Scraps

It's January, do I'm on clean-up mode. Around the house, on my desk, and especially in my workroom. As I reach the bottom of the slippery slope to Christmas, tidying goes by the wayside, and eventually the floor is covered in an ankle-deep layer of scrap fabric.

The bigger pieces are out aside for folks, but the smaller bits always end up as pot holders. They're not much of a moneymaker at shows - $6 each or 3/$15 - but they alleviate the guilt I would feel at throwing all that viable fabric away.

Plus, I was given a dozen pair of mens jeans to cut up, and I always use denim for the backs.

What about you? What's happening in your creative spaces in the new year?

Scraps

As I start to excavate my workroom post-holiday, one of the first things I do is clean up the scraps that have fallen everywhere.  By the end of the season, it feels like I'm just throwing stuff over my shoulder to be dealt with in January.

The general rule of scrap is that sweater bits, if they're too small to use, get shredded up and used for stuffing.  The cotton scraps get saved for doll clothes, if they're big enough.  If they're not, they go into the potholder stash.  If there's enough fabric left that I can get a 3" square from it, then it's not trash yet.  After that, well, if it's 100% cotton, it goes into the compost.

Most of these will get put away for show season.  A few specific sets - cats and dogs, and a three pack of chickens - were intended for Etsy, but a friend already purchased the chickens.

I've been asked why I bother to make potholders.  They sell well during the holiday season, but aren't much of a moneymaker, since people generally don't want to pay much for something that they'll either burn or get filthy in the kitchen.  But they are a nice add-on purchase, and it alleviates my guilt that I don't use up every piece of cloth that enters my hands.

Happy Family

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a woman who owns a shop in South Philadelphia.  I've sold things there occasionally, and she's the organizer of some of my favorite craft shows.  She had someone looking for custom work.

The customer had written and self-published a picture book for her soon-to-be grandson, based in part on a small stuffed monkey she had purchased.  She wanted someone to make the monkey's parents - who were, obviously, a bear (mom) and a beaver (dad).  Because storybook.

I met her at a coffee shop near my office.  She brought the book and the monkey toy.  I looked through the book, took photos of a few illustrations to get color ideas, and we shook on it.

These aren't  the same as my usual animals, and they're probably never to be duplicated, because I didn't enjoy the process of making them that much, but I did enjoy the end result.

I brought the monkey home with me (because he needed shorts), and I spent a day or two fiddling around with ideas and making drawings.  But every time I looked at my fabric stash, I drew a blank.

There was no rush - she asked for them within 30 days because she was going to visit her daughter then - so I knew I had some time to puzzle it out.

Then, on a Thursday, about a week before they were due, when I was still looking at a monkey with no shorts, and some dark brown cashmere blend sweater fabric, I gave up and took a walk.  It had been hot out for the better part of 10 days, and this was the first middling-hot day and I needed out.

I started walking west from the house, toward Clifton Heights.  We've driven up that way but I don't know the area at all yet, so I thought I would just walk for a while and see what there was to be seen.

Soon I encountered a sign that said "Swedish Cabin," which turned out to be (possibly) the oldest building in Pennsylvania, built in the 1600s as a trading post.  It was about a 1.5 mile walk from my house, but I got to sit on a rock and soak my feet in the icy-cold Darby Creek for a half hour, and then I walked home again.

When I went upstairs to my workroom, all of a sudden the project made sense.  I started cutting up the fabric, and by the time Mario got home from work, I had completed the beaver (complete with suede tail), his turquoise suit, and was about half done the bear.

Sometimes you just need to get away from a project and get some fresh air and exercise, and everything falls into place.

African Dolls

 I recently listed a new batch of African dolls in my Etsy shop.  I hadn't made any in a while, and I came across some remnants of wax print fabric while I was unpacking, and decided it was time.

I think I mentioned before that the first of these was made for a former co-worker, who had an African neighbor who took care of her granddaughter.  When the woman prepared to return home, my friend asked for a piece of her clothing and asked me to make a doll so that her granddaughter would always remember her.

They're fun to make, and I love the colors and prints of the fabrics.  I've found a few bits in thrift stores, in addition to using the leftovers from the first doll, but most of these were from remnants provided by sewing friends.

These tend to sell better online than in person, for some reason.  I sold one last fall at an outdoor event - a little girl fell in love with the doll, and was starting a spectacular meltdown when her grandfather told her she couldn't have it.  She didn't understand why, but when I looked at him, I did.

His wife looked from the doll to me to the granddaughter, and elbowed him in the ribs.  "Give her the doll," she said.  "She's growing up in a different world than we did, and there's no point in trying to stop it."

I think he would have liked to try, but the women - his wife, his granddaughter, the doll and me - won out in the end.




