Altered Sweatshirt...Finished

Progress on the sweatshirt was interrupted by my neighbor calling to say, "We're picking grapes down here. You want to come down and get some?"
Well, yes.
Three of the tastiest batches of grape jelly ever made ensued....with much more juice in the freezer for more jelly later in the year.

But the sweatshirt is officially done as of this morning. Summerset Banks, the art clothing maker extraordinaire, gave me a great suggestion for making the sweatshirt fit better...four vertical tucks in the front and in the back, which were easy to pin and sew by hand.

Here is the front...

No dear friends, I am not going to model it! It does fit fine, though.

And the back...theose dahlias stayed with me and suggested this circular lay-out over the amorphous felting I had put down. The button in the center matches the button on the front used for my closure.

My final thoughts on this experience are these:
--It was a great challenge to see what I could make from a simple $5 sweatshirt. We are all going to need to do more with less over the next few years is my prediction, and this kind of project fills the need to have lots of sewing fun for little money.
--There was no pre-planning involved. I just winged it with the colors and materials I liked to see where the design would take me. A cheap sweatshirt gave me "permission" to do this, but I would recommend a solid plan if a more expensive garment or fabric is involved.
--I am just not an art garment person. This sweatshirt is so flashy and outside of my comfort zone it will be very hard for me to wear it! I will try, though.

Meanwhile...I thought you'd enjoy seeing this bounty get transformed...

Thirty-five pounds of Concord grapes here...

...de-stemmed, squished, and simmering...

...and ready for toast with peanut butter. So, so yummy.

Now I think I'll clear my head and do some piecing, just for the heck of it! Who knows what kind of trouble that will lead to next.....