Earring Hanger

I saw one of these at a flea market and instantly wanted one. It was pretty easy to make. Just an old picture frame, window screen and staples. Voila! My earrings are now hung.

mending

My kids love scissors. And they love cutting things with those scissors. For instance, they frequently cut their clothes with scissors. This is my newest patching solution. I Sew up the hole and then stitch a patch of knit fabric over the mend. I love the fabric markers that I got at Target so I drew a picture on the patch. This has been washed many times and is still holding up pretty well. The fabric I mended with was old, however, and hasn't held up as well. It is developing a small hole. I guess I'll have to patch it.

Sadness

Not a rummage sale in sight this weekend! How depressing is that! Where am I going to get my fabric fix from! Ok, I actually do know of a couple of rummage sales this weekend, but they're all a ferry ride away and that seems like a pretty steep surcharge on my (potential) cheap fabric.

upholstery purse

I made this purse a few years ago. I like it, but I haven't been able to stabilize the bottom enough to keep it from sagging when I put stuff in it. The fabric was also WAY to heavy for my machine, I had to hand-sew some of it and the straps were a nightmare. I'm looking for a pre-made wooden handle that might replace the one I made, I think it might help stiffen up the bag, too. I love the fabric though. Very rich looking. I wish I could use it.

Beach bags

This was also a project from the Handmade Home book. Beach bags made from window screen. So far the kids like them. They do let the water through, but certainly hold on to a lot of sand. They were easy to make, very quick. The fabric and ribbon came from my stash and the window screen came from a roll I bought thinking I would make my self a place to store my earrings and fix the screen in the living room at the same time. That hasn't quite worked out but I did get these nice bags out of it.

Circus Insa

OK, this was a very difficult skirt to make. Primarily because of the fabric of the overskirt. It was very difficult to manage. It kept slipping out from under the knife and the pins and my fingers. However, it looks good. I'm sure that the skirt will start disintegrating shortly though. That red fabric will start pulling the minute it touches anything rough. All of the fabric was from my stash so I didn't have to buy anything but ribbons. I think that I originally bought both of them from the sale bins at Jo-Ann's. Willa loves the skirt and my husband says that it is just like a circus. My feelings were a bit more mixed. By the time I was half way done though I felt like I was making something in 'Early American Bordello' style, but it seems to have grown on me. I had intended to have this skirt be very plain, with all of the sparkle being from the fabrics, unfortunately, the gold overskirt was such a pain that I was forced to add a ruffle to cover my miserable attempt at a hem and I had to add ribbons to cover the elastic. Also, either I made a mistake with my seam allowances or Willa has grown in the last few months since I took her measurements, because it is almost to small! I think she'd wear it anyway though, even if it was too tight.

New Summer bag

I've been working my way through "Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures" by Amanda Blake Soule. This bag is one of her patterns. It was pretty quick and easy (my favorite). I changed the ribbon tie to a magnetic snap, because really, who has time for tying the ribbons. My sewing machine wasn't quite up to the really thick areas so there are some spots where the stitching could use a bit of reinforcing. The fabric came from a Goodwill grab-bag and the lining was some of the natural linen that I scored at that amazing church rummage sale.

Recycled Jeans bag

I made this bag a couple of years ago, completely winging the pattern. I only used it a couple of times because I found the bag a little bit embarrassing. If you look closely, you'll noticed that the bag has a butt. My butt to be exact! Anyway I found it difficult to try and remember to always have the bag zipper side out. The bag now requires a patch too. I used old, worn out jeans and they are just not up to the abuse I give them. I think it was one library book too many that started splitting the butt crack.

Quick and dirty gifts!

I gave these to the girls for Easter this year. Very easy. Hem and go for the length that Willa is wearing (thanks Wendi for the idea) and Primrose's is a piece of fake fur that I lined with some hot pink fabric that I had sitting around. Fun and fast!

Needle-felted sweater applique

OK, I'm sorry about not posting for a week. I was busy crafting.

So here we are with a very successful project. A few weeks ago I bought a very good quality but very boring sweater for Willa at a church rummage sale. I decided that she would never wear it if I didn't fix it up, so I decided to needle felt some designs on it.

I started on Sunday morning and finished on Monday night. I probably spent less than 6 hours on it all told. When I began this was just a plain, dark green sweater. I took unspun, dyed wool and worked it into the sweater using a special needle to create the designs. This particular technique is very organic and very forgiving. You can really decide what you're doing as you do it, which is something that works well for me. I also love the instant gratification of needle felting.

Now all I have to do is get Willa to actually wear it!

I love rummage!

Best rummage sale ever this morning. It was a church rummage sale in Ballard with an entire hall full of boxes of fabric. And the price?! 50 cents a box. Amazing. For $1.50 I walked out with 6 yards of heavy plum colored linen, 6 yards of heavy brown linen, 8 yards of burnt umber corderoy, assorted lengths of quilting cotton, and a couple big yardages. Very exciting! I am planning away. That linen is very exciting. I'm already visualizing pants for me and the kids. Anyone want a few yards of natural linen? I don't think I'll ever use it.

Yesterday I hit a church sale in Shoreline and scored two pairs of Keen's for Wilhelmina (one pair of shoes, one of sandals) for $2 each. A little steep but still good value.

Anyway, I think I'll start posting upcoming rummage sales because I keep track of them anyway. Next week : West Seattle Garage Sale Day! Start mapping your route early!