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Recycling a Vest into Little Wallets

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Those of you who’ve followed my blog a longtime might (and it’s okay if you don’t) remember when I was obsessed with making “little wallets”. Here is a batch of them from a post in September 2017 titled Little Wallet Madness:

Well recently I’ve made some new little wallets, this time from a recycled indigo batik vest and here is the background on how it came to be.

We visited friends in Asheville, North Carolina in October 2023 (see posts Greetings from Asheville – Blue Ridge Parkway and Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC) and our friend S knew I liked to work with recycled materials so while we were visiting she gave me an old indigo batik vest of hers that she was about to donate to a charity shop. She challened me to make something out of it.

It took me nearly a year to revisit the material (and the pressure of these friends coming to visit in August 2024) to finally make something – a set of little wallets. I made 5 and gave 3 to S when they visited us last week.

Unfortunately I did not think to take a photo of the vest before I cut it up to become material for the little wallets, so you’ll just have to use your imagination.

S was delighted with her 3 little wallets – one to keep and two to give as gifts.

We had a very fun 3 day visit with S and her husband E and we took them on various Colorado adventures including a visit to Fiction Beer/Brewery where you can borrow a book (or take for free) while you have your delicious craft beer!

They loved it and S is a big reader like I am so she left with a book.

John made lots of good while they visited including using his new outdoor griddle which he loved to make breakfast on; and a wonderful dish called Mexican Picadillo with simmered meat and potatoes served in corn tortilla with various toppings:

We ate outside nearly every meal as the weather has been nice in the Denver area, especially in the mornings and evenings.

S lives a “gluten-free” lifestyle so I challenged myself to do some “gluten-free” baking while she visited and made my first “gluten-free” cookies – peanut butter cookies without flour:

They were delicious but very crumbly!

Our non-stop summer of traveling or out-of-town visitors in nearly coming to a close. We’ve had fun but we are looking forward to a semi-quieter Autumn and tentatively a very quiet Winter…perhaps I can even get some “tierneycreating” done 🙂

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Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

27 thoughts on “Recycling a Vest into Little Wallets”

  6. I’m with you Tierney, I made so many little pocket wallets when I sold crafts at festivals and craft shows. I have one in my purse now but I only have one backup wallet left, they last forever! That would be so much fun learning to cook gluten free for your friend, only a great friend would have thought to do that.

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      1. No, it’s in a drawer in my dining room holding some small things I do not want to lose. They are comfy inside it! As for your other bag, it’s getting ready to go back to the enamel and jewelry studio in the fall. I bought a new bigger carrying case for all my supplies for both enamel and metalworking, and I hope it like the new home!

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  12. It’s great visiting with good friends, and clearly you packed in a lot of fun. Your peanut butter cookies look delicious! Your indigo wallets are delightful. I’m sure S was pleasently surprised. You are a woman of many talents.

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