Such a busy time of year!
Nothing profound, nothing deep, or exciting. Lots of time outside, planting and weeding, sanding and painting. Lots of time inside, organizing and cleaning, ironing and crafting.
And in my pile of vintage linens, I came across this piece and thought you’d get a kick out of it.
Isn’t she lovely?!
We have (ahem) multiple cats.
But between us humans, we have only two laps.
Therein lies the rub. At any given moment, several cats are lapless.
So when I saw this photo lately, on the internet, it seemed the answer to a felt need!
And so very easy to make, with otherwise unwanted, unused items around the house.
I got the jeans years ago, at a Goodwill store. They’ve always been way too long and I kidded myself into believing I would hem them.
But I never have.
The belt has been around forever, too. Whereas the jeans were too long, the belt was too short. I’ve kidded myself into believing I’d drop a few pounds.
But I never have.
The stuffing is odds and ends of quilt batting and every quilter knows how that can pile up. I’ve told myself I would make some small quilted pieces, to otherwise use up these scraps.
But I never have.
On Saturday, I sewed up the legs of the jeans and stuff them full of batting. I arranged the legs and pinned them into place. I cinched on the belt.
And I announced to the cats that this lap was open for business!
If you know cats, you know that they are independent and not especially eager to please. They were unmoved by the great personal trouble I had gone through on their behalf.
Just one allowed herself to be plunked in the lap and relaxed long enough to have her photo taken.
Since then, others have walked by and looked, but so far the lap is unloved, un-laid-upon.
So, while I was ScrapHappy, the lap is unhappy. I will try placing it in different locations and sprinkle it with catnip. But I have my doubts . . .
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 scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Email Kate at the address on her Contact Me page. She welcomes new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let Kate or Gun know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so they can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.
Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at).
Kate, Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Nanette, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan, Karen,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry (that’s me!), Claire, Jean, Johanna,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline and Sue L.
If spring refuses to come and we have no garden to speak of, we can still have veggies!
These please me no end. They were fiddly to weave but never boring.
I did two with eggplants.
Then I ran out of purple thread and, since I am no fan of purple, I didn’t want to buy more, so I wove two towels without aubergine (did you know I’m bi-lingual?)
And then, because I was running out of warp, I wove a table topper or short runner–all carrots, all the time! On this, the veggie design is on both ends.
And of course, these towels needed their own special hanging tabs.
This project was good for me–kind of a stretch, something new, and perfect for the season. And now we have fresh veggies!
** Credits and details: The original pattern for these towels was in the May/June 2000 issue of Handwoven magazine, the only issue from that year that I don’t have. I used Amanda Cutler’s variation from her blog, Weave-Away–thanks, Amanda!
The warp and the tabby weft is 8/2 unmercerized cotton. The veggies are done in 3/2 mercerized cotton. The pattern takes 8 shafts and 10 treadles.
Love Those "Hands at Home" 