Mending

My younger brother asked me if I could patch his jeans, which were slowly falling apart all over the place.  Like all projects, this one was slow to come to completion for many reasons, including no time and lack of inspiration.  I lucked out when my sister snagged me two fabric sample books from the side of the street and flew with them half way across the country.  Inside one of the books were a bunch of elegant dark fabrics, which I knew would be perfect to patch the jeans.  I wanted use fabric that my brother wouldn't hate, so that he would actually wear them.  I thing my choice worked out well.


I've included this second photo to show that you don't need a fancy work area.  This was the long and narrow kitchen/dining room in the apartment I stayed at during my rural rotation.  It had this fabulous window that let in lots of light and faced the mountains.  It was usually where I ended up when I was eating, reading, writing letters and working on projects.  You can see my houseplants that came on the rural rotation with me since I couldn't find a plantsitter.

Natural beauty

I took the photo below at a neat grocery store in Nelson, BC.  It was inside an old warehouse, and still had the exposed brick, wooden beams and even a large floor mounted scale.  I love squash and really liked the way they were displayed here in the wooden crate, with their beautiful colours contrasted against the brick walls.

The second photo is from Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, on the coast of Vancouver Island.  I was walking there one morning and saw logs along the edge of the beach.  This one struck my eye because of the intricate texture.  I have so many photos like this, of natural objects with complex and intricate colour and texture.  I take the photos and would like to do something more with them, but I haven't figured out what.

Felt ipod case

When I first got my ipod two years ago I wanted a case, but I was living in a community where I didn't have access to ipod accessory stores.  So I made one instead!  It has served me well over the years, but the felt is getting fuzzy and a bit ugly.  Time to make a new one.  My first design had a strap that came over the top to hold the ipod in the case, with a snap, but I never closed it.  Once the headphone cords were wrapped around the case, it didn't go anywhere.  This second redesign no longer has the strap.  I found a cool black felt with glitter (who doesn't like glitter?) and used a charcoal felt for the inside.  Felt is so fun to sew with since you don't have to worry about unsightly edges.  Here they are, old and new:

Jostaberry Jelly

During a stop at the local fruit stand I noticed jostaberries in the fridge.  I'd never heard of them.  Turns out (according to Wikipedia and other internet sites I found), they are a cross between currants and gooseberries.  I bought some to make jam or jelly out of.  Unfortunately, the pectin package didn't have a recipe, but I was able to find a recipe online for blackcurrant jelly and basically made it up as I went since the amounts and pectin were different than in the recipe.  Here are the jostaberries:

I mashed them up with a potato masher I picked up at a local second hand store.

They had little twigs attached but I figured since I was straining them, it wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of  things and left them in.

After a couple false starts, I was ready to tackle the actual jelly.  More and more when I do canning I'm trying to use jars I have around, since they often work just as well as commercial jam jars, they are free, and then it doesn't break your heart when no one reuses them or returns them.  Isn't it a motley collection?  Sure, they don't look as pretty as commercial jam jars, but I'm not selling the jelly!

Every time I make blackberry jam, I think 'wow, the stuff has such a beautiful colour' and keep meaning to try dyeing with it.  I even found a website that had some helpful tips to dyeing with blackberries.  This time I just went for it.  I grabbed a white T-shirt that was starting to look grubby, put it in a pot with the berry remnants, some salt and brought it to a boil.  It turned a lovely fuschia colour, but more importantly, where there were those horrible yellow armpit stains (like I said, the T-shirt was grubby), the dye was a blue colour.  That prompted me to recall that alum is used as a mordant.  I grabbed my stick of antiperspirant and slathered some on randomly across the bunched up fabric in the pot.  The dye in those areas turned a blue-purple colour.  I've since washed the T-shirt and it has remained a faint blue-purple-grey, with darker areas where the antiperspirant was applied.  Neat!

Above is the front of the T, and below is the back :

Colourful Fabric Sample Purse

I'm doing a stint in a rural area for two months as part of my program.  To fend of the antsies, I brought scissors, thread and a few needles.  I also brought a booklet of fabric samples that I had picked up from a local interior design place for free.  This was all just in case I had free time, and the itch to sew.  I had no idea what I might make.  One Sunday morning I was up early and felt like I should make something.  As I watched the movie 'Big' (the one with the big piano keyboard), I cut out the pieces of fabric from the paper backing.  It's too bad about that paper backing since it wastes a lot of usable fabric, but obviously the design companies aren't intending their samples to go to any use other than as a sample.

As you see, lots of garbage.  Oh well, at least I'm using a portion of the sample, right?

I decided I would make a bag, because I love bags!  Here is a photo of the design process, figuring out the pattern and colours:

I sewed the entire thing by hand.  First I stitched the short ends together to make strips and then I did the thick black detailing on those short ends.  Then I sewed the longer strips together, going over it with the darker thread.  Then the fussy job of joining the ends of the strips into a U-shape and trying to keep everything smooth and matching.  Thankfully it actually worked out.  Then I added the lining.  Since I didn't have the straps, I sewed most of the lining in place and then added the straps later.  Ugh, I do not recommend doing it that way.  It would've been so much easier to sew in the straps and then add the lining, but I really wanted to use the bag the weekend I was getting the straps, so that's why I did it the harder more backwards way (though some might argue that I'm just backwards!).

Here is the finished bag:

The other side, which I don't love as much:

The lining:

A close up of the detailing, which I think really adds something to the bag:

I really like it.  It's a good size, the straps fit nicely under you arm, and it's soft.  

A beautiful day

It is so beautiful out - cool enough that you can comfortably wear jeans, but sunny and warm.  Here is my found shelf, all painted up and sitting in my living room.  I thought about finding some means of hanging it, but that just involved too much work and tools I don't own.

I like it - I think it looks a bit elegant with the off-white grey 'colour'.

Here is a little quilt I made with scraps, and sewn entirely by hand.  It is small - maybe 6 x 7".  A fun project to work on while I watched movies or listened to tunes.  Even the batting is from scraps, I was able to piece it together into a workable patch.

The finished quilt:

Oh, and another project I made a few months ago:

Again, this is made entirely by hand.  Cross-stitched 'brown bowl' with fabric surround and driftwood hanger.  I made it for a friend who is a potter...I guess there is something special about brown bowls (despite having done pottery, I don't entirely understand the reference).

My first crochet project

I've tried knitting and found it wasn't for me.  I decided to try crocheting since I covet crocheted blankets and have no one to make one for me.  I got out the Crocheting for Dummies book from the library, it's really helpful with great images.  I used a small ball of yarn and a crochet hook that I picked up from a second store in town and I gave it a try.

I've been meaning to join a learn to crochet course, but it just hasn't worked with my schedule.  I'm sure I will eventually, in part to meet other crazy crafty people, but also to pursue my goals of blanket making.

Here is my first project.  I guess it could be a coaster.  Notice the random widths as I drop and add stitches.

I also put the final coat of paint on a little wooden shelf that I rescued from the side of the road.  I had to nail the one foot back on, but otherwise it is in great shape.  I took a can of brilliant white enamel paint back to the hardware store and the nice man there put a drop of black in and a drop of brown, so it is now a soft off-white.  I'm not sure what the ultimate destination or use of the shelf will be, but I might put a lamp on it in my living room.  This is the shelf pre-painting: