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wardrobe refashion: floral shirt

floral shirt refashion

Not sure if this qualifies as a refashion or if it is more of an alteration. Do I need a new category?

floral shirt refashion

Originally, I thought I’d take it in at the waist, but the front has a bunch of tiny little pleats. I was worried they might look funny if I altered the sides.

floral shirt refashion

Instead, I just cut off the cuffs, which were too tight when buttoned. I used my rolled hemmer foot to finish the new edge. It worked great!

floral shirt refashion

I never thought I’d be a fan of 3/4 sleeves, but I seem to keep making them, don’t I? I love the way this shirt looks and fits now.

refashion: Shirt was $2 a neighbor’s garage sale. I wasn’t planning on buying anything that day, but I couldn’t resist the little blue flowers.

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wardrobe refashion: t-shirt toddler dress

I’ve got way too many pictures for this little refashion, especially because it was just a practice project. I bought this shirt because I liked the embroidery on the front and back. You’ve gotta love fabric that comes already embellished!

t shirt toddler dress

It’s loosely based on this Simplicity for Kids pattern. I say loosely because the pattern didn’t really cooperate with the embroidery. Not only that, but the shirt was crooked! There was more pink fabric on one side than the other.

t shirt toddler dress

I used the 3T size, because that’s what Bella is mostly wearing these days. It turned out a little big.

t shirt toddler dress

I’m still trying to work on two skills: sewing knits and using my rolled hemmer foot. My seams are still a little wonky, but they are improving.

t shirt toddler dress

Here’s the awesome thing, though. When I was taking these pictures, Bella asked me what I was doing. When I told her I made her this dress, she grabbed it and said, “Thanks, Mommy! I love this dress! I love it!” Then she rolled it up in a little ball and began to hug it.

t shirt toddler dress

It wasn’t until she tried it on that I realized how big it was. She told me it was fine. I’m hoping she’ll grow into it before the end of the summer. (Please excuse the post-quiet time crazy hair.)

t shirt toddler dress

refashion: I’ve been collecting cute t-shirts to turn into dresses. This one was from a church garage sale. Most of them are from 99 cent days at Goodwill. Pattern was also from Goodwill. It goes up to size 8!

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my creative space

my creative space

I can’t tell you how hard it was to get a picture of this scarf. My family watched as I walked from room to room trying to capture the leaves. I started this scarf on retreat last weekend. It’s my first lace project and I love it. Tonight we’re going to see the Saltdogs at Haymarket Park and I’ll be taking this as my stadium knitting. Isn’t it pretty?

my creative space

You can find more pretty things over at Kirsty’s blog. Take a pic and play along!

details: Pattern is Branching Out from Knitty. Yarn is Red Heart Luster Sheen. Yes, really.

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handmade student emergency kit

virginia tech birthday gift

My brother is very smart. He’s got one of those jobs where he can’t tell you what he does. I have a feeling I probably wouldn’t understand a lot of it if he could. He’s also working on his PhD. Both involve a lot of hard work and math. Two things that he can always use: pencils and caffeine.

virginia tech birthday gift

If you’ve been reading my personal blog for awhile, you know that he went/goes to Virginia Tech. He never tires of Hokie-themed gifts. (I asked.) I figured what he needed these days was something for all of those pencils and caffeine. I made him a pencil case and tucked some extra mechanical pencils, lead and erasers inside. I also made him an adjustable coffee sleeve and sent him a big bag of his favorite tea.

recycle: I can’t believe I am still using up VT fabric scraps from a yard I purchased over a year ago. Denim was from a pair of jeans. (Freecycle is a great source for denim!) Fabric and button were from my stash. Elastic was a colored pony tail holder.

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handmade wedding and anniversary gifts

tea towels

You may have noticed a theme around here. I love to give gifts that will get used. I have a set of mixing bowls we received as a wedding gift that I use all the time. Whenever I get them out, I always think about our special day. So, when I was brainstorming ideas for wedding and anniversary gifts, I thought tea towels get used everyday! I made these with linen and they feel wonderful. I also added some details to match both couples’ kitchen colors.

satin stitch

I had planned to embroider their last initial on the towels, but everything I tried just didn’t work: cross stitch, back stitch, running stitch. I decided that maybe less was more, so I left the initials off.

tea towels

inspiration: The pattern for these is in one of my new favorite books, Linen, Wool, Cotton. The linen fabric is a blend and the review on Joann’s website sounded perfect for tea towels. Thread was from my stash.

