Recovering Soles

Buddha's Footprints, Amaravati, India.

Now I'm really getting into the nitty gritty.  Stuff you really don't want to pay attention to...but, sometimes you just can't put it off any more.  You know what I mean - everyone gets down to it sooner or later -  really yucky insoles.

Blame it on Spring, Spring cleaning and getting to the back of the closet.  That's what happen with me and all those shoes being unearthed.  I started re-looking at them, repairing some, refashioning others.  But the insoles...unspeakable.

Well, I decided to take care of business.  I kept thinking what could I do about it without spending any money since my shopping ban was

More Shoe Re-Do's

sculpture by Gwen Murphy.

Aghh...not that extreme!  More of the wearable kind. Like a pair of heavy-duty brown suede sandals - nothing wrong with them except being boring as all get out.  I thought my iridescent acrylic copper paint might pull them out of the doldrums.  Rubbed it on with my finger to get a more antique look.  Yep, they remind

Spring Shoe Review

image from microgardner.com.

It's a new season so I've been going through the back of my closet to find all those old shoes I never wear.  That self-imposed shopping ban really has me looking at every thing with new eyes.   

Two pair of shoes were selected for a quick make-over and came out the better for it.

A Little Trim Will Do Ya

painting by Lori Field.

Dolled up a couple pair of too-short pants with some oddments I had laying around the studio.

The first pair was of a lovely deep blue brocade, store-bought ages ago.  I was able to take down the hem to get another inch-and-a-half in length.  Found just enough large navy ric-rac in my doo-dad stash to circumnavigate the hem of each pant leg.  Attached it so only half of the ric-rac shows (i.e., the top half was hidden on the inside of the pant). It's the only way I can abide using that trim. 

The second pair I had made long ago out of double gauze dark navy fabric.  Had some 3-inch wide dark

Keep Calm and Sew On

Illustration by Virginia Johnson.

My Mandala Jacket is derived from pattern J of the Happy Homemade Vol. 1 Japanese sewing book.  Deviations are:  side seam pockets rather than patch, button closures rather than just left open, sleeves longer than 3/4, and no side attached tie belt.  And I used fabric from my stash from way back when.

I must confess I made so many sewing mistakes it was unbelievable - even to me!  I'm not going to relive them all in the telling, but suffice it to say my mind must have been elsewhere or something to that effect...

Nevertheless it came out wearable and I still like it.  (shoo-whee.)

And see my Clothes Collages page for the jacket in action!

My New Dress!

Painting by Alex Gross.

Finished my new Happy Dress!  Another one of my old mini shifts with matching boxers...brought back to life in the 21st century.  Just going through the cycle of life, first by mass destruction then by re-creation.  Yep, I ripped out every seam there was in both the dress and the shorts (ok, except for the neckline).  Eventually decided upon the hot pink paisley bit of fabric from my stash as the contrasting element and went from there.  It's slightly different than the black dotted dress with the French buttons, but still a similar concept.

This dress makes me smile whenever I look at it - and - I think it'll go great with the new pink sox I made!

And check out my Clothes Collages to see my Happy Dress in action!

Sock it To Me!

painting by Taravat Talepasand.

I just can't believe it.  I made my own socks - sewed them, that is.  I'm so excited about it.  I mean, just think of the possibilities.  That was one thing I was wishing I could buy...some colored tights or thigh highs or knee sox - and now I learned how to make my own - and it was soooo easy!

I found a tutorial on Handmade by Carolyn about making your own tights. I didn't have enough 2-way stretch fabric in my stash for tights, so I went for over-the-knee-sox.

I followed her idea of pinning the fabric while on my foot creating a inner side seam, but deviated from her suggestion of making a right angle around the ankle.