And though I admit I didn't like why he didn't want to buy the doll for her, I give credit where it's due.  He knew his wife was right.  That little girl is growing up in a different world, and there isn't anything he can do to stop it.

zero waste

Over on my Facebook business page, I have a weekly Recycle Tuesday feature.  Since most of those are either photos or links to articles elsewhere, I don't generally share them here.  But every once in a while, something is so good that it needs to be spread around.

One of the reasons I got into upcycling was the epiphany one day that I was throwing out more fabric than I was using.  I'd always kept scraps, but never really did much with them until I started my business.  This designer closed his business and then got the scrap epiphany -- in a major way.  Here's a video showing his technique.  Watch this and try to stay away from your sewing machine.  Just try.  I dare you.

Force for Good

I share a lot of recycling art and random eco-friendly things that interest me over on my shop's Facebook page (every Tuesday, if you're so inclined to check it out), but this one was interesting enough (and long enough) to also put it here.  (Source is Huffington Post).

This is an amazing business model, using every single thread of fabric that other manufacturers have already discarded.  What would the world look like if more businesses operated like this?

Yipes, Stripes

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to play with stripes.  I've made striped dresses and tops for myself, and a striped shirt for Mario where I cut the fabric and stitched it back together to make chevrons.  Because why not?  (It took wine, that stripe matching, but is that a bad thing?)

Recently I found a sweater at the thrift store in an alarming combination of red-orange, purple, dark brown and tan stripes.  Wide stripes.  Narrow stripes.  Loud, strident stripes.

It was a man's sweater.  Extra large.

Even after felting, it was still pretty big.


It's now four felted knit critters, mixed in with some solid red-orange wool left over from another project.  (Can't believe the color match).

And yes, I matched the stripes.  I particularly like the stripe match when you look at him from the rear, although the front view of his face does enhance his cross-eyed appeal.

This little guy is available here.

When Bears Attack

I've been on a bear-making roll lately.  I did a batch last week, then one for the custom order, and then another batch.

Aside from having craft shows almost every weekend of the summer, I dropped off batches at two local stores who do consignment.  Consignment isn't always my favorite -- obviously I'd rather get paid every cent of what my work brings in -- but on the other hand, it gets my work into areas where I can't always be, I don't have to be there selling it, and it makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere that shops want to carry my work.

In other words, I made 15 bears and got to keep 5.  So now I need to make more bears.

The ones pictured here are recent favorites.  I didn't send any of these to stores because I feel like they need the personal explanation from me to go with them -- they're made from the remains of a vintage feedsack quilt and really aren't meant to be played with.  They're either for display or for an older child, who understands what fragile means.  But I love how they turned out, the faded colors and the slightly blocky shape the quilting gives them.

They're probably among the most photogenic bears I've done to date.

Marilyn resurrected

This is what happened to those Marilyn jeans.  Actually, on closer inspection, they were Marilyn / Madonna jeans, which is possibly even cooler.

I think the red satin lining suits either of them, don't you?

I got two bags out of those jeans, this one with the original inside leg seam running down the center of the bag, and another one (not photographed yet), with the faces appliqued to a base fabric and outlined in black suede.

Lack of fabric just pushes me to try new things.

Both these bags are sold.

Recycling and Remnants

I've been trying to neaten up my workroom lately.  This isn't easy for me - in addition to my natural packrat tendencies, I'm a world-class slob - but when the scraps and bits of fabric start to cover the cutting mat to the point where I end up using only a corner, it's time.

The small scraps get chucked out.  The larger ones go in a bag that will be heading to H&M one of these days for their fabric and clothing recycling program.  The big chunks get put away for other purposes.

The striped fabric here was left over from a long-sleeved t-shirt I made for myself back in the fall.  I meant to make a short-sleeve version with the leftovers, but then I saw photos of myself in the shirt and reconsidered.  It doesn't look bad in the mirror, but in photos, the lines blurred, making it look all gray and squishy, and making me look rather gray and squishy in it.  Not any 50-year-old's best look.

So, what to do with the leftovers?

I combined them with an extra-large black t-shirt I'd been gifted at a volunteer event, and turned them into this rag scarf.  Basically it's 5 layers of cotton jersey, narrow to wide, stitched down the middle and then cut into fringe.  The striped fabric is the middle layer on each side.

It's not my usual work, or for that matter, my usual taste, but I like it.  I only have the one for now, but I think I'll throw it around my neck and wear it to Sunday's show, just to get some feedback on it.

What to do with scraps

I'm all about recycling.  Obviously.  But even though I can take an old garment and turn it into a teddy bear, or a toddler dress or a piece of patchwork, there will be bits left over.  There's no way around it - no matter how dedicated you are to zero waste, there will be scraps.

But not anymore.  Clothing store H&M just announced a clothing / fabric recycling program that will be available in all their stores.  They'll accept clothing, fabric scraps - basically anything textile.  If it's in good condition (just not your taste, out of style, etc.), it will be passed on as second hand clothing.  If it's damaged or scrap, it gets recycled into something else like car insulation or cleaning cloths or just textile fibers.  Here's a link to H&M's website which explains the program more fully.

