Tag : sewing

152 posts

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It has taken me quite some time to bring myself to cut into these beautifully stitched linens even though they were all either stained, ripped or tattered in some way. When I finally decided what they could become, I held my breath and took the first slice.

The process was very similar to the first time I ripped into a book or tore a photograph. Once you get the first one over with…the next come easier.

Now I have a few beautiful tissue cases all ready to go for gifts or my etsy store.

Of course, I still love patchwork…  I think I could stitch patchwork all day and never get sick of it…as long as there is no pattern I have to follow. I hate patterns. Saying that makes me wonder why I bought a pattern for a shirt the other day. Yeah, I know…what was I thinking?
I blame Pinterest. I saw this really cool make-over of a regular t-shirt into something stylish and girlie. We’ll see if I follow through on that one. Wish me luck!

Thanks for joining me for another edition of T stands for Tuesday brought to us by Elizabeth at Altered book lover.

Today is my typical kind of Tuesday…busy, busy, busy. I always make time for a good breakfast though. Poached egg on toast is my favorite. With coffee, of course.

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Today though I have a bit of a different schedule. I have my job orientation! I’m very excited to be starting this new phase of my life.

Over the past week I’ve been very domestic. I cooked a pie pumpkin that yielded 7 cups of pumpkin puree. I’ve made 2 pies, 2 large loaves of pumpkin bread and a batch of pumpkin chia pudding.

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I’ve also been sewing quite a bit. I’ve been upcycling some stained or torn vintage linens. As well as using up scraps for additional projects. More on all that in a later post.

vintage linens

Miss Gracie has been keeping me company, that is when she isn’t busy watching for critters out the window.

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I’m off to start my day now but I’ll be back later to visit all my blogging friends.

What are you doing today?

 

It’s been a whirlwind of activity around here since last week. I think the last time I’ve had two hours to rest during the day was when I was in the salon, last T Tuesday, getting my hair done.

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I’ve been sewing like crazy. On both fabric…

cup cozy

And paper.

sewn cards

Of course, some painting as well.

painted series

In fact I have some spray painted goodies in the garage right now. Hopefully I’ll get everything done for Saturday. I have so many ideas now at the last minute for my craft sale. That’s the way it always works with me. I come down to the wire and my mind starts racing with new items to add to my table.

In addition to my “crafty crap”, as Mr. G so affectionately refers to it,  I have these this on my list.

  • a chapter to read for my bookclub tomorrow.
  • finish A Wrinkle in Time for Big J’s “partners in reading” project….yes, I get homework too.
  • mow the lawn…bagging it since there are so many leaves.

As well as the regular Tuesday stuff…knitting group, pesky household chores and  visiting T Stands for Tuesday blogs.

What are you doing today?

We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.

This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately.  Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out.  Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.treesI showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk.  I think they turned out really cute.

sewing

I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two.  As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.

cards

In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.

It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. :)

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I absolutely love kraft paper but don’t use it very often.

Today I made my kraft series of cards.

Well…I’m not sure you can call them a series but every card had kraft paper as the base.

Truth be told…it’s a grocery bag.

I had forgotten to bring my reusable bags to the store this week, so I had an abundance of paper bags.

I found a pretty way to recycle them.

Or maybe that would be upcycling.

I did a lot of sewing on my card bases this time. Much in part to my sewing machine nagging me to use her…well, more like screaming at me… wondering why it’s sitting out if it’s not being used.

After adhering the sewn base to the folded card stock, I go on to add additional embellishment.

Sometimes a sentiment.

Sometimes random bits that speak to me.

Collage cards are my favorite to make if you hadn’t noticed.

Making 25 of the same thing is so hard and mind numbing for me. Partially because that involves measuring and partially because I’d need to purchase enough material to make 25 identical cards.  That takes forethought, pre-planning and again, that pesky measuring business.

I like to mix things up. That’s why I own Fiestaware! I never set a table with all the same color at a place setting. The salad dish may not match the plate on my table. Quirky, I know.

Quirky maybe a way to describe my card making process. Or perhaps some would say, random.

Either way…making cards one at a time is the way I prefer.

 

 

t-shirt

First of all, I have to admit that this is not my original idea. I’ve seen many versions of this on Pinterest.    box pleat

But after going through the kids clothes and coming up with 2+ garbage bags full to pass along to a friend, it inspired me to keep a couple school shirts for this project.

This project couldn’t be an easier. I turned the shirt inside out then stitched the bottom closed.  Next was the box pleat to create a flat bottom. Basically you sew perpendicular to the bottom seam at each corner. You end up with a triangle of fabric that is not usable bag space. Gosh, I think I’m making that more complicated than it really is!! Here’s a link that shows the process if I just confused you.

Anyway…then I turned the shirt back right side out and cut off the sleeves and made a scoop cut at the neckline. No pattern just start cutting. We all know what a plastic handle bag from the grocery or discount store looks like….that’s what you are going for in shape.

All in all, not too shabby for a few minutes work. It saved a couple of shirts from the rag pile since  they’d likely never be worn again.

Little J claimed the lime green one as soon as she returned home. It was her shirt to begin with so now it will continue to serve her in a different capacity.

No, I haven’t changed my allegiance…
I’m still a Vikings fan.  
Little J had a birthday party to go to today for a neighborhood friend. 
The Packer fans on the block.
It seemed fitting that her American Girl doll would be a Green Bay fan as well. 
The gifts should have been opened by now so I think it’s safe to post this. 
If not…hey, what are you doing browsing the internet while the party is going on?!?!
Put that smart phone away.

 

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