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handmade father’s day bookmarks

father's day bookmarks

I had a hard time coming up with a gift for my dad and father-in-law this year. We did our daughter’s hand print for Mother’s Day and wanted to do something Bella-related for Father’s Day, too. After surfing crafty blogs for inspiration, I decided on a photo booth bookmark. Both of our dads like to read, so it seemed like a perfect idea. When we talked with them yesterday, it sounded like they were a hit. I’m sure they’ll get a lot of use!

inspiration: Bookmark idea from Make and Takes. Photo booth artwork from Sugarplum Paperie. Blue sparkly paper from my stash. Laminated at our local office supply store.

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knitting homework

knitting retreat

Last night I was all ready to settle down with the sock I posted yesterday when I remembered that I had homework to do! I’m going on a little knitting retreat this weekend. It’s a local retreat — only 30 minutes away — with beautiful gardens and meditation paths. I’ll have my own room and bathroom. Meals are included. Doesn’t that sound lovely? The best part, though, will be guilt-free knitting! There will even be a few classes, which explains why I had to do homework. I can’t wait!

stash: Yep, you guessed it! My swatch yarn is thrifted from goodwill. It’s part of my acrylic collection for making amigurumi.

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my creative space

my creative space

I would have loved to post this earlier, but I misplaced my camera cord. Yes, it’s been one of those days. I’ve been hustling and bustling to get gifts in the mail. I don’t know why June seems to be a last minute month. I start planning early, I really do. I think part of it is because I really want these gifts to be special, and it takes a lot of searching for that perfect thing to make.

Now that everything is packaged up and at the post office, I am going to work on something just for me: my monkey socks that have been in the UFO pile for almost a year. Yikes!

You can find more creative spaces over at Kootoyoo’s blog.

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project to do: crochet jar jacket

crochet jar jacket

This yarn has been sitting in my stash for over a year waiting for the right project. I have six balls total and got them all for $5 at a garage sale. When they passed the burn test for wool, I was even more excited! I was thinking of making a blanket because they are so close to the color of our walls.

Since then, I have found Lucy over at Attic 24. Every morning I look for her latest post. The colors of her projects and photos are like a little dose of sunshine, which has been nice these past few cloudy days! Now, I’m planning to make some crochet jar jackets. The flowers are starting to bloom and I could use a fast and easy project to brighten my day. After a few of those, I’m planning to make this bag. I like the idea of having a place for my current projects to live that also matches my living room. After all, that’s where I do most of my knitting and crocheting!

I’m almost ready to start working on my to-do projects. I’ve finished the wedding, annivarsary and birthday gifts and should be able to post them on the blog next week. All I’ve got left are a few things for Father’s Day. Next week will be filled with finished photos!

stash: I’m so glad I didn’t walk away from this yarn when I found it. The colors are just perfect. I knew I’d find a project for it eventually.

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project to do: rugs

We have a sisal rug as a door mat that we bought from Restoration Hardware more than 10 years ago. I love the look of sisal, but it’s a little expensive. I thought it would be easy to reproduce by knitting with sisal. I got a ball of it at the hardware store a few years ago. It’s still sitting in my stash. I’m just not motivated to knit a big rectangle with scratchy twine.

In the meantime, I found a natural colored rag rug at Target a few years ago on clearance for $5. They only had one. We’ve been using it by our garage door and it works fine, but I don’t really like the look of the tassels. I do like that it is softer than the sisal. It feels a little nicer in our kitchen area.

rugs

Then one day at a church sale (have I mentioned how much I love church sales?) I found three more rag rugs that matched ours. The colors are all slightly different, but they are in the same family. I got an idea. What if I cut the tassels off and added fabric trim. I get the look of my favorite rug, but softer and cheaper. (I got all three rugs for $1.)

I’ve washed all of them and I’m just waiting for a little bit of free time to dive into this project. I don’t expect it will take long, but I think there will be some hand sewing involved. I don’t know about putting these under my presser foot, even if they do fit.

refashion: Refashioning isn’t just about making over your clothes. Try refashioning items for your home, too. Sometimes the best way to find the perfect accessory is to make one yourself.