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A scurry of squirrels

7/5/2021

 
I had big plans for the weekend to get back to my list of projects. I was going to load the green quilt for quilting and cut out the very last of the veterans quilt kits. But before I could do either of those things I had to clean off the cutting table.
Picture
Squirrel!
The first thing I picked up was these scraps of fabrics from Anne's quilt. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt that she left it behind by accident because she LOVES this fabric. I really wanted to just toss it because I don't keep much in the way of commercial fabric in my stash. But then I got an idea from the crochet YouTubers that I follow. They are big into drawstring project bags which makes a lot of sense. Crocherters and knitters travel with their projects more than us quilters do so drawstring bags are essential. I thought that maybe I could make a quick drawstring bag for Ann with her Spam fabric.
Picture
And so I did. The cording is Craft Cord from Hobby Lobby. I had bought some because I was thinking of project bags for my travel crochet. FWIW, this bulky weight craft cord is really nice and also inexpensive. 

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. I have a bin of "unique" fabrics in my fabric closet. Some are special because of the print, some are special because they are heavier weight and some just don't have a logical pairing with any other fabrics that I have in my stash. I eliminated a good bit of these fabrics when I used them to make walker caddies in May.
Picture
Squirrel!
​
In that bin I found a panel of this fabrics that Anne gave me right after it came out.
Picture
There was enough for 2 project bags. The big one is big enough for my loom knitting projects.
Picture
Squirrel!
Also in the bin are these 2 fabrics that are also going to become project bags. The batik one is a heavier African fabric that I bought about 18 years ago when I was working in England. I've had both of these fabrics for more than 10 years.
Picture
Squirrel!
​
But also in the bin were a stack of these fabrics. I expect that I bought them in England too. It's a pack of pieces with none of them bigger than 14" on any side. They are clearly a scrap bundle. They are from a South African company. The fabrics are VERY stiff and I have no idea what I intended when I bought them. But I started thinking about what I might do with them.
Picture
The stiffness of the fabric makes them ideal for some sort of storage item. Well, why not a little zipper pouch for loom knitting, sewing or crochet tools? I used this tutorial and had one sewed up in no time. Is that not he cutest thing?  I'll use this one for my loom knitting tools. 

​Let's make more, I thought! I have a huge stash of zippers and it's time to use more of those too.
Picture
So very cute. Mom was here when I was working on a couple and we figured that the sewing of each pouch takes less than 10 minutes once it's cut out. Cutting each one probably took about 2 minutes. Zipper colors are based on what I have in the stash.
Picture
I know that because I cut out ALL of that fabric into pouch kits. These will be really cute gifts. For Christmas I could fill them with candy. They would make great little travel medicine/vitamin packs.

I'll get back to my original plans in a day or so but for now I'm having fun using up some fabric making bags and pouches. I'm so happy to be using some of these "save for something special" fabrics.
Claire
7/5/2021 11:56:13 am

I love the little zipper bags! So cute and useful.

Quiltdivajulie link
7/5/2021 01:39:49 pm

WOW - those are some pretty amazing squirrels!

Tina in NJ
7/5/2021 04:18:39 pm

I love the zipper pouches! Especially the fabrics, they’re gorgeous! I’ve made a couple of larger ones for toiletry bags, but from lighter cotton. They didn’t stand up as well as yours do. I’ve thought about making drawstring shoe bags for holiday gifts, but haven’t gotten to it yet. One nephew wears a size 13 shoe and my daughter’s boyfriend wears 14. They’d need one bag per shoe! I did get shoelaces at Dollar Tree to use for the string. I thought that was appropriate. :) Now I have squirrels to tame!

Barbara Bennett
7/5/2021 04:43:56 pm

The South African indigo fabrics are stiff because of the starch used to preserve the dye. They soften up greatly when they are washed which they should be before use. They need to be zigzag stitched on the edges before washing. I neglected that step once and regretted it greatly - the fabrics get tangled up with the fraying strings and get streaks in them because the excess dye doesn't wash out evenly.

https://tdsblog.com/shweshwe/ gives some history about the fabrics.

Peg S.
7/5/2021 05:16:23 pm

I love your little zippered pouches and also the National Parks bags. What fun! I'm feeling inspired to do something with some of my unusual fabrics.

Linda link
7/5/2021 06:26:44 pm

Wow, lots of bags. Do you have a certain pattern for the boxy ones? Maybe I could learn to sew zippers better and make some. Love all the fabrics.

patty
7/6/2021 08:11:05 am

Love the spam fabric. I remember eating that when I was a kid. My Mom use to cook it with pineapple slices. What a great idea to turn those panels into drawstring bags. Then to get on a kick of making what I call boxy pouches. I have given away many of those, sold a few, and use a lot myself for different things.

Gene Black
7/6/2021 08:23:40 am

I love your squirrels. I have a big bag of zippers that I should probably do something with - along with some upholstery weight fabric that I bought because the shop was going out of business and it was cheap. I did use some of it to make curtains for my bathroom. (I love those curtains!)

Beth H-now in rural KY!
7/7/2021 07:43:42 am

Those last fabrics are ShweShwe. Three Cats from DeGarma. DeGarma started making them in different colors too. Red, brown, orange and light blues. They are also a favorite of mine!!! After all this time do they still have 'the' odor? The stiffness will wash out with a bath in really hot water. Of course there will be shrinkage too. I think you found a great use for the fabric!

Mary Anne
7/8/2021 05:55:37 pm

You and those squirrels have had a fine time. Must say I love those little pouches and might have a squirrel moment over those if only I hadn't had a previous attack of the squirrels and used up all my zippers.


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    About Vicki

    I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here.

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      • Painted Shower Curtain Tutorial
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      • Curing Metallic Fabric Paints
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      • Printing On Fabric
      • Life of MX Dye Concentrates
      • Testing Soda Ash in fabric dyeing
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