This Week's Haul

Hello. my little chickadees! Sorry I haven't posted much this week. I'm having one of those Epiphany Thangs, one of those So This Is What My Life's About Thangs, and I've been sort of mulling it over. More about that later as I, as they say, "get clarity" (gack!). Nothing really big--just about how I spend my time, what's important. Re-focusing.

Anyway, that's not what this is about. This post here is about this week's haul. I'm also working to get a handle on this Clothes Obsession of mine, and I think I'm getting there. But not any time soon.

Here are the two piles on the front porch, waiting to be laundered. Most of this stuff I don't bring into the house until it gets dumped into the washing machine. Since much of it is "high-end," and is clean, it's not so much that I think it's nasty (although I always kind of do) as it is the ODOR. I do NOT know how people stand perfumed detergent and dryer sheets. I can't stand the smell of them. In fact, there are very few perfumey things I like. I like cologne/perfume that's woodsy or, sometimes, citrus-y, but not floral stuff. And there are some good candles I like (I've tried to like the cheaper ones, but they give me a headache)--Mulled Cider (Root candles, which I can't find locally any more and for which I refuse to pay shipping, which is almost as much as the candle itself) and Spiced Pumpkin for fall. For The Holiday Season, I like some of the ones from that store in the mall--what is that? Not Bed, Bath, and Beyond (and, no, that's not what we call it. We channel Anthony from Sex and the City for that one).

Gah. I do get sidetracked, don't I? So here:

These are from last Sunday's half-off day at Goodwill, yesterday's half-off day at the Salvation Army, and today's visit to BJ's. In the top pile there's a long pink linen dress. I haven't tried it on and bought it ($2.50) for the fabric. If it's cool, though, I'll cut it off and make a tunic to wear over jeans and still have half a yard or so of linen left over. I'll probably dye it hot pink. There's a cream Ralph Lauren ankle-length cotton knit dress, out of style and probably never worn, also bought for the fabric (dye it and use it for appliques, probably), and three shirts: two chambray with logos on them--they're for fabric. An LL Bean flannel shirt--very heavy and thick. Don't know what I'll do with it, but it was $2 and looks brand new. Also an Eddie Bauer chambray shirt--The EGE might wear it for yard work, or I might use it for fabric. (I'm collecting worn denim and chambray fabric for future projects. I have a bin for Linen, one for Denim and Chambray, one for T-Shirt Fabric, one for Silk, and one for Leather. Those are in addition to the ones that hold actual yardage.)

In the lower pile--all from BJ's, there's way more of an investment, alas. There's a rayon-and-silk velvet black top, kind of a cross between a blouse and a jacket, shorter in the front than in the back. Needs some new buttons. I'll wear it over jeans. Then there are two tunics--one orange with embroidery, JWLA (Johnny Was Los Angeles) and an acid green dress I'll cut off a little and wear over jeans--Uncle Frank. The EGE likes that one a lot.

That thing on the top is a cotton and ramie sweater, very odd. We've been looking at it for a couple of months, trying to figure out what I could do with it. Trish gave it to me just to get it out of the shop and see what happens. There are a couple possibilities. Then there's a brand-new dress, one of two identical ones she gave me. They still have the tags and were $199 each. They are a disaster--it's as if the designer were on crack when he created these. Silly silk ruffles, horrid huge sequin-and-cheap-rhinestone pins (when all three of us (Trish, her 25-year-old assistant, and I) all think something is hideous, you know it's a real dog). But, ahhhh, the velvet: rayon and silk, a lovely dark burgundy/maroon. One I think I'll try to alter--trim off all the ruffles, shorten a couple inches, wear over a long-sleeved t and jeans. The secret to frou-frou stuff is to pair it with faded jeans and a knit t-shirt and boots. If you try to dress it up, it's going to look silly. The other one I'll use for fabric--I have a black fringed silk-rayon velvet shawl (bought new on clearance last year) that I was going to bead with black beads. Then I realized it needs more of a gypsy makeover, with some silk and velvet scraps and some trim. It's kind of far down the list of things to work on, though--it may be next year before it gets done. There's also a jacket, made out of the same fabric, that The EGE bought for me at an estate sale. It needs to have beads sewn around the edges--it looks new, but the lining hangs down a fraction of an inch below the jacket. Beads would take care of that nicely. It's been hanging on the back of the hot water heater closet door for almost a year now.

Sigh. So many fabulous garments waiting to be altered, so little time. You see why I go missing for days at a time. I work and meet deadlines, and in every spare moment, I'm doing this. It makes me happier than should be allowed by law.

Here's what I'm wearing today--shown here on Alex earlier this week. It started out as a hideous rusty-looking Free People shirt. I absolutely loved the back, though, and couldn't resist: it looks like it was cut horizontally across the upper back. The part above the cut was pulled in and seamed, making the part below the cut longer than the part above, and then the part below was gathered to fit and stitched. I LOVE that--I knew as soon as I saw it I would stitch little X's there.

I tie-dyed it in Procion grape, and the part that took the dye was lovely, but the tied part was still that hideous rust (sometimes the color will leach in during a tie-dye and mix in nicely, but not this time). So I dyed it again, and now I love it. I have another one just like it in denim-y blue, and I'm stitching it in dark orange.

 After I stitched it, I decided it needed more, and I dug through the t-shirt-fabric bin and found these scraps in the PERFECT color. I squealed. Out loud.

That's all--I have some more that Alex helped me photograph, but I need to go walk so The EGE and I can go run some errands--more embroidery floss, check on a book at Barnes and Noble because I have a coupon, check to see if Penney's has long-sleeved t's on sale still. There was something else, but of course I can't remember what it was. Oh! Duh. An ink cartridge. Not nearly as much for shop for, so it's way down on the bottom of the list, and one of these days I'm going to try to print out something and be thwarted.

Hope your weekend's swell--I'll try to show more tomorrow~~XO