Crazy Quilt Jeans Completed

I’m a bit belated posting about this, but I finished the crazy quilt jeans project just in time for our family’s trip to Maine. The jeans turned out better than I expected–they didn’t look so hot on in the photographs because they were just lying around, but when worn the right leg in particular looks great.

It’s hard to capture the spiral in these photos, but we gave it a shot.

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The left leg does well enough. As I mentioned last time, the patchwork was as much about necessity as it was about decoration. Left to myself, I would have only done the spiral on the right leg, possibly something with the back pocket. In fact, that was finished over a year ago. But when the top inside leg on the left split open, I had to put in some heavy-duty repair and cover it up.

I’m pleased with the way they turned out. Down the road, I’m going to have to make some jeans like this deliberately, instead of waiting until mine break. There’s something to be said for sewing that arises from need, that combines beauty and utility. But I want something that’s a plain pretty pattern too.

Sudoku Quilt Pattern

This is a fascinating idea that my aunt and cousin cooked up–the Sudoku quilt, made up of Sudoku squares!

The premise: Each Sudoku puzzle is actually a geometric pattern, which doesn’t repeat in vertical or horizontal rows.

The execution:

1. Solve a Sudoku puzzle (or cheat and use the answer key if you’re not into Sudoku).
2. Pick a color to represent each number. They can vary or follow themes–all shades of one color, three shades of three different colors. Just remember Sudoku puzzles are 9×9.
3. Execute the 18-patch.

There’s some great chance for variety. For instance, you can use tiny squares and different puzzles so that every block is the same. Or you can make one large (or small) quilt out of one Sudoku puzzle and larger squares.

Here’s the conceptual image my aunt and cousin came up with. Click on it to see the full-size image, which takes a minute to load:

I’m not big on Sudoku, but my husband likes it. I may use some of his completed puzzles and my old scraps to whip something up.

Turning My Torn Jeans Into Something Pretty

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s seeing good clothes and good fabric scraps go to waste! A while back, I had to repair my one pair of overalls. So I went nuts with some yellow and orange fabric I had on hand and restored their structural integrity.

Shortly after that, I split the knee on an otherwise perfectly-good pair of jeans. I had fun with those, wrapping the fabric in a twisting pattern from the back of the ankle across the knee to the crotch…which was also beginning to wear out, around to one of the back pockets.

I then noticed that the side pockets on both sides were beginning to pull off. I did a quick stitch job with some backing jean material but didn’t decorate them. The second time I wore these decorated jeans (around the house, thank goodness!), the inside crotch area split on the other leg.

Great. I packed them away because I was busy with other projects. Recently, I discovered them tucked away along with some scraps of fabric that weren’t good for much more than crazy quilting. I’d also gotten a new bag of similar scraps, so I decided to see what I could do about the other side.

The tough part about a project like this is making it look good. It’s not just about style, it’s about functionality. The tears have to be covered and reinforced. I also have to look out for possible future tears!!

The project is almost done now, so I thought I’d write about it. I’ll post more pics of me wearing them when I’m done.

So here’s a look at the front and back.

As you can see, the right leg fabric pattern winds around. The other side has a thick band around the top of the leg.

In all this, I noticed that the side pockets were pulling away again, so I tried to come up with creative ways to work them into the pattern. On the right side, I only covered the top flap so it didn’t get too heavy compared to the twist. I also sewed a bit of fabric over the actual spots where it was pulling away.

On the left side, I covered the entire pocket, but did it in a single color – blue – so that the pocket would separate itself a bit from the rest of the pants. The pocket fit very well into the band I was already planning. For both pocket flaps, I arranged the fabric in stripes instead of a crazy pattern. I thought that would make it stand out a bit more, but not in a displeasing way.

Finally, I noticed that the back pockets were pulling off the tiniest bit at the top. To preclude any problems, I reinforced the corners and added stripes of material to cover the reinforcing work. The top of each isn’t attached to the jeans, leaving it an open pocket. It’s a bit higher and wider than the pocket, covering up all evidence of reinforcement.

I’m hoping to finish the project very soon. It’s been long enough coming and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

My First Quilts

I mentioned in my intro post, I started quilting by checking out Quilting for Dummies and heading to the fabric store. I made two quilts from patterns in the book, both easy and both by hand.

The first was this wall hanging quilt. It’s small and lightly quilted “in the ditch.” It’s more out of the ditch, actually, because I followed the pattern in the book and quilted a good half-inch away from the seam. I think that gives a good effect. Sadly, I’ve never had a place where it looks right. Someday I may give it away to someone who’s got a color scheme that it fits.

This second quilt is something I might like to revisit in the future. It turned out nicely, but it’s not really quilted. Following the instructions in the book (I think), I only used dark blue thread to tie off the centers of the diamonds. Instead of actually tying off, though, I made some sort of eight- or ten-pointed star.

Every time I see it, it begs me for more quilting. But with so many other projects on my plate, I’ve neglected it. Perhaps someday I’ll borrow the quilting frame my mom is using (since it lives at her house) and go at it whenever I’m up there.

Stay tuned on Thursday for my projects this week!

Pink Baby Quilt – Completed!

Just completed a pink quilt for my cousin’s daughter’s first birthday. Based on pictures I’ve seen of her clothes, animals, and bed, I decided to make it pink-on-pink. The background is a light, solid color and the accented squares are pink with pink and red flowers and just a bit of green for the leaves.

I wish the fabric colors showed up better in the photographs below. If my cousin takes some pictures where the colors come out better, I’ll add them too. I think I need to start taking pictures in the sunlight and brush up my photography skills.

The pattern I used was very simple, based on 9-patch squares. I liked the effect that the star 9-patch (diagonals on the corners) had when placed next to a standard 9-patch.

It’s 6 x 6 blocks, I forgot to measure the final product but it’s bigger than your average baby quilt. I figured that since I put it off until she was 1, it should be a bit larger.

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Now I have to start planning for when my cousin’s sister has a baby this fall. Boy baby, parents are Nascar fans. I’m thinking a Nascar quilt, even if they don’t go with that for a nursery theme. I’m an enabler.

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