Missing In action

Hi folks, you might have thought that I'd dropped off the edge of the earth, but the truth is that I've been feeling for a while that my blog has mostly run it's course.
There's nothing worse than forcing a blog, so my blog posts have become sporadic, and now they might only appear once or twice each year, but it will be when there is something I feel is worthy to share.

What I have been doing is directing a lot of my energy into getting Intercept Fabric Rescue up and running. For that, I have just built a website, which is still a work in progress, but gone live anyway. You can find it here - www.interceptfabricrescue.net
plus I will be writing the blog attached to the website. 

Beautiful vintage fabrics that we are saving

It is an exciting time - with a new shop opening soon, and a lot of interest in what we're doing. The best scenario is that this model goes worldwide.

So, I'll see you around, when I pop up here or drop in to your blogs.

Cheers,
Anne

Random Musings

Hi All. I was going to take a little blogging holiday, but thought I'd just fire some random things on here to let you know that we made it back from the cruise ok. It's not all about the trip tho.
There were good times, but as I suspected, it's not our preferred mode of travel, mostly because of the sheer number of people. 

Dravuni Island, Fiji

Dravuni Island in Fiji has only about 158 inhabitants (not 400 as I thought), no vehicles and no roads. I thought that arriving there with a cruise ship full of passengers would be awful. However it was better than I expected. The Islanders were so gracious and the island was just beautiful. I hope they made enough money to keep themselves going all year by selling coconuts, icecream, barbecue lunches massages and colourful lavalavas.

Suva Market

Suva market (Fiji) - the biggest fruit and veg market that I've ever seen. I wish we had one like this. Very little plastic.

We didn't buy much - I'm not one for souvenirs, but this lovely coconut chandelier came home with us and came through customs with no problem whatsoever.

We're happy to be back home with our solitude and garden, which is looking pretty, although a little overgrown.

I'm busy with Intercept Fabric Rescue(earlier post) since my return. It's only been going 7 weeks and we are working hard to get systems in place. We have quite a few new volunteers joining us following a great article in the local paper.
We've rehomed a lot of clothes and bedding with those in need and some of the team are skilled upcyclers.

Upcycled by Jenny Hill

Zillions of soft toys go to the landfill throughout the world - this one has been rescued, plastic nurdles removed and restuffed with fabric waste to make it a dog toy, others will become hand puppets. 

There's lots to get on with. It certainly makes me appreciate home.

Intercept Fabric Rescue

Design on an upcycled denim jacket by fabric artist Jenny Hill - Intercept instigator

Some weeks back I was approached by Jenny with the idea of rescuing some of the fabric that is going to the landfill from one of our big op shops (thrift store). 
The manager has told her that $60,000 dollars per year is spent on dumping fees by this store alone. They currently send a skip to the landfill every 2 days - most of it textiles. Apparently out of what is donated - 20% is saleable, the remaining 80% goes to the tip.
So, four of us have started Intercept - Fabric Rescue, earmarking salvaged textiles for various places and uses. These include:

Local designers using upcycled materials, such as Shelly from Ano - anoagainreuse, who mostly works in denim. 

Anoagainreuse models out shopping before a recent fashion show.

Making t-shirt bags for the store to use out of what they were throwing away.
Making t-shirt yarn for crafters to buy, plus hopefully fabric bundles for quilters etc.
Removing graphics to reuse in upcycled projects.
Saving all wool, silk, cotton, denim for reuse.
Saving what we can of synthetics to make bunting.

Rescued t-shirts made into yarn and reusable bags. Saving graphics.

The store have started making rags again - which they had stopped. They have given us a room to work from and are very supportive. 

We have big plans to promote the work of makers using Intercept fabrics, plus we have  local Design School students working on swing tags and labels for us, that use rescued materials.

It's all very new at the moment and still a work in progress, but such a great opportunity to make a difference.
Thanks to movements like the Climate Strikes, many businesses are seeing that the way forward involves a lot more consideration of the environment. They need to be seen as making positive changes. 
Now is a great time to start.

A Boot Refashion and Four Great Salvages

Hi All, this post is all about saving things from going to waste. I believe that we should treat everything as a resource, sending them to the landfill should be the very last thing, when there's no better option.

These Boots Were Made ....Shorter

These leather boots had languished in my wardrobe long enough. They were mid calf length - which is an unflattering place for a boot to end on me.
They are pull - on, so no zip to deal with. I just cut them to where I wanted, allowing for some turn over. I glued the lining down first, then glued the leather. I use the Bostik glue that I have been using to mend wetsuits - because it sticks really well and has a lot of give in it.

I've worn them more already since I did them.

The next rescue is something that I imagine most people throw away.
The protective mesh from a duty free bottle

I was trying to think of a use for these and came up with ......
 A padded coathanger

Tell me if you've come up with a good use for these.

A wonderful rescue was made by a relative who works in the recycling industry. He often comes across treasures put out with the rubbish and knows what will appeal to us.

Vintage shop sign

 I understand that Au Bon Pain is now a chain in the USA, but this one looks very authentic - we love it and it has pride of place above our coffee machine.

Our last rescue is a food rescue. One of my ex work colleagues mentioned that the fruit was falling off their trees and going to waste. They weren't able to keep up with picking, due to ill health, and none of their family wanted it, as they all have their own fruit trees.

Derek and I went there on two occasions, picking this much each time, nearly all of which we gave to our city's Food Rescue. They also receive donations of food from various businesses and it is redistributed to where it is needed. 
Most suburbs in town have a Pataka Kai (1 minute video) - or a community food stall - for people to help themselves.

And lastly, I want to link to Cynthia's blog "I'm Retired - Adventures Of A Simpler Life", which I follow. She took some great photos of an exhibition of artworks made with discarded plastic. This is one of my favourites.

Artist Sayaka Ganz

 They are so clever - thanks Cynthia.

Sweet Little Footlets

In order not to burden the world with more clothing, I try not to buy new...but there are some exceptions. We all have our own limits that we set and mine are socks, underwear, swimwear, night wear. So I have set out to try making my own versions of some of these.
I found a free pattern for footlets/ socklettes here on Sometimes it's the Little Things and although the first ones didn't fit my size 8 feet, it wasn't hard to scale them up.

I used some scraps of stretch material and lingerie elastic that I'd inherited from my mother's stash. So far it's cost me nothing but a little time - I'm thinking they only take about 15 minutes to make a pair, once the sizing was sorted.

I'm never going to be a foot model!

I merrily put them on with some shoes and the first thing that happened was that they scrunched down under my feet - oh no!

Now my bought footlets have a piece of silicone on the heel to stop them from doing that, so in town the next day I whipped into Spotlight and bought a small amount of swimwear elastic. It's rubber and could be bought in small amounts off the card.

Once home I hand sewed a 55mm piece to the inside back of my footlet - and it stayed put!

So now I can make these out of anything I like - but old tee shirt material is a winner. The elastic cost me $1.75 - enough for 3 pairs. There's no buying new plastic packaging or synthetic materials. What a great gift idea too.

So not only is this a win for me - but if you have footlets that slip down - give the elastic fix a try!

Camping and Miscellaneous Art

Hi and welcome!

Well we survived the first camping trip in 10 years. We learnt what else we need to pack and will definitely be doing it again. We have just bought a second hand gazebo that will be useful for an outdoor kitchen and also as cover for when we're having a car boot sale soon.
We stayed at a Dept of Conservation campground - Puriri Bay, Northland NZ  - $13/per person/night. The facilities are long drop toilets, plentiful cold water, shower cubicles to hang your solar showers plus some cold showers. 

Me, sketching outside our tent

The view from our tent

There's lots of bird life and kiwis can be heard at night, which is not as common here as you might think.

Very friendly ducks here.

And now to completely change topic...

Recently someone was asking for upcycling uses for old CDs and I remembered that I had this photo of my Daughter from around 11 years ago, when she was about 14, modelling in a wearable arts competition. I unfortunately don't have the artist's details. The tiara and parasol are both decorated with broken cds. Sorry, the picture quality isn't that great - it's a photo of a photo.

 I posted here about the denim art of Ian Berry recently. I wanted to try making one, so, boldly, here is my first attempt. I've bought some old canvasses and have covered one ready for my next, more adventurous piece.

