A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
Editor’s Note: Today’s craft month project of the day is the first post in an exciting new series called Junk to Jewel by C&T author and editorial team member, Sue Astroth. Junk to Jewel will chronicle Sue’s upcycling adventures with thrift store finds.
Unlike our other craft month projects, this post doesn’t offer a specific materials list or step-by-step instructions. What it does offer is a look inside the mind of C&T’s resident upcycling queen, and the inspiration needed for you to set out on your own thrift store expedition and find that perfect piece of junk to turn into a jewel.
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Once a week my friend and I go thrift store shopping…what a blast! As we help each other select our purchases, we brew up all sorts of creative uses for our finds. There’s nothing more exciting than visualizing the transformation of an item into something completely different! I thought I’d chronicle my journey of altering and upcycling thrift store items here on the C&T blog.
At lunch time a few weeks ago, I headed to the thrift store. I went through the housewares section and nothing was jumping out at me. I even went through the clothes to see if I could be tempted by a designer shirt for a fabulous price…but no such luck. I was about to gather my friend and leave the store when I saw IT.
Lying there on the pile of old notebooks and tupperware containers was a wooden tennis racket and frame. Now I wasn’t too interested in the tennis racket, but the frame…boy did I instantly see the possibilities. An oversize “pincushion” of sorts, it can hold notes, objects of inspiration, jewelry, and anything else you can tack to it. I just loved how the wooden frame was held together with a screw in each corner. So simple, honest and clean-looking.
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
So… do you haiku?
Show me your five seven five
About quilting here!
What do you do when you are visiting in another city, at a house where “makers” don’t live, and a child needs an Olympic Flag, immediately, for his 6th birthday party? You IMPROVISE, of course.
It was my grandsons’ 4th and 6th birthdays and there wasn’t a rotary cutter, or thread anywhere to be found. So I got 5 fat quarters, used 2 sizes of plates for circle templates, a half-yard of white muslin and some fusible web…et voila! Interlacing the circles, using a photo on the internet, was the hardest thing, but the rest was easy and fun. (You can’t discourage a quilter by taking away her tools!)
So now, when Apolo Ono wins another medal, Sam has a flag to wave.
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
Thank goodness
We’re different—
We get to make
Different mistakes—
Not the same ones!!!
Look what I made! It’s a quilt for my niece’s little son, Sammy. His parents are dyed-in-the-wool Yankee fans, so I knew it had to have a baseball theme.
As a busy Developmental Editor at C&T, I don’t have lots of spare time, and when I do, I want to work on a project that’s relatively small, simple, and achievable. As luck would have it, I was editing the latest book by M’Liss Rae Hawley—Fast, Fat Quarter Quilts with M’Liss Rae Hawley.
What could be more perfect? From the many fun and simple projects in the book, I chose one that is REALLY easy. It’s the Building Blocks Crib Quilt (there’s also a larger 12-block version). This design is so simple, but it’s fun to play with—you can use those windows to display anything from a fussy cut fabric to embroidery. I used baseball fabric, of course.
The quilting on this is really special—it was done on a longarm by talented Ruthmary Schauer of our Sales Department. She stitched a galaxy of stars, as well as swirls around each bat and ball.
The only problem? I started this quilt when Sammy was born, and I just gave it to him for his second birthday. Because I started and stopped and got distracted by other things, it took me two years to make. Oh, well—better late than never!
On a recent thrift shop trip, I found a fabulous linen dress in a not-so-lovely shade of chartreuse. Think neon yellow. The low price outweighed the hideous color and the style is perfect for our over 95 degree summers. No worries, I thought, I’ll just ask our resident Dye-it-Yourself Diva, Lynn Koolish if she has anything planned for the dye pot and see if my dress could join in the fun for an over-dye.
Lynn was pleased to have me join in her next dyeing project. She had been planning to dye a shirt but her environmentally responsible, water conservationist conscience (not to mention the high prices for water that are inflicted if we go over the mandatory minimums around here) would not let her dye just one lone garment. But two…? You bet!
Lynn hadn’t yet picked out a color and asked for my thoughts. I would have been happy with black, but she, being a little, OK A LOT, more adventurous than I, pulled me out of my comfort zone. After careful consideration of our garments’ original colors as they were, we settled on a lovely shade of what the Dharma Trading catalog called aqua marine.
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
Dusk descends
And my neighbor’s
Solar lights
Shine through
The rose bushes
Like giant fireflies
Silently glimmering
A creative life is filled with challenges and rewards, puzzles and curiosities. This ongoing series of poems attempts to express the “Aha”s and “What if”s, the deep ponderings and casual observations of an inquiring mind trying to make sense of reality. May it serve, for you, as a bit of “Everyday Inspiration” along your own creative path.
Sometimes
It’s like
Walking through quicksand
To get through the day.
Why is that?
Question: What happens when you combine your mom, your sisters and lots of fiber?
Answer: You get fabulous fiber scarves!
