all buttoned up.

Wonder Thrift

We were at my parents house last weekend for a quick visit. We've been over this before, but it bears repeating: besides the nice tasting water and big mountains, there is thrift magic in the air up there.

My sister and I snuck away for a few minutes Sunday afternoon to go to a garage sale down the street. I rarely stop at garage sales/thrift stores any more (there are lots of reasons, one of them being the potential of actually being smothered by my stuff) and one of the only ways I can avoid them is to save up all my good thrift juju for trips north. So. Vindication: A footed hamper destined to become a side table, a wooden handled scoop, a sturdy wicker bathroom shelf (the kid with rounded sides that you mount on the wall-- I've been looking for one for a long time), a tiny squirrel cream and sugar, some old hard cover snoopy books, and a big biscuit tin covered in anemones and straw flowers. There was so much more-- I'm hoping she will open up her garage when we go back up in August. My sister and her daughter were best friends in first grade, so we may have an in.

I'm putting the universe on notice for the perfect bed side tables and will be taking enamelware orders from my people. 

Liberate

Every time I go into our room to clean up so I can sew, I start pulling more and more stuff "to-do" piles out.  I am overwhelmed with possibility.  It is, of course, the danger of collecting fabric (or whatever).  It can be hard to part with it all.  It is ridiculous.  Ann and I went to the Antique Expo this weekend and I renewed my resolve to be the kind of person who can let go of stuff easily.  Do you want it?  It's yours.  It's in perfect condition, will I keep it that way?  Probably not and that's all right.  Use it or lose it, girl.  In my heart, I am a collector.  But in my day-to-day life it makes me crazy.  I wish it wasn't so. 

Baby steps, then.  I pulled a bunch of thrifted quilt blocks from my pile and sewed them, double-sided, into quick pillow covers.  They were destined for the trash when my friend Megan rescued them from the Goodwill Bins.  They are perfect for outdoor use and I do not feel bad when Manny cuddles up with them in the grass or uses them as beds for his baby dirt clods.  

What do you collect?  Are they things you use, or do you save them to pass down?  Does it change over time?  Do you get tired of things and get rid of them all at once?  

Back to the piles.  There are things to be liberated and these pillows did not get me very far.

mr. awesome gets even better and new shelves

Today we got up early, got ready, and joined the land of the living.  It is Paul's first day of only one job, home-by-four, teacher mcteacherson and it started bright and early this morning.  Up until now it's been second shift, school in the off-time, and two very tired-all-the-time parents.  It is made all the sweeter since we wrapped up the big basement clean up and the unearthing of the garage last week.  The list gets longer all the time (I'm going to the paint store this afternoon) but over the years the do-or-die projects are becoming fewer and farther between.  I think.  We'll see. 

On the short list was painting and reconfiguring some bookshelves which were not being used to their potential.  Also on the short list was getting some sort of china cabinet or hutch for the kitchen-- two birds down with one can of paint and a curtain rod.  I bought the fabric ages ago from SCRAP, or somewhere like it.

The upstairs hallway shelf came from Mariko and was actually a dark brown upper shelf taken from a hutch.  This is not the only thing that has come from the Eggplant or her mother recently but my camera is missing today, so those things will have to wait. Next up: painting the living room-- hah!  That is a big job.  Scratch that whole list is almost done thing.  That was lame.

It's Not Me, It's You.

I want to write about how much I appreciate how much you all have taught, shared and given to me the last few years.  I learn something every single day and it's largely because I turn on the computer and read about what you're doing and learning and making.  It's not just all the info-- it's, you know, the friendship and the talking, emailing and laughing that happens because of all of this.  I am SO grateful.  Big hugs all around.  Thank you. 

I am not going anywhere!!  I just wanted you to know.  I don't think I say it enough. 

This post might as well be called "I'm A Hack", since the shirt I'm showing you is pretty much exactly the same as another Melissa refashioned, complete with the buttons running down the back.  I used the same simplicity pattern for that blue freezer paper stenciled one and a men's XL shirt I got at the Goodwill bins.  You really can't beat the feel of slightly used, super soft shirting fabric for a good summer top.  The armholes are too big-- that's kind of a bummer, but whatever!  It's a 75 cent shirt. 

You are good people. 

