Living on a budget is hard when you just bought a house and you really really really really want to decorate it, but you only allow yourself $40 spending money a month and since you're an information sucking bibliophile, quite a bit of that money ends up being traded for books instead of home decor. I find myself lately just trying to bring new life into things I already have, or create new decorations from materials I already own.

Case in point: I got tired of seeing wires snaking out of the space above the microwave:

So I dashed to the fabric stash and found this hideous but strangely charming old fashioned fabric that I'd gotten for free last year...

...and fashioned a little ruffly curtain with a tension rod in the middle.

This did not take long because it seems that this curtain was also a curtain in another life, and was already folded over and sewn just waiting for a little curtain rod to take its place just like the good old days. All I had to do was sew about an inch above the previous stitches to create a smaller pocket for the rod and leave a jaunty little ruffle on top.

And I didn't stop there. I started thinking that the colors looked kinda good and would do well to add color to the brown that's EVERYWHERE in the kitchen (and living room). As an aside...I truly love the paneling. It's not 1970s faux wood paneling. It's about an inch thick and very sturdy. But I also enjoy colors other than brown. So there ya go. I ended up creating another little curtain to frame the top of the french doors:

This curtain is strung onto a piece of 1/4 round crown molding that cost me $4 which I cut to length with a steak knife. The entire thing is supported by 3 cup hooks that I already had on hand:

I even accidentally created a curtain for the kitchen window by sewing one panel for the french doors and discovering that I was working on the wrong little piece of fabric!

Amazing. The house is starting to look more and more ours every day.

Sewing set-up

Finally got my little corner settled:

I even made that curtain yesterday from some fabric in my stash just to prove to myself that my hands can still sew! This is good because I see another beautiful baby quilt on the horizon!

Update: Just made it back from Hobby Lobby, Hancock Fabric and Michaels.

Beginning

Beginning a new project is a thrill. A cheap, easy thrill. I am quick to begin projects, but slow to end. Case in point. Check out this cute apron I just finished:

This "easy" classified McCall's apron was a year and a few months in the making. It sat, and sat, and sat. In a dark, dusty closet it sat. With other discarded, incomplete projects it sat mournfully for a whole year. And three months. And then I pulled it out of the darkness and onto the ironing board where I massaged it, marked it, put it all together, and brought it to life. It only took about an hour to finish. This project has given hope to other neglected projects.

This is a baby "blanket". As you can see, it's only about cat size right now.
This has been in the works since about July and has been shoved into the drawer
under my coffee table. The cat is clearly pleading with me to get it done.

This is the Jane Eyre shawl I blogged about before. In September. Haven't worked
on it this month yet. It's essentially half a shawl.

This mitered hanging towel is only about 10 rows away from being finished.
So why isn't it? This I cannot say.

A shawl I started to crochet for a nursing home charity. We'll see if a sweet
elderly lady ever lays her hands on this baby.

A granny square blanket I just started last Saturday. It's coming along, but when
I take into account my poor history with blankets I have to sense the inevitable
abandonment that is to come.

The half square triangles quilt which has not progressed
beyond this point in the past several months.

I'm starting to view my unfinished projects as monstrosities. I feel like I'm Toy Story's Sid and these are my deformed, half constructed toys which may forever remain undone. The memory of these projects did not, however, keep me from starting a new project this morning. Behold, the Dean Street hat! Oh the thrill!

Here's to new beginnings!

2/5

I am starting to realize that this project might be a little too ambitious for my limited quilting skills.  Never stopped me before though, and I am so excited to see this come together.

Gatsby deems this project as nap-worthy

This morning as I walked through an imaginary cool breeze, I was reminded that knitting season is almost upon me again! Christmas time and a baby shower are approaching.  Gotta wipe the dust of the hooks and needles that I've stowed away unused basically all summer.  Time to be blissfully industrious.  

Banjo Feminization

At first I called this project "banjo prettification", but "feminization" may be just as accurate. I suppose this is stage 1.  Stage 2 will have to do with the strap.

Before:

My banjo with a kitchen rag stuffed in the back.  The rag  keeps it from being too loud.  This works, but has downfalls.  First and most obviously, it isn't very attractive.  Second, it tends to occasionally fall out, which is annoying.  Third, sometimes I'm out of clean kitchen rags and I have to rob from my instrument.  Fourth, this paragraph forced me to use way too many commas for my comfort.

After:

My solution was to make a round pillow (my Fiesta plates were the perfect size round template) from some green material I had lying around plus some stuffed animal stuffins.  I then made 2 doilies and sewed their picot points together around the pillow.  I used the Ferris Wheel doily pattern, but had to make it smaller to fit correctly.  A lovely consequence to this whole doily thing is that the doily pattern shows through on the front of the banjo.

I love the look of it, except for the fact that banjos always seem to get dirty where thumbs and fingers strike the drum repeatedly.  I guess that means I practice enough.

Reformed Toga Becomes Skirt

Disclaimer:  my husband is quite possibly the worst photographer of all time.

