A Scrappy Bowl:: Upcycling

Last week I made bento bags out of fabric I've had for awhile and then experimented with Japanese knot bags out of old aprons. You can see some of them in this Instagram photo.  Then I got to thinking more about these old aprons.  And I wanted to find another use for some of them.

Well, I had found this crocheted hanging bowl pattern quite awhile ago and just thought it was so neat. 

I thought it might work for my scrappy plan.  And, it did!!  Quite perfectly in fact.

I left all the lovely strings, because, well, they're perfect.

So, it can sit or hang!  The first time I made a bowl with strips of scraps was in a little braided bowl. I much prefer the crocheting method.  So much stronger.  But that link will show you how I attach the strips to each other to make your "yarn" to crochet with.  

I like the texture and the heft of the bowl.  Or should I call it a basket?

Her bowl was only 12cm by 12cm, but when I used such big strips, mine ended up 7" high and 9" across the bottom which is what I was hoping for.

I plan to hang it in my sewing room to collect scraps!  I filled it now with the apron scraps it was made from.  The scrap's scraps. :)

None of these were aprons made from feed sacks and some were probably just from the 1970s. But, I was so happy to find a great project for them.  

Now of course I will be keeping all that is left over and at some point will find another use for them. 

We had a snow day here which was kind of fun after the unseasonably warm weather we'd been having.  We have a fire going and it's pretty cozy. :)

Beauty. Free for the Noticing.

Can a cairn be made out of old rotting wood?? 

I thought so. :)

Birds flying back north.  From one formation to another. With a backdrop that makes you sigh.

~Enjoy the rest of your weekend~

A Sweet Book

A couple of years ago, I was gifted this incredible home made book. ♥

It's made from vintage linens and filled with vintage postcard birthday greetings and Valentines.

There is such an incredible sampling of old linens!

Each page has a pocket to hold a vintage postcard.

Look at this gorgeous Valentine Postcard!

The book came wrapped up in another piece of linen.

All tied up with ribbons and love.

Some inspiration for you on this Valentine's Day!

Saturday Digest

►Good things:  Celebrating birthdays!  I posted a couple days ago about mine. But we also were able to help my brother celebrate his 60 years.  He and his wife were not going to just sit still and "smile at the camera" for me!  I have "in motion" photos, "in the middle of speaking" photos, but then there was this one.  A "this is them" photo.

►Science things:  I do love science.  And coffee.  This cup is cute. AND this?!  I love it, except I would change the words to "This is a worm hole to another galaxy". What a spark to the imagination, right?! And, if I was a cookie decorator extraordinaire, I'd be buying these cookie cutters! Be sure to look at the picture of the decorated cookie example.

►Creative things:  Here is a complete free tutorial on folding a heart out of an old book. Look how this blogger embellishes a chair with missing veneer.  That's one technique to remember.

►Not so good thing, but not so bad thing either: Have you heard of a  Posterior Vitreal Detachment? Apparently, it's quite common and it happened in my right eye. Of course it's age related!  So I have a bit of a blurry area and many floaters in my eye, but it should settle out with time.  I was relieved to find out that the changes I'd noticed wasn't anything serious.  I do need to go back for a follow up visit to monitor it.  One site I checked out said it happens to 75% of people.  This was new to me!

Have a great weekend!

February 9, 1964

 My parents, but mostly my Dad, kept a journal for years and years on the free calendars that the bank and seed companies gave out.

I have some of them now and hope to scan some pages to keep in a digital state.

A lot of the entries were written in pencil so are kind of faded.  

It's really quite something to read an entry from the day I was born.  And to see what was happening on the days around it.  Short and to the point is how he kept the journal. I let my imagination and my knowledge of our home and the people fill in the blanks.

The entries:

Sun. Feb. 9th: took kids to church. They went home with O.W. (my maternal grandfather, presumably my grandmother was there too) Van had 8lb 3oz girl at 11:20P.M. O.W. stayed with kids while we were in Wayne. (My Mom's name is Vandelyn but Dad rarely called her Van, only in the journal.)

Mon. Feb. 10th: snowed last night 2".

Went to Wayne. P.M. Roads slick.

Tues. Feb. 11th: Helped Dean shell corn. (Mom writes in later Mrs. Fuoss sent buns) Norma sent rolls over, Joyce brought cake. Carolyn sent supper home with me. Roy's stayed with kids while I bowled. 

