A Problem

I've been in the midst of a discussion with my local Sears store for some time now--but that is a long and arduous problem not to be discussed here. Please, however, allow me to share just one tidbit from my latest exchange, this time with their national customer service. The very helpful and courteous representative offered to connect me with the company's specialists at their National Customer Relations Office. Eager for help, I agreed. I was put straight through to the 800 number--which turned out to be some kind of adult chat line.

Do I laugh or cry?

Counting the Cost

How do you figure the cost of a project?

After my mom died, in one of her notebooks we found a careful record of fabrics she had purchased for quilting projects--color, price, yardage, and shop. Included was a list of quilts each piece had been used in, and who had received the quilt as a gift. It's the closest thing we have to a portfolio of her projects, and it was fun to have a window on the amount she had spent for each quilt at the time.

This brings back to mind a question I have thought about now and then: how can we best calculate the cost of any given project?

This may not be the most burning question of life. Why would we want to know the cost? Many projects are mostly about the satisfaction of creating something beautiful and original, but many more are about the satisfaction of spending less and meeting needs while fulfilling the urge to create. The one certainly does not exclude the other! It's all about creating beautiful and functional things.

Having an idea of the cost of a project does help us to compare the price of making an item versus the price of simply buying it. Certainly in sewing, paying full price for fabric, trims, and notions for a project can be more expensive than a purchased item--even without counting in the time involved. On the other hand,we fortunately have coupons and sales--and the options of thrifting and recycling!

Calculating the cost of an item may well also increase the satisfaction of its creation. Making things for less increases what I call the 'glory points' quotient.

Here's my own philosophy about figuring the price of a sewing or crafting project: the price of any item purchased for that project is counted as part of its cost. Any reuse of patterns, thread, trim, scraps, and so on is then free!

This means that your sewing becomes more economical as your stash of materials increases. For me, having materials around me gets the creative juices going, and a great part of the reward of creation is making something beautiful and functional for the house or family from almost nothing.

It's well worthwhile to inexpensively add to the stockpile!

Christmas Stocking from Placemat, #3

This blue, white, and silver placemat especially appealed to me for my stocking project-- it's lined! Twice as much fabric!


I cut it the stocking on the bias, using my stocking-shaped window for placement as before, and used the solid blue for the back. The cuff is made from the solid blue as well, trimmed with some silver braid from the ribbon-and-trim stash. I even have a good-sized piece of plaid left to go in my 'fancy fabrics' box!

Christmas Stocking From Placemat, #2

I suppose this one dollar investment was really more of a tapestry wall hanging--I thought it would be fun to feature the snowman on a stocking.


It's made in the same way as the blue snowman stocking, using a stocking shaped window to choose the placement. Before stitching the front and back together, I added an applique 'toe' and 'heel from the scraps, turning under the applique edges and stitching them down with a narrow, long zigzag. The back is cut from a blue piece from my stash, and the cuff and loop are made with a scrap from my 'fancy fabrics' box--I like the shiny taffeta with the textured tapestry. The two white tassels didn't seem to work as trim, so I'll save them for another project!

Christmas Stocking from Placemat, #l

I been having fun strolling through the Christmas items at the dollar store. This year they have a lot of fun placemats--just what I need to make inexpensive stockings to hold some projects I have in mind! I chose three different blue ones--strange since I normally don't do blue at all.


This blue 'linen' was printed with white outline stitches. One placemat made both front and back. I made a stencil of a stocking shape and used it to view the snowmen, and to place the cut-out stocking shape as a pattern. I cut around the pattern piece, adding a 3/8" seam allowance. I cut the back from the reverse, plain side.



I had fun stitching over the printed lines with some doubled white baby yarn I had on hand, and adding the arms and features with scraps of orange and brown.

The loop is from a scrap of the placemant and the cuff is from white polar fleece and ball fringe I had on hand. Festive! More stockings here and here.

Bottle Wrap Rice Bag

My local dollar store's halls are decked for the holiday season! While browsing among the gift bags, I found a sweater-knit gift bottle cover that seemed (after my recent rice bag project) destined to be a festive rice bag/heating pad.

