Things I will do with scraps!

I know, I have pinned a bunch of things that I will do with scraps....lots of ideas. Well, I have started looking at different ideas and I have come up with some ideas that I definitely want to do...and some that I have tried. So here we go!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/07/his-hers-personalized-baby-quilts.html[/caption]

I have this things for quilts. I like these but in a large size without the names. Unless it is our last name.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="307"] http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/world-quilt-giveaway.html[/caption]

This quilt is gorgeous! I must have one soon. I think that I would use fabric strips but not selvages.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] http://www.i-do-it-yourself.com/2008/11/spools-bird-softies/[/caption]

I can just imagine what my family would say. I love the birds and the different fabrics that they are sewn out of. What a great idea for Christmas ornaments! Hmmm...I would love  a tree like this in my den. It would be fun and light hearted!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] http://nanacompany.typepad.com/nanacompany/2011/08/-playing-with-dresdens.html[/caption]



I love this quilt, it is only surpassed by the ticker tape quilts.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="549"] http://sewfun2quilt.blogspot.com/2010/05/ticker-tape-quiltsgreat-scrap-buster.html[/caption]

I just found these place mats. I have just decided since we moved that I need to replace ours. These are gorgeous and I could get the feel of what it is like to make a ticker tape quilt before I commit to cutting out all those little squares. I could also see how it wears.



and this....

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] http://www.mygirlthursday.com/2011/05/diy-scrap-busting-pot-holders.html[/caption]

and then there are  these....

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="728"] https://sew4home.com/projects/table-linens/kitchen-confections-modas-vintage-modern-patchwork-napkins[/caption]

Well, I had better stop. The list is going on forever. I think this is turning into a form of procrastination.

See you later,

Karen

 

 

 

Scrap Yarn projects

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="570"] http://www.etsy.com/listing/62030561/pdf-crochet-pattern-mighty-mug-cozy[/caption]

It seems like my yarn stash has/is growing out of all bounds. I have been searching for scrap yarn projects and found these. I hope that they help you find more room in your house, too.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="570"] http://www.etsy.com/listing/89170166/pdf-pattern-pretty-up-your-fruit-bowl[/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240"] http://wolfcrochet.wordpress.com/2012/02/[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300"] http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L20077.html[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300"] http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L20081.html[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="308"] http://www.crochetme.com/media/p/112553.aspx[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="448"] http://verypink.com/2012/01/26/todays-work/[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] http://elisabethandree.posterous.com/threads-threads-lots-of-threads[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="342"] http://www.etsy.com/listing/38871159/scrap-yarn-afghan-crocheted-stained[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="570"] http://www.etsy.com/listing/77038019/knitted-banner-pattern-happy-day-bunting[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] http://crochet.about.com/od/afghansquaresandblocks/ss/Rainbow_Crochet_Square.htm[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] http://knitnut.blogspot.com/[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] http://maribelmade.com/[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] http://sheepspace.ca/category/crochet/[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460"] http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/aug/23/how-to-make-crocheted-flowers[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/resurrection_fern/2008/10/crochet-acorns-and-felted-pumpkin-bowls-a-tutorial.html[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300"] http://www.crochetbug.com/tag/scrap-yarn/page/2/[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] http://valzcorner.blogspot.com/2012/06/4-more-summer-crochet-projects.html[/caption]

 

Well, this is a small list of ideas that are out there on the internet. I hope it sparks some inspiration for you and sends you in new directions. What do you do with all your scrap yarn? How do you use it up?

See you later,

Karen

 

 

Something New out of Something Old

A couple of months back an internet friend sent me some lovely doilies and vintage napkins. They had seen some wear and weren't quite suitable to sell as doilies. So my friend Renee from http://www.wakeuptheangel.etsy.com sent them to me. As I washed and pressed them, I thought of all of the lovely things I could make. They ended up sitting on my work table for several weeks while I decided the best use for them. Here they are waiting on me to think up some lovely cozy use for them.



Here are a few of the finished cozies, ready to go into the shop this week.







