Now Norma Knits

Philosopher

Longtime readers of the blog may remember my transform-a-t-shirt kick a few years back, using ideas from the book Generation T. Posts about it here and here and here. Wow, it was almost five years ago! I can hardly believe that, but there it is right in the blog, for proof! How time does fly when you're having fun.

That book was one of the better purchases I have ever made, and I still regularly wear the halter tops I made for myself during My T-Shirt Phase -- when it's not 12 degrees Fahrenheit and snowing, that is.

If I'd had my wits about me, I might have made a couple of swimsuit coverups before we went to Jamaica. The next time I am in a lull period, I think I will do just that. We have umpteen dozen t-shirts in this house that are just languishing in various drawers. They need life breathed into them!

This was a boring t-shirt that I made into a sexy top for Abigail, but she never "noticed" it until now. She's been home for a couple of days, and since I've emptied everything from her closets and her bureau drawers except this and very few other things, she sort of had to notice it, I guess. But anyway, isn't it (and she) cute?

(She was a philosopy major undergrad, by the way.) 

Random Little Snippets (With an Updated Red Scarf Total)

1.  Mr. Jefferies' brown sweater had to be repaired yesterday. A piece of the crochet edging came loose and I did the stupid thing: Pulled. So I spent umpteen hours yesterday pulling out the rest of the crochet edging (I was having a dickens of a time finding all the ends that I so expertly wove in) and redoing the edge. I took this opportunity to make the tummy band a bit wider, so then I had to move a couple buttons, too. I see now that I need to knit him another long coat, for times when one is either being washed or repaired. The next one will be blue, I think. I've got just the right wears-like-iron Vermont wool yarn, and I might even branch out and use a different pattern, or maybe even make one up. Dude, that dog sure is high-maintenance. And I am a bit insane.

 

2.  I'VE HEARD GREAT NEWS about the quality of the red scarves received this year!!!!!  We've finally done it! My message of "we don't need more scarves -- we need more NICE scarves" -- has finally gotten through. The number of scarves received stands at 2,697, which is a bit short of our goal. I know others are coming in, and if you have one completed that you were holding to 2010, please consider sending it in now.  But the best news for me is that the quality is HIGH, and the gift card/cash/stamp donations included with the scarves has amounted to $4,417.20 so far. Go us! Thank you for all your help, everyone! 

3.  Is anyone willing to sew something for me? I have this wonderful light-medium-weight denim fabric -- my skirt that I ripped a long time ago. It's not repairable as a skirt because the rip is in the fabric, not the seam, in the back. (I suppose I could go the patchwork route, but .... no. Not my style.) It is truly very nice denim fabric, and I've held onto it because I'd like to see it repurposed into a bag or bags (small and/or large) of some sort -- nicely lined. I'm just not good with the sewing machine. Let me know if I can send you this thing and if you'd like to turn it into something useful for me. [Yay! I have a taker!]

 4.  My arm and shoulder are still bothering me, but a couple days' rest and a hair cut and color that caused David to stop mid-sentence to say, "Damn, you look foxy!" has done much to improve my mood. (Thanks, Katie!) 

5.  I know you want a picture, but I don't have a new one. It's almost exactly like my Facebook avatar. Katie was able to finally replicate the color exactly, and the cut is pretty much the same. So for those of you not on Facebook:

And there's a hoot of a story about that. About three weeks ago, I was logged into Facebook and David walked into the room. He saw the page and said, in honest amazement, "She looks A LOT like you." I looked at him; thought he was teasing. Nope. He was serious and really didn't know it was my picture he was looking at. 

5.  After the dog sweater repair, and with the arm feeling slightly better, I was able to do a teeny bit of knitting on the Calmer sweater, which has now become mine. My daughter's reaction to it was lukewarm, so I'm going to keep it myself. I tried it on last night and it really would have been too big for her anyway. Now I can keep on trying it on as it's knitted, to get the fit just right. Fingers crossed it turns out to be what I hope. I already ripped back several inches so I can take in the waist a bit more. Or not. I'm trying to decide if I want it to be so severely fitted or not.

6. And cripes, yes, I started a new Mr. J. sweater while watching some TV last night. It's blue and eggplant-like. I wanted to do stranded knitting to make it thicker and warmer. I just used the mindless "salt & pepper" pattern that I first saw in some traditional folk mitten book, the name of which is escaping me at the moment. Fox and Geese and ... you know, that one. It looks fine and I'm pretty happy with it, but the two colors don't seem to have as much contrast as I thought they would. They sort of blur together into a subtle tweedy effect. Not exactly what I'd hoped for, but I'm not changing it now.

That funkiness in the center is the leash hook buttonhole.  I'm not even sure if this thing is going to fit, as I'm totally making it up as I go along. Criminy.