Denim art surfer - made from discarded denim

Thanks for stopping by.

The Remakery, Bella Vacca Milk, Wetsuit Repair

Rather than feel bad about all the plastic and pollution in the world, I am cheered by the changes I see happening now on a regular basis - so to cheer you too, here's a little round up of small local things that add up.....

The Remakery...this is a new initiative about to kick off this month at 3 Woods Road Whangarei. It is being enabled by Habitat for Humanity, who have funding from our District Council to reduce waste. 

Lots of new murals around Whangarei - this one is of a Kereru, or native wood pigeon, on the building that will house the Remakery

The Remakery will include Upcycling workshops and a monthly Repair Cafe. The building already is home for Food Rescue Whangarei, Whare Bike (bike repair), a wholefoods co-op and Ano againreuse, run by a talented lady who upcycles unwanted denim into fashion. SewGood, our community sewing group will also be in there, and Boomerang Bags will hold some weekend workshops there too at times. I love this 💗

We can now buy milk in glass bottles here! BellaVacca milk is rolling out to more retail stores every few weeks. It costs $8 for the first bottle, then with your next purchase just return the clean bottle, and it will only cost around $3.70 - $4/ litre. This is quite a lot dearer than milk bought in a plastic bottle - but the milk is great. I offset that cost by using powdered milk (that I can buy packaging free) in baking etc. 

Wetsuit repairs. I'm learning some new skills!
 A local Not-For-Profit Experiencing Marine Reserves asked if our SewGood team could help with wetsuit repairs - they teach snorkelling to school children, with an environmental focus. I thought I could give it a whirl, have done some research....and look what I've got to work on!

A whole carton load of wetsuits awaiting repair!

As a practice on some offcuts of old suits, I've made some arm protectors for picking blackberries, and a beer coozie and some covers for my milk bottles, to insulate and protect them. Now to get down to the real work.  

Lilliput Library - do you have one of these in your area yet? This one has just popped up over summer at our local beach, Pataua North. 

Pataua North Lilliput Library - book sharing

Such a cool idea don't you think?

Christmas Glimpses

Wow has this year gone fast for everyone? Here we are at Christmas's door, doing what we can to reduce the commercialism of the holiday, yet trying to maintain the celebration. So here are a few pics of how we've gone about it this year.

The Christmas Tree

I find myself over the effort that I have put into trees in earlier days - the bought-from-charity pines, and the wilding (weed) pine even, that I kept green in our hot summer by misting with water every day...so this year's tree is low maintenance...

Found driftwood from our stash and decorations from the collection that gets hauled out every year. I have to say that I found inspiration for these ideas on Pinterest.

I have admired the cute little scenes with a Christmas tree tied atop a vehicle in snow - even though we don't have a snowy Christmas, I'd like to see one one day. My tree is a piece of rosemary, and the snow is epsom salts - which will be recycled out to the garden for the tomatoes and citrus later. The light is a rechargeable that plugs into the USB port. The old car is one we found on the beach.

Gifts

My daughter's partner Logan is into landscaping - and on his Christmas list was "native plants". It just so happens that we needed to clear these off our bush path, so I hope he likes them!

We've only lost the droopy one - the rest are looking good

Our dogs will be getting a stocking - Munta will be getting a new spare lead, made from the strap of a damaged-beyond-donating handbag.

Twitch (Logan's dog) will be getting all the tennis balls that we have found on the beach, because Munta has no interest in them whatsoever. Plus some packaging free dog treats each.

Derek and I have agreed on a $10-limited something fun from the op shop each, because we have bought ourselves an experience gift of a few days away with a music concert included.

We might not have a snowy Christmas here in Paradise, but we have Christmas colours in our flax flowers, with the added bonus that the birds and bees love it.

In case I don't get back here before Christmas - Merry Christmas everyone, and a safe and peaceful holiday to you all.

Packaging Free Snack, Upcycled Belt and More

The Packaging Free Snack

What do you grab when you want something with your glass of wine? I've been going for this (see below) lately as it comes packaging free and stops me wanting other wicked things (corn chips). 

Ages ago I posted on how to make no-fail popcorn. Now popcorn can be a little dull, therefore I have discovered that combining it with wasabi peas (which I am able to buy in bulk in my own container) changes the game completely. 
I also add a bit of salt and vinegar flavouring (which I make myself by saturating rocksalt with vinegar and letting it evaporate off in the sun or a warm oven.
If you really want to go all out - try adding snips of nori sheet (sadly not packaging free) and I also throw in some bits of crackers that have broken when I've made my knackebrot crackers. 

The Upcycled Belt

I have felt inspired by the belts and straps that I've seen on Pinterest made by Amy Hanna, as seen on crescendoh.com
I have finally got around to making one myself using my old PU belt that was getting to the end of it's life.
I have also taken the opportunity to make it just a little longer, (ahem, it must have shrunk).

Before

After

It was fun to design as I went along. It probably won't appeal to the straight line brigade, but I like it.

A snap of the witch I made for Katie's Halloween party - using an old black umbrella. It's not as good as the ones I saw on Pinterest, but oh well, it was a quick job and she liked it. 

There's no top half in case you're wondering

I thought I'd leave you with a pic of a bright spot in my garden. I grew these Sweet William flowers from seed. They have been lovely to pick and give. Note to self - grow more flowers. 

The Towai Tavern's Creative Upcycled Decor

I have posted before here about the Towai Tavern - a lovely old character pub that our band plays at several times each year.
We played there again last Saturday, and I wanted to include some of their cool decor, which the new owners have created.

The decor in the Ladies toilet

Because everyone wants a fish tank in their piano

Bottle cap mosaic

Apologies for putting the urinals in - I didn't take that photo by the way.

Bottle cap tree sculpture

Pic of our band set-up, lead guitarist fine tuning the sound

You'd think I would have taken a better shot of my own instruments - sax just visible on the right.

oh, ok then my alto and tenor saxes and bongo drums

I didn't take photos of everything, but the pub is decorated with old bottles, old farm implements and lots of vintage pieces around the walls. 
The staff are friendly and the food is great - what more could you ask?

Keeping Rice Crackers Good, a Dinosaur, a Phone Holder...

Hi there. 

We were out for lunch a couple of days ago and it reminded me of a hack (that is a tip for the older generation) that I learned from my daughter. 
The grandson had these rice cracker type things, and it reminded me how quickly they go soft - but my daughter taught me that you store them in the fridge and they stay crisp - you don't even have to seal the packet! I thought maybe I was the last person in the world to know this, but seeing as my stepdaughter didn't know that - I'm sharing it.

Little grandson turned 2 a week or so back, and he's hugely into dinosaurs. We found him a dinosaur book appropriate for his age, and I made him a rice-stuffed dinosaur that can be heated in the microwave for him to snuggle. Their old villa is incredibly cold in Winter. 

I also made him a sleep sack out of scrap material with an inner of an old felted wool blanket.

While I'm on the sewing with scraps theme...
we end up with a lot of fabric scraps from using the overlockers when making boomerang bags. I don't like to throw them out, so here are a couple of things that I've made from them. 

One is just a lowly pincushion, but the fancy thing about it is that flat piece out behind -  it sits under the sewing machine so that it stays put.
The second is a prototype of a phone holder that I made by copying one I saw on Pinterest. I feel the design could be tweaked a little to get the phone to sit more steadily, but hey - it works.

And lastly, while we're still on the subject of sewing - I wanted to show you our SewGood Station.

Whangarei's SewGood Station - a community sewing machine

This is one of our donated machines, set up permanently in Ecosolutions, in Whangarei for anyone at all to use. So, if people need to do mending or want to sew their own reusable bags - it's free to use, although a koha (donation) is happily accepted. 
There is a stash of materials, threads, scissors - in fact about everything you'd need - right there. There's also an overlocker there for people to use, although it's only a 3 thread. A 3 thread overlocker is only good for finishing edges, whereas a 4 thread is strong enough to sew the seam.
I think it's great - but it doesn't get used much yet.

Oh, and do you like my new blog header? I've been meaning to do this for years, but have just had the incentive provided for me - something a bit exciting that can be revealed closer towards the end of the year. Sorry - going to keep you in suspense.