TreasuresInTerraCotta

I have been saving, washing and storing Capri Sun pouches for several months now.  I finally got around to making a bag this week.  I laid out the pieces and decided to make a big bag, 3x4 for each side, and 3 each for the edges and bottom.  I had some trouble with the tension and also with the spacing of the stitches.  I decreased the tension and that seemed to fix the problem.  I also slowed down and fed the pouches through the machine carefully instead of relying on the feed dogs, because they just didn't grab the foil very well.        Here are the sides all pieced together.    The bag portion assembled.   The bottom corners were a little tricky making three pieces come together.  The solution is to stop the stitches before going off the end on the first two sides.  I ended up ripping out some seams to attach the bottom correctly, but it worked out in t...

I've been doing a bit of sewing lately.  With a hot machine, in the hottest part of the house, and flannel and piles of fabric it doesn't seem like an especially summery activity...except that we live in Arizona where summer is the time to avoid being outdoors.  Not to mention that I've had a couple quiet evenings at home alone, which always make for great sewing (or reading) time.  Last Saturday afternoon I decided I needed to make a floor quilt for a baby shower on Sunday.  I took my own baby to the craft store and we picked out these adorable flannel pieces.  I cut (a lot) of 6" x 6" squares and sewed them wrong-sides together with a big X.   Then I sewed all the individual squares together and snipped the exposed seams to make this simple and adorable quilt.   I have discovered that babies don't need much...diapers and a few blankies can go a long way!  So that was my gift!  All wrapped up and ready to go. This weeke...

I made another floor/reading pillow for the kids. I made two back in the summer, but at that time I purchased four pillow inserts. Here is my third creation. Once again, I only used scraps from my left-over material box. (It really is only one Rubbemaid tote!) Most of the original material was used for quilts. I didn't even need to buy material for the backing. I used one pair of old jeans destined for the garbage. As before I made two overlapping pieces with a one inch hem that allows the pillow to be folded in like an envelope. One pant leg for each half. If If you recognize the colors or pattern in the pillow it's because I made it after I made the vest for Calvin's hobo rat Halloween costume. I had some pieces left over and I just didn't want to stop sewing all those straight lines. Quilting is very relaxing. Have you done anything creative/crafty lately?

When we added onto our house last year one of our major investments was installing solar power. And I won't kid you, it was a major investment. One which we will not likely "break even" on until our kids are in college. But we were eager to do it. After all, we live in a city that proclaims itself as the sunniest city in the United states with 350 Days of Sunshine. Last month we generated more power than we consumed. We still have to pay some taxes and fees but for all practical purposes our bill was zero. And if you care about being green, our net consumption was negative! Have you considered solar power?