I only have two pairs of shorts that fit anymore, a black pair and a white linen pair. The black ones are a kind of dressier fabric, so not really conducive to various weekend activities, like cleaning out the chicken coop. And white linen, well, also not the proper attire for that either. When I checked my clothing budget for the week, I only found about 56 cents, so I got creative. Despite the fact that I only have two pair of shorts, I have quite a few pair of khaki pants. I’m not sure how that happened. I wear khaki pants once, maybe twice a week, but I don’t think I really need the 6 pairs in my closet. So, I took the ones I wear the least (pretty much never), and cut them off. My first thought was to just leave the raw edge. Then I considered tidying them up with a hem, but then I had the brilliant idea to bind the edges with some red calico. It might be kind of nerdy, but I think I like it.


The obligatory macro shot of the binding:


Oh, and while I have your attention, notice the birdcage in the top picture. I’m still on my spray paint kick, and I decided I didn’t like the original color of my birdcage. I may have gone a little crazy. Is the blue too much? I had also considered white or yellow. I think I better have another poll.

Show of hands, who else watches Clean House? Is it just me, or does that show make you feel just a little bit better about your housekeeping abilities? Actually, the first time I watched it, the hosts all kind of bugged me, but now I just really like them and their goofy jokes make me laugh, and I love it when Niecy gives the homeowners a well deserved smackdown when they won’t get rid of their stuff.

If you are a fan, you can imagine my surprise and delight when I saw a sign for a Clean House yard sale in a nearby town this past Saturday. I had to run errands on Saturday anyway, so I decided to check it out. I didn’t really plan on buying anything, but as soon as I walked up to the driveway, this little footstool caught my eye. There was a piece of tape on it that said "Antique", but no price. I only had $20 on me, so I wasn’t sure if i had a shot, but I had to try. Aren’t the legs cute? The cushion is faded and grungy looking, but otherwise in good shape.

I picked it up, and heard a rattling sound. I discovered that the top
lifted off, and the inside was filled with some lovely treasures:


Look at all those scissors! The big ones are pinking shears. I love the small, black embroidery scissors. Now I just have to figure out how to clean them up a little. I think I will take them to the knife sharpener and see what his opinion is.

Anyway, back to the yard sale, I was quickly accosted by Trish, who is so stinking cute, and a camera man. She said the footstool belonged to the homeowners’ mother and they were asking  $30. It  didn’t take much convincing for her to agree to $20. I even showed her that it was all that was left in my wallet. She said my wallet was very organized, which was quite a compliment, considering the source, and also that is was very cute and fierce. I’m not sure if I want them to include the footage of me. I’ll look like a gigantic Amazon next to Trish, and I’m not sure what all I said, but it’s likely that I sounded a bit flustered and foolish. Oh well, it was fun, and although I didn’t see Niecy, the others all looked like they were working really hard.

As exciting as my television debut was, I’m really happy with my lucky find. I’ve recovered the cushion with plain, natural linen. Eventually I’d like to do some crewel embroidery on linen to cover it, but I wanted to at least make it look a little more presentable in the meantime. I’ve also painted the wood with a coat of primer and a coat of glossy yellow. I think it’s going to need a little sanding and a second coat, but you can be sure I’ll take a picture when I’m done. I’d also like to line the inside somehow. with fabric or paper, I’m not sure which. 

I’ve also got pictures to share and a tutorial in the works for the t-shirt project, and I just caught up on the last two episodes of Project Runway, so maybe we can have another PR discussion too.Whew! So much to do!

Does this happen to you? You get an idea, and you can’t stop thinking about it, and you just have to try it out right then? That happened last weekend, when I was thinking about some vintage mother-of-pearl buckles I’ve been hoarding, and how pretty they are, and how I’m not quite ready for skinny belts just yet, but would like to wear one of those buckles anyway. So I dug around in my drawer of vintage lace and scraps and pulled out this bit of embroidered silk, and made a belt for my wrist.

Here’s a better view of some of the embroidery:

I stitched the silk to some linen and attached one end to the buckle, wrapped it around my wrist and slipped the other end through the buckle,tightened it up, and wore it! I think it’s kind of fun, and quite pretty.

Later today my sister and I are going to make a t-shirt, so come back soon for a step-by-step photo tutorial of the flower-y t-shirt!

Recently, I was feeling a little vain and brave, so I added this photo to my flickr stream:


Hi, it’s me :o)
Then, this week I got tired of all that hair every time I went swimming, and did this:


Ahh, much better. I’ll miss the long hair, but it grows fast, and this is so much nicer for the summer.

I also added more to my t-shirt and wore it yesterday:


So that’s a lot of pictures of me. Sorry about that :o)

I ripped this picture out of an Anthropologie catalog awhile back, and remembered it while on a recent trip to Old Navy:


Cute, right? The price? $98. It’s a t-shirt people. Who pays $98 for a t-shirt? Not me, but I really do like this t-shirt. So, back at Old Navy; they have lots of t-shirts for just $10 each, and they’re a lovely soft cotton knit. I bought two stone colored t-shirts, and cut one up and stitched the little heart shaped pieces to the other. I’m not sure if I’m done yet, but I think it’s looking pretty good.


I’m a bit on the busty side, so I may not want to add more. We’ll see.

I also got an unexpected package in the mail this weekend. It’s the second book which includes a pattern by moi:


I love those pomegranates on the cover. My creation didn’t make the front cover this time, but it did show up on the back, which was a nice surprise.


And here’s a look inside:


It’s a lovely book, although more for inspiration than actually making any of the projects exactly as they appear, I think. I love the flower magnets (also on the back cover), and think they would be a fun little project. It also makes me want to make another mini-quilt. They’re just so much fun.

Speaking of books, I’ve been doing a little reading lately. I was just browsing at the library and happened upon The Friday Night Knitting Club. New York Times Bestseller! the cover proudly proclaimed. And it’s about knitting, so I’m sure I would like it, right? Wrong. Very, very wrong. I don’t think I got past the third chapter. It was so poorly written, I kept wondering why the author didn’t have an editor. She couldn’t have with all the awkward sentences. Most knitters that I know are also pretty smart people, bad writing isn’t going to get past them. The characters were all such cliche’s, I just couldn’t take it. And then the main character gets all pissy because the father of her daughter comes back into her life, and she doesn’t want him to have anything to do with them. I get that the guy cheated on her and dumped her, and that was a really jerk-y move, but now he does want to be a part of his daughter’s life and she’s so selfish that she’s going to deny her daughter that opportunity out of spite? He’s not abusive, he paid child support, there’s no reason for her daughter not to get to know her father. Better late than never. I hate it when chick-lit books have to be all "girl-power" and we don’t need no stinkin’ men to be happy. Blah blah blah. Why belittle men to give a woman a sense of self-worth. Maybe it all turned out different in the end, but I can’t be bothered. And that’s what I thought of that :o)