Surprise!!! This tarn necklace!

Blog posts two days in a row! Woohoo!

I just wanted to show you the scarf/necklace thing I made with tarn. (See yesterday's post if you don't know what tarn is.)

Our son was all, "What are you wearing?!?" last weekend when I wore this the first time. But everyone else was complimentary and touching it and how-did-you-make-it-ing, so what does he know? Grace wants one, maybe we can make one together.

I like it. It makes me feel festive. You should make one, too! You could make knots in it, twist it, add beads, braid them, make them longer/shorter... Do it. Tarn is so darn fun!

Oh the things you can think...

♫♪♫ ♪ when you think about.... T-shirts? ♪♫♪♪ ♫♪♫ ♪♫♫♪

(OK, you might recognize that from the Suessical musical, the tune of which I can't get out of my head thanks to Grace replaying her dance recital DVD over and over.)

I LOVE repurposing things. A couple years ago I made Micah a quilt with old jeans (mostly donated to the cause). You can check out the result here. There is just something that appeals to me about taking something meant for the trash and turning it into something new. I find myself looking at the items at home, at rummage sales, and everywhere, with an eye toward what it could be with some time and elbow grease.

My latest passion is t-shirts. Who doesn't have a drawer full of t-shirts? And who ever wears them all? If you are like everyone else I know, you wear the top 4 or 5, wash them and then put them away on the top of the drawer so they are the easiest to grab again. You probably have T-shirts you thought you gave away years ago, pining away in the back of a dark drawer.

One of my brothers-in-law (or sister-in-law's husband, to be more accurate) donated some of his t-shirts to a fundraising sale for their adoption, and some of them were shirts commemorating things that we knew were important to him. My husband and I talked to his wife and nabbed all the Tshirts to make a quilt. And then she hit up some of their friends to get other T-shirts from them, duplicates of shirts he currently wears and would miss. I also begged my friends on facebook for a Vikings shirt I could cut up, because he would SO notice if one of those went missing!

It was way more work than I anticipated, I should have cut right across the bottom of the t-shirts to make loops for tarn, but I didn't know about tarn yet, lots of cutting, more cutting the logos to size, cutting the fusing, ironing on the fusing... finally assembly and quilting. No batting, just t-shirts, fusing & a layer of navy fleece on the back. I quilted simple frames around each t-shirt logo. I'm very please with how it turned out! Total cost was only for 2 yards of fleece and a bunch of fusible backing.

It's bigger than I anticipated, too. It's almost 5 X 6 feet. I hope it's a good snuggler! When it turned into such a big project I suggested my s-i-l plan on giving it for Christmas because I couldn't do this for every in-law. She came and got it the next day, and b-i-l got it for an early birthday present because s-i-l said she couldn't wait. My only request was that she take pictures so I could see how he likes it.

 

 He looks like he likes it!  : )

What do you do with all the scraps? How about:

The best burp cloths

An upcycled t-shirt dress

Shirt bibs

T-shirt bib using existing graphic

Soft bib backing

(I made at least one of the above items, but can't post it because it's a gift...)

Or make 'Tarn' (T-shirt yarn) and make:

Tarn tutorial (this is what I wish I'd known! I would have cut all those T-shirts differently. You live, you learn.)

Beautiful latch-hook rug

Amazing Rainbow Rug

Ruffly scarf or Memory scarf

I love this crocheted tarn rug!!!

Here's another one, this seller is great!!

Joining pieces of tarn together

Scarf for a doll (or make a bigger one for yourself!)

Cute bags & purses

Hipster scarves

T-shirt necklaces

(I picked up a $.50 tie-dyed t-shirt at a rummage sale and made a t-shirt necklace. 

I must take a picture to post!!)

And FYI - I tried to make these lists all pretty and multicolored and Blogger is so awesome that it will only let me change those three links, nothing else, and now won't let me change them back so they'd all match either. It's the thought that counts! 

Oh look, it'll let me change this, though!

OK, what do you repurpose?

And do you have any colorful T-shirts you want to pull out of your rag bin 

-- to give to me???

Scoot-o-rama or That's How I Roll

I ride a scooter. I love it. The biggest issue with the scooter is figuring out when I can ride it around hauling kids and stuff around. I also wear a big pink helmet when I ride, not because I'm a Pink Lady wannabe, but because it was the cheapest new helmet with a face shield I could find to buy. Cuz that's how I roll.

So I thought I'd share a couple things about the scooter and I. Goofy things, but again, that's how I roll.

When I wear the helmet (all the time) the wind comes under the face shield and makes my lips dry. And them I do that thing where I kind of roll my top lip under by my top gums so it looks like I don't have a top lip - I don't know why!!! But it's a funny face that I make. And then I kind of stretch my face taught and look kind of strange at the car waiting for the light next to me. Because I'm already making the face, and it makes me laugh, and it makes them laugh... (It kind of looks like when Jim Carrey was the fire investigator on MAD TV...)

I frequently scare myself when I talk with the helmet on while I'm driving the scooter. The first time I was thinking about a conversation I'd just had and repeated something I'd said and the combination of the wind blowing from under the face shield and the acoustics of the helmet itself - I thought someone was talking in my ear, while I was driving 30 miles and hour! I jerked my head to the side, looking to see who it could possibly be, and realized I'd just scared myself! Silly.

I also frequently reach to tuck my bangs out of the wind, or adjust my glasses, and jam my fingers on the shield - I forget it's there!

And when I drive my scooter, which means I'm wearing a helmet, multiple people always tell me how nice my hair looks. You might think a helmet would hurt a hairstyle, but evidently it just improves mine.

I love when the older bikers, or most anyone not on a crotch rocket, give me (in the pink helmet) the cool two finger salute at their side that serves as a biker wave  as we pass each other on the street. It's like I'm in the biker club, the gang - on my scooter! Hee-hee!

