Skirts vs. Blouses

Sometime in the last year I bought a bunch of skirts and dresses from the thrift store (there’s a massive one a few blocks from my house and it ROCKS), with the intention of turning them all into blouses, and using leftover fabric for stuff in my shop or whatever. It’s taken me forever to get started on this project, but I finally did!

 

 

 

First, let me show you just a few of the things I bought – most cost $1-$3 each. I’ve got at least 15 more skirts/dresses/large blouses that will be turned into tanks/blouses. I bought a pattern for a wrap-top blouse, but am such a newbie seamstress that it’s confusing and I decided to just wing it.

 

Pillow sham that will be used somewhere in my daughter’s room.

So here’s how I made one skirt into a breezy tank:

The original skirt – not the accordion-folded fabric straps that are supposed to be belted & tied around the waist.

I took out the zipper on the side

And removed the white cotton underskirt/slip

I pulled the skirt up on my torso (inside out) to see where I wanted it to fit, and folder over the side of the skirt because it was too big for my torso. I pinned it in a couple places along the fold, took it off, and stitched up the side of the skirt to create a new seam. Then I cut off the excess fabric on the outside of the new seam.

 

I opened up the seam on the other side of the skirt at the top by the waistband (remember, I’d done the same thing by removing the zipper). I opened those seams enough to create holes for my arms.

Then I folded the waistband over toward the inside and sewed it down to create a small white piece across the top of the blouse.

 

Then I trimmed the extra waistband fabric from the inside.

I sewed up the seams of the “armholes”.

I took the “belts” off of the skirt and used that fabric to make 2 nice, thick straps for the top. I’d have sewn the straps to the corners (where the armholes start) except I wanted something cover my bra straps.

The finished product! This actually took me quite a while to do, but now that I’ve done it I know what steps I can skip, what to look for, etc.

Do you ever make clothes out of other clothing or objects?

Meet Deborah’s Divas!

Time for an update from Chicago’s Emergency Fund, the organization I’ll be donating 10% of my Etsy profits to this year. I’m posting some of the stories they send to supporters so you can have an idea of what impact they make in the Chicago area.

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Lashon at Home in the Courtyard at Deborah's Place

Lashon and Roxanna know what it’s like to have nowhere to go. Like every woman living in the Rebecca Johnson apartments, they were homeless before they came to Deborah’s Place. For Lashon, moving into the apartments three years ago really was coming home, “My grandmother lived in the building across the street when I was growing up, so I knew the area well.” Now, Lashon works alongside Roxanna and the rest of “Deborah’s Divas” to ensure that every woman who moves in feels that she, too, has come home.

Each of the 90, single-occupancy units in the building is small but comfortable. While the layout and size differ, each has a private bathroom and a small kitchenette, leaving enough room for a single bed, a chest of drawers, and a small table.

When a woman moves out of Deborah’s Place – always in her own time, there are no limits to how long a woman can stay here – maintenance goes through to ensure that everything is clean and in working order. That’s when the Divas get to work. “We’re the unofficial welcome crew,” says Roxanna. “We make it feel like home.”

On the day that we visited, the Divas had just finished preparing apartment 403 for a new tenant. Walking into that warm, welcoming room would make anyone smile. The light, white quilt they had chosen for the bed was turned down at the corner to reveal cheerful blue and yellow striped sheets. Pots and pans stood at the ready in the kitchen, and two jade knick-knacks perched on top of a chest of drawers caught the eye. A candle on the bookshelf promised a citrus scent, and the stripes theme continued in the bathroom with a freshly-hung shower curtain.

But without a doubt, the first thing the new tenant would notice would be the table. The napkin-wrapped silverware sat next to the new, cream-colored dishes. Everything was meticulously placed, a perfectly set table for two that promised afternoons of conversations with friends new and old.

As I looked at the Divas’ handiwork, I tried to imagine the woman who would move in. A woman who had had nothing of her own for at least two years – the time it took to move to the top of the waiting list. Living in and out of shelters, staying with friends when she could, forced to sleep on the streets when there was nowhere else to go. Until now.

Finally, finally, that woman would have somewhere to go. She would get her own keys to her own place, open the door, walk into this room, see what these women have done - and realize that that place is home.

“When you’ve been living in shelters or on the street, and then you put that key in the door and see that you already have dishes and towels, that the bed is made – that says it all,” Lashon says.

Content from the Emergency Fund website

Please, make a donation to the Emergency Fund today. Together we will make the small change that changes lives.

Donate today and your new or increased gift will be matched* by an anonymous donor!

*Double your impact! An anonymous donor is matching all new or increased gifts. That means that 100% of first-time gifts and gifts from donors who have not given since 2008 will be matched. For those who gave in 2009 or 2010, any amount above the highest annual gift amount in 2009 and 2010 will be matched.

Dance Party Friday! The 90s Rocked! Cheah!

Yesterday Miss Allyson from The Sweatshop of Love tweeted someone else's mention of the 90s Pandora station, and a song they loved. This instantly made me think of 2 other 90s rock songs . . . which led me to look one of them up and now we have today's Dance Party Friday: 90s rock version. I'm almost certainly going to have to do another one on this same theme because if I include all the songs I want to, the Dance Party would never end! Here we go


First, the song mention that kicked this all off: Vertical Horizon's "Everything You Want". Man, oh man. I was hooked on this song! You know how every once in a while you get a new favorite song, and even if you don't listen to the radio much, you find yourself scanning the stations every time you're in your car, hoping and praying that they'll play it? And suddenly you like the fact that top 40 radio plays the same 10 songs every hour because it means you get to hear it once an hour and it's even worth listening to that stupid _____ song every hour too? Yeah, that.

Honorable Mention: Vertical Horizon, "Best I Ever Had"



Splender's "Yeah Whatever" - I got this CD in 1999, maybe 2000, and listened to it like whoa. Underrated band, in my opinion. HUGE honorable mention: "I Think God Can Explain". A couple others from this album: Space Boy, Supernatural, Monotone (the chorus is what really shines in this one, especially the last time when all the instruments drop out - I love that).

You guys - this song? THIS WAS THE FIRST SONG I EVER PUT ON MY MYSPACE PAGE!!!! That's right. It was there a long, time, too. And when I learned how to put a whole playlist up, this sucker was definitely in there. This song deserves a spot on last week's Dance Party, the one full of songs that are guaranteed to make you deliriously happy.


One of these days I'm going to do a ska/reggae-ish DPF and have been thinking of saving this for then, but dangit, I want to post it today! Got to see this band live, with 2 Skinnee J's who had a fun song called 212-718 or 718 or something. It was about how the NYC area code changed from 212 to 718. "You lived in 212 but now you're 718! Yeah! 718!" Something like that. I don't know, dude. We jumped around, we moshed, we danced, we were young and free and silly.


OMG LOOK. BEHOLD, THE INTERNET. I love you, internet.


I believe this song is what prompted me to buy this CD, but if not, this is still a badass song. Honorable Mention: Under You.


I mean, do I really need to say anything about how great this band is, and how amazing this song is? Really? (Or how hot Dave Grohl is?)


Ok, this song is actually from the early 2000s, so what? It's outstanding.


This may also be early 2000s. SO. WHAT?


Ok, this song is solidly in the 90s. Dada!! Honorable Mention: Timothy.


Aw yeah. I can't even tell you how many times me & my BFF Elanor listened to her Candlebox CD . . . after listening to her Dada CD. After listening to the Indigo Girls and Led Zeppelin. But they get their own dance parties. Honorable Mention: Far Behind on Letterman. Man. This is a great performance!

Ok, if I go any further, I'm just going to have to do a grunge edition. And a 90s alt-rock edition. Man. The great thing about all these genres and sub-genres is: Dance Party Fridays FOREVER!

REQUEST TIME:

J asked for some PM Dawn . . . here you go! Is this really rock? I guess even if THEY aren't full-fledged rock, this song could fit in the pop/rock category. I believe Mr. Jordan Knight recently sampled this song for his new single. So that makes 3 songs in one - Spandau Ballet, PM Dawn and Jordan Knight.


Shanny requested this song and she better know I love her because I'm not a Hootie fan! Not sure why - the songs are pretty good themselves, and Darius Rucker is a good singer, but . . . I dunno. Maybe I got sick of the hype and just decided to hate them. Anyway - a couple high school friends of mine sang this at our senior musical.

New Cozies In the Shop!

Excited to show you my new batch of cozies . . . quite a few more to come, too!

Etsy OneInTheHand

What difference can $560.32 make?

Here’s another update from Chicago’s Emergency Fund, the organization I’ll be donating 10% of my Etsy profits to this year. I’m posting some of the stories they send to supporters so you can have an idea of what impact they make in the Chicago area.

Lillia knows that Small Change Matters

$560.32

That's how much Lillia, a little girl with nothing but a Small Change jar and a determined attitude, raised at this year’s Annual Meeting and Reception.
What's that? You didn't think the evening was meant to be a fundraiser? Neither did we! But with a little bit of encouragement from her father, Fund Manager of the Year Carl Wolf, Lillia convinced Community members to dig deep anyway.

$560.32

That's enough to buy 249 bus passes, 51 bottles of laundry detergent, 28 IDs, or 11 work uniforms. It's enough to prove that Small Change Matters. Thank you Lillia, for your hard work, and thank you to everyone who contributed that evening.

* * *

I can’t wait to blog more about Emergency Fund’s annual reception and the Small Change Matters campaign!

Please, make a donation to the Emergency Fund today. Together we will make the small change that changes lives.

Donate today and your new or increased gift will be matched* by an anonymous donor!

*Double your impact! An anonymous donor is matching all new or increased gifts. That means that 100% of first-time gifts and gifts from donors who have not given since 2008 will be matched. For those who gave in 2009 or 2010, any amount above the highest annual gift amount in 2009 and 2010 will be matched.

Lunch at the Shelter

A few weekends ago, my kids and I joined my friends at High 5 Functions to prepare and serve lunch at Lincoln Park Community Shelter.

Mural on the wall at LPCS. LPCS was recently awarded “Partner Agency of the Year” from Emergency Fund, the organization I’m donating 10% of my Etsy sales to this year. It was just a coincidence that my friends at ^5 chose to do a volunteer event at LPCS, a very cool coincidence!

LCPS is a comprehensive social service agency serving adult men and women who are experiencing homelessness. LPCS has been providing shelter and other basic needs to Lincoln Park’s homeless neighbors for 25 years. Today, LCPS provides interim housing, meals and a targeted array of social services to over 300 people each year. (from the LCPS website)

Check this out – I’m connected to LCPS in another way that I just realized, when looking up their website to get a description of their services. I’m a student in the Non-Profit Management program at North Park University, and the LCPS website says: At the annual symposium hosted by North Park University’s Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management Lincoln Park Community Shelter was honored with the prestigious Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence! This is a competitive field each year, with previous winners such as The Night Ministry, The Cara Program, and Deborah’s Place.

Bennett (9) and Kori (11) eating a healthy breakfast of iced honey buns, waiting for the el (elevated train) to Ana’s house. We left Rian (3) at home with Daddy. He can help out when he’s a bit older.

First, we went to Ana’s apartment to prepare the food.

Here’s the ^5 team: Curt, Kelli and Ana. You’ve seen them before as a pirate, parrot and mermaid when they raced in the Chiditarod. These awesome folks are among my very favorite former co-workers, and though we don’t work together anymore, we’re still buds. You would be hard pressed to find smarter, funnier, cooler people with more energy and interest in the world around them. Love, love, love them. They are each rising stars, too – super awesome at what they do.

We were quickly put to work. The kids were given multiple copies of the placemats which had menu selections on the opposite side.

