More repurposing, and Blossom...

Back here I showed you how I'd made a set of nine washable bath mats for Blossom and her DB from their old towels and my supply of quilt binding scraps.

 With still a few towels left that I could re-purpose Blossom and I decided they'd be perfect as covers for her baby change table.

This morning I made four covers from two towels by cutting the towels in half and removing the bound edge opposite the centre cut, before finishing them with pretty mauve binding along the two raw-edged sides.

I've had the sweet bunny fabric for ages and almost gave it away a few times, but I'm glad I kept it because it was perfect for this project!

With a metre of the material on hand it was easy to cut the nice long lengths of binding I needed.

The first change mat cover cost me three machine needles, they were breaking left right and centre! 

Finally realising it was my fault and not the sewing machine, I removed the plate over the bobbin and gave the inside a good de-fluff and clean. A fourth new needle in place and my hard working Janome did her bit with no more hiccups and a smug smile...

In case you're wondering, the name of the fabric is "Naptime" by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman.

Now about darling almost-34-weeks pregnant Blossom.

She has pneumonia. 

In fact right this minute she's being discharged from a night in hospital with an IV and heading home for complete bed rest.

Would you please add her to your prayers?

I'll keep you updated in coming days.

Bless your beautiful hearts,

A blooming Blossom...

Blossom is in her third trimester now, and though still experiencing health challenges she continues to bloom and glow. Becoming a mama is her dream come true and it really shows...

She dropped by to have lunch with me yesterday before we headed off to her pre-natal visit with the doctor. On the way home we had some things to buy at Chemist Warehouse and one of those purchases was a hot water bottle to help ease Blossom's back pain (she has scoliosis).

Remember back here when I made a pile of bath mats from Blossom's old towels? 

Well we still had more of the towels at my place to recycle so before she went home I spent ten minutes making a simple cover for her hot water bottle...

A length of calico ribbon from my stash was sewn into the front...

...which then wraps around to secure the water bottle inside.

 

 The seam runs down the centre back of the cover so the smooth front side can rest against her lower back...

Such a simple thing to make, but she was thrilled tucking it under her arm as she left to go home and I felt incredibly blessed to mother this beautiful young woman who appreciates even the smallest of gestures. 

I will probably make her another one (with a few trims) before winter arrives but I know that it's not necessary in her eyes. She's quite content with what she has. 

In fact I admire this young homemaker who has to balance a limited budget, make do and mend, prepare for a newborn's arrival, run a house, and lovingly care for the three males in her home (two dogs and her DB) whilst also battling health challenges in her pregnancy. 

She makes me want to be a better me, which is the greatest compliment a daughter can give her mum. 

hugs

Recycling old towels...

 With Blossom less than 16 weeks away from her baby's due date, she's using the time before then to carefully work through each room of her home. Removing things she won't be using any more, or items that are past their 'use by' date, her intent is to create a less cluttered space with more room for the baby.

She's also mindful of what can be recycled, like these old towels I brought home with me...

I suggested turning some into bath mats and cleaning cloths and she jumped at my offer to make them, so this afternoon I cut three of the towels into nine rectangles, raided my tub of binding strips...

 ...and made nine bath mats. 

The binding covered the raw edges, adding a pretty trim at the same time.

I find this kind of sewing wonderful as it's easy, productive and creates useful items - not to mention it's free because I already have on hand what it is needed!

One by one the pile grew...

...and when my girl dropped by later (after picking up Mr E from work to save me a trip into the city) she was so excited with how they had turned out!

Now, I can hear some of you wondering why so many bath mats, right?

Well, we live in the humid tropics and their bathroom has no air conditioning or exhaust fan so things like towels and bath mats must be washed and dried every day to avoid mold growing on them. Making use of a few old towels and my scrap quilt bindings has given her a fresh bath mat for each day of the week and a couple spare for good measure. 

With the rest of the towels I'll be making some cleaning cloths and dish cloths, plus a few covers for the baby change table. Fortunately I have plenty of binding left to play with and may even pull out some of my own old towels to sew items for my home too.

