Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Almost October!

October is my absolute favorite month. I love the weather, the crunchy leaves underfoot and the colors.

Halloween is my favorite season. It's not the specific day or because it's my birthday. Truth be told, having a Halloween birthday as a parent kinda sucks. I love the spooky (not tacky) decor.

Two years ago, I was doing the 365 project. 1 self-portrait a day for 365 days. For the month of October, I did all Halloween/Autumn inspired photos.

This year, I want to do something similar with my blog. Recipes, crafts, photos, etc. This is a challenge I am giving myself. My goal is a blog a day.
Happy October Eve!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Soup!

I'm really making an effort to lose weight. Seriously. It's difficult to not get discouraged, especially since I strictly followed Weight Watchers for a week and lost NOTHING. Because of that, I said "eff it" and at kind of crappily yesterday. Now to pick up and start over. One day of mourning allowed.

So, since I need to go grocery shopping and there's nothing really low-points to eat in the house (or any points, for that matter!) I found a recipe that would work.

I found this recipe last week. I made it this morning and at it for lunch. Me & Abby took a walk to get some good Italian bread to complete the meal.

Since I didn't have fresh rosemary, I just used dried. I also skipped the fresh herb mix-in and sour cream at the end. It didn't really matter because the soup is so good! My daughter ate a lot of it! This is good news. She asked for more for dinner!


Friday, September 25, 2009

Crafty Wish List.

*these are not my photos and are linked back to the proper source.


1. Shrinky Dink Printer Paper.


I just think this looks fun! I wanna try to make earrings. Jemaine Clement earrings, anyone?! Or I can act all clever and esoteric and make Ambrose Bierce earrings. Don't think I wouldn't. I totally would. And I'd smugly wear them. Check out this cool etsy shop and see what she did with them.


2. A serger.


This would make my sewing so much more professional looking. And plus, they're fun to use. And I wouldn't have to go back after I was done sewing a seam and do another row with my overlock stitch. *sigh* A girl can dream, right?


3. Interchangeable Knitting Needles.

I have a lot of knitting needles. I have a lot of yarn. It seems that whenever I want to start a project, I never have the right combination of the two. This would greatly reduce that problem... at least, I think it would.


4. A Walking Foot.

This would make quilting so much easier. And I'll fool myself and say that I'd make more (and better quality) quilts if I had one. No really, I would. I swear...


5. An entire craft room. Decorated how I want. All to myself.


1. My creative space, 2. Fabric storage, 3. Plate rack o' fun, 4. My sewing corner and the board with its old boring cover

This is not my room. (Go here to see her entire set.) I wish it was. I love everything about it. The red/aqua color combination. The excess amounts of crafty things! I know that my husband would hate everything I love about this room.

I'm sure I'm missing a ton of things, but these are the main ones, right now. I'm sure more things will be added as I peruse etsy and various crafty blogs. Except the room. Oh yes, I want my own room.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

5-7-5

Welcome, autumn air!
Pumpkins, apples, fallen leaves.
My seasonal bliss.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Shrug.

Inspired by a post on wardrobe refashion (sorry, don't feel like finding the actual post!), and following the ridiculously simple directions here, I made a shrug from an old-shirt.

Ew. I need to clean the mirror.


I hate it.

I believe this is because:
1. The shirt isn't big enough. I think if the t-shirt were larger, it would look better.
2. The pattern on the t-shirt is off-putting.
3. I used pink (ew!) binding as the drawstring.
4. It accentuates my boobs too much.

In conclusion:
I will definitely try this again because it's too damn easy not to! Very little effort is involved. I will try a bulkier, solid-colored shirt. I will find/make a drawstring in a color that I actually like.
~
I started to knit myself a simple sweater. I casted on and knitted a few rows. George the cat had other plans. I have yet to start over.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

(Not so) Tiny Dancer.

My daughter starts dance class on Saturday. She has everything she needs: ballet slippers, tap shoes, a leotard, and stockings. All she needed was a cute little bag to carry her shoes in.
That was my job!

I sketched a ballet shoe and her initial. I then transferred it to thrifted fabric (used the taping to window technique) and then embroidered the design and then constructed a simple tote. I am quite please with how it turned out.

Added bonus: everything (except the thread to sew the bag together) was purchased at a thrift store!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

This Weekend's Loot.

$8.00 for a plastic storage box full of sewing stuff! The box was taped up, so I couldn't really dig through to see what was in there, but it looked so cool, I had to have it!


Snap fastener. Pretty cool. It's a lot more sturdy than the crappy plastic ones that they sell now. Also, there are a ton of sew on snaps in this container!

These are sewing needles. I just love the artwork.

Elastic cord. Again, just really like the art.
Lots and lots of binding, and ric-rac.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Pledge.

2 month pledge

I, Jaime Avon, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed JMA.

A Wearable Top for Me!

This is a very easy pattern. I'm ashamed to say that it took me a bit longer than it should have. I made a version of this top before, but didn't like how it turned out, mainly due to the type of fabric. Like the last time, the top is a smaller size than the bottom. I am a true pear-shape!

This time, I used a regular knit fabric that I bought at a thrift store about a year ago. It's bright pink. Nothing I'd ordinarily wear, nor buy. BUT, it was like $1 for 2 yards. How could I not buy it? I'm glad I did because I really like the way it turned out.



Ordinarily, I would have added several inches to the bottom. I like my shirts long. I forgot this time, so I just compensated by adding some split panels at the bottom. I don't think it looks too bad. (Yes, I know there's lots of stray threads that need to be clipped.)

I am a bit bummed, however, that the washable ink that I used to mark pattern points did not thoroughly wash out. That is really disappointing, but I'm still wearing this shirt, dammit!


PS. I also would like to mention that today is September 1st. This marks the start of my two-month refashion pledge. That means, no shopping for *new* clothes! All clothing must be thrifted and/or refashioned. I'm excited!

ETA: I didn't hem the bottom, just used the overlock stitch on my machine.

PPS. Happy 6th anniversary to my awesome friends HLM & CPM.