Wed. Feb. 12th: I went to Nelsons for dinner and then to Wayne.  Ethel brought brownies Darleen brought cake. We went to O.W. for supper.

Thurs Feb. 13th: Went to Wayne Had supper with Dirks. LEft kids there while I went to Wayne. Joyce had folks over for lunch for Paulette's birthday. (my sister who is 9 years older than me.) 

Fri Feb. 14th: Went to S City with Dorothy to get Bob. I left the kids at Glens while I went up to see Van.

Sat. Feb 15th: Brought Van and Jill home from hospital. O.W. were here when we came home. Mom brought cookies.

Sun Feb. 16th: Van has to be in bed-leg-  (she had trouble with blood clots from her varicose veins)

L.B came up and Dad and 2 of Bobs kids stopped. O.W. here after lunch. Blanche brought cookies and banana bread

Mon Feb 17th: Really nice. Joyce came P.M. Lucile was here to scrub she brougth rolls and brownies. Esther sent biscuits and apple dessert. Dad had a wreck at his lane. Roys came over Roy and Bud went to hosp to see Dad

Tues Feb 18th: 2 batches shelled 850 bu (bushels) from south pile. Went to Wayne to see dad. Phyllis baked rolls and fed shellers. Avis brought over rolls.

Wed Feb. 19th: Baby is real good. (Of course!) Darlene D. came over brought rolls.

Thurs Feb 20th: Don's here for lunch brought cupcakes. Same as every other day. Sorted clothes. Bud washed. Evonne, Diane, Denise came over, she brought cookies, yellow suit for Jill. Bud kids went to Wayne, Allan stayed home.

Fri Feb 21st: Mom came over Dad went to Norfolk. She brought coffee ring. Bob and Dorothy and Joyce were here. Joe came out. Marked 255 lambs.

Sat. Feb. 22nd: sent 245 lambs to S City snowed a little getting colder called Joe.

My sister, brother, Mom and aunt Blanche are still living but the rest mentioned are all gone.  I have to wonder about Mom's mood too when she logs in "Same as every other day."  as that is her handwriting that day. 

My parents lost a baby girl, Betty, who was born prematurely at about 1 pound about 3 years before I was born.  Until this week, I had never thought before about whether or not Mom was afraid to have another baby after that.  So I asked her when she called me today. (Mom turns 90 next month.) At first, she didn't remember and then she recalled that she must have been because she hadn't bought any supplies ahead of time.  She and Dad stopped downtown Wayne to buy bottles and diapers on the way home from the hospital. So I was number 7 and there were 5 older ones at home.  With cloth diapers.  In a really, really old farm house.  I'm glad Lucile came "to scrub" for them, ha! I'm pretty sure that was my Mom's aunt.

It's interesting to look at your life from your parent's perspective now and again. 

 ~ Apparently, sweets were the common thing to bring for a new baby. :)

53 years, not so long ago. :)

Scene and Story

I used to devour the Sunday paper.  I looked forward to it being delivered to our front door. Hearing the thud it made as it hit the porch was so satisfying.  Knowing all that information and entertainment was just waiting beyond the door.

 But, then the thud came later and later and was tainted with the sound of the too fast approaching car on the lane followed by the swishing of gravel as the car pulled away in a rush to move on to the next house.  It was actually dangerous to our neighborhood to continue to get the paper.  So we cancelled our subscription. This was years ago and I had by then stopped following the news and was rarely reading the paper so I didn't miss it much and felt much relief to no longer worry that someone would get hit in the delivery process.  

Now, when our second oldest daughter is home we almost always stop for a newspaper on the way home from Mass.  The little girls have found the comics and my 11 year old discovered the sports section and Husker Football coverage this past fall.  She was amazed!  We heard a WHOA!  one Sunday when she found all the articles about the game!  I had no idea we had been holding out on her, ha!

Two weeks ago after they were grabbing the sections they wanted to look at, my daughter, Bonnie suggested a picture and asked me to take it with her phone.  It was entertaining watching them get posed. Then I grabbed my camera to take a couple of shots also.  She posted it to her Instagram account with the caption: 

The family that reads together, "literate-ly" stays together. 

This is how we amuse ourselves. :)

Linking up with Paisley Rain Boots and Scene and Story: you can read more about it on her blog.