Tag : sewing

152 posts

Since we have entered April, which happens to be Earth Month…or at very least the month that we honor Earth day…I thought it fitting to “recycle” one of my upcycling posts for Second on the 2nd.

Take a look….

2/22/2013 Recycled T-shirt Bags

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.

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Won’t you join me for

Welcome to yet another rousing edition of T stands for Tuesday.

This week finds most of us in the same place as last…at home, still at home. The difference for me is now my job has started back up after an extended spring break. I find myself in a very strange place much like hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people. Trying to figure out how to work from home.

I had two laptops set up on opposite sides of the table yesterday. My work one was the only one that actually saw any work. I had thought I’d get this post written but navigating through day 1 of distance learning proved to be more intense than I had expected. Honestly, I think it’s easier to just go to school. Likely because there is also no distractions.

When I’m at home I tend to wear those other hats; chef, nutritional consultant, household manager, inventory specialist, artist, garden and landscape architect, blogger, chief procurement officer, mom, seamstress, and wife. All these titles…and likely a few I missed…I’m used to at home…it’s the new one, the one that is my actual paying job that needs to be my focus. So weird. Such uncharted territory.  I am thankful for the opportunity to continue to work since with so many folks now unemployed. I am determined to do my absolute best to support my students during this confusing time.

Speaking of the artist hat. I have been neglectful in posting this journal page. 

It’s a very simple page. The striped background is an artist page from an old Stampington & Company magazine. After adhering bits of scraps, I was at a loss as to what I wanted as a focal image. I decided on drawing simple greenery. I used watercolor crayons over my pencil marks until achieving the look I wanted.

The green plant provided hope for spring. We are definitely in need of a little greening up out there. Everything is brown, matted grass and depressing. It is warming up though, so it’s coming!!

Last week I was also sewing masks. I had seen repeated calls for help with providing masks for health systems that are running low. Ones that aren’t used on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. Since I had materials to create the specific ones shown in this video tutorial.


masks

I made 28 and a friend stopped by to pick them up from the front step to deliver with all of hers. I had posted this image on Instagram. Shortly after a woman private messaged me asking if I’d be willing to sell her a couple of masks. I told her no but I would send a couple to her. She wanted to pay me so instead I told her to Pay It Forward.
 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Hello everyone.. the picture of the bandanna face mask were made by @halleshobbies and she is donating them to a medical facility. She also sent one to me ( I have IPF) I offered to pay and she asked me to Pay it Forward. The Respironic Nebulizer machines are mine. I contacted Lifespan and a home nurse is picking them up. They will be given to two families that are going to be healing at home with the Covid- 19. Lifespan hospital will thoroughly clean the first of course. It is my way of paying it forward. With my illness these machines were almost in every room of my house. They actually have saved my life many times. If any of you can find a way of donating anything to help out in our current situation look around the house see what you can do. Even if it’s giving your neighbor some toilet paper. A huge thanks to Halle. Please everyone go check out her channel!

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I love that! I’m so happy that our little exchange has the potential to save lives!!

Today is day 2 of distance learning. My own children seem to be doing just fine. I talked to a neighbor last evening…at the proper social distance…her girls are early elementary age and in Spanish immersion. Her day was not so easy. Hopefully, we will all settle into this new normal quickly and keep on learning each day. Perhaps discovering something deep inside ourselves that we weren’t able to see before.

empty halls

This lonely hallway photo I snapped gives me pause. So quiet, so lonely. Yet look…there is light at the end, just as there is light at the end of this journey for all of us.

 

What are you doing today?

This post will be a jumble…so many things in so many directions. That’s my life right now. Some days I feel a little more scattered than others. When I’m having a scattered day I am trying to be mindful and prioritize, slow down when possible and forgive myself for not vacuuming.

I finally set up my sewing machine in J’s room. Not really sure what took me so long to get back to it… perhaps lost creative mojo.

Quilting

marvin being helpful

Now that my machine is in a usable space I got out the scrappy quilt top I made before Christmas. I settled on a tie-dye fabric from my stash for the backing. As soon as I laid the quilt on the floor for basting, my helper showed up.

marvin being helpful

Making the bed is pretty much his favorite activity…well maybe eating and sleeping are tied for first then making the bed.  Of course, he doesn’t understand that laying the quilt out nice and flat and smooth, keeping it all inline are an integral part of the process.

Teaset pincushion

Since this desk overlooks the front yard, it’s a perfect spot for Marvin to do a bit of bird watching. With that in mind, I decided that the standard tomato pincushion wasn’t the right choice…looks a little too much like a ball.

teacup pin cushion

I made this teacup pincushion a while back and have finally put it to use. I love that the cup sits slightly off-center on the saucer. When I first noticed this mistake I was upset but now I realize that this is a good thing. The off-center placement allows for more useful space for sewing tools at the ready.

