Scrap Happy

'Member back here when I said I had some scraps to use up?  Well, in fits and starts I've begun to diminish the gargantuan scrap bin.  I can't seem to toss any scrap out.  I was even keeping selvages for awhile until I thought that my hoarding may be becoming a problem.  Now lookie what I could have done with them.  Alas, I threw them away before I saw any of this brilliant-ness.  Now I'm keeping everything.
I started with a mini version of a rug I have in the Manor loo.  We'll call this a hot pot rug....

I started with this:

I tore 2 inch wide strips from large scraps of leftover fabrics.  I wanted the edges to be funky and shabby and thought that after it was all crocheted most of the edges would be tucked pretty tightly anyway.  I don't know the size of that crochet hook, I just got the biggest one I had.  It probably could have been even a little bigger, but it worked fine, really.  Next I tied a slip knot in the end of a strip, chained 4, 2 SC in the 3rd chain from the hook and proceeded that way (2 SC in each chain) until I came to the end of that first row.  It was then 2 SC in each stitch from the previous row, making rounds until I used up all of my strips.  When I came to the end of a strip I simply either tied a new strip on or looped the new strip over my hook and continued crocheting.  I'm going to make more, and might even make one big enough to have a replacement for the loo rug that was my inspiration.

This beauty was made by a 92 year old client of mine.  It's so adorable, and so was she.

While I was flopping around on the internet the other day I came across this.  A perfect idea to use more scraps.  My ladies' bible study group is beginning a study that requires lots of reading and flipping and flying around the bible and our workbooks.  It seemed to me that we could all use a cute bookmark.  So the toile and polka dot fabric that flirted with the idea of becoming a quilt for Princess Pooalot (she was over the toile by the time she arrived) became ruffled bookmarks for a lovely group of ladies.

Get the tut here.  Easy peasy.

Years ago I figured out how to cover hangers with crochet.  I thought there must be a cute way to do the same with fabric.  Crocheting with fabric strips around a plastic hanger just seemed more trouble that it was worth, plus I think I'd end up with a really fatty hanger.  So I wrapped hangers instead.  Again, I tore about 2 inch wide strips, folded the end of one strip over the end of the hanger, wrapping the remaining over that end to hide and secure it.  I continued wrapping until I came back to the place I started and slipped the tail into the final wrap, pulling the tail tight.  Cute and the shoulders of my shirts don't flop off.

Do you guys know about Pick Your Plum?  It's fantabulous!  Look what I got for almost no shillings:

Bunches of ribbons with it's own little distributor box.

Last week I got vinyl for my Cricut for .25 a sheet.  Every day or so they have a new bargain that's unbelievable, and they send you an email so you can get in on it before your neighbor does.  It's worth checking out, people.

Cheers to you!

DeeDee

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Hundreds of Handmade - The Tip Junkie