1981 Volvo 240 Interior turned into a Bag

I tend to gather odd textiles, last year a friend gave me some white vinyl that he pulled off the interior seats of a 1981 Volvo 240 station wagon. I was not sure what I would do with the fabric but I took the fabric with the though that I would turn it into an outdoor pillow or cover an outdoor chair.  The other day I was getting ready to teach a free workshop on reuse. I like to show participants how to make a bag that I found in a free Craftsy class taught by Kristin Link. Kristin ran the website SewMamaSew for several years. In 2015 she started a website called Craft Industry Alliance with another woman. I like to make her bags because they are quick and are perfect for repurposing found textiles. I have used old shirts, jeans and table runners to make these bags in the past. 

As I was looking around at all my stray textiles I saw the large bundle of vinyl. It immediately though it looked like the perfect material to reuse for this workshop. I looked at several tops and handles for the bag before settling on a simple black to make this a sleek and modern looking bag. I wanted a bit of color and found a Hawaiian print dress that I had set aside because I really liked the color and the fabric of the material. The dress was cut on a slight bias so the fabric was difficult to lay out and sew together.  
The out side of the bag is simple to cut out, I used wonder clips to hold the fabric together instead of pins which make holes in the vinyl. I also used a longer stitch length about 3.5 so that the stitching would not just perforate the vinyl and cause the seams to tear apart. 

The biggest problem I had was the interior. Since I used a dress I had issues with some of the fabric that was cut on the bias. It stretched out a little and became a little off shape as I sewed the interior together. I did manage to get it sewn together and I know of these issues are not apparent when you look at the bag. 

I like the way the bag turned out and plan to make another one. This time I will cut the interior so that I do not have as many problems with the bias. I have a Hawaiian shirt that I can cut up and this time the fabric is cut on the straight of grain so the lining should be a little easier to sew. 

Wonky Star block

I have seen this block several times on various blogs, I even thought about taking a class at Modern Domestic to learn the block. I finally saw a this quilt & a this tutorial, it made me go down to my studio and try making this block. Thought my color choices were not boring but I like this block. The material I used was from shirts that my father in law use to wear. The striped shirt he gave me a couple  years ago to "toss out". I said the material was nice so he tole me to cut it up and use it for some thing else. I used the fabric as practice for Wonky Star Quilt Blocks. 

These blocks are very low contrast. I think a curtain out of some of these blocks combined with some handkerchiefs that I have from my father and my father in law, these would make some nice breezy curtains for the summer months. 

The tutorial from Wombat Quilts is great and she uses 5" squares. The basic foundation block is up to you, I made my blocks 4 1/2". I cut 8 of the blue squares and 4 of the stripped squares & one center block. I then cut the striped squares in half and sewed them to the blue squares as shown above. Sewing a striped piece with a 1/4" seam on the left side of the blue block diagonally, then overlapping slightly the right side and sewing a 1/4' seam. I then flip the blocks over and using the blue fabric as my guide I cut off the extra striped fabric. Lay out the blocks as you see below like a 9 block and sew them all together. You should have a 12 1/2" block, if not trim it all down a little. Or if it's too small you can add some fabric to one edge to make the block even more wonky.  

I can see me making a few more of these blocks but with a lot more contrast. Jane's Fabric & Quilts has some wonderful examples of wonky star quilt blocks. I like the idea of combining low impact colors for the background, light blue, cream & white's with some fussy cut centers and some bright points. I'm looking forward to playing with this block more. 

One hot afternoon 

Last week it was quite hot so we headed down to Kelly Point Park past St Johns. It was nice to sit in cold water watching boats go past. I'm busy sewing to see what I can make quickly and is interesting enough to sell at a farmers market or on Etsy. I was talking to a friend and she told me she sells tons of reusable bags where she works. I decided to try my hand at making bags. I have made other recycled bags but I think vintage fabric and ribbon is a hit. These bags are about 20" tall by 18 " wide. They are easy to make, it's all about the gusset on the bottom to give the bag some structure. I used some scrap upholstery fabric and some really beautiful vintage ribbon for the handle. The thins is I have tons of scrap fabric that I can use to make a few of these bags, making all of them unique and one of a kind. Most of the time for me is spent decided on color combinations. 

Pendleton Wool Pizza Rug

I washed the wool rug and it felted up nicely. I'm working on my second rug but have to keep the cats away as they love the wool, the rug and the moving ball of scrap. 

The scrap looks like this when you buy it, kind of scruffy and like it will fall apart. 

When it's washed with Murphy's Oil Soap it felts up nicely. This is after just one washing. I understand that after 2 or 3 washings it will felt even more. 

A close up o the rug, you can see the stringy fibers have felted together.

 I added the blue & white scrap as the last ring hoping to add some color and interest…it's my first one so I think of this as a test run. 

 

It's kitty tested and kitty approved!!!