7. I keep rereading your comments on this week's Terrier Tuesday post. They make me smile and laugh over and over. I can remember when I started that series, I thought everybody would hate it after about three times. But now I worry that I won't be able to come up with more. I should say HE won't be able to come up with more. *ahem*

8. Given how paranoid I was that I was going to catch something in New York City, I decided to go and get the H1N1 shot yesterday. At least that is one thing I (hopefully) won't get. One less thing to worry about. I got the seasonal flu vaccine a few months ago, as well. So if I get anything, it probably won't be the flu. Then again, I don't think I have ever had the real flu in my life. People tend to throw that term around, "I got the stomach flu," "I have the flu bug," but I am quite sure that none of the illnesses I've had over the years have been The Flu -- just various other viruses. Anyway, now I've had all my shots, just like Mr. Jefferies. You could board me in a kennel with the other dogs bitches foxes, and I probably wouldn't even get Bordatella. 

Feel Free To Tell Me To Shut Up Already About The T-Shirts

Tired of hearing about the t-shirts yet?  Too bad.....

'coz I seem to be still in my t-shirt phase.  Kim calls me Halters R Us. 

I'm enjoying this book, you may have noticed.  Given how much I have used it, this might have turned out to be the purchase of the decade for me.  Not bad for 8 bucks or so.  Well, then there was the $249 (or something) for the sewing machine. What was that I was saying about false economy, Katy?  But damn, I've used it far more than any of the expensive knitting books I've got. Which, now that I think of it, is sad, really.

This is one of those roll-top dealies that can be worn off the shoulder.  Reminds me of Marilyn Monroe a little bit. A big jump in sophistication, but still a t-shirt.
I used the pattern in the book modeled here:  I tried it on and it looked pretty good on me.  It'll look really good on a 21-year-old. I hope she likes it.  The other day we chatted:

Me:  Do you have a wish list for which t-shirts and which designs for me to do next?

Her:  No.  Just don't use all my t-shirts.  I need some to sleep in and stuff.

Me:  LOL. Um.  Should I stop now?

Her:  No.  It gives you pleasure. 

That's my girl.   

So.  I thought I was done.  I really did.  And then I got this brainstorm.

A bandeau-topped sundress. 

This is something that will really need to be modeled to show how cute it is.  It was hard to get a good photograph of it, either flat or on a hanger.  Here is a bad shot of the back.  It's a bandeau that ties in the back.  Because it is snug-fitting, the words on the top will flatten out and be readable, not all bent up like that.  Below the tied portion, it is open so some skin on the back will show below the bra line. I put some shaping in the waist, which again doesn't show very well because of my hurried photo-taking. You can see how it curves in at the waist in the hanging-up photo. It was all very convenient to do that, because where that shaping is is where the sleeves of the original t-shirt were, and to cut them out made it curve inward anyway.  I just had to seam that up and make it flow downward toward the waist and back out toward the hips.  The bandeau is six or seven inches that I cut off that humongous Steamboat t-shirt, and the hem of the green t-shirt provided the hem of the dress. 

This was my own creation, based on inspiration from the book.  There was a top in the book that was like this, and I thought, why not a sundress?  Here's hoping it fits.  I think it will.  NOW I'm done.  Really. 

But wait........ now that I think about it.....

--------------------------On another topic.....

Hey, get a load of the Red Scarf blog.  We are still working on it, but it's taking shape.  Thanks to Scout for all your help.  I've been right out straight with work and will be out of town for work for a couple of days.  It's great to have friends who are eager to help.  In which case, why the hell don't you all come over here and do these transcripts for me, huh?   I know.  Never satisfied. 

Halters - 1, Transcripts - 0

Stupid thing is, I think it took me longer to make -- correction, I am sure it took me longer to make this one with the machine than it took me to hand-sew the last one I made.  I'm still hounding Abigail for a photo of that one.  I mean, really, Equinox gym. She worked for them in NYC this summer and they gave her a men's XL t-shirt that I made into an uber-cool halter. She looks wicked good in it.  I think I'll withhold next semester's tuition payment until I get a photo.  Seems fair.

Unfortunately, I confirmed what I thought:  I am a menace with a sewing machine.  Luckily no one got hurt and I did not set the machine or the house on fire, but it is a very good thing I am working on cheap t-shirts and not anything good. My finish work is bloody awful. If you are good at sewing, you should be warned:  What follows may make you so disgusted that you will never be able to look me in the eye again.

I have done some sewing over the years.  Before Abigail was born, I made a baby quilt and a bumper pad for her crib.  We used it, but it was certainly nothing to write home about. Then when she was a baby, I tried to make her a few things, and I made her Halloween costumes over the years. Not good. There is something about sewing.  My heart races, my blood pressure rises, I get really hot and sweaty, and my muscles tense up so much that my back and neck hurt.  I cannot sew a straight line, and I tend to cut corners -- nah, I don't need to iron this hem before I sew it -- nah, I don't need to bother with buying any interfacing -- nah, I don't need to pick out and redo that seam that has a pucker in it.  I would like to get better, but I just don't seem to have an aptitude or the patience for it. 

This halter top is no exception.  It will wear very cute. And because it is specifically a remade/hippyish kind of ultra-casual garment, none of this will really matter, but oh, how awful is my finish work.  As I say, I cannot sew a straight seam.  I make mistakes and don't fix them properly. I do things too fast so they don't turn out right. 

