Green Living Market Bag - by Bari J. Pattern Review

So, I am not quite meeting my goal yet, of blogging once a week. But hey! I'm posting more often than last year, and I'm actually starting to remember to take pictures of the things I make, which is a big improvement. I'm all about progress...not perfection.

My official Quilt Market roomie (*squealing with excitement*) Bari J. asked me to test another pattern for her. And FAR be it from me to say no to some fat quarters of yummy fabric and an early sneak peak of a pattern! I tested her Green Living Market Bag pattern that was one of the four in her first grouping of designer patterns.

This is how the finished pattern looks...and as a side note, this is my favorite style. The pattern is like a booklet (with pretty glossy paper) and the pattern itself is on sturdy white paper folded inside. It's also in a zip top bag. I'm sure this costs more money, but GOD does it make for longer lasting patterns, and easier storage.



The rest of the photos were taken by Rob, my photog extraordinaire. He actually puts the majority of his stuff right on Facebook...but I figured this was a shameless enough plug.




The pattern went to together really easily, and I love the ribbon to tie it together. It actually folds down into a tiny square so that you can either put it in your purse, or you can put a bunch of bags together to go to the store and not carry what looks like a tent.

My biggest challenge with the pattern was folding the pointed ends of the flat bottom up on either side. The only challenge was that the fabric was many many layers thick. So I actually used a denim needle, and sewed really slowly. It gave the bag a very polished looking exterior, instead of just the normal flat bottom.



I'm pretty sure my mom is getting this for Mother's Day, so mom, if you read this...sorry to ruin the surprise! It's a great bag to carry books, groceries, or better yet, I actually carry mine in my purse, so that when I stop in somewhere like the pharmacy, or even somewhere at the mall (*gasp*) I don't have to take a plastic bag.

Think green, and look super fashionable. Gotta love that.

Weekend project - cloth napkins upcycled from vintage tablecloths

So, it seems like forever that I've had this giant Rubbermaid tote full of vintage tablecloths that I've managed to accumulate over time. Lots and lots of them have small holes, or thin spots. Some of them have great patterns or images on them. Most of them have those gorgeous vintage color combinations that you just don't see anymore. Pretty much all of them had some stains. But I found one at a Goodwill store recently and it reminded me to pull them out. I made a huge batch of bleach and water to soak them in, and started cutting.

The first set had these great roosters, chickens, and farm houses. It also had lots of tiny pea-sized holes. But once I was done with them...





They are double sided, and not 100% perfectly square, but they are all intact, and what I did use is in wonderful condition. And who can beat that pattern?? Best of all, they are super Earth friendly, eliminating paper napkins, and re-using something that would have been in the landfill. They are absorbant as all get out, just to make them that much sweeter.

My favorite pattern and color combo of all time was in this cloth...the red white and blue (but more like teal). Best of all, these are 15 1/2" square, which is nice and big. Just the most gorgeous shabby chic looking napkins you'll ever want to see.






Both sets are now in my Etsy shop, with many more to come.

Pillow pair

This is a pair of pillows that I made from ALL recycled (upcycled, found, etc). fabrics. I was laying in bed one night, thinking of the fabric, and I decided it would look great with one bold flower from the pattern for the front of the pillow. The best part is, I had ALL of the materials, I just had to dig them out and sew!


The fabric on the back was purchased at a Salvation Army store. There was a bunch of uncut fabric, that must have come from an elderly person because there was a TON of stretch 70's polyester. Not that I have anything against 70's prints...but none of it was for me...too much lilac and olive green (ewwww). But this is a sort of nice burlap/woven feel to it, so it sewed up really nicely with the felted wool sweater I used for the front.



The small one is for my daughter to use in the car. She's always saying she needs a pillow to "rest her head". Those were the days...

I will definately be doing more of this, found fabric back, felted sweater front. I'll likely put zippers in from now on though, because pillows at our house tend to get spilled on.

Some of the things that have kept me busy

Whew!  I had no idea so much time had passed. I've made all kinds of cool things, and never posted any of them.  I've also been making a bunch of things to open my shop on Etsy, but never posted any of them either.  So...before I post about the Etsy shop, here are some of the things that have been keeping me so busy...

First, there is the handsome Charles, with his cashmere sweater...he poses like a pro!  Charlie is our sitter Nikole's dog, who both of the kids adore (I mean the dog, but they adore Nikole, too!)

