Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Let's Get Acquainted! Blog Hop

Plum and June

Welcome!!  I am so excited to be a part of the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop.  I have a fun little project to share, but since I think we may have some new visitors stopping by I'm going to share a little bit about me first.
I'm Kelsey, of KelseySews, and I live in Northeastern Ohio with my husband Thomas.  I work for an insurance agent during the day and spend my nights running or quilting.  We just bought our first home last year and I love doing projects around the house - we just put in a veggie garden this weekend!
Beth also put together some crafty get-to-know-you questions for us to share-
  • How long have you been quilting - A year and a half or so
  • Favorite quilting tip(s) - Keep your thread snips on a ribbon and tie it around your sewing machine - then you can always find them!
  • Favorite blogging tip(s) - Blog for you first!  Worry more about sharing what you love than how many followers you have.
  • Favorite fabric - Ruby by Bonnie & Camille
  • Favorite craft book - The new Fat Quarterly book - It's amazing!!
  • Favorite book (or book you are currently reading) - I like non-fiction and cooking books a lot - I just finished a great one about canning at home 
  • Favorite children's book - Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (the book is so much better than the movie!)
  • Favorite quilting tool - Sticky grips for the back of my rulers
  • Favorite music to listen to while quilting - The Beatles ( I walked down the beach "aisle" to a Beatles song at our wedding last summer)
  • Favorite TV show while hand stitching - Criminal Minds, my favorite show
  • Binding - by hand or by machine? -  Usually by hand
  •  Please browse around my little blog and check out some things I've made.  Here's a little mosaic of some of my recent projects:
    
    Mosaic
      
    Now here's a little background on the project I'm about to share for the blog hop.  I don't know about you, but at our house we have a dish drainer that we sit on the counter to use when we hand-wash dishes.  The one we have didn't come with a plastic tray to go underneath (plus those aren't anything great to look at) so I've always just layered some dish towels underneath to try and keep my counter dry.  I decided to make a cute little dish mat for my counter, then I can put it under my dish rack or just set dishes on it to dry and it will add a little something to the kitchen.  I knew I would use a towel for the back but I needed to figure out something for the front.  Beth challenged us to use novelty prints for our blog hop project but I don't have very many and none seemed right for this project.  Then I thought, what about using something other than quilting fabric?  That's a novel idea!  I don't know about you but I'm not sure I want my dishwater dripping onto something made out of $10/yard fabric!  I was looking through a miscellaneous fabric bin and found two shirts that were my husband's.  He has a habit of putting his elbows right through the sleeves and then I have a pack rat habit of washing them and keeping them because I'll "use them someday".  Well now I did!

    The Dress Shirt Dish Mat



    Finished Size 18" x 21" - I measured my dish rack to come up with this size, you can easily adjust to fit yours

    You'll Need:
    • Two dress shirts (or fabric)
      • Cut each one into twenty-one 3.5" squares
    • A bath/beach towel - I bought a new one at WalMart for $2.75
    • Walking Foot - Not required but highly recommended since we'll be sewing through the towel
    A little note - all seams are 1/4" unless specified and I pressed all my pieced seams open

    First, take your two clean dress shirts and cut a large rectangle out of the back.  Then, using your rotary cutter cut each one into twenty-one 3.5" squares.


    Take your squares, pair them up (my case - one blue w/one green) and piece them all together - chain piecing will save you a lot of time.  Then set 7 of the now sewn together pairs aside, pair up the remaining 14 pairs, and sew those together (again matching a blue w/a green).  This will leave you with 7 sets of 2 and 7 sets of 4, pair those up and piece together leaving you with 7 strips of 6 squares in alternating colors.  Lay these out to keep your rows in order.
    
    Next, piece all your rows together.  Once you've done that, you'll want to lay out your towel and then lay the completed patchwork on top similar to when you're basting a quilt, but we want right sides together.  Cut the towel around the patchwork leaving about an inch or so extra of the towel on each side.


    Using your walking foot stitch 1/4" in from the edge of your patchwork on three of the sides sides and 1/3 of the way in from each corner on the 4th - This will leave you with an opening so you can turn it right side out.

    Before you turn, trim the towel to match the edge of your patchwork.  Now turn right side out, be sure to use something with a point to get the corners, and then tuck in the edges of the patchwork and towel where the opening was.  Using your walking foot sew on the top, the complete length of this side - you'll need to go a bit closer to the edge than 1/4" so that you can catch the fabric you folded in.

    The final step is to quilt it!  I just did 1/4" from each seam line which created a nice grid and 1/4" in from all the edges to match the edge where I top stitched to close the hole.  Now you have a great little mat with lots of uses - dishes, diaper changes, bathroom counter etc!



    Erin from Billy Button Design is posting as part of the blog hop today and Nik from Bold Goods and Alyssa from Pile of Fabric are posting on Thursday so be sure to head over and see what they're sharing!  Also, you can keep up with the whole blog hop, see the complete list of participating blogs and check out the blog hop news every Monday over at Plum and June

    I had a great time sharing and I hope you had a great time visiting!


    

    56 comments:

    1. Great post Kelsey! Exactly the type I was hoping for when thinking about the hop. Thanks so much. And I love your project - what a clever idea. I actually have a few old, ruined shirts so I think I'll be trying this soon.

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    2. You're a brave one getting us started and going first! Great tutorial, definitely something i'm going to need to try!

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    3. This is an awesome use for old dress shirts! I'm going to be watching my husband's shirts for any sign of holes now! :D Thanks for the great tutorial and for being brave enough to go first!

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    4. this is so cute and such a great idea! very clever!

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    5. It's a wonderful post, thank you Kelsey for taking your time. You've set the bar high for the rest of us :)I loved your little project, I'm gonna have think of something simple to make. You've put a great tutorial together, love you dish mat!

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    6. I have been stockpiling my husband's shirts for a while now, thanks for another great idea for them!

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    7. You are so right, something like this would have a TON of uses. I might have to go make a pile of them. :)

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    8. What a great idea! Looks great on your kitchen counter too!

      MGM

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    9. I've been a follower of yours for awhile! Have always thought your blog is charming and your projects lovely! Wonderful tutorial. Thanks!

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    10. Clever girl! Nicely done & nice to get to know you a little better!

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    11. Love your mosaic and your dish mat is a great idea. Fab tutorial :)

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    12. Quilting for a year and a half or so, just bought a house, planted a veggie garden, Beatles lover.. we have some stuff common. :)

      What a neat idea, really great tutorial. Thanks for sharing! :)

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    13. I really have never thought to repurpose used fabric, what a great money saving idea! Sadly my husband still wears his Shirts even when they have a million holes lol. Very clear and easy tutorial! I see you are in do.Good Stitches, I just joined and am in the wish circle we start in June, I'm so excited to make things for such a good cause! Thanks for sharing today! :)

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    14. Really clever idea! I have the dreaded ugly dishtowel next to the sink...I'm inspired to make something like this. Thanks for sharing :)

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    15. Great idea and tute :). I will ask my hubby if he wants one as washing up is his job ;-)

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    16. Such a great idea, Kelsey! I loved reading your post today. Awesome way to kick things off!

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    17. I have enjoyed getting to know you and reading your post. You have made some gorgeous quilts. Di x

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    18. Kelsey, that is a fantastic idea! Enjoyed your post and your project!

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    19. Ah a lovely little project! Lovely to learn more about you too :-)

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    20. Oh this is a fantastic idea...I totally need one of these!

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    21. Wow hubby will want one! (he does the dishes!)

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    22. fun tute, Kelsey. And what a great post, yay for you, going first in the blog hop!!!

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    23. Great post - enjoyed reading it! Very novel idea upcycling the shirts! Your little dish mat looks very sweet!

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    24. Such a clever idea! My hubby washes up most of the time too so I should make one for him.

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    25. Great post, so clever. Great little blog. New follower =)

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    26. Awesome idea. I love the "novel" use of non-quilting fabrics! Your mosaic of quilts is awesome, very impressive!

