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I got a couple of chunky books put together finally. I was thinking that all of the pages would fit in one book but my O-wires weren’t big enough, hence the two books.
My other current project is my recycled flannel and denim ragtime quilt. Much to my surprise, it’s going together quickly. I have all the pieces cut and am assembly line sewing them. With any luck I’ll have the whole works finished by the end of the week.
This denim quilt was my very first large scale recycling project.
I carry it in my van for picnics, beach days, a stop at the park or one of those dreaded winter emergencies. After the latest trip to the beach I hung it on the deck rail to dry. I was taken aback by how many memories this quilt holds for me. I love how it has frayed over time. Maybe others would think of this as a flaw but to me, it shows it has been throughly loved.
I made it when my first born was an infant. Oh, to have that much time on my hands again! I wanted to make something that he could lay and play on, that would be durable, washable, textural and colorful.
I had a ton of jeans that were never going to fit again plus my hubby’s worn out ones to cut into circles. I used a plate to trace each and every circle by hand then carefully trim with scissors.
The colorful squares (trust me there are squares under there) were from a stash of fabric I had gotten as a teen when my “grandma” across the street moved from her home to her daughters in CA. She knew I loved sewing and crafting more than her own granddaughter.
My mom had somehow collected tons of small spools of thread in various colors, not sure why since she didn’t sew but did own a machine. Maybe just wishful thinking on her part. Anyway, I figured that I could make the quilt even more colorful by using different spools of thread throughout the quilt. Generally the bobbin thread and the spool didn’t match as I sewed.
If you’re curious how I made it check out this tutorial. I think I got my instructions from a magazine but the tutorial has excellent instructions.
After nearly a week of no arts or crafts I was starting to go through withdrawals.
There has been quite a bit of chatter on the Yahoo groups I belong to about charms lately. I made these since ones today from some MahJong tiles I had laying around.
My only question is: Do I have these in the proper direction?
The next item I played around with was some more paper beads. I had used up almost all I had made before. They are so simple and very addictive to make. Now I really want to make some smaller ones. I’m thinking if I get some coffee stirring straws, they’ll be thin enough to make some small beads on.
I have also started cutting fabric for a quilt. I’ve made an all flannel quilt using this pattern but this time I am planning on doing flannel on one side and denim on the other. Today in celebration of a 16lb weight loss…I cut up 3 pairs of jeans to put to good use in the quilt!
UPDATE: 26LB WEIGHT LOSS NOW!!!
I’ve been doing more sewing lately than art! Some might argue that sewing is an art form itself but it just feels a bit like work to me. I love to see the end result but I hate the pesky things like measuring, pinning, hand stitching. You get the picture. 
These are the 2 items I completed today. I’m pretty sure my kiddo won’t see my blog so I feel this is safe to share. It’s a pillow I made from a t-shirt I bought that likely wouldn’t have fit him until he has outgrown his Mario obsession…one can only hope.
The other is a set of placemats for our kitchen table. We are trying to save it from some of the abuse it gets…it’s only 3 years old and already has that “distressed look”.
I fixed up this cute little purse yesterday as well. The skirt had attatched shorts under it for modesty. All I had to do was sew the leg holes shut. I threw in a little cotton lace trim for the unexpected.
My little girl came home with a hole in the knee of her FAVORITE pants. She was nearly heartbroke. I’ve been telling her that they were getting too short so we’d have to hand them down anyway. I decided to patch the knee with a cute pink square to salvage them for a few more wearings. She got so many complements on my silly little patch job that it I got to thinking, if I sewed a ruffle on the bottom that we could make them last at least until summer. I didn’t have to go buy anything…everything came from my stash of seldom used fabric and notions.
I finished up a new pants purse today.
I’ve been working on it for the last couple days. I fell in love with the red corduroy and remembered the fun retro print fabric I had stashed away. Perfect match. The L.L. Bean corduroy pants I got on $3 a bag day at a local church rummage sale. They were like brand new. The other pants I got all showed much more wear…or maybe that’s just more “character”.
I have a custom handbag that has a drawstring closure that I love. I wanted to emulate that in this bag.
I’m very happy with the way it turned out…of course with every thing a person makes, it’s easy to “knit-pick” it apart with the things that could have/should have/would have done differently.
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