‘Stuff’ Project for October 2013

It is very satisfying to combine items that have been languishing as ‘stuff’ in my house for years into something useful. This month the project is a bag to hold ‘hand wash’ items when I put them into the washing machine (I never ‘hand wash’ any other way these days).

The items I combined were the zipper end of an old satin pillow case (it was something I thought I wanted over 20 years ago but quickly decided was too slick to actually use) and a piece of gauzy fabric that I’ve had for so long I don’t remember its origin. The whole project took less than 30 minutes because the zipper was already in place. 

Projects of my Own

I am savoring projects that are my own these days after years when most of my projects were assignments or done to benefit someone else. I’m not totally done with those projects-directed-by-others but these days the majority of projects are my own - conceived, done, and enjoyed just for me.

What do I mean by ‘projects’?

Projects are a series of activities that lead to a specific goal and, for the purposes of this post, they have a beginning and end.

I have four main project areas right now:

Classes. Each Coursera class is a project for me. I decide what I will do beyond the watching of videos. Usually I follow up on the reference material. Sometimes I buy the book and read it. And finally - I write notes about the class…what I think about the subject, if I agree or disagree with the instructor, how my perception of the school offering the course is changed by the course, what the course has changed about the way I think…or act.

Sewing. Each garment I make is a mini-project. Sometimes I make a series of similar items (like the Two T-shirt dresses); others are one of a kind. I spend calm time before sleep planning the project, then do a lot of measuring. I sometimes challenge myself with ‘rules’ like 

• No hand sewing
• Minimize scraps
• Avoid buying any new supplies 

Blog themes. I sometimes have multi-post themes for my blog and consider each a project. Some of them are monthly - like the 3 Free eBooks picks - and they are on the planning calendar I do for the year. Some are over a shorter time - 2 or 3 months; the Becoming 60 theme is an example of that. Those too go on the calendar with notes of the main points to be included in that post.

 I’m sure there will be other kinds of projects that will come and go….but I’m enjoying these this fall!

Making a Two T-Shirt Dress

About a week ago I had one of those ideas that come just before sleep that kept me awake for at least an hour - working out the details and making plans. The idea was to reuse some T-shirts my husband had culled from his closet (the neck was stretched out, the underarm fabric was rotting, or the cat had made a hole trying to untangle a claw) to extend the length of some of my T-shirts into dresses. I have quite a few T-shirts and tend to not put them on frequently enough to ever wear them out…and I enjoy wearing the one knit dress I have during the hot days. I came up with several ideas about how to put the dresses together to get enough length for a dress.

In the morning I started my first Two T-shirt Dress. I started with a turquoise T-shirt that I’d used for painting - managing to get some splatters on the bottom hem. The pattern on the front of the shirt ended for a high waist - a good place to cut. A Black t-shirt with a little writing on the upper front was in the pile from my husband; I cut the bottom off just under the arms. His shirt was a little bigger around that mine was so I made side seams in the black tube to make it the same circumference as the turquoise one. The dress needed more length so I was going to have to use the turquoise piece I had cut off at the bottom of the dress. I cut the hem off the black T-shirt so that the seam would be less bulky and cut the teal peak on the bottom so that there would be a slit to make walking easier. Both bottom pieces were use inside out from the original shirt so I had to turn up a hem in the lower teal shirt portion. I used a stretch stitch for the seams and then finished the edges together with a zigzag stitch.

The second dress was even easier. I decided to just add onto the end of my light blue T-shirt because the pattern was so large. The bottom was cut from a navy blue T-shirt and simply gathered onto the bottom of the light blue T-shirt (I cut the hem from the light blue shirt to reduce the seam bulk. The original hem of the navy blue T-shirt became the hem for the dress - so this was a one seam dress!

The third dress was the hardest because I had to piece the ‘skirt’ part to get enough length. I decided that I didn’t want to length in the lighter color and I didn’t want it again at the bottom of the dress either. Also - I did not realize until after the dress was made that it would need to have some elastic at the waist because it looked way too big otherwise. I made the casing for the elastic by stitching the edge of the seams attaching the lighter shirt to the skirt.  I'll probably tie a scarf around the waist of this one.

All three of these dreses are going to be worn frequently until it gets cooler.

When my 40 year old sewing machine actually worked after I oiled it, I thought I would use it for some fabric/thread doodling - maybe make a small quilt - but I am way more satisfied with my Two T-shirt Dress project!

Roses and Rosemary

Usually ferns or baby’s breath is used in the filler around long stem roses. My sister recently chose to buy flowers that completed the color of the roses and then trimmed the rosemary plant in the garden to add extra greenery. It looked great and adding the rosemary smell to that of the roses was very appealing as well! Rosemary is now on my list to plant in my garden in the spring.

I am babying the rosemary I kept in a pot on my deck through last summer…so I might be able to just plant it as soon as the weather warms enough in Maryland.