Recycled Storage

January 25, 2015April 27, 20153 Comments

Getting organized this month? I like using things I already have in new ways, particularly in my sewing space:

I. Glassware

I have zippers in a vase and in a glass jar:

I use bowls for yarn:

II. Ladders

I use a not-so-old wooden ladder as shelving for my scrap-made fabric bins:

I got the directions for the bins from the book, Sunday Morning Quilts. I made them all with scraps and used cardboard from cereal boxes for the sides and bottoms. If I made them again, I’d use heavier cardboard to give them more stability.

III. Crates

I have an old Coca-Cola crate for holding fat-eighths and fat quarters:

At one time in my life, these crates were used to return glass Coca-Cola bottles to the store for a new set of bottles. No one does this anymore.

IV. Wash tubs

For overflow scraps, I have this wash tub. It’s great for parties, too — just add ice and beverages.

You may want to visit this site for creative craft room storage ideas.

Happy sorting and storing,

Wanda

2015: Shirts, Hexagons and Canoes.

January 4, 201513 Comments

My quilting goal is to finish three quilts in 2015:

I. Pink Shirts Quilt

I participated in the “Shirt Swap” hosted by May Chappell blog. I sent 8 shirts and received 8 shirts in return. It was fun to receive quilts made in fabrics I would not have chosen, but they add character to the quilt. I made 8 shirts to go with the ones I received in the swap. I added frames from solid scraps. The pattern is by Carolyn Friedlander.

To do: Quilt and Bind.

II. Hexies Quilt

On the blog, Modern Handcraft I saw a modern quilt using hexagons as appliques and wanted to do something similar.

To do: Finish Hexies, Quilt and Bind.

III. Crossed Canoes Quilt

I love Crossed Canoes. I want to make a lap sized quilt. These are paper-pieced and I worked on them throughout 2014. I have a dozen or so to complete and assemble the quilt top.

To do: Piece, Quilt and Bind.

So that’s Shirts, Hexagons and Canoes.

Nest Egg Tote: learn from my mistakes.

December 16, 20144 Comments

The Nest Egg Tote by Carolyn Friedlander made me realize I can’t always use what I have on hand or it won’t turn out the way it should, and I learned precision is vital when making this tote.

First mistake: I cut the handle and strap strips too wide. Luckily I was using the wrong sized D-rings and it wasn’t too much of a problem on the handle, but the straps were supposed to sit completely on the outside of the gusset and mine are inside the seams so the handles hang a little wonky:

Second mistake: I didn’t use ultra-firm stabilizer for the inside inserts. Instead I used Soft & Stable stabilizer and when the tote was finished it tended to collapse. This was one mistake I fixed. I bought ultra-firm stabilizer and stitched it to the inserts I had already made:

It was now even stronger and I liked that.

Third mistake: Using a dark fabric on the outside and a light fabric on the inside. The black thread from the outside stitching sometimes peaked through the light fabric even though I used white thread in the bobbin, and I don’t like that.

Fourth mistake: I didn’t intertwine the elastic strips to give the right tension to hold the items inside. When I redid the inserts with the ultra-firm stabilizer, I fixed this mistake: