This Summer, sewing and fashion have really become my obsession. As a plus size gal, it has always been hard to really embrace fashion, because most things off the rack 1. never fit right 2. are hideous and 3. make me feel even worse about myself and my body.
I have said for many years that I was just going to start sewing my own clothes because I am so disgusted with whats available in my size.
Sewing is not quite a new thing for me. I loved to sew when I was younger, but I was never encouraged to run with it, so to speak.
Anyways, the reason that I am not on here much is because there are some new things in the works, so bear with me.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
An Indiana Raised Garden
I have always loved gardening, and have had a bit of a green thumb all my life. So, now that we are back in a home that we own, one of the first things that I decided on doing was building a raised garden bed.
It is a bit of a hodge podge square foot garden. It is actually 5x5 instead of 4x4because the cheap wood at Home Depot was 10 foot planks, but I laid it out in a 4x4 grid. For us it ok that it is a little bigger, because my husband is 6' 4" and has a long arm span. If you are all shorties in your house stick to a 4x4. I didn't follow the rules as far as what you put in the garden for dirt. There are no sources near where I live for compost in bulk or any of the other components that are recommended for a square foot garden. So, it is about half topsoil, one quarter peat moss, and 1/4 compost. I had intended to add unflavored gelatin to the mix (it helps to hold moisture in the soil) but forgot, so maybe I will add it this Fall when I turn the garden.
Another nontraditional thing about my "square foot garden" is that I have it laid out as a diamond instead of a square. The reasoning for that is the area I wanted to put it, it would only fit in that orientation. I have it in one of the beds around my house, because I didn't want to kill my grass.
I started some of the plants from seeds and others I bought already starting to grow. I have beets, carrots, both head and leaf lettuce, zucchini and yellow squash all starting from seeds. I got already started plants of tomatoes, basil, an assortment of bell peppers, and rosemary. There are also a few marigolds in the garden. They help with attracting pollinators and are supposed to help suppress aphids, though there is much debate on this subject, and some say they attract red spider mites. We also have a patio tomato plant for cherry tomatoes, a mint plant going vigorously in another part of the yard, and my little guy has 3 hanging strawberry baskets (though I am not so sure how well these are going to do, we will transplant them to a bed come Fall).
My Winter herb garden is now perched outside for the warm months, and the herbs seem to be doing quite well. The rosemary is hardy, the parsley seems to produce a fresh crop every week, the thyme is running all over the place, I am finally getting some nice sized leaves on the oregano, and the poor sage is growing a little better now too. I should have never planted the sage next to the parsley, but you live you learn. I also have a pitiful hydrangea that was given to me as a houseplant earlier in the Spring. I thought it had died out completely then much to my surprise it started shooting off new foliage. It is sitting outside getting used to the weather right now, and I will be putting it in the ground sometime within the week.
That is about all that is happening in my garden right now. I will post photos, and some gardening tips soon.
It is a bit of a hodge podge square foot garden. It is actually 5x5 instead of 4x4
Another nontraditional thing about my "square foot garden" is that I have it laid out as a diamond instead of a square. The reasoning for that is the area I wanted to put it, it would only fit in that orientation. I have it in one of the beds around my house, because I didn't want to kill my grass.
I started some of the plants from seeds and others I bought already starting to grow. I have beets, carrots, both head and leaf lettuce, zucchini and yellow squash all starting from seeds. I got already started plants of tomatoes, basil, an assortment of bell peppers, and rosemary. There are also a few marigolds in the garden. They help with attracting pollinators and are supposed to help suppress aphids, though there is much debate on this subject, and some say they attract red spider mites. We also have a patio tomato plant for cherry tomatoes, a mint plant going vigorously in another part of the yard, and my little guy has 3 hanging strawberry baskets (though I am not so sure how well these are going to do, we will transplant them to a bed come Fall).
My Winter herb garden is now perched outside for the warm months, and the herbs seem to be doing quite well. The rosemary is hardy, the parsley seems to produce a fresh crop every week, the thyme is running all over the place, I am finally getting some nice sized leaves on the oregano, and the poor sage is growing a little better now too. I should have never planted the sage next to the parsley, but you live you learn. I also have a pitiful hydrangea that was given to me as a houseplant earlier in the Spring. I thought it had died out completely then much to my surprise it started shooting off new foliage. It is sitting outside getting used to the weather right now, and I will be putting it in the ground sometime within the week.
That is about all that is happening in my garden right now. I will post photos, and some gardening tips soon.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Sewing = Upcycling
On a recent trip to the Salvation Army, I picked up this men's gap sweater. Purple was the color of the week, so I paid a whopping 95 cents for this sweater (color of the week items are half off). It was a size medium which is obviously not going to fit anyone in my household, but I loved the colors and the way the sweater felt, and for the price I knew I could find something to make with it.
At first I figured maybe I would use it for some cute pillows, or even to make a cuddly stuffed animal. The material is so soft! It almost has an angora feel to it.
Then I decided to make it in to a few things for Marcus instead. Marcus is the most appreciative child of anything that I make him. I have a special gift in the making for his birthday too, but more on that at another time.
First thing I made was a v-neck sweater vest for him. I took another v-neck sweater out of his sweater, and laid it on my rotary mat matching the bottom of the two sweaters so that the finished piece would have the lower band already in place. I simply cut around it using a rotary cutter allowing an extra 1/2 inch all the way around This yielded two pieces: a front and a back, because I cut through both layers of the sweater. I then cut the V in to the front of the sweater. I cut the neck out of the original sweater, and then hand basted it to the new sweater in two pieces (one for the front piece and one for the back piece).
I then used my sewing machine to sew the shoulder seams and side seams of the sweater. Once that was finished, I decided that I wanted to cut one of the runs of blue and white striping out of the original sweater and use that to cap the sleeves on the v-neck. I hand basted these in because I knew it would be easier that trying to sew these small round holes on the machine.
All in all in took me about an hour from start to finish on this project. I also put some of the scrap pieces together to make a matching scarf for it.
Here is the finished product on the hanger.
And on the Monkey.
As I sat looking at the remaining scraps, it occurred to me that I had these two long sleeves and I should make something from them. Then it hit me, that they were dead on fit for Marcus's legs. So, I made a pair of pajama bottoms for Marcus using the sleeves, and two triangles of the material from the sweater, and I used what was left of the lower band of the sweater to form a waist band for the jammies. I simply sewed the two triangles together at the angle across from their widest side. I then sewed each of the other two corners together as to form the upper side of the pants. Next I hand basted the legs to the triangles, and then I machine sewed the waistband to the top of it all.
This project took me about 25 minutes start to finish.
Jammies on the hanger.
Jammies on the kiddo.
Marcus LOVES these jammy bottoms. If he looks in the drawer and they are clean, they are what he is wearing to bed that night. Who could blame him though, they feel luxurious!
So to recap, I took a 95 cent Salvation Army sweater, and with another 50 cents of thread plus an hour and a half of my time, turned it in to a stylish sweater vest and matching scarf, and the most comfortable pair of pajama bottoms a little boy could ever wish for, with only a tiny handful of slivers of scrap.
At first I figured maybe I would use it for some cute pillows, or even to make a cuddly stuffed animal. The material is so soft! It almost has an angora feel to it.
Then I decided to make it in to a few things for Marcus instead. Marcus is the most appreciative child of anything that I make him. I have a special gift in the making for his birthday too, but more on that at another time.
First thing I made was a v-neck sweater vest for him. I took another v-neck sweater out of his sweater, and laid it on my rotary mat matching the bottom of the two sweaters so that the finished piece would have the lower band already in place. I simply cut around it using a rotary cutter allowing an extra 1/2 inch all the way around This yielded two pieces: a front and a back, because I cut through both layers of the sweater. I then cut the V in to the front of the sweater. I cut the neck out of the original sweater, and then hand basted it to the new sweater in two pieces (one for the front piece and one for the back piece).
I then used my sewing machine to sew the shoulder seams and side seams of the sweater. Once that was finished, I decided that I wanted to cut one of the runs of blue and white striping out of the original sweater and use that to cap the sleeves on the v-neck. I hand basted these in because I knew it would be easier that trying to sew these small round holes on the machine.
All in all in took me about an hour from start to finish on this project. I also put some of the scrap pieces together to make a matching scarf for it.
Here is the finished product on the hanger.
And on the Monkey.
As I sat looking at the remaining scraps, it occurred to me that I had these two long sleeves and I should make something from them. Then it hit me, that they were dead on fit for Marcus's legs. So, I made a pair of pajama bottoms for Marcus using the sleeves, and two triangles of the material from the sweater, and I used what was left of the lower band of the sweater to form a waist band for the jammies. I simply sewed the two triangles together at the angle across from their widest side. I then sewed each of the other two corners together as to form the upper side of the pants. Next I hand basted the legs to the triangles, and then I machine sewed the waistband to the top of it all.
This project took me about 25 minutes start to finish.
Jammies on the hanger.
Jammies on the kiddo.
Marcus LOVES these jammy bottoms. If he looks in the drawer and they are clean, they are what he is wearing to bed that night. Who could blame him though, they feel luxurious!
So to recap, I took a 95 cent Salvation Army sweater, and with another 50 cents of thread plus an hour and a half of my time, turned it in to a stylish sweater vest and matching scarf, and the most comfortable pair of pajama bottoms a little boy could ever wish for, with only a tiny handful of slivers of scrap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)