The fabric for these two beauties is up-cycled and fussy cut to make the most of the stripes. There is a lot of work that goes into each of these cozies to make sure that I make the most of the vintage linens and doilies. The doilies had some holes and were not fit for their usual purpose. I can't wait to show you some of the other new cozies. I have some more modern looking quilted cozies and then some more up-cycled cozies.

I know it has been awhile since I last posted, but we had a senior graduating from High School and it was taking my full concentration. Then there was a mini-vacation to see family. We are now back home and just dealing with life which will be full of acclimating a dog back into our house, a wisdom tooth extraction, grocery shopping and the beginning of Summer! The kids on our street were playing outside last night as we drove home and it was a huge reminder of how quickly they grow and how little time I have left with the two still in school.

Karen

Recycling - upcycling: un-paper paper towels

Recently in our house we had a demise. Yes, something died. One of our most favorite sets of flannel sheets died. There were huge holes in the top sheet right under where your chin should be. I promptly bundled it up and put it out in the van....and then just as promptly brought it in in a bag for another upcycling/recycling project that I did. Which I will show at another time, maybe. Here is the sheet.



This project I will share with you today. When I was in the middle of the other ALL day and the next day project. I was posing questions to the kids in my house. What should I do with the flannel sheets? I had several answers; more pillow cases, fabric yarn then made into a crocheted rag rug, pajama bottoms for the kids. If the sheets had not been so worn this might have been a good idea, except then we would feel like singing "The Hills are Alive..." and dancing like the Von Traps in The Sound of Music.  What I decided to do came to me in a moment of need. We were out of paper towels. I don't know about your house but at our house we have several people (that shall remain nameless) that enjoy cooking. They use 5-6 paper towels when cooking, sometimes as many as ten because they wad them up and then throw them away. The purpose of paper towels in their mind iis to keep their hands from touching any yucky liquid. Which makes me unhappy because I am buying paper towels all the time. I have seen cute un-paper towels that snap together and you roll them onto a paper towel roll and can even put them back on the paper towel holder! That sounds wonderful but I know that I will never roll them back onto that roll or even keep the paper towel roll to roll them onto and I certainly won't be snapping them back together.  If I can just get them into a basket on a counter or in a drawer in the kitchen I will be happy, and as long as it keeps my family from using my nice bleached dishtowels on the floor, I will be a happy Mom.

So here is the tutorial on salvaging a flannel sheet into un-paper towels. Upcycling at its best, recycling with cleaning in mind. Here you go!

1. First cut or rip your fabric into slightly larger than paper towel sized squares.

2. Take two pieces the same size place them wrong sides together and sew around the edge. Round the corners so you don't have to poke out corners when you are done. It should look something like this:

Be sure to leave an opening for turning the un-paper towel inside out. To make it easy on me and a beginning sewing activity. I had a child do the sewing around the edges for me. It is a great beginning sewing project because it doesn't matter if the edges are a bit off or the towels are a different sizes. (I should say that it worked for me as I really do not care and this is utilitarian sewing.) It might matter to you. I rounded the corners and doubled the fabric so I wouldn't have to do tiny hems or tie knots.

3. Trim the corners so that it isn't bunchy when you turn it right side out. You can see the trimmed corner in the picture above.

4. Turn it right side out. Run your hand around the seam on the inside to poke out those rounded corners.

5. Tuck the opening edges to the inside and top stitch close to the edge all the way around, back stitch a little when you come back to the beginning and clip the threads short. There you go....you are finished! One un-paper towel.





Now if you want to speed up your sewing process.

1. Cut all the squares out at one time.

2. Lay them all out right sides together.

3. Sew around the edges of all of them one right after another.

4. Trim and turn them right side out all at the same time.

5. Top stitch them all at one sitting.

That should speed up the process. I mean, who wants to spend all afternoon cutting and sewing un-paper towels!

Talk to you later!

Karen

A few extra notes: flannel is naturally sticky (hence the flannel graph) so I didn't pin, If you use different fabrics you will want to pin them together. I purposely created this so I wouldn't have to deal with picky hems or serging. My serger and I are not friends at this point in time. You could serge both pieces of fabric together and be finished that much faster. However, I had someone that needed to practice sewing curves and this project was perfect as it wasn't a piece of clothing or a gift for someone.