Recycling Fun

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

You're either going to think that I am very resourceful or have simply gone off the deep end. I doubt that there is any middle ground on this one. I will explain.

I save discarded blue jeans in hopes of repurposing them into other useful items. I assume that some may think that this is just a waste of time and energy. Maybe it is, but it works for me and makes me feel good about sending that much less to the landfill. Each time that denim is needed for a project, I remove a pair from the recycling pile and cut away the hems, zipper, waist band, and the bulky seams that run the length of each leg. With much hesitation, I toss the useless scraps into the trash can. I then proceed to cut my pattern from the larger, more usable pieces.


This weekend, in an effort to condense and eliminate clutter in my sewing room, I decided to cut into the entire stack of jeans. I am now left with a much smaller and more manageable stack of denim pieces.


It has long been a hope of mine to find a way to utilize all parts of the jeans. The pieces that intrigue me the most are the hems and the long thick seams that run the length of each leg. I have no real idea why, but maybe it's just the way it feels when I have it in my hand. I love it's weight and thickness. I've played around with it in the past but was never able to come up with a good use for them until today. Now a "good use" to me may not be a worthwhile effort to you. This is what I mean by saying that you may believe that I have truly gone off the deep end with this one.





I used this today and it worked out great. It has a good weighty feel to it and is thick and absorbent and wonderful for catching the condensation from drinking glasses. It also makes a very nice mug rug for hot coffee or tea. Make it larger and it will make a wonderful and durable trivet for a hot pot to sit on.


Add a pretty trim to the outside of your mug rug and glue a felt round to the bottom or just leave it plain. Either way, you have a very useful piece to enjoy for years to come.


I recommend that you use fabric glue to hold these together especially if you will be using them as trivets for hot pots. Hot glue may melt from the heat and may cause your trivet to fall apart. You could also sew these together like they do in coiled basketry, but hey, this is supposed to be a quick and easy project made from a throwaway piece of fabric so I say, glue to your hearts content!

I guess the lesson that we can all take away from this is that we should give more thought to everything that we perceive to be rubbish before we toss it into the trash can. Even the most unlikely tidbits can sometimes be turned into something useful and fun.

Now, I realize that there is a thin line that separates sanity and madness. Have I crossed over? Muhahahahahahaha......

Take care!

Aloha!

Sweet Memories

Do you ever see or smell something and it instantly takes you back to a time or event in your life? This vintage quilt panel sent to me by my sweet friend Carrie of Cottage Cozy sure did that. Seeing the bold color book images brought back memories of my niece almost 30 years ago. As a child, she had a quilt very similar to this. Ahhh....sweet memories!

Don't you just love the color combo's of the 70's? Orange and yellow is such a happy combination.


The print is just so darling and the giraffe is just the sweetest.

I think you will enjoy following Carrie's blog, especially if you have a love of all things vintage. But, there's something there for everyone. She recently crafted some of the sweetest birdhouses, makes the cutest paper crafts, and she generously shares her favorite recipes too. Her blog is warm and inviting and makes you want to sit back, put your feet up, and just take in all of it's loveliness.


On another note, I don't have anything completed to show you. Do you ever have periods where you have so many new things that you would like to try out and then you just can't decide which one to do so you do nothing at all? Does that even make any sense??? Anyway, this is where I am at at the moment. Here is something that is ready to be put together but I just have no motivation to do so.


I hope you aren't like me and are happily creating beautiful things.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Aloha!

From Chef's Pants to Rag Rug

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

Do you have 2 pairs of hideous vegetable-print chef's pants hanging around your house doing nothing but taking up space? You know the kind that Morimoto wears when he's knee deep in a food battle on that famous food channel. Well I do, and I've been holding on to these in hopes of recycling them into something useful. It just so happens that today I was in a crocheting kind of mood. I have always wanted a rag rug but never wanted to put the time and effort it took into creating one.

So....I pulled these babies out of the recycling pile and made yarn out of them. If any of you are interested in crocheting with cloth, check out my tutorial for t-shirt yarn. You can make a continuous piece of "yarn" with almost anything that is in a tube such as t-shirts and plastic bags. If it isn't in a tube, take it to your sewing machine and sew it into one (reinforce each seam by sewing it twice). You can use fabric straight off of the bolt, sheets, and even old dresses as long as you turn them into a tube first. If you are working with something that already has been sewn into a tube, I would suggest that you give the seams a go over another time so that it holds together after being cut into strips.



I decided that my yarn will be 1/2-inch. Using my rotary cutter made the cutting fast and easy. Just be sure that you do not cut all way to the end or you will end up with many 1/2-inch loops instead of a continuous piece of yarn.



Continue cutting until you have completed the entire length of the pant leg. Refer to my tutorial for the steps needed to complete the yarn process.



This is how much "yarn" I got from just one leg.



After 45 minutes, I have 4 hefty bundles of yarn for my project.



Here is my crocheted rag rug in progress.



You should give this a try sometime. It's loads of fun and a great way to recycle.

Aloha!

It's Monday, Diet Challenge Check-In!

That extra half of a pound that I've been carrying around since Washington,DC is still here folks. Actually, at this point, I'm growing rather fond of the little guy. NOT!!! I've clearly been making poor choices lately and have been eating like a glutton. I'm hoping for a better week ahead.

Today's recipe is for meatloaf.

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
3/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onion in butter until translucent, add garlic and saute for a few minutes more. Set mixture aside to cool for 5 minutes.
Combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, 1/4 cup ketchup, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper to the onion mixture. Mix well. Pack mixture into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan. Top with the remaining ketchup. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until no longer pink in the center and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

We celebrated my mother's birthday this weekend at a Chinese restaurant. I decided to make Asian-themed Candy Bar Slider's for the occasion. All you paper crafter's out there have probably made these before.


