As you have seen again and again, I can't resist joining in when there is something inspiring out there in blogdom.
I saw these the first time a couple of years ago on Erin's blog (and was super excited, you can see that I have the first comment on that post) and totally meant to make one then.
Life just got busy, I guess, but a couple of days ago I finally picked up some rope and dove in.
The first hurdle for me was realizing which way I was supposed to start stitching.
As it turned out, I was going the wrong direction at first and after 20 rows or so the bowl was too big to fit under my sewing machine.
So, my great plan to have a pink inside and a green outside was dashed.
I went with stripes instead, and it came out o.k.!
The most common comment about the construction of these bowls is that they eat up thread like crazy.
I decided to work with that, and with the smaller bowl I changed color every 3 rows to make stripes.
The outside of the large bowl has an ombre effect which isn't terribly noticeable in the photo, but came out nicely with three colors of green thread.
Before I started on the bowl project I had to unearth my sewing table.
It was a big job, there were remnants of 3 and 4-year-old projects buried under the mountain of yarn, fabric and detritus.
After about 90 minutes I could see the surface of my table, and I had a large bag of things to donate.
Flying high on the organizing bug, I took on our porch/playroom.
This one took a little longer, and I didn't have the assistance of The Elder as I did with my sewing table.
I think that last part was a blessing in disguise because I was pretty ruthless with the toys that made their way into the donation bag and the trash.
6 bags/boxes of things later, and I was left with this-
I'm pretty pleased with it so far.
There's still work to be done, we have 5 doll house/barn/castles (not including the one in the basement) which is ridiculous.
We have been accumulating them over 11 years of parenting, and most were gifts, but it's time to say goodbye.
Except not the vintage Tudor-style Little People house that I got at the thrift shop for 5 dollars.
That one is a treasure.
It's super fun to have the things I have made over the years for the kids all in one place, and even better, The Youngest played out there for a couple of hours and didn't ask to watch The Backyardigans once.
Back to the baskets, The Youngest has been thoroughly enjoying them.
She wore the small one to the grocery store yesterday-
It was quite the ensemble...
Also, though I think the handles are a little off on the smaller basket, too long? too short? something is not working, they are quite useful.
What are you creating today?
Love it!
ReplyDeleteI made a few of these a while ago but used fabric strips to cover the rope. Have you read It's A Wrap? That's where I got the directions.
Go you for organizing!
I am dying to try my hand at these! They looks so fun to make!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE !!! that your child wore the basket as a hat to the grocery store. When my oldest was little, he INSISTED on wearing a gorilla costume (that he got as a gift from his grandmother) to the library and to the grocery store. Now I always love when children have their own unconventional sense of style. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI've seen the everywhere these last couple of weeks and feel a bit itchy too ;-)
ReplyDeleteYours are beautiful!
And very versatile ;-)
My mother used to make those when I was a little girl and I keep meaning to try it out. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDelete