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.

Holey Tee, Batman!

There are few things I don't like about thrift stores. The primary annoyance is unattended children, but a close second is staples. Yep, staples. I don't know about your experience, but most of the thrift shops near me use staples to attach their price tags to clothing. To their credit, they usually try to staple them to the tag inside the collar. but if there isn't a tag, they go right through the fabric. Honestly, I can't really think of a better solution from their point of view. I'm sure staples are cheaper than price tag guns, and I do appreciate the savings that are passed on to the consumer, namely me. But still, staples. Grrr...

Let's look at an innocent victim of this pricing dilemma, shall we? I picked up this tee a while back for $1, I think. I love the indigo color and the low-cut back.

No-Sew Scarf

This tee used to be one of my favorites. I think my face makes it clear how I feel about it now.

Beatnik

As you may recall, about a year ago, when I vowed to lose weight, I also took a hiatus from garment knitting. Accessories, absolutely! But fitted sweaters, no. There's no point in spending weeks, or even months, creating something that soon won't fit.

Luckily, those days are behind me now. When I was within sight of my goal weight, I allowed myself to cast on a pullover (this lovely, cabled beauty by Norah Gaughan, to be precise!), and now it's finished!

I worked this up using some Patons Classic Merino Wool (#77732 That's Pink), which I scored on the cheap a few years ago when Michaels stores across the nation were selling yarn for $1 a skein to make room for their new yarn department. So with just over 5.5 skeins used, this, my friends, is a $5.53 sweater. Not bad, eh?

Finished, just in time to wear it once before it gets too hot. C'est la vie!