Saturday 31 October 2009

my kids call me weird & eccentric.....


i have a couple of kaftans that i dont wear. they were both gifts from my husband, both batik printed glossy fabric in rich purple shades. in short, they are lovely to look at but whatever the fabric is, it's just too hot to wear. i have looked at these kaftans and wondered if i could make them into something else. i thought the best way to appreciate the colour and design would be to keep the fabric in large pieces and wondered about a table cloth but i have realised that the very light fabric wouldn't sit or fall properly that way so back to the drawing board.....

somehow recently i came up with the idea of a shoulder bag, a bag isnt so big but clever cutting might create something special so i've been tossing this idea about, googling patterns and generally dreaming of cut, colour, texture......


this one looks pretty good so you never know, i might make something like it one day.

what is funny about all this is that i started thinking about what other fabrics i have stashed away and assessing them for shoulder bag suitability, then i thought of my recent efforts to get rid of clutter and wondered what i might have thrown away that was recyclable.

just this week i threw out a sheet. it was a pure cotton, double sheet in a nice deep shade of red, it had a large tear where my shoulder ruins every sheet and every pair of pyjamas but the rest of it was pre-washed to a softly distressed finish and it would have made a great lining for a shoulder bag or two. i had that sheet here for months before i decided i couldn't resurrect it and now that it has long gone i have the perfect use and i'm crying over a torn sheet!!

18 comments:

  1. Sewing is not my forte- I can only turn up hems and sew on buttons- so I will be very impressed to see your finished bag!

    It is so true- we dispose of serviceable things with alarming impunity. Whilst I am not talented enough to recycle things for myself, I do give things to and buy clothes from our local charity shops. I am fascinated by quilting which is the most creative way of using up rags.

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  2. You are weird and eccentric :)

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  3. That would be a very creative way of recycling old fabrics. All I do is tear them up and use them as rags. Patchwork quilts are beautiful but a phenomenal amount of work goes into them. Don't try it unless you've got plenty of time and patience!

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  4. You are clever to be able to sew. This has just remined me that Helen and her friends are putting in money to buy a sewing machine for her friend who is going to be 18yrs old in a couple of weeks. She wants to study fashion design when she finishes school.
    There have been some suggestions of what they are going to do for a party like going to the crown casino for the night which i don't approve of. Thankfully it hasn't been metioned again.

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  5. I'd love to learn how to quilt. But I'd never, ever finish it unless I belonged to a club or a group of some kind, that would keep my nose to the grindstone.

    I think the shoulder bag idea is great!

    But I'm wondering - what is it about your shoulder that destroys sheets and pjs? Are you part cyborg?

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  6. cinnamon,
    i avoid both hems and buttons!
    and i very rarely sew anything else

    i adore handmade quilts but i know i couldnt make them. i wouldnt stick with the project

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  7. yes bob,
    it makes me interesting and hot

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  8. nick
    i use t-shirts and singlets for rag.
    as i said above, i would never make a quilter, i'll just admire others' work

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  9. hi jo
    the news tonight had a story about an 18th birthday that had 200 gatecrashers!
    the casino makes that look tame but i wouldnt want my kids at a casino either

    a sewing machine would be a fantastic gift!

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  10. megs!
    i dont think i'm a cyborg :)
    i ALWAYS sleep on my side and i guess my shoulder is bony?

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  11. During the cold war, back in the 20th century a red sheet would be a red on the bed - not a red under the bed. Eat your heart out McCarthy.

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  12. My bony shoulder wreaks havoc on sheets and in pjs too :D

    I do that kind of thing, I hate throwing things out, when I finally do I try to do it as quickly as possible and then spend the next day lamenting the loss of something...

    The red sheet sounded perfcet too! :P

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  13. You're right; we are SUCH a disposable society and its a crying shame.

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  15. Kyles,
    I can't believe you don't like Halloween! It's the one day (and eve of) that you can be "weird and eccentric" and people think you are totally cool for "dressing up"!

    I have four bags of donations in the garage...they made it that far, I am just scared that the minute I get rid of them I'll have a "red sheet" moment. Ugh.

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  16. abi!
    so, either i'm not a cyborg or you are too :)
    i keep posting comments at your place but not seeing them later, i must be doing something wrong but i dont know what it is. anyhow, i'm reading and youre GOOD!

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  17. merely me,
    we dont do halloween in australia and if we did i still wouldnt like it, just cant do the dressing up thing. i play when i dressbut i like to look like myself :)

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