Projects for Fabric Scraps

Sorry for my prolonged absence and sporadic posting.  If it's possible for things to be both dull and hectic then that's what they are--we've got a lot of last minute school/house stuff to deal with, and none of it should really be that taxing, but it's so hot that all I want to do is sleep through the day and watch television all night. Additionally, we're drowning in fresh apples, pears, and figs right now.  The last thing I need is sweets (you know, in combination with the sleeping all day and watching television all night), but I can't let all...

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Chevron Terra Cotta Pot Tutorial

I made these back in May as Mother's Day gifts. True to form, I neglected to take any usable pictures (I did a lot of work on these while watching Dexter and just couldn't take my eyes off of the television long enough).  I passed out my Mother's Day gifts and put this project on the back burner until I got the chance to go through all the steps again and take pictures. (Side note:  the above picture was taken back in May, while we were still living in our crummy little apartment in Columbus.  I know it's only been...

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1886 Vintage Ingalls Embroidery Patterns

I literally  jumped for joy when I saw that Feeling Stitchy had posted a link to these beautiful 1886 Ingalls vintage embroidery patterns, which have been cleaned up and made available by Flickr's jeninemd.  There's no way I could pick favorites, but here a few that really jumped out at me: Embroidery has become my lazy-summer-watching-television-everything-else-is-in-the-garage-or-too-expensive craft, and I can't wait to stitch some of these beautiful vintage designs. (all images courtesy of jeninemd via...

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I think Chowder is stingy.

Most of these are the organic catnip mice I made for them a couple of months ago.  Though I was disappointed in the way they turned out appearance-wise, they've held up really well and both cats seem to enjoy playing with them just the...

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I’m breaking up with store-bought bathing suits.

So, I've mentioned I'm at the beach with my family. Though we can't swim in the ocean because of the oil spill (and I'm pretty wary of oceanic creatures anyway), our condo has a lazy river, an indoor pool and hot tubs, and a very sweet outdoor pool with a waterfall.  Our room also has a private hot tub on the balcony.  I knew all this when I packed, yet I still forgot my bathing suit.  Even after my mom reminded me to pack it. I briefly considered going out and buying a new one, but I didn't find ...

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OlioBoard

Earlier this week I read about OlioBoard over at Decor8.  I was drawn to the idea behind it because I frequently gather images for inspiration when I'm working on DIY or home design projects, but I've never had a very convenient way of organizing them. All these images were hanging out on my desktop as reference points for an embroidery project I'm currently working on, so I decided to open up an OlioBoard account and upload them.  So far I've found the website fairly easy to use, and I think I'm really going to appreciate having a...

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Vogue Easy Options V8575

With the exception of a few stuffed animals, I have never really sewn from a pattern before. In fact, I haven't sewn very much in the way of clothes--especially something as complex as this dress. Most of the work was done by my grandmother (a very experienced seamstress who's made all kinds of clothes, including one of my prom dresses), but I was there to watch and help the entire time. After helping her make one, I feel like I could fairly competently make another with few problems. After all, the sewing is the fun part. However, the...

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Organic Catnip Mice

When Chowder was a kitten his favorite things to play with were balled up tin foil, a stuffed mouse that I made for him (pictured below), and ponytail holders.  When we adopted Maxine I wanted to make her a mouse of her own, but try as I may I can't locate the blog I got the pattern from, and I lost the original when I spilled water on my laptop  (while reading Lost forums, nonetheless) causing its untimely death. Maxine has never really cared for Chowder's mouse anyway--she prefers those compact little catnip mice that slide really well across our hardwood...

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Bird Mobile from Spool

I've had this Spool Sewing Bird Mobile Tutorial bookmarked for over a year.  It's really the perfect stash-busting craft--the birds are so small that almost any fabric scrap is usable, and it's so easy (and free) to go outside and break off a few sticks and tie them together with string, twine, fishing line, thread--or whatever else you have on hand.  So, in honor of the April Stash Bust I ignored the trepidation I felt about a grown, childless woman having a bird mobile hanging in her house and made one of these beautiful things happen.  Thanks to...

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Ill-Fitting Tank Top into Stuffed Owl

Lately I've been getting divine crafty inspiration from on high; as I was sitting in my Capstone class earlier this week I got the idea for this sweet little stuffed owl seemingly from nowhere.  I sketched the concept in the margin of my notes and went back to my discussion of Lily Bart, almost forgetting about the owl until I cleaned out my tank top drawer later in the week.  (Yes, I have a tank top drawer, and until a couple of days ago it was very full.)  I'm making an effort to get rid of a lot of stuff...

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