Refashionista!

So I'm thinking of signing up for this pledge at Wardrobe Refashion:

I, Holly, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new"
manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge
that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own
hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that
I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoated, recylcled,
crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that
others may share the joy that thy thriftyness brings! Signed Holly.

Especially since I spent all last weekend sewing a couple of new things, and really want to make more of my own stuff anyhow.

My only worries are:

1. I'm starting to do more freelance grantwriting work again so that may interfere with my sewing time
2. I really want to buy some tshirts
3. I'm already pretty bad about taking pics of my stuff to post and keeping up with blogging.

But, I'd rather sew than work part of the time anyhow, I could look at Goodwill for tshirts and then alter to fit, and I may be getting a camera phone from a friend who doesn't want hers anymore on thursday.

So what the heck. I think I'll do it.

Can I make my own wardrobe?

I'm feeling more and more like sewing lately, and the idea of being able to save money AND have awesome perfectly fitting clothes really appeals to me. I recently bought the "Built By Wendy" book which is basically all about using her patterns for a shirt, a pair of pants, and a skirt to customize and make all the stuff of your very own you could ever need.

I'm all over the skirt thing, definitely. I've made several with other patterns, but my problem is that I haven't quite ever figured out the fit. Her book gives lots of tips on that, and I've been looking at websites and books and blogs for more info.

I'm a little more frightened of the shirts and pants. My one attempt at pants was a dismal failure. I had the dreaded big wrinkle in the front, you know, the one that looks either like a big smile or big frown? But I'm willing to try again if it means having some great ass-pants (those would be the kind of pants that make your ass look fabulous, not the kind that exposes your ass, which are much more popular around here during the Folsom Street Fair than at any other time of year) in the colors that I like.

And the shirts, I think I can handle once I get some practice on making buttonholes. I've had experience with taking men's shirts (western ones mostly), cutting them down, sewing in darts, and basically doing a trial and error thing till they fit. So maybe from scratch won't be that much harder.

So, with the stuff from this book I've got just about everything covered, except for dresses, and blazers. I have to have lots of cardigans or blazers or shawls because I live in San Francisco and there's maybe 2 days a year when the temperature doesn't get down to long-sleeve levels. So I just bought patterns that seemed rather versatile for changing up and making dresses and jackets.

So anyhoo let's hope that I actually someday get around to making some of this stuff. I need to get started immediately before I lose momentum. I have some nice turquoise and light brown plaid fabric for a short skirt I plan to wear with cream colored tights and kneehigh suede (ok, fake suede) boots. Maybe tonight?

Also on tap currently: I bought several bolt ends of varying shades of blue quilting fabric for a sort of contemporary style quilt for the bedroom, the design is based on the ocean, how as you look out toward the horizon it looks like bands of steadily darkening blues. Also, I've won an eBay auction for a bunch of solid cotton 4.5" cut blocks in lots of colors for an idea I have for a reverse applique quilt.

And, I finally finished a knit purse. I'll get pics later, but I love it. One problem though... it smells funny! I think when I blocked it it didn't dry fast enough and now has a moldy sort of smell to it. Which sucks because I want to start carrying it NOW! I'm a little scared to wash it, so I'm attacking it with Febreze and airing it out read good in the hopes that it de-funkifies itself soon.