Thriftuary

Welcome to my new life, post-Christmas break: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays = Out of Commission. Those are my 12-hour internship days and I'm not expecting that much blogging will happen in the precious few hours I have when I get home. Tuesdays and Fridays are my days for rest, writing, and other various forms of creativity (especially sewing!).

Before I even got my sewing machine, I started dreaming about a backpack I wanted to make for Annabel. I found a pattern to follow, went out with my best friend Lisa who taught me how to sew, and tracked down the supplies for my project. This was how I got started sewing - 1. Find project, 2. Acquire supplies for project, and 3. Make project. The backpack is still in the works, but check out the awesome ingredients that will soon materialize into a finished product:

...What I've learned through experiences like shopping for the backpack supplies, however, is that doing projects this way (going out and buying stuff to make something specific) can get really pricey really fast. When it comes to the backpack specifically, I don't mind having spent the extra money, because I have a lot of leftover fabric that I love and will find plenty of other uses for. Actually, before I even cut out the pieces for the backpack, I went ahead and made this cute diaper pouch:

This was only the 2nd thing I ever sewed on my machine after I got it! (The first was a pair of ill-fated baby leggies that will not be appearing here anytime soon!)

Here's noodlehead's tutorial for this project.

But nonetheless, it was expensive. And so, I began to employ the more cost-effective method of looking for unconventional (read: cheap-to-free) sources of fabric, and drawing inspiration from the fabric itself. Through this process I've actually discovered that my creative juices tend to work this way anyway - I take a look at what I have in my stash, and think to myself, "I could totally make ______ out of that!" I'm kind of this way with life in general - I'm like a vine growing on a trellis. I thrive when I have a basic framework to start with and grow around.

Getting back to the cost-effective part, Nate and I are currently in the midst of what we've dubbed "Thriftuary." (It was the best and catchiest word we could come up with to capture the idea of a thrifty January. Frugal January? Nope. Fruguary? Definitely nope. Sounds too much like February. Miserly month? ...Nah. Thriftuary was definitely the best option.) Our goal for this month has been to spend as little money as possible, which means pretty much no budget for sewing projects (though, don't tell Nate, I did spend $1.40 at the thrift store today on a shirt which I have in store for another project that will be up here soon).

...Anyway, during this month of frugality, I've spent even more creative energy than usual on seeing things through a "repurposing" lens. I've been setting aside some of my own clothes that would otherwise be given away, and have been eyeing all kinds of other fabric-y things I find lying around, thinking, "What could I make out of this?"

This is why I was especially excited about a major fabric score I made this past Tuesday at the Clothes Horse. The Clothes Horse is a wonderful little corner of our seminary's campus where students can donate all manner of clothing and household items. The items are then organized by a handful of sweet middle-aged volunteer ladies, and then seminary families can come and take whatever they want or need for free. This week, for the first time, I raided their linen shelves, which hold a wide assortment of random and mismatched table cloths, sheets, towels, etc. And here is what I came home with:

woohoo!! Check out these awesome bedsheets!

Yards and yards of fun fabric for FREE! I am by far the MOST excited about the middle one. It's a flat sheet in ultra-soft gray cotton jersey (basically t-shirt material). I can't tell you how many projects are already running through my head for this fabric. Skirts...scarves...ooohh, the possibilities! The bottom one is deliciously retro and I love the colors. The top one is just so-so, but will work wonderfully for the linings of various bags and pouches I might make someday.

Did I mention I'm excited? FREE!! I don't know if I'm ever going to buy traditional fabric-by-the-yard again. Next week I plan on checking out some of their t-shirts. Just look at all this stuff I could make!