Quick Crafts for Sanity

There's a flickr group called "quick crafts for sanity" and these two definitely need to be included..

first I made a spring/summer "Hootie Hider" which I use every day. I took my store-bought one and just copied it to the best of my ability, using a strip of template plastic along the center of the top so it would stand out and George and I can make eye-contact. I completely forgot I had the fabric and now I'm really glad I used it on something useful.

(*edit* I had full intention of sharing a pic of this wonderfully useful item, but when I went about my day, it occured to me that taking a picture of myself using it would be nearly impossible.. it's not that I'm against showing breast-feeding photos online, just that I'm always the one taking the pictures.. so if I'm nursing, I can't also be across the room taking a picture of myself. Sure, I could set up the camera's timer, but with a hungry 17 lb baby in one hand and the hootie hider in the other, the logistics of getting the camera set up at the right angle and pressing the right button are just... well, if I ever get it to work, I'll post then, ok?)

The next project is a terrycloth bib-- I got one as a present and didn't use it for the first 6 months because it was big-- a bit too long for just a dribble bib, but now that we're eating solids (and making messes) a longer one comes in handy. I got tired of washing the one bib every night and between meals, so I went through the linen closet for an old-but-still-in-good-shape towel, traced the store-bought bib, added bias tape from my scrap bucket and Voila! Cute, practical, and very home made.

So I'm preserving sanity and using what I have all at the same time. And this weekend we get to go to Smith and show them off, yay!

Creative Recycling

When I packed up my sewing room back in April I left out 3 projects to work on over the summer—Travel Quilt #2, Theresa’s Garden, and a pile of fabric for a baby quilt. I also packed up all of my Quilts Japan magazine collection and most of my other quilt books.

Lately I feel that by limiting the amount of projects I have to work on this summer, I’m limiting my creativity. All the sudden I have tons of great ideas for smaller projects or ways to finish up UFOs, but I can’t get to them without ripping the tape off the boxes in the basement. So I’m torn between wanting to be good and finish these 3 (now 4 with the surprise addition of a second baby quilt) or just giving in to my passions and unpacking my stash. AHHHGH!

It crossed my mind that I should just start reading a book. If I fell into a good novel, I could go between reading and stitching and keep a happy balance. Strangely, there’s nothing I really want to read right now either (should I mention that my stack of “I’m dying to read these” books got packed away already by a good intentioned husband?).
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I woke up this morning (having written the above post yesterday) and said to hell with it. I want to make something fun. So I did, I tore into the packed boxes to find some heavy fusible interfacing and cording, and this wicked cute print of fish that I got in Japan last year:

I took these unflattering pants:

(you don't know how embarrassed I am that I just posted that picture...)

And turned them into this nifty cute bag:

I left the cargo pockets on the fabric and centered them on either side of the bag. The handle is made from fabric from the cuffs. Good refashioning, don't you say? Have you refashioned anything lately?

Washing second hand scraps

So I bought all of those second hand scraps. Now what to do with them?

First of all, I have no idea where these scraps came from. Before I add them to a project I will hold and rub against my face for comfort, I’m tossing them in the wash.

This is the best method I have found for making second hand scraps usable again..

Here’s what you need:

lingerie pouches or “bra nets” (I love my bra nets!! They came from the ¥ 100 shop in Japan), Color Catcher sheets, patience..

First—Sort.
I separate by lights and darks, and I ALWAYS use Color catchers or Dye magnets when I wash fabric.

Next- carefully place smaller scraps in the bra nets and larger pieces in the lingerie pouch. Anything the size of a fat quarter or larger, I throw in on its own. (On yardage, I cut the corners to reduce fraying, but on smaller pieces I’m more stingy..).

Then—toss in the wash on COLD with one Dye magnet. Unless it’s a big load, I go with the “short wash” cycle.

Using the lingerie bags stops you from having tiny threads stuck in your washer and found on the next 3 loads of clothing you wash.

Drying—I shake out the big pieces and throw the lingerie bags & bra nets in as is. You don’t want tons of 1.5” squares tumbling freely in your dryer, believe me. They curl up and are a pain in the a** to iron later. Tumble dry low.

Remove, iron, and admire.
At that point I usually sort them by shape & size into zip-lock pouches. (squares under 5”, narrow short strips, narrow long strips, strips wider than 3”, etc.)

Then they are ready to use whenever inspiration strikes. Most of the scraps from this haul will end up as 60° diamonds which I can then happily stitch away at all summer.

Buck A Bag

The BEST part of the Shining Tides quilt show was an area tucked away in the hall with 5 bins and a sign that read “Purchase a brown paper bag for $1. Fill it with as much as you can.” I hadn’t been in the show more than 5 minutes when I found this corner, and promptly grabbed a bag and fell into heaven.

I ignored the nearby vendors and curious Shining Tides guild members and proceeded to dive into the bins and pull out gems as if they were filled with $1 bills with only a few precious $20 bills hidden inside. I knew exactly what I was looking for and the “bags” were only brown paper lunch sacks so I thought I needed to get the best scraps first. 25 minutes later I had filled two bags and my back had started to hurt. I didn’t know how long Costas wanted to stay at his office so I paid my $2 and walked off to see the rest of the show.

