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Up-cycling fabrics

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   In our hot and humid climate, jeans are not big movers in our op shop.  We had a $1 a pair sale rack, and still have full racks..... so I decided to make up a few different bags to see if we can somehow save these items from landfill.  Re-fashioning those items into something useful.  I made a few variations just to try out the market and sold this one on the first day they were put out! Each one is individual, depending on what fabric I have available. I tend to lay things out, and then just play around a bit.   Here I am laying out all the options before I start sewing.  I have joined a facebook group which is so inspirational and supportive.      Up-Cycled Cloth Collective | Facebook So often, it is just a case of seeing what is there, and then using it in the best way possible.  I was excited to find this tote bag, which was perfect as the lining of a bag for a teenager. this was also snapped up quickly. The bags were hung up at the op shop and hopefully this will continue to be
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Slow stitching and creative mending

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 I purchased another class from Craft school of oz!   I was inspired after doing a couple of free classes learning Shashiko stitching and decided to venture more into this meditative method of stitching.   I have been re-purposing unsold garments to sell in the op shop instead of sending them to landfill.  This made a white ripped pair of shorts into a more interesting piece before I turned it into a bag.   For Christmas I enjoyed making some little needle cases, it really is quite meditative to sew random little stitches. I tend to look at descriptions of crafts, and then run with them and make them my own.  I love the idea of sashiko stitching, but some of it seems quite rigid.   I have been playing around with a few samples, and then thought that would be an ideal way to personalize some of the phone bags I have been thinking of making.  I didnt have a washable marker, so marked out a sort of grid with my tailors chalk.  Luckily this fabric had lines as well.   A friend had given me
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Walking the Camino

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  Walking the Camino Oh dear, it is ages since I posted here, and I have lots to catch up on.  On the first leg of my round the world trip that started in May, I got to do something I have always dreamed of doing.  I walked the Camino with my daughter and her husband.   Since we cannot bring scallop shells back into Australia, my daughter printed our scallop shells on her 3 D printer! After trying on multiple pairs of shoes, in the end I purchased my favourite kind, Orthoheel, that I often buy from the pharmacy. I packed silicone sleeves for my hammer toes, and soft woolen roving, to add extra cushioning. We bought special socks that have a ribbed area around the instep, packed and re-packed, and weighed our backpacks.  I took two sets of thin lycra capri pants, one long pair, and two short sleeved tops, plus one long sleeved one. Socks and undies, 3 sets, one small microfiber towel, and a small bar of shampoo/soap, toothbrush and toothpaste.  This was what daily foot preparation looke
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The fairies and the fishes

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 I have been busy planning for my trip overseas, making the garden as maintenance free as possible.  At first I thought I would take the fish and plants out of the pond, but in actual fact it seems more work.  The main things that takes up my time, is removing leaves that have fallen in the pond, and dealing with too much rain which causes a lot of slime to grow.  I have rigged the umbrella  to be a little higher and hopefully it stays in place all the time.    I took out most of the fish to give to my stepson, but then noticed lots of little ones growing, so I obviously didn't remove them all!  lol! We had a huge amount of rain and  wind lately, and my arch came crashing down, so that area has had to be re-configured. I have moved most of my orchids there, and they get a  little more filtered light than they did on the fence..  A facebook group called orchid growing for dummies has been very helpful, so hopefully I get a few more flowers.   One of the orchids  I have found hard to
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Worm cafe

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 I am so blessed to have a hubby who supports all my crazy hobbies. and we set out over the weekend to spend our Christmas gift card on a worm farm.  It was a combined gift, but of course I made the choice and it was gardening related.!  As most of you know I am a huge fan of my tumbler, but it is getting on in age, and suddenly didn't turn very easily anymore.  Hubby drilled a couple of holes and the trusty tie wraps came out.  What on earth did we do before tie wraps were invented?   I realized I should keep the tumbler as light as possible.  My daughter in law said that they partly compost veggie peeling and kitchen waste in their tumbler and then finish it off in the worm bin.  What a great idea I thought.... so the idea of a worm farm was born.  I settled on the worm cafe as I like the flat edge design, and for now it is under the eaves right next to the tumbler.  What a great design - nothing is thrown out - even the cardboard packaging is used to line the base bin. Then a br
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Coiled baskets, my new hobby

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  I have been interested in making baskets for  along time, and last year I purchased an online class on making baskets from the garden.  I found it really messy and required a lot of space to collect all the bits and pieces so really did not pursue it after the initial spurt of creativity.  The same school offered a course on coiled baskets which I had been greatly admiring, so I bought that course as a Christmas present to myself!  It is run by the same lady as the baskets from the garden - Ruth, who I found very easy to follow.  It is super easy to go back and check the instructions. craft school of oz Oh my!   am I hooked!  This was the first basket I created.  I made a little lid in what I considered an African design - like a rondavel, which is a "round house" This was t shirt material wrapped around string and sewn with crochet cotton. From then on, there was no stopping me.  as you know I am very keen to recycle materials instead of sending them to landfill and this i
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It is December already!

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 Looking back I seem to now be posting once a month instead of once or twice a week.  Maybe this is my new normal.  In fact I told my daughter in Germany that since the garden is established there doesn't seem to be as much to write about as when I was designing and building up the garden.  She promptly decided to fix that!   She has signed me up to a 6 month seed delivery!   How blessed I am! How lovely that they include her note.  I received my first package and that is a fairly good choice of seeds for this time of year, although the cucumber might just get downy mildew.  I only planted half the seeds.... hedging my bets.  You never know with the wet season.   I already had some basil growing along the edge of the new long raised beds, so planted out the basil all along the edge. I think it is the same kind - Mammoth basil.   Lots of pesto in my future if they all come up.   I was speaking to my daughter and saying that I only plant one seed per hole, why plant two just to pull
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