Next In Our Continuing Series...

The lamp. I was thrilled to find this lamp base at the thrift shop for five dollars. I pounced on that baby, thinking I'd hit Target, buy a cool shade, and have an awesome lamp for about twenty bucks. Well, not so fast. I wanted a tall drum shade, and they aren't easy to find. Internet searches turned up plenty, but with shipping costs added in, I just couldn't bring myself to negate my bargain by shelling out $45 (or more) for a new harp and shade. Finally, one more look in a discount store, and I found one I can use. It isn't as tall as I'd like, but it works.

Johnathan Adler, eat your heart out.

Think Spring!

We were out shopping yesterday and spent much of the time running through a wintry mix of precipitation, but for some reason, it feels like spring is in the air. Probably just wishful thinking, but the sun is shining, so I'm going with it.

In any event, I'm tired of wool and corduroy, so I decided to start working on some bags for spring. That etsy shop has been empty for too long!

A quick rummage in my refashioning pile uncovered these pant legs. That's right, just the legs. I liked the fabric, but I knew I wouldn't been needing the zipper, pockets, etc. so I only saved the legs.

And for anyone who is thinking, "What a hideous pair of pants," get this: They were from the MEN'S department. Uh...huh.




My search for a lining fabric took all of three seconds. I saw this vintage calico print on top of one of my piles and grabbed it up immediately.

Why did I choose it?
I like the variation in scale.
The blues match.
They're both vintage-y.
The red is a nice punch of color.
Everything is better with red.







And doesn't it look just right peeking out like that?


Ah, but it seems a shame to hide it away inside.








Which is why I made it reversible!

I'd been thinking about trying that, and I don't know what took me so long, because it wasn't hard at all. Eventually I'll post a how-to for people who like things spelled out.

Next time I need to make the ties longer. I had them longer and cut them shorter. Nice move.

Think Spring!

Baby

Isabella+wool blanket=love

Full Bloom

I had a very nice trip to the thrift shop this weekend! My local thrift would have priced these much higher, so I was excited to snag these for a total of $11.50.


I can't wait to turn that daisy fabric into an apron. And those blue flowers? Begging to be made into a bag. The large floral on top? Clothespin bags! "Wait," you say, "There are seven price tags and only six pieces of fabric." Ah, my favorite was still on the ironing board.


It was a job to iron four and a half yards of big, blowzy, juicy-watermelon-colored flowers! What should I make out of it? A Mrs. Cleaver dress or a full skirt seems so expected, but maybe that's best. Any suggestions?


Don't you wish you could go back to the time when these were selling for 47¢/yard, have your way in the fabric department of the 5 & 10, and then bring it all back with you? Sigh.

Lost My Head

I noticed this sweater at the thrift shop because I liked the short sleeves and the overall length. It was obviously too big, but a quick look in the mirror and some cinching it in from behind told me it had possibilities. Wardrobe Refashionistas are always chopping up sweaters and creating different shapes, so I figured I could give it a try, too. Gotta start somewhere!







Oh, but was I ever scared! Even though the sweater was only $2.50, I hated to ruin it and waste the money. I asked for advice, and several wonderful people told me exactly what to do. Thanks, Janey, Zumbida, and Myra! They all said to baste first, then use a zig zag stitch. Worked like a charm!










How do you like my scarecrow pose? People keep asking me why I never have a head. Well, because I always look wretched when I'm working on this stuff. Hair a mess, bleary eyes.












A slightly more natural pose, albeit headless.

Orla Old and New

Oh, Target, why must you torture me so? Thank goodness I had the excuse of creating a guest room to justify just a few Orla Kiely purchases. When I first saw the preview photos, these boxes were the last thing I thought I'd buy. I thought they were just cardboard things that you put together, but they're fabric-covered and very well-made. I used them to hide my husband's motley collection of paperback books.


Of course I had to have a tablecloth. It's a couple of yards of Orla for only $19.99! One quick seam, and it fits perfectly in the doorway to my attic. How long it serves as a curtain remains to be seen....


It's killing me to pass up the kitchen things,especially the glasses, but I don't really need them, so I'll try to hold out. I do have one Orla piece in my kitchen.


A tea tin! This was the first thing I bought on our last trip to Ireland. Only €7.95 and it's filled with 160 teabags!

Warm As Toast

Next in the guest room series...

I'm a sucker for crazy, colorful afghans that look like they were made out of all the random balls of leftover yarn that have collected in Granny's knitting bag. I've had this one tucked away for years, just waiting for the right place to use it. I think the colors are especially appealing AND it has a lot of wool in it, so this is a special one!




Having spent all that time in the attic, the blanket needed some freshening up. I checked my copy of Watkins Household Hints that I bought back in September. It's advice: "Feed the blanket through a power wringer several times, dipping into the suds each time. After five wringings, the soil has been pressed out."

