Tanzanian Fabric

this here is the lovely Ms. Sheina Lew-Levy.

she has recently come back from 6 months in Africa.

she's amazeballs!

and she was kind enough to bring me much yardage of tanzanian fabric to play with!

i plan to use this fabric for all variety of fun stuff: skirts, bag liners, totes, pillows, aprons, etc.

she brought me a lot!

what have you been sewing?  i have a whole pile of projects that need attention.  so hard to stay indoors on these nice summer days though.  thinking about moving my studio back to my house so i can work at night, in my jammies, without having to leave home!

gluing embroidered flowers on gold l.a.gear sneakers,

xoxox

jennette



Boots!

these are the finished boots, the vintage plasticy ones i scored at the thrift last week that are in primo condition, after i took a crack at them with fabric and glue!

see that panel down the front?  i figured i could just trace a pattern for that and snazzy these babies up.  so i did!

once i got the pattern cut out i was originally hoping to cut out this gorgeous peachy vintage velvet that natasha gave me.  it used to be her grandma's curtain panels!  can you image?!  how divine!

the color looks much more pink here.  but after i got these cut out and tried sewing the vintage black and white striped seam binding around the edges, it was a disaster!  the binding didn't have enough width to really grab the velvet how it needed to so it just kind of peeled off.  disaster.  so on to plan b.

those of you who have known me for a while know that i LOVE me some wood grain print!  i have made a BUNCH of stuff with this fabric: a bag, a jacket, card holders, tissue pouches, etc.  well i have just scraps left so i figured what the heck.  some wood grain boot panels edged in black and white striped binding.  good, yes?

here are the supplies: boots stuffed with bubble wrap and fabric to keep them stiff and give them form, elmer's glue, paint brush, fabric and clothespins.  easy peasy.

and a finished boot!

i think i will try wearing these with some rolled up jeans and a silk shirt next week.

i like my flashy "new" boots!

working on a cover for another fold out cot.

gotta have cute cot covers, you know!

will show you soon,

xoxoxo

jennette

For the Birds!

finished another bag and it's for sale!

this one is made from a buttery soft brown leather skirt and some vintage embroidery of a bird and cherries!

here is a process picture of skirt and pocket placement

this is what the lining of the outside pocket looks like

the crochet trim is original to the embroidery.

the bag lining is a vintage calico type print.

and the strap in repurposed from an old army duffel bag!

Smashing Rubbish

Studio & Vintage General Store

15922 Main St

Duvall, WA  98019

Autumn hours:

Wed-Sat noon-6

Sun noon-5

closed Mon & Tue

off to buy more interfacing,

xoxoxo

jennette

Crazy Quilt

these photos will not do justice to this AMAZING quilt i just got!

you must see this in person.

you will drool.

it is for sale.

i knew you'd like that!

hand tatted lace surrounds the entire quilt

this quilt has a ton of animals and creatures on it

check it out

this is the back! 

i just LOVE it!

hope you are having a great weekend,

xoxo

jennette

New Boots- Sorta

altered rain boots!

found these old Helly Hanson rubber boots at a tag sale recently.

loved the orangey brown and yellow.

but the rubber was so vintage that it had started to crack down the back.

can't have cracked rubber y'all!

so i took my trusty heavy duty scissors to them and did away with the top cracked part.

hmmmmmm....what to do with some short rubber hacked up boots?

add fabric trim.

of course!

i had, in my massive stash of fabric, textiles and scraps, some cashmere and silk.

who wouldn't want to pair rubber with the finest of natural fibers?!

my most excellent and awesome new industrial sewing machine was able to help me get the majority of the fabric attached to the rubber.

but because of the shank in the boots foot bed, i was not able to bend it in a way that allowed me to sew entirely around the top cut edge of the boot.

no worries!

fabric glue to the rescue!

i found, also in my massive stash of trims, ribbons and bindings, this perfect green bias tape.

add a little glue, get out your paper clips(!), and get to work!

i love how these turned out!

my "new" luxurious winter rain boots!

j'adore!

what are y'all repurposing, altering, upcycling these days?

do tell!

rearranging Smashing Rubbish World Headquarters for the umpteenth time this week,

it's a good thing!,

xoxox

jennette

Best. Bag. Ever.

Well.  I did it again.  I made another bag/sling/purse/tote bag.

And I am freakin in love with it!

You gotta see this.

Look what it started out as:

Yep.  A rich dark chocolate buttery leather mini skirt!

Apparently a size 6 is enough leather to make this bag.

Used my own version of this pattern, based off of this pattern, but with some changes.  Like for instance, I left out the pleats and did not use fusible fleece interfacing on this leather sling.

This is the vintage fabric I used for the inside pockets.  I LOVE it because it has birds, acorns, fish, pyramids, mushrooms and pears!  It's perfectly odd!

I used this amazing wood grain fabric that I found at the Woven Threads quilt shop in Chelan for the lining.  I LOVE this fabric too.  I am going to buy the rest of the bolt and see if my mama will bring it over with her next time she visits.

Here is one side of the soon to be bag.  Notice the seam down the middle.  That's the side seam of the skirt.  And see the crease/fold across the bottom.  That's the bottom hem pulled open. 

Apparently the people who make leather garments use all manner of binding, edging, hem stuff to make the leather behave and act like they want.  I should have taken a photo of all the deitris that came out of the folds and seams of this skirt.  After taking out its lining and pulling apart the seams, the leather was still strong but thin enough to give my sewing machine no complaints.  That's a good thing!

Here is one side with the vintage army canvas band attached.  I am having a major crush lately on vintage army canvas.  I love the earthy hues.  It comes in varying greens and browns.  It's getting harder to find. 

And I am using it to make love, not war!

I happened to find a sleeping bag cover, at a tag sale three weeks ago, for $3!!!  MAJOR SCORE! 

I am on the hunt and look out for more so if anyone out there has any good resources they care to share, please fill me in!

Its durability, texture and color make me happy!

This is the large pocket attached to the lining.  It has a seam running down the center to make two compartments.  And it turns out my stainless steel water bottle fits perfectly on one side while my sunglasses/lip balm case fits perfectly in the other!

Here's another shot of the finished bag.  One thing I like about this bag is that it doesn't really need a closure piece on it.  It doesn't call for a button, zipper or snap.  Because of the handle design, wide at the bottom and thinner on the shoulder,its not easy for anyone but the wearer to get into.  And it wont gap open dramatically, or least you can fold it over, if you have to take it off out in public.

I say best. bag. ever. because I love it so much for me.  It turned out exactly as I envisioned and I plan to wear the heck out of it!  And too, I have actually had several very kind friends and people say they like it too.  And some of them have even asked me to make one for them to buy.  And that is so flattering and sweet and makes me smile.  Since this is not an open source pattern I need to find a similar one that is so I can make them to sell.  Since I set up an Etsy shop I haven't even had time to make, list, sell or ship a single item yet.  Its coming though.  Coming soon.  I can feel it in my bones!

Me + My Bag = True Love

xox

Jennette