Fabric storage

I was reading this post on bura ellen which lead me to this post on the happy zombie which is all about straightening up fabric stashes. I thought some of my readers might like these tips so I thought I would pass them along to you all. Follow the two links above to find out more

Are you a member of SABLE

"SABLE - Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy"

I have heard about this on several blogs, and I always get a good laugh at it. I think I must be a member because my stash never seems to get smaller, only larger. I think I fit this group as a fabric member, embroidery floss member, buttons, notions, yarn, crochet thread, book, and sewing thread plus way too many more to mention in one list. What items make you a member of this group?

Old sweaters/ Conference Saturday project

So, what to do while listening to conference on Saturday Morning and afternoon. Get rid of the pile of old sweaters sittings at the foot of my bed that I have been meaning to tear apart for awhile. So, as you now know, I had a bunch of old sweaters (cotton rayon blend); these all had some sort of embroidery. Not really my style any more, and most didn't fit well, either. So what to do with them?

1. First, salvage all the buttons; lots of good MOP (mother of pearl) buttons on these sweaters to be saved, and a few cool beads. After you pillage the buttons and such, what next?
   
2. Cut as many 9 1/2 inch squares as you can, save short sleeves (I have another project for them in mind) and the large scraps (same project).
   
3. Cut white 100% cotton fabric squares, also 9 1/2 inches square. (I have not done this step, yet). I plan to back with cotton fabric to help prevent the wavy look I have seen on other such afghans. Don't know if this will work, but I will give it a try. I plan on using 1/2 inch seam allowance. Bigger than normal, but I am hoping this will help with some raveling that may happen.
   
4. When all are sewn together with a bat and a back, I want to tie the front to the back with crow feet quilting. A sort of quick quilting-tie with an embroidery look.
   
5. Bind edges; I am thinking old silk from same pile of clothes to get rid of, or old-fashioned satin blanket binding. There are also jeans in this stack to add to my jean braided rug.
   

I think it will be cute and if not, it will still useful.

Thinking Valentine's

I was a florist for many years, it is how I put myself through collage and what I did for the first few years of our marriage as employment. I also sort of grew up in a flower shop as my Vavo owns one and I lived with her when I was a child. So many days as a child was spent playing in an empty box of flowers with paper dolls or making dolls from broken off flower heads. Don't ask; it was fun at the time. I liked Valentine's Day at that point in my life; it was fun watching all the people come to my Vavo's shop and get pretty things she made.

As a teenager working in flower shops, I really hatted the holiday. I never seemed to have boyfriend over that holiday or, if I did, he felt he had to get me something, not because he wanted to but because he figured he had to because of a holiday. The other type of boyfriend was the one who figured you worked in a flower shop so you never want to see a flower again; aren't you sick of them yet. To say the least, I hated that day.

Now that I am grown, don't work in flower shops anymore (for 11 years, that is), and I am finally having fun with this day again. I still don't expect things on this day because I have never liked people feeling pressured to get me something, so no worries there. I guess it is different now because I usually get Valentine's made by my daughters because they want to and they love me. I know this because they make me Valentines all year long, not just on V's Day.

I have actually had fun with this holiday since having kids and a husband, not in that order. I am not worried that the man in my life will feel guilty if he does or doesn't get me something; he knows I am good either way. I always felt this was a florist's holiday; a way to make money. I think it was just crazy for them to go insane for 4 weeks to prep, and no sleep for the last two to make and deliver, then crash for 3 days. Not really seeing relatives and friends as you are working 20 hour shifts; just not worth it, to me. Insanity, for short.

OK, I am not totally on board with this holiday, yet, but I do like it now. I have fun making stuff for it and sharing time with my family. Oh wait, that is the originally meaning of the holiday, the part I like (the love part, not the guilt part which I dislike). Yes, I seem to be ranting, but this holiday always does that to me. The holiday of love was always a holiday of stress when I was younger. Now it is a holiday of love for me, and I feel sorry for all those who are still in the holiday of stress and guilt mode.

About the photo above

On to the fun of decorating. I have always liked decorating for holidays. My Christmas decorations are still up. I like putting holidays up, but dread taking them down, sad I won't get to see them for another year. So I usually swing to the next holiday as soon as I can, in this case it is Valentine's Day. Isn't this cool fabric? I am thinking heart yoyos, but I bet you could guess that from the photo. This will probably become garlands, pins and ornaments for the day. Fun crafting time, that is always good.

So I hope those of you who love this holiday have fun with it and those who dislike it find something fun to do and those, like me, who enjoy the sentiment but not the stress, relax with your families and friends.

