Adding a little color

First off, welcome to any lovely Trac Changes followers who found me through Rachel's blog!

Now on to my color problem.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good white blouse. Crisp whites are so lovely, especially in the summer. At some point, it was at a picnic I believe, I spilled some barbecue sauce on this beautiful white sleeveless tunic:



It is hard to see in this picture, but there is a little yellowish spot on the right side under the "sun." (In my kitchen, everything has a yellow tinge to it, but it is the best lighting in the house for pictures.)



I've also had this nice little kitchen mat for about 4 years. No matter how much I cleaned it and sprayed it with stain remover, the dirt from feet would not go away.

Thank Heaven for RIT Dye. (And inexplicable clearances! I bought this Navy Blue for $0.45 one day at the supermarket.)

The instructions were simple and the results were fabulous.



(I promise, a pic is coming soon with me actually wearing it.)



And well, it stills has some dark spots, but they don't look like dirt so much as a change in saturation of color. I'm pleased with it. It goes with our blue glasses, too!



I think I've becoming addicted to dyeing... You can check out my forays into dyeing yarn with tea and kool-aide here on Flickr, or here if you are on Ravelry!

Rosie Riveter Dress

I don't know why, but this dress reminds me of Rosie the Riveter. Maybe it's the plaid. I bought it for under $5 at the Salvo (see below). All it really needed was a higher hem line and a better belt. I found the belt on clearance at Wilson's Leather for $6 and I can use it on other outfits.

Technically, I believe this fits into my "Make it Work" challenge because I bought the dress and belt back in December and just never got around to it until now.

Make It Work Challenge

I've been doing some thinking. Lately, I feel like I'm too busy to make my own clothing many times, so I scrounge for clearance items and sales instead. Often, I think I find something, but after only a few wears of the item I realize that the sleeves are too tight or the buttons pop, or it is shabby quality, etc., etc.

I don't have an easy body to shop for. Which is what I love the most about sewing. Which is why I have a drawer overflowing with fabric and 2 dozen patterns. That I haven't been using!

I've also been stuck in a materialistic rut of sorts. I think the solution might be to lock down my clothing budget to a minimum and to force myself to create with what I have on hand.

So, I'm starting a Make It Work Challenge for myself and anyone who wishes to join me. I've seen others out there do something along these lines, and I love it.


[Incidentally, I'm fairly certain I used this book in 4-H when I was learning to sew.]

Here are my rules:

1. Avoid buying new clothes. Force myself to get creative and savvy. Besides anything I make will fit so much better. This will also force me to improve upon my seamstress skills. Maybe I'll finally take that leap and sew my own swimming suit (one of the most difficult garments for me to find).


2. Avoid buying new fabric or patterns. Use up that stash! Save your JoAnn's coupons for quality notions and all the thread you'll be needing.

3. If I MUST buy a garment, get rid of something! This will help me get rid of the old, worn out clothing and help keep garment clutter to a minimum. I can either donate, or use the fabric to make something else.

Not only will this improve my wardrobe and barely effect my wallet, but it will keep me blogging. And if you don't see posts from me, bug me! Let's work together to keep each other crafting.

And hopefully, this whole project will make me more thankful for what I already have.

I'm in for a year, how about you?