Knit From Recycled Denim

Remember the yarn from recycled denim? Used some of it to knit up this Kindle cozy.  A happy knit.

posted by: cat

2016 Mini Journal Update

Some pages from the latest mini-journal.  Slow going, but at least it's going.

posted by: cat

August to October Mini Journal

posted by: cat

The Midori Challenge

This one was born out of drooling over the amazing midoris we came across online.  We decided to make a challenge of our (my?) ever-growing obsession with them.  The task: to make your own midori out of materials at hand.  The results:

m's Mydori:

Okay, so I cheated here a little bit.  The cover material is felt.  I didn't have any on hand so I bought some.  One layer was not enough so I used two and sewed them back to back.  It made for a nice dual color cover.  

For the inserts I used a couple of old notebooks I had in my stash (yes, I'm a notebook hoarder too.)

The top notebook I use as a journal of sorts.  The pages came printed with a design so no embellishments needed there.  The kraft notebook is a section from a thicker notebook I had that came apart.  I use that for doodles and other random stuff.  I decorated the edges of the page with a simple running line made with felt tip pens just to jazz them up a bit.  The last notebook is a regular lined notebook which I transformed into a calendar, because I really need a calendar nowadays.  I use the extra box for doodles.

Extra felt got turned into an insert with pockets for my stickies and other random stuff.  The pockets are just scrap pieces of plastic cover from the kids' school books.

The bands used for holding the note books together were scavenged from another notebook...

...as was the colored garter.  I glue gunned the heck out of this one because it came off a couple of times.  Apparently felt hates glue.

There you have it.  My first midori from scraps (yes, except the cover).  Next time I might try making the inserts/ notebooks too.

cat's fakedori

 This is the outside. The leather is from an old belt (!),  and is super duper soft.  I left the inside as is, I just changed out the stitching with red thread to match the elastic I used for keeping it shut. The cat and fish are from a keychain.  The fish is attached to a thin piece of leather and serves as a marker, the other end of said leather has a ring which makes a handy dandy pen holder.

A closeup of button used to reinforce the elastic that serves to hold the booklets.

First booklet for random notes.  The cover page for sticking important reminders.

For this booklet, I figured out a super easy bind using a rubber band!

First half of a divider.  This part made from leftover cardstock, attached to the other half using fabric tape.  Note the animal-print magnetic bookmark made from a fridge magnet and some printed duct tape.

The other half of the divider, of recycled plastic cut from some packaging. Used to hold sticky notes.

 posted by: m & cat

Cat Doll

Made a doll.  Made it some clothes.  Filled a page in my April Mini Journal.

posted by: cat

Recycled Denim

A knitted up swatch (unblocked) of the 3-ply denim threads.  The threads were rescued from a pair of old, retired bluejeans, knotted up and hand-plied with a homemade drop spindle.  The spindle itself is from a Tinkertoy set that I simply added a cup hook to.

Here's the swatch of the 6-thread yarn which I spun into one thick ply.  I didn't knot the threads together, which made the project move along much faster.  However, the tendency was for some of the ends to pop up, especially after getting run through the wash.  All-in-all, it's holding up very well.

posted by: cat

Chunky Yarn from Corded Thread

Remember all that craziness with the cord-making?  Here's he result:  chunky yarn!

The top one is actually my first experiment with spinning.  Just twisting up random recycled threads, then turning them into cord.  The bottom one is the 3-thread cord with the green and yellow theme.

Here they are, all knitted up.  Swatches of the knitted cords.  They look really yummy.



posted by: cat

Cord Maker

Repurposing some thread and knitting up chunky yarn for m, but knitting seemingly unending i-cord by hand can get pretty tedious.  I needed something different, and internet gave me the lucet.

I tried out an out an old, cheap fork I had leftover from another project.  It works, except, the cord it makes is too small when I used the repurposed thread.

Then I re-discovered the knitting nancy.  

I managed to make a this small one out of a small branch from the garden (with a convenient hollow core) and some staples. 

Here's a shot with Abe for size comparison.  It makes the approximate size cord, although I need to play around with it more to get the tension the way I want it.

I find that my boredom with making i-cord has gone.  For now.


posted by: cat

Pages-in-Waiting

Three finished pages just waiting to be paired up and bound into the fabric book.  Mostly playing around with patchwork and stitches.  I find cloth from the scrap pile, and they tell me what they want to happen.  Sometimes, they're not very articulate.

posted by: cat

Fabric Book WIPs

Two recent Works in Progress for fabric book.  Still working on making without overthinking things.  So hard!


posted by: cat 

Cassette Case Pincushion

A tutorial of sorts.

 

I really should make a proper tutorial; one with a list of materials and clear step-by-step instructions and whatnot.  I didn't take pictures of the crucial first part of the process.  *shrug*  Whatever.  I will just have to assume our Dear Readers are intelligent enough to know what to do just from the pictures.  (I'm also assuming we actually have readers.)

Cut out a piece of fabric that will fit into the bottom part of where the cassette sits.  It goes without saying that you need an empty cassette tape jewel case.  If yours has those little protrusions that fit into the cassette holes, you will have to figure out a way to snap them off.  If that fails, learn to live with it.  If you are wondering what the hell a cassette is, I suggest you shut up and go bother someone else.

Sew the edges together to form a tube, then sew one end of the tube shut.  Stuff with your choice of pincushion filling, then sew the other end shut.

 You should end up with a length of pincushion that fits into that bottom part of the case.  (I  kinda overstuffed mine a tad. Don't do that with yours.)  When open, it's a neat little pincushion that keeps all your needles lined up nice.  Closed, it's a needle case that keeps your needles from accidentally jabbing you when not in use.  (see topmost picture)

posted by: cat

Second Post for Summer-Craft-a-Week

Ok, we're lying liars who lie, 'coz it's been more than a week since the last challenge.  Whatever.  Here are the projects:

cat's Blue Patchwork

It's the first finished 'page' of a planned fabric book.  My take on Japanese boro.

m's flower rings (crocheted of course)

I've always wanted those giant star rings but I was too scared I'd poke my eye out with them.  Then I found a nice flower pattern and decided to try and turn it into a ring.  Viola.  Big yet harmless ring.  Washable too.

 

 And can also comes in rainbow colors.

posted by: cat & m

Craft-a-Week Revival

It's back!  After mustering enough courage and will power we have decided we can revive the craft-a-week and we will post on or before our deadline!

The first Craft-a-Week for this summer.  The challenge was pretty simple: finish a damn project! 

Here are the results:

cat's Brown Fabric Box

Project started out as extra material from kids' jeans.  Got turned into a fabric container with lining and some chain-stitch detail.

m's Mini Dress-up Doll Keychain

Now you can bring your doll around with you and dress her up to match your bag too!  The extra dress didn't make the deadline though.  Boo.

posted by: cat & m