wardrobe refashion:
pajama pants from thrifted sheet

thrifted sheet pajamas

It seems like everyone in blogland is making comfy pants out of vintage sheets. I don’t think mine are that old, but I still love them. They turned out a little big, but after my too-small skirts, I wanted to make sure they were wearable! I’ve adjusted the pattern a little for next time and can’t wait to make another pair. I’m also thinking of making a matching pair for my daughter with the leftovers.

refashion: Thrifted sheets are a great alternative to buying new fabric. You have a lot to work with and you don’t feel bad if you mess up! This sheet was one of my $2 deals and the pattern is Simplicity 3935 from a 99 cent sale.

no vacation yarn for me

kearney yarn store

Wooly Mammoth Yarn Store, Kearney Cruise 2009

I’m kind of surprised I didn’t buy any vacation yarn yesterday. I’ve found so many exciting garage sale deals this summer, that going in and just buying yarn seemed kind of boring. There’s no thrill of the hunt. There’s no adventure in bargaining. I did go in and look around, though. I’m not crazy!

I also looked around the antique store, but everything seemed so expensive. I guess that’s another side effect of thrifting. I kept thinking, “They want how much?!” After that, I decided not to go to the fabric store. Instead, I sat under a tree in the shade and crocheted some granny squares with my freecycle yarn.

surprise for our recycling guy

bags of shredded junk mail

Our recycling is mostly made up of glass, aluminum and plastic. Since I’ve canceled most of our catalogs, our weekly paper bin consists of some boxes, a few days of newspaper and junk mail. Not tomorrow, though!

Believe it or not, the biggest project I worked on while my parents were visiting was non-craft related. I tried to regain some control over our filing. There are lots of reasons excuses as to why it was in such a state. I won’t go into them here. Let’s just say there will be a lot of paper at the curb tomorrow morning.

I’m still not finished. Most everything has been sorted into files. The next step is to go through each file and figure out what we need to keep. I’m going to work on that at a much slower pace, though. I need to get back to my sewing!

resource: The IRS has a guide for what kind of records you should keep posted on its website.

new photo space!

I’m really excited about my new little shelf. No more doorknobs in my photos!

yellow floral reversible handmade tote

It’s not really that blue, but the white spray paint I used still doesn’t match our trim very well. My husband said we have some leftover trim paint downstairs, so I’m still not finished with this project yet. Luckily, it’s good enough to start using right away. (p.s. These two new totes are now in my etsy shop!)

recraft: All it took was a little paint to give this $2 shelf new life!

wardrobe refashion: skirts

I was all excited to try out my new simplicity skirt pattern with two cute pillowcases I had thrifted, but I forgot to add in the ease to my measurements. Bugger! That’s what I get for cutting fabric too late at night. I’m already ripping out the seams to make something else. Here is the too small front.

fabric for new tote bags

I tried the pattern again with the proper measurements and it fits much better. I didn’t want to sacrifice anymore fabric until I got it right, so I made this version out of a cotton sheet. It’s a little sheer, though. Not sure if I’ll be wearing it outside of the house.

fabric for new tote bags

I’m planning to try the version without darts next. Hopefully the third time will be a charm!

refashion + recycle: pillowcases from church sale, sheet from tote of garage sale fabric, thrifted zippers in both

two dollar deals!

The past few days I’ve been cleaning and straightening the house because my parents arrived last night for a nice, long visit. I am looking forward to some serious sewing time while they are here!

I did manage to get out a little bit and score some serious thrifty deals. Thursday, my daughter and I went to a garage sale looking for kid stuff. Instead we found a London Fog wool coat for my husband. I swear it is brand new. It was even his size, so no alterations needed. It was a mere $2. Can you believe it? I had to pinch myself. And he likes it!

london fog coat

Saturday afternoon I went out with an actual mission. I’m tired of having a door knob in all of my photos and decided I need some kind of wall shelf with pegs to hang my totes and refashion projects. I found this on sale for $2 at the first store I visited. I’m going to paint it white. Yay!

shelf

I still had some time to myself, so I went to a few more stores just to browse around. I’ve been looking for some pretty sheets to make some pajama bottoms and happened to stumble upon these bright and cheery flowers. These were also on sale for $2.

flower sheets

thrifting: Some days it feels like I never find anything at the thrift stores and I wonder why I even bother. Then I have jackpot days like this and it reminds me that the extra effort is worth it!

project done: crochet jar jacket

crochet jar jacket

I love this little jar jacket. If you remember, the yarn was from a garage sale. I’m so glad it was wool, because it was worn in so many places. I did a lot of splicing it back together. It makes me think that it is recycled from something, but the wool is so straight. Usually recycled wool is wavy from being knit. Did someone actually take the time to unravel, steam out the kinks and then sell it? Or was it so old that the kinks just fell out? I wish I knew its history.

It turned out a little big, so I wound up putting it around a larger jar. (Smuckers natural peanut butter, if you must know.) I also had to crochet with two strands held together because the yarn weight is so fine.

stash: I have lots of yarn left to make this crochet bag. You can find the jar jacket pattern here.

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.

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!

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.