Passions Converge

We all have different things that we love, often they have nothing to do with one another. I, for instance, love to craft and just about everything to do with wine. Now I figured out pretty early on that I can craft while doing wine but I started feeling a little bit like an alcoholic when taking the bottles to recycling. So to avoid the scrutiny of my neighbors and to be a little more eco friendly (and to make the trips to the dump a little less frequently) I decided to make use of what is probably one of the more abundant resources in my house, empty wine bottles.

As a result I decided to paint the bottles and use them as house decor. Actually as I'm writing this a friend of mine has offered me his wine bottle collection when he moves out of his current place. SCORE!

These are the wine bottles that I made today with chalkboard paint. A great way to leave a not for a loved one in the morning. And they just look great in the kitchen or on the hearth. They're for sale on my Etsy Shop

Upcycling

I'll admit my motives for up cycling are mostly selfish. We take our own trash to the dump and recycling is a pain (we don't have single stream recycling) to the more trash I can keep out of the can the less often we have to go to the dump.

With the dogs we go through dog food like there is no tomorrow. I also hate the idea of adding more plastic bags to the landfill than I have to. As a result I turn the dog food bags into grocery totes. They are reusable and (best of all) they don't rip when wet! I use Rebecca Nickols tutorial found here.

I like to save them up and then do a bunch of them at a time ... usually when the bags begin to take over my craft room. Here is the haul for today!

They are also available for sale at my Etsy shop.

Fox in the Henhouse

I have learned that silence, while golden, is also suspicious; this is especially true as it pertains to puppies, toddlers, and boyfriends. I was downstairs putting together a quilt pattern while Michael was (I thought) cleaning his gun in the other room. Then what to my wondering ears should I hear but his voice coming down from the vicinity of the craft room saying 'Can I have this?'. I will have to admit I was worried as I mounted the stairs wondering what in the world he could want out of there. When I reached him I found out that all he wanted was some spare cotton fabric to use to clean the gun.

Not only was I able to oblige but I was able to make a dent in my scrap fabric. Especially those pieces that are of an odd material or that lets face it you are just never going to use again. All in all his journey into craft land was successful and the only casualty was the full box of straight pins that were knocked off of the table turning the carpet into a hazard. 

He or She?

News of a new baby is always exciting, even if its a number of months off. It can be hard to wait for pesky little things like waiting to find out if the little one will be a boy or girl; so what is someone like me to do? Whip out the gender neutral fabrics and create something everyone needs, from my limited experience with tiny humans receiving blankets are incredibly useful. Maybe my niece was messier than most but the tiny strip of fabric some people adorably call a burping cloth was never in the right place to protect her or myself from the mess. As a result I ended up draping a receiving blanket over my chest before taking her. Given that I love to make receiving blankets a little larger than usual to ensure maximum coverage.

I can't reveal the embroidery just yet because the gift hasn't been given yet but here's the project I pulled together. 

I also love this project because of how easy it is to do and the fact that it doesn't take a long time to complete

All you need is a yard of flannel and a serger or a serging foot for your sewing machine. Cut your fabric into a square, mark the corner rounding with a cup or bowl and surge around the blanket. If needed or desired you can easily add some personal flavor to the project with some embroidery or appliqué. 

Quilting from the Heart

I've always been of the strong opinion that making a quilt is a labor of love. With the amount of time and energy that goes into a quilt it is hard to not become attached. This particular quilt holds a special place in my book of quilts.

This quilt was made on commission as a gift for a breast cancer survivor. She and her family had participated in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer walks in West Columbia for a number of years and wanted a T-shirt quilt made of their event shirts to giver her as a Christmas gift.

The shape and sizes of the design varied so I needed to get inventive in some instances to make the quilt look natural and consistent. Not one to create a quilt with a boring back I wanted to add a little LB Design flavor to the quilt. The pink ribbon felt the most fitting and as a personal touch I embroidered the survivors name within the ribbon.

I hope this quilt wraps its new owners in love and keeps them in good health and happiness.