Bad crafter. No biscuit.

I gave in to temptation and bought two knit shirts, because I still suck at sewing knits, though now that I have a new sewing machine, I plan on getting better at it. I had to wear a heart monitor for a day, and all my shirts showed that I was wired like the Bionic Woman. I will be good now.

Winter Storm

A perfect day for taking pictures in the snow…and stopping every few seconds to yell, “Miranda! Get over here!” as the dog disappears around the corner of the house to investigate the far more interesting world out of my line of sight. I’m finding real satisfaction in digital photos, probably because I never had the patience required by the artists who work with film.

Here’s the dragon that guards our house.  You can see me in the photo, too…look into the crystal ball!

Okay, everybody, that’s a wrap

I spent a couple of hours sorting through my fabric stash.  I’ve been very good lately, buying fabric only for a specific purpose, and not just ’cause it’s pretty.  This has been VERY DIFFICULT, because I love fabric.  It whispers seductively that the perfect purpose will arise, and if I don’t have this fabric on hand I’ll be very, very sorry.

So when an ice storm hit, I had lots of choices on hand to make a wrap skirt to wear with leggings.  I used some instructions I found on GetCrafty.com as my inspiration, and drafted a very simple pattern on heavy tissue paper.  I had to adjust the measurements I found online to fit my older  more mature curvier figure.  I used bias tape for the border of the skirt, except at the top, where I made my own.  I attached ribbon ties and voilà!…it’s a wrap.  The next one I make is going to be longer.

T-shirt refashion

In my drawer are a few Lands End long-sleeve t-shirts that I’ve had absolutely forever. I can’t wear them anywhere but at home, because of the little stains, holes, and tears. I’d been wanting to make some “half gloves” from a tutorial on Stitch Lounge, so I decided to see what I could come up with for the rest of one of my workhorse shirts.

I cut off the sleeves, and made the “half-glove” arm-warmers. Then I cut off the sides and neckline of the t-shirt (including the stains under the arms–bleah.) I added strips of funky fabric to the sides, and then made some double-fold bias tape for the armholes and neckline. The point of the neckline in front caused me a bit of worry, but I sewed that thing flat…

I’d love to report that I did this all very scientifically with measurements and all, but in truth I grabbed another t-shirt from a drawer and used it as a rough guide. I also must be truthful and say I screwed up the hemline of the shirt by (arrgh) cutting the first fabric strip even with the existing hem, forgetting about adding 5/8 to turn under. So I’ll have to put bias tape over that, too.

I’m very pleased with how it came out. Not that I can wear it any time soon, as it is currently 5 degrees F here in upstate New York. I have lots of t-shirts that I can convert this way. Next time I’ll make the armhole binding thinner, and I’ll have a better hemline. I think I need to make the top of the arm-warmer smaller, too. It won’t matter if I’m wearing it under something, but I don’t want them to slide down my arm when I’m wearing them with the t-shirt.

Sweater refashion

One of my second-hand finds was this cotton cable-knit sweater. Though very comfortable and warm, the shape is a bit strange. It’s about 3 inches longer in back than in front, and the sides are very wide. (Perhaps it was a man’s sweater? If it was, it was for a very short man!) I thought it was a good candidate for a refashion.

I was very nervous about cutting into knitted fabric, but finally decided it was ridiculous to be nervous about refashioning a sweater that I can’t wear, however pretty.

I turned the sweater inside out, and stitched a new line from the armpit to the bottom of the sweater on each side, and then tried on the sweater again to make sure of the fit. Then I restitched the same seam with a very small stitch size, so that the sweater won’t unravel.

The bottom of the sweater took a bit of thought. I considered adding 3 inches to the front of the sweater, or adding a fabric band to the bottom and to the cuffs, but figured I would have the devil of a time matching the color and texture. I finally decided to cut the extra fabric from the back, and then add cream-colored bias tape to keep the ends from unraveling. Voilà! A sweater I will wear!