In case anyone wants to know, the above fabric is Moda's 2008 Valentine's Day line.

E is for...

Excitement of a five year old. We, as most of you know, are working on decorating my five-year-old's bedroom, and a few people have sent gifts to help decorate it. Every time a box comes with a little butterfly, squeals of excitement ring through our home. We have a long way to go before the room is done because most of the things I am getting for it are being hand made and not store bought like the lady bug room was that is in our house. A lot of the gifts she has been given are store bought, so those she already gets to enjoy in her room. That is just great with me!

1. gift from alee, 2. gift from sister, 3. gift from cinnamongirl, 4. gift from sister, 5. gift from alee, 6. gift from her aunt, 7. gift from her sister, 8. gift from mommom, 9. gift from old neighbor

I am just curious; how long can a 5-year old stay excited over a half done room? I hope for a while anyway. This is my little butterfly girl wearing wings from Mommom over at MJF. Her favorite song to sit and play at the piano (kid playing, of course) is called, yep you guessed it, "Butterfly Girl," and yes, she is very happy to tell everyone she wrote it herself. It consists of her singing the words "Butterfly girl" over and over again as she hits keys on the upright for about 30 minuets. Then she goes around the house singing it for the next two or three hours; we are all so used to it we hardly notice it any more. When we do, we all usually end up in hysterical fits of laughter as the never ending song continues. So yes, we are encouraging this behavior by doing a butterfly girl bedroom. Why not? You are only young once, so you might as well have fun being young.

WIP

I am in a swap over at MJF. This is a yo yo swap. I am in the middle -- well, a little beyond the middle -- of making them. Out of the 200 we are to send in, I am give-or-take 5 at 150. So I am feeling pretty good about this; I seem to be back on track on getting projects done fast. For a while there, it seemed like everything in the world was happening and I wasn't getting anything done in a normal amount of time. When I was deciding what fabric to use I noticed that I have a ton of blue fabrics, twice as much as any other fabric in my stash. I don't really decorate with blue so, yep, that is what I used: blue, blue, and more blue, and then a little more blue to top it all off.

Sign ups are open until May 18th. The swap is for only 50 yo-yos sent and 50 yo yos received, but my 3 daughters are in this, too, so ours is 200 to send and 200 to receive.

Trying to get caught up on a few things

Penny over at Penny Sanford Porcelains sent me the loveliest brooch/charm I have seen made out of Porcelain. She makes these herself. She gave this to me as an award titled "The Happy Penny Award". I think it is very sweet. I love that she is doing hand work because I do tons of that. Penny does sell these; if you are interested, follow links to her site.When we went to my in-laws for a late Easter egg hunt, my mother-in-law gave me a birthday present. I think it is so cool; I just wish I had a little bit of time to sit down and play with it. Life is so busy at the current time. I really love this item; I discovered the other day that in Japan they sell a larger and smaller version of this and also heart and flower ones, too. I just can't figure out how to order them yet.I was in a fat-quarter swap at MJF forum with nine other women. The fat quarter I sent in is the third from left; it is a vintage fabric my Vavo purchased. It's always fun to see the variety you get in a swap -- thanks, ladies!Suzy homemaker who is also at MJF sent me this lovely Easter card with a fat quarter of fabric. I am going to have so much fun with fabric in the near future. I love this fabric; it is so soft and delicate looking. Would be lovely as a Mother's Day item. Hmm... I might think on that one a little.I have a few more items to show and say thank you for; I just didn't have time to photograph them all, so you will probably see them later. A box and envelope of fabric from levisgrammy at MJF. Also a box from This Vintage Chica with real cute items in it.

Updated 12:33 p.m.

This is the box and envelope of fabric from levisgrammy at MJF.This stuff below are the items from "This Vintage Chica" and an apron from her, too. I still need to send her fabric and yarn for the exchange; sorry I'm so long in doing this. I just love roosters; aren't those just the cutest plates. The white sheer item is a curtain that I may make into an apron later after I get a chance to try and remove the stain. I knew about the stain before she sent it. I think it will still work out lovely.This is one of those times when I wish I had a mannequin or dress form or something to drape clothes on; this is real cute and the lighting didn't do it justice nor did laying it on the floor. It is a vintage apron, but the colors are still popular today. I would love to make a quilt someday in this color scheme. This is about three shades of pink and three shades of chocolate; it's hard to see in this photo -- bad lighting. But super super cute!!

