Posts Tagged ‘crafts’

You know what drives my frugal soul nuts? Tossing soap slivers in the garbage. I know that sounds a little (a lot?) obsessive, but I think my Depression-era grandparents were right about not wasting things. Why buy something new when you still have something useful?

Coincidentally, there’s a pile of sad old washcloths in my linen cupboard. The edges are frayed or the dobby has disintegrated, and they’re just not looking so fresh anymore.

So what's a frugal girl to do with these two seemingly useless objects? Make a soap sliver scrubber, of course.  Here’s how:

Supplies

• Old washcloth
• Matching or contrasting thread, as desired
• Pins and large safety pin
• Ribbon or cord
• Assorted soap slivers

Instructions

1. Fold washcloth in half. Turn so long folded edge is facing you. Fold left edge down twice to make drawstring channel and enclose raw edge. Place pin in washcloth where drawstring channel ends.

2. Unfold drawstring channel. Pin down side and around bottom of washcloth below marker pin.

3. Starting at marker pin, sew around edge, backstitching at beginning and end to lock in stitches. I used about a 3/8-inch seam allowance and a fairly short stitch length on my machine. But this is not a fussy measurement, for sure.

4. If you like, curve the end of the seam on the squared corner to mimic the curved corner. Trim off excess.

5. To make drawstring channel, fold in edge (just above end of seam) slightly to enclose raw edge, then double-fold as you did the beginning. You may need to fiddle a little to get the channel to lie flat all the way from front to back. Pin in strategic places to hold in place. Edgestitch all the way around the bottom of the fold, backstitching at beginning and end to lock in stitches and reinforce.

6. Turn bag right side out. Tie knot in one end of ribbon. Stick safety pin though knot (I figured the knot part out the hard way after I took the picture below). Thread ribbon through drawstring channel.

7. Toss some soap slivers in the bag and pull the drawstring. Tie a knot and hang it up in the shower,

You're ready to lather up. And when the bag gets icky, just empty out the soap slivers and toss the bag in the wash. It couldn't be easier.

Happy scrubbing!

Thank you all so much for all your excellent pattern suggestions for using up my yarn stash. I can't believe how many fun ideas you posted. Now I have a buffet of options to choose from. I took a few minutes to look up some of the links you suggested and thought I'd share them here.

• Jan suggested I try a well-loved Canadian Living pattern for tiny knitted dolls. It's a great idea for using up a pile of small yarn scraps. Plus, you can customize each doll for the recipient.
• Deb suggested I try out Shelly Kang's sock-yarn blanket. I love the Kaffe Fassett look of the squares in this throw.
• Deb also suggested a Log Cabin tree skirt from Sally Melville's Warm Knits, Cool Gifts. I love Log Cabin anything, so I'll have to get the book. Or maybe craft a bunch of Log Cabin squares I can make into all sorts of things – totes, throws, etc.
• LouLou suggested a modern version of the crocheted granny square. Isn't it cool how the finished product looks a little like stained glass?
• GiGi was a champ – she posted several links. One was Soule Mama's no-pattern stash-busting blanket and another was Posie Gets Cozy's ripple afghan. I'm a huge fan of both Amanda and Alicia, so I'm very happy to see them in this list. If I ever learn to crochet, The Ripple is a must.
• GiGi also included links to a cool vertical striped afghan and a wicked stripy scarf.

I'm having a crazy-busy week, but I have managed to get just a touch of sewing time in. I finished my sashiko mail holder. Hurray for finished objects (at last)!

I've spent a lot of the last week thinking and reading about the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan. As I've mentioned before, I used to teach English in Japan, so the country and its people are very dear to my heart. The thought – and especially the images – of such devastation is almost unbearable.

But there's one thing I do know, having lived there. The Japanese people will pick themselves up again and go on.

There's a term for that stoic bearing-up in Japanese: ganbaru. The word gets translated many different ways; everything from "hang on" to "do your best." People use it all the time. They tell each other "Ganbatte" (that's the command form of the verb) whenever there's a challenge to face, whether it's studying for an exam or surviving the unthinkable, like the one-two-three punch of a 9.0 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.

This week, people around the world have been trying their best to encourage Japan to ganbaru. One of the nicest, craft-oriented ways I've seen is Paper Cranes for Japan. Around the globe, people are folding origami cranes, a traditional symbol of peace, hope and healing, and posting their results – pretty or not – on this page as a token of their good wishes and hope for the Japanese people.

I'm not the world's best origami folder (I get my mountain and valley folds backwards more often than not), so I'm not sure I should be the one teaching you. But this video tutorial does a pretty good job. With any luck, you'll make fewer balls of crumpled paper than I will in your journey to create a crane that's pretty enough to post.

However, I do have a great idea for what to do with your perfect cranes (or any other shape you like to fold).

