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wardrobe refashion: shirt to apron

shirt to apron

Here’s the third shirt from last week’s garage sale purchases. These big, flouncy shirts came in style right after I had my daughter and I refused to buy any. I had just gotten out of maternity clothes. I didn’t want to buy shirts that made me look pregnant!

shirt to apron

I really liked the band around the middle and thought it would make a nice apron. I love how this already had the ribbon and trim details. All I had to do was cut it up and add the sashes!

shirt to apron

I’m not really an apron girl, but this just might make me change my mind. I just need to get over worrying about getting it dirty. I know, it’s an apron, but it’s so darn cute!

shirt to apron

refashion: Shirt from garage sale cost $1. Sash made from the sleeves. Cute ribbon trim conveniently part of the original shirt. Love when that happens!

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wardrobe refashion: shirt to skirt

I found some cute shirts at a garage sale this morning. I’ve already refashioned two, but it was too dark to take the second “after” photo. Here’s the first one.

circle print shirt

The top portion was a little tight and the bottom was big enough to be a skirt. Ha! A skirt! I cut off the top and sewed a casing for the elastic. It even already had pockets!

circle print skirt

It hits just above the knee, which is about as high as I go these days. The fabric is lightweight and it’s going to be a nice, cool skirt for the hot days of August.

refashion: Shirt 50 cents from a garage sale. Elastic from my stash.

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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.

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my creative space

fabric for new tote bags

This morning I went to a few garage sales. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular — just trying to stay fresh with ideas. I found this cute cotton shower curtain that I think will make some really fun tote bags. There’s even more ric rac not pictured! Today I’ve been sketching and trying to figure out how I’m going to cut this up. There are so many possibilities!

More creative spaces over at Kootoyoo. Go check them out!

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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!

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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.

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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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crafty garage sale finds

crafty garage sale finds

I’m showing some serious garage sale constraint this season because I’ve got a pretty good stash established. However, yesterday morning was beautiful and the next neighborhood over was having their annual sales. I found some fabric for a future skirt, 2 yards for $1. I also found a ton of elastic for my new clothing adventures, $2 for all. I couldn’t pass up this brown wool sweater; it was free!