Thursday, January 28, 2021

A Few Things

 So, due to the lack of conventions, I don't really get an opportunity to do a lot of big projects and it's making. Me. Crazy. But I'm always full of other smaller projects to keep me occupied. I just have to remember to post them in batches so I don't get buried under too many things I want to post. So here we are.

So I made myself another yoga bolster. I already had one that I made before, but it was getting used as a knee pillow at night to try and keep my hips aligned while I slept and try to avoid my ever present back issues, so I never got to use it for yoga. So I made a new one this time stuffed with a rolled up comforter from the thrift store to be a little lighter and fluffier than the other but still dense enough to not go flat like a regular pillow. I'm not going to go over what I did and I don't have any pictures, the bolster isn't the point of this, but if you want some information, I used this as a basic plan:

https://bestfabricstore.com/blog/rectangular-yoga-bolster/?epik=dj0yJnU9Mnc4UkJXRDhJdlYxZVZoT3BZZVkzZDI1STNKSnA4MXomcD0wJm49bFJVaFpOOHg3NVNPTUI1ckFyRmxDZyZ0PUFBQUFBR0FUZi00

It's pretty straight forward.

Anyways. Doing this got me thinking about how I would really like a nice boho blanket that I keep downstairs in my little yoga/book/crafting room. And I thought it would be neat and true to the spirit of yoga and earth friendliness if I could thrift it as much as possible.

So, a while back I bought a bunch of recycled sari silk curtains because their thrifty boho look is everything I want in life:


https://www.mexicaliblues.com/collections/textiles/products/recycled-silk-panel-curtain

I love them so much I bought 10 of them, knowing I didn't need that many curtains, but I would find other uses for the fabric. And this was perfect, a nice brightly colored blanket of recycled sari silk was just what I wanted.

I also got really lucky on a thrift store run and found some large chunks of quilt batting. Hilariously enough it proved to be exactly the correct amount of batting for the size of two of these curtains sewn together, although I did have to Frankenstein stitch the chunks of batting together to get the size and shape of batting I wanted.


I basically just pressed the edges of the batting pieces right up against each other and then ran a wide zigzag stitch along the seams to hold it together. 

The quilt top and bottom were easy enough, I trimmed off the loops intended for hanging them as curtains and then just stitched two together for each side. I used basting spray to stick the fabric to the batting on the top and bottom and then for "quilting" I just stitched along the lines of each strip of color on the curtains. Due to the nature of them they did not line up with each other, so I quilted the seams on the top and bottom. It's.... eclectic, let's say. Also, if you're a for realsies quilter.... maybe.... don't look. 

I don't like quilting. I'm not good at it. I don't try very hard. I get my job done well enough and I get out.

To finish I bound the edges with a gold lame binding, I had a decent amount left over from I believe my Captain Hook costume, so I got a little more to have enough and sewed it on. It was the perfect flashy trim for all the bright colors.



It's crazy and colorful and flashy and I love it. It's not large, probably roughly twin comforter sized, maybe a little smaller, but it's a perfect one person blanket.

While I was at it, I wanted some boho pillows for my couch downstairs as well. I bought some thrift store couch pillows, cut off the bottom half of one of the curtains and made new covers for the pillows.



The couch looks very cozy and boho now.


It might not seem like much but it makes me happy. 

I was even able to take the top half of the curtain I cut for the pillows and hang it in my laundry room over a previously uncovered window, it turned out to be exactly the perfect length.


Haha, what a dingy looking picture. Apologies for the bad photo, folks. It's not that bad, I promise.

I also recently finished a crochet shawl for myself, I wanted something very light and hippie looking I could wear with maxi dresses in the spring and summer. I found a gorgeous pattern called Edlothia:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/edlothia

That was exactly what I wanted. Technically I finished it before Christmas but I hadn't gotten around to blocking it until now.

Here's mine:


The yarn I used was intended for some self patterned socks, and now that it's done I think using patterned yarn like that wasn't the best choice, I think some of the pattern detail was lost in the random seeming color changes. But I don't hate it, it has a nice fall earthy feel to it, that's not a bad thing.

I also added tassels to all the points:


And I LOVE how that turned out. I have a sleeveless black maxi dress that this is going to look great with once it's warm enough to wear it. 

I'm working on a rectangular shawl now, and I have another woodworking project that is a bit more involved, but it's not done yet, so you'll have to wait to hear about that one. That's mostly why I made this post, so I can make a whole separate post for that. I'll be back when that's done!

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