Three Days

Three days.  That's how long I had my latest migraine.  Ugh.  Certainly puts a damper on being creative, I'll tell you.

Still working on the parfait t-shirt - that one should definitely be finished by tomorrow.  I was just sitting here at the computer and glanced over at another shirt that was gifted to me by a friend for makeover purposes - all of a sudden I had a flash of inspiration - and I knew I could knock this one out pretty quick.

The Before - a black and white plaid shirt, size 1x, shirred in the front with elastic thread:

LOL!  My camera does NOT like this black and white print!

Getting started:  first, try and figure out what I'm going to do with this shirt.

Hmm...this looks promising.

Going to need quite a bit taken in on the sides.

                     

Taking some darts in the back to make it more fitted.

And off comes the button plackets and the collar.

Looking better already!

Trimmed about three inches off the bottom of the shirt, and about the same on both cuffs.  Then it's time for new hems!

Sewing it down. 

Did a little creative cutting & stitching,
and it became ties for the front & side.

                

Remember the three inches I cut
off the bottom of the shirt?

Add some lace I bought at the Assistance League Store for a whole dollar, and voila!  A new shirt!

And in case you were wondering, the Sewing Assistant was there to help every step of the way:

What?  Pretty white danglies not for me?

I'm Working. Really I am.

Work in progress.  Slow, but when you have days like today, maybe that's better all the way around.

Funny thing is, this isn't the shirt I started.  I cut the neck and the cuffs off the green turtleneck first:

Hey there, remember me?

Same shirt, different lighting.

I decided I probably wouldn't wear the green one first, so yesterday I had to steal another turtleneck off the pile because somebody (I'm not saying WHO) was sleeping on all of them.  

Would you try to pull one out from under this guy?  Me, neither.  I value my hand.

I thought I would wear the dark rose colored one first anyway, so that's the one I swiped while the Sewing Assistant was otherwise occupied.  I cut the collar and cuffs off of it. Then I started playing around with designs.  (I'd show you my design drawings, but then I'd have to shoot you.  You know, in case you blabbed to Oscar de la Renta or something like that.)  Once I started pulling out knit fabrics I've collected, I noticed a strange phenomena:  I kept changing my mind about how I wanted to refashion the shirt.  Well, maybe that's not so strange.  I'm sure other artists and craftspeople do the same thing.  But there is such a thing as too many choices.  This looks good with this....but wait, this one looks even better....but what if I do this?  I pulled out a lovely remnant that will actually tie in both the colors of the dark rose & the pink turtlenecks, so I scrapped my original plans for both of those shirts and set them aside to think about.  Then I picked up a t-shirt that I bought for about $3 at a Kohl's clearance sale last year....found an inspiration pic in my file....a couple of dollar store t-shirts.....some lovely brown jersey knit I bought in a remnant bin for about 25 cents.....

The inpiration shirt (Anthropologie)

The bits and pieces....

...and I was off and running.  Well, except for getting called in to work yesterday.  And then driving to Long Beach today to deposit the check, a check from another client, and the cash my son finally paid me that he owed me.  And that little errand cost me most of today - there was a terrible accident on the freeway coming home, and the entire southbound side was shut down.  I was grouchy because the bank wouldn't cash the paycheck from the sign shop (long story), my son was with me in the car and neither of us had eaten, I needed to use the ladies' room and it didn't look like we'd be moving any time soon, my son realized that we weren't going to make it home in time for him to go to his music class, etc.  Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. 

We decided to go to the movies about an hour or so later, because it sounded like a good way to wind down.  Not wanting to take the freeway again (in case they still hadn't gotten it cleared), I went up the street.  And would you believe it?  There was another accident.  And the traffic in front of us just.  Wasn't.  Moving.  We finally gave up when we were still sitting two blocks from the house, the movie was miles and miles away and had already started, and my son said "Let's just go home."

By the time we finally made it there, all my creative energy was sapped.  So this is all I've gotten done so far on this shirt that I was so excited about yesterday:

One sleeve and part of the torso of the new shirt.  

Yes, I know.  I should have cropped the photo.  Just not up to it, even though doing this little bit of sewing helped me not to feel so grouchy anymore.  And boy, do I need to make a new cover for this little ironing board......

But not until I finish this shirt.  Tomorrow.  

Thanks a Lot, Bub

Doing some research (means browsing through my inspiration file on my computer) for the ex-turtlenecks I'm refashioning.  When I finally hit on a plan for at least the first four, I head out to the living room to start trimming and creating and......

Now just wait a gosh darned minute!

Notice how he is "hugging" the shirts.  Think I want to go there?  That's Claw-ville!

Just in case you were still wondering.  MINE.

I managed to sneak one out from under him when he moved to see what my husband was eating.  When he realized he wasn't going to get any, he pouted, shrugged, and went back to sleep on the pile again.  But at least I have one shirt I can get started with tonight.

Some of my planned inspirations:

 He's still sleeping on the pile.  That leaves me with just this one ex-turtleneck for now.  I'll post the After photos tomorrow.

I can't fire him again.  He's too cute.

More UFOs

What a day.  Seems like it took forever to get going this morning, since I'm still under the weather.  Even so, I was pretty jazzed about finishing up that purse yesterday, so I thought I'd keep the ball rolling.  

After I posted about the purse, I went through some things in my workroom and picked out a few projects to work on today.  One was a restringing project for my neighbor - her eyeglass lanyard ruptured, and sent beads flying everywhere.  Luckily she was able to corral most of them, and brought them to me to restring.  Next was a pair of earrings I decided to knock out for myself (shocking, I know) - I found the components and some stones while I was looking for the lanyard parts in my jewelry-making stash, and figured "Why not?"  The third was a pile of turtleneck long sleeved t-shirts I've had for years but haven't worn for a long time - I have the makings for at least four or five refashioned shirts there.  I put everything together I would need for the next day and set it aside so it would be easy to just come in and get to work in the morning.

What I wasn't counting on was a random phone call with an opportunity to pick up another on-call banner sewing position.  Turns out that the guy they hired when I was originally applying for the position didn't work out so well.  He did while he was there, but then apparently he decided to get a full-time job and "forgot" to tell them about it.  He actually expected them to call him in for sewing jobs before seven in the morning, or after seven in the evening.  Rather silly, since the shop isn't even open then.  So the boss called me up today, wondering if I were still interested in doing the on-call work for them.  I went in to meet the head designer and got a total kick out of the place - very modern, very young (I would be the oldest person there), very hip - and only five minutes from my front door.  The employees must love it there - they even have a complete full sized kitchen with a dining area.  Couches everywhere.  Ikea furniture & decorative touches all over.  Awesome color-coordinated offices, graphics, matching orange doors (!!!), and out in the warehouse where I'll be working - six foot high banners with the photos of everyone who is an employee there, hanging at ceiling height.  How cool is that?  Just need a little time to get used to their industrial machine, which is different from the one I use at the other shop.  At least I was able to find the instruction manual online when I got home, so I can familiarize myself with the components and learn how to make adjustments if necessary.

Took a chunk of time out of my plans for today, but it was all good.  The people are really, really nice and I think if it works out, I'll like working there.  It's good for them, since they don't have enough banner work for a full-time or even a part-time position; it's good for me because it's on-call, and added to the work at the other shop it will help with the finances - best part:  it's so close!

So when I got back, I still wasn't in the best shape but decided to stick with the program anyway - maybe setting deadlines and picking out the projects ahead of time WILL help.

First up- a pair of easy earrings from the components I found while looking for lanyard parts:

Sterling silver components with lapis lazuli stones.  Surprisingly lightweight!

The flurry of turtlenecks that are about to become.....something else!

Off go the cuffs - part of the reason I haven't worn these in ages is because I DETEST cuffs.

Off goes the first turtleneck.  Years ago these didn't bother me.  Now I find them incredibly confining.

The broken lanyard, partially restrung.  It feels good to get the jewelry tools going again!

The finished lanyard with the trimmed ex-turtleneck No. 1.  

All in all, a pretty productive day.  I have plans for some of the ex-turtlenecks (one involves lace and beading), and others I'm still firming up plans for.  I also have some alterations I need to take care of for another client to get started on as well, so I'll work on at least one of her garments and one of mine every day.  Pictures to follow, so stay tuned!  Right now it's time for Robitussin Max and then off to bed.....

PS - I did get rid of something from my workroom while clearing a space to do the jewelry work.  It was a small something, but it was still something.  (Grins)

So Now It's Day 5....

...and all I have to show for the month so far is one thing.  But it's a good thing.

Remember before?

UFO Before!!!!
(That's UnFinished Object, for those of you who may not craft.)

Here's After - after two and a half days of working in fits and spurts while under the influence of a random, kick-butt virus:

Look Not at the seemingly crooked bottom.  I was not THAT sick.  It's just sitting wonky.
And these are not the Droids you are looking for.  (Waves)  What?  My Jedi mind tricks do not work on you?

An insider's view.  What's it got in it's pocketses?  

These photos don't really do it justice, since they were taken using artificial light (the colors are a lot richer).  It's late.  I wanted to blog a finished project, and didn't want it to wait until tomorrow morning.  Because tomorrow morning, I'm starting UFO number 2.

