Super Simple Clothes Pin Bag

I don't know about you but we have had some pretty wet weather here. Yesterday we got over 4" of rain. This morning the sun was shining and the breeze was blowing. It's the perfect day to hang out the laundry. I got busy sorting and washing. I brought the clothes outdoors and was surprised to find all of my pins on the wet ground. The bag is totally destroyed. All of the rain and wind split it apart.



I have wanted to make my own bag for years. I never got around to it. Hmm, I need to whip up some kind of bag quick and don't want to go out to the store to get any supplies. I searched through my summer clothes box and dove into the very bottom. That's the archive section. I have things in that box that haven't seen the light of day for years. Yup, many years.



I present you with a sleeveless shirt from the early 90's. Notice how long it is? I don't know what I was thinking when I purchased it at Farm and Fleet. Long shirt on a short person? It never looked good on me. It's better suited as a clothes pin bag.



First thing you have to do is button up the front of the shirt. Turn it inside out and measure down about 5" from the lower edge of the armhole. Draw a straight line across the shirt. I used my favorite blue wash away marker. Whack off the extra fabric of the shirt if you need to. I had to cut off 10". Darn dumb shirt! lol! The next step is to sew on the line. I used a simple straight stitch. Make sure as you are sewing that you won't come up and hit any buttons. That could mess up your machine. I know these things from experience. Trust me.



Next I stitched up the button lapel of the shirt. That's to keep in your pins. Again, be careful of the buttons. I left the top button opened for looks. :)



Now you are ready to sew up the armholes. If I was using a shirt that had sleeves I would sew up the edges of the sleeves. Pretty easy so far. Now we are ready to turn it right side out.



Final step is to put it on a hanger. I used a cheap 10 for $1.00 plastic hanger. It fits snugly. Now put it to work! This took me about 30 minutes from start to finish. Yes, that includes fishing through the "vintage" clothing!

Warm Woolies

One of the groups I belong to on Ravelry is Malabrigo Junkie's. For the month of June we are participating in a charity KAL. One of the charities is Warm Woolies. This vest is my first item that I am donating to Warm Woolies. It's also my very first vest I have knitted. You can find the vest pattern here. Warm Woolies knit warm wool items for deserving children living in orphanages in Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The organization also donates to Native American Reservations in the United States.



Do you remember a quite a few years back when Diane Sawyer reported on the state-run orphanages in Russia? It's a story that has stuck with me since it first aired in 1989. I know that many children were rescued from the horrible conditions and continue to be adopted to loving homes. The winter conditions in these nations are brutal. They don't have the luxury of well heated buildings. About 8 years ago a very dear friend and I made several baby quilts for hospitals in Romania. I quilted the fabric together and Ann Marie sat at the serger sewing the edges together. I'm not sure how many we made but it was a lot. Any little way I can try and help some little child that needs to be kept warm is well worth the effort.





Part of the requirements for the knitted items are they must be made with animal fiber. Also you must knit in bulky weight. I used worsted Patons doubled for the vest. It's knit on large needles size 10 1/2. I used 2.25 skeins for this size 6-8 project. The great thing about knitting with bulky yarn is instant gratification. It knits up super fast too. I'm going to knit a hat to match next. I wanted to start today but I got caught up in mulching the flower beds.



A very good friend of mine gave me a whole case of vintage natural wool. I am planning on making more 100% wool items for Warm Woolies. I plan on dyeing the vintage wool in bright colors. I have experimented with Kool Aid and will share that with you later in the week. If you would like to join me in a charity KAL for Warm Woolies please check out the link at the top of this post.

Is It June?

The weather man just commented that June 2009 is one of the 14Th coolest on record. It feels like April. Lots of cold and rain. It's great weather for handwork. I recently finished machine quilting this beautiful log cabin quilt top for one of my very good friends. There is something so special about this simple quilt block. Come in for a closer look.




When I quilt a design for someone it usually takes a lot of planning and playing. I get to know what my customer likes. I try and get a feel for her personality. I ponder on as many combinations as I can think of. I always pray over each top I quilt. My friend is passionate about her garden and is an expert gardener. I tweaked this floral design and quilted it all over the quilt especially with her in mind.



I quilted large and small flowers. I wanted it to look like flowers were scattered all over her quilt. I also used a green and blue variegated YLI thread. It was a dream to work with. The machine quilted flowers glowed with color. Her response? She cried when I unfolded her treasure. I love those kind of reactions! I am so blessed!

NASB:Psalms
{7:17} I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Bowled Over

I didn't do much knitting the past month. I have been in a knitting slump. After ripping out my last scarf I felt burned out. Frogging back 400 stitches per row will do that to a person. I set my scarf aside and kind of gave up for a while. I knew I needed to find something small to work on that was totally different and new. Knitted and felted bowls. There is something so unique about a handmade bowl. It defies all logic.



The pattern is pretty simple yet so creative. I got it from the book One Skein by Leigh Radford.
The fun thing about these projects is how you can use them. They look so darn cute with a few eggs inside.




I think a felted bowl full of buttons is so sweet!




How about a bowl filled with sewing notions. It just fits.




Or how about adding an adorable knitted strawberry to a handmade bowl?