On this top, for example, I cut a word out of a quote that was on the back of the shirt and made a cute little patch type thingy on the back.  Cute idea, poorly executed.  Then when I tried on the top, I realized that it had to be taken in quite a bit, because Abigail is a lot narrower than I am. But of course I had already sewn the little patch on.  I had to cut it off and take in the seam.  Well, of course I could have used a seam-ripper and saved some fabric, but do you think I was about to go hunting for the seam-ripper? Then, because of the cutting, the patch was too small to accept another seam without sewing over the letters on the ends of the word.  I tried to zig-zag it on, only to discover that I had not caught the patch in the stitches.  (you can see the zig-zags still there. I'm so bad.)

The original word I chose, which I thought was kind of cute, was "wild."  So I had to choose another word in the quote and sew it on.  But you can see all the mistakes and ickiness it resulted in on the back.   I reiterate:  Thankfully it's a free t-shirt and an ultra-casual garment, and it will look very cute on her even with the messiness.  And college kids won't give a care about its imperfections -- in fact, if this were from Abercrombie & Fitch, you know they'd have to charge an extra $149 because it's a mess.

I guess that's why we practice.  Maybe with enough practice I'll be able to make something half decent someday before I die, but I think it's rather doubtful.

After dinner, I made this skirt.  It required cutting, two little seams up the sides, and making ties for the hips. If it fits, it'll be darling, I think.

I think it was a rather creative way to use that very wide logo, but I fear that it's entirely too small. If it is, I'll just change it into a top. That book is full of clever ideas for inspiration.

Transcripts?  As I said - ZERO.  Which just means I'll have to do it this weekend.  But I soooooo needed an R&R day.

PUMPKIN WATCH!

I love the idea of a Pumpkin Watch.  You betcha.  Right here, baby.  :)

Surely NOT!?

Sure enough:  It's WTF Wednesday. 

But sewing?!???????! 

Is this going a little overboard for interest in a couple of halter tops? 

Mwahahaha.......

Sadly, it has to sit in the box, taunting me, until I get out from under this workpile. 

Haltering

A little bit ago, Lovely Lara had this post up.  (scroll down to the bottom of the post for the relevant portion)

Man.  Huzzah isn't the half of it. 

I'm almost two decades older than she is, but I was a teenager in the '70s, and as such, that hippie-halter/ripped clothing style is indelibly ingrained into my being. When I saw her in that, it appealed to my sensibilities -- not for me, but for my daughter.  I thought, (me = Yankee, remember?) what a great way to make use of those boxy, oversized t-shirts that she is given all the time for working or volunteering for various events on campus.  Many of those big t-shirts get handed down to me, since I sleep in tees.  She won't wear them past the event that she was required to wear them, because they're big and unfitted and unflattering to her.  But they're FREE.  (well, free but for the cost of tuition, which.....um. yeah. NOT. Details, details.)

We also have drawers and drawers full of other t-shirts that we've accumulated over the years, many of them at thrift shops, and they either go unworn, or I wear them as sleep shirts, or once in a while for gardening. 

So in a fit of rampant, out-of-control consumerism, I impulsively logged on to Overstock.com and bought the book Lara mentions in her post.  As she told me in an email, some of the stuff in there is great, some not.  But that's true with every book, innit. 

And most of it requires NO SEWING.  Just cutting.  Right up my alley.  I have little patience for sewing.  (although I'm now considering getting a sewing machine, to make more creations from, you guessed it....free t-shirts and other thrift-shop finds. I'm stopping to gnaw on this one for a while before actually making any rash purchases.)

And then the brutally hot weather descended upon the Nawth Country. I wanted to be completely unclothed, but since I have neighbors, that would not do.  Perfect weather for a halter, even for a woman of a certain age.

You know I'm no Lara, but I gotta tell you, I've had tons of fun making these things, and the wearing is NICE for these awful days.  It took almost no time to make this.  I don't know how well it would hold up to machine washing.  With some sewing reinforcement and embellishments like Lara used on the back of hers, they could be made more durable. But comfortable, comfortable, comfortable -- and modest enough -- in the sweltering heat. And did I mention, FREE? I have slept in and bummed around the house in this t-shirt for at least five years.  I originally got it for free at a place we used to go to that unfortunately no longer exists.  We'd get two garbage bags full of clothes for $2 or $3.  I think I got my money's worth out of this t-shirt.  After I saw this picture, I fixed up the back so it was aligned better and pulled in tighter.

My daughter was delighted and has ordered several.  I've already made her one two.   (No. 1)

It's like the one in the picture next to it, but I'll probably also make her one like mine, as well as some others.  There's a whole pile of t-shirts spread out on the floor of her bedroom at the moment.    I told her she could take the book to campus with her, where I'm sure it'll be a big hit.  If the weather stays like this, when she first gets to campus late next week, it's going to be unbearably hot.

Every unbearably hot philosophy major should have one of these, don't you think?

(No. 2)

The mnemonic contest is still open, until Friday at 6 p.m.  Abigail says she loves your ideas.  Leave your entries in the comments to that post, please.  (Wednesday, August 2)