A wonderful new year is upon us!!

Happy 2011 everyone!! With the new year comes exciting things... I will be getting my BS in Allied Health Sciences with an emphasis in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, finally getting an apartment with my fiance, and getting married! That's right, we're engaged! We're planning a late August tiki-inspired wedding. Kris proposed with a gorgeous mystic topaz and diamond ring that he designed himself. I couldn't imagine a more perfect ring, or fiance.

 

 

I am sooo excited to start planning the wedding, and to finally see a time so soon that I will be able to start a life with my fiance in the same zip code!

But on to the true purpose of this post... I finished my very first quilt! A while back, Kris had given me over 50 t-shirts that he adored, but no longer wore for a variety of reasons. I divided them into music/concert t-shirts and movie/random fun t-shirts. I came out with 35 of the movie/randoms, so I decided they would make a nice t-shirt quilt. I cut them into 12" squares, 7 down and 5 across, interfaced them, sewed them together, added a 3" border, and brought it to a local woman's house get quilted together. The fee was reasonable and she had it done in just a few days. She gave me some good tips and tricks and was encouraging, which was helpful as a first-timer. I went with a warm and natural cotton batting and black cotton sheeting for the backing. Kris gets super toasty and didn't want something overly warm, so I thought these would be good choices for his quilt. I machine stitched the binding to the front and whip-stitched it in the back. It was time-consuming, but enjoyable.

 

 

and here's Kris all snoodled up in his new Christmas quilt :)

I would definitely do another one of these in the future, maybe for myself :)

Does anyone had any ideas on fun projects that I can do with concert t-shirts that will display the front and back? I still have a bunch of Kris's shirts that I would like to do something nice with for him rather than have them sit on a shelf in the closet.

Before I bid you adieu, I want to show off the AWESOME tiki plates my lovely, talented fiance painted for me as an anniversary gift:

He also got me this super sweet calendar that will keep me busy sewing, all year long!

Mr. Tiki

It's been so long! But I'm back with something new and exciting. I embroidered a tiki dude onto a shirt for my Mr to wear to a wedding this past weekend. He loved it! And I thought he looked quite dapper in it, as well. This is my second embroidery project i've completed, and I am thrilled with how it turned out.

And here's a close-up of Mr. Tiki, fresh out of the hoop!

I used the Tiki Freak pattern from Sublime Stitching, with their transfer paper and stylus as well, since it was on a black shirt. The white transfer paper didn't really work that well on this shirt material, so I mostly just eyeballed the pattern and went free-hand. I changed the pattern around the eyes a bit because I thought it was too busy, but otherwise I tried to stay pretty true to the pattern. I love this design because it is colorful, yet still masculine and to boyfriend's taste.

Next on the list: a birthday dress (I hope!). My 23rd birthday is next Friday, the 11th, and I would LOVE to have the time to make a new dress to wear out to dinner and then maybe a drink or two at the voodoo bar. Wishful thinking everyone!!

Tiki Tiki Tiki

The Tiki dress is done, and I love it! This dress was initially intended to be worn to Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge in Minneapolis, MN, during a spring break vaca with my lovely boyfriend (a trip that I think I will add a little post on). I planned on finishing during the week of break back home and brought my machine and all of my sewing goodies home, but when I went to set up my things to finish it the night before we were supposed to leave for Suzi's, I noticed that I seem to have left the pedal and power cord still plugged into the wall at my apartment 8 hours away... and it was midnight... so there was no way I was going to be able to finish this dress :( I sulked a little, and Kris and I came to the conclusion that we would just have to have a summer tiki party, and I don't really need a special occasion to wear this dress anyway.

Now onto the dress itself: I am really pleased with how it turned out. The pattern I used was Vogue 8280, and I was a little worried because I usually make a size 12 for myself, and the only pattern I could snatch up in such short notice had it's largest size at 8... I have slimmed down a bit lately so I convinced myself that it would work. And what do you know? It fits wonderfully, with a little breathing room to spare! It is so comfortable and the cotton is so soft and wonderful. Its print is little hula huts, tiki men, and vintage red cars! The bodice is lined with the same contrasting cotton as the waistband and shoulders, which was a subject of debate. I really loved this contrasting retro fabric, but I was pretty much alone in that. Those that I asked the opinions of said they didn't like it and that a solid would be a better choice. I took their advice and  headed to my local fabric store to find something more suitable, but all I could envision was this brown retro fabric. So I just went with my gut and what I truly loved, and stuck with the brown fabric. I am still pleased with this choice. I did a blind hem on the bottom, two little wooden buttons at the sweetheart neckline, and darts in the waist and bust of the bodice and the waist of the skirt (which all lined up perfectly without a fuss!). The contrasting waistband is also detachable. Now, there is supposed to be a 22" zipper up the back, that I am still debating with myself on. I basted the back seam when I was preparing to put the zipper in, and was able to slip it on over my head! So I took out the basting and put in a true stabilized seam. No zipper. I am able to slip it on, with a little fussing over the bust, and a little wiggling and dancing. I really don't mind the process of putting a zipper in, I've got it down by now, but the back just looks so clean and flawless without that pesky zipper. So for now, I'm going zipper-less. I can always put one in later if I feel its too much of a workout to get in and out of.

Now I just need sunshine and fruity drinks to come my way! Unfortunately, there is still more snow in the forecast. Oh, Michigan, we need to have a little chat.

P.S... please excuse my hair in the picture... it was St. Patrick's day yesterday and this picture was taken after we got back from the bar, haha.

Tiki Piki

This is just as a little side post that has nothing what-so-ever do with sewing... I just wanted to share an awesome photo of my loved one and I decked out in our tropical attire for a tiki party!


Kris's shirt is great, no?