I bought 5 yards of fabric in 2006 for the purpose of becoming a sweet toga:

I really, really wanted the fabric to become a dress.  I bought a pattern, opened it up, said "oh, fuck" and put both the pattern and the fabric away.  It's resurfaced a few times.  Made an appearance as a pillowcase, then took a detour into skirt territory:

Simplicity 2906

Summer skirts

I've made a few wardrobe changes since the last time I blogged about dress--I stopped feeling the need to stay completely plain and simple.  I've moseyed on over to the solidly feminine category, though I would still say my clothes are mostly modest besides the fact that some of my shirts are still a little tight around the chestal region.  I wear a skirt almost every day (what legendary comfort!).  I still wear the long skirts I made before, but I sometimes add fancier shirts or earrings.  Lately it's been very hot outside (in the 90s) and I got to thinking that it would be nice to have some more summer skirts.  Simplicity patterns were on sale at Hobby Lobby this week for $1.99, so I bought a few to try out.  I also went to Hancock Fabric for the fabric, and found that Butterick patterns were on sale for $0.99 there, so I snagged one of those as well.  Hancock Fabric has some pretty fantastic sales, including discount fabric areas.

The first pattern I tried during this spate of renewed interest was Simplicity 2184.  I found the red fabric in the discount area.  I decided on that particular fabric because there is a small amount of it in the quilt-in-the-works and I thought it would be nice to have extra if I needed it.  It would also make a nice apron, I think.  I'm completely in love with that lace trim.  This was the first time I used elastic in a sewing project.  It was ridiculously easy, and the skirt only took a few hours to finish.

I also finished the skirt that I mentioned in this post.  That is to say, I finished in in January but haven't blogged about it yet.  I wasn't all that wild about it at first because it's pretty much the only item in my wardrobe that is pink, so I don't exactly have shirts to match. BUT last weekend I went on a tour of a brewery (complete with all-you-can-drink free samples of their brew) where I snagged a green shirt that says "Real Ale Brewing Company" that I think looks nice with the skirt. 

Sewing is good for the soul.  Every time I enter the fabric store it's like entering a wonderland of colorful delight.  I talked to a lady at the library yesterday who said that she gets fabric off of Freecycle for free, but she doesn't have much time any more to sew.  And would I want her to bring me some fabric she doesn't want?  Heck yes!  We'll see if this conversation bears fruit.
 

Quilting Plans

Boy am I excited.  I haven't done any quilting since 2007.  I also checked out a book from the library called "Getting Started Knitting Socks" so soon there will be man-socks in my future.  Happy, happy.

Simple dress

There have been so many changes for me since around September of last year. I'm not sure how to write about it without sounding like a crazy person, so I will limit myself to speaking of one symptom of the metamorphosis.  I have begun dressing more simply, and have begun the journey to sew my own modest clothing. I find that by sewing my own I can control colors, fiber content and modesty of garments. This has involved me spending a lot of time at Hobby Lobby (yay!).  I told Oliver that by practicing my sewing skill now, I will be better equipped to clothe him in the event of a global zombie apocalypse. He thoughtfully accepted that explanation, and also requested that I knit him a pair of socks (next knitting project?!).

A primary reason for dressing plain and simple is that it eliminates the need to spend much thought on my personal appearance.  Less thought on my own appearance means that I am less likely to harshly judge myself or others based on it, which is a big deal for me because I want to be able to see the equality in all people regardless of what anyone looks like. It feels freeing to be released from the needling judgments that I used to make towards myself. It also frees me from the tendency to constantly compare myself to others (in appearance, success, possessions) and come up short which used to result in jealousy and other negativity.  Plus sewing is a neat, entertaining, useful hobby.

Here are some pictures of items I've sewn so far.

Simplicity 5914 D in twill

Simplicity 5914 A in weaver's denim

Butterick 6085

New Look 6963

I just realized my skirts were on kind of crooked in these pictures....don't blame the pattern, blame the wearer.  The only one I wasn't totally pleased with was the blue Butterick shirt.  It just doesn't fit right.  The shoulders are too wide.  I am going to make some more of the New Look pattern, as that one is VERY comfortable.  I've also completed one more pattern since the pictures were taken: a 1990s button up jumper.  And perhaps I'll talk about head covering at some other time.....

Sappy embroidery

As it turns out, when you only work part-time and don't attend school or watch television you have a heck of a lot of time for delightful activities that you never had time for before.  This is what I created yesterday from a pattern I had prepared about 6 months ago:

I made the pattern by printing out the text in a font I liked on plain white paper.  Then I printed out some graph paper with the tiny boxes and traced the words on that by drawing an x in each applicable box.  The graph paper was a guide to the spacing and stitching pattern on cloth.  I learned during this process that you need to print out the text of the original bigger than you want it all stitched out, because the tiny box graph paper is still bigger than the little stitch boxies on cloth.  All I need is one of those pretty oval frames to put it in.  It inadvertently became a companion piece to this one I embroidered before we were married, as I somehow chose the same color for the text of both:

That one was freehand.  I got inspired by Jenny Hart one day and cranked it out using some embroidery techniques I googled.

Although I am impressed with how these turned out, embroidery/cross-stitch is not my poison of choice.  Knitting, you're still my number one, babe.  At least until I rustle me up some chickens and honeybees, or if I stick with banjo playing long enough get y'know...skilled.