You can bring in up to 2 grocery bags per day, and you get a voucher good to be used with your next purchase.  I'm not sure how useful that will be for me - H&M's clothes don't seem to fit the over 25 body (much less the rapidly approaching 50 body), but it's still a great idea.

More mittens!

I just listed 6 more pair of mittens in the shop, some colors in multiples.

The gray/white at top left are a wool/alpaca blend.  The cocoa brown (top center) and bubblegum pink (middle left) are cashmere blends.  The tan (bottom center) are wool, with extra long ribbed cuffs to cut the draft.

All mittens can be found here.

Everyone should have warm hands

Apparently felted wool sweaters are good for more than just stuffed animals.

But if I cut carefully, I can still get a stuffed animal or two out of the remaining fabric after I cut off the lower portion to make . . . mittens!

I made a pair for myself recently, just to see if I could, and then it got cold. Other than for typing and sewing, I haven't taken them off - my hands haven't been this toasty in ages, and the snug sweater band cuff means that the most important half inch of skin ever (that bit that always gets exposed between your glove and your jacket) is actually staying covered.

So I made a load of them for the craft show this weekend.  Everyone should have warm hands.

Vintage Quilt Love

I've always had an affinity for quilts, just not necessarily for quilting.

Old quilts, in particular, talk to me, sharing stories of where they've been, the women who made them, the tough times they've survived.

I found this old quilt recently - it was being sold quite cheaply because there was some damage to it, but I loved the colors and the pattern and took it home, hoping there would be enough to salvage.

Surprisingly, there was remarkably little damage - a few holes and worn spots, but mostly near the edges.  Some discoloration, but isn't that to be expected in something that's over 60 years old?  We should all be in this good a condition by that age!

The quilt sat for a week or two while I considered it.  I wanted to make a few stockings - I'm getting ready for the holidays in a big way, and though I'm not into  country the way I'm not into quilting, there's also something attractive about it, especially when you add in all the emotional baggage of the holidays; it seems right.

I thought it was a great way to indulge in some country-themed items without going full-on, over-the-top into cheesy country kitsch.

I've done the stockings two ways - one, with the "JOY" applique, because it wanted that appliqued on it.  The applique, and the reverse side of the stocking, are repurposed denim.

The second stocking is plain patchwork, with a denim reverse, and meant to be personalized.

After I finished a pile of stockings, I realized there was still quite a bit of undamaged quilt left.

That's when the bag bug kicked in.  I like hobo bags.  I like roomy bags that you can wear on your shoulder or cross body, with storage and pockets and a little cuteness to perk you up on a dreary day.

I decorated this bag with a jeans pocket on one side and an appliqued denim heart on the other.  Both sides had a few embellished pink roses.

The bag strap is made from the waistband of the same pair of jeans that gave up its pockets to the cause.

The bag is lined in a cheery mid-century-looking pink, yellow and green print, just to cut a little of the sweetness.

Somehow, there's still a pile of quilt left on my table.

More stockings?  More bags?  More . . . something.  I'll figure it out.

Another Recycled Collage

It's not that I'm not sewing, but I've been on a roll with the shop lately, so that's what there is to show off.

The holidays are coming, after all, and more than a few craft shows.  So I'm filling up the Etsy shop and trying to make extra inventory for shows, and the upcycling bug has really hit lately.

Mario and I have been reading my favorite series of novels in the evenings, in lieu of watching TV (or at least as much TV).  It's his first reading, and my third (?) or possibly fourth, depending on which book in the series we're talking about.  The books are the Lymond Chronicles, by Dorothy Dunnett, and they're set all over Renaissance Europe.  It's my favorite kind of reading - long, involved, historically accurate and ridiculously swashbuckling.  Romance and sex, too, but these are historical, not hysterical (those have their purpose, too; I can't say I've never read a hysterical romance novel in my day).

I think I've had so much of it in my head lately that it's started leaking out through my fingertips in the sewing room, because this group of bags I just finished (most of them sourced from a floral velvet jacket donated by a friend) have something distinctly Renaissance in their makeup.

Inspiration: it comes from a lot of places, and when it shows up, you try to listen to it.

Knit Critters: Lucky Elephants

I said there were elephants, didn't I?

And they're not pink elephants or anything, but real gray elephants.  I'm calling them Lucky Elephants.  Because.

These came about when our housemate brought home a charcoal gray knit shawl / wrap that she'd found.  It was a lovely color, a good weight, and had a few moth holes.  Those disappeared after a proper washing and shrinking, which I was very pleased to see.