Week of appreciation

para appreciation week

Last week was declared Paraprofessional appreciation week by Governer Walz. Our school went all out making us feel appreciated in so many ways. Puny gifts, signs on our lockers, cards, and breakfast but honestly, the most meaningful one was drawing and note from a student that I wasn’t sure I was making an impact with.

Archery

Archery season is upon us. I love this season even with the distance we travel most Saturdays. It gives Mini-me and I some quality time in the car.

Birthday Boy

reading to friends

J turned 20 years old today!! TWENTY!! So crazy. It was hard not to be with him today. I was very distracted with thoughts of him throughout the day. I just wanted to hop in the van and drive to Duluth. I’ll be calling him shortly when his class is over…but it’s just not the same.

What else…oh yeah…I dyed my hair…mostly the underside…purple. Well…technically eggplant. Yep…totally went for it. It’s really fun and I love it. The family had a bit of a hard time getting used to it but I think they have now. If you take a peek at my about me page, you will see the new look.

What are you doing today?

This week is brought to you by my sewing machine…

Most of what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks is sewing in my spare time.

I can’t stop. I pushed off my junk journal November project a bit because of all my sewing.  I still plan to finish the prompts…just a bit behind schedule.

I completed another quilt top with my scraps and some that were gifted to me. So many fun fabrics!!

I haven’t decided on the backing and binding yet to it sits for now.

Our school is having the annual craft boutique this week. After last year’s dismal turnout, I wasn’t sure I’d even participate but I just couldn’t help myself. Since I was in full sewing mode I decided to try a couple of crafty items that I wanted for myself but would be great and less costly made in bulk.

My first item is key chain wristlets. They are so cute! Since I have such a huge selection of scrap fabrics, I knew these would be perfect for another stash-busting project.

My next item has school staff written all over it.

 

They are lip balm holders on a clip. Perfect to attach to your lanyard, bag, backpack, purse….you get the picture.

Lots of fun varieties to fit anyone’s fancy.

Today when I set up I saw the cutest Gnome and snowmen decorations. I hope I make more than I spend. :)

Last week had my college student home not only for Thanksgiving but for two additional days due to bad weather on either end of the holiday break. You know its bad when they cancel college classes. But a blizzard with over 20 inches of snow will do that.

Today had me at school and then at a meeting until dinner time. Long day…but I knew I still wanted to stop in for T Tuesday before you all forgot all about me.  LOL My own fault…I haven’t been very active in the blogosphere lately.

What are you doing today?

I can’t stop sewing!!! Likely because I know I’ll be completely worthless for the next week or so until I acclimate to my new school schedule.

Since I’m currently completely obsessed with paper foundation scrap quilting once again, I thought I’d share the quilt that came before this one.

Take a look…

 

1/15/2017

Don’t you just love that feeling of satisfaction when you’ve completed a big project!?! I know I do. Not only do I have the finished product in front of me but I get to put a checkmark in the box on my perpetual list. Yes, it’s an actual paper list. It’s never-ending which really is a good thing. What would I do with myself if I didn’t have a project?

quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

Do want to know a secret? If I complete a task, chore or project that failed to make it on the list…I write down, draw a little box and proceed to “X” through it. So satisfying!!!quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

This quilt started as a stash busting project. Just a loose idea of what I wanted or hoped it would look like in the end. Over the course of sewing, my idea evolved a bit which I personally think is a good thing. We need to be able to be flexible and learn from our mistakes. Or even just adapt when the moment presents itself instead of being so set on one path that we can’t change. This is true in life as well. Adapt or be flexible when needed as long as your end goal remains it’s ok to change little things along the way.quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

One of the changes I made as I neared completion was the type of binding I wanted to use. I was originally going to do a sort of “cheater” binding where you wrap the backing around to the front and stitch down. I’ve used this method before with Mini-me’s quilt. I decided I wanted to do a scrappy binding as well continuing to use up my stash. The quilt really needed a quiet place in between the busy central pattern and a scrappy binding so I added a white sashing all the way around.

quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

The scrappy binding went together quicker than I thought it would. Of course, I didn’t follow the “rules” and cut everything on the bias. I’m not much a rule follower. quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

Isn’t it pretty a rolled up like that? Like a colorful flower.

quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

After much agonizing about how to label my quilt (for the very first time), I decided I’d use wing it and hand embroider the info. Let me first say that I suck at embroidery. I think embroidery was the first craft I ever learned…and I never liked it. I’m always sticking myself with the needle, its tedious and boring.  I know there are plenty of people who enjoy it and find it relaxing…have at it. It’s a means to an end for me. I do have a decent size stash of embroidery thread though in the same tin my mom used half a century ago or more ago.

quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

After a few pinpricks I finished the job and was able to stitch it onto the quilt back. I am glad I took the time now that it’s finished. I can never remember when I made most of the other quilts except for the two I made while J was napping as an infant. Those I do remember.

quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

This turned out to be more than a stash busting quilt. It became a labor of love with a bit of frustration mixed in. But what love doesn’t have some frustrating times.

