Day 89 - Sew Simple

Don't you hate it when people make puns with "sew"? Sew thrilling! Sew fabulous!  I couldn't resist – sew sue me. As you may have guessed, Astute Reader, today's topic is the thready, heady world of the fabric arts; and what better way to start than by telling you that I sewed my first (and likely only) Amish dress! That I will never, ever wear in public!  Now, I can hold my own in the sewing arena; I would say that about 60% of my current wardrobe was fashioned by my own two hands, but this dress was something of a special project. Tune in next time for embarrassing pictures – trust me, you don’t want to miss it.

I've heard from many a Home Ec Dropout about the first dress they attempted - cut in two when it should have been cut on the fold, four sizes too small because they mistook the bust for the waist measurements, a trip to the ER when they sat on the pin cushion. But, Dear Dejected Sew-er (if you don't add that hyphen, it's "sewer", which makes for an altogether different image, don't you think?), don't despair. Anyone can cut out some fabric, run it through a machine, and come up with something more or less wearable. Like any skill, it takes time to get zippy with it, and you may not be ready for "Project Runway" anytime soon, but it's worth investing some effort. It’s awesome to be able to alter store-bought items, or sew clothes that suit YOUR God-given figure in colors that YOU prefer instead of being limited by what Michael Kors and Lady Gaga think are ‘tres chic’ in any given year. Whether it’s purely practical, or an outlet for your crazy creativity, it’s just nice to know that you’ve got options.

I’ve been cobbling together all my scraps and making yard after yard of bias tape and reusable totes for my groceries (the ones I have are all BORING – who says reusable totes all have to be ecru or stamped with The Nature Conservancy logo?). I’m going through an I-must-use-up-all-my-fabric phase since having all those projects in my closet feels like a burden, like too much of anything, What do you do with your scraps?  

Old bags are getting FreeCycled!

Lookit how pretty!

UPDATE: Marty is taking the Brittney tour (as in Spears, people), so stay tuned as I try to figure out what measures really need to be in place before he leaves for a good chunk of time (a closet full of red wine, a drawer full of Xanax chocolate, and a household that runs like a well-oiled machine).