Weekly roundup, like horses, or cattle, or A RODEO.

Well, what a week it’s been. It was Lucy’s birthday party on Saturday, and it was a very lovely day. Of course, I barely documented it, because it’s hard to take photos when you’re trying to enjoy the moment, which is the main reason I never made it as a photographer. I did take this photo of Lucy in her birthday dress.

She’s an angel.

We’ve been sick with the dreaded stomach bug, (which, correct me if I’m wrong…. when you’re in the throes of, well, you know…. wouldn’t you almost rather cease from being alive than throw up one more time? because, yeah, I would.) and thankfully, I haven’t gotten it yet, but I have been washing, washing, washing. I’m not sure how long it’s been since our house and all our linens were this clean, but it was probably the last time we all got the stomach bug. So, a year. hah.

Anyway, since I’ve turned a new leaf and decided to be more consistent with my blogging, here I am, on this Thursday evening, typing the most pathetic of all blogs, while I stand at my ironing board, next to my pile of unfinished sewing.

Thankfully, a few weeks ago, I completed the curtains for the kids’ room, and then neglected to blog about it, so this is not a total waste of a blog post! HA HA!

In typical fashion and general cheapness (also because I have high-end taste and no money to spend on it) I made 60% of these curtains out of 1 flat sheet I bought from Wal-Mart, and then spent twice that amount buying the other 40% of the fabric online so it could look extra cute and exactly how I imagined it. The fabric in question is Made By Rae’s organic Lotus Pond fabric, and it is a thousand times softer and more luxurious than regular quilting cotton you buy from Joann’s. I wanted to make myself some sweet PJs out of it, but I forced myself to make these curtains because I’ve been dreaming of them for a while now.

The kids’ room had curtains that were mismatched before, because there are three windows in there, and nobody sells or even ever possesses three matching curtains. It’s always in pairs, and let me tell you, I AM NOT ABOUT TO BUY 2 PAIRS, when I only need three panels. I like how these turned out, like there are 3 stripes, even though it’s just an illusion because I just folded the excess sheet fabric over at the top and let it hang down, double thickness.

Also, that lotus pond fabric. Seriously.

Well, as Andrew likes to tell me, “You better get back to your little sweat shop, Linz.” HA HA he is so funny. But f’real though, I gotta get back.

Weekending, thrifting style.

This weekend, like many weekends, I hit the yard sales and the thrift store, on my quest for more fabric (I’m not ready to admit I have a problem. I don’t need less fabric. I need more shelving). I don’t know if any of you have ever yard saled with a three year old and a two year old before, but let me tell you: you haven’t lived till you try that.

Well, this weekend, I went to two yard sales, and got 4 yards of fabric for $1, so that’s a total win in my book, wandering toddlers and all. I don’t always get lucky in terms of fabric at yard sales, but since I’ve started cutting up discarded clothes and reusing the fabric, I’ve begun to look at clothes in a whole new way. A maxi skirt? 2 yards, plus elastic or zipper! Vintage button down shirt? 2 hair scarves and vintage buttons! Bigger is always better, so size doesn’t matter! In this case, however, I got 4 yards of uncut flat fabric, which was a total score and like a beautiful blank canvas.

Anyway, without further blahblahblah…. here’s what I got from the yard sales and the thrift store:

These were the fabrics from the yard sale. I can’t decide how vintage they are. They certainly aren’t new, but I can’t tell how long they’ve been sitting in the yard sale owner’s closet. I’m also not really sure how old something has to be before it’s vintage. In my mind, anything that’s older than me counts as vintage, but pretty soon, I know that some things that are younger than me will be considered vintage. Maybe that day has come and gone and I’m in denial. Anyway, these look pretty 80’s to me. It’s possible they’re from Joann’s, like yesterday, but yeah… I snapped them up for $1, so who really cares?

Love this neon fabric. I had my eye on this maxi dress last time I was at the thrift store, but it was still full price, so I passed that time, and I’m so glad it was still there, at half off this time. And, can we talk about what kind of crazy awesome this peacock feathers fabric is? I’m in love. I love finding this type of fabric, because this is the kind of thing that is impossible to find at the fabric store. It’s perfect.

Polka dots and confetti and swiss dot, yes please! Dots are always welcome in my studio (and I use that word loosely. By studio, I mean my ironing board and desk chair, hahahah). That neon confetti dress was quite a find, too. Small prints like that make the best hair scarves. I can’t quite fathom what type of woman once wore that as a long sleeved, calf length dress, but she must’ve been quite a vision to behold.

