It's What I've Been Working On Wednesday - Fleece guinea pig accessories

With new pets come new sewing projects! As much as i'd love to make everything out of wool for our new guinea pigs, it is just not practical for all the washing these things will need to endure, so I made a bunch of fleece accessories. Fleece at the fabric store can get expensive, but the thrift stores are full of fleece, just waiting to be upcycled! I found 2 different big double layer (twice the fabric!) fleece blankets, each under $1, and set to work.

I made cage liners first. Why not just use small animal bedding? Bedding is expensive, and not eco-friendly, since you have to use so much of it and throw it out often. I found that my piggies use their "litter box" for most of their pottying, and use so much less litter than filling the cage. The fleece is soft on their paws, more attractive, and for the stray "tiny Italian sausages" (what my son calls their poops, lol), it is easy and fast to just scoop them off the fleece.

 


I saw this idea for a "fleece forest" online, and my piggies LOVE it! They spend most of their day in there, and they think they are invisible when they are in there, lol. I see you Scruffy!



This is another idea I got online. I just made a triangle of fleece with a fringe of fleece hanging down on one end. We don't have to look at the... um... litter box contents, and they like feeling like they are hidden. Win-win!
 

Since whatever doesn't end up in the litter box is usually done in the corners, I made poo-pads, so I can just lift out the litter squares and shake them off into the garbage. Easy Peasy cleanup!



The little bed I did make out of wool, but tucked a piece of fleece in the bottom, so I can switch that out when it gets dirty

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Just like the wool hidey bags I made for them,  but this one is fleece, so I can wash it with the rest of their fleece stuff.




Scruffy loves to lounge in there :).


Since I love to sew, and my guinea pigs seem to love everything I make them, i''m sure there will be more guinea pig sewing in my future! :)

thrift store finds

It is Spring Break for us here, and my son & I have been doing lots of fun stuff, but I haven't sewn a thing all week. No 'What I've Been Working on Wednesday' this week! On our way to today's adventure, the Eli's Cheesecake factory tour, we stopped at a little thrift store nearby. Though I found no sweaters :( , and the store was tiny, the ladies (i'm assuming volunteers) were all so friendly & helpful, and the store was so organized and not the least bit cluttered, like most thrift stores. I walked away with some treasures (one man's trash) for a bargain!

Just last week, I was about to buy some pins for making my pincushions, but held back back because I prefer to buy resale, and I couldn't make myself spend the $5/package for the ones with bigger heads. I'm glad I waited, because I got 4 boxes (144 in each!) for $1. These are labeled corsage pins. Does anyone know the difference between a corsage pin & a pin for sewing? Size?


I was wanting some simple cross stitch patterns for a project & found these for just 5 cents each! Jack's favorite birds are cardinals, so bonus!


I wanted to make a few more shaker pin cushions, so I was thrilled to find these! One was marked 50 cents, and the others were marked higher, but the ladies declared that silly, and marked them all down to 50 cents :)


Another project on my mental list required snaps, but again I balked at the Joann's prices, and decided to wait to find them resale. Glad I did, because I got these vintage ones for a mere 25 cents total! The one card is solid brass. Do they even make them that nice anymore?



Jack found a Crayola protractor/ruler too, that kept him happy & entertained all afternoon for a quarter, so we were happy campers.

If you have completed any recycled wool projects, as always, feel free to post them on my Facebook page!

It's Tutorial Tuesday! - Thrillingly Thrifty recycled wool slippers

Aren't these slippers adorable??? Want to make some for your little ones? Head on over to Cassidy's blog, Thrillingly Thrifty, for her full tutorial!

What i've been up to

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately, so I thought i'd show you what i've been up to. I've been making dryer balls (I really thought i'd get tired of making them, but I still enjoy it!) to sell at this summer's fiber fairs. They are great for keeping my hands busy. I cut the wool and wind the balls while I watch tv, and I like to do the final hand sewn seam while i'm waiting places, like my son's hour long gymnastics class. Ever since I posted that blanket tutorial last week, i've also started on a blanket. I have been making "bricks", 6" x 12" pieces, that I will make into 1' squares for my blanket when I have enough of them. I plan to use a vintage wool blanket as the backing, so it will be super warm!

Dryer ball pieces, and finished dryer balls (I have over 40 completed!):



The blanket "bricks", and an "egg" I need to improve on. I want to make an Easter basket for my son, and sew egg appliques to the side, made from this sweater with fair isle stripes.


Here is where it all happens, my beautiful antique sewing machine. My mom sewed, and taught me to sew when I was little. I also took Home Ec classes when I was little, but it had been so long since then. When my elderly neighbor's wife passed away, he gave me her sewing machine, so it means a lot to me. I had no clue how to use it, but I was not going to let it sit unused. I took a private sewing lesson a little over a year ago, and now i'm a sewing fool, as apposed to just a fool ;) !