Shortened braided belt tutorial

Have you ever had  belt that just was too long? I just bought a pair of jeans that came with a belt, but it was too long, so I decided to see if I could alter it. It was surprisingly simple. This is what I did...

 First I picked out the stitching by the loop

 I used very sharp tiny scissors to make it easier.

 Next I removed the second row of stitching next to the buckle.

Then removed the buckle.

 Buckle removed.

 I used a sharpie to mark the new holes. 

Make sure the holes line up with the other holes in the belt.

 Snip little holes in those markings with the sharp scissors.

 Put the prongs through the holes you just cut. Using a zipper foot, sew as close to the buckle as possible.

Slide on the belt loop.

Stitch to hold it in place.

Reinforce by stitching several times over the same spot.

 

There you have it. A really simple project.

Let me know it you try it.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir

We went...

Last Saturday night we went with some friends to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. (That's the official name of the orchestra.) It was their first visit here in about 40 years. So it was really packed. I guess the concert was to be just one night, but was extended because of the overwhelming response.  What an enjoyable night we had. We rode the train over. That was a first for us...but fun. Most of those we went with hadn't ridden the train before either. Anyway, the concert was great. They actually did four encores. The last one was led by Sandra Day O'Connor retired Supreme Court Justice. She is 81 years old (82 yrs. in march) and she can actually lead music.

not exactly a quilting bee...

I was asked to teach a quilt tying class at relief society. So I  bought two queen sized sheets one in green and one teal.

 They were solid colors and I thought they looked a little plain, so I appliqued a bird and some flowers onto the front piece. After ironing on the appliques, I just topstitched rather than satin stitching them. I wanted it to be a little frayed.

 Getting it set up.

 Some of the ladies that were helping. 

We used crochet thread in two colors instead of yarn.

 Close-up of the appliqued center...

And I finished it by just rolling the edges to form a binding and sewing.

T-Shirt hat

Here is my little ball cap made from an old t-shirt. This is where I got the instructions.

 In todays world, they call it "up-cycling." I call it recycling repurposing, re-using, being thrifty, etc.

I changed it a bit. I put elastic in the back to help it stay on better.

Pretty easy for anybody. The hardest part was the flower. You should try one and share it with me.

Several "Do Day" Projects to share

See this fabulous trestle table? Well it was one of our projects a while back. To refinish it ,we sanded it down for Nancy. Then later she stained it and put a nice finish on it. I wish I had a picture of the before. But trust me, it looks a lot nicer.

Then yesterday it was Nancy again. She has this darling bench that was completely unfinished.

 There is also a great place in her backyard to refinish furniture. (...like my red paint gloves?)

 We used Valspar black flat paint.

 Here it is ready for the second coat. 

And after the second coat.  You can't tell in the picture, but it looks great. 

Now she has to make the cushion. It goes in the blue room. She has a wonderful little piece of fabric that will make it look great! Hopefully I can get a picture of it and show the finished product.

The Aprons

For Christmas, I made aprons for all my sisters. I chose this wonderful blue and white decorator fabric for two reasons. 

 #1 because they all like blue and white. And #2 is because I had it in my stash. 

 Two really great reasons wouldn't you say?

I couldn't resist putting this saying on it. I made an iron on transfer and just printed it out. Then sewed it on the pocket.

 I put some elastic in the neck strap to help it stay in place better. (Thanks to my friend Jackie who did it on her aprons, and I copied!)

There are lots of pockets for our "Do Day" tools... for scissors, pliers, tape, etc. 

 When we sewed aprons for Christmas  earlier, we didn't make any for ourselves. 

 So now we all have one.

 And a ruffle on the bottom, just for fun.

So now we can all get to work!

news from out here

I'm out here in North Carolina now. I've been here since Jan. first. My daughter and husband have taken their baby up to Pittsburgh to some vein specialists to see if they can do something for him. If they can, it will be another open heart surgery. I'm playing grandma (taxi, cook, nurse, etc. etc., etc.,) to the other kids  until the baby comes home... could be awhile. I have pictures of Chandler but haven't downloaded them yet... but he's a cutie!