Pocket Organizer Tutorial

Finished!

In my house, there are several piles of stuff.  Mostly it's stuff I want to keep, little odds and ends like bike oil, camera cords, the cat's laser toy.  Surely there is a better way to keep it?

My solution so far is the pocket organizer!  Here it is finished and hanging up next to my bulletin board.

Here's how I made it.

Supplies:
Pair of jeans
Scraps of cloth

Step One

 Step One: Cut the Jeans.  I used two pairs of jeans because each had only one leg that wasn't worn out. I used the back side of the jeans, cutting one leg out as wide as possible.

Step Two

Step Two:  Make Some Pockets.  To make the pockets, I sewed scrap fabric into tubes.  Starting with two rectangles long enough to stretch across the jeans and of the depth I wanted for a pocket, I put right sides together and sewed the long sides of the rectangle.  I then turned them right sides out and ironed.  As you can see, I made four pockets.  I also top stitched across the top of the pocket because I thought it looked nice.

Step Three

Step Three:  Sew Pockets to Jeans.  Choose which piece of denim you want to be the front.  Lay the pockets out on the denim in the position you want.  Sew across the bottom of the pocket.  The seam will be visible.  If you want an invisible seam, lay the pockets upside-down, sew across the bottom, fold up, and iron into place.

Step Four

Step Four: Sew Front and Back Together. Lay the two pieces of denim right sides together.  Now would be a good time to make sure that they are the same length.   Sew around the edges, leaving the top open.

More Step Four

Step Five

Step Five: Finishing.  Turn the thing right side out through the hole you left at the top.  I top stitched across the top at this point, and also across the bottom of all the pockets.  I figure this increases the stability.  I used belt loops to make loops to hang the organizer with.  Then I hung it up and filled it with stuff!

Belt Loop Hangers

Socks! Knit Them!

I knit those! I'm pretty excited to have knit a pair of socks, even if it is sandal weather right now.  I was not sure that I would be able to master knitting a pair of socks, but it was a lot easier and more fun than I thought.  Working with tiny needles was not so unpleasant, because a sock is small, too.  Learning to turn the heel was relatively simple.  Now that I've knit two, I understand the basics of sock construction, and I think I could handle lots of neat sock patterns.  So, if you've been thinking about knitting socks, but have been intimidated by the tiny needles or the prospect of turning the heel, let me tell you that you should try it!  I found lots of simple free patterns online, and lots of helpful advice.  If I can do it, you can, too!

Consumer Identity

I was watching The Story of Stuff (see http://www.storyofstuff.org/) when the narrator, Annie, said something that really disturbed me.  She said, "Our primary identity has become that of being consumers." Of course, the whole video is a little scary, being about the dark underbelly of our consumer economy.  That comment, though, really hit me.  Our primary identity is as a consumer?  Is that true?  Unfortunately, I think it is.  We identify ourselves by what we buy, which is what we wear, what we drive, even what we eat.  Instead of being a daughter, a friend, a lover, a teacher, I'm someone who buys food at the co-op, owns reusable water bottles and coffee mugs, and produces knitted and sewn items.  Even as I try to distance myself from this economy of excess, I'm still caught up in the driving force of it.  I'm still allowing my identity to be determined by what I purchase, or what I choose not to purchase. 

This list of purchased goods is not who I want to be, so I've been reflecting on how I do want to define myself.  So far, I think I would prefer to be defined by my relationships with others.  I'd prefer to think of myself as friend or daughter.  After all, isn't community a fundamental part of being human?

Or, maybe I don't want to define myself at all.  Maybe I'm just Noella.

Psychedelic Squares Blanket!

Psychedelic Dude!  I finally finished this blanket!  Here's a picture of it tossed over my couch, complete with a kitty who is grumpy with the flash from my camera!  Noella made, kitty approved.

This blanket consists of squares knit from the pattern found here: http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/afghans/garter.htm The squares themselves are easy to knit, you just need bunches of them to make a blanket.  I took four and sewed them together to make a big square.  I then crocheted around the edge of each square, and finally crocheted them all together.  It was a big project, but I finally used up some cheap yarn that I've been dragging around with me since high school.  In addition, I used some scraps from recent projects, and scraps stolen from friends stashes.  I used all different kinds of yarn, but all about worsted weight.  I like the feel of the different kinds of yarn next to each other, some are very soft, some are more coarse; it makes an interesting blanket!  Best of all, my yarn stash is many skeins smaller now, having been replaced with a snuggly blanket.  I'm still finding ways to use up the bits and ends that I have left, and I suspect that more softies (like the dino) are coming.

Denim Bag

This morning I made this denim bag using the directions found here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177482.0

This bag is styled after a plastic shopping bag, but made with cloth.  I used the legs of a worn out pair of jeans for the outside, and some denim leftovers for the inside. The bag turned out really nice, except that the opening is a bit small.  Otherwise, I really liked this pattern, especially because all the seams come out nicely finished with no ratty edges.  I think this patter could make a cute handbag if you picked some nice fabric!

Cute as it is, though, I plan to put this bag in the car to use as a garbage bag.  Since I'm trying not to bring new plastic bags into my house there has been a lack of garbage bags for the car.  I made this bag out of two layers of denim so that it will be both heavy duty and washable.  We'll see how it works!

Happy Scrappy Knitted Dino!

I just knitted this dinosaur.  I mostly followed the pattern found here http://www.xtreme-knitting.com/photos-dinosaurs.htm I had a little trouble with his head, which wants to droop down.  I made several supporting stitches at the base of his neck to encourage the head to stay back.  I also think his neck should be a little thicker at the base, but overall, he's pretty happy.  The reason he is a scrappy dino is the yarn.  This skein of yarn was originally purchased by a friend to make a dragon.  The rest was given to me to incorporate into a blanket (almost done!).  I had a medium ball left over, and this is the result!  I think I still have enough to make another dino, maybe a stegosaurus? 

Hello World

Hello world!  With this, my first foray into the blog-o-sphere, I'd like to write about what I'd like to write about. 

I'd like to write about things in my life that others might find useful.   As a 20-something I'm just getting started managing so many details in my life--my kitchen, my laundry, my shopping, etc.  Lately I've been concerned with trying to live more simply, using less stuff, and finding eco-friendly ways to live.  I figure that other people are also learning to manage life, so maybe someone will find my discoveries useful. I get a lot of good advice from people on the internet, so I hope I can add some of my ideas to the mix, and just collect things that work for me in one place for others to check out.

Of course, I have lots of other interests--crafting, reading web comics, thinking, using up scraps, misusing punctuation for interesting effect--all of which will probably turn up here eventually.  I'm sure to write about lots of projects for using scraps, and that's why I'm calling this blog Happy Scrappies.  Thanks to my office mates for coming up with that term for the pile of one sided paper we use for mathematical scratch work!

Mostly, I want a place to put collected thoughts that I want to share.  About living simply, about crafting, about philosophy.  Along the way, I hope that I manage to put something out into the big wide world web that someone finds helpful!