Yoyo wreath

Last summer I rescued this bag of yoyos at a used fabric sale.

The price was right

I came across it again when I broke out my scrap fabric bin determined to do some sewing. I cut some pieces. did a seam or two, but was not feeling the love. Still, I was determined to do something with fabric so I pulled out this bag to see what was in there.

Once I finally got a look, I realized these would not be something I could build on. They were all sorts of odd fabrics–polyesters and nylons, a few cottons–and the person who had sewn them did not cinch them as tightly as I like leaving  large holes in the centers. I figured I could still use them for something, and put together this wreath.

It is just secured with straight pins for now. Once it comes off the door, I may disassemble it, but it did satisfy my need to make something with fabric, and use something in my stash.

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De(con)struction

I’ve been still working away on my crochet wrap. I would love to finish it this week but lately, life has been interrupting and not allowing me a nice long stretch to sit and get a lot done.

Since fabric had been on my mind since last week, I decided to bite the bullet and begin taking apart the vintage quit that was in tatters to see what is salvageable. There was a floral sashing between each of these strips that was so weak, it would tear just by handling it.  While there were originally 5 rows of stripes in the quilt, only 4 are usable at least on one side. The 5th has too many pieces that have disintegrated on both sides.

Cutting into the piece, I still felt like this was destruction rather than deconstruction. Now, however, I am starting to feel like something usable will be able to be made, and that’s a good feeling.

Baby set

At the beginning of January, I started a baby blanket for my Father-in-Law’s home health aide.  The body of it was complete, but I was waiting to find out the gender of the baby before finishing it.  As you can see, it’s a boy!

When I was finished the border, I had some blue yarn left over, so a little beanie and set of booties seemed like a cute add on. Baby hats and booties seem so incredibly tiny, but I know they will get outgrown pretty quickly.

I was able to make all of this from stash yarn. There was a period a few years ago when I had to make a lot of baby blankets, but for some reason, there has been a lull lately.  The yarn is Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly which is sold by Michaels Crafts.

 

TAD 26: Lace scarf

I pulled out a bin of fabric today to look for something completely different, but came across a piece of lace. It had a tag on it that read “Piece of fabric, 50 cents”.  It doesn’t seem particularly old, but old enough the background has turned a darker shade while the flowers are still white.

A forgotten find. Add now it has been stitched up to be a decorative scarf.

Too far gone?

I rescued this little quilt from the vintage table at a used fabric sale this past summer. I didn’t even unfold it, just felt it needed to come home with me. The label says “Tattered Quilt”, and I thought I might be able to stabilize it and preserve the charming fabrics. Plus, at $1, it almost jumped into my hands.

However…I have since unfolded it several times, and it is beyond tattered. There is a large tear right down the center, and smaller ones along two of the other pieces of disintegrating sashing. The binding has been cut off and a new one partly sewn on. There is a large patch across a part of it and some of the original fabrics are tissue-paper thin and already torn beyond any salvageable point.

Each time I take it out, I get overwhelmed by everything that would need to be done to make it a whole quilt again as it is.  I am debating whether it is worth the attempt to preserve it as it is, with the possibility that I will not be able to and thus keep it unusable, or doing the unthinkable (to me) and cutting it up to make new blocks from the parts of it that are still strong enough so it can be used and enjoyed. Would cutting it be destroying it, or giving it new life?

For now, it has been folded up again, and put back on the shelf.

 

Yarn in public

A friend had some outpatient surgery and somehow, I was deemed a “responsible adult” and went with her to wait and drive her home.  Of course I took this as an opportunity to bring along a project bag (or two).

While almost everyone else was playing with their phones or tablets, I used some stash yarn to start a scarf I’m planning to donate. I have larger projects, but wanted something containable for a waiting room chair.  One woman asked if I was crocheting a scarf and then started talking to me about her own crochet and a new stitch she had made up.  After describing it, she came over and started demonstrating it.

It was at that moment the nurse came out and called her name. Do  you think she hopped up and followed the nurse into the back for her surgery prep? No she did not. Instead, she turned and said “You need to wait a minute until I’m done with this.”

OK, she may have been stalling not wanting to face what was ahead of her, or it may be a testament to the power of yarn and the instant community that can be created when two like-minded crafters find each other even in unlikely places. At the very least I hope it took her mind off of worrying for a few moments while she was waiting.

The happy accident

There is an aide who comes to my Father-in-Law’s house for several hours each day to help with his care. If any of you are dealing with home health support, you know that it can be a challenge to find the right agency and a caregiver that works out.  This woman is wonderful and we know how lucky we are to have her in his life.

The week before Christmas, she was in an accident and fortunately was not hurt. While they were checking her over at the hospital and doing blood work, she got the news that she is pregnant. While it is not the way you want to discover something like this, it gave her something positive on which to focus while she deals with insurance companies and the damage to her car.

I started a baby blanket for her using yellow yarn from my stash since it is too early to know if she will be having a boy or a girl. Using stash yarn, and not knowing how far it would go, I selected the granny afghan pattern figuring new colors could be added on without disrupting the pattern or running into dye-lot issues.  I’m trying to decide if I will complete this all in yellow, or take it to the point of adding a border, then waiting until the gender is revealed before adding pink or blue. It is about 24 inches (60cm) now.

 

 

2016 crafty resolutions

I’m not one to usually make resolutions, but I was inspired by watching NanaCathy‘s progress on 15 for 2015 and her follow-up post of 16 for 2016.

I am in no way as ambitious as she is, but thought if I could come up with a list of 16 projects I wanted to finish during the year, it might motivate me to get to work on them and maybe complete a few.

There are a few long-term WiPs lurking among the bins and boxes of my stash.  Finishing these, and doing some stash busting, started the list rolling.

WIPs: These have all been started, some are years old

• Tulip embroidery 
• Tapestry needlepoint 
• Aran afghan 

Stash busters: Projects I have materials to make, but have not started

• Weaving project
• Quilt
• Hospice afghan
• Holiday table topper embroidery
• Feather tree felt embroidery

New skills: Knitting scares me 

• Knitting
• Natural dyes
• Wood working
• Cheese making

A new twist: Stretching to try new things on skills I have already learned

• Crochet a garment
• Springerle
• Silk-ribbon embroidery design
• Plarn 

I know I’ll have a bunch of other projects pop up along the way, but I’m hoping this list will help me focus.