Fabulous Polyester Goodness!

My absolute favorite places to shop for fabric to make my bags from are thrift shops. I love finding things that someone has grown tired of, and making them into something brand new and fun. The patterns you find in clothing are so different and have so much more variety than those I am able to find in any fabric store.

The best part about thrift store fabric shopping is that you never know what you are going to run across. There is no ad to tell you what is there that week. You may find fairly new clothing to work with, or, if you are lucky, items that are fabulously, fantastically out of date!

Last week I came across this:


Four yards of uncut plaid polyester goodness! It still had the tag on it from when it was cut off the bolt! Yes, I have to admit that I did a mini happy dance, which I am pretty sure no one was lucky enough to see. And, because I am me, a bunch of questions ran through my head, as they always do.

-What in the world was someone originally going to make with this? (I was hoping NOT something to wear! This stuff is all kinds of itchy!)
-Where has it been sitting since it was purchased and not used? It has obviously been hanging out somewhere for quite a while.
-And, most importantly, what kinds of craziness am I going to make out of it?

It didn't take me long to get it washed and start cutting. I have two bags that are ready to be photographed and listed in my shop. One of those bags has been bedecked with flower appliques from a previous polyester find. You will have to be the judge if I went to far with the pattern combinations!

T-shirts Make the Funnest Bags!

Who doesn't love a great t-shirt?

You know, the ones with fun graphics, or funny phrases, or a favorite band.

I love to admire them. I even love to shop for them. But not so much to wear them.

What I love the most is to find potential hidden in some of the great, but forgotten t-shirts I have come across.

For example...

Both of these were great shirts - a favorite band, and a great graphic. But, in my mind at least, they are both WAY better now that they have been dismantled and have had some new fabric added to them. They have been reassembled into great bags that you can carry with you anytime!

The Beginning of Craftiness

I was trying to remember my first "crafty projects."

I tried counted cross stitch. My mom taught me how to follow the patterns. I may still have some of the hankies that I did.

The first sewing that I ever did was on my mom's machine. I very clearly remember that she let me use it, taught me how to run the fabric through, and keep my fingers out of the way! But I can't think of one single thing I may have made!

Before I had a sewing machine of my own, I fell in love with quilts. I completely hand-sewed a baby quilt. My thought was that it didn't matter how long it took me to finish, because we were not having a little one any time soon. It turned out shockingly well, especially since I was self taught and hadn't even bothered to read any sort of how-to info. (It might have been a good idea to at least know to wash the fabric first!)

A few years ago I found a tutorial for how to make an easy tote bag on-line and I was hooked. So many more fabrics can be used for bags. I spent hours in the fabric stores. I made more bags that I could possibly use myself, so I gave them to friends.

And my sewing "hobby" has just spiraled out of control from there!

My first post EVER!

Hello!

Thanks for stopping by!

I suppose I should introduce myself to those of you who may have stumbled your way here, as opposed to those of you who know me already.

I am Lisa, and I am a fabric addict. There. It is out in the open. I feel better.

I love shopping for fabric at stores. I love looking at fabric in clothing and linens, both new and old. And I LOVE chopping it up and putting it back together and making something brand new out of it. I love the thought that I have made something that is one of a kind, that no one else has. I rarely use patterns, so I am never sure what the end product is going to look like, but that is half the fun!