Recycled ----my good deed

   In an effort to clean up the landscape, or rid our roadway view as we were driving to therapy yesterday, I insisted Sir Old Man stop.  I got out of the van on the side street and plucked 2 campaign signs off the right of way.  He only raised an eyebrow.  He knew what was coming.
   Then again this morning, more stuff littered the road side.  Sir Old Man was a true gentleman and he did the work of clearing those annoying/in the way things.  By the time we got home about 8 more signs were in the back of the van.



  After making Banana Pudding for my nephew and brother for tomorrow, I washed the things off first.   Then the cutting began.

  I use a long ruler, craft knife (not the good rotary cutter!) to score the corrugated signs.  Then fold them over. and cut through the fold on the back side.  Done!  Free insert support for my mini bolts!

  I had several pieces of over a yard pieces in the stash closet that got wrapped onto the cut up signs.  It's much neater in there now.











Oops!  More yardage discovered that needs to be washed first.




   I set aside about 5 of the signs.....they will be a good size for small portable design board  for the next (if I do one) class for watercolor.     Or for a bit larger size ....2 signs could be taped together and covered with flannel or batting as a design wall.  Matter of fact go bigger, tape 4 together and cover with batting.  Use the black office clips on the upper corners and hang it up for a very movable  design wall.  Be sure to have the Command hangers on hand to hang on the wall.
  No matter the final outcome, I am glad to do my part to recycle/clean up/rid the roadways of the extra clutter.  And rolled mini bolts make me happy.
   
   The carpel tunnel needs to be taken care of.....the pain under my upper arm is increasing from pressure on the Median Nerve.  So surgery it will be at the end of the month.  So Hot Legs will get to rest for a couple more weeks.  I will just plan, cut, stitch, fuse, and so on until then.

    Remembrance   

   In honor of the men and women who served our country  to give us the freedoms we enjoy today.  I thank you.
Happy stitching.  

A quick covered design wall

   The orange peels are assembled.....but the border idea was not working, so I won't even show it.  Instead, please notice the  new "cover" for the design wall!

   I ordered 90'' wide white flannel to pin over the old flannel.  It was dirty / dusty and needed to go.  But, as it was stapled down, I chose the easy route to cover it.  Using t-pins, we tucked the extra length under and pinned it to the edges.  A quick recover that can easily be removed and washed.    A very good thing!





  One more re-cycle idea.  I wanted a  box to keep my Quilty 365 circles in.  It needed to be small and have a lid.   I noticed an unused recipe box in the back of the cabinet earlier this week.  I did not really like the graphics.....so I pasted over it.  I had some handmade paper with leaves and such embedded into it that I thought I would try.   I just used tacky glue....modge podge probably would have done a nicer job.  This works for now and I have a safe place to store those finished circles.

 Packages are wrapped, cookies to bake.....and a couple more cards to write.  It's almost time for a nap.  Happy stitching.

Re-purposed plate rack

    I had a very cluttered and messy note board by my stash closet.  Originally it had photos and note cards tucked into it.  Lately it was just layered with stuff!  I thought I would straighten it up.....yuck!  It was also a big dust catcher along the top edge. and the fabric cover was faded.    Time for it to go.....which left a bare spot.
 
   I debated on a couple of ideas.....like a hanging magazine bin. or a magnetic board.   I figured they would get stuffed and cluttered up also.  Instead, I looked for something that could be re-purposed that I had on hand.

  An unused plate rack just fit the space.   Sir Old Man used the 3M hooks to hang it for me.  He suggested I hang the tape measures on it, as I was always hunting for them.  Now they have a home to return to after use!
   I glued  ribbon to the end of a clothespin for holding favorite note cards.  A couple of "S" hooks can hold small project samples.
   Maybe I can keep this little set up neater now. It sure looks a lot better.
Linking to Sew Many Ways  linky party. 

Friday Finds

 We are in the sewing room today with a few ideas.

 From Bloom and Blossom blog.....how to make an ironing board cover.   I have done one before and thought it was not too hard to do.  I thought this was a good tutorial.....although I may be lazy and just buy the next one.












