String Storage

Still reorganizing the kitchen, and I was about to throw out these cutesy little glasses with tops and straws.  When I bought them at Michael's last year I was absolutely sure that I would use them.  They were going to keep bugs out of my drinks.  Never happened.  If it's that buggy outside, I go inside.  No need for these things.

But those little holes...where did I see that before?  It was a Pinterest pin where someone put grommets on something to hold string.  Here I had two perfect little string containers and two kinds of string sitting in the cabinet.  

These are so freakin' cute!  Justifying my frivolous spending habits is probably not a good idea, but it's nice to have one of these  dumb purchases work out after all.

Pinned It - Did It - Pants to Skirt

Finally!  I've been wanted to try this for years.

After reading and/or watching the tutorials on my Pinterest board, I took a few ideas, tweaked a few things, and got to work. First thing:  lots of seam ripping to open the center seam.

 There are tutorials for mini skirts, straight skirts, and pleated, but I wanted to do a simple one with the triangular inserts in the front and back.  Most tutorials I saw for this insert bent the center seam to the side and sewed it down like this:
 
 
I don't like that look.  Instead, I made a small cut on each side of the center seam and sewed it under. So, from this:

to this:

The long seam piece was cut down once it was turned under and sewn in.

I serged all the inside edges, turned up a half an inch twice for the hem, and it was finished.  I'm looking forward to try it again on some jeans next week.

The back

Lemonade from Lemons

When my son came back from visiting his Peace Corp volunteer fiance in Mongolia a few weeks ago, he brought back a bunch of men's ties for me.  Sweet Melissa had thoughtfully decided to ask a local woman to make ties for all the guys.  They were beautiful!  Honestly, there is not one photo that shows the glory of the fabrics.  "Kyle, why are you giving me all these ties?"  Then he put one on.  It came about mid-chest.

Okay!  What to do with a bunch of beautiful wee ties?  Pinterest to the rescue.  Anyone else remember seeing the apron made from ties?  Here's my version.

This was the first time I've tried butting fabrics together with a zigzag stitch.  I didn't think it would be strong enough but figured that it would hold the pieces together for backing.  It held them together tightly.  No need for any backing.  Wish I had tried this method long ago.  I can think of a dozen projects that it would have worked on.

Piecing for the top and ties required taking remnants apart and some fancy piecework.

All ready to go back to Melissa.  I hope she will like their reinvention.

You Know You Are A Redneck When...

While out biking around the campgrounds at Keuka State Park, we found this little wonder hanging.



 

It's a wind chime.  Really, that's what the proud owners said, and it does make a lovely sound.  You can see it blowing in the wind a bit in the photo below.  It is my all time favorite bit of campsite decor.  I must have a little redneck blood somewhere back there.

 

 

I know you want one.  Come on, admit it.  I'd make one, but the boys have all been drinking their beer from bottles lately.  My diet ginger ale cans just don't seem right for this kind of project.  So here's a close-up and tutorial for those who need a beauty like this hanging in their yard or campsite.

 

You tie the first can on the string with a knot using the ring of the flip top, slide the others on the string through  their rings, and tie the last one on with a knot.  Be sure to use a long piece of string because you know you're gonna to want to continue to add to it.  If you look at the first photo above you can see that the string is dragging on the ground.  These people have definite plans for future partying. 

 

 







Winning, Recycling, and a Free Online Tutorial all Rolled into One Post

First-- look what I won from Quilt Taffy!

 Lovely little squares of Moda's Shades of Black that will soon turn into a baby quilt with a splash of red.  (Thank you, Quilt Taffy, not just for the fabric but also the regular introduction to so many good sewing ideas.)

So the first thing you do when making a baby quilt is sew up the matching stuffie, right?  Is it just me?

This cute little black bunny was made using Betz White's cashmere bunny tutorial found here and an old lamb's wool sweater I felted.  After reading Pam's (of Threading My Way) post on felting old wool items, I finally got brave enough to actually cut into the sweaters I had felted.  It worked!  The sweater material didn't unravel. 

Tonight I am putting together the first blocks for the quilt.  Shall post them in the morning!  This is so much more fun than the housework I'm supposed to be getting done.

Meditation Chimes Available Online FREE!

Do you meditate?  Do you use a timer that emits an annoyingly jarring sound that practically ruins the experience?   Try this online timer at http://www.onlinemeditationtimer.com/ .  While you can't download it, it's easy to go to the page and set it.  It even has an interval timer that can be set as well.  That's kinda cool.  Sometimes I'm so antsy, I can see that it would be good to have an idea of where I am in the process. 

Don't forget to figure out level you will need to set your computer sound control on for a soothing ring.  Too loud is not a great way to start or stop meditating. 

So, check out this timer, make your own comfy  meditation cushion (also known as an old couch cushion repurposed), and happy meditating.  Your meditation session will end with a soothing sound rather than a jarring noise.  Peace.

Reusing Old Couch Cushions

I mentioned in another post that I saved some old couch cushions to recover.  I thought I could use one for meditation and just have them around for floor cushions.  They turned out to be more difficult than I thought because my traditional "take the old cushions apart for a pattern and to reuse the zipper and the cording" did not quite work this time.  The material covering the edge cording (which has another name I have forgotten at the moment) was incorporated into the side material.  That sounded like such a great idea!  A real time-saver! As it turned out, it was very difficult for me to figure out how to sew this all together. I gave up twice.  The cushions made their to the garbage area on two frustrating occasions.

Then, I was going through the Feisty Stitcher and noticed that she had a cushion that was sewn to the outside--very simple.  I was using denim that matched the furniture I covered in the four seasons room:

Denim would fray nicely--the perfect look for a rustic kind of fabric!  Here they are!  I'm still working on the edges.  I've been picking out the edges for that frayed look.  It's a nice boring job to do while watching television.

I'm glad they survived two near trips to the garbage.  I'm really pleased with how they turned out and the many uses I'm finding for them.  I love that I can just stack them up in a corner and grab one or two or three to use as needed.   I use one to make meditation time more comfortable and for some yoga things.  My book club is going to be watching Babette's Feast next week.  (Don't you just love a book club that will watch movies, too?)  These cushions are going to help provide the extra seating in the man cave, too.