Tricks with Tragic Fabric Part 1

I see a lot of really tragic fabric out there in thrift stores, and I thought I'd do a three-part series on what to do with these gems that you might otherwise donate (or burn.)

Here's a prime example of fabric I personally regard as hideous: a pink skull novelty print that I got in a big bag of fabric I bought at a junk shop. First, I dislike all pink in general. I hate anything with bones that are dressed up to be cute, like these skulls with bows and heart-shaped eyes. To add extra disgust factor, the fabric is also glittery.

I wouldn't make anything with this fabric unless I can manipulate it so that it doesn't look anything like it does. How do you do that?

Get a yoyo maker and start cutting it up.

Here are the first three yoyos I made. You cannot tell what the print is anymore, right?

For projects like this I keep everything in a bag. It's easy enough to make a couple each night, and in a week or two I'll have the entire piece used up. Problem solved.

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Holiday Prep

For Thanksgiving this year we've invited some guests from Oliver's mom's side of the family, so I have to start prepping now to get the house in shape for the big day. The first major thing is having the carpets cleaned, which we've scheduled for next week. This weekend I'll be cleaning out four rooms to get them ready for that. I started with my front dining room, which I use as my sewing room. It was kind of a mess already, so it felt good to get everything cleared out. We'll be having ten people at dinner plus two babies, so this will give me a chance to figure out how to arrange two tables in this space. I think this will be my last time hosting a big Thanksgiving gathering. Mike has started his family with a lovely girl who has a huge, close-knit family of her own, while Katherine will likely be off at grad school out of state for the next several years. I'm also not getting any younger. My guy and I will always celebrate Thanksgiving, but ...

T-minus Day

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Fell Off the Wagon

I did cut up that plastic dollar tote to make into something stronger, but got caught up with work and set it aside. Then last night some hand-dyed silk and pretty threads called my name, and, well . . . Felt SO good to do some handwork, except my neck began hurting about an hour into it. I tried changing the way I sit and work, but it's pretty obvious that the doc is right.

Valerean

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