The blog at Sew Many Ways has a Tool Time Tuesday, which I love.   I am borrowing her image for the use of silicon ice cube trays for bobbins.  I thought this was too clever.  Of course, she also had one filled with sewing machine feet, and/or batteries.  Where does she get all her ideas?  Drop in for a visit and see what she has done with household stuff.

   Isn't this cute?  Even if you have plenty of pincushions, you have to like it!  And if you are fortunate enough to have a vintage/old/broken/unwanted yard stick or ruler, now you can re-cycle it.    Here is a link to  mdquilts...click here.    She uploaded the photo to Pinterest, but I could find no other info.  So it's for inspiration!












     Inspiration takes different forms......what to do with a craft project from Sir Old Man's father?   His Dad would go to craft time at the nursing home, and I  was usually the recipient of whatever was the monthly project.   One such project was a small wood box about 3 1/2" square with a lid.





     So....a few ideas here.  Storing needle packs, fill it with safety pins, or turn it into a pincushion.  I intended to use it as a pincushion, but there was the lid.  It is the personality of the box that Dad painted.  I decided it is for safety pins....especially the bent ones!  Thanks, Dad.

   Please visit the links for pinning for future reference.  
Happy stitching.

Friday Finds #8

   From Quiltville....Bonnie Hunter shares her tips on selecting fabrics for her scrap blocks.   I thought she gave a good set of guidelines on using multi-color prints in her post.  Be sure to check it out.








 

   Another way to recycle jeans.....make a sewing machine cover.  I ran across this here.    I thought this would be great to make a cover for the Featherweight machine.  No instructions, but it appears that extra fabric was sewn to the waist band to make the top portion.....now to check the old jeans in the closet!









    While I do not do paper piecing, this one was just too cute not to share.  Sonja has an album with several free patterns available.....check it out here. 





  I was inspired to turn this into an applique for a mug rug.










 Cassie sent me this pin.....she knows I love doodles and zentangles.    The Zany Quilter has a good tutorial on creating this "art quilt" that looks like a zentangle.   Thanks, Cassie!

 Wow....that's enough for this week.
  As always, be sure to visit each site thru the links....please pin from the original source, and not from here.  Enjoy and happy stitching.

Friday finds #6

From  Kaufman Fabrics

    A free PDF is available for this sling bag in 2 sizes.  It has an adjustable strap---shoulder or over the head---that will leave the hands free for fondling fabrics!  A cute bag for spring/summer whether made of denim, twill, or our favorite cottons.  

As Blogger has announced that  they will no longer allow certain sexually explicit content after March 23...have I been reading the wrong blogs?  Anyway,  I am throwing this one in.   Proceed with caution, and use your imagination.....lol.

  The comment  on this pin was that the bigger the jeans, the bigger the bag!

See others here.   No tutorial, just inspiration.....like I sad use your imagination!   With the waistband and pockets, this would be great for a workshop tote.  (Wonder how big this guy was.)   Just add handles by top stitching in place.   Looks like the lining was merely inserted and top stitched too.  Square off the bottom and call it a day.

As always, please visit the original post to pin rather than pinning from here.   

Happy stitching.

Bolts!

  My plan was to just pick up some interfacing and white muslin.  When I returned home I sent Sir Old Man a text that I knew I was in trouble because I bought bolts!  He knew what I meant and replied that was OK, I was just playing catch up!  I am so blessed that he is understanding about my fabric habit.  And I get those coupons that I just hate to waste......



   While I did purchase a bolt of muslin, I also picked up a bolt of light weight interfacing.  It seems that Pellon is no longer producing the 2" gridded interfacing that I extol and use.  Yikes!  I searched the internet sources and found 2 other products at $6/yard!  Yikes, yikes!!   The fabric in the photo purchased with coupons was less than that a yard.   Instead I purchased the plain light weight fusible interfacing--99 cents/yard/ 49 cents with coupon!--- that I will use by simply marking some grid lines myself.
   I updated the Watercolor Tutorial page with the information and suggest using the 1" gold line gridded product instead.....if you don't want to fuss with marking a few lines to use as a guide/reference point.
  Back to the bolts.....this is from an old post and explains my mini-bolt system.

