And Another!!

     Are you getting bored with boxes?  I'm not--at least not yet (I did make a new journal yesterday which I'll show soon), but the boxes are still way too much fun. 

     First I constructed a piece fabric (Alisa Burke's Sew Wild again!) using torn scraps from my stash--which I don't use much anymore because I paint or dye most of what I need.  The background is old plaid shirting (yikes!) placed atop a piece of craft felt with a bunch of other bits scattered (strategically, of coarse) across the top.  After pinning everything down, I took it to my wonderful Bernina and began sewing.  That was the really exciting part--I simply started free-motion stitching (both zigzag and straight) until every edge was sewn down and every center lightly "quilted."   Love it.





     This time, for my  "collapsible" version, I used 5 individual pieces of fusible interfacing for the sides and bottom.  The photo above shows the box upside down with straps (sewn onto one side and velcroed onto the other) crisscrossing the opening.  The bottom, pictured in the foreground, will simply slip inside and sit on the straps quite securely.  By the way, the inner sides and bottom of the box are covered with a fabric posted earlier.

I also constructed a simple divider using two additional squares.

     

     And here's the final box.  The whole think can be taken apart and stored (or shipped) flat.

Another Box

     Ok, I'm hooked.  My mind is boggling with new ideas involving The Box (including a collapsible version that can be shipped or packed away when not in use).  But first I decided to figure out a way to use some of my "finished" wool pieces.

     You might recognize the little squares from a larger example on my previous post.  After cutting the 9 patch out in one piece, I unstitched the remaining pieces and restitched them down on new backgrounds. The blue square will become a pocket.





     Using the same process as before, I ironed the pieces to my fusible interfacing--much trickier because of the wool, cut-out squares, and buttons, and I ended up sewing the 9 patch in place.



     The completed box works perfectly as a holder for "works in progress" (of which I have many!).

     And another view showing the pocket holding my crochet hooks (I'm planning to learn so I can make some of those cunning little flowers in the near future).

Stuff Boxes

     I started something new this week (also got this idea from Jane LaFazio) which I am going to call Stuff Boxes.  I'm using my recently-painted fabric and some upcycled "stuff."



     This was my first box:  torn up jeans (including a pocket) and scraps of painted fabric fused to heavy-duty interfacing and stitched together.  I turned it into an art bin.

 

     This kinda shows the interior of the box.  I put a couple of small plastic containers inside to separate my pens and puff paint.  Also a small journal.  I love it!!!





     And here's another, made in the same way, but smaller (5 x 5 instead of 6 x6).  This time I didn't use jeans, only the fabric I had painted last week, both inside and out, and I even constructed a simple pocket on the front.  I also added a divider for the inside (I found out it perfectly fits 4 empty Activia yogurt containers to hold the STUFF!).  This one may end up in the shop.

And one final box:  I took some pictures of the final stages before finishing.





     This one's a bit different.  I found an old wool vest that had been taking up storage space since I retired from teaching (13 years ago!!!) and decided it would be fun to use.  Pairing the vest with cut up jeans, I again fused each piece to the interfacing and stitched around the whole thing with yarn.

     Here's the inside of the box--just jeans (dug out of same cedar closet as vest). 

     And the finished box.  I'm thinking this could be another use for all of that felted wool tucked away in bags from last year's sweater explosion (I have 5 milk crates full). 



     My Book Box, which sits beside my chair and holds library books and bookmarks perfectly.  Yippee!