At 36 the signs of ageing are definitely more noticeable. Definitely.
At 36 I've never felt happier in my own skin. Wrinkles and all.
Simplicity 4589 from a thrifted sheet, of course. A prototype. I doubt I'll ever wear this one, but I'm happy how my first ever top turned out.
I'm lagging behind a little in the sewing department this week. General busyness at work coupled with long hot sticky days are slowing me down somewhat. So no new sewing to share here. Have no fear there's more sheet inspiration from Beth and Lisa, both of whom have used sheets to make fabulous skirts. I particularly like the Beth's idea of a using an old tshirt for a waist band (scroll down to the bottom of the post)- watch out for at tutorial soon! Lisa recently hosted a summer skirt sheet swap, check out the flickr group for the results and her blog for some pretty summer tops.
The flower is a nasturtium by the way. They remind me of the seventies, I'm not sure why. Their petals are edible (a bit peppery) and my children have been snacking on them every time we leave the house. Tonight we had them in salad - yum!
OK, so I'm avoiding making a dress for myself. Instead I stuck to the basics and made this pillowcase dress for Ruby. I was pretty sure she'd dismiss it as too babyish but I took my chances anyway. Surprisingly, she loves it. For two reasons apparently. Firstly because it is a night time and a day time dress (she wore it to bed last night, all day today and tonight - I guess it will have to be washed soon) and secondly, because of its Dorothy appeal.
She's just discovering the Wizard of Oz and it seems to provide hours of endless imaginative play. She's Dorothy and Tommy is Toto...they even have their own yellow brick road! Precious.
Back tomorrow with some more inspiration!
Thanks for all the continued interest in the repurposing challenge! I finished off the second pair of lounge pants and tote last night. This sheet is definitely a little more retro, I love the pattern but am a little nervous of what that the intended recipient might think!
Two of the commenters here in the past week are new to me bloggers, Catherine and Jill, who have both suggested wonderful ways of reusing old tshirts. I have to be honest that the idea of sewing any tshirts scares me somewhat (not that easy I'm imagining?) but their ideas may inspire to feel the fear and do it anyway.
Catherine made these fabulous mother and daughter t-shirt skirts (scroll to the bottom of her post) using the Alabama Stitch book. Made using reverse applique, its a perfect example of how we can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Pretty stunning, I love the colours.
Jill has also cleverly reused a favourite outgrown child's tshirt into a keepsake. Take a look at her blog where she's posted a great tutorial for Riley the Repurposed Rabbit.
Thanks for the great ideas girls! Keep them coming everyone!
This weekend I'm making a dress for myself...wish me luck. My dress making history is basically a catalogue of disasters and write-offs....I'm hoping to make something I might actually wear!
Thank you for all those who stepped up to the repurposing challenge this month - I'm thrilled so many of you have decided to join me. When you have completed and blogged your project or have advice and ideas to share, please let me know and I will post about it here. Not too late to join in - there's still 3 weeks left!
My contribution this week is the ubiquitous thrifted sheet lounge pants. Nothing original here folks, but I will tell you why they're so popular - they're amazingly comfortable and so simple to make.
I made these last night. One of two pairs for my two best friends who will be visiting us from the UK with their families in 2 weeks. In my head I'm thinking long lazy lounging mornings with uninterrupted girly chats over breakfast. The reality is that there will be 13 of us in the house with more children than adults, so no chance of peace and quiet! I used the Amy Butler In Stitches pattern again and I made simple totes with matching lining as a little gift bag to which I'll probably add a mini spa kit and a book.
Mary-Beth recently blogged about the ones she made too. Go take a peek. I love the sheet she used, such a great summer colour. Kind of makes me sad that I sleep in plain old white sheets really.
I'm all about repurposing fabric these days. Since January I have only bought around 4 yards of new fabric - as in new from a fabric store. The rest of my stash (which has grown alarmingly large) is new to me fabric that has been either donated or thrifted. Since word has got around the neighbourhood lately that I'm a sewist, I have been the lucky recipient of many bin bags of fabric assortments of varying quantities and quality. It gives me no end of pleasure and satisfaction to make something out of somebody else's "nothing" (although I hasten to add this is pretty much limited to fabric) and I'm sure I'm not alone.
In July I am challenging myself to make good use of my thrifted sheet stash by making at least one item of clothing a week. Firstly, clothes sewing is not really my thing so it will push me out of my comfort zone, and secondly, if I completely screw it up I don't need to worry about wasting expensive material.
First up, a pillowcase skirt for my five year old daughter. Uttlerly impossible to screw up. There are pillowcase dresses aplenty in blogland but how about a simple tube skirt? It literally took me 10 minutes to make with one cut, one seam and a length of non-roll elastic. Not tutorial worthy as it would be like telling you how to boil an egg - but so easy that I think she could probably have a go at making her own.
Anybody care to join in and post at least one piece of clothing made from repurposed fabric in July? I'd love to hear your ideas - post a comment and let me know if you're in!
There's not been much evidence lately, but this is still a sewing related blog. I jumped in head first on the log cabin quilt for my bed last week. I bought some fabric a while back with a red and white theme in mind. After all my design research, I'm just going for it and making it up as I go along, my reason being if I think about it too much then my head will explode and quite frankly I just need to get on with it. I quite like making things this way, I think they often turn out much better without so much planning. I'm wondering if there is a more technical term for this, "freestyle quilting"?
Anyhow here's the15 blocks I've made so far...only 5 more to go. I'm not sure I'm totally happy with it, it looks VERY red so I've decided to make the white sashing pretty wide between the blocks. I can't sew for very long without a break as the patterns make my eyes hurt. When I go to bed I can't sleep as I find myself rearranging blocks in my head which doesn't bode well given that I'll be sleeping with the end result. Quilters, is this normal?!. The next step will be emailing my quilting guru for advice on how to grapple with quilting something so huge with my little machine. I'm thinking keep it simple - straight lines only. I bumped into a member of my local quilter's guild lately who, when asked, suggested that I have it sent to a long-armed quilter, any advice anyone?
"The best time of the year to see a fairy is on Midsummer's eve, as this is the most magical time for all fairies." Cicely Mary Barker.
Arrrrghhhh Typepad is driving me nuts! I can't seem to centre my pictures, anybody else having that problem?
Today at the pool.
I've enjoyed playing this week, thanks for the motivation Anne.
Happy weekend all!
