T-Shirt Quilt

i have had megan nicolay's "Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt" for a long time now and it is one of my favorite standbys to pull out for inspiration or a fun project. i have been wanting to do a t-shirt quilt for a long time mostly because i AM the girl who keeps every t-shirt she has ever owned- and i am trying desperately to grow out of the 't-shirt and sweatpants' look i have been rocking through college. but the nostalgic person that i am can not bear to just 'throw away' or donate t-shirts that still have a lot of meaning to me. so the other night when i was bored (i work the night shift so on my nights off i need to keep my self busy) i knew that this was the project i wanted to tackle. i had already picked out an bag of about 20 t-shirts for the project and an old kids sheet for the back (princess jasmine rocks!). this quilt took me four hours- mostly thanks to my new toy- my first rotary cutter! how did i ever craft without it? i love it. it is pink and amazing. in the end i used a couple more t-shirts so i wouldn't have any completely blank squares. i love it. it is soft and comfy and reminds me of all sorts of fun things (one of the shirts is from 6th grade!). the only sad thing is that it is way to warm here to actually use it. but the harsh minnesota winter is always just around the corner- so i will have plenty of time to snuggle up in this and read a good book.

has anybody else done this project recently? i had one neighbor who made one completely out of the cross country t-shirts her son had accumulated throughout high school!

Walther (Family Portrait Series #1)

Walther (Family Portrait Series #1)
Originally uploaded by spes.craft

I have always loved old photos. I am not quite sure exactly what it is but I have always thought that they are the best. I even find myself going back and using them as inspiration again and again....so...

This is first in a series of embroidery portraits I am doing. They are inspired by old photographs. Not all of them are going to be people actually in my family but maybe some of them will be if I can find some old photos. This portrait was inspired by this picture of Walther Nernst. Walther is embroidered on a light gray cotton and is 'framed' with black felt so he is ready to just hang on the wall or put into a bigger frame.

Back on the Wagon

I seemed to have fallen off the craft wagon recently. Has this ever happened to you? It is not that I haven't been doing little things here and there but there just hasn't been that sort of 'this is a project I am going to work on' thought process going on. But I seem to have finally gotten some mojo back and am ready to craft!

The picture above is my little sister getting ready for her senior prom. Her dress was from a thrift store for $15. I said I would help her make some accessories and found some lace at the fabric store that was the same pattern as her dress. So with a little lace and some ribbon to match I whipped up some little fingerless gloves that made this dress have a little more of a retro/girly feel. She did buy new shoes for the dress (which was the most expensive part). But overall an entire prom outfit for less than $50? Awesome. I am pretty proud of my sister right now.