Oliver + S Yes!

 I love sewing for my daughter! Here are some projects from Oliver + S patterns.

 This is the Family Reunion dress. The blue is the dress and the multi color is a top.

 Here is a detail. Really fun shape and the pintucks are nice. The Little Wonder is growing fast so I went ahead and made the 4T. She can grow into it.

 Here is a version I made for her when she was around 8 months old.

 Seashore dress. This is fast and very cute. Unfortunately, it is not a flattering shape on my child.

 Classic corduroy jumper in the Music Box Jumper dress. I want to make another one this fall.

 This is the first dress I made my "LW" in utero. I did not find out if I was having a girl or a boy. I was taking sewing lessons and I wanted to make something hard. This is it... Invisible zipper, pockets, you name it. I love the finished product in theory, but it didn't look good on the actual baby. I think this would be precious for a 5 or 6 year old. I had not learned the lessons of baby silhouttes. I think certain shapes look good on babies at certain ages. Oh well... I still like to look at it.

This is not an Oliver + S pattern, but it is the Little Lizard King Vintage Seaside Romper. It think this will be perfect for the 4th of July.

More Alabama Chanin

The gored skirt saga begins....

 First step is to lay your pieces out. Luckily my husband has large sheets of cardboard laying about. I washed and ironed my pieces. Then I stretched them a bit with tape.

 Here are some of the tools. I used the spray adhesive on the back of the stencil to secure it to the fabric. I used the painters tape on the fabric. For the paint, I used a combination of white acrylic paint (.50 at Walmart) and Golden Fabric painting medium, GAC 900. I mixed the paint and the fabric medium until it was the consistency of heavy cream.

Anna's Garden Stencil I downloaded this from the website. However, I didn't realize the download was sized at 18"  x 22".  My first stencil was super tiny. I opened the download in Illustrator and tile printed it. I think it was about 8 sheets of paper. I transferred the design to a large sheet of mylar and then cut it out with an exacto knife.

Here is the skirt laid out after the stencil. I wanted to make sure to move the stenciled fabric off of the cardboard. I didn't want the wet paint to stick to the cardboard.

detail of the stencil

While I was at it, I went ahead and made some wrapping paper. I used construction paper and silver spray paint.

So the next step is to let the fabric paint dry for 24 hours and heat set it with an iron. Then I will attach the gray backing fabric to the stencil tops and start stitching....

2 Legit 2 Legit to Quilt

I am a self taught quilter. By any technical standard I am a bad quilter. My seams aren't straight, and things are a bit wonky.

I was inspired to quilt by Gee's Bend quilts that I saw in late 2003. I love the simple shapes and textures of the fabrics. When I discovered 100% cotton batting, I was enthralled. I enjoy the weight and drape of the quilt. I have been sleeping under one of my quilts for almost 7 years and it is the perfect weight for a Mississippi winter- just warm enough.

Here are a round up of old and new quilts

 Flying geese quilt. Inspired by a Gee's Bend quilt.

 Pieced top. I usually use solid colors and thrifted vintage fabric.

 Giant quilt that I made from my fabric stash. This piece was featured in my show at the Powerhouse in Oxford. The piece was 9' x 24'.

 Here are the fabric pieces in an installation. This was my room at the One Night Stand show at the Ole Miss motel in 2011. The room was wrapped in my giant quilt and the finished quilts were on the bed.

 This the Mille Fiore quilt that I did several years ago. I collect floral fabrics from thrift stores and sewed them into little squares. 

 This is a corner quilt that I did several years ago. I finished it for a show at the Canterbury School in Greensboro, NC.

 This is a quilt that took me years to finish. I chose all stripes for this one. It is about 60" square.

 Bind is a vintage quilt that I found in my grandmother's attic. It was falling apart. I cut into smaller pieces and rebound the quilt. I then had "bind" or "piece" machine embroidered into the fabric.

 Neon and Indigo. I dyed the blue triangles with indigo and pared them with a neon fabric. I then stretched it over a panel. The painting is on mylar and I attached to the panel with glue.

2 Legit....

Here are some to my other blog and quilting content...

http://www.louhaney.blogspot.com/2011/10/surprise-lilies.html

http://www.louhaney.blogspot.com/2010/09/anedoctal.html

Alabama Chanin Cult

I have known about Alabama Chanin, Project Alabama, Natalie Chanin for a long time. I distinctly remember seeing the pieces at a Barneys or Saks in L.A. over 10 years ago. I was intrigued and tried to find out everything I could about her. She is in Florence and I grew up in Decatur, Alabama. My mother, daughter and I went to the Factory this fall.

However, I have tried my first project and I am hooked!

Here are some factory shots from last fall. I love all of the fabric!

 Pattern pieces and cutting table

 Here are my attempts. I am going to turn the larger pieces into pillows for the living room.

The circular pieces are swatches for a skirt project. I backed the swatches with felt to use them as coasters. I think I like the black with grey flowers.... What do you think?

Welcome to my blog!

Hi!

This is my craft journal. I am a multi-discipline kind of girl. Basically, I like to make stuff- knit, sew, quilt, embroidery, etc. If it 2D, I am in. My ravelry name is Loutopia. You can find me on Instagram as Loudieroo.

I am also a painter, which I consider my "work." Here is the blog to see what is going on in my studio. I have a website for my work as well.