Colorways by Vicki Welsh

When I hurt my back this past weekend it was the second time I had done it while moving firewood. I like doing the firewood work because it’s good for osteoporosis to lift weight. I search out the chores that involve carrying heavily things to get that kind of exercise. Clearly, my firewood carrying mechanics are unproductive. I was thinking about that yesterday and had an idea.

I needed a firewood carrier. A quick search of Amazon gave me some options that were all reasonably priced under $30. But where’s the fin in that? I could better spend half a day making one for myself. Here’s how it went.

First, I had to find materials. I knew I had some wide strapping and I had some heavy denim pieces that I had dyed. But while searching through the denim I discovered something better! Primed RocLon leftovers from my painted kitchen floorcloths.

This is exactly why we all have rooms full of stuff that would be identified as garbage by most people. We have to keep those things because you never know when it might come in handy. Here’s how I went about making it. It could have been made a lot faster but what’s the fun in that.

First I had to figure out how big to make it. Fortunately, there’s a stack of wood in the basement near the woodstove. I usually carry about 5 pieces at one time so I stacked them on a piece of the fabric.

That helped me determine about how long and wide I needed the carrier to be. The logical next step was to go back tot he sewing room, cut it down to size and sew on the straps. But, that wouldn’t be fun, would it?

I have paints that I rarely get to use. Why not use up some of it on this? I painted a base with a bunch of bright colors and then started stenciling and stamping black on it to go with the black carrier straps.

While the paint was drying I figured out how long the strap needed to be. I pinned a loop and took it to the basement to test it with the 5 logs again. Once I had it right, I stitched the loop together.

I figured out how long the loops needed to be and then cut the canvas to size. I folded over the edge about 1/2″ and stitched all around the edge. Then I sewed on the straps positioning them 4.5″ from each edge. I folded the loop sections in half and stitch them together to make it easier to hold.

It’s a ridiculous little project but it was so much fun and it will give me a little giggle every time I use it. It’s really sturdy so it should last a long time.

I even have some scraps left for another project. I saved those scraps.