Their job was to color up the placemats, and they took the directions to “be creative” seriously. They began using the salad bowl as a spot to personalize each placemat. They started with Chicago sports team names/logos and then moved into country flags.

At one point, a Kelli and I came into the living room to see how the kids were coming along, and were telling the kids we liked the creativity they were using. We notice Bennett had just finished coloring a salad bowl with the German flag on it, and began writing something . . . we watched as each letter was formed, and seemed to understand what he was writing at the same time. Kelli and I both said, “Ohhh . . . OH! Um, ok, no, Bennett, I don’t think this one is going to make it to the shelter. Your sentiment is in the right place, but . . . no. Inappropriate.”

Later, on the kitchen counter, an iPhone covered up the important part, allowing the placemat to send a very different message. This placemat is now awesome fridge art at Ana’s. I should note that I had to confiscate one more placemat that said R.I.P. and had a picture of the Undertaker (professional wrestler). No more messages, Bennett. ;)

So! While all this was going down in the living room, I was helping the rest of the team & volunteers in the kitchen and dining room. That’s me, holding up a tomato.

After cooking up a hearty tomato soup, packing up the sammich fixins, mixing, freezing, cutting & bagging the peanut butter rice krispie treats and putting together the salad, we were ready to go!

Lincoln Park Community Shelter is housed in the basement of Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church. 

   

The kids hung out in the conference room and played games while we got busy in the kitchen.

We butterrmarginerenened a whole lotta bread . . . and yes, that’s what we called it. The word changed every time we said it. That’s me & Curt next to all the margereinereetterd bread.

Lacey checking an order to be sure she was making the right sammie. That’s Jenny behind her, you may recognize her as the first mate from the Chiditarod!

Royal modeling his apron, daydreaming of a weekend at Martha’s Vineyard, while Jessica stirs the soup. Royal kept us laughing all afternoon. 

Ana was our grill master – we served a few different versions of grilled cheese sandwiches. It was pretty awesome – the lunch guests all raved about the food. The sandwiches were a hit, the soup was complimented over and over, the salad was called a “perfect summer salad” and everyone was happy that we brought a dessert that wasn’t chocolate. Take note, Chicago – serve something besides chocolate once in a while, dang! (You are free to always serve me chocolate). Oh, we also served tasty lemon water and cucumber water.

Kelli and Jenny prepare salads . . . closeup below!

 

Here’s another great mural in the dining room.

We didn’t take a lot of photos of the guests, we didn’t want them to feel as though they were on display for us. I do want to note that everyone was exceptionally nice and appreciative of the time we spent there and of the quality of the food. Lots of compliments, smiles and thank yous all around. I would LOVE to serve here again, and I really want to go back and learn more about what LCPS does for the community.

The staff at LCPS were so kind and let us take over their kitchen. They thanked us over and over. One of the guests was helping out in the kitchen when we first got there, she was cleaning out the refrigerator and needed some help cleaning up some water that had spilled on the very bottom of the fridge. I’m crazy short, so I said I would do it, but she refused immediately, and said, “You are already doing so much here. No way.” That felt great, and we were so happy to serve, but the most credit should go to the people who run the shelter and the guests who also give of their own time and energy to help keep the place in working order and good condition. All the guests were appreciative of the lunch we prepared and thanked us many times. One guest wrote a special note of thanks to us on her menu.

Big thanks to the High 5 Functions team for setting up the volunteer session at LPCS and organizing the day. And even more thanks for continually spreading the word to their friends, co-workers and community members that serving our community is a fun and worthwhile way to spend some time. If you’d like to keep updated about the interesting ways they’ve gotten involved in our community, follow along on Facebook!

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Random, but on the way home, we saw a wedding party up on the Fullerton el stop. Dunno if their ceremony was there, but they took pics there. Fun!

Dance Party Friday! Turn that frown upside down!