I used the cardboard insert to cut a pattern and added a seam allowance. The insert fabric is a scrap from my mom's holiday fabric stash. I sewed around the pieces, leaving an opening on the side. After clipping the curves and turning, I put rice in the ends and stitched across each, making three sections. I filled the middle section with rice, then stitched the side opening closed. Two or three minutes in the microwave, and we'll have warm and toasty toes.

My dollar store recently had a rack of 'vintage' clothing, and I brought home several wool sweaters as project materials. More on that later, but it occurs to me a sleeve from a castoff sweater might make a cozy rice bag cover. Hmm. . .

Leftovers Quilt--Swirling Autumn Leasves

For one of her earlier quilts, my daughter C. made a pile of nine-patch leaf blocks from autumn-colored scraps. When the quilt turned out smaller than her first idea, there was a pile of blocks left that lingered around her house for several years, until one day we were inspired to see if we could come up with Quilt B. We pawed through the Odd Blocks Box and found four additional nine-patches, and after arranging and re-arranging the 28 blocks, we came up with a swirling pattern we loved. Judicious (and tricky!) addition of background brought them together.

After another period of incubation, I took it along on a recent Grandma gig as a project for spare moments. After layering and beginning to quilt, I realized, as I often seem to do lately, that another border was simply essential. The rust outer border and batting were added after the fact, which finishes the design, but makes smooth quilting difficult. It works, but no matter how much you trim the seam of the new border, there is a little ridge to catch the sewing machine foot. We live and learn!

We'll enjoy wrapping up on chilly fall evenings.

Sewing Group Project--Rice Bags

Fast, easy, inexpensive, and useful! This project from Georgie Melot's wonderful book 'Ready, Set, Serge' is the project for our November monthly church sewing group. They'll make great Christmas presents, to warm cold toes and ease aches and pains. Two or three minutes in the microwave is all it takes. And there's a great separate washable cover!


This could be a great fabric stash project, since it only takes 5" each of two different 45" fabrics (plus the rice.)

Georgie's book is full of great projects and innovative techniques--don't be scared, you can mostly use you regular machine if you are sergerless, but you might want a serger even more! Check it out!

Strainer + Spoons = Ladybug

I love kitchenware, and sometimes plastic kitchenware has an appeal all its own. Recently at the dollar store I heard a voice calling out to me , the voice of the red plastic strainer-- calling for my help in meeting its destiny as a giant ladybug.

It simply had to be.

Near the stainer I found more ladybug body parts: two sets of black plastic measuring spoons and a set of black measuring cups.

I fastened the six smallest spoons to the inside of the strainer with zip ties, using two holes each.



The biggest measuring cup makes the head. I used hot glue to stick it under the front of the strainer, adjusted the legs so the bug was level, and hot glued the embellished button eyes and yarn-covered wire antennae. (Didn't have black pipe cleaners.) It looks like the hot glue will pop right off when the time comes. The spots are electrical tape.

She will make a lovely shower gift! I'll put her in a gift bag with the rest of the measuring spoons and cups. But for now, she's being admired in my kitchen.

New Baby Quilt

A baby quilt for our newest grandson! Okay, he's almost nine months old now, but I have to say this quilt was one of those projects that just don't go smoothly. I made a stack of strip-pieced nine patch blocks and a stack of stack-and-whack crazy patch blocks and pieced them together in a checkerboard pattern. What a disaster! It was a train wreck. I had to put it away. Later I picked it all apart and appliqued stars on the nine-patches and confined them with a border. Better. I cut the crazy patch blocks in two for a second border. Even better. I started quilting, but it still wasn't right, and I let it incubate some more. I think I was hoping I wouldn't have to add the outside border, as it was already layered and stitched, but I finally gave up and added batting and borders to the front and the back.It seems to calm the whole thing, and the red binding makes a frame. Hooray, it's finished! I'm still afraid it will keep him awake all night.