Blood, Sweat,Tears, and the "Skinny Jeans"

i know you are looking at the title to this entry and wondering how in the world it fits with quilts, blankets, or for that matter any crafts at all...let me explain!

first the tears, i know that all you ladies out there will understand when i talk about my "skinny jeans".... for those of you who don't know about these dirty little secrets, "skinny jeans" are the un-used denim that hang in our closets taking up valuable space but remain no matter how crowded or how much space is needed in our closet. they are the dream of many pounds ago and we keep them because we know that one day...yes....one day they will fit again. As you can see by the size of the blanket, I had a vast collection of these jeans ranging from need to lose 5 pounds to i need to lose 20! This was a big, no, huge step, removing them from their place of shame and putting them to good use. In some strange way it was very gratifying cutting them up!

which brings us to the sweat.....
i don’t know how many of you have cut denim but i am here to tell you it is no easy task. who knew that slicing and cutting and sewing would be such a good workout. i would recommend this to anyone in need of arm toning!

if you look closely at this blanket you will notice all the embroidered shapes, edging, and simple pictures. i love the outcome of this idea but jabbing needles through the thick, sometimes double layered denim....ouch, my poor fingers were pin cushions and that is where the blood came in.....blood.... let me explain a strange phenomenon to you. i draw blood for a living, but strangely at the smallest amount of my own blood, free flowing, and not in a neat and tidy little collection tube, i get flush and a bit sick to my stomach. i'm not sure why this happens. i know.....strange!

which brings us to the completion of this project......

as i sewed the last seam of this blanket the blood, sweat, and tears seemed like a small price to pay for a darling blanket to put on B's bed. but the skinny jeans....i'm still letting go slowly!

p.s. have a vacuum cleaner available during this process! i learned that denim is VERY messy when you cut it up!