Recycling paper

Making valentines is a great way to recycle. I have too much paper, and have saved odd things for years... sigh. This year I made an attempt in a few short weeks to sort through some things and recycle. I didn't quite get as far through things as I had wanted, but going through it a few times was a good thing, it became easier to just recycle things.

Here's some valentines

Here's some stuff I recycled without having to save them for valentines: from a project i did for school several years ago, probably black and white basic design...

Baby Blanket

a little elephant (i wish i had a finished photo when he's stuffed!)

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the crazy photos, the editor on blogger seems to not want to let me rotate them, which seems like it should be the simplest thing, especially if you rotate them, and save them, and then it still doesn't work.

During the end of the summer/early fall I started making a baby blanket for a coworker. It was before she knew if it would be a boy or girl. I used cottons I have had in my stash forever, and also batting that I had. The only thing I bought was red binding. It was really fun to piece together, and since I had started the blanket so early I decided to try hand quilting. I ended up doing just a basic sort of loose stitch. We had a large hoop, but the quilt wasn't really fitting in it, so it was easier to just wing it. I'm pleased with the result, even though it is definitely not perfect. For the back of the quilt I had a weird piece of printed fabric from a kids blanket I had gotten for free (from a neighbor) years ago. It has a boat with some cute animals in it. It was the perfect size for the project, and I hand embroidered a little on that, just to make it more personal. To cover the whole back of the blanket I added two other panels.

Anyway, It was really great to work with my stash and not have to buy any fabric for it, plus i'm very happy with the end result, and so is my friend! and her baby will be arriving soon, so i hope he likes it too!

a little update.

Some links to share:
today i bought the pdf for this bag pattern, the Two Zip Hipster. my daily purse is sort of reaching the end of its days. it's a black hemp purse that i'm tired of, plus it is showing wear. I made an awesome purse, but it is sort of big and maybe more for dressing up. I've really been looking at stores and sometimes online for a little while for a purse that would be similar but better to my black purse. TaaDaaa.... I'm so excited about this. It will be a few inches bigger, but i think it will be great, and I'm happy to find a pattern with a long strap. Anyway, I'm not sure what fabric to use, I may have enough of my own or I may purchase some. I think it would be good to make it in a dark color, but we'll see, and if it works out, I may make a few colors.

I also bought a pattern for a top. I've been meaning to make some tops that aren't t-shirts. so... i saw this one and thought maybe it would work for me. It's the second one (red and blue) on this site. I really like her site, and it makes such a difference seeing something sewn by someone... So, same thing, I'm not sure if i have enough fabric of my own but i may end up buying some.

Today I spent most of the day cleaning. I have a little table in my room, which was covered in sewing stuff. Today I changed it into a music table, with my awesome new recorder from my awesome boyfriend. I will try my hardest to keep this table only for music making. I was able to condense some things, and also recycle a LOT of paper. so, I'm glad I spent the day on it, though i feel like i have so much sorting to do. I'm hoping depending on my tax return (like if i get one or not) of possibly buying a scanner/printer, and possibly an ipod, so that i can store my CDs instead of have them take space in my room.

In my sorting I also cut up some rag rug and quilt squares out of fabric i had designated for scraps, but hadn't had the time to cut up yet.
Of course I have been planning to put photos on the blog, but i feel like i don't have time to stop to organize all that.

This evening I worked on two little projects to felt. While cleaning today, I found a cat toy, one of those plastic balls with a jingle bell inside. I had heard a while ago of knitting or crocheting around the toy and then felting it into a soft ball that jingles. I have not felted it yet, and it may be too big, but i will try it. I also used some of the same yarn to make sort of a pot holder, or rather maybe something to put on the table, is trivet the right word?

I sorted my yarn last week, and found that most of it is 1 or 2 balls - left over from projects, mainly in different weights, which makes it hard to find projects. anyway, I've tried before to find projects for certain yarns, and now after going through my stash I am more inspired about it.

That being said, my fabric stash is probably 10 times larger than my yarn stash, so that is partially why the name of the blog has gone from Pretend Like You're Knitting to ...Sewing.