I asked for Dance Party Friday themes on Twitter this morning, and was asked to play something to help a friend wake up, and . . . polka. Now, I am no stranger to polka. You don't grow up with German and Czech family in central Kansas without going to a few weddings or state fairs or small town shindigs that have a lot of polka. And a lot of big skirts with 18 bazillion petticoats underneath. So - I am gonna give a shout out to my childhood, and my friend Kelli, and look for a song by her requested Polkaholics. And after that? We're gonna get into a session of songs that are just deliriously happy. They will make you smile or they will make you wake up or they will make you dance. But if you listen to these songs and still have a frown on your face or no pep in your step? Well, then you obviously have a heart of cold, cold stone.

Ok - The only good quality Polkaholics videos I can find have embedding disabled, so I'm gonna link them - No Beer In Heaven. But yeah, give them a listen, I like them. I will say, though - and I can't believe I am defending traditional polka - seriously, am I doing this? Yes, I am - their sound really just makes me think more ska/punk than polka. I mean, they have nice cheesy vests, and wear lederhosen in other videos, but where's the accordion?!?!

Here's what I sent my friend Sally so she could wake up. I might have to play this a few times in a row. F-U-N


Oh, middle school. Not only was this out when I was in 6th or 7th grade, but I had a girl crush on this chick named Angela who I thought was THE coolest ever. And she wore babydoll dresses and alice bands in her hair just like Lady Miss Kier. AND? Q-Tip is in it.


Ok - now I loooooooove dancing, line dancing, and OH HOW I LOVE THE CUPID SHUFFLE. This is a fun video where you can watch people doing the dance - if you like it, click through to YouTube and look at their other videos.


Ok, one more line dance - I really like the Wobble too. I probably like it as much as the Cupid Shuffle, but I just haven't had a chance to do it as much. This is a REALLY fun video to watch.


I've been a Harry Connick, Jr. fan since I was in piano lessons as a kid. My piano teacher started the Jazz Festival in Wichita, KS (my hometown) and I was telling her that I liked big band, so she let me borrow a HCJ *tape* (yes, cassette tape) and I was in love. This is one of my favorite songs.


The Indigo Girls' classic: Closer to Fine. If you haven't sung along to this at an IG concert with thousands of people, well, you've missed out on something special. It's only life, after all . . . yeah.


This is a horrible recording, but I cannot tell you the joy that coursed through my veins when I saw this episode of The Office where Jim and Andy drunkenly sing along to the Indigo Girls.


You know what? I don't care how overplayed this is, it's still a fantastic song.


Driving beat. Lots of "ow!"s and "yeah!"s. Horns. Sunshine. HAPPY!


Get thee to a local convenience with 2-3 of your closest friends and show the dude behind the counter what Dance Party Fridays are all about.


This has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid - the song and the video. Just TRY not to dance or bop around while listening to this.


I love Stevie's original but this is the version I listened to on my walkman on a mix tape from my friend Justin, over and over and over and over. You should have seen that mix tape - Dead Milkman, 24/7 Spyz, Pixies, Primus . . . I was a much cooler middle schooler than I am as an adult.


I hope every one of you has had the opportunity to both BE Rickrolled AND to Rickroll someone else. I pat myself on the back for having loved this song since I was a kid, before it was cool to ironically like it. This was 3rd or 4th grade for me.


Did a lip sync in high school to this with my friends Katherine & Carla (we also did a string of Beasties performances, I'll have to do a Beasties day & tell you about it then) AND I got to see this performed last summer when Rob Base, Doug E Fresh, Slick Rick, Salt N Pepa & Bell Biv Devoe came to the Taste of Chicago.


Man, I wish this group was together. I want to see them live.


You know all those "The ___s" bands that came out in the last 90s, early 2000s, with The Strokes, that were all supposed to save rock & roll? Well, The Hives are my favorites of all of those. They wear matching outfits and have names like Howlin Pelle, Arson, Dangerous, Destruction, Vigilante . . . I just love them. LOVE. THEM.


Yet another "I don't care what you think of me, I love this song and you can't make me feel guilty about it."


Great for a snack!


Tabloid footprints everywhere . . .


Closing out this DPF is THE happiest song ever.