A remodel but did it work?

I have a favorite pink paisley knit shirt that I love and I am not ready to send it to a new home.   When I found a plain brown t-shirt in my husband's wardrobe that coordinates with my paisley ....

I decided to try my hand at re-fashioning a new outfit 

by combining the two together.  

My plan is to cut up the brown t-shirt to create a peplum skirt to sew onto the paisley.  I want to add cuffs to the sleeves as well.  This will add length to both my shirt and its sleeves.  The cuffs will be fashioned from the t-shirt's original sleeves while the peplum will come from the main body of the t-shirt. 

Here is the end result, my new upcycled garment.

 I even salvaged the t-shirt's original chest pocket.  Do you see it?

 My new garment is very comfortable.  I am wearing it as I write this.  

However, my family is not sure I should venture out of the house wearing it .... 

.... perhaps I have a new nightgown?  

What do you think - is it a successful new upcycled wearable or an epic fail?

Idea achieved

I have had this idea for a long time.  It's not original as I have seen others do their own variations that are similar.  Basically it is to find a way to creatively cover the logos on conference totebags!

This one is the first that I upcycled into a quilting tote.  The original totebag was a 'souvenir' from a conference my friend Jamie's husband attended.  I liked the size of the tote and loved that it converted easily to a backpack, but I wasn't crazy about toting around a bag with the logo of a conference that I did not attend, so...... an idea started brewing .....

I was making some stretched Churn Dash blocks for a lottery in my Block Builders Bee and had a few extras that I decided to keep -- the totebag was nearby ... and inspiration hit!

It was easy to topstitch the blocks onto the totebag, being careful not to stitch any interior pockets closed (this is a helpful warning for those thinking of doing this at home).  I believe I have successfully Up-Cycled a totebag into a favorite new-to-me tote! 

The lower, wider churndash block completely covers the logo from the conference.  The upper, taller churndash was just a fun addition to add a little more sparkle to the bag.  I now use this to carry quilting things to and from my various quilting groups.  It helps me to have a place to collect items that I want to remember to take (exceptionally helpful for my memory on the day of meeting).

Fun fact:  I WON all the lottery blocks too and now I have even more of these blocks (now residing in my growing ufo pile).

My second upcycled tote is the one below.  I was asked to bling a totebag for my friend.  She's the leader of a trip my boys went on this past summer and she is my boss, too.  This time, there are no previous logos to be strategically covered.  My challenge was to add color and bling to an all-black shoulder bag.  Here is the result:

Inspiration came from the t-shirt designed for the trip -- a large blue hamsa on the front a bright orange shirt.  I blinged the back of the tote to match the back of the t-shirt too, featuring the map of the state of Texas!

Do you think Marna likes it?
The answer is a resounding YES! 

And one more project ...

Below is the ongoing production, a work in progress (w.i.p.), of my turning-jeans-into-a-tote.  The original post can be found by clicking here.  It is my goal to finish this (needs lining, handles, etc) for this month's "A Year of Lovely Finishes" challenge.  I am creating this bag as I sew it together (in other words without a pattern!) and I goofed in sewing my original lining -- making a lining that was far far too small for the actual size of the tote.  Here I am double checking that the new lining will be a better fit ....

It's looking good.  I think this lining is a tad on the roomy side, which is totally OK with me.  The sunflower cats patch is a large pocket to hold my rulers.  I love both these cat fabrics.  Using my cat fabric collection is an ongoing self-challenge this year.