Quick Pick 5 Package Swap #3

I swap with Swap-bot!

Here is what my partner found in their package:

This is what I found in mine:

Are those socks AMAZING or what? I can't wait to wear them. The Post Its are coming to work with me - no more plain boring notes stuck to my desk. The stamp says 'laugh' - I should bring that to work too. ;) I may even share the beads with my daughter. It was such a fun package to receive. What a sweet partner!

Send me a Tote and a Note #3

I swap with Swap-bot!

OK, OK, before you ask why I would send a tote that has Crime Scene Cleanup on it to a perfectly nice lady, let me say that her profile listed quite a few crime shows as her favorites. So in addition to two of my recycled curtain totes I included that one. I hope she gets kick out of it.

Receipt Swap

No, that's not a typo for recipe. With all my dietary restrictions, recipe swaps are of no interest. However, what could be more cool for an ephemera junkie like me than someone else's papers? You were to send your partner a minimum of 3 receipts to use for crafting purposes or just for fun. The latter is my case.

I find a lot of receipts at my work from all over the place. I get a kick out of reading where they're from, what time the person who dropped it was there, etc. so it was really a blast for me to participate in this swap. How cool it was to see one from a library book sale! You can see the envelope it came in was recycled, which really tickled my fancy as well.

I hope the host does it again, I will definitely sign up!

Fat Quarters Swap

I swap with Swap-bot!

I think I truly hit the jackpot on this one. My swap partner sent beautiful fabrics, each one perfect for me in some way, along with a delicately woven lace bookmark in my favorite color.

But back to the fabric. Those jungle prints are AMAZING! I'm not a quilter, but I'm encouraging myself to make a mini quilt with them. I have some carved giraffes and other jungle animals in my bedroom that would be so enhanced with something like that displayed on the wall above them. Wish me luck!

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday: Pantyhose/Tights Crafts

My work requires me to wear black hose or tights. I prefer the tights and as a result have quite a few no-longer wearable pairs collected. I can't just toss them. Beyond the $5-$7/pair cost, I just can't see throwing them in the trash. There must be good craft-supply uses for them.



Some things I've done with worn out tights so far -

Ties for holding up tomato plants
Tube bra (from the panty portion, not the legs LOL)
If only the feet were worn out, cut them off and wear as footless tights
Stuffing for soft toys and pillows
Store onions by placing them inside, tying a knot between each one and hanging up. When you want to use an onion just untie or cut off a section to release it
Cover the end of the vacuum hose and run over the rug when looking for a lost item such as an earring back. It will be lifted off the rug, but not sucked up into the machine



I've got an idea for a quilt. Take two squares, fold them over on the diagonal and sew together on the fold. Stuff each of the resulting triangles with tights and sew closed. These should be nice, weighty squares and make a warm quilt when sewn up, don't you think?

But I'd really love some crafty ideas, maybe a pin cushion or some sort? Or a children's toy of some kind? This faked potato looks like a fun toy! I wish a faked eggplant (since all my tights are black) could be just as much fun, but who eats eggplant in the skin with the insides mashed up and butter on top?

I would love for some folks to share their ideas on this with me!

Crafting Between Household Chores

Having been away for five days last week my house is an even bigger disaster than usual, since I was the only one away for the bulk of that time. That means I'm spending my days off cleaning up after them and will have to put off for another week the tweaking I need to do to my Halloween costume and the hacking up of some sweaters that need to become shrugs to fill a gap in my wardrobe.

So here are three quick projects, knocked out in a few minutes each during breaks I needed to take in order to keep my sanity.




First up, a little bag for my clothespins. I, unfortunately, don't use an outdoor clothesline due to allergies but I do use clothespins with my drying rack and to close things like chip bags. So we don't have a large collection and with the bag not being stored outside pretty could take precedence to durable. You may recognize this remnant from the jeans to skirt refashion a little while back. This used up the last of the fabric, with the exception of a few small scraps that go into the box I send off to OA's quilter every so often.

This little bag is now hanging on the rod over my washer and is quite an improvement over the plastic bag you see next to it.




Next up a bouncy skirt from leftover giftwrap tulle and a bit of stash elastic. This will go into the box for my Christmas child. I look forward to giving a box of gifts to a child through OA each Christmas. I'm thinking I'm going to include some dress-up items this year and thought this would be a fun start.






Last up, a guinea pig pillow from a recently unearthed dishtowel that belonged to my mother-in-law. It is stuffed with the rest of the towel and scraps from my scrap bag.






