T-Shirt Fun
15 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
T-Shirt Fun, a set on Flickr.
I have a new hobby. and a bit of an addiction. Altering t-shirts into new life.
It started innocently with a t-shirt dress and skirt for my daughter. Then a memory scarf for me.
Who knew how many things you could make out of a bag of t-shirts!
I have now made several t-shirt scarves with leather, braids, colors and had many compliments. Which of course inspires you to make more!
I made memory scarves for my niece, nephew and husband for the holidays and love giving new life to those old favorite t-shirts!
I then played with bracelets this week, finger weaving and survival bracelets.
Unbelievably easy. and so. much. fun!
Boxy pouch love
15 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
For gifts this holiday season, I decided to make boxy pouches, from this great tutorial. Who doesn’t love a zipper pouch? And especially one that looks like a little box!
After following the tutorial, I realized it needed a pull tab on each end so you didn’t have to crush the “box” each time. Then I added a keyring as a zipper pull…next stop – shrinky dink charms on the pulls!
Missing
20 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Sewing
I miss writing a blog. Know what I miss more than that? Making things!
I spent the evening reorganizing the piles in my sewing rooms and trying to find a place for everything.(ha.)
I realized that I need more wall space and shelf space for all the inspiration I want around me. I ended up setting up what I could and attacking first the pile of repair sewing on the chair.
Hope my husband thinks it’s as funny as I do that I am wrapping up his hemmed pants that I finally got around to as a present this year.
Now that all that is out of the way, let’s sew!
Back to work!
25 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
I had such big plans to make lots of things this Spring…then work got in the way. 
I did squeeze in a few projects here and there – let’s see a handful!
I upcycled some of Daddy’s shirts for my daughter. That was fun! and free!
I made a scarf out of some old favorite t-shirts! Super fun way to “wear” those old t-shirts again!
A buttercup bag for my mom!
Japanese Knot Bags for friends!
I made some other purses and dresses from t-shirts too…mostly projects that could be completed after the kids were asleep!
I had lofty goals (again) to sew all summer…oh well. My machine isn’t going anywhere!
Off Task
17 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
I had big plans for this holiday weekend…I was going to finally clean out and organize all my sewing supplies while dear husband was out of town. Instead, I spent the weekend having an extended slumber party with my mom researching genealogy.
We found a ton of stuff the first night, filling out lines that we didn’t have info on before. Tonight we ended up just spinning our wheels. Lots of dead ends and confusion. But interesting nonetheless. It never stops being cool to find who these people are that you are descended from. We have most lines around to my 6th great grandparents. We did trace one line to my 14th great grandfather! Fascinating that almost all were in the United States before we were a country, and everyone came from the British Isles (except Ireland) and a couple of lines in Germany.
We did however make some bruschetta as a snack – too bad my idea for “Quick Soda Bread” really meant a 5 pound chunk of flour in our bellies. Ha! We had fun though, which is what is important.
I’ll catch up on organizing next weekend!
So much craftiness – Thank you!
06 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
I am overwhelmed on a daily basis at how many wonderful people there are out there blogging and crafting and sharing their ideas. Thank you for that. Thanks for the distraction. Even though I know I could (read that “should”) be doing other things, I get so excited when I see all of your gorgeous photos and cool things and yummy foods…Makes me want to do more!
I got 100 zippers in the mail yesterday and already had fun making coin purses out of Capri Sun pouches for my nieces and daughter…What should I make tonight?
I jumped on the bandwagon on facebook with this status I saw of a friend’s : “Pay It Forward 2011: I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here. They must in turn post this and send something they make to the first 5 people who comment on their status.* The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent out to your 5 people sometime in 2011! ” Now, I just have to decide what to make… maybe I’ll use those zippers!
Any other Leos out there?
31 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
My husband must be paying more attention than I think. I was trolling the internet, finding more ideas than I could make and wanting to make them all. I had a good prototype of an ipod case and was thinking of moving on to something else, second guessing if anyone would want it.
Dear husband says, “Just stop it and make the ipod cases, because I don’t want you sitting there trying something new and getting frustrated. You have to make something more than once to get good at it.”
When I read sewing books, blogs or websites, everything looks so easy and I think I can do it all. Then I start sewing and at some point I get really irritated at the lack of perfection in my product. I expect that I can do everything right – the first time I try it. I guess the Leo/Virgo cusp thing isn’t working out so great for me in this area. Something to work on for the New Year.
Prototyping
22 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Sewing
I should probably have started a little sooner on making a new project for gifts…I suppose I work better under pressure. I have been trying to find a good pattern for an ipod/mp3 case. Lots of patterns out there…but none seemed to have all that I wanted and easy enough to make without too much fuss.
I started with a basic pouch/pocket. Ok, but seriously, I need to be able to plug in the headphones to make it usable. I also wanted a small pocket to tuck those headphones into. Well, if we’re doing that, I need to make sure the cord is neat alongside the case. Ideally I would like to be able to sync it while in the case – but that is probably too much. My second prototype came out OK, but the pocket was a little small, so I am onto the third version.
This is fun, but I feel guilty “wasting” the material. I know I could have made it with muslin or something else, but that doesn’t seem too much different to me. I guess I will have a handful of pockets for my daughter to stash things in.
Husband wants me to add a place to put it on his belt now – maybe with a carabiner. Might be asking too much with so little time. On to make the third prototype - Stay tuned…
I’m back. Third prototype was so close. This one will be mine. Next one will be the one.
Trying to instill
12 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Holidays, Kids Tags: holidays, kids
As crunch time approaches for holiday gifts to be created, I always have big dreams…I think of TONS of things I should have been making that would be perfect for my friends and family. I am online and finding too many projects that look cool and fun. Then reality hits and I have to edit out several things for the year.
This year, the kids are getting Leapsters, so I was going to sew them personalized messenger bags to fit their game cartridges and console. As I picked out fabric and narrowed down the pattern and design I wanted, I suddenly stopped. My kids are not quite old enough to appreciate all that work. Yes, I would feel good about it. But, I honestly wouldn’t feel good if I found them tossing it to the side and not really noticing. I went ahead and bought the store-made carrier. And I’m OK with that for now.
Today, my 4 year old daughter and I talked about gifts. She wanted to paint a picture on a canvas for my mom. I told her it might be nice to make something for all of her family, so she decided on more paintings. We went to the craft store and bought canvases and some plain glass votive holders. When we got home, I showed her how to paint glue on the candle holders and tear tissue paper to put on the sides. She was so proud of her work, that she showed her 6 year old brother – and then he wanted to make some. Progress.
