Cheery Cherries

When you are thrift shopping for clothes, which do you prefer: Shops that sort by color or shops that sort by size?

I've always been a fan of the stores that group by color, because sizes vary so much they're practically meaningless. As it is, I look through everything anyway, so it's more convenient when I can skip groups of things I wouldn't wear (yellow blouses, white pants, etc.).

Which is how I ended up with this skirt.

Loved the cheery cherry print, but a size 18W with a 42 inch waist? "No problem," I said to my husband, "I can fix that!"

Well, I might have been a little overconfident. Yes, I fixed it, but it was, definitely, a problem. I originally thought I could just take out two of the panels and reset the zipper. Then I noticed all sorts of top stitching, a weird hem with an extra strip of fabric on the inside (??? never saw that before), and an invisible zipper. Blergh.

After developing and disposing of Plans B, C, D, and E, I finally decided to just take it in on each side and insert a new zipper. Well, I say "just," but even that was more work than I'd planned. Picking apart that weird hem and then restoring it to some semblance of how it had been was a major pain.

Luckily, I saved myself another restitching headache by chopping off the waistband and replacing it with bias tape.


Now I'm ready to roll! I think it's time for a picnic.

Introducing Eftim and Eamon

Step One: Buy a car wash mitt at the Dollar Tree. I think they're a Father's Day item, so hurry!

















Step Two: Cut off the cuff and the thumb. Leave a little fabric at the base of the thumb.












Step Three: Add some eyes. They can be beads, felt, embroidery, buttons, etc.












Step Four: Turn inside out and sew the cuff portion into a point. Leave the thumb opening!












Step Five: Turn it right side out again and stuff it!













Step Six: Sew up the thumb opening.













Step Seven: Pick out a nose. I went with a classic black.













Step Eight: Apply nose.













Step Nine: Hedgies!













That's Eftim on the left and Eamon on the right.

Hmm, that thumb would make a heck of a nose on a hairy monster, wouldn't it?

Oops, Sorry!

I had some trouble with a picture in the last post, so I apologize if my editing messed with any feeds or readers.

It would be a bonus if I understood how all that works.

But I don't.

Please accept these hairnets as an apology. There are 2 nets in each package!

What I've Unpacked Lately

One of my jobs at the library used to be unpacking the boxes of children's books and getting them ready to circulate. Inevitably, books would catch my eye, and I'd have to give them a read. Well, now I've graduated to adult books, and I have to say, this could be dangerous. I may need to start sleeping less so I can read more! (Don't worry, I sleep plenty!)


Happens Every Day: an All-Too-True Story by Isabel Gillies: I could have easily hated this book. Oh, your totally perfect life isn't so perfect anymore? Shame, that. But Gillies was so open and honest, I found myself really respecting...and liking...her.





Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes on in the Kitchen by Dalia Jurgensen: Just put a quote from Anthony Bourdain on the cover, and I'll read anything. Even as a non-foodie, I really enjoyed this.

The Last Secret by Mary McGarry Morris: I was all excited to see a new book by this author, but it turns out I was confusing MMM with Billie Letts. Don't ask me! I went ahead and read it anyway, and while it wasn't my favorite read, it was okay. It has that thriller vibe, with someone's past coming back to haunt her. Like I said, just okay.



The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley: A mystery with an extraordinary, chemistry-loving, eleven year old at its center. I had a hard time getting started with the book, but it was worth the trouble. I get the feeling Flavia (the 11 year old) is going to be very popular.







Look Again by Lisa Scottoline: Not my favorite Scottoline book. One of the things I enjoy about her books are the references to the Philadelphia area, and there wasn't enough of that in this book. It was also a little predictable. I figured it all out well before the end which is unheard of for me.

The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil: Of all the knitting group books I've read, this has been my favorite. (Confession: I couldn't even finish The Friday Night Knitting Club and it drives me a little crazy that so many people want to read it.) I think I liked it because it didn't take itself too seriously.

Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas: I loved Tallgrass by the same author and was thrilled when this book popped up on my desk. In the book, Hennie Comfort, a longtime resident of a mining town, tells her stories to Nit, a newcomer. It's just a gentle, steady book that's lovely to read.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin: An Irish immigrant in Brooklyn in the fifties. Wow, for a man, Colm Toibin really knows how to write about women! Read the New Yorker review for more kudos. I can't do it justice.


Hungry Monkey: a Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton: Another book with a quote from Anthony Bourdain on the cover! Also another book that could have gone very wrong. Fear not, Amster-Burton is not a sanctimonious parent-nutritionist pushing sprouts and whole wheat. He even admits to making mac and cheese from a box! And Iris, the daughter, is adorable. (Check out the video on his blog.)

One Yard Skirt

Lately, many of my sewing hours have been spent trying to figure out if I could make a decent skirt out of one yard of fabric. If I had just trusted myself, I could have saved a lot of time.

