Goodwill Repurposing Challenge!

Next week some friends and I are going to participate in a Goodwill Repurposing Challenge.  We are going together to Goodwill to find an item and turn it into something fabulous.  We will try to do this in one afternoon at my house! 

I promised some friends I would post a picture of a repurposed Goodwill item.  The only problem is that all I did was remake a bigger skirt into a smaller skirt with a pocket.  It was a size 16 Oscar de le Renta 100% silk skirt.  I originally made it for my daughter - hence the pocket for the cell phone and the shorter length, but she didn't really like it.  It sounds like it was easy to do but it was fully lined and had french seams.  Adding the pocket took a lot of time and if you saw it inside out you would not be impressed!

Before

After

I wore it for the first time on Sunday and couldn't help but share that it started as a thrift store skirt every time I received a compliment.  I need to learn to just smile and say thank you!

Words with Friends and Sewing on Sunday

McCall's 5425 View A

Yesterday I bounced back and forth between Words with Friends and my sewing machine.  It was a great way to spend a hot sunny afternoon!

I fell in love with this fabric at an estate sale - $3.  It was a remnant that had already been used many years ago.  I am basing "many years ago" on the fact that it smelled like it had been stored for years in a musty basement.  I looked online to try to find out what it might be made of - a synthetic or silk.  The bottom line was that if I treated it like silk, it didn't matter.  So I washed it on delicate with Woolite.  My wonderful black and white geometric fabric was now black and light grey.  My guess is that really old fabrics are not as colorfast as they are today.  Any feedback on this is welcome!

The dress is just as shapeless when I am wearing it as it looks on the dress form.  My husband thought it was a swim cover up and that might be how I wear it.  Or it might be just right for relaxing on the porch after a day at the beach.  The side seams curve in at the bottom which makes the middle pooch out a little.  I don't need any more curves in the middle so I will flare the bottom out or at least make it straight if I make this pattern again.  Belting it might help.  I have enough fabric left to switch the tie to a belt and make the straps like views B and C.

The next project is a Cynthia Rowley top (Simplicity 2593) for my daughter that has The Dreaded and Feared Bias Tape at both the neck and arm openings.  (You can see her fabric behind the pattern envelope above.)  Wish me luck!

Perennials - SO Thrifty!

Perennials are the perfect thrifty plant for the garden!  It is more of an investment the first year, but this is only the second year for these plants and they have come back beautifully.  Well, except for the pitiful one I tried to transplant in 94 degree weather.  I just deadheaded these last week and they are in full bloom again. 

The wall behind the flowers - free!  When they dug out the foundation for our house they removed these huge boulders.  One is so big it is still in the front yard as it was too heavy for a landscaping bulldozer to move.  When it came time to design the backyard we replaced plans for an expensive retaining wall with the rocks we had on hand.  The natural look of the stone makes a wonderful backdrop for a border garden.   

When you have new plants you have to keep them watered.  To water the plants without feeling guilty about the amount of water they need or about a huge water bill, I have a number of water collecting places around the house.  This one collects the condensation from the main air conditioning unit.  I fill the 5 gallon bucket and partially fill the smaller bucket every day.  There is also a large ziploc that collects a smaller amount of water from another unit.  I collect water when I heat up the shower (when I remember) and I also use the water from the dehumidifier.  Another benefit to collecting water is not having to unroll the hose and put it back away each time I water.  Developing upper body strength is also a plus!

Perennials are buy 2 get 1 free at Home Depot - with the coupon in their gardening club email.  I might just have to add something new this year... if the weather cools off a bit!

I Confess ... I Went Back!

Honey checking out today's purchases.

(I don't know why my cats are so curious about fabric!)

I went back to Fabric World today.  Anyone out there with a fabric "issue" understands perfectly!  My daughter joined me and together we found 4 bolts of clothing fabric - now only $3 per bolt - and 4 drapery/upholstery bolts - still $5 each.  Trim is now only $5 per bolt and I somehow limited myself to 5.  They are all amazing!  The pile is my daughter's - in addition to the bolts my cat is sitting on.  They are remnants that were $1 each.  Some are only about 1/2 yard and some are over 2.  She stayed right in the $20 budget I gave her.  I hope to have her sewing by the end of the summer.  She certainly has enough fabric!

My favorite of all the bolts are the 4 I bought today!

These two look and feel like kitchen towels. It is perfect fabric for an emroidery project or aprons or both! (If I repeat that it was $5 per bolt would that be bragging?)

The fabric below is a very soft chenille and a grey denim (it looks blue but it is a beautiful grey) for our upstairs landing. The trim looks like burlap but is very soft. We have built in benches that have stayed bare since we moved in.  I might have these cushions made. It would be a lot faster and I think the final product would be more professional looking. Foam is so expensive to buy retail that often having upholstered items made is not that much more expensive. I will make the throw pillows.  I am thinking combinations of red, hand woven linen that I found at an estate sale, some interesting embroidery, and hopefully, something unexpected!



PS - The frogs in the background are for a friend - not my daughter!  She wouldn't be seen in purple frog fabric but I know 3 (soon to be 4) sisters plus a niece that would look great in it!

Good Day! Bad Day!

Biscuit sits above my spoils from a "quick" trip to Fabric World. 

Good Day because what you see in the picture is not everything I bought and it was all on sale for $5 a bolt or less!  Yes, I did say bolt.  Many of the bolts I bought have as many as 20 yards on them!  3 of the bolts are fusible interfacing.  I only made it around half the store before I had to get my sister back to work.  Hmmm...
Another trip tomorrow?

Bad Day because my favorite store for buying cheap materials for costumes is going out of business.  I don't know what I will do next year when we need massive amounts of fabric and I can't drive to Fabric World and find it for $1-3 dollars a yard.  Maybe I should alert the theater department that the cost of costumes just went up!

I can't wait to show you what I bought and how I use it!  I have purchased many more treasures that I will share as well.  Looking forward to getting caught up!