Upcycled Garden Trellis

Got wood?

Better Half and I love nature and natural looking surroundings.  That doesn’t mean we don’t have the odd man-made sculptural piece or two scattered throughout our gardens, but it does mean we try our darndest to use and reuse what nature has provided.   We’ve picked up and reused more rocks than anyone on the planet, and since we have a plethora of trees, we love to use the different wood for projects.  Who can improve on Mother Nature?

This 6′ garden trellis is last week’s project.  We used cedar trees we were thinning for the three legs and support beams.  Cedar was a natural choice since it’s basically rot resistant.  Instead of burn piles, why not use honor the trees and give them a second life?  We also have tons of grape vines and honeysuckle vines; those we used to wrap around the trellis.  Basically, we cut the three legs from the cedars to a height of about 6.5′.  We “teepee’d” the three legs and made support beams out of the remaining cedar pieces which we secured with wood screws we had on hand.  Then we had fun wrapping the vines all over the trellis.  From start to finish it took less than 2 hours, and we think our free trellis looks great.  (We even made another one that’s slightly different–I’ll show you another time!)

We will be planting cardinal vine on the trellis for the hummingbirds, and we think they too will appreciate the beauty of this natural, upcycled garden trellis!  Walking around the woods and thinking outside the box was a great way to spend the afternoon with Better Half!

Sew Easy Denim Apron

(Sorry, for the super cheesy Sew Easy Denim Apron!)

Denim remnants from my denim rug project—what’s a girl to do?  I needed a cute little apron that could work double-duty:  1)  handle a hard day’s work in the garden (right!), and 2) pull off a lovely evening in the kitchen.  As you can tell from the above picture, this apron has yet to see the (natural) light of the outdoors.  It was super easy to design and fun to sew.  I apologize in advance if the directions seem “lacking,” but this was one of those situations where I just sat and looked at it until the right thing came to me.   Once you start, you’ll see.

I took a half yard of denim and since this was a light-colored denim, there was no distinguishing between the right and wrong sides–so I solved the tedious problem of a lining.

Double-folding one short edge, sewed a ¼″ seam, and then pulled that edge up about two-thirds of the way up the length of the fabric, on the opposite side, making one large pouch in anticipation of the pockets.  I secured the pouch in place with a straight stitch across both bottom (¼″) and top.  Once the large pouch was sewn, I then determined how many pockets— and their sizes—I wanted and sewed a straight stitch for each pocket.

Around the remaining three raw edges, I sewed a straight stitch ¼″ from each edge.  I then “picked” around the edge for a frayed look.

I folded over the top about 2″ and sewed a straight stitch (using fancy top stitching) and slipped in webbing for the tie.

That’s all, folks!

Denim Rug

Amazingly Easy Denim Rug

I’m a big supporter of our local library.  I love books.  I must read before I go to bed.  If I don’t, I’m guaranteed insomnia.  I’ll read cookbooks or maps, if necessary.  I must read.   So, I was intrigued when our local library had on their “new” shelf  “The Feisty Stitcher” by Susan Wasinger, published by Lark Books (great craft website).  The cover was eye-catching and it seemed the projects would feed my self-imposed ADD, as well as my need for speed.  Anyway, I’ve now had the book checked out for about two months (benefits of having several cards).  Eventually, darn it, the library is going to want the book back….  What this tells me is that I need to buy this book.  I have even loaned it to a couple of friends to get their reaction.  It’s a cool book and the projects are all über easy and fascinating.

So besides mowing in 400°, this was my project today.  This Feisty Stitcher denim rug was begging to be made by me.  Begging, I tell you.  I’ll admit that it took a tad longer than the couple of hours stated, but I think it was well worth it, even though my Elna was smoking hot when  I turned it off.  It’s a smashing rug, baby!  The funny thing is, I hate wearing denim, but I really like denim otherwise.  I think I’ll put this rug in my laundry room.  I mean, denim goes with everything, right?

Do your crafty self a favor and go buy this book, okay?

You need five layers of denim.

After layering the denim, you will mark diagonal lines to prepare for sewing.

I used upholstery thread and a special quilting foot due to thickness.

You will cut through four (four, I tell you) layers between the seams.

Please, please do not cut through the fifth (bottom) layer (painfully hard to fix).

Stitch edge of rug and toss in washer with clean jeans (no detergent necessary).

When the cycle is complete, toss in dryer and it will start fluffing and fraying on its own.

Ta Da!

An amazingly easy denim rug–cute, no?