Another great skirt project thats fast and easy....

Very Cute Sweater Skirt

In No time!

Let me start by saying I love fast and easy projects that produce a pleasing result. So that said I have seen these sweater skirts on and off around town and thought yep I can make that. Then when there was a liquidation event at the local thrift store aka quarter Thursday I saw this red sweater. Yes, I did buy this sweater for a quarter. Um score!

I started by cutting the bottom of the sweater off at the arm pits. I showed in the pic two cutting methods so you can use your preference.

 I then grabbed my trusty single fold bias tape. I used red to match.

 Sew along the fold at the top of the tape along the outside of your skirt.

 It should look like this.

 Then fold it over to the inside of your skirt and sew all the way around. Be sure to pin it at the with of your elastic. Don't forget to leave a gap when sewing so you can put your elastic in the casing you just made.

 After you have done that and sewn your gap down try it on and check out your easily made trendy sweater skirt. See how easy that was and so cute too. I paired mine with tights. Pardon the miss matched top but that was not supposed to be seen. My five year old did the best she could with taking the pic for me. :)

Have a fabulous week everyone.

Allison

Show and Tell

I have found some awesome things I want to share.

We all know the economy is tough and there are lots of us who are constantly searching for more for less.

I find things here and there but not every day. So I wanted to share with you some items and how I came across them.

The first are two bolts of fabric value at close to if not more than $100 a piece retail. They are 100 percent cotton and cotton is always useful to a sewer. I found them at a moving sale by driving around one Friday morning. The woman was a quilter and was selling all if her inventory for extremely cheap. I got the two bolts for drum role please 3 dollars a bolt at 20 yards each.  My advice is to drive around some older neighborhoods where some older sewers may be leaving and want to unload their stash. I have found many great fabrics doing this.

Next I found some wool at one of my frequent haunts. They sell their fabric no matter what it is for a $1 a yard. If you can find a resale or something like that where you can breeze in to check it out frequently without the need to dig then start checking it out. Wool is a great find at a dollar and all I did was walk in and grab it. It also helps to know what your looking for. Keep you small list in your head or on a not pad. This will keep you from buying fabric you don't need and keep a stash you know you will use.

Last is something I picked up for fun. It is a cotton. My daughter likes watching the old Care Bears shows and when I saw this hand made curtain set I snatched it up. It has enough fabric to use for several things for her. So think outside the box. If you aren't seeing what you want in raw fabric then think about using fabric from something else. The curtains did cost six dollars but there is more than enough vintage fabric there that I didn't pay top dollar for. Vintage fabric costs more on line or from other private sellers.

So if you can learn to think outside of the box and make the unbeaten path a beaten one then you to can have great finds you will want to show off.

Have a great weekend.

Allison

Hey Everyone!

Hey Everyone in the Blogosphere!

I know that I have not written in a while and yes it has been on my list of things to do. Seems that after school starts somethings have taken a back seat. There are so many things that I would love to share but I don't think that you would like to read all of it. This is why I won't. I know you would love just to hear about the creative stuff. 

So recently I have gone to the quilt show here in the big city and have met a lovely designer Cheryl Kuczck. She calls her designs Paradiso Designs. I love her work. The Boho Frock is one of the patterns I bought from her and I cannot wait to have some time to get started. 

The next thing that I really like and have actually gotten a chance to do is the Jelly Roll Race quilt top. So neat and very easy. I followed this tutorial. It came out great. I wish I could show some pics right now but am unable to charge my camera. 

I have also been pet sitting alot more. That seems to take up a large chunk of time but I don't mind. At this moment I am hoping to go back to school as soon as my children attend full time school. My son right now is not yet there but her loves the two days he gets when he goes. 

And one last think I wanted to put out there. here lately I have seen more visitors to the site. I love seeing the traffic and would also love any comments left for me to read. 

Have a great weekend

And now pics from the quilt show....

 I free motioned quilted my name. He He. I've wanted to do that for a long time.

 Singer Feather Weight that was custom painted red. So pretty.

 Prize winning quilt at the show.

 I liked this quilt.

 And this one.

 Another prize winning quilt.

This quilt was one that I would like to have. It reminded me of my little boy and I.

Random pic for posterity. I figured I should take this picture because I don't know when I will be able to come back. It was so fun.

A pic of the treadle....

Isn't she pretty. I just started tinkering today.

Absent from the blogosphere.

Absent from the blogosphere.

As of the moment I am working on some home projects and watching some furry babies. Not to worry though I have not dropped out completely. 

Other than the projects and animal watching I have recently found an early 1900 treadle sewing machine. She has the sphinx pattern in gold with other embellishments. She will most likely get an Egyptian name. No I don't get to keep her but thats ok cause I have my eye on another treadle that is a different model. The one I found needs some cleaning and oiling, love and care then she will be on her way to my moms. My parents have been looking for one because they would like to have a piece of history that time forgot. I hope to soon get some pics up for you so that you can see her. I know I am in for it and am not sure of how much work it will take but it will be fun. 

Hope you guys have a great weekend. 

Happy Sewing,

Allison

Thank you readers.......

