Most craftiness that takes place around here is fueled primarily by one way of looking at things: thrift. Growing up, we were trained by my mother to look at everything with possibilities. When we opened a new pack of Fruit of the Loom underwear, we didn’t just toss out the piece of cardboard that the underwear was folded around. We looked at the cardboard first and went, what could we used this perfectly rectangular piece of cardboard for…?
Having three children, limited funds, and CONSTANT school projects, my mom really helped us think creatively. I remember binding a poetry collection with a placemat that we cut in half and some metal rings, probably because it was just too expensive to buy a new binders for every project. The book ended up being really cool and much more interesting than a generic binder.
Unfortunately, the dark side of any craftiness is the desire to just get the thing finished already. Which is why I took some of the tiniest bits of piecing I have ever done, and haphazardly machine quilted stripes across the whole thing, instead of taking the time to finish the project in a way that would, I don’t know, look nice.
A sewing machine cover seemed like a waste of time, until I had two boys who would, on a whim, pull out all my thread or draw on my sewing machine with Sharpie when I wasn’t in the room. It made sense to add a layer of protection for times when I didn’t want to pack up my machine in its case.
Then I sewed the binding on by machine instead of hand, which I know I’m terrible at.
Looks awesome.
The highlight is the back: chain bikes.
The good news is that the thrifty mindset is here to stay, and the FINISH IT ALREADY! can be improved upon, evidenced by the fact that I at the very least recognize that sewing is 90% ironing. Lesson learned from this project that finished up terribly: keep fighting the quick finish.
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