The Conclusion to the Necklace Saga

Okay, this is the last time I'll bother you all with this necklace project--promise! I had a spare JoAnn's coupon, so I steeled myself and took a look. On my third pass through, yes I missed them the first two times, I found exactly what I was looking for, loop chain from Plaid. The right color (a matte gold), the right size--I was thrilled! This is exactly what I'd pictured.


The dress is a new-to-me find from the thrift store. I've been on the look out for something like this ever since I saw this cute dress at thimbly things. (That links to a very popular cardigan refashion, but it was the dress that captured my imagination.) This one is close enough for me and only set me back $4. I may do a little refashioning to it, just to refine the shape a bit.

Carrie just left me a comment about seeing these links in other colors...hey, me too! Unlike Carrie, I couldn't resist grabbing the blue ones. (Alas, no black at my store, or I'd've gotten them too.)

I paid a visit to the cheapy jewelry store in the mall, looking for ideas and possibly parts, and brought home a very shiny silvery $3 necklace to play with.

With all those different links, I figured I could come up with something! How's this?

Beep Beep

--sigh-- It's hot. I don't feel like doing anything. Knowing I'd kick myself if I wasted the entire day, I forced myself to do something, and this sad thing is the result. I gave myself one hour to make something for a Toy Society giveaway. Figured a robot would be a good choice, because there is no right or wrong, but this just looks...wrong.

MixTape Winner

No, the picture has nothing to do with the post. It's an outtake from the blue photos I took earlier. I was trying to get a shot of the luggage tag from my first ever trip out of the country, but the camera kept zooming in on Elvis's eyes. Someday I'll have to crack open my camera manual and see what that's all about. I thought it was a cool pic of musical boyfriend though.

The reason for this post? To announce who won my MixTape magazine giveaway! Even though I only had eight entries, I thought I'd do something different and use the random integer generator. It picked number 5, but you'll have to just trust me on that, because I don't know how you get the little thingamajig to post to your blog.

So, number 5, that would be Becca from Swamp Yankees from Outer Space! Sorry to those who weren't picked. Maybe Becca will have a giveaway when she's done?

Blue

Red and yellow and pink and green,
Purple and orange and...with blue, I complete my rainbow.

Blue Blossom Bag

On a recent jaunt through the thrift store, I took a shortcut down one of the children's aisles, and this little dress caught my eye.

I bought it for $2.90, thinking I could either make something out of it or pass it along to a friend's daughter. Unfortunately for my friend's daughter, the more I looked at it, the more I saw a bag. I already had several sets of handles packed away, so I dug a pair out and started playing around.

First I had to decide which way I liked it best. If you like it better with the wider part on the bottom, shhh, because I made it the other way! I think both ways are cute, though.




















Next came the seam ripper, of course. Whenever I do things like this, I think about how much I learn about sewing by tearing things apart.

Then, after much debate, I chose a lining fabric. I was going to trace around the skirt fabric, then I thought, "Why not just pin it down and cut around it?" Worked fine.



After sewing up the sides of the lining, I sewed across the bottom corners of both the lining and the outer fabric to create a flat bottom for the bag. Whenever I do this, I'm really, really careful to make the corners even so the bag won't look all wonky. Well, okay, I'm more careful with the outer fabric. The lining doesn't matter so much!





Next step: turn over a hem at the top of the lining bag to match the hem from the original dress.




















Because, see, the lining bag will fit inside the outer bag. Perfect!

Okay, at this point, if you're using bamboo handles, you need to make some sort of tabs. I had plenty of fabric left from the bodice of the dress.

I sewed these right onto the handles to get ready for putting the bag together.

I also made a quick closure, using the bodice scraps. I'd have liked it to be a little longer, but I didn't plan well, and I was out of fabric.

At this point, it's just a matter of pinning it all together, making sure the handles are centered. Then you get to sew it! It's a little awkward to sew, with those handles banging around, but it's not hard.

After one run around, I looked at the handles and thought maybe I should go around the top one more time.
In this picture of the closure, you can also see the double line of stitching around the top.

And finally, choosing a button!

Time for a photo session!

Love This!

Look what I found in the new book delivery at the library today:

It's a picture book about refashioning! It's adorable. I love it. Grandma uses a seam ripper!

My Forever Dress written by Harriet Ziefert and illustrated by Liz Murphy. See more at blueapplebooks.com.

Orange

Wow, this rainbow really stalled on orange! I spent a bit of time debating whether to include red orange. My final decision? If it isn't red enough for me to consider it red, it's orange enough for me to consider it orange!

Will This Work?

I realize this has to potential for failure if the cord slips from the ends of the links. BUT...it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere. Has anyone tried this? Is it a bad idea?

Thanks for all the other ideas. I see possibilities in many of them. The ribbon threading technique suggested by STL Mom was a dismal failure. Either the shape of these links made it impossible or I'm a total nitwit, but it just didn't work.

Pinkpillsanity thought jump rings would be my best bet, but said string could work if I knotted it just right. (Yay! Maybe this will work!) Are there different kinds of jump rings? If there's a kind that's not just...blah...that could look slick. Nice big rings in between the links? Liking that idea, just afraid to go shopping.

angelapea asked about holes in the links. Nope, they're solid. Thanks for all your other suggestions too. Now I'm thinking I should buy another pack of these same links and make one simple version and one wild version with other beads and fabric and whatnot. Oh yeah, right! Can you imagine how long it would take me to work THAT out?

Anyway, thanks again for the help. I'll post a finished product...eventually!

Spring Things

Spring is still playing that game, where it's here one minute and gone the next. Our bulbs are finally blooming...yet we had snow flurries the other day. Not much we can do about that, but there's one thing I can control--my wardrobe. (It sounds so funny to me to talk about My Wardrobe, like it's this carefully planned, epic thing. Not really.) This was the weekend to go through my closet (Three bags of stuff are outta here, and I'm not done yet!) and pack away the wool skirts. Whatever the weather, I'm going to start inching my way towards Spring!

Not content with the fifty-seven skirts I had packed away in the attic (you think I'm kidding), I decided to break into the fabric from my last field trip and make a new one. I used my favorite New Look 6843. For some reason, I added four inches to the length when I cut it out. While it's true I like a little more length than the pattern allows, what was I thinking with four inches? Here I am taking three inches off the length.

Exciting picture, huh? Let me tell you, it captures the mood perfectly. Note to self: Try adding one inch next time.

The good news is that this gave me an idea for this post: My indispensable sewing tools.

Aside from scissors and pins, these are the three tools I use most. My mom can't understand my love of the marking pen.

Mom: That's kind of expensive. What do you do with it?
Me: Well, sometimes I transfer pattern markings.
Mom: That's what tailor's tacks are for.
Me: Well, sometimes I'm lazy.
Mom: . . .
Me: Another thing I do sometimes is mark the right side of the fabric.
Mom: You can just put a pin in it.
Me: Yeah, but then I'll get stuck by it.
Mom: I hope you at least used your 40% off coupon.

Of course, mom. You think I've learned nothing from you?

The shoes are a little different, I know, but remember I have foot issues. If you have hard to fit feet, TicTacToes are dance shoes that are made in the USA. They come in tons of colors and they aren't insanely expensive. Mine were a lucky find for just four dollars!

Grandma's Eggs

These beautiful eggs belonged to my Grandma, and my mom gave them to me when Grams died. They were made by my Aunt Rita, Grandma's youngest sister. I've always thought they were they prettiest and most elegant eggs I've ever seen, but there's one I favor over all the others. Can you guess which one?