Friday, August 28, 2009

All about the upcycling

Don't know what upcyling is?  I bet you've done it.  Ever made something old into something else?  See, I knew you had already done it!  Well, I've got it on the mind.  I already recycle and I reduced our purchasing new items made from virgin materials.  It was time to kick reusing up a notch.  I turned 2 souvenier shorts outfits from Thailand into tea towels and potholders.
The fabric was a waffle weave.  I made them 2 ply, topstitched the edging and quilted around a bit of the design to keep everything in its place.  I used the Thailand border to make the potholder's loops for hanging.
Fun!
     Today, I took a really soft Ralph Lauren sheet I picked up for 50 cents at a garage sale and cut out 17 cloth napkins!  I need to snap a pic, but didn't get to it as I brokemy sewing machine after making several napkins. Boohoo!
    I have been looking at things I use that are disposable and eliminating as much of them as possible.  For example, using more cloth diapers, and making reusable doggy potty pads.  Those pads came out really well, as the dog uses them without any problems.  I am going to experiment with a washable replacement for cotton balls.  Stay tuned for the results...
    Speaking of which, I dated my last roll of paper towels when I opened them, By using rags and cloth napkins, we have kept that roll going since feb.!

Today Wolfie has the flu with a high fever and coughing He says, "I'm sick with the nipples!"  I think he meant sniffles!
    

1 comment:

  1. Love these! They look so nice and the material really is perfect for drying hands. In addition, washable cotton ball replacement is quite nice.

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