My Second Quilt

I finished my second quilt. Woo hoo.  And, it looks exactly like the first one I made... just with different colors. Hey, once you find a good thing, go with it, right?  Actually, I really loved the first quilt I made but it was a gift for my sister, so when it was time to make one for me, I decided to make the same thing... a little larger.  I started this project here.  Yes, July 5, 2011. One year and 6 months ago.  I didn't say I was fast.

This quilt is 5' x 5'.  I made it almost the same way I made the first quilt.  (the tutorial is here) This time I added a cream boarder on all sides before the binding.  I googled, like always, to figure out how to do that. If you're wondering what the quilting process looks like at my house... here ya go. (Yes, I iron on a tiny ironing board crouched on the floor).

Since I didn't have a good picture of trimming the squares in the last quilt, I took one durning this quilt.  This is the back of one of the squares. (you can see the green leaf scrapbook paper under the ruler). Just line your ruler up with the edge of the paper, and cut. Once you do all 4 sides, you have a perfect square.

All of my finished squares lined up on the guest room bed. The paper is still on them in this photo.

I used old scrapbook paper as the templates for each square.  Which, didn't end up being the smartest idea in the world.  You see, scrapbook paper is quite thick.  To try and rip it from my sewed strips was almost impossible.  After almost ruining 2 of them, I came up with the genius idea to soak my squares in the sink (for maybe 5 seconds).

Worked WAY better!  Soaking-wet paper rips quite easily you know. :)  After the soaking and ripping (and explaining to my husband wtf I was doing) I strewn the squares on every flat surface I could find in the kitchen and laundry room to dry. In hind sight, a spray bottle might have been the better option... but this way was kind of fun none the less.

Here's one all ripped off. The little white bits of paper still left don't matter.

After everything dries, layout your squares again in an order you like and start sewing them together.  Bottom two rows are sewn in this picture.

Keep going.

After sticking your quilt sandwich together (back, batting, top), start quilting.  I did free-motion again this time and it was a bit harder with a bigger quilt.  That's a lot of material to shove around! 

Also, I got the tutorial for the binding from Red Pepper Quilts if you're wondering.

So it's done!  I have no idea what I am going to use it for yet... I just like looking at it. :)  I originally thought I would bring it to the beach to sit on but after the amount of work I put into this sucker, I don't want it getting grungy.

 

Here's the back.  I made this pattern 100% from necessity. I was running out of fabric and this is what I came up with to cover the whole 5' x 5' square.  haha Seriously, that is what happened.

Hope you like it!

UPDATE: Click here for the video tutorial I made for free motion quilting.

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End Table Makeover

More Goodwill furniture?  Yes!  The guest room needed end tables after all.  And I wanted something curvy and girly... wasn't much available like that in the $50 and under range at my usuals (IKEA, Target, etc). Shocking, I know.  So, I decided to bribe Katie from SewWoodsy to hit up the local Goodwill with me. Okay, not really... Katie and I work together at our "real" jobs and go to Goodwill quite often instead of getting lunch. Ha. What can I say, we're both crafty!

Katie snapped this pic of my while patiently waiting to check out.  And did people stare at us while we smiled with our treasures?  They sure did!  Look how happy I am with my $20 end table.

Since I needed 2 tables and Goodwill only had one such beauty, I searched Craig's List for another similar.  And what do you know... I found this, one street over from my house, for $15! Score.

Check out that paint job. And here's a helpful tip... don't paint over your hardware! Like, ever.

C'mon.

So since I had two handles covered in paint, that I still wanted to use, I had to figure out how to strip that paint.  Google is my friend.  Did you know you can boil it right off?!

Yep. Use a pot or pan that you are not going to use for food anymore... who knows what's in that paint... you don't want to eat anything toxic, and boil for a couple minutes.  I think mine were in there for a total of 5 minutes when the paint just started to float right off.

At that point I took them out with tongs and nudged the rest of the paint off with a skewer (they were hot after all).  So easy!

Right after the paint came off they looked a little dull.  I just gave them a quick scrub with my scrubby kitchen sponge and they came out great.  Top one is pre-scrubbed, bottom one got a 30 second scrub with some Dawn.

Next thing I did was give both tables a light sanding.  I was planning on using chalk paint and I know the great thing about it is "you don't have to sand".  But that makes me nervous. And, the paint-tastic table was quite rough from the previous paint job it had received.  I sanded with the help of my assistant... who insisted on putting his own jammie pants on.  (I can dooo itttt!!! said in 2-year-old whine dialect)  Thus, they are on inside out and backwards.  Go ahead, judge me neighbors!

I followed SewWoodsy's recipe for chalk paint.  Super easy.  I think I did 3-4 coats with some light sanding in between.

After a couple coats of paint, it really started to bother me that the tables were slightly different heights. So, I found some scrap wood in the garage and added some "feet" with wood glue to the shorter table.

A little bit of finishing wax later... done!

 I even lined the drawers with scrapbook paper.

I'm really happy with how they turned out.  I was nervous about the whole chalk paint fad... I didn't want them to look dull and like I DIY'd them.  But I'm so impressed with how smooth and slightly shiny the waxed surface came out.

And bonus... did you see my lamps?

Yep.. Goodwill! Those bases were $3!  I'm not kidding...  see.  I left the sticker on to prove it.  haha And the shades are from Target ($20)  So for $46 I got two lamps... that's less than the price of one usually. I'm a little proud.

Hope I got your confidence up to brave those smelly isles at Goodwill and find your own treasures.

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Old Shirt Upcycle

The guest room is coming together!  My thrift store/Craig's List mojo is in full swing for this one and the accessories are no exception.  I already DIY'd my chevron curtains and revamped a trashed chair, now time for a pillow and something for the walls.  For this post, I bought nothing.. can I get a woo hoo for free?!

