A Love Patch

You know how it goes plumbers have the worst plumbing, mechanics have the worst cars, etc. etc. Well, I am no exception, seamstress has the most repairs to make for family. For a couple of months now my husband has asked me to patch his coveralls for work so he can give me the other pair to repair the zipper. 

I don't know why I kept putting it off. I had a few other family projects to do too, so yesterday I FINALLY took care of them. First, I replaced a zipper in a sweat jacket for my oldest son, patched some jeans for my brother-in-law and yes the poor coveralls that laid on the floor on my side of the bed for the last couple of months. I think I just got tired of them being in my way. Thus, the reason my hubby put them there in the first place.

I decided I would be a total smart--- and patch them with piece of pink duck canvas in the shape of a heart. Since I already had some blaze orange duck canvas pieces with some Steam-a-Seam on them I opted for that but still used the heart shape. Then to add insult to injury I used PINK thread to stitch it down. I call it my "love patch". He wore them last night when he went into move snow but for some "odd" reason he didn't wear them into the office to pick up his duty list. The guys are gonna have a riot with him when they see it. It really doesn't matter to him what the patch looks like, he just wasn't in the mood for some razzing. Ah well I got great laugh out of it. 

The "LOVE PATCH"

It's not the first time I've gotten the guys either. On another occasion my husband brought home a co-worker's coat that needed a zipper slide. For fun I put a bright pink slider which looked "lovely" against the bright safety yellow of the coat. . . yeah well he didn't care and they got a good laugh out of it.

Still, on another occasion, my husband's hunting buddy brought me some camo hunting coveralls to repair a tear he made in them crossing a fence. At the same time it was prom season and I was making a minor repair on his daughter's prom dress and making my nieces prom dresses. For fun, I put some bling on those camo hunting bibs. I stitched on some football shaped rhinestone appliques, three in all. One on each strap at the front and one on the cross piece in the back. Then, I slyly folded them and put them in the bag. His wife picked them up and I think they just got put away, he really has no idea yet. The winter hunting season was pretty mild and I don't think he has used them yet. But spring turkey season will be here soon enough and I am just waiting .  .  . patiently. . . I know I will get a call. 

I was telling my friend, Melissa, about the love patch and she told me about the time she patched some jeans for a friend who had ripped the rear end of his jeans. He had told her he didn't care what the patch looked like and so with her evil quick humor she stitched on a patch in the shape of red lips. (I thought that was great, I'm gonna borrow that for another time.)

So what's my point? . . . Have some fun with some of those dreary tasks once in a while.

Happy New Year

Sew . . . it's been a long while since I've made a post. My apologies, the holidays always have so much going on. Quite frankly I'm glad they are over. Last time I posted I promised to share photos of some completed projects. I did finish those fleece blankets that turned out really awesome. My daughter completed 95% of her 4H project we just have one last finishing touch.


Fleece blankets made from John Deere prints for a customer's grandchildren.



One 4H project nearly complete. A display board for all her Tae Kwon Do belts complete with a low block pose. She is currently on her first level of brown belt.

  Just last week I taught a 4H sewing class over the school break. We made "Ten Minute Table Runners" which took two hours because some of the kids had never sewn before. I'm so thankful we had several extra moms to help out. The directions for this project I found online were limited so I rewrote them with photos. I've posted them online in .pdf format if you are interested. The sample I made is now looking lovely on my buffet.


Ten Minute Table Runner (Click the photo for a link to the .pdf directions)

  In the afternoon we made reusable tote bags from pet food bags that are made from the woven plastic like those blue tarps are. They really had fun with that one because they didn't have to be so precise on the sewing. I have pictures of my sample too. There are many other things you can make from these bags too. For example, an apron to wear when washing your pets or working in the garden. A couple of years ago another 4H'er turned the rabbit food bags into a tarp with duct tape and grommets.



Reusable Tote from pet food bag. You can make these as big or as small as you like.

  The other day I took my sample bag to work with me to show my boss, because that's where we buy our dog food. When we came out from work it was really windy and he made the comment that if I held the bag up I could sail home. "Light bulb" went on and I think we might try to make a good old fashioned kite out of one of these bags. Yes my mom does tell me quite often that wheels in my brain are always going. I will never disagree with that fact.

I managed to make the valance for my kitchen window from some fabric I had previously made into table skirts. This was one of my Christmas presents to myself. The print and colors in it go well with my newly revised kitchen. I tried to make replacement curtain panels for the cabinet doors above my refrigerator with the same fabric. Much to my dismay I totally miscalculated and came up shamefully short. Alas, I have no more of this print available to me. I guess I will have to look around for a coordinating print instead. Oh darn . . . I have to go fabric shopping. . . and no I don't have anything in my stash that will work.

Another Christmas present to myself was a new ironing board. I made my own cover for it because it is much prettier to look at and of better quality. I also replaced the cheesy piece of foam they expect you to use with two layers of the batting used to make hot pads and such. I used the piece of foam that came with the ironing board as the pattern for the batting. However, I cut mine about 1-2" wider so they would wrap around the edges of the board. I guess I really didn't replace the foam. I laid it down first then the two layers of batting then covered it with my new cover.