This afternoon, I cut myself a one-yard piece from a length of scrap fabric my mom had given me. Then I went and dug this skirt out of the hamper--a basic, pull-on skirt with an elastic waist. I measured the waistband, which, as expected, equaled my hip measurement (you have to be able to pull it on, after all). Then I measured the hem, which was a few inches wider. Okay. Onto the fabric.


Wow, are these graphics professional or what?

I started with the fabric folded in half. Ta da!

From here I started to think, okay, what are my limitations?

I need a decent length. Most of my skirts are around 22 to 25 inches long. So, 22 inches, plus hem, plus elastic casing, I need a minimum of 23.5 inches. That means I can't cut this thing out horizontally, because that measurement is only about 22 inches. Cutting two pieces. one on top of the other, on the fold is also out, because that would only give me 18 inches in length (36 divided in half).












If I were a tiny little thing, I could cut it out as shown. But in order to get that little bit of flare towards the bottom, the maximum waist measurement would be about 16 inches x 2 = 32 inches. That wouldn't make it over my hips.

If you're tiny like that, you don't need this tutorial. You can probably make skirts out of table napkins.










Okay, so I quickly realized I'd have to fold this chunk of fabric the other way. Then, having 44/45 inches in length to work with, I can cut a front and a back on the fold and end up with a skirt that's almost an acceptable length for me. I figured I'd give that a try, just to see how it turned out.


But as I was marking off the fabric...I realized...hey...there's going to be a really long strip of fabric left over.

A really long strip of fabric that I could gather.

A really long strip of fabric that I could gather and sew onto the bottom as a ruffle.

A really long strip of fabric that I could gather and sew onto the bottom as a ruffle and make the skirt longer!

And cuter!

Yes!

And so I got to work.





And here's the finished product, with which I am very pleased indeed. I'm so happy with it, I've almost forgotten how my bobbin thread tangled up, oh, about 57 times.

Don't Blink

Ah, is that not a thing of beauty? That's how I spent all my spare time last week...folding. "Once this is done," I kept saying, "I'm just going to shellac it and never touch it again." And so, for one brief, shining moment, I had all my fabric put away.

And then I bought more.

And there it sits, on the floor. I guess I better get busy sewing.

What a Hoot

I found this in a Family Circle magazine, dated 1981.

The ad offered patterns for creating an array of crocheted owl accessories, including a toothpick holder, a doorstop, and glass jackets (which in this day and age would be a water bottle cozy).

But this notepad holder really caught my eye, due to its pencil perch, and I thought some of you owl lovers might be interested in the idea.

If anyone uses this idea, I definitely want to see the results!

Library Love

Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am. I get to take home all these wonderful books, new dvd releases, Playaways, cds...for free. Free! And if there's something my library doesn't have, they'll get it for me...for free. Free! As they say, max out your library card, not your credit card!

I could go on about how much I love the library, but that would get boring. My reason for bringing it up today is because our libraries in Pennsylvania could be in trouble due to proposed funding cuts. More people than ever are depending on libraries right now, so this would be a disaster. If you live in Pennsylvania, you can contact a Senator, Representative, or Governor to express your concerns. If you live elsewhere, I urge you to stay on top of what's happening with your own state's funding. We need our libraries.

Further Field Trip Finds

I've been loving the comments about our Family Fabric Foray. It's exciting to show all the booty to other people who appreciate the thrill of the hunt! Sometimes I think even my fellow shoppers wonder at my enthusiasm when I run up, giggling and squealing, to pluck a sheet from the rack. I can imagine them thinking I might be a little dangerous if I get that excited over used linens.

The little chair up there is another find from our shopping trip. For the amount of time I spent debating that purchase, you'd have thought I was buying a major piece of furniture. It's a child-size chair, and we don't have a child, so it was a bit of a "what will I DO with it?" moment. In the end, I decided to look upon it not as a chair but as a bit of bright sculpture if you will, and so it came home with me.

Five minutes after deciding to buy the chair, I had another decision to make about this doll. I love her folksy outfit and all its details, but she is made of the cheapest plastic and her lips are a rather distracting shade of pink. Still, I love anything suggestive of Scandinavia, so now she's mine. Dollmakers, check out these shoes.

That wouldn't be hard to replicate, would it?

Knit Practice...Help!

I have too many tee shirts. Like a ridiculous amount. So I've been culling. And I still have a ridiculous amount. Baby steps.

On the other hand, I didn't have very many headbands. Two to be exact. And I like headbands for the gym and for keeping my hair out of my eyes when I'm reading in bed. They seem more gentle than an elastic band.

You see where this is going, I'm sure. Some of the stretchier tees were rescued from the donate pile to make headbands.








I now have fourteen new headbands! There would have been more, but I made a few mistakes. After a few false starts, I looked online for tutorials.

