Bell Bottoms, Blossoms and Another Book

We went up to the old house today, and I cut whole bunch of Lilac blossoms. I have them in a big purple bowl. Mmmmmm. Lovely.

I feel extra committed to recycling my clothes this week, and the Library is egging me on.
I got another fantastic book this week:
99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim 99 Ways To Cut, Sew, and Deck Out Your Denim- by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney and Ellen Schultz.

It was a fun compendium of ideas for things to do with Jeans! There were projects for every style and skill level, from dog collars to blazers, pillows to gauchos. Every project has an indication of how difficult it is, and a lot of them are very easy.
And an amazing thing happened. I used project #76 jennifer: super tight jeans. But never fear! My hips are still in proportion with my feet. I had some old bell bottoms that fit great at the top, but were too loose in the legs. I used their plans for making skinny jeans and just took in the part between the knees and the crotch. Ta daa! New, well-fitting jeans, no shopping needed. I said Fit, People! And if you're not into bell-bottoms, you can actually make skinny jeans and they're really easy.

Next I may try making a bolero or blazer. After I finish the bags I was making last week. And they have a couple other books as well, about t-shirts and scarves! I may need to go do some ILL. And renew. I am in recycled jeans heaven!

A Good Read

So, I did wear that lime-green dress for Easter. And in keeping with it, the trees budding, the grass popping up, and my general trend of thriftyness, let's stay on a Green theme all week! First up, a book review.

This week I picked up Sewing Green by Betz White from the New rack at my local library. I love my library. They always have good stuff, it's always free, and there's even a little coffee shop in there. But I digress.

I loved Sewing Green! It has a short section explaining how she got her Ideas, and why she feels it's important to re-purpose material. Then the rest of the book Is plans for projects to make! There is even a pocket in the back with pull-out patterns for many of the projects. It's an easy read, and the instructions were very clear. Even I, a resourceful and crafty thrifter, was impressed.

I was so inspired by a her ideas for making stuff out of other stuff. My eyes were opened and I realized that I can use thrift store stuff for so many other things! She suggests buying items just for the fabric and cutting them up. I already do this with wool sweaters, but I never thought how many other things I could do that with. Linens! Dresses! Leather skirts!

I think I am unlikely ever to make a skirt out of a pillowcase, since I have so many awesome skirts. But I have already cut out the pieces for one of the other projects: A groovy shopping bag made from a denim skirt. I didn't have a skirt, but I have a lot of old jeans, so I made a pair into a skirt, first. I'm also adding a lining cut from a Fabulous retro dress that I got from my Cousin Rachel way-back-when. It hasn't fit me in at least a decade, but I kept it because the floral pattern fabric was so cool. I already snatched the zipper to use in something else, so It was totally not heart braking to chop up the skirt. When I finish it, I'll get pics up, even though it's not clothes, It will be stylish!

Even if you're not much for sewing, I recommend the read to open your eyes for re-using all kinds of textiles! Even a non-sewer could make some cloth napkins with glued-on edges. Or fashion a scarf from old sweaters. The possibilities are endless!