My new ironing board complete with custom cover.

 For the cover, I used the one that came with the board as a pattern, again cutting it 1-2" wider so it would completely wrap around the edges. I used biased binding around the edges and thread a skinny 1/8" wide ribbon through it to gather and tighten it around the ironing board. So there you have it my new ironing board.

I also managed to empty out one of my "to do" project boxes. They were framed ornaments in the shape of stockings. I've had about four of these cut out and ready to make from years and years ago. I had made a bunch for my mother-in-law for pictures of all her grandchildren to go on her tree. She liked them very much. My sister-in-law informed me that she needed a few more for the now great-grandchildren that have arrived.

So I made up the last four I had. Three for my nieces children and her stepson. The extra is for when my nephew, who is finally getting married next summer, starts his family. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for that event? He's 30 years old and the oldest of the grandchildren and we thought he'd never get married. Anyway, gramma loved them and I got to clear out an old "to do" project box. Yay for me!

 I'm not one to make new year resolutions because I can't keep them anyway. However, I do have plans for some major organizing this year. I got started with my sewing area last night and was up until 2 a.m. organizing buttons and zippers. Today I finished that process and cleaned up my tables so I had room to get back to work on sewing for customers tomorrow. I still have some other parts in that area to organize but with the stress of holidays gone I can take some evenings to mess around with doing that. I'll share some photos and some neat storage ideas that I came up with. (Again with the brain always going.)

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and are looking forward to a new and fresh year. God Bless!

Next blog . . . my top favorite projects completed in 2011.



Settling In

I am now somewhat back to a normal routine. If you consider replacing zippers, patching jeans, altering formal gowns and other such sewing a routine. When I last posted I talked about all the things I had plans to do. Out of all those things I have started two of them. The 4-H project and one of the t-shirt quilts.

On the t-shirt quilt I am considering backing it with polar fleece which would eliminate the need for separate batting and backing. It would certainly make it easier to quilt on my sewing machine. I don't yet have a fancy quilting machine. That's a way down the road someday thing. Even if I had one, I don't have a place to put it anyway, unless Barry finishes off the garage into a workshop for me. Which, by the way, he claims he would like to do for me someday. . . when we are rich and famous.

On this quilt I only have 6 t-shirt blocks to work with so I have to beef it up a bit. I've cut them into 12-1/2" squares and plan on adding strips around the edges in log cabin fashion to make them into 18" squares. Then I'll sew all those together in a two by three grid and the borders around that will make up the difference into a twin size quilt. I plan on continuing the log cabin routine with borders too. Tonights project is to get the strips cut for the log cabin around the t-shirt blocks.

The 4-H project is my daughter's project. She is making a display for all of her Tae Kwon Do belts. We have found an old narrow bulletin board which was green. She painted it all white. Then she is going to cover it in white fabric similar to the weight of fabric in her uniform. She may decide to use her uniform since she is about to out grow it. Anyway, she is then going to tie the belts around the board as if the board is wearing the belts. Her first rank will be at the bottom and her last completed highest rank will be at the top. I am anxious for her to finish it. It should be very cute and unique. Don't worry I will be posting pictures of both projects.

Ta Ta for now and have a great day.

"Falling" Into Place

Well September was a LOOOOONG month. Why? Because I moved my sewing business into my home. I never new I had so much "stuff". It took me all month because I wanted to put stuff away as I brought it home and before I brought home another load. It worked for the most part until I got down to the very end. I am now set back up and organized in my basement. The front entry, used to be a porch is now my office/fitting room/scrapbooking room/cash register area. Needless to say I have had to get fairly creative. I'll have to take photos later and post them. Right now I have bazillion projects I have to do and then there are the ones I want to do. My daughter (10 years old) is standing behind me right now pestering me to go work on a project, she wants to help. She is also telling me I have gray hair which I generally give credit for that to my boys including my husband.

SEW . . . what are my next projects. For starters I have to make three t-shirt quilts,  a denim quilt, along with four fleece blankets, and the usual alterations, repairs and mending. The projects I want to do include a rainbow quilt found at http://www.hookedonneedles.com/2011/09/rainbow-quilt-picture-tutorial.html. I love a good stash buster especially when it involves chain sewing. Oh yeah! I have a need for speed. Let's see, I am also going to make myself my own Christmas presents. Yes, you read that right. I am going make three gifts for me, wrap them up, and one is going to be from me, the other from myself and the last from I. It'll be fun to see how my family reacts to that one.  Finally, my daughter and I are also going to work on a couple of 4-H projects. Don't worry I will share them all with you as we make progress.

'Til next time keep your creative fingers working.