I’m always on the look out for simple, classic prints, and these made me very happy. Not everything needs to be neon or crazy wild, and these basics will be excellent to have on hand.

There you have it. I love coming home with a couple bags full of inspiration. I’ve got to get to work on making these up into hair scarves, headbands, and probably some new clothes for Lucy. Y’all found anything good on the cheap lately?

Weekly roundup.

Hello all. Given that I have lofty intentions of maintaining a relevant blog and sharing my crafting adventures with the internet (for whatever misguided reason), I’ve decided to at least try to post once a week. I’ll try to give a re-cap of my projects from the week, and just start with that.

This week, I’ve been on quite a roll making shorts for every member of my family except for Andrew. Poor husbands, in homes everywhere, getting left off the sewing to-do list, just because they’re too big, and men’s clothing is too boring, or whatever your reason is. Those are my reasons, and they’re so sad. I once offered to knit him a vest, (which he rudely declined!) because his arms are too long and “I am not about to knit TWO sleeves that long.”

Anyway, I started by making myself some shorts out of this rad Alexander Henry fabric that was given to me, so alas, I don’t know what collection it came from. I included pockets, because, duh, shorts without pockets are useless/only for pajamas. They are elastic waist, because that’s how I roll. I wore them for three days in a row and did not wash them. If you think that’s gross, I’m sorry. I guess it wasn’t three full days, more like one night, a day, and then morning. Moving on.

Next, I made some cute bloomers for Lucy out of the sleeves from a shirt I bought from the thrift store to make headbands out of. Waste not, you know. I didn’t even have to shirr them myself, because that was how the shirt was! Which is good, because… I don’t know how to shirr. A project for another day.

After I showed the new bloomers to Lucy, Micah sidled up and said, “When are you going to make me some new shorts?” and my little heart just burst with happiness, as I said I would love to make him some new shorts. He picked out the fabric and I got to work. His took a couple of days, because, man, if boys clothes aren’t fussier to make than girls clothes. I included pockets on his, too, and I should’ve lined them, since the fabric was a little thin, but as long as he wears solid color underwear, it doesn’t matter. Also, he smartly styled them with rain boots for his (hash tag) ootd. Winky face.

Lastly, I’m in the process of finishing up some new napkins. Some for my lovable little brother, who is living the bachelor life, and of course doesn’t have any cloth napkins to pretty up his place. And some for me, out of my favorite fabric ever, that I also made a curtain and a hair scarf out of. I guess I went a little crazy.

When I write it all out like this, I feel really accomplished, instead of a mess like my sewing area suggests. A messy life is a life well-lived. Or however the saying goes.

I hope you all have had a wonderful week. I feel like I’ve had a whirlwind of a week now that I’m done writing this. What have you been up to?

Various justifications

I’m starting to get a little twitchy lately, because I haven’t been to the thrift store in at least a month. So, today, I decided I needed to get to work using some of the fabric I already have (hah hah, because I have piles and they’re taking up lots of floor space I could be using to store dust bunnies) so I can justify going to buy more. Am I two steps away from becoming a hoarder? Yes. But just go with it.

Anyway, I got out this soft ikat skirt, which I didn’t take a picture of pre-cut, because I forgot. (real smooth, Linz, real smooth.) I bought it to make headbands, and when I cut it up, I realized that it was even more perfect than I thought, because it’s two fabrics in one: lining and outer. Also, let’s not forget the nice elastic band that I can use for something else, later! After I cut the fabric and laid it out, I had about 3/4 yards of each fabric, which is enough for 4 hair scarves, and a nice length of bias tape. It’s hard to justify buying tons of fabric brand new when I write it out this way. Total cost: $1.50.

Hair scarf inspiration.

 Since I’ve been making the hair scarves for my shop, a lot of people have asked me for a tutorial on how to style their hair with them. I thought I would do a little series on how I like to do my hair with them. This first post is about my very favorite way to style my hair with a hair scarf.

First, you take your scarf and hold it so the middle is centered between your hands, loosely. Then, you’ll put the middle on your forehead and pull your arms back around your head.

Now, you’re going to cross the ties at the back of your head and come back around to your forehead. At this point, you can either tie it in a knot, and tuck the ends into the scarf, or a bow, if you want (this is great for little girls. not Lucy, of course, because she won’t let me put bows in her hair), or, like I did, you can wrap it one more time and tie it in a little bitty knot at the base of your neck.

And that’s it! I like it because it makes my lazy/bad hair days look more fashionable, or at least like I tried a little to look decent. Also, at the beach, no wispy hairs got in my mouth, which is always a plus for me. You can also choose to start this whole process from the back of the head by centering the middle of the scarf at the base of your neck instead of your forehead. That will reverse each step, but it’s just as easy!

