On The Design Table..

I have been wanting to make some diaper bags out of fun vintage kid's fabrics for sometime. I have collected a variety of fun fabrics and I think I am ready and hope to have a few ready for the spring craft show season.

Here are some of the fabrics that are waiting to be transformed :)!

An old quilt block, vintage fabric and an old crib sheet.

An old dish towel and some vintage bark cloth.

A vintage feedsack and an old quilt block.

This was once a woman's smock.

A Favorite Find

Owls have long been a favorite of mine. I love their wise, peaceful look. The owl was also the symbol of the most influential class I took in college - Paideia, a class all Freshman at my small Iowa college had to attend. We all learned (and suffered :) ) together and I walked away a better student and person.

I have a small collection of owls...but they have to have just the right feel. This one is perfect!

He stands 5" tall and has a smooth, glazed body and a fabulous unglazed textured face. He is wonderful! I got him at my favorite thrift store for 19 cents (yep!). I found him online and discovered he was made by a pottery in Maine. I love him and he now has a permanent home on my desk where I can look at him while I work.

Thrift Finds From The Week

Not a lot happening in the way of garage sales or estate sales at this time of year but there was an estate sale at one of my favorite places this past week. It was a sale for a crafter and I found quite a bit of wonderful vintage fabric as well as a few other fun things.

Such fun fabrics! The top fabric is covered in big butterflies and the paisley below it is bright and vibrant. The fabric on the bottom is a fabulous vintage pattern and I can't wait to find just the right project for it.

These fabrics are destined to become diaper bags. So excited!!! (Even though clowns aren't my favorite...)

 

The vintage mushrooms are already listed on Etsy and the birds and nests are a gift for a friend.

 

The clowns will be added to some that I already have listed on Etsy as is the "Helpful ideas for the home".
The 7Up book sold the same day I listed it.

Updated Studio Photos

I have been spending lots of time in my new studio/office and am really enjoying this space! There is still a lot to do but it really is working well. I need to come up with a better way to store my (huge) collection of fabric and need some more plastic storage containers for my Etsy listings but all will come in time along with a variety of other things. I like to surround my self with items that have meaning. Each has a story. A calendar I had made of some of my handmade's from last year. Pictures and photos from fellow crafters and artists that inspire me. Vintage desk accessories that I can't yet part with.

The "Office" side of my desk. Etsy product hanging above on the clothes bar that is
left from when it was a closet and not a desk.

A photo of my Great Grandmother Carrie (she is the one on the left) who I am named after.

The right corner of my desk. Once the weather warms up my husband will be adding shelves here,
in the center of the closet and on the opposite side. The little Amish doll you see is one I made back in my childhood.

The sewing side of my desk stocked with all kinds of vintage goodies.

My vintage ironing board and photo staging area right by the window which looks out over the front yard and street. The crewel work you see tacked to the wall in the left of the photo was made by my Great Grandmother Clara. I come from a long line of men and women who loved to create with their hands

Surprise Sale At My Etsy Shop

**SURPRISE SALE**
at Remnants By Carrie on Etsy! 

 

 

*** I have a bit of cabin fever (it is February in Minnesota after all)
and decided it is time to have a surprise sale!

 

Enter CABIN10 to save 10% off your purchase at Remnants By Carrie!

Studio Action!

Have spent some time this past week sewing as well as listing "new" vintage goodies on Etsy.  Feels good to work. Have a couple school breaks coming up so trying to fit in as much as I can now so I can enjoy the days my boys are home for the President's holiday as well as be all set for our family vacation to Arizona come Spring Break time (have a wonderful journal idea planned for the trip - stay tuned!).

The two bags I finished are made from old vintage feedsacks - one my MIL picked up and the other I picked up at The Thrift Cellar here in town (love that place!).

The first one is made from a Certified Alfalfa Seed bag. It had a large stain that I was able to work around and for $3.99 I couldn't go wrong!

Not too happy with the button...am going to keep looking...

A Certified Alfalfa seed bag purchased at The Thrift Cellar here in town. The doilies were purchased at a thrift store in a neighboring town (another favorite!) and are strategically placed to cover up stains (these old bags are bound to have them :)!). The vintage buttons are from my stash. Wondering if I should embroider stems on the flowers....

The back of the bag...I had to do a little piecing. I try to use as much of the bag as possible across the front and back and sometimes in the pockets. A doily and button from my stash. The straps use the same floral feeddsack from the inside and I had to use some vintage flour sacking from my stash for the other side of the strap. The white's matched so it all worked out.

The inside of the bag is a lovely vintage floral feedsack (I think - same era at least). One of the blues matches the blue from the front perfectly and the red and green ad great color. There are two pockets - one small and one large. Each made from a bit of the sack that was left and trimmed on top with more of the floral.

Bag #2 came from my mother-in-law and I just LOVE the graphics! This one has been sitting in my stash (not so) patiently waiting for me to find just the right shade of red gingham.



The bag is a Red Comb Chick Starter bag. Just LOVE that rooster!!!

The back of the bag list the dealer - Hales & Hunter Co. out of Chicago, IL.
 I just love what it says, "Quality Poultry Eggs In The Making.
I decorated the back with a couple vintage doilies and two red vintage buttons from my stash. Still trying to decide if it works...

The inside is a vintage red gingham and the pocket is pieced using the weight line from the feedsack, a strip of gingham and a piece of the flour sack I used to make the straps in Bag #1. It is one big pocket divided into three sections.

That fabulous rooster!!!

A New Necklace

On almost a daily basis, I dig through my various button boxes and tins looking for just the right button for my current project. It always amazes me how many times I go through it and how often I run across something I don't ever recall seeing before or I run across something I have seen many, many times before but had no use for. This past week I had one of those days. You see, my button containers are mainly filled with buttons but all kinds of other little things make their way in there. This week as I dug for just the right button, I ran across an old key, a brass ring and a button missing it's back loop. A light bulb went off! A pendant in the popular steam-punk style! I took the ring and opened it just enough to slide the key on. I then hot-glued the button on to the key. Wahla! A pendant! I currently don't have a chain that will work but I had some hemp cord that is standing in for now. I love how it turned out! I will be sporting it this coming Thursday night at the Ladies Night event in Dayton.

Towel To Tote

Last summer, I picked up a fabulous linen towel at a garage sale. It has a London double decker bus on it which read "Visit London". Along the sides, the Underground symbol was repeated over and over. Upon seeing it, I just knew it would be a fun tote. And it is! This past week I started it and finally finished it up today. I lined it with red gingham and I love how it all turned out. I used the Underground edges as the straps and the front half of the bus is the front of the bag and the back half the back of the bag. Inside there are pockets on each side divided into 5 compartments. I love when I visualize something at a sale and then actually turn around and make it come to life. So fun! Now if I can do the same for the little items I bought at the thrift store today...we shall see :)!