Nancy

Clutter Organization

Okay fellow sewers and crafters we all know that our work spaces are never neat and tidy while we are working. That's just the way it is.  I have been in this shop for the last two years and I was finally determined to empty ALL the boxes and go through everything, sort, organize and toss. It took me about 3 weeks of working around getting work done and everyday family life but I finally did it. I took a few before or after photos. 


It will always be a work in progress but at least everything has been found. For example, an embroidered baby quilt that I was supposed to quilt and bind for my mother-in-law was lost (misplaced) from my move here two years ago. I was so afraid it got tossed out with some other stuff. I was relieved to find it in a tote of scrap batting that I decided to go through and organize. I was so elated I finished and delivered it right away. My mother-in-law had forgotten about it but she was thrilled since she will be expecting her 2nd great grandbaby next year.


I also sorted through projects that I have cut out and started and put it all in one place so I will tackle them one at a time, hopefully soon. They were just stacked up in a pile of shirt boxes but in all my cleaning and decluttering I accumulated some empty plastic storage boxes. I put a project in each of those boxes and now they are stacked neatly and ready for me. 

My awesome storage cupboards and drawers that came with this place were a disaster. Yet again, I found things that I forgot I had and finally got like things all put together. Added bonus, the counter was actually cleaned off and I took a picture fast because I knew it wouldn't last long. I still have a few drawers to go through but I'll get to them another day. 


In one cupboard I have all my ribbon and other sort of odds and ends. I found the idea of putting the ribbon spools on a rod and expanded it to using a tension rod. The holes in the spools were a tight fit but they went on the rod with a little persuasion. You have to remove the rubber ends on the curtain rod first.

In another cupboard I finally organized all my patterns. I used cardboard boxes that fit on the shelves with the flaps folded in and put the patterns in upright so I can flip through them pretty quickly. I also put them into categories for quicker look up and then by number order. When I put them in by number order I didn't pay any attention to the brand of pattern just the number. That way when I have a stray pattern piece I can easily find it's envelope. SHHHH, Don't tell anybody but the Flat Rate Medium boxes from the post office are perfect for this organization. I had fun making the labels on the computer too.

In another cupboard I have those food storage containers with all sorts of odds and ends. There's one for overall buckles that I scrounge off of old ones. There is one for belt buckles, d-rings, and other stuff. I also have some full of beads, those small pre-made ribbon bows, and still more stuff. I like them because they stack so nicely and you can see what's in them.


Did I mention you could now see my counter. Although, today I have a few things on it but they get done today so they won't be there long. I have gone a whole two days now with a clean counter. I think something might freeze over. 


I came up with a ton of other creative organization in my shop over these last few weeks but I'll have to share those for another day. Right now I have to get back to work.

Zipper Fun

I just finished replacing zippers in two pair of shorts and a jacket. Whew, that is always a chore. When I remove the old zippers I never want to throw them out because there are some really cute projects you can do with the zippers. For example, the rose pins I made from the really heavy #10 zipper that came out of a Carhart coat. I have pictures here and later I'll do a tutorial on how I made them. The other example is the awareness pins I made for fundraising efforts for Relay for Life. These were super easy and very cute. Later I am going to make pink ones for Breast Cancer Awareness month in October.

Those are the more obvious ones that come to mind. The rose pin idea I found on the internet but I made it my own way. The other pins were my idea. I still think there is more I can do with these old zippers. I don't want to throw them away to end up in a landfill forever. So I have some other thoughts. The following is a list of ideas I plan to do with the zippers down the road when I have time.

• Use them as accents on projects such as totes, jackets, pillows instead of using piping.
• Use them as accents at the bottom of curtains and if you use metal ones they act as weights too.
• Cut the tape off, coil them up, and glue them down into an artwork piece.
• I have seen the sliders turned into ear rings and I have seen the zippers with the tape on them wrapped around an old pair of hoop ear rings to give them new life.
• If the slider is still good but the zipper is shot save the slider to replace another one sometime down the road.
• On longer zippers where some of the teeth are missing turn the zipper into a shorter one for a future craft project.
• Decorate a picture frame

I am sure if I had time to sit here all day I could come up with more but I'll have to do that later. In the meantime enjoy the photos of my zipper creations thus far. For now it's back to replacing more zippers.

Introductions

Welcome to my Rethread Earth blog. I was inspired to start this blog after finding a blog called Sew Many Ways. She has so many great ideas and I always have what I think are great ideas, so I wanted to share in the creative fun too. I am calling my blog Rethread Earth for a couple of reasons. First, I think it is catchy and it comes from a project that my daughter are working on to raise funds for local area animal shelters. You can see some videos about it below. Second, I love to create and use things in a new way, make due with what I have on hand, and makeover stuff into new stuff. I don't like to throw things away if there is a chance that they can be useful. I like to create things that are useful and decorative, useful being the key word. To me if it isn't useful or functional, it's wasteful.. . just an opinion. Plus, with a family of five money is tight and we really make due with old and made over as much as we can. Hopefully, I can share some of my ideas and inspire you and I would love for you to share your ideas too.