Basic headband tutorial. This one makes a nice, plain headband exactly like the ones I bought at the store. Not a fashion statement, but functional.

Longer, knotted headband. This one is a little more stylish. It wasn't really what I was looking for, but I made one just to give it a try.





The tutorial for the knotted headband shows it wrapped around the head once and tied, with the ends trailing down. I wrapped mine around twice instead, and the knot looks like a little bow. I think this works better with my hair.








This is just one of the basic ones. I know, how exciting! :-) To make this type, I started with a rectangle measuring 4.5 inches by 17 inches. I followed the directions at the link, except for finishing off the hole. That I just did by machine, because it ends up hidden under my hair anyway.





This was good practice for me at sewing on knits. I don't do enough of that, and I find it really intimidating. I'm never quite sure what they mean when they say "use a small zig-zag stitch," so I end up experimenting on scraps until I find a width/length combination I can live with. Even a call to my mom and a look through numerous sewing books didn't shed much light on the question. My mom told me to think of it as a narrow zig zag, but that didn't work as nicely on my headbands as a smaller-all-around zig zag. Urgggh! Can anyone clear this up?

Fried Dough

I need to talk about fried dough. We bought a little bag of these Lil Orbits mini donuts the other day in the lobby of Weaver's Store. First the smell hit us--amazing--but it was the sight of the baby donuts bobbing around in the fryer that put us over the edge. We had to try some. Not surprisingly, they were delicious. I didn't even manage to take a picture, they were gone so fast!

Then, mom started reminiscing about her grandma frying little leftover pieces of bread dough for her when she was a kid. Mom said she and her brother, Jack, would suggest Nana make the bread a little smaller, thus leaving more scraps for the fryer! That led to thoughts about the zeppole I see at some pizza shops, that Pennsylvania delicacy known as a funnel cake, and the variety of fried doughs we saw for sale in Valencia.


Okay, so we did more than just look at them. nom nom

Fried dough is pretty pervasive, no? Well, no wonder...it's FRIED DOUGH! Check out this Guide to Ethnic Fried Doughs Around the World, if you dare. The Fried Dough Worldwide link is especially interesting. Now I want to try them all!

First Drop!

I was finally able to do my first Toy Society drop today! Mr. Robot has been riding around in my husband's car for a week, waiting for good weather and an empty playground at the park. We had to abort our mission earlier today, as there was one very stubborn little girl who wouldn't get off the swings!

Here he is all tagged and bagged (with holes poked in the bag) and ready to be found!








From the Toy Society website:

The Toy Society spreads the love throughout the streets of the world. Nothing to it really just a bunch of handmade toys looking for a nice home.

What started as a small street art project in Australia is slowly spreading around the world.

Family Fabric Foray

Time for another field trip! My mom, my husband, and I had a full day of bargain hunting down near New Holland, PA yesterday. Each of us had a list of "must-go" destinations, so we did quite a bit of running around! For now, I'm just going to concentrate on the parts related to sewing.

One thing we never pass by are the ReUzit shops which are run by the Mennonite Central Committee. These are the cleanest and most organized thrift shops I've ever visited, and I always find some neat little sewing tidbits. My own mother practically ran me over dashing back to the notions and fabric section so she could get the first look!

Luckily, we aren't usually looking for the same things. Mom grabbed the piece on the right first, but she handed it right over to me. The piece on the left came from the linens section. I thought it was a sheet, but it's a shower curtain. Not for long, though!

I also found a little bundle of this green print, which reminded me of something from a Lauren Child book (maybe The Princess and the Pea). If you haven't visited her website, do. It's fun, and it's cute, and I love everything about it.

Next we went to the newly opened Goodville Fabric Outlet (717-445-6123). My mom had paid them a visit before they were even officially opened, but this was my first time.





















The lighting wasn't the best for pictures, but I'm going to share some shots anyway, just to give you an idea of what it's like.

They don't have a comprehensive selection by any means, but if you can find what you're looking for, you are going to get a great deal. I saw a lot of solid and striped knits, men's shirting fabrics, fleece, and upholstery remnants. I thought that cotton belting was a great deal at 49 cents per yard, but I resisted. For $1.77/yard, I ended up with some nice-quality Asian brocade and a cute little piece of "Shopaholic" fabric. (If you're thinking that looks familiar, there's a different colorway on the envelope of Simplicity 9949.)




















Finally, we stopped at The PA Fabric Outlet (717-656-0917), known to me as "the button shop."

Yes, they have fabric, as my mom will attest. She loaded up on Lanz flannels for 99 cents per yard and other sleepwear remnants for 98 cents per piece. But what I love about the PA Fabric Outlet are the buttons and the trims and the zippers. Want feathers? They've got 'em. Need stretch lace? No problem. Searching for purse hardware? Look no further.




















I wish I'd have gotten some of this trim for 40 cents/yard. Next time.