Easter Easy

Happy Easter, all! I have a quick and easy project for you today. I had anticipated this being a long one, but it was super quick. That fact was very welcome after a full (full!) day of spring cleaning.

 

I started with this gorgeousness.

All in all, this wasn't so bad. What grabbed my eye was the pattern - the blues and purples are very pretty together. Also, it is silk, lightweight and super comfortable for summer. It didn't button (most of them were gone even if it could), so I definitely had to work around that as well. The final sell was the fact that it had pockets. That's pretty much always a sure thing.

 

First, I got rid of the ridiculously large shoulder pads.

Then I cut off the collar, and tucked down the ends and sewed them down.

The next thing I did (and failed to take a picture of) was cut off the bottom of the too long skirt. As this was silk, I did not finish the bottom. I made sure to make even cuts so it didn't look like I hacked away at it... although that is exactly what I did. Doesn't get any easier than a "cut and go".

 

Lastly, I didn't know what to do with the sleeves. I didn't want to cut them off, but I also didn't want to leave them long. For now, I compromised by rolling them up to a short-sleeve length. I've always been a fan of the roll-sleeve. It's the definition of lazy-girl fashion sans sloppiness.

 

Then it was just a matter of removing the few remaining buttons, and voila! The most comfortable silk, light summer dress that I'm sure I will get tons of use out of. When it is no longer 40 degrees.

It's Been a Bumpy Weekend

So I think I may be a disappointment this week, friends. All I have is story time today.

 

I went home this weekend to see my family and spend time with my parents. Also, I've been having a few car troubles - such as my anti-lock brake system not working - so I wanted my dad to take a look at it as he owns a manual to my car. This, I would soon learn, was the beginning of my car problems.

 

Now, I live in the mountains where this winter really took a toll. The roads back home aren't fantastic to begin with, but throw in tons of snow and vicious plows, and the roads are just screwed. Safe to say, there are potholes. During my ride home, I hit one of these potholes. Hard. And my hubcap came flying off and rolled across the road. I stopped the car and my husband and I went searching for it. We found it, figured ourselves lucky, and continued our trip home.... where my "maintenance required" light on my dashboard promptly turned on. Grand total of lights on my dashboard: 3.

 

We get home, put the hubcap back on and soon realize... it's not mine. We found a hubcap that wasn't mine, but nonetheless fit. It would look funny, but it would work for now and we figured we'd stop on the way back the next day and find mine.

 

The rest of the trip was great and we enjoyed the time spent with family. Today, we headed out and stopped on the way back in the area where I lost my hubcap. Did I find it? Yes. And four of its friends.

Come to find out, that pothole was a real bitch for a lot of people.

 

So Mike and I get home and go about our business. Then, we start to smell gas. Apparently, we have a gas leak somewhere in our basement. What's also in our basement? My craft room. This is the reason you are not seeing a project right now.

 

So instead, you are getting my "over it" selfie.

Although this post is not entirely lacking of thrift store items. Today was a gorgeous weather day (79 degrees!) so I broke out a summer dress. In the above picture is my new thrift score: an adorable A-line dress, that needed no work, that cost $3. Score!

So on with the week we go - it'll be a week full of service men: furnace men, car care men... all sorts of repair shit. My apologies for the language. All I can say is thank God for family and the comic relief that just being around them can bring.

And speaking of family, please send your thoughts and prayers to my aunt, who is a strong and resilient woman recovering from a stroke that she had yesterday. She is one of my biggest cheerleaders for this blog, as well as a loving and caring family member.

In the meantime, enjoy your week and I promise as soon as this gas thing is under control, I will be back at the sewing machine with just as little skill as before.

Fixing for Family - Part 2

Hey friends! I'm still working on the project mentioned last week - life and work got in the way a bit. This weekend I finished up Mandy's other dress. As a reminder, it looks like this. 

Mandy wasn't a huge fan of the hi-lo hem. As you may remember - I was a bit nervous last time to cut into someone else's clothes. This time, I came prepared. 

Just kidding, I wouldn't drink while cutting into other peoples clothes. That's for after. Since the front was a fine length for Mandy, I concentrated more on the back. Chop chop!

Next, I made a hem on the back, ironed it down and sewed it up. Short and sweet. As the back was rounded into the front (hence the hi-lo hem) the two sides ended up being slightly longer than the front and the back. I almost went at it again with the scissors, but stopped when I put it on and noticed this illusion disappeared. Glad I stopped! I'm sure Mandy did not want herself a hoe dress if I kept cutting!

Final look :) sorry Mandy - purse isn't included! (Unless I totally ruined your dresses; then it's all yours!)

Have fun friends - hope you enjoyed your weekend and I wish you a most restful Sunday night! See ya next week!