I had originally planned to heavily quilt in a funky random pattern but as I began I realized it would end up a bit stiff. I went back and pulled out every stitch…hence the frustration. I ultimately ended up stitching random wavy lines only along the white sashing. My thought is that I can always go back and do some more quilting if I feel it needs it.

I’ve been snuggling under it every free moment I have. It definitely helps with the extreme cold we’ve been having. I did hear we have a warm-up in store….hooray! I’ve about had it with below zero temps.

 

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Thanks for stopping by for Second on the 2nd!

I have been so focused on creating that I completely forgot about blogging. I tend to do that. My focus shifts and I have tunnel vision. Of course, it’s always hard for me to complete each project. That’s a whole other issue of mine. Many UFOs aka unfinished projects. Amid this creative explosion, I’m trying to devote a bit of time daily to cleaning, organizing and purging unused or unwanted “crafty crap” as Mr. G calls it.

Let start here with yesterdays crafty diversion. It started with me finding a bunch of small styrofoam balls that I’d used to make knitting Christmas ornaments. I thought it might be a good starting point for a yarn ball wreath.  I dug out my bin of yarn and gathered my other tote bags and came up with my color scheme. While I had all of it out I made the executive decision to toss 3 UFOs. I just wasn’t interested in finishing them anymore. How freeing!!!

My fabric stash and sewing supply hoard are much further out of control.  I love fabric. I have gotten rid of a bit. I gave it to a co-worker whose girls learned to sew this summer. They started a scrunchie making business. They’ve earned enough to buy themselves the trampoline they were begging for. Isn’t that amazing!?! Anyway, Mini-me and I have been following their progress. Mini-me loves scrunchies too. They are not cheap to buy. Once she found some pink velvet in my stash, I knew I’d been making some scrunchies too.

We picked out some fun fabrics…now her hair accessory bin is overflowing! I don’t envy the girls at all. Those scrunchies are kind of a pain in the you-know-what. Digging through my fabric did get some other ideas going. Once J goes back to college in a couple of weeks,  I’ll set my sewing machine up in his room again.

Yesterday was HOT and HUMID! We had two rounds of severe storms…thankfully the worst of it missed us. About a 30 min minute drive from here had tennis ball size hail. YIKES! Before the storms came I was going outside to secure anything that might blow away and I saw this in the backyard…

A turkey hen and her chicks…or whatever they are called. She was much bigger than I thought one would be. And very protective. She chased a grey squirrel that happened to jump from the tree…it was pretty comical. Do you see my compost “garden” in the far left middle of the photo? The plants are still thriving. LOL

With the weather so gross I decided to have a refreshing beverage. It’s almost like drinking a mimosa to me. Pretty tasty.

The weekend was really hot as well. I decided to do a bit of work on the computer where it was nice and cool.

I’m creating some printable pages for junk journals. I’m thinking about reopening my Etsy store with digital downloads for some passive income…all to support my crafty habits.

I also got this in the mail last week. I ordered it when they had a 20% off sale. I’m super excited about this project. I have until February to complete and send it back.

So as you can see, I have been busy…just not in the blogging world. I think part of it may be the fact that I have been slack on using my planner. I was definitely more on track when I used it daily. I know I need structure in my life but willy-nilly suits me.

Next week will be a scheduled post if I am disciplined enough to get it done. I have training on Tuesday all day and them Mini-me and I are taking the red-eye to Montana! I’m so excited. I’ll have lots to share about that the following week.

What are you doing today?

At my school the last day is grade level field trips. I went with 7th grade to Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America. Nothing like setting 6 bus loads of kids free at the mall (and that was just from our school).

We walked in under this beautiful and interactive art installation.

There was a rope attached with a sign that read “Pull rope to help her fly“.  The kids had fun helping her flap her wings. Here’s a little news clip about it if you’d like to see more including a video of it in motion.

I went on 3 rides during our time at the mall. The first was the worst…hard on the body…very jerky, spinny and not for the feint of heart. The second was also pretty scary but not so hard on the body.

All those teal twists and turns made me scream a few times much the the glee of the students.

This was the view from the Ferris wheel…nice and slow with a great view of the park.

Over the weekend I did some outdoor sprucing up. I stitched up some new buntings for my gardens…

FYI…My glass of water is just out of frame on the step in adherence with T stands for Tuesday.

And refreshed some metal garden art…

I used several cans of spray paint to brighten up the flower. I’m not sure I love it but it’s so much better than before!

This little sign really needed help and a 3D element. I had two of these metal flowers. They have a metal pin out from the back. I used a tie tack back and a washer to hold it on the sign. IT hangs from a shepherds hook along the front walk.

Today I took Mini-me to take her drivers test…and she passed!! Then I sent her to Target on an errand.

Woot! She did great. She is so happy…so am I! Now she can drive herself to work and school and volleyball and well you get the picture…

Tuesday morning we are getting a new roof put on the house. I know…super exciting. I’ve got all kinds of busy work to do in the house while the nail guns are hammering.

What are you doing today?
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