Then, there is the apron I made for my mother in law Kris for Mother's Day...



I love this because it was made from a yellow Mary Englebreit fabric and FREE pattern I got from Fabritopia (which is an amazing website by the way), and the poppy fabric is vintage purchased on Etsy. The whole apron took me maybe an hour and a half. It was only supposed to take an hour, but with kids, interruptions...you know, and hour was kind of wishful thinking. And Kris loved the apron. I will most definately be making more of these.

Last but not least was my very first special order baby blanket. It's made from upcycled felted sweaters, both wool and cashmere. The person who ordered it wanted the baby's name appliqued on the front, and simple, classic colors. The back of the blanket is new flannel, with an owl pattern. These glorious photos are courtesy of my husband.






So for today...I am going to sew up my very first quilt square, from a class I had last Saturday. It's a block a month class, so I want to make sure I'm done early in case I have to redo it.

Looking forward to posting that the first items have gone into the Etsy shop...

I'd love feedback on any of these things.  It's hard to make constructive changes when you're in the middle of making things.  

Sid Vicious or Sid-Licious? UPDATED

Now THIS I am really excited about.   I was at Joann Fabrics yesterday, decompressing from a week spent sick myself, and home with flu-laden Ben.  I was flipping through the pattern books, and came across this.  It's by Simplicity, and it's from their "Go Green" line.  It's specifically designed to use an "upcycled" material.  They suggest using sweats or even a...sweater!  

So my mind flashed to a great argyle sweater I had just recently felted.  PERFECT.  Then I had to think of a doggie I knew, small enough to need a sweater, but big enough to show off this fab pattern.  Who do I know?  Who do I know?  Ah-HA! My brother-in-law and sister-in-law have ....ready....nine dogs.  They are wonderful dog-rescuers and have the most adorable pug named Sid.  PERFECT.

The result of my brainstorm is this:

So, now the fun starts. Here are some pictures of Sid taken at Christmastime:


Of all of the nine dogs that Dave and Lisa have, my kids LOVE Sid the best. We're home this week for February vacation, so we're hoping to give him his new sweater this week. As soon as we do I'll be sure to add it, so you can see Sid as his alter-ego Sid-licious.

So we have an update.  We went to see Sid and his family yesterday to deliver the sweater.  He loved it!  But we have some alterations to do.  As you can see from the photo, his sleeves are too long, and the back needs to b shortened, too.  Unfortunately, his weight and his length don't fit the pattern perfectly, but that's what's so great about making things.  You can FIX it!

Once the alterations are done, we'll take a few more pics. But overall, I'm THRILLED with the result.

 

A whale of a bag!

I'm hoping that all my friends who grew up in the 80's will appreciate this as much as I do.  I am back on my kick of re-purposing old reversible raincoats.  I can't help it, I just think they are so cool.  

This one I got at a Salvation Army store for $.99 because one of the pockets was torn.   This bag was made out of the back only, and a free pattern I found on Simplcity.com.  It's only two pieces of "fabric" and easy sewing.  The challenges came in when I tried to incorporate the snaps for a closure instead of using velcro like they suggested.

You can see where I tried to sew the snaps on, and the bottom line is all crooked from the foot of the sewing machine hitting it.  I'll definitely have to work on that, but I have plenty from this one coat (and it's a kids size!) to make a second one.

The kids are already arguing over who gets to use it!

It's Out of This World!

I found this wonderful flannel fabric a few weeks ago and have been working on this since then.  It has aliens and space ships, and really great colors.  Including orange, which is my absolute favorite.  (Side note, what does it say about me that orange is my favorite color?)

The blanket itself is actually pretty basic.  Felted sweaters, cut into squares or rectangles, with little patches on top in random places, and my friendly alien in the upper left corner.  Much to my dismay, neither of my usually camera-hoggish kids would pose with the blanket, so I was left with Stella (the doll) as my model.

My wonderful, patient photographer-husband let me try all different things to get the pictures how I wanted them...The last two pictures are ones that I took, just so you can see the whole thing and the great fabric on the back.

Cupcakes from Betz White's "Warm Fuzzies"

The book that started me off and running on this whole craze of cutting up felted sweaters to craft with came from purchasing a book called "Warm Fuzzies" by Betz White.  Her signature item is a cupcake pincushion, and I made one for myself and one for a friend.

