Upcycling

You know those vinyl zippered bags that new sheets, mattress pads , tablecloths ect come packaged in ?

Well, I’ve always felt weird about putting them in the recycle bin. I’ve used them for storage of course but always wondered if there wasn’t something else I could do with them. So the other day I got an idea and gave it a try.

See-thru vinyl pouches !

The mattress pad bag came with a two way zipper so I was able to cut down the zipper and use the same zipper on two pouches.

The zipper pull was really ugly but it was easy to cut off and tie on a replacement. For the first two pouches I made my own ‘binding’ out of some stash fabric that goes amazingly well with the opaque vinyl. This fabric has been a ‘problem child’ in the sewing room – that blue does not play well with other blues !

I made a couple of quilt blocks for a baby quilt and am now kinda stuck because I haven’t been able to find more colours to co-ordinate with that blue. Oh well !

The vinyl wasn’t that hard to work with but I found using my clover clips and masking tape very helpful.

I still had lots of vinyl left over so I made a few pouches using some ready made binding – or maybe it’s called bias tape. I used two rows of stitching on each tape; one close to the zipper and the other on the outside edge to make sure the vinyl was secured between the folds.

I had cut my binding fabric strips 2″ and after pressing them in half and then half again I think they were still a bit chunky looking. I think the store bought tape looks a little neater.

Both of these pouches measure approximately 8″x 6″. I had a meter (40″) of each bias tape and only had a few inches left when I was done. I also found out that vinyl is hard to photograph !

In other news: we have been getting a site ready for a new grain bin

That’s my husband tamping down the gravel over where we have installed drainage pipe and there will soon be a large concrete pad poured for the bin floor. It doesn’t look like much but believe me there are a tremendous number of hours involved in getting the foundation ready for a bin that will hold 2,400,400 pounds of wheat or just over 1 thousand metric tonnes.

This is the view from my office… just kidding ! I turned 180 degrees from the last picture and this is the wheat field west of the bin site. We’ve been getting a nice amount of rain this year and the crops are looking good.

Thanks for having a look. Have a lovely weekend.

I’ll be linking up with CrazyMomQuilts for Finish it up Friday.

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Wants and needs

Although my son didn’t know it, he needed new pillow cases and I wanted a quick sewing project !

masculine prints were needed- second from the left reminds me of sprocket wheels .

Happily, both could be satisfied with a trip to the fabric store and a good pillow case tutorial from Ashley over at Film in the Fridge.

I have used this tutorial before and I like it for it’s clear instructions and great results. The pillow cases have a nice cuff, a pop of detail in that trim and french seams so they don’t fray.

I didn’t pre-wash my fabrics so they look at bit roomy on the pillows here. I am expecting the cases to shrink up a bit.

That’s my finish for the week !

Thanks for having a look. Have a delightful weekend !

linking up with Amanda for Finish it up Friday.

Star light, star bright…

First star I see tonight,

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have this wish I wish tonight.

 

A few months ago I was at my local fabric store and noticed a beautiful batik. These fabrics really appeal to me but I rarely buy them. This fabric just had to come home with me so I bought half a meter ( 20 inches) – without a plan, of course. I knew I wouldn’t be making any thing large but eventually an idea formulated and a star was born !

 

I used the Missouri star quilt block tutorial by Jenny Doan. As promised it was very easy. I had just enough to add a bit of a border and voila… a 28″ square table topper/mini quilt.

I’ve been told that not all batiks are ‘real’ but I think this one is. There was the distinctly lovely scent of wax as I was pressing the fabric and the variation & depth of colour is quite special. The additional fabrics are from my stash and the binding is ‘pomegranate’ from Freespirit.

I backed it with a pink swirly fabric from my stash and did simple grid line quilting. The choice of thread colour may have been a mistake; I was in too much of a hurry to wait until my next trip ‘to the city’ so I just went with what I had on hand. Oh well, one of the pitfalls of quilting in the middle-of-nowhere.

That’s all the quilting news I have for this week but I do want to show you another picture:

Last week we had a surprise visitor from France !! Our friend Remi first came to our farm five years ago for a 5 month internship while he was studying agriculture in Lille, France. He really became a part of our family and it was so good to have him back – if only for a week !

Thanks for having a look !

I’ll be linking up with Amanda for Finish it up Friday.