This all probably means I'm a pretty big dork when I ride my scooter, but honestly it's so fun I kind of want to squeal in delight! I love being out in the smells of the day, feeling the temperature change the closer I get to Lake Superior. It makes me so happy I think I get a little squirrelly. And that's how I roll!

Pinterest

Do you 'pinterest'? I do. OK, I've pinned something, once, but I can't wait to pin more!!!

No idea what I'm talking about? Pinterest is a 'virtual pinboard.' Like a visual reference of all your bookmarks, and then you can browse other people's... repinning, commenting, learning, dreaming... One click and you see it bigger, with any comments and repins. One more click and it takes you to the site it was found on. (...or on which is was found - for the English major in me!) And it will link to your facebook, and let you know which friends are on Pinterest. And you can invite people.

My first pin is a photo of peanut butter cup cookies made in mini muffin tins - YUM-O! It's located on my 'Chocolate' board. I also have a 'Lesser Desserts' board, but so far it's empty....

Ok, now I've added more... this could be a serious rabbit hole. Must... get... something... done....

I think it's going to be wonderful, and it would be better if YOU would join it, too!

Go to Pinterest to request an invitation. Join. Do it now! (said in my Arnold Schwartz voice) Check it out! I can't wait to see you there!

AG III

When I was looking for American Girl patterns I ran across someone who had a pattern for making a jean skirt for your American Girl doll by cutting off the bottom of a one leg of a pair of old kid's jeans, roll the cut edge, insert elastic and - skirt! So I did one of these this weekend, too. (Dolly Outfitters)

Grace found a pair of her her jeans with a hole in the knee so we weren't out anything by cutting them up. I cut the jeans at 8 inches and used a little less than 1 inch to hem the top and add the elastic. I also looked at the jeans to see what else I could salvage and cut the little coin pocket off the jeans to transfer to the doll skirt, and the little Levi's tag. The back pockets on the jeans were so cute with embroidery and sequins, I decided to use them, too, and made a little purse. I used both pockets so it's the same on both sides and I salvaged some of the inseam to made the strap.

Grace says now she just needs a new shirt, like all the other ones she has are 'old' - she's had them for a week! I'm not ready or really interested in doing little tiny sleeves so she's probably out of luck!

AG II

I powered through the backpack/doll carrier/wardrobe thing for Grace, and her American Girl Doll, this weekend. By the time it was done my jaw was throbbing from clenching it. I was very stressed about the whole thing. Here is a conversation I had with Grace on Saturday:

Me: Grace, I'm working on the zipper right now.
Grace: Why is that a big deal?
Me: Because I've never done one before. Because it's new and kind of scary. And because I'm doing it for you!!!
Grace: Oh..... Thanks, Mom.

(Someone who sews way more than I do once told me that zippers were impossible and that they just don't even try them anymore. So I've been afraid of them. It wasn't so bad. Now I might be able to tackle the cushion covers I've been planning for our couch, put off because they'll have zippers.)

Here's a bunch of photos of the finished project. There are some things I don't like about it, and they are all things I changed about the pattern. Let that be a lesson to me!

I lined the whole backpack with double-sided Pellon and give myself about a quarter inch for sewing. It wasn't enough allowance and as a result, all the angles are not very defined. It doesn't want to stand freely as I anticipated. I would definitely leave at least 3/4 inch allowance around each piece where there would not be the fusible material And when it's in a continuous piece, like all the way around on that zipper piece, I would give a quarter inch or so w/out the Pellon to turn the corner. Oh, well. It was also my first attempt at using a fusible material like that.

One thing I do like is the extra hinged panel I made to tuck inside. The $58 doll bags at the American Girl store had an extra panel and I really liked the idea, so I made one up.

Grace loves the materials I picked and kept saying, "I love the material - how did you know to pick what I liked? It's all my favorite colors!" Ummm, because I'm your mom and I pay attention to what you like?

We couldn't find any doll-sized hangars locally so Grace has to wait until they come in the mail to use the little ribbon hangers in the bag. We did find some that will hang tops, dresses and pants or skirts. I'm so happy this project is finished!!!

(As noted previously, I purchased the original pattern from Dolly Outfitters and used the modifications [mostly] found on Plum Project.)

I can't help it, I love it.

Have you ever read The Bloggess? You should. Go read her right now. I'm probably not going to wait for you, but you can catch up when you return. Today I was reading her at work, waiting on hold to talk to an accounts person for one of our vendors who double-billed us, and I was laughing out loud and didn't even hear them answer - twice. I want a giant metal chicken, and a half zombie monkey, and the guts to type some of this stuff on my blog.

Maybe with less cussing. (Have your heard people say "swears"? As in, "My mom used to smack me for swears." That is not even a word people. I'm not even sure it's a regionalism, you just sound illiterate. Sorry, but true! My mom didn't smack me for 'swears' because I was smart enough to not cuss in front of her, even mostly as an adult. But I did yell, "What the F*%k do you think I'm trying to do?!?" from the bottom of the basement stairs on the day of my baccalaureate, but I was far enough away to avoid the smack. AND, I don't think it was a big deal that I just wanted to ride to the service with my boyfriend. BUT, my son is riding with me and not his girlfriend, when this comes back around. I was right, but he'll be wrong.) Honestly, I'd probably only cuss less because I know it would offend some readers, and it can get excessive, but it's not like I'm reading these posts to my 1st grader at bedtime, and the placement of the swears is so perfectly ironic.

Micheal and I (he's my Victor) often talk about how I. am. funny, but nobody knows it because I am too worried about what you think so I only say this stuff to him. Stop judging me. It's effecting my creativity. Or affecting it. Now I'm worried you think I'M illiterate. Whatev.