ScrapHappy October 2022

The weather is playing mean tricks on us and, instead of sunshine and a temperature of 25 deg C, we have gloomy skies and a nasty cold wind today. So much for spring. Bah! But I will use this as justification to put off my daily 10-km run and stay indoors with my beads, threads and Britbox. [just kidding about the 10-km run, by the way – that’s never going to happen unless someone puts me in a shopping trolley and tow ropes it to the back of their car].

There’s a lot of wrapped fabric cords and jewellery and bowls on instagram these days, so I thought I’d give it a bash.

I did not enjoy the process and I do not like the result, so this is definitely not my latest enthusiasm. The only thing that will save this, for me, is if I attach an old enamel pendant that came from my grandmother. The colours work well together and the pendant gives the cord the weight it needs to hang properly. In company with a few other beads and necklaces, it might get a wear – but the jury is still out on that.

I’m going to pop over to other people’s posts now and see what cleverness they’ve come up with. Here’s the list of other ScrapHappy bloggers:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jill, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol,
Preeti, Debbierose, Nóilin and Viv

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ScrapHappy December 2021

Tassel time! I caught a glimpse of someone making tassels with bits of old saris on instagram but I haven’t been able to find it again so I can’t share the link. It stuck with me, though, so I had a squizz on youtube and there are loads of similar DIYs.

I’ve made two so far and have no doubt more will appear (as if by magic). With the first one I used only strips of cotton, so I’ve found that the lighter, filmier fabric in the second works better.

I have some ideas about how to use them, and think some smaller ones would work well on earrings. Bigger ones in Christmassy colours might be fun on a tree or strung across a mantelpiece as a change from the usual decorations.

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful or useful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Email Kate at Tall Tales of Chiconia at the address on her Contact Me page, or you can also contact Gun via her blog to join.

Those listed below try to post a ScrapHappy make every month, I love seeing what everyone else gets up to!

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys, Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, and Debbierose

fabric bead necklace : make it yourself!

I’ve been quiet on social media lately, trying to cut down on the amount of time on which my brain is exposed to the world’s hogwash. It’s not all hogwash, I know, but I get sidetracked very easily so I try to stick to crochet pages and news sites (and have limited the latter to precisely two, because my view is that it’s almost impossible to tell who is telling the truth these days anyway). It’s all just become overwhelming and I’m sick of it.

I’ve been spending my creative time on fabric beads and crocheting another Granny Go Round jersey, and trying to get back into my books in the evenings instead of too much netflix or britbox (although I have to say I’m hooked right now on The Bay – those west Lancashire accents take me right back! I love them).

And I’ve also spent some time writing up a tutorial on making fabric beads from straws and using them in a necklace. It’s available on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1115954156 and is priced at US$4 (the equivalent of South African R65). My friend Kathryn proofed it for me and made some very useful suggestions. I make these beads all the time now and find it both enjoyable and relaxing, and of course it’s a brilliant stashbuster for fabric scraps as well as threads.

I’d be delighted if you took a look :)

Testing times

Not crochet this time, but a lot of fun if you like beads and threads and fiddling around with bits of scrap fabric. I’ve written up instructions on how to make a necklace with fabric and handmade beads – and a couple of testers would be very helpful at this stage.

Once you’ve assembled all the necessary materials, it’s a relatively quick make. I think two testers would be sufficient – if anyone wants to put their hand up, please email me at jamtartssa@gmail.com and I’ll send you the pdf. Thanks in advance!

ScrapHappy October 2021

I have more than one project on the go at the same time, as most of us do – it’s a blessing and a curse, isn’t it?! Sometimes it’s good to switch from machine-sewing to crocheting, for instance, or from beading to hand-stitching, but sometimes my brain wants to work on all the things at once. Result = chaotic mind (not to mention work space). I’m trying to focus on one thing at a time, make lists, plan my days, be more productive.

In the meantime, here’s my contribution to this month’s ScrapHappy initiative. I needed to shorten a jumpsuit (why are they called that? no jumping is going to happen around here, that’s for certain!) so I kept the pieces I chopped off from the bottom of each leg and turned them into little balls of fabric-stuffed beads and made them up into a necklace.

It was a bit overcast when I took these pics, my apologies. Over the last 30 years I’ve built up a goodly collection of embroidery and crochet threads, so they’re perfect for the wrapping part.

ScrapHappy is hosted by Kate in Australia and Gun in Sweden; it’s a day for showing something made from scraps every month. Here are the links for everyone who joins from time to time:

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Bekki, Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear, Carol,
Preeti, Edith, Debbierose and Esther