Refashion: T shirts to Nighties

In November of last year we were headed to the Dominican for a wedding. At that time, most Canadian stores don't have any kind of summer clothing for sale, so I rounded up most of little's wardrobe on buy and sell pages. It wasn't until we only had a few hours before we left for the city that I realized her fleece one-piece jammies might be a bit warm for Punta Cana.

Immediately I thought of my box of too-dear-to-toss t-shirts. These could be an answer.

Of course they're not dear to toss, but I did save them because 1) I once cherished them (they were mostly staff shirts from my old summer camps), and 2) no one would ever want to buy them from a second hand store. So instead of relegating them to rags, I jammed them in a box for a time when I could figure out how to give them a death with honour.

The first tutorial I found said that I would have a new nightie in 15 minutes - about the same amount of time it would take me to drive to the mall, one way. Sold. I decided that I would cut a shorter sleeve and forego the elasticized cuffs, which would cut down on time even more. From my discards box I pulled out two t-shirts that had some drape to them, leaving the "crunchier" shirts for a more fitted project.

I traced a shirt that fit her fairly well, estimated a sleeve length to give her a bit of a cap sleeve, then sewed the sides and arms up again on my regular machine. I was surprised to find that a one year old's neckline isn't too far off an adult's. Kids have crazy big noggins. 

After we tried it on I hemmed it. I didn't bother to hem the sleeves. I love that the major construction work is already done in this garment (sleeve setting and neckband), so you get to reap rewards after 2 easy seams.

And my beloved staff shirt lives on.

Garage Sale Love

Because although I want to learn smocking to make a beautiful hand smocked dress for baby, I really don't have the time/space/patience to learn another craft. So these beauties came home with us from the Whispering Hearts Garage Sale.

The life changing magic of tidying up: review

In the midst of feeling completely overwhelmed by all the stuff in our house, I heard of this title, published last year in English (translated from Japanese): The life changing magic of tidying up, by Marie Kondo. I jumped on the holds list at the Brantford Public Library when it was only a few people long; now there are almost 20 in line behind me.

I'll get right to the point: reading this book was a good experience for me. Entertaining, thought provoking, and very likely useful in helping me to keep a better house. At the beginning I was a bit shocked at Kondo's obsessive behaviors. As I read on, I became impressed that she made herself so vulnerable by sharing these things. I found the book very readable, and wasn't turned off by some of the zanier suggestions she makes, such as communicating with your house or thanking possessions for their service to you. I am fine with these things.

I respect that Kondo sticks to her mission, in focusing totally on tidying and discarding (the latter of which is really the main event). In its directives, the book is very simple and I don't think I will have problems following the instructions even after I return it to the library. However, I think she does have a blind spot; there is a lack of comment on responsible disposal of your discarded stuff. If you slow down to recycle and re-home goods, will it impede the discarding process? Possibly. She doesn't discuss this. While she is impressed with the number of garbage bags that her clients discard, I cringe at the thought of throwing out 60 bags at one go.

Donate it, you may say. While I do use trips to the thrift store as a way to destash, I often feel like this is making my garbage problem someone else's problem. You may be aware that unsold thrift store goods are sometimes donated or sold in developing countries, where in some cases they may be supplanting local textile industries. Eek. What started as a way to be environmentally friendly - recycling your clothes - can have a whole other set of consequences for people in southern countries. Value Village states on its website that they ship unsold product to "developing countries to help supply economies with a steady stream of high-quality goods." However much negative impact this has at a local level I am unsure of, but it makes me wary. What about locally made products? I haven't ever thought of my used t-shirts as "high-quality goods".

But really, is my problem with disposing of things in a manner that I feel comfortable with Marie Kondo's problem? No, not at all. She stays on topic. While certain things in this book don't feel realistic (turning over a seasonal wardrobe is fairly important in a country where temperatures spread over 60 degrees Celsius, for one), I also believe that things hold an energy, and that having too many things often means you don't get to appreciate the ones you have. There are many Konmari before and after pics out there, but this set from the New York Times is particularly good, I suspect because it shows a room Marie Kondo worked on herself. I'm not ready for before and after pics yet, but I do think I will start with getting rid of some items. Once I figure out where to send them.

Book sale haul

One of my favorite events of the year is the Brantford Symphony Orchestra book sale, which happens every April. Book donations are collected and sorted for weeks before the sale, and it is fair to say there are thousands of items. This year's venue was the closed Brantford campus of Mohawk College, but it has also been hosted at closed factories and schools.

Books are priced between 50 cents and roughly 5 dollars, though there are plenty of 25 cent finds and the rare book that costs more.

This year I arrived within half an hour of opening. I was so excited I could hardly stand to park the car; I wanted to run inside, to stop people from getting to my wonderful book deals. In addition to very keen readers, opening day is also marked by dealers pushing around shopping carts filled with books, with boxes of more books piled on top.

This year I walked away with 16 books, 5 patterns and a tape of awesome hits from the early 90s for $28.50. That is about 10 dollars more than I usually spend, but this year I started looking at the 3 and 4 dollar books (which I usually set aside because of their "high price" and then regret this foolishness when I get back home).

Please don't judge me for the Twilight books - as an MLIS holder I consider it a kind of research to read the YA smash hits.

Though I am very excited about my patterns, my favorite score at the book fair was a beautifully laid out Audubon bird book. I have been looking for an affordable source of Audubon prints for our living room, and this book almost appears to be made for it - one picture per page,  high quality paper. If I can bring myself to cut it up.

Bug taggie toy

Finished the bug/bird taggie toy this week.

Made of scraps except for the ribbon, which I bought at Len's Mills. Embroidered the eyes and along the edges of the wings. Good practice but I wish I were better at it. Used a cereal bag in the wings to make it crinkle.

Men who buy too many turkeys

 We just finished a week of eating turkey. A 16 pound bird fed six people dinner on Sunday night, my husband and I dinner four nights this week, and lunches for me every day. Plus I've got three turkey pot pies in the freezer. I am starting to understand why my father buys too many turkeys.

This was my first turkey, and was given to me by my father last year after he bought too many turkeys to fit in their deep freezer. He buys them after Christmas when they are cheap, and in 2013 found it impossible to stop. It started when someone in the meat department messed up the pounds to kilos conversion while calculating the price match, erring in his favour. When he tells the story, he talks about how more turkeys was all he could think about. He couldn't enjoy his beer. He was compelled to return to the store. 

This time another store employee messed up the conversion while price matching. Getting a discount and reaffirming his belief that the Canadian education system failed us in developing our math skills? That is a good day, friends. It's hard to believe he has only been price matching a couple of years; his first price match was legendary, but that is a story for another day.

This year he was banned from buying any more turkeys, by my poor mother who eats turkey soup day in, day out. As my father's daughter, I'm already looking forward to the week after Easter.