Tuesday, March 18, 2014

How I Started With One Idea and Was Overtaken By Another

It seems to be a running theme these days.  I set out to make something and suddenly, I'm knee deep in transforming it into something else.  Creative or crazy? 

I'll let you decide.

My grandmother got me this great marble stone a long time ago and I use it for rolling out dough.  It's the only thing I ever do on it, so I feel like it's cleaner than the kitchen counters that could have God knows what on it even when they have been "cleaned".

I've always thought I should have a cover for it.

But, I've been really lazy and just slide it between the dishwasher and the refrigerator and wipe it off each time before I use it again.  At one point, I vaguely remember having it in a pillow case, but when I slid it out from its hiding place, I eventually wore a hole in the pillow case.  Or, that could be why I never used one, because I thought I would wear a hole in it.

I'm not really sure.  I have a pretty vivid imagination, so I might have made it up.

Recently, we discovered a mouse issue that could be one day old or 400 years old.  This prompted me to get my butt in gear and make something to keep my marble from becoming a mouse bathroom without my knowledge.

I'm sure it's way too late, but there's nothing wrong with being clean from here forward, right?

My kitchen curtains are red, and I figured I should do something that sort of matches since you will be able to see it peeking out from where it resides.

I didn't have enough of the curtain material, but I did have enough of this.  This is what my living room curtains are made of, so if I ever decide to roll dough in the living room, I'll really match.

I figured it was close enough.

Notice the wrinkle on the edge?  I am that lazy.  I left it like that, figuring it would sew its way out.

In my defense, ironing in my house is a pain because I can't iron in my sewing room due to sketchy electrical wires.  That means running up and downstairs to iron and sew and iron and sew and iron and I just prefer to wing it and hope the wrinkles will go away.

I admit it does make for some aggravation that could easily be solved by some ironing.

So, I had the right size material for one side of this bag I wanted to make, and I decided I would make it a quilted cover, so I'd need something to line the inside.

What did I have a lot of that would be fine?

This.  Why I have a whole bolt of this lovely linen is a mystery.  I think it came from a parent who gave me a few bolts of weird material years ago and thought I could do something crafty with them.  I still have a lot of this and never remember to use it.  It's actually a nice feeling fabric and it's kind of pretty.

So, I cut out two pieces of this and some batting and went to town quilting.


I did one piece with one plan and the other with another.  The upper picture is with a wave pattern that my  machine will do without issue.  The second picture is just diagonal lines.

I know you're dying to know how my lines are spaced so nicely.  Because my sewing wizard sister let me in on a secret: The walking foot that I own probably has guides you can put on it.  To, you know, guide you.


Put that little arm on there, set it to the width you want between your rows and there you have it. I've been using that walking foot forever and never knew what those metal arms were for and just left them in the box.

I'm ready to quilt another quilt that I've put together and after my many frustrations with quilting, I'm thinking using these magical guides might actually solve some of my issues.  But I wanted to try them out on something that wouldn't really matter.  Thus my impetus for getting this marble stone cover made.

Well, that and the mice.

After I quilted each piece and sewed them together, it was apparent that I was going to have this side facing out instead of in.

I totally let it decide for me as I was making it and I don't really care.  I think it looks neat because you can really see the quilting.  On the red side, it wasn't quite so obvious.

I also topped it off with the same  material, like a binding.


So, now I have to decide if I want to make some sort of closure or leave it like it is.  I won't be doing a zipper or velcro.  It's too late for that.  But I might make a small strap to latch over to sort of keep it closed.

Or, I might leave it like it is until I go to use it again because it weighs like 400 pounds. 

And then I'll think "wow, I should really make a strap for this" and I won't get around to doing it for another decade.

Because when it comes to making things for myself, that's how I roll.

Linking here:
http://www.skiptomylou.org
http://mumsmakelists.blogspot.com/2014/03/fluster-buster-creative-muster.html#more 
http://www.gingerlymade.com/2014/03/show-tell-69.html
http://www.flamingotoes.com/2014/03/think-pink-sunday-156/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com
http://www.sewcando.com
http://rhinestonebeagle.blogspot.com/ 
http://www.glitterglueandpaint.com/throwback-thursday-29/
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2014/03/wow-me-wednesday-146.html
http://www.thesitsgirls.com/diy/how-to-make-infinity-scarf/
http://www.cherishedhandmadetreasures.com/2014/03/creative-corner-hop-106.html#more 
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2014/03/wednesdays-adorned-from-above-link_18.html
http://redcrowgreencrow.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/the-boys-of-summer-spring-through-your-stash/ 

4 comments:

  1. I love that linen fabric. And that wavy line is really cool.

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  2. Great idea! You're sewing skills are amazing!

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  3. I think a strap is a good idea, but if it's going to be 10 years before you get to it, maybe not? LOL.

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  4. Absolutely love the fabric - we have the pesky mouse problem as well, grrr!!

    Would absolutely love to see you at #EmptyYourArchive my party for old posts this evening - it starts at 11.30 EST, Alice @ Mums Make Lists

    ReplyDelete

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