Ducts, Scrunchies and Peas.....

Odd combination don't you think?

Had the heating ducts cleaned today.  The house is 12 years old and the heating ducts had never been cleaned out.  So just under $250 later (we also have an HRV system) they are nice and clean.  However this is only part of what came out:

Just nasty what we had been breathing in........

I picked up a 50 cent bag of scrap fabric the other day with the goal of making scrunchies for the girls.  Got 8 made with the bag of scraps.

The blue fabric is like a velvet/minky fabric that sheds like crazy, so had to give my machine a good clean out after I had finished.  So a little thread, 60 inches of 1/2 inch elastic and three scrap pieces of fabric and my time was all it took to make those.

Now for the peas.  Made a couple more sets of pea fabric produce bags.  I just love this fabric.

I will thread the drawstrings through after I publish this post, then they are all ready to sell.  A set of three is $20 in my shop.

A huge thank you for your suggestions..........

and yes I will be offering mixed fabrics with the produce bags.  Went and bought sweet corn and peach fabric to add to the collection.  Again thanks for the suggestions.  Sometimes the most obvious things don't occur....LOL

I am excited to be hosting a "Porch Sale/Open House" on Saturday for Appleby Lane.  Figured it would be a great way to meet the neighbours and introduce the business to my local neighbourhood.  I will let you know how I get on.

For people living in the Barrie, Ontario area, give me your email address in your comment, I moderate all comments, and I'll email you my physical addresss.  If you know people living in the Barrie area, let them know about it.  Also if you fancy a mini road trip, it's also Barrielicious at the moment, so lots of deals on at restaurants.  Plus a chance to pop in an visit me!!

Back Garden, and produce bags

We finally got the back garden finished this weekend.  The corner is a low point and always wet so nothing much grew.  We have added drainage and put a small retaining wall in the front.  All the hosta's were from another part of the garden and our son was getting rid of the tree from his garden.  All in all we are really pleased with the results.  It's a sheltered area and gets plenty of water so I think it should do well.

 I have planted up some sweet peas this year and they seem to be coming along nicely.

In between everything else I have been doing some sewing, and made these produce bags for the shop.  I am selling them in sets of three, one bag is 12 inches, the other 11 inches and the third 10 inches square.  I am hoping they will sell?

 Which print do you like the best, the onions or the mushrooms?

Those 50 cent bags from Fabricland........

are really handy, and I am loving them.  Made a couple more things with some of the things from them.

I think in total I got 12 of the 50 cent bags that I talked about here.  Divided up amongst the bags were all these beads, and "button's."  The group of "buttons" in the top left of the photo, I actually have an idea on how to use them........

 I decided to make a necklace for Nora using all the beads and some elastic thread.

She loves to wear necklaces.  Her mother will trim up the elastic when she gets it.

There was also a piece of organza type material in one.  I cut that in half, got some cheap craft ribbon and thread and decided to make produce bags.  I only have one left from when I made some in 2008, which I blogged about here.

 I cut some pieces of ribbon longer than the width of the material.  Turned over the shorter edge and sewed a pocket wide enough so the ribbon could go through it.  Did the same on the other end as well.

Sew up both side seams, I just used a straight stitch.

I then took my pinking shears and trimmed the edges.  Tied a knot in the ribbon to join them.

Turned them right side out and there you have it, two produce bags in less than half an hour.

They are washable.  They could be made with any scraps of netting, tulle or organza.  The key to this project is to use a light weight fabric, so not to add extra weight and so the cashier can see the produce codes.  The finished sizes of these bags are around 10 inches wide by 12 inches long.

Simple, easy and good for the environment!

Another Barbie dress, made with more material from the bags:

Then dh bought some Forearm Forklift straps from Canadian Tire and needed a bag to put them in:

Both material and cording came from one of the bags.  By the way the Forearm Forklift straps got a 10 out of 10 from dh, as he along with son and son-in-law were moving a washer and dryer and the boys said it made life a lot easier using them.