i shall fear knit no more!

thanks yet again to pinterest, i am officially obsessed with t-shirt refashions & working with knit fabric! and i fear knit no more! my serger is another story though...still haven't built up the courage to tackle that 4 thread monster, but this is the year that i will do more than just look longingly at it & wish that it would thread itself!

so here's what i've been up to for the last 2 days & what will more than likely occupy my time over the next few days, possibly weeks!

michael's had their t-shirts on sale 2/$6 this week so i stocked up so that i could get crafty & experimental without breaking the bank! 

shirred waist skirt

i bought 2 of the color pictured & turned one into a skirt & one into a top. the skirt was made using tips from a pin i found about turning a men's shirt into a skirt. the shirt i made turned out to be my own design...it's not bad, but i still need to re-work the sleeves/arm holes.

 

 

my own creation

 i've turned a couple size large shirts into more of a peasant style and they are super roomy & comfortable, and quick to make so i plan on making tons more!

peasant blouse

having luck with those i moved onto trying a couple other pinners tuts for tee refashioning, unfortunately those didn't turn out as well as i was hoping, but not a total loss since it did give me the chance to experiment & helped me realize that some styles don't look as good on me as i want them to!


the first i tried was reworking an old sport tee into something cuter. i did not take pics of that since the end results were less than stellar & that tee will now be used for workout & yardwork purposes only!

then i moved onto turning a long sleeve tee into a ruffle collar tank. i really wanted this one to work out because the pics on the tutorial looked super cute! unfortunately, ruffle collars tend to look rather clown collar like on me so no ruffle neck tops for me...didn't realize this til after i completed the top! even after cutting the ruffle open i still wasn't happy with how it looked. oh well, lesson learned!

ruffle collar tank from long sleeve tee

close up after i cut ruffle open

i also made a "from scratch" top using a pattern & knit fabric. that turned out better than i expected and really made me feel less afraid to tackle more patterns using knit! 

up next will be more skirts & peasant tops from oversized tees and i plan on trying some dress patterns & tutorials as well. i'm in desperate need of maxi skirts & dresses for those days when i want to look girly and hide my unshaven legs at the same time! 


some day i will tackle all my sewing fears...for now, i'm thrilled that i have taken the plunge into knits and can't wait to keep creating new clothes!

craftiness and cats

ginger watching the world outside

since i don't think that my craftiness blogs will be near as long as my cooking ones, i've decided that i'll share pics of the cats, too...just because i feel like it and since i think my cats are great (most days, that is). 

i've been a bit on the lazy side the last couple days, choosing to build my lego beach house as a form of creative expression rather than sewing or some other needle craft. worked out well to have jordan help me with some of it, until i got annoyed with her asking "are you done yet" and "why's it taking so long" and so  my husband said to her..."mommy is a perfectionist, nut-job when it comes to those kinds of things, so you should stay away from her." sadly, he's right. 

my lego beach house

over the weekend, i did work on a few sewing things, so maybe that's why i chose to be less creative and crafty on monday...or it really could be that i'm just that lazy sometimes. 

friday i made up a little bag from a pattern in one of my quilting magazines. i used some of the quilting fabric that i already had in the house, all in my effort to not buy any more during this project! the directions were easy enough to follow and had i not stopped to watch some of doctor who, which i had playing in the background, or a movie after dinner, i would've gotten the bag done much quicker. maybe one day i'll work on something non-stop with no interuptions...but i kind of doubt it since i'm so easily distracted!

anyway, i got the bag all put together and it turned out really cute, if i do say so myself (and i do!). it has 6 pockets all around the outside and is just the right size for carrying to the baseball field for practices and such, when i don't want to take my vera bradley bags. i'm working on a slightly bigger version just to see how it would look and adding a snap closure, too.

my little bag

i also made up a few skirts for jordan, finally finishing the one that was started earlier this month and making up two others, as well. since skirts are so easy to make up and she likes wearing them, i figure i can complete most of her spring and summer wardrobe with lots of them! i have every intention of making up another couple of skirts as well as about 6 dresses...i have the intention, just don't know if i have the follow through! fingers crossed, that i get them all done by the end of the month!

two of the skirts i made over the weekend

and so now i'm going to be working on dresses for jordan, another slightly bigger 6 pocket tote, and possibly crocheting on the afghan some more; it's obviously not going to be done in time for an anniversary gift since i haven't worked on it in the last week and our anniversary is this saturday...further proof of my good intentions, bad follow through!

i'll also be baking up some more banana muffins for stephen since he likes them so much, making my first slow-cooker pork butt, and anxiously waiting for my new dutch oven to get here. lots of stuff to do...guess i should get off my butt and get to them!

here's a last cat picture, before i go...

cleo's turn to look out the window

and because my daughter is constantly trying to stick her foot into my pictures when i take them...here's jordan showing off her foot...

my silly girl!

come on back soon for more cooking, baking, crafting, cats, and possibly feet!