Vino

ATTENTION KNITTERS: Only six and a half more knitting months until Christmas. Time to get started on you gift knitting. And what better way than with these fabulous fingerless mitts by yours truly in the newest issue of Knitty?

Simple Solutions

In the midst of packing and moving, I had to take a break to maintain sanity. I spent one lovely Saturday sewing up some of my old larger tops and tees into more fitted pieces. These two items were among them. I still liked the idea of these shirts; they just didn't fit anymore!

A Little Less Country...

Well, there's another two weeks since last we chatted. But what a whirlwind it's been! The Dude and I spent two hectic weeks busily painting in our new house before our scheduled move date, and we still didn't get it all done in time. The movers came and went, and now we've been living here for almost two more weeks, continuing to paint in the evenings and weekends, with a little unpacking interspersed here and there for variety. And then it happened. Two days ago, I finished painting the trim and china cabinet in the breakfast nook, and that was that. No more painting. At least for now.

All totaled, we primed and painted two bedrooms, the kitchen and breakfast nook, the formal dining room, and the entry/foyer. That also includes the kitchen cabinets and wainscoting in three of those rooms too. Wanna see?

One Fish Two Fish

Wow. Long time, no write, huh? I swear I have a good reason though. I haven't had 10 minutes of alone time with my laptop in a week. Yeah, I was starting to go into withdrawal. It all started with a little thing we call... our new house!

We closed about a week and a half ago and took possession after the seller finished moving out last Saturday evening. Since then, every waking moment that I'm not at my "real" job, I'm at our new house prepping, priming, and/or painting. Literally, as soon as I get home from work in the evenings, we make sandwiches to take with us, head over to the house, and work into the wee hours of the morning. Then we go home, crash for a few hours (far fewer than I'd like), and do it all again the next day. It's been crazy, and will continue to be until we finish painting and move next week, but we are so super excited to call this place ours!

And now, let's get to why you're really here - crafty goodness! Last Saturday, while ansiously awaiting the call to say we could go see our new place, I did some sewing to try to keep my mind occupied. I had picked up this dress at a clothes swap last year. It's a touch too short for my taste, and I've lost a bit more weight since the before photo, so it's not as snug anymore. Let's see what we can do!

Not a Drop

I finished this scarf a couple weeks ago, but have been forgetting to take pictures until now.

Mad for Plaid

I grabbed these slacks at the thrift shop a couple weeks ago for $1.50. They fit great in the waist but, as you can clearly see, the length falls a bit short (yeah, pun entirely intended).

But just look at the gold sparkly houndstooth-plaid-y fabric!

Cotton Cables

I've had this vest for a while now. It was one of my favorites for years. Of course, now it hangs off me, armholes clearly too large - but I think with just a little tweak, it could be totally wearable again.

Also, this before picture was about 20 pounds ago.

Going Sleeveless

My husband bought this shirt a little while back after spending about two seconds in the fitting room and not hating it (yep, typical male shopper). The first time he actually wore it though, he realized it was just too tight across the shoulders and little too short as well, with his white undershirt peaking out from the bottom. Sadly (for him, not me), this means it ended up in my refashion pile.

Tube Top

I'm a big fan of reusing as much as possible of a refashion "before" garment, though most of the time, the scraps languish in my fabric stash for quiet a while before I get back to them. But not this time! Last time, I showed you how I converted this sack of a dress to a flowy kimono-esque top with no sewing whatsoever.

Now you get to see what I did with the skirt portion, though this one does involve some sewing.

No-Sew Kimono

How about another quick change, eh? I bought this dress on the clearance rack at Target for... $10 maybe as I was losing weight. It fit great for a while, and the sash/tie/thingie meant I could cinch up the waist as I shrunk. But now? Yeah, I just fill like a coral-color blimp.