The shawl was pretty large, so it came out to be 5 elephants.  I used the same pattern as for the other Knit Critters, but tweaked the head until I had an elephant trunk that I liked.  I tried it both ways in muslin, and the end result is 3 elephants with up trunks and 2 with down.

They also went out to the back yard for their photo shoot, and they're seen meandering up the gravel path and through a bed of coral bells.  It's not the jungle, but you take what you can get as a backyard photographer.  It was better than the tomato plants!


These little guys also got the iron-on felt eyes (I'm loving these, I have to tell you -- so much easier than embroidery and they have exactly the look I want.  I get them from Flying Felt on Etsy).   I also gave them each a neck ribbon, going by direction -- pink for up, green for down.  Mainly because I had more pink ribbon than green in my dwindling ribbon stash.

Must find a good sidewalk sale soon with some ribbon.  I hit one this past Saturday with great crafting deals.  I love it when people price things at "I don't want to take this back upstairs."  I got a 2 yard piece of batting for a quarter, and a few packs of rickrack (which I use all the time on the baby dresses) for 10 cents each.

Okay, and a few pieces of fabric, but I'm trying not to think about that.  Fabric is the one thing I probably don't need any more of -- at least until I find some.

Vintage Quilt Hobo Bag

I bought two pieces of vintage quilt at a sidewalk sale recently.  The sellers said she'd purchased them  years ago with the intention of making something from them.  I took them home with the same idea in mind.

I knew they wanted to be a bag, but I couldn't decide how to best take advantage of the piecing.  There were a few "bald patches" in the quilt, and of course they were in prominent places.

The pieces got set aside to marinate, and the other night, when the bar down the street kept me awake, I went into the workroom and started in.  I don't necessarily recommend working when pissed off and sleep-deprived, but on the other hand, by the time it quieted down and I could finally get some sleep, this is what I had on my hands.

When I woke up the next morning, headachy, stiff and still quite annoyed at being kept from sleeping when I wanted to, I was almost afraid to go into the workroom and see what I had done.  I was so tired by the end that I literally didn't remember some of what I did, so this could have been really good or really awful.

I'm tending to think it's really good, but maybe I'm biased.  Or still delirious from lack of sleep.

Listing is here.

Knit Critters - Adventure Puppies

So I have a few new members to my Knit Critter family. These little guys, who I'm calling Adventure Puppies for no better reason than they look pretty adventurous up there in my lilac tree, are made from a felted navy blue argyle sweater.

It started out life, according to the tag, as an XL.  By the time someone had put it in the dryer and forgotten it, it might have fit an XL child.  This was not the intended wearer.

So it ended up with me, and I took a feel of the lovely texture of the wool and I cut it to pieces.

The pattern is the same as what I used for the gray Knit Critters, just slightly different ears this time -- and I gave them each a tail, since I remembered it while the butt seam was still open.

Using found clothing is always a challenge.  You'll note that one puppy is fully argyle on his back and head, while the other merely has argyle "cow spots" and a tail.  That would be because the sweater was only argyle on the front.  I debated making them identical, each with an argyle side and a spotted side, but that didn't work for me.  There'll be someone who likes each of these little guys as they are.

I didn't bother with noses this time around; I thought that red would just be a little too much with the blue and ivory, and I don't tend to have a lot of felt around the house.  I think these guys work fine with just their ironed-on felt eyes and an ivory grosgrain neck ribbon.

In addition to puppies, there are now . . .  elephants.  Coming soon.

No more pillowcases

Instead, they've become dresses.

I'm pretty happy with these two.  The motifs on the pillowcases really lent themselves to becoming dresses.

Not as happy with the photography on the bottom dress -- the blue facing doesn't show half as much straight on; for some reason, flash or no flash, it's much more obvious in the picture.  Grr.

The only other "grr" moment -- going through SIX boxes and cans of buttons and not being able to find eight pale blue shirt buttons.  Which I know I have a boatload of, because I used them when I made a shirt for my husband a year or so ago.  (And no, I didn't scavenge the buttons off his shirt, though the thought did occur to me.

These dresses are now available in the shop.

So it's not another tablecloth

But do pillowcases count?  I found these two embroidered pillowcases in deep, family-inherited stash, and (1) I know I'll never use them on my bed, and (2) I just can't wait to cut them up!

I can use the same basic A-line baby dress pattern that I used for the tablecloth dresses (which have all sold!), so that I can feature the heavy embroidered borders of the pillowcases as the front hem.  The back will be solid white with just the edging.  Since the cases are different, I didn't have the moral dilemma of deciding whether or not to put the motif on back and front.  Instead, I'll use matching pale blue buttons and do the buttonholes and topstitching in pale blue thread.  The fabric is pretty opaque, so I might even do the facings in pale blue, if I have something in stash that would work.  And I think that I do.

Because of the width of the pillow cases, these will both be size 1, and will be listed in the shop when they're finished.

Yay for more embroidered linens!