Random Craftiness

Can you guess what the Monkey Man is going to be for Halloween? I bet you can! Here's the sneak peek with the full reveal not far behind. We're running out of time before the annual extravaganza. Only three more costumes to go after this one, wish me luck.
Yards and yard of wool from the nicest lady who was trimming down her stash on Craig's List.
These were all estate sale purchases and she wanted to give them to someone who would put them to good use. Ooo! Over here! This isn't even all of it, there is still a ton more to wash.
She was so happy to hear that I was teaching my daughter to sew and passing on those skills to the next generation. I love meeting people like her, who talk to you forever about their lives and how things used to be.
Another addition to the stash, this time a request from a favorite teacher. More bibs for the twins who have apparently already outgrown all the infant bibs I'd made and are moving on to the real deal. Bibs for wiping off all that mushed up, smeared on, used as hair gel, baby food.

And finally a craft from an afterschool club I run with a friend. Some really fun Rainbow Spinner's made by twenty girls. This one took a while to dry. :)

We don't have a huge budget to work with so we try to recycle quite a bit. This time it was two old CD's. Each girl decorated one cd with fabric paint and gems. A little hot glue (done by the adults please) and some ribbon for a hanger and you have a really cool spinner to hang in your window.

Quilt Giveaway

Lizzie Ann Quilts is having a giveaway for a beautiful quilt! I love the frayed edges on this quilt. Its a great design too! So now that I've told you about it, you can go take a look at this beautiful piece. However, since I was nice enough to tell you about it (you know, purely for inspiration) please do not leave a comment on her blog and try to win it. Clearly I can't afford any more competition over there, so many comments already. Alright? So, pinky swear that you won't comment and enter the giveaway and then you have my permission to go have a look.

I know, the suspense is killing you...

Finally, the finished mini quilt for the Spare a Square Challenge. I loved making this project and using other people's scrap fabric really was fun. I think my favorite is the green in the center with the little circles and flowers. See it? How cute is that one? I'd love to get my hands on more of that. Anyone know where to find it from my tiny little piece? Get out your magnifying glass and have a look.

I had some trouble coming up with a working idea for these fabrics when they were full size. There were too many competing patterns and colors none really stood out, except the numbers of course, its hard to miss those. I knew I definitely wasn't cutting into those they are too graphic and needed to be kept whole. I started out with a confetti theme and sketched a little girl tossing fabric in the air. The sketch got tossed out, pared down along the way. I really like the idea of making something from nothing so we have all the tiny bits of fabric becoming a whole. Oh, and a limited edition numbered quilt. Only 6,313 more to go in the series according to my cool numbered scrap. :)

Becoming

The beginnings of my Spare a Square project for the JCHandmade Challenge.

Little scraps of great fabric on their way to becoming something new. I should have taken a picture of the scraps as soon as I received them but I was too busy kicking around an idea for the project. My scraps were from group four and in a week or so you can take a look at the flickr group and see what everyone else came up with for this challenge. There are a few projects posted there already and they look great.

Vintage Bits and Pieces

Another good day at the local craft/thrift store. Love that place! So many fun things to show you. I know I can't be the only one who makes the squealy noise when finding a whole bag of vintage silk thread spools for....ready? Two, yep two dollars. My family thinks its a little weird that I'm not planning to actually sew with it. Maybe someday...okay, probably not. Right now they look fantastic in their little vintage pyramid on my grandmother's desk.
Also from the amazing thrifty crafty place, a huge bag of quilt pieces already basted and waiting for a project to call home. I found a place for some of them on a new notebook holder so I can look ultra cool when I go to those PTA meetings. Its hard to be cool at PTA. :)
On a totally unrelated note, I received my scraps of fabric from JCHandmade for the Spare a Square Challenge. Its amazing how being handed a few fabrics you probably wouldn't have combined yourself can make think. I wasn't really sure where this project was going when I first saw the scraps. After a day of ignoring them and then waking up the next morning thinking about it, I finally got started. The project is going in a totally different direction than I thought, but I really think I like it. Oh, and here's a teaser, I used a little bit of some vintage goodness to pull it all together. Stay tuned for a WIP photo hopefully tommorow.

WIP Winter in October

I know its only October but its been awfully cold here lately, maybe the temperature has something to do with the look of this project. Last night I pulled out my basket of vintage odds and ends and played until I found a combination I liked. I started with the snowflake and pulled in some subtle winter colors. Miss Mimi has decided it looks like a snow globe and so, a snowglobe it will be! The background is vintage linen recycled from an embroidery I was given, which will soon be a new pillow for the bedroom. I don't have any plans for the snowglobe yet....

but I do love the way the late afternoon light shines through.

Spare Change Swap

Have you seen this?!
Chickpea Sewing Studio is organizing a scrap challenge. Sign ups are open until October 15th.
Basically a 1/2 yard fabric swap (cut into 5x5 inch squares). The squares will be used to make a white and scrap quilt. I may just be able to check a Christmas gift off my list after this swap!

An example of a white and scrap quilt made by Chickpea herself. I love the way the white makes all the fabrics stand out. Go check out that swap for yourself and let's make some quilts!