A couple more zipper pouches

I had some more time in my sewing studio this evening after the sun when down. It was 70 degrees this afternoon in Portland!! I loved being outside reading, pulling weeds & playing with the cats. When the sun went down at about 8pm (daylight savings time started today), I went down to the basement into my studio and made a couple more zipper pouches from this tutorial. I wanted to try some fun novelty fabric. I pulled out some fun fabric that has images of camera. I got it half done before I realized that the cameras were upside down. I had to get out my seam ripper and pull out the zipper and start over again. Good thing it's such a simple project and taking out a couple seams was very easy. I completed the camera bag and thought I would add a crushed penny as a zipper pull. I had a couple of pennies with holes drilled in them, they were left over from when I was practicing drilling in the pennies to make a necklace. The penny I used on the camera bag was a mis-stamped penny. I wanted to use a split ring to hold the penny to the zipper pull. It was very hard to open this small split ring and even harder to get it on the penny & zipper pull. It seems that hold that I drilled in the penny was a little too small and needs to be larger if I'm going to use pennies on these cute bags. 
Then I decided to use some of my Melody Miller View-Master fabric. I love this Melody Miller fabric and still have a nice stash of some of her early lines of fabric. I completed the pouch in about 15 minutes. Since I did not have any more pennies with holes handy I pulled out some beads. It took me longer to pick out what beads to use on the zipper pull then it took me to complete the pouch. I can't say enough about how easy these pouches are to make. I again cut down a couple zippers to 4" since I do not have any 4" zipper (they are kind of difficult to find). Since the zippers teeth on the zippers was nylon it was easy to sew through them on my machine, I would not try this with a zipper that has metal teeth unless you are going to hand stitch the bottom of the bag. 

Zipper bags

I have been obsessed with these zipper bags since I learned how to make them on Craftsy. It's a free class with Kristin Link of Sew Mama Sew. They are easy and take up very little fabric, about a fat quarter of fabric. I made 3 more the other evening in about an hour. I use scrap leather for the little handle on the left of the bag. Though I really like these bags they are a little large for my purse. I needed something to hold change instead of just dropping quarters into my bag. Then I found this tutorial!!! on making small triangle pouches. 

I made 2 pouches.  The first one is the tan one made from scrap upholstery fabric. The fabric was a little heavy so I had some problems sewing it all together. Also the original tutorial called for a 4" zipper. I had a 6" zipper so I just increased the size of the bag. It turned out a little too large, not to mention that it also was too bulky. I had some problems turning it inside out too as I forgot to unzip the zipper. I decided to try to make another one. I had taken a zipper out of a dress a couple weeks ago and I cut that red zipper to 4". I used some more scrap material, it was a heavier fabric but not a heavy upholstery fabric like the tan fabric. I whipped this little blue one up in about 15 minutes. The best thing is when you unzip the pouch you can see everything inside. The other change purse I had was problematic because the opening was so small I could not see inside and often had to dump all the change out on the counter. It was a little frustrating for folks in line behind me at the grocery store. I love these little pouches. I want to make a bunch of them using crushed pennies as zipper pulls. 

I saw this quilt hanging on the wall at Modern Domestic when I was in there to sign up for a class. I really like the quilt. The quilts that are currently on the wall are all made by instructors at Modern Domestic. I forgot to look at who did this quilt but I wanted to share it because I really like the design.  I love the deer head and the quilt is quilted all over with a tree pattern, a very Northwest quilt. 

Sometimes I just need a jump start

I started a new job a couple weeks ago. I'm the Tool Coordinator for the North Portland Tool Library. It's a lot of fun but I'm also realizing how much I don't know about tools. You would think that with since I spent a lot of time in the tool department at Sears as a child with my Father I would know more. It's kind of nice to know that I do not know everything. The job is only about 10 or 11 hours a week and it gives me a chance to get out of the house and talk to all kinds of people that live in my neighborhood. 

Since I started my new job I have not been sewing very much. I kind of hit a funk. So to get me out of that funk I made another quilt top. My husband asks me if we really need another quilt...I say of course we do. But I must admit I have about 4 or 5 quilt tops that are just sitting in my studio. So really what is one more going to hurt. It got me out of my sewing funk so it's a good thing. 

I started by pulling out my scrap bin and just sewing pieces of fabric together. I tried to stick with blues and reds. The idea was I would make the blocks with a white sashing between all the blocks and call it my red,white & blue quilt. Well it really did not happen like that...once I started to sew I just pulled pieces that looked good next to each other. I used a lot of pink, some nice blacks and purples too. I used all scrap from my scrap bin. All the squares are 12.5" x12.5" I would sew till the block was larger than the 12" and then cut it down. I would than use the cut scraps I cut off to start the next block. I was able to use some really small pieces of fabric with out going crazy while sewing. Once I got the squares completed I liked them all next to each other, I don't think I will put a sashing between the blocks. I like the fact that all the blocks run into each other and it's hard to see where one block starts and the other one ends. This quilt will be about 5ft by 4ft and if I get a backing done, I may try to free motion quilt it on my home machine. I still have a HUGE scrap bin and I know I need to tackle that part of my studio...but that is for another day. 

