SUPER-T TO THE RESCUE!

What do little boys dream about?
Tree houses, dirt, diggers, bugs...and super heros! I'm pretty sure those are on the list.

I'm a bargain shopper and after Halloween last year I snagged a Power Ranger costume on a massive clearance sale for next year. It came with a generic suit that could be transformed into a Super Hero of any kind! Since our 4 year old was dubbed with the nickname "Super T" shortly after he was born, I figured this costume paired with my sewing skills could add a boost to my little boy's imaginative play, AND double as a costume for this coming Halloween.
Rummaged deep down in my fabric bin for some fleece and notion scraps to use up...bought the rest of the supplies with awesome coupons at JoAnn's (they always have great ones!), and this costume is complete for less than 20 bucks!


Super T was thrilled that there was a bit of wind today to help him "fly"...he's already planning what his 1 year old brother's superhero costume will look like for me to make. Apparently he needs a partner in flight.

Gearing up to say "Goodbye"...

Ruffie.

My shadow.
My little hero.

I've been in denial about the fact that my little mix-breed mutt is nearing the end of his days. He will be 15 years old in a few months. What is that in dog years? A billion?

Ruffian found me (or did I find him?) when he was a mere 6 weeks old and I was a broke college student. Broke or not, I scrounged up the $35 to make him mine. He stuck with me through college, multiple roommates and moves, broken relationships, growing up, marriage, an addition of an annoying puppy to follow him around, dark days of infertility and loss, becoming second place when babies finally entered the picture, and everything in between. Me becoming a mom probably rocked Ruffian's little world, as I've simply not had much time or patience to lend to my constant shadow. My parents have often commented that this dog has saved them thousands of dollars in therapy bills for me as I battled through the rough waters of early adulthood. He's been dubbed "The Hero". They are right.

Age has taken its toll though. I'm slowly coming to grips with the fact that my friend's quality of life is declining. Unfortunately during the last year, that decline has sped up and manifested itself greatly. He's basically falling apart.

Ruffie, about 7 years ago...(around age 7 yrs)

...and today...at 15 years old.

Saying "goodbye" sucks. I'm not ready to do it and I will probably wait for awhile, but I can tell my dog is pretty ready. I need to get there too for his sake. In the years that will follow my goodbye, I know that I will miss the ticking of his toenails as he pads after my every move through the house. I'll miss knowing he's sleeping less than a foot from me, right beside my bed. I may even miss the horrid stink that follows him around (he really is the smelliest dog ever).

How does this relate to crafting, you ask? Well, I'm not the only one getting re-purposed shirts around here to wear! In an effort to keep my old dog warmer (in addition top of his heated bed warmer, that is!), and also to keep him from biting at his hot spots, I discovered an infant's 18 month sized long sleeve T-shirt works perfectly! The bulky dog sweaters we have don't cover his front legs, which he has taken to licking until his ankles are nearly bald. A toddler's T with elastic sewn in a casing around the bottom hem, and wha-la! A new fashion statement and the easiest craft ever.
Oh Ruff, I wish you could live forever...

Haven't lost my mo-jo yet.

I'm still feeling inspired! Yippee for me! Yippee for you too because that means you get to see what I've been up to.

I'm into recycling lately. Or rather, re-purposing. I'm a gal that was born tall with a long torso. This might seem great to those that are on the shorter side, but for me, it has actually been quite frustrating throughout my life. You see, normal clothes don't fit. I have to buy "tall" sizes. This a pain in the rear when I walk into a store, spy something to-die-for cute, only to discover it doesn't come in "tall". I do a lot of online clothing shopping because of this, which results in too-high shipping charges. Don't get me started on that soapbox...

Anywho, since showing the mid-drift went out of style with the passing of the 90's, this has been a problem for me with shirts.

Hence...the re-purposing. I decided to see what I could do to remedy some of my too-short shirts.

Here is my first victim. I like ruffles. I even decided to model for you. Like my pose? Think I could make it into a fashion mag? I think not because it is the only pose I have.




I think I may add some more shirring to the bottom, as it isn't quite ruffled enough yet. But it is a good start.

For those of you that I have running to your closets, wondering what you could re-purpose of your own, this is how I did it. It is easy peasy.

I've learned I'm really bad at taking "before" pictures before I start cutting. This was a "regular" cap-sleeve Walmart cheapie t-shirt to start with.

I cut off the arms and bottom hem. Made the arm hole a bit bigger so it didn't hug the pit so much. What can I say, it makes me sweat when that happens. Glamorous, yes?


I cut out some pieces that I thought would work to make into cap-sleeves. I ended up making a second bottom piece that was wider for the waistline, as this one turned out to be too narrow to fit the hips once shirred. It's no secret that they aren't as narrow as they used to be!


Then, just sew them on the ends, not worrying about finishing the hidden edges since jersey won't unravel. Un-hemmed jersey edges seem to be the new thing anyway.
Add a few rows of shirring around the arms and waist...

And wha-la! I have myself a new shirt. Very cute if I do say so myself.

For a little bit of anticipation, keep tuning into see what I do with this pile of old cedar wood. That is, once it stops raining here. If it EVER stops raining here. This is gonna be a fun one!

My Craft Is Back...Maybe

More micro-preemie hats intended for Calvin's Hats.

Let me be perfectly clear about something. I am organized. I am crafty and creative. I am driven. It was not uncommon awhile back for me to start in on a project and be so focused and driven that I would stay up until 3am to see it finished. No biggie to drag myself out of bed at 6am to get ready for work after 3 hours sleep. I'm tough.

Then I had kids, became a stay-at-home-mom and life became a bit chaotic. While I'd never, ever wish to NOT have my children, one of the struggles I've battled with since they joined the ranks has been the forced change of my organized self. My crafty and creative self has suffered a tad bit in the last 4 years....this is because I'm not one to "let my house go", and I've found with kids in the equation, being crafty can turn to chaos pretty quickly. It is utterly amazing what two innocent children can do to one room in less than 60 seconds while I've got my head bent over my sewing machine. Then there is the whole concept of being driven enough to claw out from under the mounds of laundry, toys, dishes and every day cleaning and schedules and have enough energy left over to apply toward something creative. Ha! Well, let's just say that sometimes it is just much easier to park my rear on the couch with a bowl of potato chips to watch the Grey's Anatomy hotness happening on screen. Oh, and let me be clear about something else. The sleep deprivation is certainly still here. Only it is no longer caused from my drive to see a project unfold from start to finish in an uninterrupted manner, but rather because of the drive of my two darling little hoodlums to not let me sleep through a night uninterrupted.

I'm writing this post for my fellow crafters who have felt the same way since children entered the scene. Actually, I'm not sure if I'm writing it to make you feel better or me feel better, so pick whichever one you want. I'm flexible. Regardless, I've made a little vow to myself to document on my blog more of my crafty self. It was originally started as a way to show the online customers I knit for the progress of their orders (yup, I'm a self-taught knitter due to my crunchy tendency that led me to cloth diapering my children). Anyway it might be fun to see my blog morph into something more. I've been reading some really great blogs lately. Pretty Ditty is my latest favorite. As is The Sewing Dork.

This post will focus specifically on work space issues, 'cuz I have 'em. I long for a craft room. A real, live sewing room. One where I can scatter my projects all around me, then walk out and close the door. Or stay in and close the door...even better! Oh, and this make believe craft room will certainly have style AND storage galore! I actually have plans to make this craft room happen in about 2-3 years...when the Super T and Special K are old enough to bunk in the same room. Watch out spare room, Mama's on the prowl!

Ok...moving on. The first step in tackling any project is a cup-o-java to combat the bleary eyes induced by kids. Come to mama, you whipped cream goodness!

The next part is a little depressing for me...I really have no where in our little house to set up shop. I take that back...I have a space, it just isn't inspiring in the least bit. My current make-shift sewing table is our old cast-off living room sofa table that I drug in from the garage the other day. It is a mess with cords and foot pedals going every which way because my little 11 month old Special K loves to make his own "creations of chaos" with them. In the below picture it doesn't look half bad because I hastily straightened it out. Notice the kid's "Art Gallery" above it? That is my $20 solution to the $50 one that Pottery Barn sells. Pat on the back for me.

The next section of my work space is less agreeable with crafting. That being said it also looks pretty good today because it is still morning. By night fall it will look 10x as bad as it does now. It is....drum roll please...my dining room table. Hope no one ever feels the need to eat in this house as our table is never free.


If I need to spread fabric or what have you out, the table is my go-to-gal. Or the floor. Or whatever happens to not be buried under toys, folded (or unfolded) laundry, and general clutter. Oh, and who doesn't need an Astra III rocket and a roll of toilet paper (don't ask) in their crafty space? It's all good.

Now that you see my many challenges, I'll clue you into one more currently intent on impeding me writing this post. Only he's endearing and perfect as he presents his challenge for me, and I'm not biased at all. My 4 year old chatter box, Super T, who is drawing next to the laptop (there really is my rotary cutting mat somewhere under all that mess, by the way, waiting for my next cut of fabric). I'm actually finding this post quite difficult to bang out because I'm being pelted with 101 questions about rockets, volcanoes, lava, germs, stuffy noses, throwing up, and finally, why gold fish crackers don't have more fins on them. Sometimes I think it is a wonder I have a thought to myself! Oh wait, I just had one!

I can't just leave you with my wallowing-in-self-pity-about-my-crafting-challenges. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't leave you with a bit of inspiration too. Because that is what this post is really about...ignoring whatever chaos is going on around you, ignoring those crumbs on the counter you really should wipe up, or perhaps it is the week-old stack of mail you should sort, and instead keep on keepin' on with your crafty inner diva. Out of the mess I described above I created this yesterday:

Marice's version of a summer top that I picked up at a consignment store:

My version that I threw together yesterday. I tackled shirring for the first time! It is now one of my newest favorite sewing techniques and way easier than I dreamed. Try it, you'll like it.(Sorry for the less than stellar pictures. I considered modeling the shirts for a self portrait for about a half a second before deciding that my pasty winter skin would blind you.)

Cheers!

Tiffany

For the teeny tiniest of angel babies...

The start of what will be many micro-preemie hats knit up for angel babies...

To show just how tiny these hats are...

Check it out...knitters are needed for this worthy cause.
www.calivnshats.com