Those beloved T shirts

I just got off the phone with a friend who was brainstorming with me how she might preserve a beloved rock concert t-shirt which has become threadbare.  She was thinking tote bag, while I was thinking pillow. I mentioned my sister Sharon, who has made many many many quilts out of t-shirts for friends and neighbors.  It is a tradition in their close-knit neighborhood in Rochester, NY, to save your kid's t-shirts through the years and give the whole pile to Sharon who will make an amazing graduation quilt for the kid who is headed off to college, or boot camp, or wherever. 

  I told my friend I would email her a picture of one of Sharon's t-shirt quilts and instead decided to share a few with all of you.  In this shot you will see one of the lucky college-bound kids looking at the quilt that has just been given to him as a surprise. (His mom is one of my sister's best friends from high school- not a neighborhood kid)  I would like to say that he is saying, "Wow! This is great! Amazing! Thank you!" but I have to tell you the sad truth is that he is giving his mother ( in the black tank top) grief for taking his t-shirts, some that he was still able to wear.  "That's where that went! Hey, I was still wearing that"... etc.He went on and on and didn't say thank you.  I was there at the presentation and I wanted to strangle the brat.  It made me so mad, to think about the work that went into the quilt and the planning that Sharon and her friend had done.  I think I'm still mad at that kid.  Studying Sharon's expression in the photo, I'm not sure she is biting her lip to stifle a laugh or to keep from crying. I was looking around for the nearest croquet mallet to wallop that ingrate.

I found a website where someone has collected and organized 50 photos of different t-shirt keepsake quilts.  They aren't the prettiest of quilts, but the memories and the years they represent are palpable.  I kinda like the one made with 30 Obama t-shirts!  If you are feeling  handy, I found an online tutorialfrom a professional quilter in Idaho with some great photographs on how to do it yourself .  Thank you, Ann from Idaho.  So here's to Ann and Sharon and the other thoughtful quilters that we know and love. May they all feel appreciated.

...and won't these T's make a nice quilt?
   

Coffee, Adoption and Friends

 I've been having a lot of fun with coffee bags lately.
While sewing a few of these bags, I realize how adoption has woven its threads through these projects and through my life.  I met Alan Spear and Mary Allen Lindemann who own Coffee By Design  several years ago when they were in the process of adopting their daughter from Russia. I was teaching adoption education and they were in my class.  We have remained friends and Mary Allen has always supported my crafting ventures. I won't go on here about all the wonderful things these people do, in Portland, and in the coffee growing countries, but I could fill pages.  My favorite CBD coffee, the one that starts my day is Rebel Blend.  (You can buy their coffee at Little Dog in Brunswick if you can't get down to Portland.)  Lately, they keep me stocked with used burlap and jute bags. The bags themselves are geography lessons:  Sumatra, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala.  I have "upcycled" the bags into totes which have sold well at the Long Branch store here in town. I've also discovered that the scraps burn well in my woodstove!

I wish I had taken a picture of the tote bag I made from this beautiful Colombian coffee sack.  It was really nice, and I almost kept it for myself.

  Allen and Mary Allen have developed a special relationship with the community of coffee growers in Jardin, Colombia and have funded the building of a kitchen and cafeteria in the local hospital.  If you buy a pound of Colombia Antioquia Jardin Alma del Cafe, a portion of the price will go to support that project.

There are other reasons that this region of Colombia is special, but I'll blog about those another day.  On to a different country, and different adoption story, and a different coffee sack.

This tote was made from a bag shipped from Antigua, Guatemala, a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, and crisscrossed with cobblestones, history and culture. Notice the logo on the coffee sack... its the same Santa Catalina arch as in this picture I took on my visit to Antigua.  Notice a glimpse of Volcan Agua in the background. 

I was very lucky to have travelled there in 2007 on another adoption journey.  This time, it was my friends Jonathan and Lalla who were in the midst of the long process of adopting their son Ben from Guatemala.  While fostering their son in Guatemala they lived in Antigua and I spent a wonderful 5 days there.  