They were really actually not that difficult to make. One of the reason I love Betz' book so much is that there are great, step-by-step picture instructions.  You can see how she puts things together, in addition to reading about it.

Her website is www.betzwhite.com.  She's got an amazing blog, too.

Harder than it looks!

Because I got so many positive comments on the owl, I decided to try another one.  This time I made a cat, also for another baby turning one.  So I stuck with the cashmere, and no buttons, only embroidery for the decorations.  What I came up with is this kitty.  She's made of mostly grey cashmere, with a few pieces of white and black.  

There's also a felted heart on her back.

 I had really wanted her to come out more round, than oval, but this making your own patterns thing is tough. 

Oh, the beauty of a Monday off...

So back again, to this idea of people having babies all over the place where I work.  I was talking with someone last Friday and realized there are at least three people I know who are expecting.  I joke  all the time that there is no way I will EVER drink the water at work...my kids are getting a bit bigger and I'm thrilled about it!

However, what it does is give me lots of folks to think up super baby gifts for.  I've recently found some fantastic, bright wool sweaters that I was dying to find a use for.  The colors all look so great together and would be ideal solid colors for baby things...

Today's "day off" result was a stuffed cube.  It came out much more stiff than Square Meal.  I put some light fusible web inside before stuffing it.  I only had two thicknesses at home, so I tried both.  The super sturdy was too much...this worked well, but I think I'm going to get some medium stiffness stuff for the next one.  

It's super simple, just six 5" x 5" squares sewn together and stuffed.  The hardest part was trying to figure out how to get the last seam shut without it looking totally different than the other seams.  So I just went around the top and bottom again.  If anyone out there knows a trick for that last seam issue, I'd love to hear about it.

I had also thought about putting letters on each face, or numbers....something for more contrast.  My only concern is that for little babies, it would have to be on super tight.  All that chewing and drooling...wouldn't want anything to come off and get swallowed up.

I'm already thinking of what to try next.  I'm working on a pattern for a reusable lunch bag...back to the vintage raincoats.  I got one of the great ones with whales on it right before Christmas.  It might even make me want to bring my lunch into work!   And I'd be sure to bring my own drink.  None of that baby-water for me!

A friendly owl

Whew...it seems that the holidays got the best of me.  I made all kinds of things, some at the very last minute, and didn't have the time or foresight to post any of them!  But now that it's January, and things are starting to settle down, I'm back to moving just a little more slowly.  

For some reason I have been thinking about owls a lot lately...seeing them in advertisements, on TV, and most importantly at a birthday party my daughter went to at the kids Science museum.   I love how slowly they move and how majestic they look.  Their eyes are very telling though, almost like they know something you don't.

With that in mind, and our neighbor Anna's first birthday in mind, I made this for her.  It's made of two formerly cashmere sweaters, a pink one and a cream one.  The eyes are sewn on circles with smaller felted circles in the center and some yarn stitches (meant to look like eyelashes, but didn't really come out that way.  Same for the beak, some felted wool, a piece of yarn around the outside and a tiny piece of maroon wool in the center.  There are diamonds of the maroon wool on the ears, too.  I was trying to get that great feathery-owl-ear look...

My favorite part though are the wings.  They are pieces of the cream cashmere blanket stitched to the sides.   The result was a great contrast of color, but still soft looking.  I had initially wanted buttons for eyes, but was afraid they might get eaten off..

The whole thing took around 2 1/2 hours to make...I'm sure once I had a design I knew better and had made a few times I could cut that significantly.  

Maybe next time I'll try a blue and green?  Or should I go for a straight up owl browns?  I'd love ideas or comments on what colors would look the best.

My First Inspired Creation

So, as a thrifty New Englander, I am always trying to think of ways to re-use things. Combine that with a newly found love for my aunt's hand-me-down Kemore sewing machine. The result was cutting up an old 80's vintage reversible raincoat, and making this...

A very cool, one of a kind "this is not a plastic bag" bag.

I basically put one of the pockets on each side, and made the bag as big as I could with the size coat I had. It didn't really matter that parts of it were dirty, because I just cut around them. It's actually 10" square, with sides that are 13" high.

It's great, because I can carry anything from the store in it, freezer stuff, wet stuff, doesn't matter. I can just wipe it off or windex it off, or scrub it in the sink if I have to. Borderline indestructible!

Besides that, it's just cool. Who do you know that takes bags to Whole Foods with stripes on one side and polka dots on the other?? Me!