Monday, April 30, 2012

Apron from Dishtowel

I had bought a screen-printed dish cloth from "Oh, Little Rabbit" on Etsy a while back. I think I saw it originally in Country Living Magazine and fell in love with the Mason Jar design on it. (Was is it about  Mason/Ball jars that makes them so awesome?)
I used it as a dish towel originally bought thought it was too cute for just that, so I turned it into an apron. I simply held the towel up to myself and marked where I wanted to cut it away for a good length. That extra piece, after some more cutting, became the waistband. I used some scrap fabric for the ties. Since the towel is finished on all sides, the only sewing involved was the waistband!
Now I have a nice new apron that is also great for hand-drying!
Here's the link to the site:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ohlittlerabbit


Friday, April 27, 2012

Remnant Pillow Makeover

I love the remnant rack! It's especially cool for finding bargains on home dec fabrics. I picked up this floral piece a while back. I simply folded it over and sewed up the sides, finished the open edge, and added some ribbons. Then I covered one of the throw pillows on my couch. Instant, and cheap, room brightener! (And all I have to do next fall is untie the ribbons and take it off!)


I'm linking to "Crafty Things," a friday carnival at my friend Terri's blog:


Go see the awesome creativity there!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

How I do my "To-Do" List

Below is my Crafting To-Do List.  Instead of checking things off, I simply pick a color each day and change to that color as a job is done. Today's color is pink, so you can see I've got two things done.
Any work on a project  counts--a row, a round, or simply pinning something or recording information. The part about the blouse is from a few days ago, but this morning I pinned the waistband on an apron I'm making.
Slow and steady wins the race, and just doing a little each day is encouraging. I don't even worry about covering everything. Frankly, I'm having some shoulder and elbow problems so I don't want to go overboard with the knit and crochet stuff; although, I admit, I did 8 rows last night on a pair of slippers I've recently started. And slept with a heat pad...

I see that I have numerous people who view my blog, so why are there no comments? Even a 'hi' is enough!



DAILY Crafting

1. Unravel
2. Afghan
3. Baby
4. Ami
5. Sewing--blouse requires 2.5 yds
6. Scarf
7. Circular Knit
8. Other knit
9. Newest
10. Weave in Ends
11. Roll yarn
12. Bulky Afghan

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Another Garden Idea

Squirrels (or something else) ate the buds off my strawberry plants. When I bought another strawberry plant and a blueberry bush, I tried to pick up some netting at Wally World, but they didn't have any. Instead of hauling off to Home Depot's garden center, I made use of something I already had in the house--a bath scrubbie. You know if you cut the rubber band, they stretch out several yards? 
I had Mike cut off the pieces of metal that stick out of a tomato cage, which you would use to stick it into the ground. Then I turned the cage upside-down over my planters. I wrapped these with the netting. For the record, flipping the cages isn't my idea. I got it from a magazine. But, as far as I know, using bath scrubbie netting is!

We had a big rain/windstorm a few days ago. I was afraid my plants would blow away, but they held in place nicely!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A Little Garden Idea

You know those neat little wooden boxes that baby oranges come in? I bought a few at a garage sale last year. I originally used them in my office (after painting them) but they've since been moved to other 'jobs.'
I would  really like to have a raised-bed garden. But this means killing off a big square of grass, and I don't see that happening this year. (My son could build the thing for me, it's just a few boards and some hinges. It's the digging six extra inches into the ground over a large area that seems daunting!)
So, I had one of my bolt-out-of-the-blue, nutty ideas. A mini raised-bed garden! 
First, I pried the bottom off of the crate.
Then I pressed it into the dirt to make a mark.
Thirdly, I dug down a few inches.
Then I put the crate down and filled it with good garden soil.
Lastly, I planted some sage and some peas. Yes, the peas will need support, but I'll handle that when the time comes. 
I'm curious to see if this works. I'm doing almost all my gardening in containers, since my backyard doesn't produce soil that produces produce--productively. Ha, ha, had to write that!
Here's the little 'Raised Bed' Garden: 
Only time will tell if I am successful!


Monday, April 23, 2012

I'm Still Here!

I haven't croaked or moved to Fiji. I've just been very busy and very tired. I made myself a crochet and knit 'to do' list that I follow every day to be sure I keep up with all my projects. I'm almost finished with a baby dress that I will post (soon, I hope). I'm working on several scarves, both knit and crochet, at least two afghans, a little bag made with circular knitting needles (a learning project!) and more. Meantime, I made this super-quick (almost) no-sew decoration for my piano:

I already had a strip of fabric, which I wrapped around a Ball jar. I make yo-yos every once in a while and keep them in a jar for future use. Here I have put 3 on the jar. The yo-yos are the sewn part, but you could just use buttons or anything cute. 

I didn't use glue on these. Instead, I used some glue-dots that I have left over from my scrapbooking days. (I still scrapbook, I just do it all digitally now. I have roughly 35 photo albums and just no room for any more.)

So 'hi' to anyone who follows me! Oh...and please ignore the wax on my piano. Thanks!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

A Crochet Save

Scarves have nothing to do with Spring or Easter, but this wasn't originally meant to be a scarf. It actually started life as a 9-patch pet blanket. But somewhere in my work I must have switched hooks because the squares didn't line up quite right. So...rather than frog it (ugh!) I realized I had just the right amount for scarf.
The colors are springy, anyway. And here are two little eggs I crocheted. (I didn't make the bunny.) The smallest one was made with a size C hook and sock yarn. It is only about an inch tall!