Contest Winners for Whip -Up Recycled Announced

My last entry into the Whip-up monthly contest won a prize. For making the Jean Rug I get a craft book. It was fun to make and I get to keep the rug and get a book too. How cool is that!!

The next round starts today; it is supposed to be a tutorial. So yep, you guessed it, a new tutorial is in the works. It's already in my head, and I have 18 whole days to do it.

400 +

Between these two jars there are over 400 yo-yos. I have made over 300 of these in the last few weeks while sitting in doctors' offices and at home late at night, staying up with my sick daughter. I really don't have a project for these because they are not in the right set of numbers for the table topper, groups of 4 in CD size.

The little ones are made using a mini CD or mini DVR disc as a template. Those are what I made the most of these last two weeks, in fact all of that size, and a few big ones. In the smaller size there are over 250; I lost count after that and didn't feel like re-counting. The real neat thing about the small yo-yos is that most are made from scraps that one of the ladies in my church gave me about two years ago. The reason that is so cool is, she is in her late 80's or early 90's and she told me they were from her mother's scraps, so there is no telling how old some of the fabric in those yo-yo's is. Truly, some are between 50 and 100 years old, if not older. I need to come up with a special project to use them in. There is some of the real old fabric in the bigger yo-yos, too. Also, there is some new fabric in the small yo-yos.

Charmed

Over Christmas and New Years I finished up the two charm swaps I was in charge of. There were twelve people in one, and six in the other, each sending at least four different fabrics to swap. Some sent more than four fabrics, so not everyone got exactly the same. I don't think I got all of the fabrics scanned before I sent them back, but here is a good variety of them any way. Each one of the little swatches you see is just a section of the real piece that is 12 inches square. So, if you where in both swaps, you received 18 x 4 = 72 different squares back, each being one foot square; that is a lot of variety to add to ones stash. When all laid out, they cover an eight foot by nine foot area. If you wanted to, there would be enough to make a quilt top. If you click on the photos you will see the fabrics better. Seventy-seven (77) different fabrics are pictured here.

WIP Friday Dec 15

Well here is today's WIP. I really have no reason to make this other than someone traded the canvas for a project repair, with a lot of other stuff, too. But I like the simple pattern on it. Someday I will find a nice, little antique chair that it will look just right on. However, I still have no idea for a background color. The tan you see is the color printed on the fabric.There are about 1 1/2 to 2 yards of this to needlepoint.


The start of an idea is under way. Now to find the time to make them yo-yo's and assemble them. Especially since my little baby bug is sick again.

In the post 3 gift packages it felt like Christmas

I was running errands this morning, and when I came home there was a package from Newheart at MJF.

Funny, these really neat boxes always seem to show up while I am out. Maybe I should go out more often . :') It is like Christmas when one of these arrives. I am always amazed by the generosity of people. I was so surprised at what I found: lots of fabric, lace, knitting needles (both straight and circular), Afghan crochet hooks (that means they are long), a cross-stitch bookmark kit, and all the embroidery supplies for a half-done embroidered table cloth. I will enjoy using it once I have completed it. Thank you, very much!

p.s. She told me she has another box for me that she will mail sometime in the future. Oh, anticipation can drive you nuts!

I also received a package from Suzyhomemaker at MJF.

This one was full of yo-yos to add to our table topper for the kids' art table. These will make eight more four patches. I love that every one is helping with this project; it makes it all the more special to my children and myself. The little Mary Engelbright card was very cute, too. Thank you, very much; we will have fun figuring where to add them to the edge of the topper.

The third package was from the FALL SWAP at MJF.

Every one makes 10 items and mails them to one person sorts them out so everyone gets one item from all involved. Then they are mailed back. It arrived today!

The items and people are as follows:

1. Hand-spun, hand-knit, felted wool/llama/angora hat by Ktknits.
2. Grapevine wreath with moss and pine cone by Nance in France.
3. Hand-knit dishcloth, 100% cotton, and some Herbal cuticle salve by Katiedid.
4. Flower arrangement in Fall colors by Tina Michelle.
5. Pincushion stuffed with cedar shavings with acorn pin cushion on top by Frannie.
6. Hand-crafted Soap, autumn spice, from The Rustic Cottage, our hostess. She sells soap at her site.
7. Pumpkin beaded ornament by Willow Tree Creek Studios. She sells things on her site , too.
8. A little hand-embroidered pillow with the saying "Fall Blessings" by Snowberry Farm.
9. Handmade pot holder with camel cookie cutter by lambgirl.
10. Pressed Fall Leaf Laminated bookmark by Sunshine. I sell these at Sunshine's Creations on Etsy.
    

