Wednesday, October 31, 2007

More wallets!













Wallets for days!

Some of cotton broadcloth - easy.

Some of upholstery sample remnants - not so easy.

Idea: add grommet or eyelet for earbud wire and tuck an Ipod in that wallet!

Silk fabric wallet


Silk tie fabric again!


Fabric wallet with "mother of pearl" metal snap. Pattern found on www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=190408.0
If you look closely at the inside of wallet, the grey stripe (third stripe from top) is opening for coins. The fold holds loose change inside and prevents fall out of coins. Three more sections hold cash and credit cards.
The tutorial posted at craftster is pretty easy to follow. My hint? It is all about pressing and ironing. Grab your iron, slide it to steam and mash that fabric.
That fabric is not the boss of you, YOU are the BOSS of fabric!



Embroidery stitch guide

Made this embroidery stitch guide for Megan.
Folded a square of fabric in half, then half again.
Lookie, there! Now it is a booklet, a stitch booklet.









Silk tie fabric scarf



My buddy Eileen sent me a stash of fabulous silk tie fabric so I just had to make her something wonderful to show my undying gratitude. She likes purple and a bit of glitz, thus, the bead trim.

Hey, remember that post about "people give me stuff"? My buddy Kay gave me the purple bead trim! Crafting karma, I tell ya! Eileen gives, she gets back. Kay gives, she gets . . . oops, better go make something for her!

Paying it backward,

I am,

SkitzoLeezra

  • Uncut men's silk tie fabric: 6 ties wide, full length
  • Folded and pressed, lengthwise
  • With wrong sides together, sewed long side together
  • Turned inside out
  • Pressed hem allowance on both short ends
  • Inserted bead trim with header, pinned
  • Hand sewed ends with whip stitch

Monday, October 29, 2007

Tote bag (grocery bag pattern)



Tried another tote made from grocery store bag pattern that I found on www.craftster.org.
This one is the ultimate in recyclable goods! The outer and liner fabrics are repurposed cotton shirts. Liner fabric (plaid) former front pocket now serves as a handy little pocket for your cell phone or money stash.



Friday, October 26, 2007

Kitty on MY shirt!



Finally, an embroidered T-shirt for myself!

Stitched with an Aunt Martha iron-on design.
Employed Ultra Solvy stabilizer.
Mostly backstitch.
Satin stitch on nose and thread spools.
Couched threads held by kitty stitcher and thread hanging from spool.
Laced backstitch on dress hem.
Vintage mother-of-pearl buttons sewed where buttons appear on pattern.

If the kitty stitcher looks a little cross-eyed, give her a break!

Hours spent hunched over a hoop, but happy hours, I tell ya!

People give me stuff, part 2

Get ready to covet!

Ring stash is class ring samples and some tacky "nugget" rings.
Nugget? Fugget! And no, sample rings are not manufactured of genuine gold nor include genuine stones. (I know how you think.)



Cigar box stash from my good buddy Kay! She knows I'll do make something cool!



Okay, ready? Prepare to soil yourself~~~Italian silk fabric. Uncut men's ties. Be-yoo-ti-ful colors! Stay tuned to see what becomes of the ultimate in the mother of all hook ups! As the song goes, "I love ya, Eileen!"

Tote bag of upholstery fabric samples

Tote bag made of 2 squares of upholstery samples.
One side tan, the other olive green.
Handles of contrasting color.
Vintage ribbon covers topstitching.

Get The Buck Outta Here wallet


Had just a tiny bit of fabric left over from the Doe A Deer, A Female Deer purse so made this Get The Buck Outta Here wallet.


Monday, October 15, 2007

My name is SkitzoLeezra and I am a Ribbon Whore


It all started so innocently. Back in the day, I had preppy ribbon to match my headband to the watchband plus an interchangeable ribbon belt. (Heck, that was 20 years ago and I just recently sewed one of those old watchbands into a keyfob.) After my preppy phase passed, then began the ribbon obsession for gift wrapping. Ribbon on sale, clearance, post-holiday sell off, all of it gathered.

No nylon or this horrible shiny plastic ribbon for me. Yuck. Ugh! I just threw up in my mouth a little.

YUCK

Hemp, cotton cord, and waxed linen made the cut and serves as ribbon for men's gifts. Eventually, I began grading gift recipients on their ribbon worthiness. If I feel a recipient will reuse the ribbon, I am happy to share. Should I suspect that the ribbon will go in the trash, I'll retrieve it beforehand. My dad has actually pulled his pocketknife and CUT satin ribbon! No more, he now gets raffia. Then I moved and created the SkitzoLeezra Studio. 20 feet of gutter cut down to four 5' sections and I still needed more space! Added a shelf above gutters. Sorted ribbon in metal baskets and hung ribbon from shelf bars.


I am a ribbon whore. But not ashamed of it.

Much.

People give me stuff



Folks give me the best stuff. Not sure if it is because I am so crafty, just good karma or a willing receiver of their cast-off trinkets.
Check out these recent acquisitions of a stash of vintage, old and not-so-old jewelry, contemporary jewelry and watches.
Caw, caw, me like shiny stuff!
All those buttons in previous post were given to me because of my craft tendencies. Plus the silver bowl of tatting and crochet thread. Oh my gosh, I am remembering even more stuff. Stay tune for Part 2.



.

To craft or to organize?



Both make me happy but one must be done before I can enjoy the other.
Guess which?

Notion storage


Buttons and more buttons

Trim and more ribbons

Fabric sorting and vintage notions

Tools, pens and pastels

My brother tells me that my craft studio reveals a very sick person. And though is he is very judgmental, he lets me organize stuff at his house.



Monday, October 8, 2007

Cat on your shirt




* Created some craft karma with a gift to Chrysanthemum and stitched this kitty cat on a knit t-shirt with an Aunt Martha iron-on transfer.

* Reinforced the knit with an interfacing product called Ultra Solvy to avoid stretching out while stitching in a hoop. The clear interfacing can be used in the hoop or applied to shirt. If applied, remove by dissolving in hot water.

* Grey outline stitches did not show up well on blue background so I filled stitches in with white floss.

* Petticoat effect created by interlaced backstitch. Also on bonnet.

* Lazy daisy stitch flowers on dress.