I'm still making rugs. This is one of the latest. As you can see Arty loves this one. She jumped up on it right away (of course that may have been because my husband put some cat nip on the rug). I was lucky enough to get some red last time I was at Pendleton Woolen Mill, it's a nice bright color. I dropped off some samples at a couple shops. One shop already contacted me saying "it was not the right fit" for their store :(. Oh well there are other shops that I think these rugs would do great. I'm thinking of making smaller rugs for cats, as our cats love sleeping on these warm wool rugs. I can change directions and hit all the pet stores in the ares. I also like the rugs unfelted, they feel very lush. Felting the rugs means I have to wash them in hot water with Murphy's Wood Soap and dry them on high. It adds a step that may not be necessary. Of course folks that want to felt the rug can and it makes the rug look a lot different. I make these while we watch movies at night and I'm getting quite a stack of rugs. If I don't start selling some of these soon....everyone will be getting rugs for Christmas this year. This red, black and grey rug is about 45". 

Sample Rugs, A New Swing Cover & A Band

I made some samples of my Pendleton Rugs to take to some local shops. You really don't get a good idea of how textural these rugs are from photos. They are thick and soft, kitties love these small rugs. As you can see Artemis wanted to lay down on these gems while I was trying to take some photos. These samples are about 12" around and would make nice little cat beds. 

I finally pulled the old cover off the swing in the back yard. The original cover lasted about 5 years before I cleaned it and painted it, it then lasted for about 5 more years before it was completely gone.  I had replaced the cover in June of 2011 with some nice outdoor white fabric.  As you can see the white lasted about 4 years and since it was white it got dirty very fast and looked terrible. I bought some blue outdoor fabric at Mill End last summer but never got around to making the cover. The fabric feels like has been covered in a plastic on one side so I'm hoping that it's waterproof. In one of the last wind storms the top of the swing blew off and bent the metal frame, that forced me to take the cover off and finally pull out the blue fabric to make a new top. I also used a heavier fabric for the sleeves on the underside of the top, the area that the metal frame goes through and holds the top tight. I was unable to get the top really tight because the frame is bent (as you can see from the final photo of the swing..see how it dips down on the right in the back?). Last time I used some cute cotton fabric that quickly disintegrated. I used some upholstery fabric on the long sides and some scrap of the blue fabric on the corners. I pulled my Morse sewing machine out to the yard and stitched up the top for the swing. It was nice sewing outside on a sunny day in February. I used my Morse machine because it's a work horse, this is the machine I found in the dumpster outside a hoarders house that was being cleaned out. I took the machine in for a tune up at Montavilla Sewing, it cost about $100 and I have a new PINK sewing machine. It's a very heavy sewing machine but it is a great machine, I used it to quilt a jean quilt that I made a couple years ago. Anyway....back to the swing...even though the metal frame for the top is bent the swing is now ready for summer. I may have to make new covers for the cushions as the fabric has really faded. But that is a project for another time. 

  

We went out to the World Famous Kenton Club to see a band that a friend recommended, they are called the "Git Rights Gospel Revue". They are a cross between gospel and punk rock, my husband loved the band so much he "testified" by dancing all night. They are a lot of fun to see, the female vocalist Heather Jo Cahill has an amazing voice, she can bring you to tears when she sings. 

This is what can happen to the light bulb when the cement settles and the water evaporates leaving a space of about 1/2 an inch in the light bulb. The metal base of the light bulb will fall away and lets face it...the screw in end of the light bulb is what really makes people realize it's light bulb once all the glass has been broken away. It's hard to fill the lightbulb once the cement has dried, but you can remove the glass and try to fill in the gaps with cement or grout. A colored grout would look interesting if you wanted to really change the look of the lightbulb. Or you can use a simple grey grout so it looks like there was never an air bubble in the piece. I filled the holes with cement, than let the cement dry for a couple of hours. I then went back and used some sand paper to smooth out where I filled the hole. It looks OK and most people will not even see the flaw. But sometimes it's just best to admit it failed and move on to the next project. Like the flood lightbulb, it's really hard to get all the air bubbles out. I will get these looking fairly smooth but next time I will tap the bottom of the lightbulb a lot more so I can dislodge more of the air bubbles. As for the flood lightbulb, it may be a goner, I will let you know if I come up with a fix. 

I finished the Wonky Star Quilt top. I really like this quilt block it's simple and you can use up a scraps for the star points. I liked fussy cutting the centers with some of fabric that had cute motifs. I used several light color pieces for the background, the light blue is from some of my father in laws shirts. He had about 5 of these light blue shirts that he always wore, he even went and bought 5 new ones just before he passed away. He told me that I should use his old shirts as rags, so I cut them up for a quilt. 

