I tend to sit crosslegged on my chairs. The cheap computer chair didn't appreciate it:



So I borrowed my grandpa's electric stapler and recovered it with some awesome ikea fabric (I can't resist ikea fabric. I pretty much buy some with no goal in mind every time I go there!) I also removed the ugly plastic covering on the part holding the backrest up.

Modelled by the cutest little siamese kitten


Sadly the foam wasn't very thick and I didn't realise at first and... long story short, I have a new diy project: fill in the staple holes in my parquet flooring. Oops?

I would love to get the recent with pictures posts as an RSS feed. I searched and noticed that last year the idea was brought up but nothing seems to have come from it?  I can see how it could be a bandwidth issue, but if we could just get the "thumbnail pics" that are used on the boards, it would be GREAT!

Crazy quilting is so much fun, until you realize you have no clue how to attach the next piece... XD Anyway, here's a pencilbox made from a piece of crazy quilted material.  I do NOT quilt, or sew straight lines very well, so forgive the not-so-straight dark blue parts.  The other one was meant to have somewhat random, uneven stripes, but I made it too even, so it just looks crooked :/ Oh well.


( I LOVE that big ben fabric )




Made with the lined zippered pouch tutorial--took me probably all of 30 minutes


It holds a surprising amount of junk.


Here, have a bonus tissue case. xD

I love quick, pattern-less projects.  I now want to make dozens of pencilboxes.

http://www.graphical-illusion.com/stuff/penrefill.jpg
(these are about 3 or 4 inches tall)
I have a bunch of these from writing with them, and no idea what to use them for.  The caps can come off/be put back on, and the pens are roller-ball-tip type.  They are quite solid, enough that I don't think I'd be able to bend them to the point of breaking.

Any ideas?

That's a tiny fan grill on the zipper

This bag is entirely copied from a purse I bought in a store--loved the shape, size, etc, but hated the color.  I just kept the front pockets off, because I don't ever use those kinds of pockets.  The shape is basically an a-line jordy, with little "flaps" on the top so the zipper can shut without making the top of the bag flat.  I didn't interface it because the blue microsuede fabric is reaaally thick as it is, I only ironed in a rectangle of iron-on fleece in the bottom to help it hold its shape/rectangular bottom.


I rarely embroider, so I'm quite proud of this   Although I must admit I made the pattern from an online graphic and traced it before embroidering XD


I *love* this lining fabric, so much. And I only have 3 meters of it Well, even less now...can't get more, either. Sigh!


And a plain little pocket, holds my keys so they don't scratch up anything in the bag.


Here's what the original looks like--see, ugly color! I don't even get why they *make* stuff that color. Useless buckles, too. (actually, the color looks nicer here--irl it's a lot more washed out, "dirty" purple)

I loved the look of these AKG headphones, but when i got them, I realized they had a VERY fragile cord--felt like a nail jab would slice it in half.  So I did some friendship braiding over the cord to protect them.  If you'd like tips on how to do it, just ask   Comments and criticism welcome, but I'm not planning to redo it!   Took me a good 5 or 6 hours (just think of how long one bracelet takes you to do, then multiply that by the "bracelet lengths" of your cable).


(check out my brand new bag in the corner! here's its thread: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=300340.new#new)

Two years ago, I made a black messenger bag painted with rainbow penguins and with a billion pockets.  Amazingly enough, despite daily use (including as a carry-on bag for multiple, very long plane trips), it's still holding up wonderfully.  However, it is heavy, it does not hold its shape well, and...well, it's not blue. I love blue.

When I saw this (awesome!) swirly fabric at IKEA, I knew it had to become the improved version of my old messenger bag.  The birdy fabric is from IKEA too.  After my very dark previous bag, I definitely wanted a light lining fabric, even if that means easier dirtying.  The dark blue fabric is from cut up IKEA curtains.  The outer fabric is lined with a thick iron-on felt, which makes the bag hold its shape much more nicely... but I doubt it'll be as solid as the second layer of fabric I had ironed onto my previous bag.  No pattern used, but it's just a standard rectangular bag with extra pockets   Oh, and the sides are shorter than the bag/the bottom is longer, so that the seam doesn't end up in the corner.

I actually started this one a few months ago, and got mad when I bent one too many needles on my machine... it's a cheap Brother, and it does not love the amount of layers I try feeding it.  Next time, I'm buying heavy weight needles, no more regulars.

That front pocket has snaps, but they're too spaced out for the pocket to securely hold anything :/ Luckily, I meant it to be more decorative than anything, so it's all good!   I did NOT put a big zipped pocket in the flap this time, even though I used that pocket more than any other on my old bag, because it makes the bag take a very lumpy ugly shape.


There's a snap closure on the back.  I only really put a reusable shopping bag in there--here in France stores charge you for the cheapie plastic ones to encourage people to not use them--so I am not worried about stuff falling out of this pocket.
Note the handle! I really hated not having a handle on the other bag.  I'm happy with how this one turned out.


The inside--absolutely NO pockets in that inside compartment. I love pocket, but since I was trying to make the bag lightweight I left out as many as possible. It worked, btw, the bag is a very nice weight.


A bottle pocket with elastic.  I love the look of a tie, but I know I'd never bother to tie it.  Elastic does it on its own.  This, and the next picture, were my first tries (well, apart from practicing) at freezer paper stenciling! I used acrylic paints, and I love the outcome.


I brushed the paint on very lightly with a dry brush when I did the stenciling, which is how I got that translucent white.  I think it's perfect for the whole "dreamy sky stuff" I did.   Oh, btw, the lace at the bottom was because I did not sew the bottom of the pockets, and so I had to really fight my machine (it has a very short free arm) to sew it once the outer shell of the bag was assembled.  My stitches came out SO ugly, I had to hide them. Yay lace!


This front pocket has two little appliqued pockets inside, it's pretty much my "everything" pocket.  I made it zipped so I could toss my wallet, keys etc in it without worrying about losing them, even if I turn the bag upside down accidentally. (yes, I do that a lot...)

Sorry for the overload of pictures! If you have any questions about how to make it, ask! C&C welcome, and if you're interested in a tutorial, please chime in.  A friend has asked me for a tea-stained, pirate messenger bag with a compass and everything (...what a kid ), so I'll take the pictures for one if there's enough interest.

I've been reading a bunch of threads in this forum and I've noticed a lot of people say they hoard fabrics because they have no idea what to do with them.  I think it'd be fun to post pictures of the fabrics here, and then have other people say what they would do with it!  Inspiration for patterns on one end, inspiration for fabrics to get on the other.

I'll start:

http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/79427_PE203414_S3.JPG

I got a little less than a yard of this at Ikea--I was thinking of making a skirt with it, but now I realize the horizontal stripes look is probably not the greatest thing for a skirt XD I have no clue what to use it for!

(please, please excuse my inability to make sane faces at the camera )

So I go to walmart (shh, not many other places with good fabric here) all like, let's buy some nice normal fabric to make a cute dress! And then I see the flames. And the lightning bolts.
So much for the sane dress.
(is it just me, or are we a lot of craftsters in love with this flamey blue fabric?)



It has lace along the top and bottom (stupid pleats. no love. takes forever!) and down the front seams. I had to dye the one in the front, because my local stores seem to believe black and white is how all lace should be. Blue, I say!  I also added d-rings and a ribbon (I brought both ends back to tie in a bow over my butt instead of at the bottom of each panel.. it helps make the back less wrinkly.


It's based on this lovely tutorial: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=77268.0  with a lot of adjusting xD

Took a few days in all, spread over about a week and a half because half the time I wanted to make this face at my mom's failing sewing machine:

My necklace from prom back in May... yeah, I'm lazy with the picture taking. My friend's mom has all the pictures of my dress so I can't show that yet, but it was medieval so the necklace didn't look too huge.





I swear I'm not sunburnt, the lighting was just weird.  The fabric is actually a lot greener.