Saturday, April 27, 2013

How To Make A Shoulder Bag From A Repurposed Stuffed Frog

My granddaughter, Erica, sends me photos of things she wants me to whip up in her color combinations-usually black, purple & lime green. 

She has a black newsboy cap that I made for her a while back but a couple of months ago she saw one with a rose on it and with just a little different fit but she wanted purple, trimmed in her green but no rose please. She wanted a frog instead. 

"Photo, please, Erica" and she was glad to oblige in just a few minutes to my Facebook page for me to go by.



"Frog, please" and this is also jumped onto my page:
This is the result:



Not exactly but as close as I could get and she likes it. 

THEN-she calls with "Maammaaawww, I need a frog purse to go with my hat!!"

I probably would have attempted to crochet the frog purse but I was in the middle of my repurposing stuffed animal phase and had 3 little purses in progress from stuffed animals I had gotten at Goodwill some weeks before just for that project. Erica collects frogs so I told her I would fashion one for her and it would save me a lot of time and wonder of all wonders, she had one but-it had a rose on it and she didn't want a rose. 

I just sent her frog shoulder bag to her today:


Of course, she won't be wearing it with red.

Here are some tips if you decide you or someone you know can't live without my genius fashion accessory:



and here are the first 3 little purses from stuffed animals I got at Goodwill because I don't have all those stuffed animals laying around anymore:
http://carolynscanvas.blogspot.com/2013/03/repurposing-stuffed-toys-into-cute.html


I hope you have fun with these
God bless you
Carolyn Wainscott
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check out my quick and easy designs @ http://www.craftsy.com/user/43851/pattern-store?_ct=fhevybu-ikrdql-fqjjuhdijehu

My "Sunbonnet Sue" baby quilt pattern. [Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam are enlarged to make a cute, striking quilt with one central figure]

Overall Sam

Queen sized Dresden Plate

Friday, April 26, 2013

THE WHITE QUILT

This is the first installment of the saga of my all white quilt. It was planned and started several years ago. It is a log cabin which is my absolute fave traditional pattern. 

Just about everything I make gets a name and my white quilt had a name from the very beginning: "My Mansion In The Sky, Crystal River Running By".  Even the quilting was planned. The sashing and borders all around the "log cabins" would be quilted to represent The Crystal River in Revelations 22:1. 

I started picking up white on white prints and when I had several, cut the 2 1/2" logs for my cabin blocks.

 Along with the white prints, lace strips were also cut to be inserted here and there in the blocks-white laces, or course. 

There was a beautiful white on white print with large roses. The roses were fussy cut for the center squares to represent  Jesus Christ who is "The Rose of Sharon" in Solomon 2:1 and who is the center of my life. 


"My Mansion" quilt kit could now be put into a basket to be kept handy by my chair, or ready to pick up and take with if I needed something to work on.  [I keep a project ready to grab that I can work on if there are going to be long periods in waiting rooms, etc. Right now there is a bag of yarn with pattern, scissors and hooks for a crocheted vest that I am working on. It has been worked on as my son is going through cancer treatment. I can't stand not doing anything, my hands just itch to be busy].   

Some of the blocks were chain pieced by machine, some by hand as I watched tv at home and some as my husband was in treatment for cancer and during his hospital stays.

And this is when I lost my white quilt. More on that later.

I hope you enjoy quilting and crafting as much as I do. 
God bless you,
Carolyn Wainscott 
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I live in a very rural area so online classes at www.Craftsy.com have made it possible for me to finesse old and learn new skills. I am thinking I will try the serger class next. I have had my serger for over 20 years and love it. It has had much, much use but there is so much more that can be done. 

There are classes available for just about everything sewy/crafty from cake decorating to beadwork, something for everyone. See you there.
______________________________


Have you checked out My Pattern Store on Craftsy @

Friday, April 5, 2013

MY APRON REFASHIONED FROM A MAN'S SHIRT ARRIVED!

The "Apron from a man's shirt" exchange was very interesting in the "My Sewing Family" group and it was really nice to open a package from Samm all the way from Utah to find a really cute, hand crafted apron from someone I only know online-or kind of know online. There have been some really interesting exchanges on different subjects-mostly sewing.
 
Do you have a problem with your sewing machine-someone is bound to have the answer. Do you need a yard or two or just a smidgeon of fabric for a project-odds are you can exchange another smidgeon for what you need also. There are other projects going on all the time including  a block of the month exchange and if there is a need for encouragement or prayer needed-this is the place. You feel as if you do know everyone even though we are scattered all over the US.
 
Here is my apron:
 
Samm put really nice, extra large pockets trimmed with the shirt cuffs [wish I had thought of that] and then trimmed them with prairie points and bound the apron all around with colorful batik. I love the apron and since I wear aprons a lot, this will get a lot of use.
Here are some of the other aprons and each is a treausre:
 
 
 
 
Here is the shirt I started with for the apron I made and sent:
 
and the result:
 

A few weeks ago I made a couple of aprons from an old denim jumper. You can see those @:


 
My Granny always, always wore an apron-I guess I am becoming my Granny and that is ok-she is my hero. And she always had a handkerchief in the apron pocket so a proper apron must have a pocket so thank you, Samm, for a properly made apron.
 
Have you checked out all the classes available on www.Craftsy.com?. If not today is the day-there are terrific discounts on everything from knitting to crocheting to baking to beadwork-you name it, it is there but get there before midnight tonight. See you there:
 
Thank you for stopping by. Wouldn't these aprons make a wonderful, economical and useful project for almost anyone including artists, crafters, sewists or missionaries in the field?
God bless you,
Carolyn Wainscott
 
While you are checking out all the online classes available at Craftsy, please take a little time and look at all the patterns available by us independent designers. 
 
 

Here are my matching hooded capes for little girls and their dolls. The hood drapes wonderfully and this is a quick and easy pattern to put together'