Survey time!!!

If you're interested in taking a survey about you and your clothes... that i just made up this morning sort of randomly... here it is..

I'm super excited some people have taken it already. i hope it wasn't too long winded or weird.
anyway... I will look at results later today i guess.


Right now i need to get back to a sewing project for work. Draft (you know, like wind) blockers for under our garage door. I made the first one a few months ago for a regular door. Today i'm making 3 to cover the length of our garage door. I have two done, except for handsewing some velcro, and then I just took a lunch break, and I have 1 left to make!!! Thank goodness for podcasts and that the sewing is going well!


I have photos to post about several projects, hopefully in the next few days I'll get something more fun up here!

Statistics

Wow. I once had a clothing excel spreadsheet. and I've just now found Dixie DIY's clothing spreadsheet. It is inspiring to see someone else working on the same thing. (Though my wardrobe organizing/reinventing has sort of been on the back burner.) I'm pretty sure my clothing spreadsheet went away when my computer died a while back. So, I will plan on making a new one! I also made a hand bound book cataloging my clothes in spring 2009- wow I guess I should finish it (I never quite finished the notes about the clothes) As I have had some turnover, perhaps I should make a new one, or give an update of some sort! Without counting, I know I need more skirts, since I only have a few (and fewer still that I wear), and I need more shirts that are not T-shirts. I also have several sweaters with boat-necks, which is great, except they're hard to layer... I guess I need boatneck tops to go along with them. Or just get better sweaters?

I will need to think more about this... :)

PS: I have been catching up on blog reading while I wait for my song tracks to upload to CD baby, which will then be available on iTunes, etc in the next few days. Hooray!

Notes on my Stuff

In general I have too many hobbies, and too much stuff. Today I sorted through photos some, and a lot of paper. I have recycled a lot... and been thinking about why I save things. I'm hoping to make valentines out of some random papers I have saved. I think I should alot myself an amount of time (say.... from now until Feb14th) to make some, and then recycle stuff I haven't used at the end of the time. I'm also hoping to scan some things or photograph them. And of course for a while I've meant to mail some friends old drawings, etc... but I have not accomplished much of that.

I know with practice getting rid of stuff gets a little easier. Today i'm trying to make room for my brand new recorder from my awesome musical boyfriend. He's had it for years and is now looking for a better one. It's a yamaha multi-track digital recorder and is sooo cool. I need to make room for it, because I'm hoping to start writing songs again! :) The computer was getting in the way of my creativity. I know it may be a little tricky to learn, but with the multi tracker, I should get better sounding results anyway (i hope to get some lessons on how to use it).


I have this shelf in my room that i've never really liked. It's pressboard and ugly and just collects clutter. I'm hoping to rearrange/get rid of enough stuff to get rid of it. Then I would feel like I had a lot more room for things. I'm also thinking of possibly buying an Ipod to hold more of my songs, so i can store cds or get rid of some or something.

so....i'm sure this is all very exciting! One of these days I will post quilt pictures!

To do lists

I have decided the last few days I should plan my sewing projects a little more, and try to stay on task. Ha. But, like the Colette Patterns Palette Challenges (where sewists chose garments and colors they want to work with and decide how many pieces they're going to make in a certain amount of time), I think it would be good to try to have some focus, and try to make clothes that I might actually wear.

I really have not done much with sewing knits, and I don't have a serger, but I do find the few knit dresses I have to be the most comfortable to wear and I wish I had more of them! Maybe this will also help me to get to some mending projects, and finish up projects I have started (like the vintage-style swimsuit) - and to help me focus on what I want my future wardrobe to look like (more skirts, more kinds of shirts than just T-shirts).

One of the patterns I have on my list already is the Sorbetto top by Colette Patterns. I think it's also time to find patterns to go with some of the fabrics I have - especially when it's a big enough amount to make a dress or garment out of it.

In other news: I hemmed the PJ pants I made for my sister, and they will be finished tomorrow! Also, a post or so ago I had a picture of a pink/red knitted shrug I had started...I think I found a better pattern - easier to not lose track of where I am, and I think it will just look a lot better. I wasn't very happy with how the other one was turning out, so I ripped it out and restarted.

