ScrapHappy June 2022

Another jeans-to-skirt ScrapHappy project – or to be accurate, a denim mini skirt that I’d picked up at a thrift shop and never worn. With my legs (and, let’s be frank, at my age) mini skirts aren’t a good idea. But it was in a R10-box of bargains and who in their right mind can pass up a bargain? So I chopped off the hem and added stuff plus a bit of stitching. It’s shorter than the first one I made, just reaches my knees, but looks great with tights and boots.

Battled to get a decent photo in artificial light (Cape Town winter too dark and wet and plain bloody miserable to be outside) so these are the best I can do.

The first half of this year has been full of hurdles so far, many of which I saw coming so attempted to gird my loins, but wasn’t in sufficiently good shape to handle the unexpected ones at the same time. I’m trying to reserve what little energy I have for work-related things, for obvious reasons, and the rest is just a bit of a blur. Perhaps some clarity is on the horizon.

Here are the links for everyone who joins the ScrapHappy initiative from time to time. If you also love using up scraps, contact Kate or Gun (the first two in the list below) and they’ll add you to the group.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
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 Viv

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ScrapHappy March 2022 : upcycled jeans

I found this idea somewhere on the interweb recently and there are loads of similar ideas out there. Here is my version:

My apologies for the lousy photos, it wasn’t easy taking a pic of myself in the skirt in the bathroom mirror while balancing on a wonky stool.

I loved the original jeans but they’d gone all baggy on me so, instead of passing them on to someone else, I decided to try this. Next time I’ll cut off more of the denim but I’m happy with my first effort. I still have to take the waist in a bit, but after all the fiddling around I’ve decided it’s worth spending some time on and doing it properly. Going to use this tutorial.

The fabric I’ve used really is scrappy stuff – some are smaller sample pieces from a textile importer that I’ve sewn together first, the zebra is from a top I made about 20 years ago, the groovy blue/purple was in a box of scraps from a neighbour, and the pretty pink blossoms were also left over from a top. The handstitching on the back was just something to keep my hands occupied while I was watching the last episode of Endeavour, Season 8. Devastated to have come to the end of young Morse, I just loved this series.

I’ve been inspired to write this ScrapHappy post by Kate at Tall Tales from Chiconia. On the fifteenth of every month lots of people often publish a ScrapHappy post: Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy, Claire, Jan,  Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2 , Bear, Noreen, Preeti, Edith and Jule

If you fancy joining, contact Kate at Chiconia and she’ll add you to the list. Any use of any type of scrap material is welcome.

Getting the boot

My boots may not be the sexy, pointy-heeled kind that Nancy Sinatra wore in 1966, but they are very practical and also slightly too big for me so I can comfortably wear two pairs of tights and three pairs of socks underneath. Yes, it’s that cold in Cape Town this winter, I’ve never had to wear as many layers as I am now since I moved here 35 years ago. Last night I decided they were boring and, since I have surrounded myself with beads in the last few weeks, I felt sure I could come up with some kind of boot jewellery.

A lobster clasp, some colourful beads and 15 minutes later…

These are cheap boots. I also have a pair in black, as well as some handmade sheepskin-lined boots in turquoise and red leather (for my inner hippy), but one day – when my ship comes in (or even a raft, I’d settle for a plain wooden raft right now) – I’ll buy something smart in leather. I did splurge a couple of weeks ago on a pair of short boots from the UK that caught my magpie eye on Facebook marketplace – someone in Cape Town had asked her friend to get them for her on her travels (pre-covid) but then found they were too big so they are literally unworn. I’ve only worn them once so far, but I don’t keep them in the wardrobe: they occupy an empty spot under my desk where I can catch sight of them every now and then. I’ve updated my will so that whoever gets to deal with the arrangements will see that it is my wish to be buried in them.

I have “a thing” about wearing shoes/boots that are a single colour, but these babies caught me unawares and I stood no chance against temptation. Maybe my personal style is changing, as I get older? I’ll be 60 in three months’ time, perhaps I’m about to turn into a butterfly?

To end with, some gratuitous pictures of three things in the garden right now – a strelitzia about to open itself up, pockets of snowdrops, and some mutant lemons. It’s hard to tell from the photo but some of these weirdos are over 14cm long.

ScrapHappy March 2021

Holy moley, where does the time go? I try to remind myself of Einstein’s general theory of relativity but it doesn’t make me feel any better. Time’s a-marchin’ on and I still haven’t finished Gulliver’s Travels or started on War and Peace!

Anyway, here’s my ScrapHappy make for the month. What item could possibly be of more use than a face mask anywhere in the world today?

I made this one using four leftover bits of cotton shweshwe and the inner is a plain grey cotton that came from someone else’s cast-offs. The elastic is from a time when I thought I was going to experiment with sewing knickers but never got around to it. I prefer to wear a mask where the elastic goes round the back of my head instead of looping over each ear. That way, when I get a chance to take it off, I can just pull it down so it hangs around my neck instead of disappearing into the black hole of my immediate environment.
I don’t know why these pics are so large, I didn’t do anything to them that I haven’t done before.

Here’s hoping you are all staying healthy and, for some of you, having access to the vaccine. It’s a little bit more complicated down south in Africa and, if anyone’s interested, here’s a helpful overview by Benjamin Mueller for the New York Times.

Lots of other bloggers take part in Kate and Gun’s ScrapHappy concept. You can check them out in the links below.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan,Cathy, Tracy,
Claire, Jan, Moira,Sandra, Chris, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon,Hayley, Dawn,
Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin, Vera, Nanette, Ann, Nancy, Dawn 2, Noreen, Bear and Carol

ScrapHappy October 2020

A quick make yesterday from longer lengths of scraps. The back of the cushion wasn’t technically scrappy but it was from a pile of someone else’s left-overs.

This is on my favourite chair in a corner of my bedroom, made by my grandfather in the 1930s. Choosing a bright pink when it needed reupholstering was the best idea – from now on, I’m going bright with everything!

I’ve been inspired to write this ScrapHappy post by Kate,  Tall Tales from Chiconia. On the fifteenth of every month lots of folks often publish a ScrapHappy post, do check them out:
Kate, Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Nanette, Lynn, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline, Sue L,
Sunny and Kjerstin