Some crafty projects

At our recent Simple Living Toowoomba Recycling Fabric Workshop I met some very talented ladies and asked them to send me some photos of their projects so I could show my readers what a clever bunch they are.

Firstly I will show you the beautiful work that Valda does. She has backed fabric squares...

...and crocheted them together. On the table is a vase of artificial flowers in 'resin' water. Another project Valda and her sister Neralie have had fun with. 

I just love the colour combination and also the furniture. 

Valda seems to be a whizz at crochet and made these dishcloths as well.

Neralie is a volunteer at an aged care facility and has made these autumn themed bags with the residents. They cut out the leaves and attached them to fabric with Heat and Bond before making them into bags. Don't they look fantastic?

They have also made these little peg dolls...

...which are made with dolly pegs and the heads are polystyrene balls.  They are painted with acrylic paint and then scraps of fabric, ribbon and pipe cleaners are added and that's it. So very cute and an easy project for the residents.

This is a bag for the young or old and has a clear plastic window and can be filled with chocolates, toiletries, little toys and so on. Such a lovely present that would be much appreciated.

Valda and Neralie also made some simple Waldorf dolls. 

I am sure these would be a big hit with lots of little girls....and big ones too!

...a machine washable zippered pouch for children to put their treasures and junk in...

...and biscuit packets made into zippered pouches using the method shown in the tutorial Make a candy bag zipper pouch with Jenny .You can find more ideas on this Pinterest page Wrapper Purses.

Catherine, who made the T-shirt yarn necklaces in a previous post, has been to Reverse Garbage in Brisbane and picked up some furnishing samples to make these sturdy bags. 

On the front of this bag she has used small off cuts and samples to make a collage and added decorative stitching. 

This is an unusual fabric and I quite like it.

It is amazing what you can make with offcuts so if you are ever near Reverse Garbage in Woolloongabba call in and have a good look around and I am sure you will be inspired. I went there years ago and couldn't believe what they had for sale. It is quite fascinating. 

Catherine also made a bag out of a pillowcase and you can find tutorial links in this post Turn an old pillowcase into a bag. She made her own bias binding using this tutorial Turn one fat quarter into 5 yards. I made some continuous bias binding a number of years ago and I don't think I have used it all up as I used to make clothes for my granddaughters using a lot of the tutorials by Dana on MADE EVERYDAY. I must have a look for that bias binding and put it to good use soon now that I remember I have it.  I think it is time to clean out my sewing 'stuff'. 

Well I hope you all like having a look at what these clever ladies have been sewing and it might give you a few ideas for future projects. Many thanks to Valda, Neralie and Catherine for sending me the photos. Aren't they creative?