Supplies

• Bamboo barbecue skewers
• Sturdy scissors
• Transparent fishing line
• Small beads, such as seed beads
• Long sharp all-purpose sewing needle
• Even number of origami shapes you've folded

Instructions

1. Using scissors, cut pointed end off each barbecue skewer.

2. Cut lengths of fishing line, 12 to 16 inches, depending on how low you want the cranes to hang. I made eight cranes, so I cut eight pieces (it has to be an even number to balance). Thread each length of fishing line through seed bead and tie securely using several tight overhand knots. I find pulling one end with my teeth and the other with my fingers works well. (I don't think my dentist would agree.)

3. Thread opposite end of beaded fishing line through needle. Push needle through opening underneath crane and up into body. Gently poke with needle until you feel the peak of the back.

4. Push needle and fishing line through. Pull up until bead is secure under body. Repeat with all your cranes and beaded fishing line.

5. Tie one crane about 3/4 inch in from end of one skewer. Tie another crane on opposite end. Adjust so they are balanced. Repeat with remaining pairs.

6. You'll notice there's no picture of this next step – it would have been easier if I were an octopus or had chimpanzee toes. I needed three hands to tie (or rather two hands and my incisors), so there was no way I could hold a camera at the same time. If you like to tie flies for fishing, maybe you have one of those clippy third-arm devices – that would be handy at this juncture. At any rate, cut some more lengths of fishing line. Tie one length in centre of one of the balanced pairs. Then tie the other end to the centre of another balanced pair. Play with the height to ensure that the cranes move freely and don't crash into one another. Repeat with all the pairs. Slide knots around to adjust the balance, if necessary.

7. Hang up your mobile. A cup hook screwed into the ceiling is ideal, but I hung mine from the end of a pretty curtain rod.

Wishing the people of Japan hope and healing. Ganbatte!

Valentine's Day isn't much of an issue in my house. No kids = no panicky baking and Valentine addressing on Feb. 13.

But in the spirit of making the world an easier place for harried crafters, I've found some simple Valentine's Day crafts you can make in a flash. Of course, we have plenty of Cupid-themed crafts on our site (check out three kid-friendly favourites here) and in our brand-spanking-new book, Create, Update, Remake.

Here are five more Valentine's Day crafts that won't cost you a fortune or make your frown lines deeper.

1. Sewn heart cards from Dilly Dally and Flitter
2. Lollipop flowers from Yesterday on Tuesday (I'd just make the flower if I were pressed for time)
3. Salt dough conversation hearts from Crafterella
4. Hanging yarn hearts from Family Chic
5. Fuzzy heart aliens from Speckless

Once you're done filling the world with love, chow down on some cinnamon hearts. You've earned it!

I have a confession. I've been quietly working on a little quilting project on the side (shh — it's still a secret).

But that's not actually the confession. I realized in the course of pinning and sewing many seams that I have a thing for pincushions. I keep a long basket of them on my sewing table.

There are a couple of tins in there as well, but I don't like them as much as my cushions. Pincushions are so handy — they stand by, right next to your sewing machine or your iron or your cutting mat. They hold the pins upright, right in the position you need to grab them.

Don't get me wrong; tins are great for storage. But when you dig in to one without looking, there's the danger of sticking your finger into the business end of one of those sharp little suckers. Ouch! (That's the literal interpretation of putting "blood, sweat and tears" into your work.)

My favourites are the soft pincushions and my magnetic pin holder. I keep the skinny cushion in the small space in front of my sewing machine, so I can park pins as I sew. The squarer dragonfly one, the button-topped one (a gift from Austen) and, rarely, the old-school strawberry sit by my iron or on my cutting mat if I need overflow space. The magnetic one is always nearby, and it's great when you drop a couple of pins. Turn it over, run it along the floor, and it'll pick up even the tiniest needle you can't see.

Another handy one is my bracelet pincushion. I whipped it up from scraps one day when I was frustrated with carting cushions back and forth. I'm not quite sure how I engineered it (it has plenty of design flaws), but it fits my big wrist perfectly and never slips. The best trick: I put a couple of pieces of hard template plastic in the bottom so the pins don't stick through into the top of my wrist. Very important if you don't want to fill the swear jar while you're sewing.

When I'm finished with my little side project, I'd like to whip up some more pincushions. The more the merrier, right? These are a few I'd like to make:

• Chicken Pincushion
• Cupcake Pincushion
• Wrist Pincushion (this is how I should have made mine!)
• Mason Jar Pincushion & Sewing Kit

The best part of all of these is that they only require scraps. And each of them is so easy you can whip off a few in a couple of hours.

Hmmm, I think someone just got an idea for next year's stocking stuffers. Happy sewing!

For a few years, I've been promising myself (and my husband) that I would make a quilt we could keep. Turns out most of the quilts I make are for friends' babies – and a lot of my friends have babies. My biggest hit was the Elvis quilt I made for a friend's daughter a few years ago.

(Yes, that's Elvis, and those are motorcycles, pinup girls, tiki drinks and guitars. Surrounded by leopard print. Yes, this kid's parents are super-funky and hip.)

