I miss my sewing machine

and don't want to finish my homework. Instead, some more refashioning inspiration: Of Dreams and Seams.

possible project

Inspiration:  seen at Century 21

raw materials:  bagged at recent rummage sale

do you think it's do-able?

MuMu Makeover

Couldn't wait to get started on this! The mumu I got from Innes definitely qualified as something I would not wear in public.

However, I loved the print which reminded me of fabics I saw on a recent trip to Africa. My concept was to make it into something with a little shape. One mystery was that I ran out of material before I finished what I wanted to do: How could a slimmer dress take just as much or more material? So I cut the ruffle off and stitched together sections of it to form some of the extra fabric I needed and I got a small "quarter" of contrasting fabric to do the interfacing.
Here's what I came up with:

I finished it in time to wear to a rehearsal dinner party for my friend's son on the eve of his wedding. Here I am with my friend Bonnie:

And here's another picture from the event taken by the light of a bonfire:

I am now ready to offer assistance to Haven and got a nice item for her refashionista raw material at a yard sale yesterday that will go well with that tangerine lipstick she has been sporting lately!

found on bag sale day--  check out those feathers!

i

if you a re coming to the party at pops and ganggang's on sunday, try to bring along a refashionable find--perhaps even just a "practice piece" maybe we can try out some refashioning techniques! see you there, innes

second try...

i found these today at a nearby for-profit thrift shop. there were LOTS of ethnic tunics with matching harem-y pants. i'll have to go back on discount day (thursdays)!

homemade silk shantung

homemade cotton print (love the fabric!)

i realized after the fact that sleeveless dresses provides significantly less material to work with, so these outfits are not ideal...and dress three wouldn't even zip all the way up in the back! i'll make another foray for fashion later today!

delightfully hideous scratchy two layer fabric--also homemade

i

So much potential!

Found a great refashionista item this morning. The print is incredible. What's not to like about topo maps of Trinidad and the Caribbean! However the outfit begs to be redone! Does anyone want this for their challenge? Or must I do this one myself?

this year's challenge!

 

head on out to the nearest thrift shop!

our day-after-thanksgiving challenge has been inspired by the refashionista blog (see rss feed at right)

the idea is that each participant searches for an item of clothing to be re-fashioned into something fun, fitting, and fashionable!  we haven't worked all the details out yet (like, how to swap the items--anonymously?  draw names?)

some suggestions for the clothing:  buy LARGE.  this gives you extra material to work with for maximum innovation.

post your other suggestions here!

i've got three very interesting dresses waiting already....

New Dress

I was inspired to sew a dress as a practice dress for my MOB outfit.
After a search, I found a pattern I liked which was a retro Butterick, from the year of my birth, 1952.

I found some great material with Chinese characters on it. I see the characters for 'person' and 'heart' and 'way' but I haven't deciphered them all yet.

And here is the final product; the first dress I have sewed in many a year!

option 4

option 3

option 2

option 1

TSHIRT HACKERS--REBORN!

NOT like these, though!------->

lona was thinking about creating her own "mother of the bride" dress for lynnis's wedding...

what could be more fun than helping her with design ideas, and perhaps each of us creating something special for the special occasion!

hallie and i are going to go through my extensive pattern collection this weekend. look around for ideas, watch at yardsales for special fabric or outfits to alter...

60th Pics

more photos!

check out the slideshow at

www.carlson60.blogspot.com

We're also getting ready...

Games!


Puppet supplies!


Dictator!


Turtles!

getting ready!

we are assembling stuff to bring on friday! can't wait to see everybody...

Reposting the Dress Pic (without my head...)

not quite a tshirt hack...

but my latest sewing project, started yesterday, to be finished today. hallie needed an outfit to be for a history class "salon." she is role-playing Mary Astell, an english proto-feminist from the 1690s. hallie refused to have her picture taken (NOT her fav class assignment, to put it mildly...), so here is ysa looking very formal.

the fabric is polished chintz (free gift from a neighbor), accents of antique lace (pillowcase edging), bodice is separate and fully lined. my old pfaff did a great job sewing through the dense gathering of the skirt--three 60" wide fabric widths gathered down to the slimness of hallie's waist. still to be done are a swath of hook and eyes to secure the back of the bodice.

innes

t-shirts of another sort

should we have t-shirts for the 60th/reunion this May, as we did at the 50th?

Calendar

Lona reminded me today that I am supposed to make a t-shirt hackers calendar.  But I need some input.

• What special dates should be included on the calendar? 
  
• Are all the pictures people want included posted on the blog?  If not, email them to me.
  
• Any preference as to what picture goes on what month?  
  
• I don't think I have the time or energy to do much in the way of collages, so it will probably be one picture per month. Unless someone else wants to make collages?
  
• Who wants a calendar? I need to know how many copies to order.
• Does anyone else want to take on this project?
  

crustaceinnes

I have a few more photos on my Flickr account, but I thought these were the most flattering.