And while I was hunting for the right handles for this particular bag, I came across at least three handle sets that I know I will never use - so these went into the Assistance League collection area.  Aren't you proud of me?  These handle sets were each part of a bunch of three-packs I bought at Tuesday Morning last year.  I figure I got at least two useable sets for each three-pack, so it wasn't a bad deal.  Someone else might like handles that look like cheap, colored, plastic Pop-Beads.  

You never know.

The Chosen One

Got called in to work today, which is always a good thing, even when I'm not feeling 100%.  So it wasn't until after I picked up Son #2 from placement auditions this afternoon that I was finally able to start going through my stash to find a UFO to work on.  While I was doing that, I actually managed to start sorting some other things together for future projects.

The project for today/tomorrow:

Next up!

Darn.  You can't see the fabric very well due to the reflections on the plastic bag it's in.  It's an old-world type of tapestry fabric, a sample that I picked up at Joann's Fabrics.  Every so often, they'll have a clearance of their home dec samples when the manufacturers discontinue certain styles or colors.  I used to live in Ankara, Turkey, and this particular sample reminded me of some of the Turkish rugs my parents bought while we were there.  So I may not be able to sell this one when it's done - we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.  Ah, memories.

The pattern is really easy and lends itself to a fair amount of embellishing, which is always fun.  I have a couple other purses I've made using this pattern - I'll photograph them along with the finished project and post them later.  Tomorrow.  (See, I'm trying to stay on track.)

Quite awhile ago I pre-cut a whole container of purses to sew up in batches as I got the time (see, now that thinking might actually pay off); as I was sorting through these pre-cut projects, I found this poor little relic in the pile:

Alas.  I am too small for anything other than a driver's license & a set of keys.  Or a couple of tiny dolls.

It was gifted to me by my son's piano teacher a couple of years ago, along with another purse and some sweaters to refashion.  I guess I thought I could clean it and then dye it and do something novel with it, but looking at it now, it doesn't seem that appealing to do all that work for very little.  I wouldn't carry it myself, it's much too small.  I doubt I could clean it well enough to bring it to a sale-able state, so I made a quick decision to put it into the Assistance League pile.  I keep one going at almost all times.

I don't think I could EVER get all these stains out.  I doubt dyeing would even help.  I think the lining is really cute, though.  It's only on the front flap, which doesn't give me much to work with even if I were to remove it.  Too bad.

So there you have it - one down, and one "to go."  A little progress is still progress!  Now if I can just shake this cold so I can get to work......

June is UFO Month

No, it's not what you're thinking.  I didn't suddenly get up in the middle of the night to find myself aboard some absurdly asymmetrical spacecraft.

Interestingly enough, I just realized something - it is about having space to craft.  I am firmly in the camp that abides by the "I-have-too-many-projects-to-do-so-I-can-never-die" mantra.  But it's getting ridiculous in my craft room, even for me.

Knit fabric samples/bolt ends bought to piece together.

T-shirts bought at Kohl's for a ridiculous price - like, $3 - to refashion.

Placemats for purses.  Sweaters to refashion.  And Samurai fabric.

More upholstery style fabric for purses and backpacks from a new store I just discovered.
 Don't even get me started on that one.

For those of you in my family (and for those of you who know me really well), please stop laughing.  I know I've said this before, but I really need to start working my way through all these piles of crafting/sewing/knitting STUFF I keep accumulating.  And in order to do this, I need to set goals for myself.  I work really well with deadlines, as long as they are for other people.  When I set a deadline for myself, though, I tend to think it's not as important.  So for this month of June, I've decided that it will be UFO MONTH.  The month of Un-Finished Objects.  I may not get one done every day like some of the other crafters and seamstresses I've seen in the Blog-o-sphere (see my Blogroll for some examples) - but I still plan to work every single day this month on an unfinished project, until it becomes a finished project.

It won't take care of all the piles of stuff, but it will be a step in the right direction.

A sweater for myself I started about two years ago.  One of many, many knitting UFOs.  

I have friends who are able to simply say, "You haven't worked on this/used this for so long, you just need to get rid of it."  I can't do that.  It comes from living with an incredibly thrifty mother for 18 years.  And from knowing how much money I've spent on all these cuts of fabric, bags of yarn, piles of how-to books and crafting magazines over the years, even though every single purchase was made with coupons, on sale, discount, rock-bottom pricing.

An attempt to corral some of the projects.  

I know I can do this.  The Sewing Assistant knows it, too, even if he doesn't seem that supportive:

'K, momz - I iz reddy to work, LOL!

(Can you hear the gears turning here?)

Whut I do best - HELPINGZ!