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glue stick collages

I’m sure I’m not the only one who needs a little time alone with my knitting needles or sewing machine (or work!). I’m always trying to find non-TV related activities for my daughter so I can get a little bit of work done. The things that have kept her most occupied are crayons, paints and stickers. A lot of times she will sit and “read” books or get absorbed in her train engines.

Lately, it’s been hard to keep her occupied. She always wants to know what I’m doing—always wants to help out (which is sweet, but not always helpful). Today I got almost two hours of productive time. Want to know how? (OK, the title of this post gives it away.) My daughter has discovered the glue stick.

glue stick halloween collage

You know how I say nothing is safe if it fits under my presser foot? Well, not much is safe from my daughter if she can glue stick it to a piece of paper.

martha stewart living magazine

The images are from Martha Stewart’s Living, last year’s Halloween edition.

glue stick magazine on poster board

We have big plans for future collages. Thanksgiving and Christmas themes, animals, shapes, letters and numbers…the possibilities are endless.

magazine collage

Look, Mom! The owl and skeleton are holding hands!

I remember my friend Barbara telling me how she spent her evenings cutting up National Geographic magazines so her granddaughter could make collages. Such a brilliant and simple idea. I highly recommend it!

recycle: You will be amazed at what you can find in your recycle bin for this project. Don’t overlook catalogs and non-crafty magazines. Pay close attention to ads. Tip: for maximum productivity, cut the pictures out the night before.

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reuse: plastic sea shell container

super target archer farm almond container

I am just in love with the shape of Archer Farm’s almond containers. They’re nice and durable and have this great silver/gray lid. I held a few back from the recycle bin because I thought I’d be able to make something cute with them.

When we came back from the beach, my daughter had lots of pretty shells and rocks. We couldn’t figure out where to store them. They were too pretty to put away, but I didn’t want them laying around, either. Then I remembered these containers. Perfect!

reuse: I still have two more containers and I’m thinking of decoupage with gray and silver paper scraps. What do you think? Any other ideas?

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granny square scarf almost finished

granny square scarf

You’d think that with all of this gift making I wouldn’t have any time to make something for myself. These granny squares are perfect for fleeting moments of “me time” and I can’t believe the progress I have made! I’m going until I’m out of yarn, which will probably be two more squares. I’m loving the atypical, monochromatic look.

Even though these are fun and working up quickly, I can’t imagine doing enough for a blanket. I’m not even looking forward to seaming these together for a scarf. Any future granny projects will probably be small ones for me!

project notes: Granny pattern from Attic24. Yarn from Freecycle.

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pretty, plastic granny squares

I try hard to limit our impact on the earth. When I’m at the grocery store, I look for items with recyclable packaging. Sometimes, it isn’t always possible, though. For example, we eat a lot of frozen peas, I don’t always have time to make our bread, and I don’t have any time at all to make tortillas!

I know I need to cut myself a break now and then, but this week we were overwhelmed with plastic. Last week was my daughter’s birthday and there were bags filled with air, bags to hold toy parts, and for some reason, a lot of food bags. Every time I went to put one in the trash I had this question in my head: How long will this be sitting in a landfill?

Yes, I worry about our landfills. I’m concerned about what seeps into the ground and finds its way into our drinking water. I wonder how many big piles (or holes, I guess) of trash will exist when my daughter is my age. I know this worry is kind of crazy, especially for someone who tries hard to minimize my impact on the planet, but I know I can always do better.

plastic crochet granny square

Yesterday I grabbed a bunch of clear plastic packaging bags and made some granny squares. I’m thinking of turning them into a small zipper pouch. It was hard to capture with the camera, but they are very sparkly.

plastic crochet granny square

They just made a dent in my bags for the week. I’d like to fuse my extra bags and make “fabric” for sewing totes, but I’m concerned about the fumes. I am very sensitive to smells and I’m worried about getting a headache that might last all weekend. Maybe if I did it outside on the deck? Does anyone have any experience with this?

recycle: I’m always looking for ways to recycle our non-recyclables, but in the end, I think the best thing to do is limit what we bring into our homes. It’s hard, especially in our convenience-packed culture, but it’s something I think is really important.

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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!

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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!

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wardrobe refashion: shirt to apron

shirt to apron

Here’s the third shirt from last week’s garage sale purchases. These big, flouncy shirts came in style right after I had my daughter and I refused to buy any. I had just gotten out of maternity clothes. I didn’t want to buy shirts that made me look pregnant!

shirt to apron

I really liked the band around the middle and thought it would make a nice apron. I love how this already had the ribbon and trim details. All I had to do was cut it up and add the sashes!

shirt to apron

I’m not really an apron girl, but this just might make me change my mind. I just need to get over worrying about getting it dirty. I know, it’s an apron, but it’s so darn cute!

shirt to apron

refashion: Shirt from garage sale cost $1. Sash made from the sleeves. Cute ribbon trim conveniently part of the original shirt. Love when that happens!

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wardrobe refashion: de-ruffling a shirt

floral shirt

Here’s the shirt from yesterday’s garage sale finds. I really liked the fabric, but the shirt was a little bit too frilly for me.

floral shirt

The first thing I did was cut off the gathered cuff and replace it with a simple rolled hem. Next I removed the ruffle and reattached the fabric with no gathers. Finally, I snipped off the ties, stitched the center closed and added a vintage button.

floral shirt

I like the shape of peasant style blouses, but I’m not a big fan of all of the frilly stuff. This turned out just perfect for me. Plus, I totally love that button!

refashion: Shirt 75 cents from a garage sale. Vintage button from my stash.

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wardrobe refashion: shirt to skirt

I found some cute shirts at a garage sale this morning. I’ve already refashioned two, but it was too dark to take the second “after” photo. Here’s the first one.

circle print shirt

The top portion was a little tight and the bottom was big enough to be a skirt. Ha! A skirt! I cut off the top and sewed a casing for the elastic. It even already had pockets!

circle print skirt

It hits just above the knee, which is about as high as I go these days. The fabric is lightweight and it’s going to be a nice, cool skirt for the hot days of August.

refashion: Shirt 50 cents from a garage sale. Elastic from my stash.

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my first granny squares

granny squares

I needed a small, portable project for our trip to Kearney last weekend. In the past, my travel projects have mostly been socks. Now that my daughter is older, I prefer something that doesn’t require so many needles and won’t completely unravel if I throw it in my bag to chase her down.

granny squares

I decided it was time to try my hand at granny squares and I think they’re looking pretty good. I finished one in the car on the way out and one during the day. (That’s the president of the local BMW Car Club holding my square over a Porsche. Isn’t it great how the fiber arts bring us all together!)

granny squares

I’m planning to seam these together and make a scarf for myself. I’m really happy with the colors and the yarn is really soft.

stash: Yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease from a giant freecycle haul. Most of what I got that day has been given to knitting guild members to make squares for charity blankets. There were about five skeins of this colorway that I kept for myself. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the rest of it yet. Maybe matching wrist warmers?