Finally getting around to the rest of what I've been up to in the last couple of weeks.
#1: The car seat covers. I meant to do these last summer, but it was one of those things that I just ran out of time to do, and then it got cold, and so on. But I finished these the weekend before this past one. Made them out of four beach towels. The previous ones were beach towels too... in the spirit of trying to not be wasteful, I cut up the old ones (also beach towels) and am in the process of serging the edges of them to make blotters for a papermaking project I'm hoping to do soon.
#2: Last week was an extra-busy work week for me-- the annual middle school band camp that I'm the flute instructor for. Monday and Tuesday were particularly rough in that they were very long work days, between that and my regular flute teaching. But when I got home on Tuesday, despite being quite tired, I was in the mood to do something creative that I wouldn't have to think about too much. So I popped in Bride & Predjudice (not a mistype, the Bollywood version) and broke out the beads, and this is the result...
Gryffindor earrings!! We had some theme days, and since Wednesday was the premiere for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the kids were encouraged to wear house colors. So I went with this. (The red looks a little more burgundy when it's not in that sort of lighting, and I happened to have a non-HP-related burgundy and gold shirt that also has a star on it, so it does double-duty.) My best friend, who is a die-hard Potterhead, stopped by briefly that night to borrow my hiking daypack, and so I made her an identical pair. She was quite pleased.
This necklace is actually a reconstruction of sorts-- I made the basic necklace a couple of years ago, with a sun pendant that was huge. It didn't look so good and it kept falling off anyway. I got the pendant separately with no idea of what to do with it, and finally realized that it went perfectly with the existing necklace.
The bone earrings were made to go with a shell -and-bone necklace that I wear all the time in the summer-- one of the two original earrings got lost when I was out one day.
Finally, the "summer wardrobe" necklace-- I got the materials for this specifically to fit my hippie-ish theme. (The cording is hemp.) In retrospect, I probably should have waited until I was a little more coherent and put the flowers closer to the pendant instead of the copper beads. Maybe someday I'll redo that... we'll see.
And then on Saturday, I spent most of the day sewing a skirt, but ended up wrapping it up with a quick refashion. I got these pjs during my freshman year of college, and they've served me well. But I've since learned that tank top + pants = limited wearability time for me-- too hot for summer, too cold for winter, and the last couple of years the springs and falls haven't really been much of a transitional time. So now I have a tank top + shorts. Much better.
And the bonus is I could make them longer shorts--I'm not particularly fond of walking around in short shorts, even for bumming around the house in my pjs!!
Also making some progress on my upcoming bedroom makeover...I've ended up with a different computer desk, since my dad found one for free that would save me more space in the room (and has a bit more storage options), and he's helped me do a little repair work on it. I've also started what is looking to be the long, slow process of prepping it to paint-- lots of sanding. (The repair involved sanding down the particle board enough on one piece that it pretty much has to be painted.) And I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond today to get some storage-type stuff for the closet and under the bed. (Was thinking about making some fabric storage bins, but I found some that were good sizes, sturdy, not too expensive and even matched the room, so I figured I'd save myself the time and hassle.)
To go back to the clothes refashioning...I'm feeling a need to do some simplifying again...the impending fall and all of its schedule changes/preparations for my brother's wedding are stressing me out a bit. So it's been a tough decision, but I've decided to take another break from Wardrobe Refashion after my pledge is up at the end of the summer. Seeing as how it's the middle of July and I'm still working on my summer wardrobe plans, and I have to replace nearly all of my work pants and still haven't mastered fitting those, and I need some sweaters and haven't had luck with making or thrifting them, and my next several projects have to be things related to Adam and Julia's wedding (including arranging the music for it, once they finalize that), I just can't practically keep up with it. I figure I can still try to take away the lessons I've learned from it... I'm not going to stop refashioning, and I can look for some more sustainable options (at least for the sweaters...I have my doubts about the pants). And maybe if things calm down, I can go for another round. Everything has its season, and right now I think I just need to keep my sewing more simple and fun.
Finally, the "summer wardrobe" necklace-- I got the materials for this specifically to fit my hippie-ish theme. (The cording is hemp.) In retrospect, I probably should have waited until I was a little more coherent and put the flowers closer to the pendant instead of the copper beads. Maybe someday I'll redo that... we'll see.
And then on Saturday, I spent most of the day sewing a skirt, but ended up wrapping it up with a quick refashion. I got these pjs during my freshman year of college, and they've served me well. But I've since learned that tank top + pants = limited wearability time for me-- too hot for summer, too cold for winter, and the last couple of years the springs and falls haven't really been much of a transitional time. So now I have a tank top + shorts. Much better.
And the bonus is I could make them longer shorts--I'm not particularly fond of walking around in short shorts, even for bumming around the house in my pjs!!Also making some progress on my upcoming bedroom makeover...I've ended up with a different computer desk, since my dad found one for free that would save me more space in the room (and has a bit more storage options), and he's helped me do a little repair work on it. I've also started what is looking to be the long, slow process of prepping it to paint-- lots of sanding. (The repair involved sanding down the particle board enough on one piece that it pretty much has to be painted.) And I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond today to get some storage-type stuff for the closet and under the bed. (Was thinking about making some fabric storage bins, but I found some that were good sizes, sturdy, not too expensive and even matched the room, so I figured I'd save myself the time and hassle.)
To go back to the clothes refashioning...I'm feeling a need to do some simplifying again...the impending fall and all of its schedule changes/preparations for my brother's wedding are stressing me out a bit. So it's been a tough decision, but I've decided to take another break from Wardrobe Refashion after my pledge is up at the end of the summer. Seeing as how it's the middle of July and I'm still working on my summer wardrobe plans, and I have to replace nearly all of my work pants and still haven't mastered fitting those, and I need some sweaters and haven't had luck with making or thrifting them, and my next several projects have to be things related to Adam and Julia's wedding (including arranging the music for it, once they finalize that), I just can't practically keep up with it. I figure I can still try to take away the lessons I've learned from it... I'm not going to stop refashioning, and I can look for some more sustainable options (at least for the sweaters...I have my doubts about the pants). And maybe if things calm down, I can go for another round. Everything has its season, and right now I think I just need to keep my sewing more simple and fun.