On my way out though, I knew I needed another look through, so I picked up another bag. By this time the volunteers working the area knew me and were cheerfully making comments and conversation—one of them even does English paper piecing with the Quilt Patis templates so she could understand why I was passing up the ½ yard pieces in favor of the 2.5” strips. This time I went through methodically, laying a large piece of white fabric over the second bin and piling all the scraps I didn’t want from bin #1 onto it. Then I’d grab the corners and carefully dump all the undesirable scraps from bin #1 back in and move on to bin #2. This worked a lot better than my original method of digging, pulling and turning, which threw a lot of scraps onto the floor. There’s something about that feeling of digging your hands into a bin of scraps and turning it over to see what’s hidden on the underside… (aaah..)

35 minutes (and another backache) later I had filled 2 more bags. The ladies were happy to have someone take away their scraps, I was overjoyed to have paid $4 for so much fabric, and everyone ended their day smiling.

Sorting and washing comes in the next post, but here’s a peek at my haul..
This is the contents of one bag.


I was really surprised when I laid it out that I had fit so much inside, then I remembered I had 3 more to unload (yay!). Some of the really cool finds included these guys:

And some big pieces of vintage florals.

I’m trying not to feel overwhelmed by it all. It’s just fabric, right? I was looking mostly for pieces to cut into diamonds for Travel quilt #2 but I also threw in some novelty prints because now that I’m having a kid, I need to start planning to make this quilt.

Creative Recycling

This is all that's left of 15+ of my favorite T-shirts.
My T-shirt quilt is still in the same un-finished state that it was in this post, (I hope to attend to it at our guild retreat next month), but what do you do with all the parts of the t-shirt that aren't good enough to go into the quilt?
Crochet them into a rug, of course. I followed a link from someone's blog a few months back about crocheting old clothing into rugs and had the brilliant idea to try it. Of course now I can't find the link or the blog I read it in, but hey, it was a really good idea!!
First you cut up your t-shirt into a continuous 1" wide strip, then roll it into a ball so it's easy to work with. (the light green one above used to be an ultra-comfy Comme Ca du Mode long sleeved pajama tee that I got at a thrift shop in Hokkaido.. the red one below had the sad fate of being worn by my sister when she decided to dye her hair..)
Then crochet away! I started with back and forth rows to make a long rectangle, then went around a bit and added longer stitches in places to make it more oval. The hook is a size Q. My cousin Amanda came to visit this weekend and took over the stitching, bringing it to it's current size and shape. It would be nice if it were 3-6 rows bigger, but we ran out of t-shirts. I started the project with her in mind so she will take it back for her dorm room, adding to it if she wants to, and I will have the satisfaction of knowing that my beloved t-shirts have found a new functional purpose.

Winter?

We've got one heck of a storm blowing outside. I went into the quilt meeting and it had just started coming down, I come out not 3 hours later and the car has 3 inches of snow on it. It's thick wet snow too. I think I would like playing in it if I weren't wet, tired, and wearing high heels. Oh yes, and it being 9:30 p.m. on a Monday didn't put me in such a playful mood either. Still, I couldn't go in without getting some blurry nighttime photographs.
Lastnight I found this cool tutorial on Craftster.org and just needed to try it out. The outside is a canvas-weight indigo print I bought in Japan 5 years ago. I didn't have enough to make the bottom of the bag 14" deep, so I think it came about about 12" or so, but I like it. The lining is a pillowcase from the set that Costas had when we first met. It's possible that I fell in love with him because he had tiger-striped sheets... Anyway, it's one of those super sentimental fabrics that I just want to include everywhere. This was a good project to use some of it up. I even took the RL tag and incorporated it into my tag on the lining. The button is wooden, I think, with some coating on it. The pattern is made by carving into the coating, and that's why one of the petals doesn't show up so clearly, I guess the coating got rubbed off somehow. The button came from a friend in Atlanta who happened to help an artist clean out her studio when she moved. Lucky friend.

So that's what I've been up to. The SCQGuild meeting went well. It seems I'll be nominated for next year's president. I think I put that idea in Marie's head and now all the ladies running the show have it practically decided already. Thankfully there will be elections in June, I would hate to be appointed, much rather be elected. I do have some qualms about taking the position, but nothing too serious. Mostly I worry about 2 things= what if I get pregnant? (they have assured me they'll hold the baby while I run the meetings) and will the 80+ members respect me/trust me even though I'm younger than most of their children? If nominated, I'll run. I've already got some fun ideas for activities floating around...

weekend weekend~

Mariko is coming over tonight to try out some crafts. I know she has the sashiko kits like the placemats she gave me, but I don’t know what else she might bring. I really should call her and confirm. I had invited a handful of girlfriends for a craft night, but Rico was the only one available, and she plans to bring her boyfriend. This may turn into a double date, I hope the guys end up getting along.

In the middle of the week I was really captivated by this post and subsequently this tutorial. I just had to try it. I was too excited to even try to get a “before” picture, so please just try to imagine this as a frumpy long-sleeved pajama-y top that I bought in the late ‘90s, back when nothing was supposed to fit properly because I was too busy "thinking" and "being," having been over influenced by grunge in my youth… anyway, since then I have learned to look and to realize that people may be looking at me too. So glad I’ll have this cute top to wear out and about this summer.
It was amazingly easy to put together and now I have great hopes of cutting up the rest of the outdated button-down shirts in my closet. I may even need to run to the thrift store to see if I can score some cute prints.
But for now I’m of to Newport, RI to.. get an oil change. I think I’ll wander over to Marshalls while I wait and browse their luggage section. With all this traveling I’ve got planned, I’m in need of a new carry-on.

Other things on today’s agenda include:
Study Greek.
Do laundry.
Call L, M, & H.
Enjoy the good weather.