It's What I've Been Working on Wednesday!

My husband got me [us] a GPS for Christmas, so I made a little pouch for it, so it won't get scratched when I throw it in my purse. I just used a couple of scraps I had on hand, and it took me under 5 minutes to make! Front & back:



Two more pairs of Jack's jeans ended up with holes in the knees, so more patching had to me done! Jack asked for an owl on one pair & let me have creative rights to the second. I wish I would have made the owl & the background colors contrast more, but oh well!


I think this one's going to look better as the edges fray more.


I made my son's Lego table this week too.



I think it turned out great! I wish I had taken a "before" shot of the coffee table. It had crackled gold colored leather on the top, and this looks so much better! I love the style of the table, and it was the perfect size for my son's room. I had so many great suggestions for glues, but once I got to the hardware store & started reading all the labels, I kind of went pale. Everything was toxic, and the bottle that the clerk was urging me to buy said "WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm". When I read it out loud, he said "those hippies in California worry about everything". I laughed, and said "and rightly so! I'm not putting this crap in my son's room!". I ended up reading all the labels, and found one with no warnings that said "non toxic", and that is what I used... Gorilla Wood Glue. It seems to be holding up with no problems, and I am more than willing to reglue, should a piece pop up in the future. It is worth the piece of mind.

May the force be with you! ;)


So, what have you been working on?

Tutorial Tuesday - patching ripped jeans

I got a new sewing machine, a Baby Lock BL9, and I am trying out some of the cool features on it that I don't have on my antique Singer. I love, and will always keep my Singer, but this Baby Lock is fun to play with!

One of the features is zig zag & fun stitches, like these:


Now, i'm sure that this has been done before, one version of it or another, and i've probably seen it on a craft website before. I would love to give credit, but can't remember, so please let me know if you've blogged something like this & i'll link to you.

Ok, this is dedicated to all the moms out there with 5 year old boys & up! Jack's Jeans' knees were pristine, until he hit 5, and now he gets a hole in the knee every other week. Sometimes being green is just taking care of, and fixing, what you already have, so it lasts longer. Even after my son outgrows these, they are more likely to be worn again because they are "fixed", rather than be thrown away because they have a hole.

Ready? You will need a hole in the knee, and a scrap of soft felted wool or cashmere (what I used) that is a little bigger than the hole.


Now, seam rip an opening on the outside seam of your jeans big enough for you to comfortably sew.


Place your scrap on the inside of the jeans, and zig zag or funky stitch (I don't know the name of it, but I used the bottom "D" stitch, pictured above) all over the hole, holding the hole closed as best as you can. Now, turn the jeans inside out & sew up the seam you seam ripped, and you are done! Now you have the "destroyed" look that clothing stores charge more for! You can actually cut the jeans and do this all over, if you want that trendy look. I think it looks cute!

I like how this pair came out (please ignore the grass stains... i'll get those out later today)...

... and it went well with the overall "destroyed" look of those particular jeans...


On these, I wish I would have used a closer matching color, because the hole in this knee was bigger than the other pair, so the cashmere peeked through a little. I also could have used slightly darker thread to make it look better (I used light gray).


Overall, a quick, easy, and useful project! Jack's knees will stay warm this winter ;)