Bad Planning, Bad Luck

I was so, so close to finishing my cloud pants--and everything had gone so well--when I broke my last sewing machine needle putting the belt loops on. And despite living in a major city, there is no close convenient store that sells them (well, there is a place on Fabric Row, but the guy there was super rude and I won't go back) So I placed an order online and am waiting for them to arrive. I am happy to say that the cloud-pattern on the cuffs actually worked out better than I had planned, and the pattern wraps around the seams smoothly!

So to keep busy in the meantime, it's back to some hand-work. I've continued quilting on the the Irish Chain quilt, and also banged out some more Dear Jane blocks. These are D-3--7. D-7 I totally messed up, it's meant to be an 8-point star, but I attached the flying geese the wrong way around, and did not realize it until I'd gotten three of them on. Oh well, we'll see if it bother me, I can always re-do it. 

I also bought some big XL shirts at the thrift store to use for fabric, they were gutted and cut apart, and this one I've combined with a floral fabric I had hanging around to make a short sleeved western shirt. The light sage green fabric will become the piping on the shirt. It's all cut and ready to go once I get my new needles. 

These two shirts have been cut apart too, but haven't figured out what I'll do with this yet. The front pieces are not quite big enough to cut new fronts out of, so there's going to have to be some patchworking involved here. 

Did some drawing too. With my tax refund safely in hand, it's time for a new tattoo I think (lest you think I'm impulsive, it's also contributing towards a new mattress, which is very practical and desperately needed.) So I'm still sketching up some ideas. The top one I think may be too detailed, the bottom one not enough, we'll see. 

Short Things

Lety-RZ's super-deluxe jumbo prize package is on it's way to Texas! Hope you enjoy the miscellaneous odds and ends I've included! 

Another cat means another cat bed (yes, exciting, I know) Wharton's an enormous cat, so I made him a larger, rectangular bed. He likes it, although they steal each other's beds pretty frequently. 

I've also been on a shorts kick. Again, while I'm not pledging to be totally 'no-buy' for spring clothes, I'm trying my best to see things I like, and replicate them rather than buy them. Not that I've see cloud-themed shorts anywhere. This one was my idea. The top stitching a little wonky, but overall I'm pretty happy so far. 

Yes, I did the front pocket area too. I'm still not sure if I'll also do the bottom hem with a cloud pattern. Making it line up at both seams won't be fun, but I'm working on it. 

Don't think I've forgotten about my Irish Chain quilt, either. Any time I'm out in the living room I'm working on quilting it. You can't really see it, since it's diagonal lines through the patterned 'chains' of the quilt, but I'm nearly finished with that part. Then to figure out what to put in the gray squares. You can see one of them has a circle quilted on it, I'll probably do that in all of them, then I'm thinking maybe doing a different flower motif inside each one? Not sure yet. 

Work it Out!

So the Randomly Selected Winner of my 200th post give away was Lety R-Z, whose adorable needlefelted creations you should absolutely go check out! Congrats to you, and for everyone else, well, I love to get rid of all the junk in my sewing room, so don't be surprised if I do another contest soon!

Not really crafting related, but he's just so cute I had to share. We got another kitty (two is it, I swear) because we were feeling bad about leaving Barry home alone so much, he's a very active, playful cat, and he got lonely. So meet Wharton, his new pal. Wharton is *huge* and he looks like some kind of wild cat, but he's very lazy and docile and sweet (unlike Barry) Poor guy's missing half of an ear too. Both cats were originally street kitties, taken in by PAWS and fostered by our neighbor. After a rocky start, they are beginning to get along really well. 

Okay, on to craft stuff.

So, as I may have mentioned in the previous post that I've begun to get serious about working out again. And while I love my Phillies shorts, I needed another pair or two so I don't have to constantly wash them. And I'm cheap, so making them was the best solution. 

Patterning them out was a little challenging because of the elastic waist band. I ended up pinning it all stretched out to my ironing board and tracing from there. I did two variations, one with the side contrast detail, and one without. For the first pair I decided to go simple. 

I used the weird poly crepe that I posted about last time, and it was actually a great choice. Sewed up super quick and is actually really comfy and cool (I get hot very easily) It probably only took about 2 hours from start to finish. I'll definitely be making more, might get fancy and put some piping on the next ones. 

With my new New Balance Minimus sneakers (which are awesome and comfy by the way, we just got them in the store and I had to get them right away) I'm well on my way to having the most obnoxious work out gear ever. With my increased interest in sports wear, and my tax return check already arrived, I'm starting to get an itch to buy a serger and coverstitcher. I hate serger use on wovens (lazy!!) so I never really wanted one, but if I'm going to start working with knits and stretch, that's a whole different story. I'm in research mode right now. 

Speaking of knits, another thrift store purchase is this lovely 4-way stretch knit. It's that sort of cotton-spandex that they made leggings out of in the 80's. Not quite sure yet what it's destined to become. 

Renew the Pledge

First of all, hooray for 200 posts! But that it took so long reminds me that I need to post more. And to post more, I need to work more! But between the cat, and work, and my new interest in exercising, my time seems to slip away.

At the beginning of every new season, when we're getting new shoes in the store, I vow to make lots of wonderful things to wear, and maybe make a couple things and then fall by the wayside. I'm not saying this spring will be any different, but I've begun making the effort again. I think part of the problem is that I really only use recycled fabric, so it's a bit of a grab bag as to whether I can find something appropriate for what I want to make.

Anyhoo, at the thrift store last week I did pick up two fabrics, one of which has already become this lovely pair of shorts.

The fabric was meant for home decor, I think. It's some kind of polished cotton, but it's quite heavy. It sewed up really nicely though. I fudged the fly zip a little, can you tell? Every time I go back and do pants, I forget how to do the pockets and fly, and have to relearn them. 

Back view, got the pockets on pretty nicely this time around. 

And on! They are shorter than what I've worn in the past, but now that I'm getting into shape I'm more comfortable with that. But I'm happy with the fit, just have to put the button on the waistband. 

This is the other fabric I picked up, it's some kind of synthetic crepe. I was hoping it was silk so I could make a shirt out of it (it's very Stella McCartney from a few seasons back) but since it's not, I'm actually thinking about making it into a pair of work-out shorts, just have to trace out a quick pattern from the pair I have. 

Whenever I'm feeling a little lost in my own studio, making Dear Jane blocks helps me get back into focus. These are from earlier this week, it's E-10-13 and F-1 and 2. I think they got me back in the groove a bit. 

In sillier news, Seamus always gets a personalized valentine from me--last year featured his favorite pokemon (Trubbish) This year's got his favorite up-and-coming pro wrestlers, The Shield. 

And, like I promised in the last post, for post #200, I've got a little giveaway! Comment with your email address and I will randomly pick a winner to receive my silly floral lucha mask, as well as some other odds and ends.