Each little project was fun to make and a nice diversion from how cranky I am over lack of housekeeping cooperation.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday: Curtain to Grocery Bags

More from the ultra-soft 80's curtains Mom gave me. I used the bulk of them for pillowcases, put some parts not large enough for me to work with but large enough to be quilted with in the box where I collect fabric to send to the wonderful Karen who makes tons of quilts for OA and have made some grocery totes from the leftovers large enough to work for that purpose. One for Mom, one for me. Extras will be split between OA and Christmas giving.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday: Bathmat Edition

As you can see from this photo, our bathmat had quite a large area that had turned to nothing more than strings. The towel next to it was fine, with the exception that the sides were unraveling. I can't remember where I saw the idea of a bathmat woven from towels but I knew these two items were destined to become one.

If anyone reading knows where I found my inspiration please comment, I want to credit the person whose idea it was originally.

Once I had all the strips cut I stitched them in place across one end horizontally and one vertically then wove them into each other, then began anchoring each strip down between the weaves. The first couple of rows I sewed without pinning. I started to get frustrated at the weave slipping out when I worked it in and out of my machine so I took to pinning it.

Then I got tired of pinning and repinning every time something shifted, so I went back to no pins. I felt like it was a lot of work for something so simple, but what it came down to was it was quite a task for my little quarter century old Kenmore. I love my machine dearly, it has been quite the workhorse but two or three thicknesses of fluffy towel and a thick bath mat are just too much to ask of it. I really need to learn more about heavy duty machines because I should eventually add one to my lineup.

As you can see from the photo, it is not quite perfect but it sure is nice. Thick, soft and will keep the tootsies warm this winter.

Two favorite things about this project:

How soft and pretty this turned out.

Hearing the following conversation going on in the living room:

(Phone Rings)

Kid: Hi Dad

(Pause)

Kid: She's in the office. (My sewing room is also the home office & library.)

(Pause)

Kid: Sewing a new bath rug out of the old bath rug and a towel.


Now, you probably have to love crafting as much as I do to be so pleased by this, or at least know how matter of factly she made the last statement as though her father should know if I was in there SOMETHING was being remade into something else.

I Made It to Wardrobe Refashion!

On my 3rd try I finally made the cut! You can see my first post here!

The Pledge

I, Crunchysews, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed, Crunchysews.

Pay It Forward meme

I'm not really big on this kind of thing but it really sounds fun so when I saw this on Clevergirl's blog I knew I had to participate. She already had five replies so I went to the blog of someone who replied to her and commented to that person, My New Thing. Now to the meme:


I am entering into the following agreement with the first 5 people who comment on this post and then commit to doing the same on their blog. Just read below and if you feel up to the task copy the following into your blog and leave me a comment.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I send you. But you may be pleasantly surprised. It will definitely be sewing/craft related.

2. What I send will be made just for you, with love, by my own hands. You’d be surprised how much of our personalities does come through online.

3. I will complete all 5 gifts this year – 2009.

4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world, that you can touch and feel, and not something cyber.

5. I reserve the right to do something strange. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. If you find it truly horrendous, just let me know. Perhaps you’ll send it forward to someone who will absolutely love it.

6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.

7. Send your mailing address – after I contact you to confirm. I am willing to ship internationally.



If you’d like something handmade by me, be one of the first 5 to post a comment and to post this offer on your blog, too!

Please join me, Leigh and Antoinette in spreading some bloggy love and beautiful things around the world…

The Best Produce Bags You'll Ever Use.

I made these produce bags and quite a few more from a remnant purchased from my local fabric shop (not the big, chain place, the Mom & Pop place) for $2.70. Oh, how I wish I'd purchased more of it!

The fabric was a not very attractive looking mauvey-pinkey gauze with lots of space in the weave. Whatever it was intended for, in the pre-washed state it wasn't very pretty and was just a bunch of pulls waiting to happen. For all I know it might have been intended to be waste fabric, because it certainly couldn't have stood up to much. But one of my favorite things to do with fabric is to buy things that aren't intended for washing and wash them to see what I end up with. This turned into a lighter pink, seersuckerish gauze that makes a bag intended for a large bunch of carrots with the tops still attached weigh about .07 on my postal scale!

