Recycling

We're back with the saga of waiting in for heating engineers who don't turn up so we're still without central heating tonight. They are now promising to come tomorrow. We shall see!

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Anyway, while I was waiting in for non-existent workmen I thought I would have another go at the fabric 'baskets'. Some time ago I was given some v - e - r - y wide legged jeans through the recycling group Freecycle and they have been waiting for me to find some inspiration or cut them up for crazy patchwork.

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When I got the jeans out I was pleased to find they had a big pocket on the leg so I decided to incorporate that into the basket. This is the result~

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I've lined the jeans with the same vilene-type stiffener I lined a bookwrap with a while ago but this time I was too impatient to paint it. Instead of making a full decorative lining I have just trimmed the inside top edge with a ribbon.

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I've cut a piece of mountboard to fit in the bottom to make it stand up and its now the perfect home for my current magazines and my workbook. I've still got the other jeans leg to use and I'm thinking of making that into a sewing/project bag so that I can take advantage of the side pocket. I can see all sorts of uses for these baskets and they look much better than tumbling piles of papers! I've also learned to take the toolbox off my machine so that you can sew freely around a tube shape. Thank you again Moogsmum!! :o) Ooooh! I nearly forgot! The brooch was a present from my very good friend which she made herself.

Where did today go?

I can't believe it's nearly bedtime again already! Where did the day go? I won't bore you with the non events of today - it's been busy but not that productive. We have had one success though. DH has been wanting a commercial card display stand for some time, the sort you get in shops, but they are extremely expensive and usually can only be bought from greeting card suppliers complete with cards. I had the idea of putting a "wanted" out on Freecycle and fantastically someone in our area contacted us and we are now the proud owners of a very useful carousel! If you haven't tried Freecycle yet you might like to look here. It's a great way of getting rid of items you no longer need without sending them to landfill.

I forgot to post this pic yesterday of a young boy's entry at the show - it is a garden on a tray and I thought that not only is it delightful but it occurred to me that it had possibilities as a textile design. The young man in question won Best in Show (in the children's categories) with it. I think it's really sweet and he's put a lot of thought into it.

There's a lot of talk going on on the Fibre & Stitch group about lutradur and there is a challenge on the go to use lutradur with lace. I haven't started this yet but it reminded me that I've got a piece that I started some weeks ago:

I have painted the lutradur and then machined various fibres onto it with thoughts of a seascape in mind. It is quite a large piece, probably 24x16 inches. I am trying to find my bravery button so that I can take the heat gun to it and/or overlay some sheers and distress the surface but up to now i just keep looking at it. I have thought that I might cut it into smaller pieces but I do actually like the overall size as it is. I am always paralysed by the thought of ruining something by taking it a step further - although really there's not much to ruin here yet, is there? Go on girl, bite the bullet!