Threes

I was able to poke around a little at a couple of thrift stores near my parent's house.  I consistently put things back that I regret not buying, and buy things that I could do without while still stewing in previous regrets.  Clearly, this is a growth area.  Thankfully, it was a no-brainer on these Pierre Cardin drinking glasses.  Or at least a half-brainer as I left the fourth one, because it was a double and I didn't want to be greedy but who only buys three of four glasses??   Apparently I do. Most of what I bought are going to be gifts and honestly, I need to start keeping better lists for those types of trips.  Whose birthday is coming up?  Whose name do I have at Christmas?  Instead of buying stuff first and trying to figure out who it's going to be for later.

Like I did with these Danish Robin Egg teacups (this time there were only three) which I will keep for a bit until I feel all right saying good-bye.

This H&K Tunstall plate is all me, though.  It is a little dessert plate (which means there are at least three more out there missing it) not worth very much but definitely the four dollars I paid for it, if only for the sweet poppies and the gold trim. 

sweetness and light

We visited a garage sale around the corner and after two trips came home with this rocker for the boys.  The seller had reupholstered it about 40 years ago for her son and it hadn't been used since.  I paid 20 dollars for it which I thought was a lot but would've kicked myself HARD if I'd left it alone.

It has become a major player in our Antiques Roadshow game where Sam drags it across the room and proceeds to tell a long sad tale about his mother in England who bought it for him and died because she was mad (yeah, I know).  He's watched the show a couple of times and apparently it's stuck.  He insists on flipping it over to show me the wood made of metal worth at least 4 dollars.  "Thank you for bringing it in to show me."  He somehow plays both parts but insists that he's the "guy" and one of us is "the people", so I don't know.  The funniest part is that he only brings me things that he's decided are old or antique-ish or whatever, and I LOVE how he scorns the idea of shiny and new.  Those things are just not roadshow worthy. 

Other sweetness making things go 'round:

• My friend Hannah has a show in KC on Friday night.  I wish I could be there to see it and her.  If you go, introduce yourself and say that you don't read her blog.  That would be awesome.  Better yet, introduce yourself, tell her you don't read her blog, but tell her that you read mine.  And if you chicken out and don't introduce yourself you can just pretend you're there to look at all the awesome shoes.  It is good to have a contingency plan.  
• One of these little bowls came to me from Bridgman Pottery and it is so delicate and utilitarian and good.  Molly wrote about hers and Melissa was good enough to let me know when she had more ready.  Pretty, pretty.  Berries (all the fruit, really) are a good three weeks behind here in the Northwest and I am chomping at the bit to go u-pick.  Our little neighborhood Farmer's Market was so pathetic this week
• The Depot is having their Outdoor Sale and they have a ton of cute knits (lightweight solids especially), great denim and then piles of crazy stuff for very cheap.  I got sucked in.  Big time. 

I left my mirror dirty just for you.

T-Shirt weather has been slow in coming this Spring and now it appears we're skipping straight ahead to tank tops.  As much as I loathe my bare arms, I turn into this bitchy/delicate flower in the heat.  I unpacked our summer bin yesterday to turn it into our winter/sweater bin and to search out long lost summer clothes.  I found a bunch of t-shirts that I've been having a hard time letting go of.  So, armed with my new found confidence in knits, I set about seeing what I could do to alter the ones I wanted to keep but either looked like they had come from the pit stain factory (me) or were a tad too little/big (mostly little, sadly).

I put the shirt on and stood in front of the mirror with a felt pen (I used a water soluble one) and drew a line from my shoulder to the underarm seam (following my bra strap) and then another for the neck.  If you can let go of the sleeves, you're also letting go of any, er, restricting bits.  Then you can do one of two things:  If you make the shoulders wide, you can turn down the edges twice and carefully top-stitched the whole shebang, taking care not to stretch as you sew.  OR, you might cut out strips of ribbing about two-thirds the circumference of the sleeve (you'll stretch the ribbing out as you sew) and attach to the raw edges (check the seams of your favourite ribbed t-shirt for a visual how-to). 

This is my favourite way to tackle such a modification partly because it was so easy to transfer what I learned from sewing patterns out of this book to doing my own thing (and because it's cuter).  It's what I love about following patterns (however painful) initially, because regardless of the outcome, I end up learning so much.  

edited to say:

People have asked about sourcing knit ribbing, and how you go about buying it.  I think they used to make cuff ribbing in strips a bit like really fat bias tape, in sweet colours and stripes.  Has anyone else seen this?  I think this is usually only done commercially now, and the only ribbing I've managed to find comes are solid colours, woven into tubes and bought by the inch or yard off the bolt.  If you were skinny enough, you could just buy a couple of yards and pull it up over your booty to make a tube dress.  Also, if you were crazy enough. I bought some lightweight ribbing locally at the Depot and a whole lot more heavier 100% cotton, cream coloured (extremely dye-able) ribbing at Rose City Textiles.  Sewzannes.com has it online.  