I love this itty bitty pattern. You can find it here. These bowls would make a great gift filled with the recipients favorite things like chocolate perhaps. The best thing for me was I got my groove back! Yippee!





Thank you for stopping by. I have a ton of stuff to share over then next few weeks. I have been working on all kinds of things. Everything from knitting to quilting and gardening. I leave you with this final shot of my first small harvest from the garden. Mmmm, fresh radishes!

Psalms{128:2} For you will eat the labor of your hands.
You will be happy, and it will be well with you.

What's Going On?

I was so surprised to notice how long it's been since I have written a blog post. Time seems to go by so quickly. So, what have I been up to? Actually lots of stuff. Today I wanted to share this cute little baby ruffled hat. The pattern is called Lilly and you can find it here.



The yarn is Bernat Cotton Tots colorway wonder dreams. I used size 9 needles. It's a fairly fast knit. Perfect for a little baby girl. I have finished a few other items this past month. I'll blog about those later. Lately my mind is not on knitting.



It's spring and my mind has been on gardening! Look what's growing in the basement. Yup, I've got lots of tomatoes and a few mini pepper plants growing.



I also started herb plants. I've got basil, sage, dill and thyme ready to transplant into larger pots.



Lat Thursday I spent most of my day playing in the dirt. It was wonderful to get my hands in the warm dirt. My mind swirled with grand gardening idea's! I bought a few plants at Home Depot.



Here are a few of the items that have been planted: Bok Choy which tastes great stir fried. Several broccoli plants, red romaine lettuce plants. By accident I purchased some iceberg lettuce plants. Those plants should be interesting. I planted radish seeds and all kinds of greens including my favorite, arugula. Yum!



This morning I checked the progress of the garden and look what I saw. You have to look closely. Yes, the greens are growing! Now if it would only stop raining and dry out a bit. I have lots more to plant.

Need an Idea For Dinner?

Do you need an idea for a great, quick meal for dinner tonight? Boy, do I have the recipe for you. I am passionate about creating a fantastic meal each and every night. Most evenings when I come home from work I know that time is of the essence. I can't spend 2 hours chopping and sauteing. Lets not even think of all of the clean up time. I don't want to spend a full evening chained to the stove and the sink.




Beef Fajitas fits the bill. I promise it's easy peasy. This meal can be made entirely on the grill. First you want to start out with a great piece of flank steak. I get my meat from a small local grocer. I find that the larger the grocery store the less quality meat they offer. At least that's how it is in my area. I always let my meat get to room temperature. I never cook a cold piece of meat. Alright if you are using a gas grill like I do pre heat your grill on high for 15 minutes. Next squeeze 2 to 3 limes over your flank steak. Don't forget to salt and pepper your steak. There is no need to marinate your steak for hours. Just sprinkling your juice while your grill heats is enough. Throw your steak on your grill and cook each side for about 5 to 7 minutes. On my grill it turns out medium to medium rare. Just the way my family likes it. Remove your steak from the grill and tent it with tin foil so it can rest for about 10 minutes. While it rests we can cook our veggies.





Check out this beauty! Trust me, it's out of this world! Is your mouth watering yet?





Next get your veggies ready. Remember we are cooking everything on the grill. Slice your onions in 1/2" rounds. Don't separate them into rings. Seed and cut your peppers like I have so they can cook easily on the grill. Turn your grill to medium heat. If you like add a bit of olive oil to your veggies to keep them from sticking to the grill. It will take 8 to 10 minutes to cook. After you have removed the veggies from the grill quick throw on your flour tortilla's for 20 seconds per side.





Slice your rested meat thinly on the bias against the grain. Next slice your veggies. This is great! Not a pot or pan to wash! Yippee!






Put together your Fajitas. Yum! Make sure to make some guacamole and salsa if you are a fan of those condiments. I have a great recipe from guacamole. If you are interested just let me know in your comment. I am always happy to share.
I guarantee you that if you serve this meal for your family or friends you will be a total rock star! Enjoy!

Unique Gifts

How about a little something different today. Want to make a pincushion? Do you have any scraps laying around? How about some pretty fun fabric?





Quilting stores offer charm packets for sale. The package usually contain 5" squares of a collection of a fabric line. I enjoy picking up some of these and trying to come up with different ways to use the mini collections. I belong to a group on Ravelry that swaps pincushions. After checking out my secret partners collection I thought she needed something totally different. Something pieced with pretty fabric. Maybe even a monogram.



I got busy cutting strips. I cut strips in different widths. I wanted the finished piece to look like a pieced quilt but I wanted the process to be easy. I cut 1", 1 1/2" and 2" strips.



Start sewing the strips and mix up the widths. After you have your desired Width finished cut on last large strip about 2 1/2" X 5" to finish off you piece. For my project I made 2 sets of strips.



Sew your 2 sets together. Looks pretty good.




The possibilities are almost endless. This would also make a great scrap quilt block.



If you are able add a monogram for that extra special touch. Then you cut your piece to your desired finished shape.



Here is the first one. I love how it turned out. It's unique and sweet.






I made a few others for some quilting friends that have birthdays coming up. If you are looking for a special gift for a friend that sews give this a try.
Thank you for stopping by!