Thing-a-day.com

So I haven’t actually posted what I’ve been up to for the last week or so, but I have been creating.  At the very least I doodled in my paperback which has taught me that even 30 seconds of scribbling is better for my creative juices than sitting on my rear end doing nothing.

24-26:  Doodles

27: Gave myself a haircut.  (Shortened to a pixie!)

28: Posted on my blog.  (I am stretching here, but I am giving myself a break on this one.)

29:  Still have a few hours, so we’ll see.

Here is to creating/destroying/documenting/pushing ourselves to do something.  Now, maybe I’ll go sew…

my friends gave me a tshirt that has a bunch of pandas in various tai chi poses. the sleeves were a little too long and bunched up a little under my arms, so i altered the sleeves to be capsleeves. i matched the sleeves to another tshirt of mine that fit well. i thought that i could just sew under the arms to make the sleeves tighter, but i ended up having to cut off the sleeves and re-sew them onto the shirt because they were angled too high before. it’s probably not that noticeable a difference (besides the fact that they are shorter) but i’m happier with the fit, and the shirt/sleeves are more comfortable as a result (doesn’t pull across the shoulders or bunch up under my arms as much).

before	after

Crochet amigurumi

Wool wrist cuff (fastens with gigantic snap)

Filigree brass, glass and wood necklace.

Magnets, glass and paper.

Gift tag

Paper box

Pouch (made from two pockets off an old wool coat and other wool bits)

i reconstructed another oversized tshirt today:

i got the idea from 99 ways to cut, sew, trim, and tie your t-shirt into something special (#15, mimi) but had to modify the sleeves to make them fit better and also made the belt significantly shorter.

i remade a american apparel men’s XL tshirt today:

i got the idea from save this shirt (fit to be thai’d) but didn’t realize until afterwards that the part that is woven through the back is supposed to remain connected to the rest of the shirt. i don’t think it matters all that much though. if i were doing it over again, i would have made the length a little bit longer, but otherwise, i’m happy with it.

Inspired by a tutorial in the current issue of Craft magazine. He makes me chuckle to myself. Heh heh. 

sewed on loops and installed hooks in the wall to secure a futon against the wall in our spare room/aspiring studio. used the extra hooks to hold a curtain rod for some temporary curtains for the closet.

working with a tiny space and ugly wood paneling is annoying, and it’s hard to fully commit to transforming a rented place. maybe it’s just an excuse though. i wish i made things with real love and care, took time to work on them and make them beautiful. but instead i’m lazy and sloppy. still, it feels good to try.

Thing-A-Day has turned into Experiment-A-Day for me.  Here is a close-up of the fabric bookmarks (?) that I am working towards.

It was super simple: Rectangle of thrifted vintage bed sheet sewn on slightly larger rectangle of stiff grey felt.

I’m a day behind so I’ve decided to make two things today. Here is the first. I sewed this at my desk at work.

although i’m not a football fan, i made a football stuffie in honor of superbowl sunday:

it’s the first time i’ve ever made a stuffie before (i’ve been wanting to start), and it was much more challenging than i realized it would be. i had a hard time visualizing the correct shapes to cut that, when sewn together would form a football. i’d originally intended it to be much rounder than a regular football even, but it turned out to be flatter. still, i’m happy with the final result. the face reminds me of an eel somehow, i’m not sure why (my husband says it doesn’t). it was also kind of inspired by uglydolls, so i guess i can call it an uglyball?

here are some preliminary drawings that i made: