LANDFILL

So, lately I've been reading blogs of people who produce very little garbage. I love the idea but it's a really hard task. Everything you buy is packaged, double packaged or triple packaged. Even if it doesn't need to be. Every time I go to the grocery store and buy a head of lettuce, I think, "Do I need to put this lettuce in the plastic produce bag?" The answer is no, but I do it anyway. AND I can never remember my shopping bags. So I have a drawer filled to the gills with plastic bags. I'm a creature of habit and laziness.


And then there is the subject of diapers... It's really what started my whole pattern of thinking. How do I keep from contributing excessive amounts to our landfills. Some people, especially family, will think I'm a tree hugger, but... I like trees. Is this a bad thing?


This morning I was reminded of my seemingly impossible desire when I came across these extremely cool bags. They are almost entirely upcycled from old materials. I want one. They would make a great but expensive diaper bag.

You can buy them at peace4you.


They remind me of these dresses made from old canvas tents Mike and I saw at an art gallery in Nelson, BC. Angelika Werth is the artist behind them. They fascinated me. I couldn't stop looking at every detail. This is where Mike and I went our different ways in the museum. He went in search of the History of Beer and I stayed put.


They make me think of an old rocking chair I bought. I was going to go and buy some canvas fabric to recover it, but maybe I'll go in search of something a bit more interesting at Goodwill and upcycle it.

We'll see. Only two more weeks until this baby makes his debut. supposedly.

LIGHTING

These are AWESOME! I will be either buying them or making something similar to them for my own house. The idea of them over the dinner table makes me weak in the knees. Maybe the babies room...hmm I like that
idea too. Found here.

DONE!

And it only took me a year and a half to do it.


The inspiration came when I saw in a hip little fabric store some enchanting applique quilts and exclaimed to my friend Renae, "I'm going to start designing quilts!" And she basically let me believe that this was the best idea I've ever had! Because that is the type of person she is. I wonder if she would have told me if she thought it was a bad idea...?


I promptly recruited my friend Lara to help. She is amazing with a needle and thread. And to keep things manageable, I started by designing two baby quilts. One for her and one for me. When I posted the fabric in this post and the start of the quilt project in this post, my only thoughts were I'm going to get this done in a month or two. No sweat.


Little did I know that in a weeks time I would meet Mike and start a crazy awesome carnival ride that would lead me to actually finishing this quilt for our baby boy that is currently tossing and turning in my belly right now. A little miracle that I thought would never happen for me.


I wish I could say it is all Mike's fault this quilt took so long. But really, I'm just easily distracted. Creative ADD. That and the needle turned applique birds. If you want to make this quilt and you are in a hurry, machine applique. There is no shame in that. Those bird beaks require patience.


But now I am done. The baby can come and I think the small ruffle looks gorgeous. It isn't girly at all. Any baby can sport a small ruffle. Have I convinced you? I've certainly convinced myself.


I love the layered look of one quilt on top of the other. It adds a lot of depth. That scallop took a lot of brain power to pull off. You can barely see the contrasting polka dot fabric underneath, but trust me, It's dang cute.

I've never done a quilt with embroidery before, and I'm thinking it's possible that every quilt I make in the future will have it. It's just such a great detail. I showed a close-up last year of the stitch here.


All that is left is to wrap my new baby up in it when he arrives. Well, I have to write the instructions for the quilt too. I hope that doesn't take another year and a half. I hope I can remember what I did.