PDX Carpet, Howard Finster & some 

new bags

It's been a very busy week for us. We attended a meeting to discuss the prospects to get some of the PDX carpet that is being removed from the Airport. They are giving away 4 lots of 1000 sq yards (yes that is sq yards which is about 9000 sq feet). We need to write a 3 page letter detailing what we plan to do with the carpet, how we intend to distribute the rug to the community and how we plan on storing the carpet. The prospects will be read by a committee and the person or company that the committee feels will do the best job will get their choice of lots, you can bid on the however many lots you think you can use or distribute. We hope to use the carpet to raise money for the Pittman Addition HydroPark and the North Portland Tool Library. We also want to carpet one of our apartments up on 45th. How cool would that be to live in an apartment that has PDX carpet? 

Last saturday a friend called and asked me if I wanted to go to a Howard Finster show. I could not believe it, I love Howard Finster and was surprised that there is a show up for the next couple of months at the Portland Museum of Modern Art. This museum is in the basement of Mississippi Records. They have about 10 Finster pieced on display including a couple of shadow boxes. I understand the shadow boxes are rare pieces as he did not make very many. I have always loved folk environments and fell in love with Finster when I first read about him & his Paradise Garden back in the mid 80's. 

I also received my new bags this week. I upgraded my book bags to a heavy canvas that looks and feels like a much stronger bag. I have a couple of new designs that I'm shopping around. The fish are actual fish that I inked and printed several years ago. I want to print the inside of the fish in different colors. I used the yellow and blue because I was wanted the blend of the yellow and blue for a third color of green on the fish. I'm still testing this image, but so far the reaction has been positive. The hedgehog is an illustration I asked my niece to draw for me. I asked for a hedgehog wearing glasses reading a book in the tub. I think she did a really good job, but when I blew it up I lost some detail. I'm working on cleaning up the image, but I like it...it's really cute. I hope to get some of the hedgehog bags printed this week, just a couple more tweaks to the image (I think the water ripples need to be a little more recognizable). I also start a new job this week, it's just a part time job that will get me out of the house for about 10-12 hours a week. 

Concrete Idea

I saw a tutorial several years ago about filling light bulbs with cement. The tutorial uses a long screw put into the in the cement at the end of the lightbulb and screwed the concrete bulbs into a board so you could use the bulbs as a hook. I liked the idea but I wanted to do something else with the finished product. 

First you need to empty the bulbs and there are several tutorial on how to open & empty a light bulb. It's really easy but as always wear protective eye wear and gloves so you do not cut yourself. I then place the bulbs in a paper cup with sand on the bottom and a little on the top so the bulb stays up right and will stay in place when I start to fill then with the cement mixture. I use a ratio of 1 to 1 of play sand and portland cement. I use play sand because it's fairly smooth, thought if you want to go cheap you can use construction sand. I would sift the construction sand through an old wire strainer and get the larger pieces of rock out of the sand. You would be surprised how much a small rock can mess you up when trying to get the cement into the bulb. I find out how much cement I need to mix by first fill the light bulbs with sand and measuring that amount. I always make a little extra cement as not all the cement always makes it into the bulb. I mix the cement to a cake batter constancy. 

I fill a plastic bag with cement and cut a hole in one of the corners, using the bag like a pastry bag and filling the light bulb with cement. Some folks use a funnel but I have had problems with the funnel clogging, but that does not mean you should not try it..maybe I haven't found the perfect funnel yet.  You do have to work quickly because cement hardens. I can make about 4 bulbs at a time before I have problems with clogging of the plastic bag. 

You also have to do some tapping to get all the air bubbles out and get the cement settled into the light bulb. This is where having the light bulb in a bed of sand helps to keep the bulb from breaking. I have broken a couple of bulbs by tapping the bottom with my hand to get air bubbles out. 

Once the bulbs are full I slowly put a piece of rebar into the hole in the light bulb. Cement will come out on the sides but don't worry about it you can clean up at the end. I let the bulbs sit for about a week. Yes this is a long time and I get excited and want to get moving but there is nothing worse then trying to clean the piece or take off the glass only to have the cement crack or fall apart in your hand. All that work for nothing. During the summer time when the weather is warm the water will evaporate more and the cement does harden a little quicker, so you may be able to clean it and break the glass off in about 4 days. 

 

These are larger bulbs where you can see the cement pouring out the sides. I try to put at least a 4ft piece of rebar in the bulbs. That way you can use them to hold up plants. The light bulb on the left was a flood light bulb. I want to mosaic the top then grout the piece with glow in the dark grout...kind of like this. I have used a product made by Laticrete called Spectorlock Dazzle. I used it on one of my tiki head...the head shinned but it never really glowed in the dark. That was also 5 years ago; so maybe they have improved the product.  

When the piece is dry it's time to clean it up. I usually tap the glass lightly with a hammer in a few places, getting some cracks running through the glass. Wearing gloves you can then pick and pull the glass off the concrete. If you got some cement on the metal threads use a small wire brush to brush it off. If the cement dried and dropped too far into the bulb it may be necessary to mix up some mortar or grout and fill in the gap. This will help keep the metal ring from falling loose.  

A variety of different size light bulbs looks great in a garden. Last year my concrete ideas in my community garden.  I used wire fencing held in place with my concrete ideas on each end. I grew my tomatoes up the fencing.  The concrete idea is a good thing.