It's wonderful making new things from old, so simple and satisfying.

Do you have any ideas for recycling towels?

hugs

The fever breaks...

Thank you to everyone who has prayed and offered their heartfelt hope that Blossom recovers. 

You certainly lifted her spirits, and mine.

Her temp was still very high during the night.

However, around 8.30 this morning the fever had broken and we can see recovery on the way. Her tonsils and glands are a mess and very swollen, but the penicillin is working now so each hour will see an improvement. She is in bed still, watching her favourite British murder mysteries (Midsomer Murders at the moment, Miss Marple or Poirot to follow...)

I am going to attempt to make some fresh orange jelly today.  Karen sent me an email suggesting jelly for Bloss, so thank you Karen! I'd like to make fresh though, so we'll see if it works. 

Yesterday I told you that I was going to recover an ugly lamp shade - well, I hoped I could. I haven't done this before but life is full of  things I've never attempted, and I like to dabble in unknowns occasionally. 

It was such a fiddly thing to do, but worth every needle prick and bitten tongue...

I removed the original shade, and cut up the sheet set to use the frill and some of the white cotton...

I measured out the old shade cover and made hems for gathering in the cotton sheet portion I'd cut. Thick cotton thread was sewn in a small running stitch around the hems and the new cover was fitted over the lamp shade frame for handsewing in place...

The gathering threads were tightened around top and bottom, and a length of white organza ribbon wrapped around the curved upper frame...

 

 

The lamp base was a $10 find at an op shop...

I'm happy with it,  but it has this Easter Bonnet feel about it. Never mind, it fits our style. 

The 'our' being Blossom and I. Last week she moved her desk out of her room and into the office half of my creative space. 

It's lovely having her right next to me. :-)

Now that I have covered one old lampo shade, I'm ready to play with more. Just need to find some! 

 For those who are making my BOM, "Circles of Life", a  number of you have asked where I got the fabrics to make mine. 

 

 As mentioned in Elefantz HOME magazine, I used Carrie Nelson's "Fresh Palette"....

 ...and I purchased mine through the Fat Quarter Shop, but they have sold out of all but 2 of the fabrics.

The lovely Di Jobbins emailed me to share the news that she has tracked down a shop in the US which still has the fabric range! You can visit the Desperate Quilters HERE and cross your fingers that they can help.

Another range that is similar and would look just as lovely is "Bliss" by Bonnie and Camille. The same store has some in stock, but if you google I think you'll find more about.

 ~~~~~

Now to go shopping for ingredients to make that orange jelly!

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

Spicy recycling...

Tuesday morning, grade 9/10 Home Economics class. Today the girls were allowed to cook a recipe of their own choosing so it was very busy and very hot in the kitchen. We have 8 groups of 3, so 8 different recipes were made today and they were all YUM! How do I know? The sweet loves all gave me a plate of their finished meal - mediterranean tuna pizza, cottage pie, aussie meat pie, tofu patties...and more!  

(So much for the March diet....LOL!)

Before the class I cleaned out the Home Ec pantry and threw out a number of 'out of date' items. A whole shelf of spices needed to be discarded but instead of tossing the jars I emptied just the spices themselves into the trash, then brought the jars home to clean. 

I'm slowly working my way through the house with an eye to bringing order into every area, and I had a number of spices sitting in open packets that looked messy and in the way on my own pantry shelves.

So, I cleaned and sterilised the jars...

...pulled my French General labels & stickers book off the shelf...

....chose some pretty labels and wrote spice names on them...

...emptied all the spice packs into the waiting jars, then gently chided the filled and dressed spices to stand still so I could take their photo for you.

They were so excited in their new jars that they were strutting up and down the kitchen bench as though they were super models! I clapped my hands and gave them praise on their new attire, before christening them - The Spice Girls!

So without further ado, here they are. 

Recycling is fun!

What have you been recycling?

Hugs

Jenny

xxx