Alright everyone. We had one entry lynaeve. For the next giveaway I hope to see more. 

So lynaeve please send a message with your email and we can plan out your custom made bunting using the fabric choices in the giveaway post. You will also receive the vintage fabric scrap bags above. 

Thank you to all the readers who stopped by during the giveaway. There will be another in the future. 

Allison

Giveaway Time!!!!!!!!! Ended.....

ENDED

(Saturday, September the 8th)

 Its Giveaway Time!

Alright everyone you can now enter to win the fabulous prizes up for grabs.

Two bags of vintage fabric scraps!

The winners choice of either a Christmas bunting or one made from vintage sheet fabric. The vintage sheet fabric can be coordinated with a pretty solid which is not pictured but I have plenty of solids.

Raffelcopter is not working for me right now so what I would like you to do is.......

Follow this site = 1 entry

Heart my store in etsy= 1 entry

Leave me a comment letting me know what  your favorite vintage item to use in a project is = 1 entry

For each of these please leave a comment letting me know what you did.

Tell your friends and have a great week,

Allison 

P.S.  I will announce a winner randomly drawn the day after the giveaway ends. 

More word on the upcoming giveaway.......

As promised I am posting pics of more fabric choices for the winner of the giveaway. The winner will receive 2 bags of vintage fabric scraps (great for those pieced projects) and one custom bunting with their choice of either Christmas fabric or vintage sheet fabric. 

Which brings me to my next announcement. Ally's Lost and Found is moving to Etsy. Link Ally's Lost and Found on Etsy

So to modify the choices for the vintage sheet bunting if the winner chooses vintage sheets instead of Christmas for their bunting, I will be posting pics from my stash aswell as the stores stock. 

Now let me announce the dates of the giveaway. I will open the giveaway starting....wait for it....Tuesday the 4th of September and end Friday the 7th. The winner will be chosen using rafflecopter. 

Wow what a lot to say. So here are the pics. 

Have a great weekend!

Allison

Update......

So far so good for the giveaway. I have gathered some items to add to the bunting that should peek some interest. I will be getting up the pictures of the fabric from my stash and the extras as soon as I can. Then I  will announce the giveaway date. 

Have a great Thursday! 

Allison

P.S. Fellow Blogger Naughty Shorts is having a giveaway this weekend. Go check her out.

Getting ready for giveaway time..................

I am super excited about the giveaway coming up on my blog. Here is what I cam up with. 

 Christmas Bunting

One lucky reader will win a lovely custom made bunting out of their choice of vintage sheet fabric in my store or their own Christmas bunting. I will be putting up pics of that fabric a little later along with some vintage sheet fabric from my stash to add to the choices from the store. Click on this link to check out the vintage sheet fabric in my store Link. So keep updated by visiting often because I will announce more later. There could be more in the prize pack. Hint hint. 

Have a great week,

Allison

New item listed in the store today.............

Here we are getting ready for back to school. I have enrolled my daughter today and finished this awesome bunting. It would be great for that teacher you would like to give a gift to to start the year off right. 

Back to School Bunting

For more info on this item click the link above and don't forget to keep checking in for updates on the upcoming giveaway. 

Allison

Fantastic second hand find......

When I saw this dress on a hanger I passed it up a couple of times but decided to try it on. I was desperate to find a dress to wear to my brothers wedding because I had been procrastinating for too long. I only had two days left. Glad I picked it up.

 I am so happy to have found this because it was a steel at $10. Originally this dress retails close to $100 if not more. After a trip to the dry cleaners it was perfect. So I guess the moral of the story is to try second hand first especially when your on a budget.

 My sisters and I.

 An odd shot but shows the entire outfit.

My brother and I. Congratulations to him and his new wife. 

I wanted to share my great find and show that second had purchases can be just as awesome as finding a great dress first hand in a department store.

Have a great week and keep checking in for details on a giveaway. 

Allison

Giveaways........

Thank you so much for your participation in the link party of The Vintage Sheet Blog and thanks so much to VSB. Congratulations to Charlotte the winner of the link party giveaway. I hope that through this giveaway I can see more visits form you who participated as well as new people. Hopefully I will also see more followers. 

So this month I have a wedding to attend and wanted to do another giveaway after I come back. This one will be on my blog and it will be a different prize but just as awesome as the one on VSB. Oh and being a follower counts as an entry.

Now I want to know what you would like to see. 

 Or...

 Or......

Or take a look through the Store and give me some ideas of what you would like to see. Have a great week and don't be afraid to leave a comment with some feed back. 

Thank you,

Allison

Vintage Sheet Blog Link Party!

Link Party!

I am having a sale to celebrate Ally's Lost and Found being featured on the vintage sheet blog. 

Don't miss this. The VSB blog link party is a chance for me to host a giveaway and for me to see what you have been up too in your sewing room. 

Ally's Lost and Found

The Prize

 

Fat Quarters!

 Vintage Doilies!

 A Vintage Pattern!

Vintage Notions!

Hope to see you there. Don't forget to follow adayinthelife for up coming sales in the store, ideas and inspiration and lots more. I have posted links for the store and giveaway at the top of this post.

Have a great day,

Allison