Saving

My lovely willow hurdles around the veg beds are exactly what I imagined, BUT, they are a hiding place for slugs and snails, I planted my runner beans very close to them, and therefore my beans are being munched, I'm out the every day picking off the pest. The willow stays but I will have to think of a different plan next year.

I only ever drink black coffee when I want a hot drink, I always make a filter pot, on a normal day making 3 pots, the used ground coffee is always used in the garden, I keep some of the used filters to use in the bottom of pots, I find it works better than anything else, plus it's reusing them rather than throwing them away. I have been throwing some away, until I got the bright idea of seeing if I could make small pots for seedlings, I have used my pot maker wooden shaper, I'm using an elastic band to hold the filter in place, once dry the filter should hold its new shape. I had to staple the wings to hold it together, I'm using this one to see if they work.

As a gardener your mind is always on the next season, more so if you grow veg, I started thinking about my growing section and decided to draw out a plan, looking at the space I have, I'm not about to suggest any changes, hubby would do me in and bury me in one of the beds. This is to focus on filling spaces as they empty, I am thinking of trying a butternut squash plant in the second potato bag, once I've dug the spuds out, they are flowering.

Northside Dave made a comment recently about being more self sufficient, he is a great gardener and tries successfully to reuse many items, he also grows to sell to help with the cost of growing, the question was would I have enough propagated plants to sell to pay for my compost and seeds, it's a good point. 

Over the years I have added to our gardening process, a hotbit composter, which makes compost faster, and is fully contained, so no smells, flies and rats can't get in, rats are a problem here. I dig out two bags of wonderful compost a year, I have also two dustbins which each autumn I fill with leaves and get lovely leaf mulch. These were started after our local council said they intended to charge for garden waste collections, and we have to purchase our bins, since the system has been in place we have saved enough to recover the cost of the bins, composter and a shredder. 

This year I intend to save seeds on anything and everything, I purchased three packs of marigold seeds and had very poor germination, seeds are bloody expensive these days, I have potted on some hellebores which have self seeded, and I have a few plants I need to cut back, therefore making plants to sell, I have dug out a canna lily twice, I noticed more shoots, so they are now in a pot. I already like to buy from local growers, we only have one here in the village, so I won't be a problem to anyone, Facebook market place is a great way to sell anything. 

So yes Dave I hope to make a tiny bit to help with the cost of gardening, and I have everything crossed my perennials come back next year and save me loads.  

Finished

I decided to join the lighter blue bands, 

so I measured and made three bands

 At two high I could see this was working

 At three high it was perfect, now what to do at the top level

I was going to fold and sew the uprights in

 Too bulky, so I cut each to length and double stitched them

The top is the most important bit, it holds everything together

 I chose to use some more of this fabric, 

I liked the fact I could use a thin strip 

 So my basket finished, it holds itself up well

I have just woven the straps, with no plans to stitch them

 This is sturdy, and pretty 

 I don't mind you can see the joins for the horizontal bands

it is after all a working basket

 I have pegged the corners for now, I need them to define

next time I get the iron out I will neaten the corners. 

I'm very pleased with this, using waste items to remake things I can use. If the corners do not sit right then I will have a look and maybe sew along the corner line. The basket is bigger than I planned, but that's a good thing, at one point I almost decided to add a duffel bag top and have another bag, but in truth I don't think I would use it. It took longer than expected, you can see the start of the project here.
We popped to town this morning and booked our break for September, we are flying off to Tenerife, a week of rest and sunshine, we do like island holidays. We also very naughty went into BHS, it's the last few days of our local shop, got a few summer tops each, they are so very cheap.
The sport is on TV, it's going to be interesting tonight Tennis final, more cycling and the gymnastic finals.

