that i finished last night.
i'll do the quilting myself (just straight lines - boy would i love to have a long-arm quilter and to know what to do with it!). i haven't exactly decided how, but the different kinds of squares will probably have their own pattern.

t-shirt pants take 2

the pictures aren't very good because of the flash reflecting on the mirror. i really like this pair. i think they turned out pretty well. i used xl shirts this time instead of medium and i really like the length. again, they're very comfortable.

t-shirt pants

*updated - see pictures below

i'll have to get pictures of my final product up later. i need spencer to take them. i found this website from a friend's blog. it's a tutorial on making cropped pants out of a t-shirt or t-shirts. i successfully completed my first pair yesterday - i would have gotten them done on monday, but i had sewing machine trouble. i never did understand the waistband instructions on the website, so i just did my own. and i added a drawstring to help them stay up. seriously, though, i'm ready to go out and get a bunch more cheap t-shirts to make more cropped pants. i'm really happy with how they turned out. especially for a couple of t-shirts.

happy sewing!

definitely not perfect, but they're made from a couple of cheap t-shirts.
oh, and maybe i shouldn't admit this, but i never could understand the directions on the website for the waist band so i did my own. i also added a draw-string that i made out of t-shirt.

i think my next project will be making matching jumpers for the boys out of the awesome drapes behind me. what do you think?

oatmeal...

yes, that's right. my two-year-old is grinning over his first bowl of oatmeal. i hope that continues.

(i did put a little brown sugar in it, but not much.)