I hope this helps you get some ideas of how you can wear this really versatile accessory. I see more and more women wearing headbands around lately, and I love it! I always like it when it’s fashionable to do something that actually helps me shorten my morning routine.

Honesty, plus thoughts about my strong-willed child

Today, like many days, began with a temper tantrum — a battle of wills, a mule sitting down in the path, and literally, refusing to budge. This was the first of what I knew would be many more to come in this day. My second-born, Lucy, has always, and I know, always will be, strong-willed. She wants to do it her way. She MUST do it her way. You know, as a parent, it’s a fine line we tread with our strong-willed children. It is supremely frustrating to be walking down the sidewalk, with your hands full of the necessary items for the day, when your child decides that she must be held by you, instead of walking by herself, as happened to me this morning.

I’ve read the parenting books that tell me, “Oh, just keep walking. She’ll give up and come along, after you get (a few feet, 10 feet, a little farther) away.” That would’ve worked with my first born. But no, not Lucy. I’d have to leave her by herself for a few minutes for that to work, which, on a public sidewalk, next to a busy road, at 8:30 in the morning, wasn’t going to happen. So, put down all my stuff, go back and get her, pick up all my stuff, plus her, and walk to work.

Sometimes, being the totally, incurably pragmatic (and also really strong-willed) person that I am, I struggle to decide when I need to fight the battles with her and do things the way I hope they should go, or when I need to let go and let her do things her way. She wants to do it, and I know she won’t give up, which is a wonderful trait as an adult, but as a child, it’s more than a little frustrating for all the adults around her. I especially prefer to a rule to always be a rule, and a routine always a routine — it has been really hard for me, as a parent, to realize that things don’t always need to happen the same way, and in fact, that’s a totally unrealistic expectation.

It sure is nice in those parenting books, though.

Sometimes, I just need to take a breath, sit back, and look at the beautiful, strong, creative little girl that God gave me, and also realize that I’m looking in a mirror whenever she’s fighting the system.

Library time

If you know me,  (and maybe some of you do!  Hi,  mom.) you know that I’m a heavy library user,  and sometimes abuser. I keep the library in business with my fines. Which,  these days,  with funding cuts to libraries becoming more and more prevalent, is probably a good thing. Anyway, I had an especially good haul at the library today,  and thought I’d share what I’m about to read these days.

I find I get a lot of my creative inspiration from books,  even if they’re not really about making things.

For the kids. A fun story about a girl who finds an everlasting box of yarn. Okay,  maybe I really got it for myself.

I’ve been dying to try out this tangling craze for myself,  and with my upcoming trip to the beach,  this is perfect!

My love for the 40-50’s will never die.

I got two because I got greedy and have an unrealistic idea of how much time I have to read. But this one is large print,  so it’ll be faster! Isn’t that how it works?

And,  lastly,  a movie based on the book that started it all for me,  in 7th grade. The Giver ignited my interest in WWII, and i’m so excited to watch the movie. Even if it is a year after everyone else.

What are you all reading these days? Share some recommendations!

Hoarding

So, since I’ve started making and mass producing the stretchy headbands, I’ve collected quite a lot of the hems of t-shirts that I use to make them. Let me show you. I start with a t-shirt, and the first thing I do is cut off the hem.

Yes,  I use child scissors. I tried adult ones, but they aren’t as sharp. Which weirds me out, too, but whatever. I even bought new ones, but they were dull out of the package.

Anyway, so, the hem. It comes off in a nice little ribbon, and I can’t throw it away. I tried, but I couldn’t do it. So… now, I have this.

Yes, a whole basket full. Help! What can I make with these?  Maybe some kind of woven project? Inspire me!

weekending on Easter

This weekend, as I’ve been playing with my kids, planning in the garden, and keeping up with the daily chores that fill my every day, I’ve been reflecting on the women of the Bible, and the role they played in the Easter story.

The truth is that this has been a rough year for me, in trying to find my place where I am in my life. God has faithfully shown me over and over that he desires my heart, and that there is a special place in his heart for women. In the Easter story, he shows us that women were at the cross, mourning the loss of their Savior. He chooses to reveal himself first to women on the day of his resurrection, and he even gives them the joyous task of going out to tell others that he had risen from the grave! In a society where women literally had no standing, God chose to give them this important job. The women told the men that the Lord was alive!

So often, I get bogged down in submission to authority that I forget that the Lord’s voice is the one that matters most. Is the Lord speaking to your heart today? Has he revealed himself to you? Don’t be afraid to share that! He is risen!