Toms Rescue

A couple weeks ago I staged an intervention for my old pair of black Toms.  My toes had worn through at least 2 places on each shoe, and I really wasn't digging that homeless look.  Luckily, I had seen a great tutorial on covering up those holes and giving the shoes a new look.

First I took needle and thread and sewed together the holes.  I figure that will reinforce those spots well enough to wear the shoes at least another summer, if not another year.  Then I covered the front with Aleene's double sided fabric tape and stuck on some funky fabric.  The tape is durable, permanent, and doesn't need to be ironed or sewn, so I was basically done.

Some fabric trimming and a couple pieces of decorative trim later, and I was done!  Look at my pretty new Toms.  I've gotten several compliments on them while out and about.  And I LOVE when people ask "Did you make those?"

Monday Project: Astronomy H-I-J

Last Monday I was dealing with day one of a cold... So my "project" for the day was laying on my couch, napping, and drinking tea.  My whole to-do list of projects, laundry, and writing blog posts went out the window (and got put off another week.)  This week on my day off I made the pages for H, I, and J in my Astronomy alphabet book.  H is for Halley's Comet.  I is for the International Space Station.  J is for Jupiter.

Sneak Preview: Astronomy Book

I couldn't wait to share with everyone the book I'm working on.  It is an alphabet book based on Astronomy.  I am using acrylic paint, fine tipped markers, and embossing powder on navy blue cardstock...  And pure AWESOMENESS.

So far I have made 6 out of 24 panels.  Aurora Borealis, Cassiopeia, Draco, Eagle Nebula, Flame Nebula, and Gemini.

I am planning on entering the completed book into a show at Zygote Press in May.

Mission Organization

This weekend my mission was to organize the heck out of my living room.  All of my paper crafting supplies were a mess, mostly because nothing had a place to go.  If nothing has a "spot" then nothing can get put away!  The first step to organizing the living room was hanging all my artwork.  Instead of being displayed, all my paintings and framed pieces were leaning against the wall in a stack and taking up valuable space.

My next step was to get some stacked drawers so paper and supplies could have a home.  It just so happens that my neighbors in the other half of the house were getting rid of a rolling box with wide drawers.  It got a little banged up when they moved, and he just couldn't use it anymore.  These drawers are the perfect size for what I need, and with the placement next to the table you can't even see the damaged parts.

The last step was to make a standing rack for my large decorative papers.  My idea was to create something like the paper stores have.  Basically, wooden dowels maybe an inch in diameter that connect two upright pieces, sort of like a wide ladder.  I went into Home Depot with a drawing of what I intended to make and showed it to one of the helpful people in orange aprons.  She thought it looked exactly like a porch railing turned sideways.  They don't have the wooden railings like that anymore, but she showed me a metal one that is 4 feet long with bars about 36 inches across.  It was perfect!  Then she helped me find something to stabilize the base.  I ended up with 4 shelf brackets that could be screwed onto the base.  And the best part is, they assembled it for me at Home Depot because I don't have a power drill at home!  I am thrilled with my new paper display and my nice clean work area.

Sweater Refashion

A couple weeks ago my neighbor dropped of a bag of clothes for me to look through that she is getting rid of.  There was a loose sweater poncho in one of the bags.  I liked the idea of the sweater, and items with loose, bat-wing sleeves are really popular right now...  But this sweater was just a little too big with not enough shape.

My solution was to bring in the sides and make the poncho have actual sleeves instead of just arm holes.  To do this I sewed a line of straight stitching where the new seam would be.  Then I sewed a line of zig-zag stitch next to the straight seam.  Once the zig-zag was in place I could cut the extra fabric away without unraveling anything.

 I have worn it several times already, usually with a bright colored long sleeve shirt and jeans.  This is becoming one of my new favorite sweaters!

Monday Project: Granny Bag

Today I finished crocheting and sewing the handles onto my first Granny Bag.  They call them Granny Bags because it is basically a gigantic granny square with rows of single crochet to gather the edges and make a place for the handles.  I added this photo to my Craft Ideas board on Pinterest last week... And decided I needed to make one!  I managed to do a lot of work on it this week despite having a day-long job fair and preparing for the first gallery opening of the year at work.  All I need to do now it add the lining!  I've already got yarn picked out for making my next one...

Wool Eater Pillow

In the beginning of February I started crocheting a Wool Eater blanket using the pattern by Sarah London.  The pattern is being used for a crochet-a-long on Sarah's Blog as well as spawning a flickr pool and a group on Ravelry.  I have been really great about crocheting every week and being consistent on such a large project...  The weekly updates?  Not so much.  My first update was after 7 color rounds.  More than a month later, this update is at 14 color rounds.

Seven color rounds doesn't seem like a lot to have done in a month.  However, I took a little detour and made a Wool Eater pillow to match my blanket and completely obliterate the last remaining scraps of yarn from the first 10 rounds.  I started with the smallest amounts of yarn first and made a square Wool Eater block.  When it looked about the same size as the pillow form I bought, I started on the backing.

For the back I made a square the same size as the front using single crochet.  I tried to make the color distribution as random as possible using the leftovers from the front of the pillow.  When it looked basically the right size, I attached the front and back squares in a way similar to starting a new color with the Wool Eater pattern.  The top and bottom were easy because it is clear where each stitch needs to be.  For the sides I just guessed how far apart the stitches needed to be.  (Clearly I was very scientific with the whole pillow process...)  I am thrilled with how it turned out, and I am planning to make another pillow after the blanket is finished.