Posted on

wardrobe refashion: crochet top to tote bag

This top is one of my finds from last weekend’s garage sale bonanza. My friend issued an ultimatum: “If you don’t buy it, I will and turn it into a tote bag.” Well, of course I had to buy it. I couldn’t be out-toted!

crochet top to tote bag

It took me awhile to figure out what to do with it, though. I used my seam ripper to carefully remove the lining. Then I turned it inside out and upside down, literally, before it came to me. (Ribbon not part of the tote. How does one hang a one-handle tote?)

crochet top to tote bag

I was happy to see that the color on the inside wasn’t faded. The seams were also nicely done, so I decided to keep it inside out. I used some denim from a pair of jeans for the bottom. The inside was stash fabric from a garage sale. Can you believe how well it matches?

crochet top to tote bag

Everything was done on the machine except I hand-stitched in the lining. I didn’t want to lose that pretty crochet scallop edge. It needs a little something though. I have a few circles left over from the top. I think I might make them into a flower applique for the front.

refashion: Tank top 25 cents from garage sale. Lining from stash of garage sale fabric. Denim from some old pair of jeans. I think this would make an excellent knitting tote!

Posted on

my creative space

my creative space

I can’t believe it’s Thursday already! I haven’t been able to do as much sewing as I’d like this week, so my creative space is all about my Chromium Star Blanket. I’ve just started the second skein of red yarn and I’m loving how this is shaping up!

Red seems to be the color of choice for a lot of crafty bloggers this week. Check out the comments over at Kirsty’s blog for more creative spaces.

Posted on

mixing bread bags and wool with crochet

A long time ago I started to crochet a tote out of plastic grocery bags. I thought it would be a good way to keep the bags out of the landfill. It wasn’t fun. The plastic was sticky and it hurt my wrists. Then my recycle guy started accepting the bags for curbside pick up. That was the end of the guilt and the project.

The past few weeks, I’ve been taking a hard look at what we put in the trash. Was there anything else I could possibly recycle? Tea bag envelopes? Receipts? Bread bags?

I did some investigating and my recycling guy only accepts newspaper, dry cleaning and grocery bags. If I can’t put them at the curb, what else can I do with them? I know others have crocheted them just like grocery bags, but when I tried, they kept breaking. Plus, I’d need to eat a lot of bread to make anything substantial. Then I got an idea. What if I cut really thin strips and held them along with something else?

crochet bread bag and wool

I am totally loving this! I’m using recycled sweater yarn that has a bunch of knots. The plastic hides the yarn imperfections and the yarn keeps the plastic from breaking. If the plastic does break, the yarn holds the “fabric” together.

This is so much easier on my wrists! And check out the pretty colors! Not bad for some plain old gray recycled yarn.

crochet bread bag and wool

So far I’ve used bread and tortilla bags. I’ve also got a salad bag to throw into the mix. I’ll keep you posted on my progress!

recycle and reuse: I love thinking of new things to knit and crochet. The yarn is from my first attempt at recycling sweater wool. This is a good project for both frugal and green crafters!

Posted on

east campus garage sales: new fabric and yarn!

Last year I barely made a dent in the east campus garage sales. I had no idea how big they were. I took my husband and daughter to the textile sale and by the time I made my fabric purchase, my family was ready to go.

This year I went with my friend Kelly. We shopped all morning and got some great deals! I bought lots of cool fabric at the textile sale and some really nice clothes for refashioning. I did get a few other odds and ends, like a cookbook and some baking pans, but I know you just want to see the fabric, right? Here’s a small sampling of my favorites.

hillestad textile saleI got a mix of textures. These feel like canvas.

hillestad textile saleThese feel more like traditional upholstery fabric.

hillestad textile saleIsn’t this cool? It’s yarn sewn to fabric! I bought yellow one, too.

hillestad textile saleI can’t forget this total deal, even though it’s not fabric. Sweater in progress plus all remaining yarn for 25 cents. Yes, 25 cents. It’s superwash wool.

I’m going to wait to post the clothes, because you’ll see them in the “before” pics when they’re refashioned.

I think this was my last garage sale of the season. Today the air feels a little cooler. The sun is setting earlier, too. I feel like a squirrel who has worked all summer on a healthy stash. Now it’s time to stay in and start sewing!