T-Shirt Pants

I knew there would be lots of Whirly Pop love out there.  I have been remiss in not exploring the kettle corn possibilities.  I need to track down the recipe book that came with it and get on it.  My friend Ryan also informed me that it's not a single use gadget-- he uses one to roast coffee beans!  I imagine nuts would work, too.

I did not get much of the basement done, but the yard looks as good as it ever has in March.  We managed to get all the old paint out of the basement and take it to get recycled (Metro will recycle both the cans and some of the actual paint into new stuff).  There was a lot.  Low VOC paints weren't really on our radar when we were redoing the house-- there were very few options, and it was pretty expensive.  We probably should have still gone with that, however.  I am a little freaked out at how big that pile was.  Lesson learned.

Anyway, the weather is turning cool and wet just in time for a visit from Paul's mom and for me to get sewing again.  I got some XXL tshirts at the Bins.  They were 1.59/lb, so I'm guessing that's about the price of each shirt.  I'd say that will give you enough material for a 6 year old's shorts right down to multiple pairs of baby pants.  These are for Sam and are in reference to this post and Boden beach pants.  I don't always like buying good used clothes if I know someone else might need them as they are, but buying stuff at the bins means that it was the last stop for these poor things. 

I don't have a serger and I use a long straight stitch and a stretch needle to sew knits.  I usually only run into problems with with hemming/arm holes, so I used the existing hem of the shirt for the bottom of the pants.  If you're going to do this, it's important to 1. Cut the fabric out with the bottom of the pattern lined up with the bottom of the shirt (the grain lines will right themselves if you do it this way) and 2.  Sew the sides and inseam starting at the existing hem line (bottom up).

You can use any elastic waist pants pattern or trace a pair of existing pants.  I added about a centimeter in width moving towards the bottom of the "front" pattern piece, so they wouldn't look tapered.  I also added some pockets.  The pockets make them a little heavier, so I'll probably opt for none next time or put patch ones on the back. 

Okay!  That's it.  You can do it, too.

not much, you?

My friend Megan called me the other morning while standing over a pile of old fabric at the Bins.  She had a feeling they were *treasures* and would I  want them, and of course she understands almost more than anyone I know how *treasures* can be such a subjective designation... she is a good friend.  She bought the six or seven pounds of scraps and dropped them off home for me.  I got rid of about a third of them-- all the solids and all the uglies.  Most of them are tiny pieces and triangles all from the 50s through the late 70s (near as I can tell) along with a few pieced blocks (craftsmanship was not this person's strong suit), and of course all the best bits are the tiniest. 

***

I finished up my first Blurb picture book yesterday.  I ended up scanning in a bunch of film for it so we'll see how that goes.  It took me longer than I had expected and the auto formating on the font had me wearing a hole into the table with my mouse.  I checked the forums for help on this issue, and came up empty.  Curses.  The deadline for Christmas ordering is near the beginning of December, so I'll try to give a full report before then.  Anybody have any general tips?

I've been making Norwegian Apple Cake a lot, as well as Amy's Lazy Lemon Ginger Cake from Mailorder 3.   I made both things for a get-together the other night and someone said, " oh, they look so good like you bought them-- but from one of those fancy rustic bakeries".  Hah!  Fancy Rustic.  They are quick to make and are easy to do a day ahead of time.  Speaking of the Chicken, she sent me home with some Pumpkin Leek soup the other day with the words, "You are going to set up a pumpkin altar after you are through".  She was not exaggerating. 

What else?   Susan posted pictures of her forthcoming book today.  I am really excited about this one.  It's so outside of what I *do*, that I can't wait to give it a go.  Plus she's rad.  Go ahead and slap it into your pre-order cart and look forward to some Spring jewelry making. 

Okay. Back to work!!  I don't want to panic anybody, but it's almost November. 

recycle play

Next time you're hanging around your local fabric store, ask them if they have any bolts they'd like liberated from the recycle box. 

They make excellent playhouses/garages/skateboards/snowshoes/jackhammers/easels.  And if you happen to have some oatmeal raisin cookies on hand--all the better.