Coffee, adoption and friendships.  Oh, how rich I am.

Storytime!

OK, kids.  Sit down and Miss Kate will tell you a story of a wonderful happening in the world of recycled crafting.

Once upon a time there was a woman who lived in VT and called herself Recycle Moe. Actually, she called her business Recycle Moe. Anyone could tell by looking at Moe that she had a certain flair for life and craft.  She made lots and lots of great things out of recycled materials. She designed great products and sold them all across the land (well, VT, at least).  One fine summer day she sold a little purse made out of a discarded cassette tape to a woman from Bowdoinham who brought the little purse home and showed Miss Kate, telling her all about the wonderful crafter in VT named Moe.  Kate wanted to learn more... like how the heck did Moe make a notebook out of a floppy disk???

It turns out that Moe had a website and generously answered her fan mail, and told the fan from Bowdoinham that she made her cool little notepads with the help of  ...(musical fanfare here, including trumpets)...


        The Zutter Bind-it-All!

Within 2 hours of getting the trade secret revealed by Moe, Miss Kate was ordering up her OWN Zutter Bind-it-All, and soon, the joys of making journals out of recycled stuff spread to Bowdoinham.

Miss Kate especially liked making journals out of Readers Digest Condensed Books.

Miss Kate made lots and lots of journals and raised lots and lots of money for her library.
She is very thankful to Moe and hopes to meet her in VT some day.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Halloween to Christmas

Last I posted I was obsessed with turning this...

...into this!

 And then there was November.  In November, the volunteers of the Bowdoinham Public Library set their crafty minds to creating small bits of paper loveliness for the sale that we call "Treasures From the Library Attic".  We use books left over from the November Book Sale, added to those books we salvage from the Barn of Opportunity, and make ornaments, journals, bookmarks and gifts. We sell the items at the Bowdoinham Guild of Artisan's Show and Sale on the first weekend of December. Here are a few pictures, by Tony Cox, of our successful (first) show last year.

We had a great selection of ornaments.  Katie Smith's ballerinas were again the crowd favorite. Used canning jar lids make great frames for decoupage.


Stephanie Miller made beads from old book pages and strung beautiful necklaces.

Laurie Peavey-Ross covered cigar boxes with sheet music and old illustrations.




Magnet makers this year included the Kira Decker, Alison Berry, Larissa Decker and the Coker family.

This year's magnets featured Kate Greenway illustrations, cherubs from a 1800's poetry text, and the Peanuts gang.

The journals that I make from Reader's Digest Condensed Book covers sold like hotcakes. I'll blog about how I make them. Stay tuned.

With hundreds and hundreds of old circulation cards to use up, we search for new ideas to highlight those old signatures.

And yes, the light switch plates with covers from romance novels were popular items again this year.  If you go the the Barn and find paperback romances devoid of their covers... I'm the guilty thief.

Darcie Moore came to visit one of our paper crafting sessions in November and wrote a nice article in the Times Record.

It was a huge success again this year.  We topped last year's total by $400. I am thrilled and know that we have such a great thing going.  It is fun to share time and creative ideas among friends / volunteers, and to have the end result be a great profit for the Library.  Thanks to Katie Smith, Laurie Peavey-Ross, Allison Berry, Amy Decker and family, Kirsten Coker and family, Jayne Greely, Diana Mosher, Stephanie Miller, Heidi Balboni, Sarah Zell, Marlene Hensley and all of you who came and saw and purchased!

I am determined to be a better blogger in the new year.  For now I'll just wish you a Happy Halloween, a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas.

Ooooo, how I love Halloween!

 I do love the lead up to Halloween. It coincides with the end of summer and the beginning of my crafty season. I feel like locking myself inside, cooking large amounts of food containing squash ( or food containing large amounts of squash) and crafting my little fingers to the nubs.

And the Barn of Opportunity never fails to supply me with the inspiration nor the supplies.