I started with this shirt I got from The Limited forever ago.  I think I wore it twice.  Oh yeah, it looks good on the hanger (I already cut one sleeve off before the picture), and I love the lace... but those sleeves fell down constantly.  Ugh.  And, when they did stay up, I still had bra straps galore. So since I'm not a 13 year old girl that can get away with bra straps as an accessory (and I hate strapless bras... don't even go there... they don't work on me), and I like my sleeves to stay on my shoulders, I decided this shirt would be much more useful in non-shirt format. So I cut it up.

And turned it into this...

Cute pillow, eh? Since my side chair wasn't the cushiest, a little lumbar pillow is just perfect.  I stuffed it with an old crappy pillow that was on my bed in college (yep, I save old pillows in hopes of redoing them one day) and left the scalloped lace edge out on one side.  I think this took a total of 30 minutes to make, and like I said, was completely free!

After the pillow, I still had some shirt leftover (and some spray paint from when I redid the chair).  I rummaged through a closet and found an old black frame I planned on filling up with kid's pictures one day (never got around to that project). I sprayed it yellow and stapled the lace to the corners.  The prints inside are free postcard samples from a paper company I got at work.  Easy peasy and free!

And if you're wondering...  that mirror on the left is from a thrift/antique store I got on trip while visiting my sister last year.  The "j" is for "Jamey", my husband, and I think I got that at a Home Goods type store about 7 years ago.  It's moved around my house many times in its life. And the Eiffel Tower print is actually one I bought at the real Eiffel Tower when I got to go to Paris after college graduation many years ago. But seriously... a ripped out newspaper print would work just as well.  Use what you have! More guest room to come soon!

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DIY Chevron Curtains Tutorial

Lately I have come to the realization that I have a problem.  When shopping for home decor (curtains, furniture, fabric, lamps, etc...  Who am I kidding, I do it with clothes too) I find things I love in stores and online, look at the price, and immediately think... WHAT?!  Who are they kidding?  It's not even lined! I can make that!  This happens several times a day, usually. The result is a list of projects a mile long, a house full of Goodwill furniture, and 25 trips to Home Depot.

That's pretty much the story with my DIY Chevron Curtains.  I'm in the process of creating a guest room/sewing room.  I say "creating" because we did not have a guest room in our previous house and I'm starting from nothing.  A completely empty room.  I decided the theme is going to be yellows and grays (are you realizing what room the side chair is for?) and started to look for curtains.  Ummm, yeah... I just can't do it.  $50 per panel or more at most stores.  Even Target curtains are in the $30 per panel range and that's not even a cool pattern.  Call me cheap, I don't care.  Time to hit up Pinterest for some DIY ideas.

In my search I came across Painted Faux Ombre Chevron Curtains from Owen's Olivia. I LOVE them! Time to break out the 3m painter's tape and make some chevrons!  Off to Home Depot!

Supplies:

• Curtains to paint (Mine were 2 leftover IKEA panels that were in my son's room at the last house)
• Paint (craft or house paint)
• Tape (I used 3M ScotchBlue Painter's Tape, 2" size... you will need 2 rolls if you don't reuse some tape from one panel to the next)
• A small roller and tray
• Fabric Medium (I used Martha Stewart Tintable Fabric Medium)
• Ruler
• Big drop cloth or some painter's plastic

Step 1: Tape off a boarder.
This step is optional but I like the look of a boarder on all the sides. Also, in the Owen's Olivia tutorial she mentioned they paint bled a little when she painted over the seams... so I avoided the seams. (Power Wheels school bus keeping me company to the left)

Step 2: Mark out your first row of chevrons.
I decided I wanted 4ish zig zags across my curtains. I measured the width of my curtains in between the taped boarder (54"), divided by 9 since that's how many points I would need to make 4 zig zags. That gave me 6. So I put a small dot with a washable fabric pencil every 6 inches. Then every other dot, I measured up 6" and put a dot there. This is where the points of my chevrons are. You can make your chevrons as close or as wide as you want. Looking at the pictures might clear that up a bit. (I promise that is the last of the math on this project)

Step 3: Begin taping your first row.
Start from the corner and make the inside points of your chevrons line up with your dots (look at the 2nd photo if that's confusing). Once you have them lined up, trim the edges into a nice clean point... like this. I just used the edges of the cross tape as a guide.

Step 4: Use strips of tape as spacers and tape the rest of your chevrons.

Congratulations... the hard part is over. Now it's just a matter of using tape as a spacer and adding row after row until you get to the other end of your panel. Remember to go back and trim your points like in step 3.

Step 5: Roll out some plastic and get ready to paint.
You can use whatever you want to protect your floors. I had a roll of painter's plastic in my garage. Tape everything down so it doesn't move on you.

Step 6: Mix fabric medium and paint and get rolling.
Follow the directions on the back (I eyeballed the measurements). Mixed everything in my paint tray and started rolling with a small foam roller.

Step 7: Keep rolling!
You are going to have a seriously sore butt tomorrow from all the squatting. Trust me.

(I look sad because my butt hurts)

Step 8: Peel off the tape.
I peeled pretty much immediately after I got done painting. A few spots were still damp. Didn't seam to make a difference.

FYI: This project uses a lot of painter's tape.

Step 9: Let them dry and heat set them with an iron. 

(I may or may not have done this step) Tee hee.

You're done!

And if you're wondering if they look painted... yes, they do.  And I love it! I think it looks very Anthropologie.  If you're not into the painterly look, I'd say do two coats of paint.  They'll probably be a little crunchy, but it's not like you're snugglin' with your curtains.  So who cares, right?

And my view down the hall when I walk in the front door :)

So if you're too cheap to shell out the bucks for "real" drapes, make paint you're own! 

Let's be friends!