I didn't make them with concern for weight since their intended use was for our organic farm share pickups but once I discovered how well food kept in them I continued using them once the farm season was over. Cashiers often panic or get annoyed when they see them, thinking they have to take the produce out of the bag to weigh it for me. I solve this in two ways - use the self-service line and avoid the cashier totally or tell them right off that I'm using fabric produce bags (as well as fabric grocery bags) and that there is no need for them to remove the produce to weigh it. I had a young guy in his 20's get a little annoyed with me, trying to convince me they weighed too much and I shouldn't be 'charged' for them each time they were used. I told him how much they weighed on my scale and that I'd also weighed a store plastic bag and found a difference so small I was willing to take it.

Produce stays so much longer in these bags. The moisture that icks up produce in plastic bags is absorbed by the cloth bag, keeping the fruit and vegetable surface nice and dry. If the food isn't used right away, I'm told the moisture captured in the bag keeps it moist. Whatever it is, I love these bags! Just like my cloth napkins, they're tossed into the laundry allong with our towels. They take up next to no room in the wash and come out nice and fresh every time. They cost so little it won't bother me at all when it is time to toss one on the compost.

I haven't found that great fabric again, but I have invested in twenty yards of a similar fabric in white. I plan to make a good supply of these to offer to folks who might want to have some. Can anyone think of a fun drawing I might run here?

Share What You Have With Those Who Need.

I have long understood the value of giving. Each person will know in what manner they can best give: time, money, skills, goods, legacy, what have you.

The group that has been my favorite for a good six or seven years now is Online Angels, a 501(c)3 charity. Please take a moment to look around the site and consider getting involved. There are many ways to help OA, whether it be by purchasing a raffle ticket, sending in school supplies, crocheting a love-ghan. You donate it and Mary, Royce and family will get it to the person who needs it plus you'll get a tax deduction for it! I donate all sorts of things, from auction items, to school supplies, to a box of new clothing and toys for a specific child at Christmas. That's the thing about OA, with very few exceptions, everything given to recipients is new, with much of it being lovingly handmade by a good soul with a prayer in their heart. Of course you don't have to be religious to give to OA, but you might find yourself feeling spiritually fulfilled by doing so!

This cute little hat was made on the pictured blue Knifty Knitter loom with yarn donated to me by another volunteer who couldn't use it. You can get Knifty Knitters at most any crafting store these days. The pink and brown is very stylish right now and it took me but about ten minutes to make the 18 rows necessary for this preemie sized cap. The tool is from Craftsman, sold in a 4 pack of different shapes for about $5 in the tool department at Sears. Basic loom knitting such as this is easy and almost meditative. If you'd like to learn a little more about it, check out the Livejournal community Loom Knitters or help out OA by going to GoodSearch, selecting Online-Angels of Pottsville, PA as the charity you'd like your searches to be credited to and using their Yahoo powered search engine to learn more about loom or board knitting.

The Value of Cloth Napkins

Wise Bread asks, What can we buy to help us thrive in this recession?

I say one of the 'investments' you should make is cloth napkins. They're both environmentally friendly and budget boosting. Of course they're cheaper still if you make your own from no longer usable clothing or linens or from some fabric purchased long ago, but even if you have to make an 'investment' and purchase them outright, they're worth it. Quite often you can get them for .25 each at a thrift, donated by a non-frugal person who didn't stop to think that it doesn't matter if they match your decor - you only use them for a few minutes while eating then toss them into the laundry with the rest of your towels and kitchen linens.

Cloth napkins take up almost no space in the wash and add nothing to your regular laundry bill but you'll save the cost of purchasing that pack of plastic wrapped, disposable paper napkins you routinely toss into the shopping cart. You'll also save the cost of disposing of them, including sending them to the landfill.

Don't feel locked in to linens designed for use as napkins, either. You can use bandannas, washcloths, dishcloths, whatever you find at a good price or whip up from a no longer usable shirt or sheet. Last Memorial Day I brought a large bag of napkins I'd made to a barbecue to share. I displayed them in a basket and invited all in attendance to take home as many as they liked. Some folks were quite surprised to hear what the previous form of their favorites had been, most especially the palm tree decorated set that had been a 3X shirt from prior to my 80lb. weight loss that I just couldn't seem to part with. It was great to see someone fall in love with its second incarnation as much as I had!

So folks, let's all break the paper napkin habit, get hooked on cloth and save!

Wardrobe Refashion

Has anyone reading here participated in this? I just signed up for two months because I need motivation to get crafting. Have a look here and tell me what you think.

ETA: I guess I didn't make the cut. :( Maybe next time.