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    27. This is exactly what I need. I'm a new blogger http://reumors.typepad.com/sew_what and I love your great ideas.

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    28. This was a good one, great idea Kelsey!

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    29. Perfect! I had been thinking about making something like this for my bathroom floor but wasn't sure quite how I should go about it. Thanks for a great tutorial! Glad to have met you on this blog hop:)

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    30. I've been meaning to make a drip towel for my kitchen. This may be just the inspiration I need.

      Here's a tip for a future similar project: instead of cutting squares, you could cut 3.5-inch strips of shirt and sew them together, alternating colors. Then cut the strips crosswise, turn every other one the opposite direction ... and voila! You have your patchwork. Shaves a teensy bit of time and a few extra seams!

      Also: I'm a runner, too. Just did a half marathon Sunday, but the arch on my right foot is now killing me. Boo!

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    31. What a great idea! I have some fabrics that would look great in my kitchen but couldn't think of a good way to incorporate them. I think I just found it!

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    32. Thanks so much for sharing today. Your quilts are gorgeous! I like that you are repurposing (is that a word?) fabric for the dish mat - great idea!

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    33. I've stopped by from Plum and June, what a clever idea! I usually place a tea towel under my rack. Love the idea, thanks for sharing!
      By the way, I'm your newest follower. Love surfing your blog!

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    34. Very cute, Kelsey! I've done one very similar and love that it dresses up my boring kitchen a little bit and also serves a purpose. Great idea to use up your husband's shirts, too!

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    35. I love that you used your husband's shirts--great idea, and great look with your green countertops!

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    36. Nice to meet you. YOur quilts are beautiful.
      Neat idea for dressing up your dish drainer.

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    37. This is such a cute idea and a great tut! It would appear we have the same tastes in quilts. I have previously pinned many of the quilts you have made and can't wait to try them out.

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    38. Love this idea! I usually use pretty towels under my dish rack, but I'm always looking for new spots to use my quilting skills! :)

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    39. Nice to met you Kelsey. I'm a new blogger this year and just getting the hang of it. Your dishdrainer still seems too pretty to use. I always have that problem of making things and then wanting to admire them and not really use them. Working on getting over that. Love the I Spy quilt and all it's scrappiness.

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    40. That is a great idea. I always like to see some projects reusing some fabric.

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    41. Adorable! I'm a little sad that my dish rack has the icky plastic tray on the bottom, because this is way cuter and much easier to clean!

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    42. Very cute and such a good way to repurpose fabric.

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    43. Hi Kelsey. Sorry for the late dropping over. Love your mat....Fantastic idea and no fiddling around...Love it. This is probably the only thing I will get around to do this weekend (sewing that is). Will whip one up this evening.
      Amazing quilts that you have made also!

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    44. Hi Kelsey, thank you for the invite and the walk through your blog...it's wonderful! Your quilts are amazing and the tutorial is superb. Congrats.

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    45. Heya Kelsey, thanks for sharing. Very nice quilts there and what a good project for the kitchen. ;)

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    46. What a great idea!! I also love the gingham :) Your quilts are pretty spectacular too!

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    47. Ooo. I love the idea of doing this for a bath mat!

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    48. well isn't that cute, useful, and down-right inventive. great idea, i have tons of old shirts and i totally need to make a mat, i use dishtowels too for mine, but have wanted something else cuter. thanks!

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    49. this is a great idea, kelsey! I wouldn't have ever thought of it! And great tutorial, thanks!

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    50. I've made several dish mats but never thought of repurposing my husband's shirts - so clever! blessings, marlene

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    51. I always keep my husband's shirts for my work - he wears lots of patterns, colours and florals which are very fashionable in England but attract much comment now we live in the US. We stock up on the loudest designs we can find for him each time we go back to the UK! Anyway, love the post, your quilts and your blog ChrissieD (the Blog Hop Late Starter!)

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    52. I love this idea :) Great job of reusing and up cycling!

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    Thank you for commenting!