I think I'm most proud of it because of the feedback I've received. Not from other people, but from my friend's daughter. She's never actually said anything to me about it (she's just a tiny preschooler), but she proved she loved it with her actions. Her mom told me: "This is her #1 favorite item! She sleeps in it, she lounges on it, she puts dolls and bears to bed under it. It has been a tablecloth in her play kitchen, a prime spot for hide-and-seek, and a very big hat for a giant stuffed dog."

You can't pay a quilter a better compliment than that, can you?

So now I want to make a quilt for myself that I'll love just as much. It's not an easy task. There are a few musts:

• It must be a king-size (even though we have a queen-size bed)
• It must be cosy
• It must be a mix of darks and brights (to hide doggie footprints)
• It must not be so difficult that I never finish it

But I think I might have the key: the Bento Box Quilt.

I've seen this simple geometric pattern in a bunch of places now, but the first one I laid eyes on was on Crazy Mom Quilts, a lovely blog by another mad-about-quilting gal named Amanda Jean. Her version looks like this:

Photo, courtesy of Amanda Jean, Crazy Mom Quilts

Photo, courtesy of Amanda Jean, Crazy Mom Quilts

The play between light and dark, and bold and subtle, is brilliant. I love the colours in the quilt above, but I know that beautiful snowy white wouldn't last a week with my dog. But the bright scrappy bits? Now we're talking.

I have been collecting all sorts of fat quarters, but I'm not sure what would work best for a project like this. Acid-bright batiks? 1930s-style feedsack prints? And what to use as the dark contrast in the background? Graphic black-and-white prints? Softer grey prints? Subtle grey-and-white batiks?

So which should it be, fellow crafters?

• Black or grey?

• Bright batiks or soft retro prints?

Drop me a comment and help me decide!

Hi, Make + Doers! This is Tina speaking. Austen’s on vacation today, so I’m filling in as guest poster. You might remember me as the slightly obsessive craft-room organizer from a few months ago. I’m delighted to be back and to share a little about the crafty trip I took recently.

Remember the excitement of Grade 5 field trips, when you got to get out of the classroom and see something REAL? That was how I felt last week at The Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, Vermont.

I grew up in New England, so I go back often. This time, my mom and dad decided to spoil me and hit all the yarn shops within a 50-mile radius. They were all filled with lovely yarn, but the Spinnery really stood out.

It’s a cooperative of like-minded wool lovers who work really hard to sustain sheep farmers in the area. They produce a range of gorgeous yarns using environmentally friendly techniques, and the results are inspiring.

Of course, the part my dad was most excited about was the mill behind the shop. The folks who work there are extraordinarily proud of their setup, and you never have to ask twice for a tour.

The Spinnery uses vintage machinery to card, spin and skein their wool. I was amazed at the ingenuity of the people who work there – including one particularly resourceful ex-Navy man who minds the inner workings of these behemoth devices. It’s kind-of like having a ’57 Chevy with a ’92 Toyota engine and ’87 Ford bearings. These folks hunt for parts on the Internet, raid yard sales for old bobbins (New Englanders often use them as candleholders!) and machine whatever they can’t seem to find. It’s a testament to New England frugality and inventiveness.

First, we checked out the chilly barn, where bags and bags of fleeces reside in various states. Some were fresh off the sheep, some were washed and some were just back from the dye house. Each colour is done independently, then a number of colours are blended together to create a specific shade of yarn.

Then, it’s to the carding machine, which stands about 8 feet tall at one end. Fleece goes into the hopper and gets dragged through successively finer-toothed rollers. The carder takes out burrs, twigs and other stuff sheep get into and tease the fibres apart to make them workable.

Here’s my dad’s finger, pointing at the crazy-sharp teeth on the rollers.

Here you can see wool fibres on the rollers on the right, with the smooth, carded batt at the bottom left.

The batt then rolls up over a conveyer into the machine that separates it into individual pieces of roving.

Roving may look like yarn, but it’s not twisted into its final shape yet.  Here you can see a whole row of roving being wound onto a big spindle to preparing it for spinning.

The spindles go into the top of the spinning machine, where the rovings are twisted to form yarn. It could be a single ply for a finer finish, or a bunch of plies together for a yarn with more heft.  At the bottom, you can see the bobbins the spun yarn winds around.

The yarn gets a good steaming to help it stay in its new form. I loved these huge bins of freshly steamed wool on their bobbins. They look so fresh and inviting, almost ready to pick up and knit.

The bobbins then go on a skeiner, which winds the yarn around a huge wooden contraption that looks a little like an old-fashioned clothes dryer. These big circles are then twisted into the skeins you see at the front of the store.  Apparently, this machine takes a steady, patient hand. There’s no rushing a persnickety old skeiner like this.

Before you leave the shop, you run into (literally almost) the pattern wall. The Spinnery designs a huge number of their own patterns – basically, if you can knit it, they have a pattern for it using their beautiful yarn.

I was a little overwhelmed by the variety of wools the Spinnery offered, so I ended up with just a couple: Maine Organic in a smoky brown and Sylvan Spirit in Amethyst. Rest assured, I’ll be back.

I hope you enjoyed this virtual day trip to New England.  Tell us about the special places you find wool – we always love to hear about the champions of handmade!