Will post photos after every one gets theirs. I wish I knew who sent the arrangement because I don't know what name to attach to it.

You know, the funniest part of three packages in one day is that they all came at different times. One with DHL, one with USPS, and one with UPS. It was Christmas all day. We also got a Fed Ex one, but that wasn't mine ;it was my daughter's. Fun for all.

Gift from Oregan Gal

In the post today I got a package from Oregon Gal at MJF.

It was supplies to make yo-yos, in sets of four so that they can be added to our table topper. I think they will be a lovely addition to it. Thank you, very much; the girls were all excited when they saw them. Hope to have them done and on in the next two weeks.

Etsy/ Wip quilt/ Meeting

Here is my WIP for Friday, and probably a long-time-to-come type of project.

I am in the process of straightening all these scraps of fabric. Turning them into this, on left, to be stored in clear totes until they can be cut and sewn and converted into this, below, partially-done quilt or table topper; haven't decided which it is going to be, yet. This is being hand pieced with the English paper piecing method. There actually is a pattern here. Each flower has a solid center surrounded by fabric in the same color family. It just looks random.


Join group on Flickr


New items for Vintage Threads, Inc., on Etsy will be posted on Saturday because I am in meetings all day today.

How many pieces do you see?

How many pieces does it take to make a 26 inch by 38 inch quilt? The answer is, way too many.

5543, to be exact. This quilt has been shown in bits and pieces a few times, and I have received some questions as to what it really looks like and how big is it.

Well, here you go, and here are some pictures to show the 1/4 inch hexagons in relation to a quarter and a nickel so you can get a reference.

This is all hand cut and hand sewn. There are roughly 5 to 7 stitches to a side which works out to be 20 to 24 stitches to the inch. Over 11,990 hours counting ironing, cutting, layout, tear out, relaying out and piecing.

I hope to make at least two more as I have three daughters; I want each to have one when I die.


Join group on Flickr English Paper Piecing
This last photo is shown with a nickel not a quarter.

paisley fabric

I just got a surprise package in the mail from Red Hen at MJF.
We are in a yo-yo swap together and I mentioned that I really liked the paisley fabric she used when she sent her yo-yos. She was so kind as to send me some so I could make stuff with it. Is it not some of the prettiest fabric you have ever seen? I just love paisleys. I don't think she knew this, but my dream house is a big old red barn that has been turned into a house. So the card is just perfect. Thank you.

big box o'fabric

A package came in the mail today. It was from candismom at MJF.


It was 10 lbs of fabric; 60 different pieces of fabric! We are trading with each other. She will get some scarves mailed to her Monday or Tuesday, at the latest.

It was a good thing I had already straightened my fabric stash because it was easy to straighten just one more box since all the supplies were still set up for that. Quite a variety of color and patterns, too.

Thank you, Elisabeth!

fabric shelf done

Yeah, it is done!

Until the next box of fabric comes in the mail ,which should be any day now. It is from a swap on MJF.

shelves of fabric

Do you ever get one of those ideas in your head that just keeps hitting you until you do it?

Well, I have had one of those; now I am in the middle of it. I am starting to see the light at the end of a tunnel -- I sure hope it isn't that train.

I have been wanting to straighten my fabric now for months but could not quite figure out the best way because I have little pieces and big pieces and everything in between. I decided on cutting card board and coraplast into 7 1/2 inch by 12 inch pieces for big yardage and 4 inch by 7 inch and 2 inch by 5 inch for small pieces.

I had fabric in about 6 places in my house; trying to organize this has been a nightmare, but I see it will be well worth it in the end. I think I have 2 more boxes to go through for normal fabric (ie. cotton, rayon, silk, linen and things like that). All the wool in the house will stay in its totes until it is made into rugs (20 totes of big heavy wool; I think that is the best bet for it).

Here are the results thus far.
There actually is some logic here, just not much. The bolts with a card board center that are large are fabric I purchased or received from my grandmother or my great aunt.

The ones on coraplast are from my husband's grandmother, so if I make something for a relative for sentimental purposes I know which stash to grab from.

I have some fabric from friends, as well, that I am working on currently. They will be stored in another spot to keep them organized; about 2/3 of this stash are from 1970 - 1920. I wasn't even alive during those years. I love inheriting fabric. None of this stash is polyester. I can't stand the stuff.

I am not done with this project yet; at the moment I am just getting everything on bolts. When I am done with that, then color coordination will kick in, so don't be surprised if you see a picture of this again all nice and sorted by color families.