They're very easy to put together and make great party favors.


Just pull up on the bow and the candy bar slides up to the top. Fun!


Have a simply marvelous day, everyone!

Aloha!

Quick 'n Easy Jeans Pocket Organizer

Obviously, I have no shame. Yesterday, I showed you huge unruly piles of plastic grocery bags and today, a very old paper envelope stuffed with bonus cards, receipts, insurance cards, appointment cards and several keys tossed in for good luck. It is held onto the refrigerator by a couple of very old magnets. Sometimes I fail to recognize how ugly things are until I make a conscious effort to see it.



Ahhhhhhh....much nicer now.


Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Aloha!

Grandmother's Apron Carryall

**See the bottom of this post for a short tutorial on how to "football fold" a grocery bag. This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

I like to reuse the plastic grocery bags that I get from the supermarket. There are times that I have so many that I end up with terrible storage issues. Years ago I had them stuffed into a couple of tubular fabric grocery bag holders until they both broke. I never really liked those holders because they do nothing to reduce bulk. Since then, I have been stuffing them into other grocery bags as you can see in the photo below. This method is the absolute worst and is extremely bulky.


Yesterday, I decided to try and fold the bags into the smallest, flattest pieces possible. After fiddling around a bit, I resorted to the only fold that I know that is compact and stays together without coming undone.

My hubby played finger football as a child and he taught us this fold. He would take a strip of paper and fold it into a "football" and play a game of finger football with his friends. This game also kept our son entertained for hours when he was a little boy.

I spent some time in front of the television folding these bags into little triangles and tossed them into a laundry basket for the time being. When my son returned home from classes, the first thing that he said when he saw them was, "Footballs! What are you going to do with all those footballs?" I had to laugh because he's 21 years old now and he still recognizes these triangles as footballs.

There are ninety-seven plastic grocery bags in this pile. As you can see, this has tremendously reduced the bulk.


Of course, once I had these folded and reduced in size, I had to come up with a suitable storage container that would be non-bulky and allow us easy access at the same time. As you can see, my grocery bag holder is modeled after a peg or clothespin bag. I am calling this design, Grandmother's Apron, just because it reminds me of one.

All ninety-seven "footballs" fit nicely in the Grandmother's Apron Carryall with room to spare. Mission accomplished!!

On another note...Mousie sends smoochies to all of his Aunties that sent him virtual hugs and kisses! He's feeling much better today and will soon be back to his favorite activities like hiding in cardboard boxes and shredding them to bits and pieces!

I would like to thank you all for your wonderful comments and emails of caring and support. You have all been so kind and it has meant the world to me that you care. We're hoping that it is what we all suspected, constipation! My heartfelt thanks goes out to you all!


Have a happy day, everyone!

Aloha!



TUTORIAL--HOW TO "FOOTBALL FOLD" A GROCERY BAG.


Neatly flatten your grocery bag.


Fold in half lengthwise.



Fold in half again.



Start at the bottom end of the bag. Fold up one corner. If the folded portion looks like a triangle, you're on the right track.



Continue folding...



...until you've reached the handle.



Fold the handle in half. It may require more than 1 fold depending on the length of the handle. The handle should end up being about an inch long.



Fold up one corner (the side that is slanted).



Tuck the handle into the opening in the triangle.



Flatten with your hand. All done!!


Happy Recycling!

Weight-Loss Challenge Check-In

Oh, what a day! I'll touch on it a bit at the end of this post.

Today is weight-loss check-in day. I should start by saying that I gained 1-1/2 pounds while I was in Washington DC. I didn't limit myself and ate anything that I wanted to knowing that I would have to face the music when I got home. Well, I've since lost one pound, with a half of a pound to go to get back to where I left off prior to going on vacation. I already told you in my first post that I am a yo-yo dieter and I am true to my words! *hangs head in shame*

Today's recipe is called Mexican Burgers

Avocado, diced
1/3-1/2 cup of salsa
cilantro, a couple of teaspoons or so
chicken breasts
Monterey jack cheese w/jalapeno peppers
hamburger buns or rolls, split and toasted
romaine lettuce
salt/pepper

Combine avocado, salsa and cilantro and set aside. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Grill or broil chicken until no longer pink in center.
Before removing chicken from the grill, place a slice of cheese on top until slightly melted. Place lettuce onto the bottom of the rolls, top with chicken and avocado mixture. Serve.

Now onto the subject that I first made mention of. Let me warn you, if you are squeamish about bodily functions, read no further. Remember, you've been warned!

Today has been a stinky day. In fact, this past weekend was stinky too. I'm tired from the stress of worrying about my cat, Mouse. The poor dear was suffering from constipation. At least that is what we are hoping it was and nothing more serious. He's been growling since late Friday and we believe it's because he's had a tummy ache. He'd make his way to his litter box, try for several moments without much success. Mousie hasn't been drinking enough water and hasn't been eating as much as he usually does. I guess when you're constipated, you just don't feel like it. I called the Vet and he placed Mouse on a laxative in hopes that it would take care of the problem. Nothing budged. The Vet asked me to bring Mouse in today for an enema. That did nothing. He then had to resort to a manual extraction and was able to remove 4-5 inches of compacted "stuff". Then another enema. The enema did nothing again. I have him home now and I have to keep my eye on him and continue giving him the laxative for a couple more days. I'm hoping for the best. At least he's stopped growling for the time being.

Anyway, sorry for the long story. It's only a little after 5:30pm and I'm exhausted and ready for bed. I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Aloha!