Lack of Motivation

I'm sure it happens to all of us. Just getting out of bed is a an effort. I have Fibromyalgia. For the past two days I had done a bunch of work in the garden and was worn out. So every night before I go to sleep, I ask myself.."what are you going to do tomorrow" to set an intention for the next day.  That night I said I would finish this little reversible jacket I started. I saw the video off of Pinterest and loved the style. I had almost everything done except for some trim along the seam line on one side of the jacket. Yep, procrastinated that day and vegged out instead. The next day I turned on Spotify music and got so much done! 

I draped the trim around the manikin so I would keep seeing it and not get distracted. Did I mention I have ADD too? 

First time I sewed it on, my tread tension was off and the top white thread was showing on the inside red fabric. Sooo, had to rip it off. Sewed again, backwards... ripped it off again. Finally I turned on some music and got my head on straight. I also had to sew the trim on the sleeve seams as well. But of course ran out of the trim. So had to search for something for those seams. Thankfully I found a matching trim although it was a bit wider. But it works. 

So the jacket is done. I love it so much. Of course, it doesn't fit me. I used size Large flannel shirts and should have used xlarge. So it will be added to my Curiousorangecat.etsy.com store soon. I want to make at least two more.

So what do you think?

Want to try it for yourself? Here is the video. No patterns are needed. 

Reversible Jacket Tutorial They are a bit addictive. Have fun!

A Work In Progress...

Trying to get my MoJo back after a bout of just not feeling it. It comes and goes of course. But I'm back to it with gusto!

The weather (hopfully!!!) will be cooling down soon. So time to get those sweaters out that need an overhaul.

I forgot to take a picture of the before on this... sorry about that.

It was just a plain grey turtle neck sweater with long sleeves.

Out came the scissors and I hacked up the front sideways and through the collar.

I had this pair of button panels buttoned together waiting patiently for me to figure out where they belong.  They begged and pleaded to play with this sweater.
I added a triangle of a very heavy green flannel from a shirt I have been cutting off of for a while now. The little black dot on the right is a horse. I might applique something over it because I think it looks funny.

So this is what I have so far. Oh, and I cut off the sleeves.

I know, it is a nice picture with my pretty background. Usually I do it in my messy sewing room. But I was in there anyway....

Here is a closeup of the inserts down the middle.

I sewed one side (the button panel side) with a serger and did a small zig zag stitch on the side with the dark green.

I"m in a pickle as to what to do about sleeves. I cut them off and tried these wonderful heavy black and white checked sleeves but they were too small for the armhole. This may end up as a vest.

Any whoo, back to work! So many ideas!!!

A Beautiful Mess

I got an email from Cynthia at Altered Couture Magazine the other day. She was asking for submissions for next year. I always panic a bit thinking there is no way I can produce anything good enough. But then I always give it a go and try anyway.
I love scrappy fairy skirts but honestly hate the process. I over think things to the point where I have so many unfinished projects laying around. But I finally found a formula for making them in a reasonable amount of time without my OCD ADD Bipolar personality kicking in. ( oh yah, I'm a mess but only if you can hear the voices in my head. Muwahhahahaha)

Ok, down to earth again. Sigh... maintain soldier!

I started with this....

Scraps of linens, lace, hankies, doilies... what ever I just couldn't throw away. I"m such a pack rat.
I cut a big square of printed muslin and cut a really long spiral out of it. Then I started sewing the scraps along the strip of muslin until I had a really long strip of all these scraps.

I had a lined skirt I had cut the outer layer almost all off. It still had maybe 8 inches left along with the complete top of the skirt.
I started at the bottom of the lining and pinned the strip in a spiral pattern until I got to the top just under the skirt. I turned under the skirt and sewed through all the layers. It turned out very nice If I say so myself.

Here is the beautiful mess in the sewing machine...

And the finished product.

I hope Altered Couture likes it! It will eventually be in my Etsy store. Oh, and it is a size 12.

Cheers!!

My Therapist Said There Would Be Days Like This.....

Woke up this morning with so many ideas in my little ADD brain. So I decided to gather the troops and let the hamster brain go.
I have 5 dress forms now. Anorexia, Skinny B, Mia (as in it fits me), Broken Blue, and Rosie. (she looks like Rosie the Robot from the Jefferson's.)

Here are three of the girls getting ready for my creative endeavors.

I have been reading a bunch of blogs and articles about how to make my blog better and how to stand out more. ( to my all of 4 readers...).One of the things that keep coming around was for your readers to see your process. (I"m sorry....it did say I had to do that.) Well, my process is a bit scattered most of the time. I have a sewing room filled to the brim with thrift store finds and donations from friends. Here is just a peek at my supplies.

The last one is a work in progress with a tall bookshelf behind packed with t-shirts. There are three baskets under the table filled with shirts and shirtsleeves. Soo much stuff!! I can't tell you how many times I have tried to organize everything.

It becomes a bit of an obsession to collect the perfect garment for upcycling. I do believe I will be purging to regroup soon though. I have more than I can ever use and it can get overwhelming at times.
So the girls help out. I chose three tops to fit the three girls and start there. It helps me focus to some point. So when I start to spazz out, I just make sure I'm working on one of the three outfits. Then I do't feel so out of control.
So that is a peek into my process. I'll post more later on.

Stay warm and safe!

How In The Hell Did I Do That?

I was sewing along the other day on  the sleeve of a sweater. The hard way of course because that's how I roll!

When all of a sudden my machine made a terrible sound and my needle did this....

I think I now have a special kind of fish hook or something!! I have been sewing for years.... and years... years.... and I have never bent a needle like this. I'm great at snapping those suckers in half. Bending.. never done it.

I really didn't want to do this again. (probably couldn't do it again if my life depended on it.) So what now. I have no idea what I hit to bend my needle anyway. But then I got a great idea. How about sewing this sweater the easy way!! Ya think?

Of course I had to drop the feed dogs and use my darning foot. The rest is freeform sewing. I love freeform sewing. It's so messy and well, freeform. No more bent needles for me.

Hopefully next time you have to sew something awkward and you aren't afraid of the darning foot... you can try this.

And here is the sweater finished... you can see it in my Etsy store too!!
One sale a day is all I need!

Cropped Blue and Grey Sweater


Enjoy!

Bunny

A Work In Progress...

My photographs for my Etsy store sucked big time! I needed to make a change. Being of little income, it was hard to come up with a solution. Etsy likes plain white backgrounds. I wanted a little more of something behind my dresses. I found this great company that sells vinyl backdrops for photography. They are AWESOME! So many choices. So I ordered this one.....

I have a cool door like this in my room but I can't get enough space in front of it to take good pictures. So this is second best. Of course I don't have the logo on mine.
So my pictures went from this...

To this....

I think it looks better and my site is looking more unified.

Check out their website SwankyPrints  Their customer service was great by the way.

Enjoy!!

Oh, if you REALLY like this jacket and can't live without it. You can purchase it here. (if it is still available!)

www.curiousorangecat.etsy.com