Horrid Caftan to Comfy Skirt

Old sheets from the thrift store were meant for practicing on, right? So practice I did, and attempted to sew a caftan. Each time I wore it, a kitten died, it was that horrid. What to do? Take scissors and chop, of course! And so I did, re-fashioning a skirt from the bottom half. First try, and it feels comfy. Sure, it's not perfect, but I never made a skirt before so I am fairly pleased with the result.

Taking it all off!

It's 85º F. outside and by golly, I need a sundress. This thrifted blue denim dress with the pin-tucks came down to my ankles, fercryinoutloud! And it's been in my closet for a decade, no less than, anyway... so what on earth could be done to improve this Blue Bad Boy? Let me take off the bottom, a full 11", and we shall take it from there. Well, I adore the way it came out! I don't think it needs anything else (though I was considering bleaching a section for the "ombre" effect). What do you think?

Another Happy Hat from old, torn sweatpants

Hats are so much fun to make, so satisfying to collect and to wear. Why is that? What is it about hats that makes them special? My daughter's sweatpants had a huge hole, and it was calling my name: "MAMA! Fix me!" Naturally, I felt compelled to rescue the poor sweatpants. I followed My Magic Mom's 'Cloche Hat Tutorial'. Only now do I realize I forgot to take photos of the pieces I traced and cut out; however, the aforementioned tutorial will show you exactly how I did it.

Fat Me and a Pocket Shift from an old sheet

Fat Me: Thank you, psychiatric meds. You've made my body a blob of yuk and I hate it. Psych meds, you've packed on fifteen or twenty pounds over the course of two months. Salads be damned! And I practically live on salads, greens, veggies... Seriously, I do not know how much less I can eat without stopping eating altogether. Betcha I'd still gain weight if I quit eating. Grrr... How much of the weight gain is due to menopause? The weight gain really bums me out and balloons my bum. No, it is NOT funny!! Grrr... Should I quit the psych meds and be skinny but depressed? At least I'd look good. Oh, Woe Is Me! Woe! And there's Chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream sitting in the freezer, a virgin half-gallon, which I yearn to sully.

Pocket Shift from an Old Sheet: I posted about this briefly over at Refashion Co-op. Now here's the deal with the shift - I dyed the old sheet twice. The first time I used only one bottom of RIT Dye Black, and the cloth turned purple not black. Nice, but not great. So the second dye bath used RIT Dye Dark Brown and a half a bottle of black, and POW! The color punched up nice and rich. I'm happy with it. I added large pockets to the shift, plus I hand-stitched a silk tie around the neckline. The inspiration came from Annekata's page on Japanese tunics, which are simple yet adorable.
Albert 'photobombed' a couple times, for added charm.

from Gnarly Sweatpants, a fetching Black Beret

The black sweatpants are pilled, stretched, and just plain gnarly. What to do but a black beret?!!? I only used one leg, so there's plenty of fabric left to work with later. I took pictures and provide a step-by-step set of instructions for making the beret. Annekata's tutorial taught me how, so you might like to check out her guidelines.

Old Navy Jeans Refashion

Two years ago I weighed some 165 lbs., thanks to a change in medication. I ballooned and then the weight gain made me totally miserable. After I lost the weight by ditching the meds, I had cut into these Old Navy Jeans because they were too large... Well, my cutting flubbed and I stuffed them in a little closet. Early this morning I remembered them and so here you have it, a photo essay of a jeans to skirt refashion.

Voila! A normal length skirt
White leather belt fell in love with me at the Goodwill...

Side view with Doggie photobomb heh heh

Rear Window

My husband's Levi's were made into a fetching jeans skirt, which I wear at least once a week because it is so comfy. But - and I do mean butt - the left rear tore today and exposed my assets. No small children were here to see London, France, underpants...
So rather than do a traditional mend, I performed a purple strip. heh heh

Peek-a-boo! 

The Purple Strip: A touch of poetic nuance...

Now you see it! The Cheeky Purple Patch.

Upside-down peach & sour cream cake

Hey - it's MY blog and I can post an OFF-topic thing if I feel like it. So...there! HAH!
That said, I am so pleased with the way this luscious peach cake came out that I feel compelled to brag, brag, brag and to share photos & recipe.

Making A Bell Hat ("Cloche"): A Dozen Photos

I traced the pieces from THIS pattern and followed THESE directions. So without further ado, the photos...

Hats & Cat

My daughter brought home a boy kitten, The Joker... Apparently, mine is the bosom of choice for lounging and purring on. My husband detests cats, but The Joker goes back to college with my daughter in a couple weeks so the tension isn't so bad.

Kitty helps me type this up...

What to do?

What should I do with this blue denim button-down dress? I was thinking of dying it a dark, rich brown and leaving it at that. Another alteration I might make is shortening it a bit, up to just below the knees. But alas, I cannot decide just yet. AND I am wearing it today, all day, as it is 90º f. outside and inside. Yikes!
So, should I dye it? Shorten it? Both?

Goodwill, $2.50, "National" brand