Last year I read about this spider web idea on a Betz White blogpost and off I went to look for a doily at the B. of O.  Gotcha.  Had the rick rack, the plastic spider and the old embroidery hoop (What can I say? I hoard too much stuff).

I can't show you this year's Halloween costumes yet, so I'll show you a Halloween project from years gone by.

Gitsy Palmer came through for me several years ago when a friend wanted me to make a Bride costume for her daughter's Halloween costume. Gitsy decided it was time to bring second life to her own beloved wedding dress.  I converted her gorgeous dress to a version fit for an 8 yr. old princess.  It is modeled here by my friend Jorja, before it was sent off to Anna in Maryland. I loved making it, and Anna loved wearing it.

And these two Halloween goodies were BOTH found in Bin #2 at the Barn of Opportunity in the past few years.  (Modelled this week during storytime at the library.)  While the elephant mask is plastic, the bat hat is clearly handmade. Who, in their right mind would ever part with these gems???

I need to get back to the sewing machine.  I'm finishing up Olena's Rapunzel gown and my own costume... I can't give it away yet, but I must say... it's "practically perfect in every way."

See you in the parade on Friday... and Trick or Treating at the library Halloween night from 6-7:30 ish. I'll be handing out a few spoonfulls of sugar.

Lemonade, of sorts

I've been having fun playing with something called Pinterest.  It's like a virtual pinboard,or bulletin board, where you can "pin" images that you find online, and organize them on various "boards" of your own choosing. I like it so much better than a "favorites" list since it is all visual, and easier for me to organize. Clicking on a "pin" or image sends you to the original source post.   There is a social aspect too, where you can look in on other people's "boards" and "follow" people whose style you like.  This isn't a paid endorsement or anything, I just wanted to tell you how I came to see this little gem on a friend's Pinterest board she titled "humorous":

 

Well, this week the Barn of Opportunity brought me water, sugar AND lemons:

 My" lemons" came last Thursday, when I heard that someone had dumped a whole lot of canvas and webbing, and parts of LLBean tote bags in Bin #2 at the Barn.  I scurried over and indeed found some great bag handles.

Who was this mystery Bean employee?

Today my "sugar" came in the form of empty feed bags. Lots and lots of them, piled up at the barn, that Ramona was nice enough to share with me. I'm partial to the ones with nice barnyard animals on them.



 I took home a dozen.

And the "water" I suppose came in the form of a rainy afternoon, with some kids who occupied themselves, while I cranked out four upcycled tote bags in one hour!  If you want one, stop in to the Long Branch General Store. I know they sell real lemonade, too.

Love affair with a gadget

 At the risk of sounding a bit loony, I must tell you about my favorite gadget.  I am truly in love with a gadget.  It is the Foley Food Mill.

I have vivid sensory memories of Mom making applesauce with the Foley Food Mill. I am sure she made other things with it, but I mostly remember the applesauce.  When it was referred to in my home, it was always with its surname, the Foley Food Mill. As if there were other food mills in the cupboard? One other household item from my childhood has that same formal naming: the Scotch Cooler. I'm sure I'll think of others (or maybe my siblings will chime in).

You can only imagine my glee when I found my very own at the Barn of Opportunity gift shop years ago.

 I sped home and whipped up a batch of applesauce. Yummers.

And today, I made a small batch of my favorite roasted tomato sauce, just like Adelaida Gaviria taught me. This sauce is September ambrosia when the tomatoes on my counter get ahead of my capacity to eat them raw and my desire to process them in any fancy way. I cut them in big chunks, toss them with olive oil, add some garlic cloves and an onion, and slow roast it all for a couple of hours while I do something else, smelling the best-ever smell. Then a few spins in the Foley Food Mill and there it is, what I call Laida's Lazy Tomato Sauce.

I won't be winning any awards for food photographs here.  My son tells me these don't look appealing at all.  You'll have to take my word for it, until blogs have an aroma attachment.