This has legs

I found out 3 pairs of old jeans, all different colours

I cut a long panel from each leg, I am using bootleg jeans

 I then fold and pin so there are three layers

no rough ends showing, making them as strong as I can

 Ready for sewing, I love all the different shades

I decided to use red thread to add some colour

 Then a bit of weaving

Here I hit the wall, I am making a basket, the long bits are the side I have 4 strips of pale blue to use for the sides, but they are not long enough, each one should be 84cm, so do I try and sew my shorter ones together flat, will they be to bulky. OR do I look for a seven foot person and steal their jeans for the longer legs. A third option would be to use a different material, but I don't have anything as heavy as this denham.
The other option is to use all 12 lengths woven for a cushion front, BUT I want a basket, so I am thinking about what to do next. So for now I have started another book, another new author for me.

Below are the seams off the jean legs, these are the thick ones which the material is wrapped around like a French seam, I have seen uses for these on Pintrest, I will save these until I have a few more, then I will get creative

So no waste here, I have also kept some of the back pockets, 

I don't have any plans, they are saved just because.

What do you do with your old jeans. 

Lunch and a finish

Lunch yesterday was cheese on toast

after all the rich meals from the weekend

a nice simple lunch

 I got on with my sewing, I wanted these to be finished.

after I stitched the 8 triangles together, on the wrong side,

I marked the 14" circle as a guide to stitching on the side panel.

I used two length of a leg stitched together.

 I am rather pleased with these

each is stuffed will the contents from an old pillow

the case has been saved for lining material

nothing is wasted.
The jean's top is saved, one I will make into a bag,
I have already stitched two handles.
The others I want to use the back pockets, for a storage hanger. 

 All I require is my table and chairs painted and a sunny day

glass of something cold.

These should last forever.

 Last night I picked up Carrie Rose,

 Only did a few stitches,

but it feels good to be working on this again.

Our first loaf of bread was a success, I had convinced myself the 1st loaf would fail, I have had a slice as toast for breakfast.
Now I want to start adding ingredients, I have sun dried tomatoes and olives in the fridge.
We had a typical day here in the South East yesterday, we were fore caste light rain, but we had sunshine, enough to dry the laundry. We had some rain in the night, but it's sunny now, but my pots are still dry, I will water them soon, I rather not water in the evening at this time of year.
If it warms up I will spend time in the garden this afternoon, I have seedlings in the green house which need sorting, and I would like to sow seeds in the raised garden. Before that, loads of ironing.
Wean, when cutting down jeans to shorts for anyone, I always cut them too long, let the person try them on inside out and pin to length required, I find I can get the fit better this way, but most of my jeans cut to shorts finish at the knee.

5 pairs of jeans

I have started using my rotary cutter

 First I removed the legs from 5 pairs of jeans, 

this time I will only use the legs, 

but I will keep the top, I hope to be able to use them.

 I placed a thin cutting board inside each leg and cut along the seam.

 I made 32 templates, cutting each with a half inch seam allowance. 

These will make 4 circular pieces, two cushions

 Each pair of jeans is different shades,
some worn more than  others, which I love.

1st try at sewing them together, 

the center point is really hard, but this could be covered, 

the effect is what I was looking for.

Firstly, I know Dawn I have left the cutter open in a couple of photo's, and I promise you, I remember your warning of how sharp the cutting blade is. The more I cut out the better I became at closing it before putting it down.
I have cut two long strips to join top and bottom together, I will finish this off later today. I have saved our two old pillows for the stuffing, so other than time these cushions will have cost me nothing.
The jeans were begged from anyone with an old pair, my friend Cat, my brother and an old pair of mine.
I love the rotary cutter, it's very sharp and just perfect for cutting straight lines, when cutting the legs from the jeans, it cut through both layers and seams with ease.
These are for my iron chairs in the garden, we have to collect them, they have had all the paint removed, I will paint them white again.
It's dull here today, I have my second load in the washing machine, where does all the laundry come from. I have some house work to do and I require a trip to supermarket, if I am to use bread maker today.
One positive note, my security clearance has come through, just waiting for my start date for the new job, it will be nice to be earning again.