Tip for storing fabric:

  My large collection of floral fabrics are usually folded and stored in bins on  shelves in my stash closet.  Mainly those fabric cuts are small and less than a yard.  But what about the larger yardage cuts for borders and backings especially?   

Mini-bolts!

  About 4 years ago, I began using the mini-bolts for storage.  When I first  began this, I was using a thin plastic insert.  Later I switched  to using  foam core board.  The foam core  can be purchased at the Dollar Store in the 2 foot by 3 foot size usually.  I cut the size-- that works best for me-- 11" to 12" high by 8" wide.    It's easy to cut with a craft knife.  I often end up with smaller sections of the boards and they work great for shorter cuts--- those under a yard. 

  Today, I am even more frugal.....I use old  yard campaign signs or yard signs of any kind that I find....like house for sale, or other advertising.  They get knocked down or the wires rust out.  I collect them, wash them up, and cut  to the size I like.    I'm saving the land fill (if they would ever make it there) and keeping my dollars for fabric and thread.  

 Fabric is folded just like it comes off the bolt.  Then one more fold---bringing the folded side over to match the selvedge edge.  Roll it up and pin the end.  

     The mini-bolts make it easy to see what I have to work with.  I am  known to be pretty messy and scattered, so this really helps me neater.   And what fun to shop your own fabric store in your stash closet.

Happy stitching!

Re-cycling denim to market bags

   We decided to get rid of/donate a very large ottoman that I had covered in denim many years ago.   Since the denim was in good shape--does this stuff every wear out?--, I ripped it off to reuse in another project.  I had about 54 inches square and figured I could get about 3 market style bags out of it.  Perfect to have for gift giving this Christmas.....and filled with cookies, breads, and such.
 
I worked through this one first to get the logistics worked out.  I wanted an easy finish to the seams.....denim frays so much.  I wanted an smaller size that ended up about 14' tall and 12" wide.
  I cut the body of the bag from the denim---18" by 32".   I used French seams on both sides. This is a 2 step process that encases the raw edges, and usually the seams are narrow.

 So here is my version First, stitch each side on the outside---wrong sides together about 3/8" from the edge.  Turn the bag inside out.
  After pressing flat, stitch another seam along both sides.....about 3/8" to 1/2" from the edge.  This should encase the raw edges and give a nice finished edge  on the inside.






      For the boxed corner.....I wanted it fairly deep about 6" wide.  That would be nice and roomy for goodies.
Since I had no bottom seam on this version, I chalked along the folded bottom to help line it up.  A seam 3 inches from the  corner point proved to be just what I needed.




 To help stabilize the bottom and still have no raw edges, I did not cut that triangle flap off.  Instead I stitched in down to the bottom of the bag.  Not exactly an easy maneuver, but doable.
  This is the finished inside of the bag.

The top edge was quickly finished off with a folded strip of cotton cut at 5" by 32".   I joined the ends of the cotton to have a finished circle for the top.   I sewed the raw edges of the folded strip to the inside/wrong side of the denim.   Then the folded edge was turned to the outside/right side of the bag.  The handles were cut 26" long from bought cotton strapping.   I tucked the ends of the handles between the bag body and the folded cotton and then top stitched all the way around the bag......once to secure the folded edge and again along the top edge.

    On the last bag, I increase the width of the top band by cutting it 6 1/2" wide.  I like it better.
     I still have small sections of denim left.....I may have to piece them together and see if I can get one more!  Don't you love the chili pepper fabric....ugh!  I have no idea who gave me that, but I am sure I did not buy it.  But I actually like it for these bags.  Now they are ready to be filled.

   I have been "unplugged" for a few days  while we are visiting daughter.....this post was suppose to publish a couple of days ago, but I think I forgot to hit publish.     I really needed one of these bags for the goodies found at the local Farmer's Market....next time I will be prepared.   Happy stitching till I return.