Also: Today I stopped by SCRAP - and I could have bought lots of things, but instead, I bought 3 pieces of fabric, some bias tape and hem binding, and about 6 colors of embroidery thread. Since I have been trying to limit my stash, I think I did pretty well in buying specific things and not getting too carried away.

Embroidery and such

I have finally uploaded some photos! Hurrah!
First in Knitting news: this is the shrug I started, which is i guess going okay, though i have no idea if it will fit me. I have put it aside for a little while. and in the meantime (how my crafting always seems to go) I finished a cowl in a pretty red yarn. I'm wearing it right now! The shrug is 2 strands together, hot pink and red.

In the last few years I've found I really do love embroidery. I got these awesome United States Birds patterns. So far I have made 3 dish towels. The one up above is the ugly duckling (not really a duck, but it is pretty ugly. I used fat quarters, and some fabric from my stash and traced the images on the fabric, using my light table. After these first 3, I feel like i know better what works and what doesn't. On the light table I really need like white or thin fabrics to be able to see the designs enough to trace them. So, since I don't have a ton of light fabric, also since the first 3 ended up being sort of small, I came up with another idea: To make a double sided 4 pane type of dish towel, where at least 1 of the squares can be light enough for me to put the design on. I have soooo much fabric, maybe it will help me get through some of my stash. I'm also embroidering the bird names on the towels so it is more educational (for me and everyone).

My favorite so far! (the fabric is cream/white in real life). I guess I should take more photos of the finished projects with the hems on them, I also added some loops for fun, so I can hang them up. (Assuming I will have hooks to hook them on someday.)

Here's a list of state birds! It's so amazing how many states share the same bird, but the patterns are varied, so that is kind of nice. I think it would be awesome to do a whole quilt, but it would be soo much work.

blah blah. So i guess i should cut up more fabric for the 4 pane dish towels!

The distant future. The year 2000.

I saw this on a Facebook post by the Pendleton Woolen Mills. WOW!

The New Year

Well... I have been meaning to post pictures of projects and keep everyone updated.
But, there will be no pictures just yet. Sorry.
Here's what I have been working on:

- I made a lot for Christmas (ornaments to sell, PJ pants for my sister (halfway done right now), I knitted 3 cowls, made felted pot holders with yarn from my stash, started this super cute Giraffe for my cousin's baby (which is now about halfway done), and I think I made more things, but I can't remember right now.

- In the last week or two, I have worked more on the Giraffe, also started a Shrug . It is pink and red and the yarn is a lot thinner than in the photo. I'm not sure quite yet if it will be the right size, but I hope it will be okay.

- I've also been working on a huge sewing project for many months, it's a gift, so I shouldn't really mention it yet, but tonight I worked on it for many hours and I feel like it is well on its way to being done.

- I mended a wool shirt for Mike, and I have another one that I need to put patches over the elbows which have holes.

- earlier this week I spent a morning dying fabric and some clothes I have, they turned out pretty well.

- My very exciting Christmas present from my family was an adjustable dress form. I'm soo excited!

I have really been having fun knitting this winter, I have a lot of projects yet to do. I'm really hoping for 2012 to not buy much in the way of yarn or fabric. I have fabric for a dress, I have a vintage skirt to alter, I have fabric for pajama pants for myself (with super cute cats on it!), I may have mentioned but I have black and white triangles to make a quilt top (I already have the back of the quilt done), I have a wool quilt top to patch and find a back for, I have enough denim to make a quilt or two, and I have rectangles cut for a shirt of my favorite high school T-shirts, but I will have to interface each piece.

I also have pre-cut pieces for rag rugs, and so much more fabric to use up! I'm also hoping to make another purse. I'm also hoping to find fabric to use with these awesome vintage bird embroidery patterns - I think for pillowcases or perhaps dishtowels. I also really want to knit this dishtowel. I think it's really cool and vintage. I am pretty obsessed with Ravelry.

Anyway, This year I really want to continue learning to make clothing for myself. I also want to work more on music, as I have been ignoring that part of my life for too long.