Posted on

wardrobe refashion: shirt to toddler dress

shirt to easy toddler dress

This shirt turned into the cutest dress, but it’s big! I figure it’s at least a 4T or 5T. Since this season is almost over, I’m going to wait until next year to have my daughter try it on. It will probably need a dart in the back because she’s so tall and thin. The length might actually be ok. Just in case, I didn’t sew the straps on in the front.

shirt to easy toddler dress

My seam ripper was my BFF for this project. I unpicked the stitches from the neckline and used the bias trim to cover the raw edges under the sleeve.

shirt to easy toddler dress

I also unpicked the stitches from the cuffs and used them as the straps. I cut off the button hole end and sewed it to the back. The other half will be sewed to the front. That way I can use the buttons without having to resew the holes.

shirt to easy toddler dress

refashion: This was really easy. Seriously! The hardest part was not poking a hole in the fabric while ripping seams! The shirt was $1 at a garage sale. The best part? My daughter said, “Mom, that dress is beautiful! Is it for me?”

Posted on

handmade baby shower gift

My knitting group had a baby shower for my friend Tana last night. I couldn’t figure out what to make because she has already created so many beautiful sweaters, blankets and quilts herself. I decided to sew something instead. I figured her daughter is going to be the best dressed baby when the weather is cold, so she would need something for the warm weather.

mccall's m5083

I sewed the 12-month size with the hope that it will fit sometime next year between June and August. Estimating the size was tricky! I added a little extra elastic on the inside so Tana can adjust the waist if necessary. Luckily, the top ties in the back, so that should be an easy fit.

mccall's m5083

project notes: Pattern is McCall’s M5083. Fabric is from my stash. It’s one of my first and favorite purchases. I can’t believe it’s almost gone!

Posted on

blueberry buckle cake

If this post makes you hungry, you can blame Sarah. The other day we were up by Russ’s Market and I remembered her blogging about blueberries on sale. Bella and I bought some and then came home and made this:

blueberry coffee cake

It took me awhile to find a recipe that didn’t include a whole stick of butter. I settled on this one for a few reasons: it made two small loaves instead of one big cake and it said “freezes well.” Awesome way to spread out those calories! We cut into the frozen loaf today and it’s just as tasty as the first.

modifications: I used Light Smart Balance instead of butter. I also used a half whole wheat/half unbleached flour mixture instead of all white bleached.

. . . . .

new on julie-k: twinkle, twinkle little chromium star

Posted on

twinkle, twinkle little chromium star

chromium star blanket

I won’t tell you how long it got me to get to this point in the Chromium Star blanket pattern. I’m not sure why I had a hard time following the instructions because when I look at them now, they seem so straightforward. It helped to put stitch markers at each adjacent dc stitch. Now that I have the hang of the pattern repeats, this is really addicting. I find myself sneaking in a few stitches whenever I get the chance.

stash: I went shopping for this yarn in my stash. It’s Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and originally was going to be a sweater for my daughter. Too bad I didn’t get it done before she outgrew the pattern. I think it will make a lovely blanket. Pattern from The Kidney Bean.

Posted on

the namesake

I haven’t written about any books lately because life got busy and I didn’t make reading a priority. The last few months I’ve tried to read at least one chapter a night before going to bed. That’s how I re-found The Namesake. I started this book months ago. One day my daughter decided she wanted to play with my bookmark. Afterward, I couldn’t find my place so I just shoved it into my nightstand and forgot about it.

The Namesake movie has been at the bottom of our movie queue for awhile. I wanted to finish reading the book before I watched the movie. When we switched over to Netflix from Blockbuster, I remembered about the book and quickly finished it so we could rent it.




The book is incredible. Jhumpa Lahiri writes with such amazing detail that you almost feel like you are in the same room with her characters. I’d like to think that I learned a little more about my husband’s culture, but I’m not sure how similar Bengali customs are to Punjabi customs. I’m not sure he knows, either.

T watched the movie with me and enjoyed it, but didn’t think it was as good as I did. A lot of the story gets lost when you try to fit it into two hours. Don’t get me wrong, though. The movie was very well done. I’d recommend seeing it without reading the book, but in this case, the written version is definitely better!

. . . . .

new on julie-k: twin baby locks

Posted on

twin baby locks

I did a really crazy thing this weekend. I bought two sergers. Yes, I said two. They were $25 each. The models are older, but they’re all metal inside, not plastic. (I had issues with plastic parts in my first sewing machine.) I also decided to buy additional supplies for $50: eight brand new blades and over 50 needles. Not bad for $100? I hope so.

vintage babylock serger

I originally planned to buy just one serger. My husband convinced me to get both because they were so inexpensive. They are the same model, so I’d have an extra if parts were hard to find. Same goes for the supplies. I have the original manual, tool kit and even the original receipt!

vintage baby lock serger

I get the impression that these have been well used and loved. They’ll need a bit of surface cleaning, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to jump right in and start using them once I learn the basics. Anyone up for a few lessons?