Assuming my blanket wasn't THAT filthy, I used the delicate cycle on my washing machine and Woolite.




After a time in the dryer, set to fluff, my blanket emerged rejuvenated! It's softer, it smells nice, and it's warm as toast.

Now tell me, does anyone know how to do this stitch with the little jags poking into the previous color? I just love it, but I have no idea where to even start looking.

A First Look

So what's been keeping me so busy lately? We're having guests this weekend! Gerry's brother and his wife are coming all the way from California to spend the weekend with us. Isn't that cool? That gave me the perfect excuse to clean up The Blue Room as we call our junk room...make that former junk room.

In honor of the occasion, I broke out some of the fabrics from the Bin of Very Special Fabrics to cover some pillows.



I also fashioned an impromptu wall hanging to cover a wall that needs some work. The original plan was to hang a collection of aprons, but that looked a mess.



Are you getting the feeling this isn't the kind of guest room they'd call a spa-like retreat? It's more like all my dreams come true in one room! More to come....

My Funny Valentine (Skirt)

So I'm not doing a whole lot of creating lately. Instead I've been digging and sorting and culling and organizing and...well, not so much cleaning, but tidying and donating and...wait! I guess I have been creating after all. More on that later in the week.

In the midst of all this nonsense, I cracked open my Bin of Very Special Fabrics. You know...the ones I'll never use? The ones I occasionally look through, exclaim over, and pat gently.



The ZOO! With little Madeline-esque girls holding balloons! Fairy tale animals reading storybooks! Lipsticks! Chocolate!




Okay, enough. The point is, there was one piece in there that wasn't vintage. It's really cute and has a vintage print, but it didn't belong in there. No matter how corny the jokes or cute the kittens.



It was the early Nineties when I bought this fabric, when novelty vests were the height of fashion. I'm sure Tim Gunn wouldn't approve of a novelty skirt, either, but too bad. I'll be happy to throw it out if he wants to give me a $5000 wardrobe.


At least it's a good length and flattering shape, Tim. I know, I know--too much black. I look like a mime.

Snowball Ready

Remember way back on January 20th when I started this pair of mittens? Forgot all about them, hadn't you? Well, they've been nagging at me from on top of my dresser for the past two weeks. Not the knitting part--I finished that right away. But sewing up the seams...sigh...I hate sewing seams.


Adding to the problem...this yarn is Magico and changes color, so the seam went from pink to yellow to green to blue to purple to brown and back to pink. I'm sure someone more skilled at sewing seams would have no problem with that, but I ended up with this big, pink scar down the sides of my mittens. What else could I do but tear it out and start over? So I sewed each section with matching yarn. Boring. Tedious. Not my idea of fun.

But they're done! I did it! And now I have mittens to wear with my brown coat! I'm happy.

Edited to add: The pattern I used can be found right here.

Book Time

Time for some book reviews! As usual, if you're interested in what the book is about, click the link! I'm just going to tell you how I liked it!

First some juvenile and young adult titles:

Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka-- At the library, we get a lot of requests from kids for biographies that are at least 100 pages long. This one fits the bill at 106, so I gave it a try. It's interesting and funny, but probably not the best choice if they need to dress up like the subject and give a presentation!

Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams-- From the Echo Falls mystery series for kids. I really like this series, and try to recommend it at the library, but the length of the book (400 pages) scares most kids away. (I'm certainly focused on pages today!) Peter Abrahams also writes for adults, and I think it shows in his books for kids.


Looking for Alaska by John Green-- Really loving the John Green books. Well-drawn characters, realistic situations, nothing too over the top, yet still compelling. There are 66 five-star reviews on Amazon if you don't believe me!








Next, some mysteries by Rhys Bowen. Don't worry, I'll soon run out!

Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen-- Next in the Molly Murphy series.

Evan Only Knows by Rhys Bowen-- Next in the Evan Evans series.

And finally, a (very) mixed bag:

My Heart Remembers by Kim V. Sawyer-- Christian fiction has a strong following at the library, so I decided to give some a try, and this book got fabulous reviews on Amazon. It's your typical family-of-orphans-gets-split-up story, but a pleasant read.

Hello, Darkness by Sandra Brown-- From sweetness and light I turned to dark and sordid! A decent thriller, although I felt like something was missing. Maybe a little clumsy?


The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson-- A memoir...kind of. Bryson's embellishing of events from his childhood gives the reader a better idea of how things looked through his eyes. A funny book that made me laugh out loud more than once, with passages worth reading out loud. My husband also enjoyed it.







Testimony by Anita Shreve-- I'd gotten tired of Anita Shreve, but this one landed on my desk one day when I was looking for a book, so I took it home. I actually liked it. Three other people have told me they didn't enjoy it. Go figure.

She Likes It

Yep, everything that's mine is hers.