Moon Shot and Sewing Green

Goodnight Moon

I just wanted to share this photo of the gorgeous moon I took one night last week. I got several shots of it, but this one was just the best...enjoy!

So, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and I have some news to report. First of all, today I received another baby quilt commission from a friend of mine (must finish this quilt in just under two weeks!!). She came over and we had a great time going through fabric and looking at quilt patterns! My friend has now decided that she is interested in learning to quilt and has already picked out her first pattern for her first quilt. I mentioned that the Dallas Quilt Show (www.quiltersguildofdallas.org) is coming up in March and she said she would love to go with me! Naturally, any time anyone shows an interest in quilting, I get very excited!! I also plan to take her fabric shopping in a couple of weeks (yes, the fabriholic in me is coming out!). 

As usual, hubby and I went on our once a month excursion to Barnes & Noble (www.barnesandnoble.com) to check on new issues of magazines. I bought a very interesting magazine called GreenCraft (http://www.stampington.com/html/greencraft_volume1.html) and it is just chock full of wonderful crafting ideas for using recycled materials. There are some purse ideas, and flower pin ideas too. There was even an idea (that I want to try) for taking an old tablecloth (a cute one) and cutting it down to make an apron. In a previous post, I discussed "Sewing Green" and shopping at thrift stores and antique stores for fabric....so naturally, my first thought was that I must make another thrift store/antique store run to find some old table cloths and make an apron!! I thought this was a great Sewing Green tip and wanted to pass it along to you.

Grandbaby News ~ our little darling is sick this week with a cold and sinus junk, so we haven't gotten to see her this week. But, I did decorate a little knit cap for her. Hobby Lobby (www.hobbylobby.com) is a great source for inexpensive baby hats, caps and onesies to decorate, if there is a baby in your life and you have a Hobby Lobby near you. I have just been having so much fun sewing little flowers and cute trim onto these caps! I also ironed on some appliques to a bib for her, and plan to do a couple more...since babies tend to mess up multiple bibs in a day!

I am still working on quilting My Quilt (which is only a temporary name for it). It is a much larger quilt than I am used to quilting, so I am struggling just a bit with it...but since it is for me, I can take my time with it. It won't be perfect (there are, admittedly, a few puckers on the back), but again...this is for me and won't be gong to any quilt show!

As it is already the month of February (!!), I have decided that I had better get cracking on making some summer dresses for our Grandbaby! Found a cute pattern for a summer dress, bloomers and a hat, so I want to make several of these outfits for her to wear during the hot summer months. In Texas, hats are so important for the little ones to wear, because it just gets so blistering hot here and babies' heads are so very tender.

Well, that's about it for now. If you have any Sewing Green ideas, please post your ideas and comments to share...quilting tips too!!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!

Thrift Store Finds

Good afternoon quilters and sewers! Today's topic is finding fabric in places like thrift stores, antique shops and other venues that you might not think of when shopping for fabric.

Hubby and I love to roam thrift stores to see what kinds of great deals we can find, so this past weekend when we were roaming around the stores I started looking at different types of fabrics one can find in them. Not only can you find evening dresses, wedding dresses and prom gowns (think yards and yards of fabric), but you can find drapes, curtains, blankets, towels, shirts, and sheets! Not to mention, by shopping this way you are "sewing green" by reusing and repurposing fabric! (Green and cost effective...great combination!)

Now, I know that you might be thinking that a lot of these things will just be worn out and unusable, but that's where you would be wrong. For instance, for $1.99 I found a white flannel baby blanket in very nice condition...that's a yard of cotton flannel for under $2!! I also found satin sheets and pillow cases (think crazy quilt fabric) for less than $4. Curtains are also a great fabric source, and these were all less than $2 each. In this economy, with $8.00 - $10.00 a yard fabric, why wouldn't anyone want to save some money on very nice usable fabric?? Flat sheets make great quilt backs, and I even found some that had never even been taken out of the package...$4.00!! Another great source for cotton fabric is men's Hawaiian or dress shirts...especially the larger sizes.

Of course, you won't be able to find all of the fabric you want/need in a thrift store, but you can greatly reduce the cost of your fabric and add to your stash by shopping this way. Another great source is...believe it or not...antique stores! You can find vintage table linens and vintage fabrics for not much money in antique stores. Vendors in antique malls often have regular sales, and shopping the sale booths is a great way to save even more. Vintage clothing can even be bought for little money. All of these venues are great fabric sources, and if you are a Fabriholic...like me...then you will definitely want to check these sources out!

Ebay (www.ebay.com) is also another great source for fabric and vintage fabric, however, keep in mind that you will usually have to pay some type of shipping and handling costs, and then wait for it in the mail! Although, admittedly, I have bought and sold vintage fabric on Ebay from time to time.

Do you know of other "alternative" sources for fabric? Post a comment and let me know!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!

Sewing Green

Today is really cold and yet my thoughts are on global warming and recycling, or "going green" as most people term it today. I have been reading in so many places about recycling to help the planet...grocery stores and bookstores are selling reusable "green" bags so we don't put so much plastic in the landfills.

Back in the 70s (and yes, I know I am dating myself) I often wondered why people weren't worried about trashing up the planet and endangering the environment. I'd like to think that I was just 30 years ahead of the time in my thinking! After my oldest daughter was born, I recycled aluminum cans...but then, it wasn't really to be "green" it was so I could afford diapers and formula! I suppose diapers and formula are too expensive to be able to buy then now with "can money", and they don't give much for the cans any more...but at the time it was wonderful to get money and clean up the planet at the same time!

As usual, my thoughts lead me back to sewing and trying to sew "green"...no, not green fabric! There have been several articles in quilt magazines about reusing and recycling fabric and I thought I would share some things I have learned, or done myself.

1. Use your scraps...even the smallest ones. Get creative about this and use them in applique or patchwork.
2. Recycle old clothes from your closet, your kids' closet, and hubby's closet too. Cut up clothes and put the fabric in your stash. Hubby's ties are a great source of silk and his dress shirts can be used for all types of projects!
3. Shop in thrift stores to gather crazy quilt fabric...little girls fancy dresses are a great source for velvet, satin and lace!
4. Reuse buttons, snaps, hooks, and trims from old garments
5. Chain piece to conserve thread (it's not cheap these days either!)
6. Learn to applique to use smaller pieces of scraps
7. Keep your sewing machine in good shape...don't let it end up in the landfill because you failed to maintain it properly.
8. Recycle vintage tablecloths, napkins and handkerchiefs and use them in your quilts or garments
9. Recycle worn towels and washcloths to make baby bibs or use as jacket lining.
10. Reuse things around the house for quilt or garment embellishment..get creative...look in your kitchen junk drawer or bathroom for small things such as beads, pop tops, pieces of ribbon, etc.
11. Use sustainable fabrics and batting such as cotton and bamboo

Can you think of more ways to recyle or reuse material in sewing or quilting? I would love to hear your ideas! There are books on the subject as well at www.amazon.com, so check them out! Try sewing "green" and see how you like it. Remember, the art of quilting in this country began with pioneer women reusing worn clothing to make bed quilts! Sew, let's get creative and "green" at the same time!

Happy Sewing and Quilting!!