Steppin' Out in Style

About three weeks ago I stopped by the local GoodWill store. I was looking specifically for some orthopedic shoes - I had seen some there before.

I was pretty pumped when these Dansko Sanita sandals fit me so well and were so comfy. And at only $7.99 they came home with me.

About a week ago I got a flyer from the local Birkenstock store - they had the 2011 version of Dansko Sanitas for $120.00!

I really liked these sandals - they were in good shape (just a little wear shows on the elastic and some slight dirtiness at the bottom of the straps), and comfy, but just a wee bit bland.

No Longer Bland!

Several bottles of paint and a couple of very pleasant hours painting makes for some very exciting summer sandals!

Sunshine asked me not to paint them in my usual 'Mary Englebreit' fashion. She thought they should be more Scandinavian looking and I had to agree. After all, Dansko is a Danish brand.

Makes for some very happy feet!

Oooo La La

Saturday is my friend's birthday.

I found a pattern on Ravelry for some felted slippers.

I've never felted before - it seemed good.

It was good.

It got better.

I added crocheted roses from Nicky Epstein's Crocheted Flowers

I don't think Duffers is a good name for this slipper pattern. They are much more elegant than that name would imply.

FYI: I frogged the celtic knot purse/scarf that was on my to finish list. I decided I didn't really want a bag, and I also didn't want to knit a lot more and turn it into a scarf - the yarn was too scratchy. That yarn has now been turned into these lovely felted slippers!

P.S. the table cloth in the background is one I bought at the Good Will Bins on Crap by the Pound day. It's beautiful and in near perfect condition!

Staying on Task

The July socks are finished! The pattern is Twinkleberry just like the previous pair. This is the best sock pattern ever!

I also sneaked in an extra project. I made napkins with some of the fabric I bought at the Good Will Bins. When I saw the blue fabric, I just knew it would be for napkins - it is woven, so looks the same on both sides. I dislike cloth napkins that only have the pattern on one side - bleah! These look rather 4th of July-ish, but there you are.

If you are counting, you will notice there are only 7 napkins in the photo. I have No. 8 ready to go, but need to make a little extra bias tape.

Some Hard Truths About Me

I hate being told what to do.

I've known this for a looooong time.

What I have only recently discovered, is that I hate being told what to do - even if it is me telling me what to do.

Apparently, I will rebel and start new projects that aren't on the list, just because I said I had to finish the list first.

Pictured above is the dress I bought at GoodWill and wore to Migi's (the offspring formerly known as Cheerleader) high school graduation. I paid $7.99 for the dress and told the girls I was planning to shorten it as I felt frumpy wearing it. Both of them said I should leave it as it was - and admittedly it is a very nice dress, so I left it.

Until last night, when El Guapo told me he had seen our 68 year old neighbor lady wearing a dress that looked very similar! I immediately cut off 8 inches and used those inches to make a sweet little ruffle along the bottom. Turns out I was right all along and should have gone with my instincts. The dress was very nice, but now it is darling!

Oh, and I did finish the Urban Outfitters knock-off shrug - just in time for the summer's first 97 degree weather! So I did do one thing on my list.

I bet I'm very difficult to live with.

I've Been Canned . . .

Cheerleader (need to get a different name!) and I dropped Sunshine off at her friend's house in Monmouth this afternoon so Sunshine could spend the 4th of July with her other family. On the way there we saw a yard sale in progress and stopped at it on our way home.

Looky at what I found! 14 Wire Bail canning jars for $10.00! There are 11 quart sized jars, 2 pint sized jars and one that must be 1 1/2 quarts. All but one are very old and the newer one has French writing on it. There is even an unopened vintage box of rubber gaskets! I frequently shop for this type of jar at the second-hand stores and haven't found any for less than $4.50 each, so I considered this to be a major score!

Now I can't wait to get canning!

Here is the lavender wrap-around skirt. I made it from a rayon scarf/shawl thingy that my friend gave me. I think it is a souvenir from Mexico. It had some nice bead work on the two ends so I used those ends to make the bottom of the skirt beaded. Much more useful in skirt form!

The 4 oz. Skirt

This is a wrap-around skirt I got at the Good Will Bins on Friday. I really like the fabric and I like wrap-around skirts, but it was too big around and too long.

Too big around was an easy fix - I just moved the button over several inches.

Too long? Cut six inches off! Then I used some red and white polka dot fabric that I also got at the Bins to add a little interest along the bottom.

Totally ready for summer now!

And at .89 per lb. I figure this skirt cost about .22 cents!

Crap by the Pound!

Yesterday, my sister-in-law Carol and I went with another sister-in-law, Sandi, and her friend Deanna of Recycled Lovelies to the Good Will Bins in Salem. Carol and I had never been, so Sandi and Deanna initiated us into the mysteries of Bin shopping (Crap by the pound)!

It's always hit or miss at the Bins, I knew that, and it can be a little yucky, so we dressed appropriately, but I did find some treasures.

I was looking for fabric, yarn, and linens primarily. I didn't find unused yarn, but just look at this gigantic granny square afghan I found! It is obviously the work of a demented grandma - individually the squares are rather hideous - but all together it has a certain j'ne sais quoi! Its dimensions are enormous and it is very heavy. Certainly an outdoor or college blanket. That lovely little straw bag in the forefront is in perfect condition and Cheerleader is going to revamp it into a Lolita Bag. The pillow form has a new life ahead of it as well.

Here is a pile of delicate linens, a silk scarf and hankie and miscellaneous articles of clothing getting ready to lose their Good Will Fragrance.

Here is another pile of crap. Four cardigans, a pullover sweater, an intricately embroidered Indian Shalwar Camise, an old metal tool box, an old beveled mirror, a book and some picture frames.

The prints in two of the picture frames were meh. But the mats, glass and frames were in great shape. So I spray painted the frames antique white and printed out two photos I took in the garden this spring. and Ta Dah! Art!

As I get more stuff cleaned and repurposed I will post more about it. The four of us bought about 80 lbs. of crap and paid .89 per pound!

March So Far . . .

As mentioned earlier - On Presidents' Day the girls and I went shopping in Salem with El Guapo's sister and her two girls. We went to a new resale shop - Plato's Closet - and I went a little nuts! I spent quite a lot of money - but I bought two bags worth of really nice clothes. Pictured above are the Aeropostal long sleeve shirt and the Charlotte Russe Hounds Tooth jacket that I bought there. I'm also wearing the Ralph Lauren jeans I bought at our local 2nd Hand shop - Second Glance Annex.

I meant to start a second project because I like to have two projects going that I can switch back and forth between, in this case it was going to be my knitted cardigan and then these pillowcases with crochet trim (inspired by the lovely cases on Rosehip .

I didn't mean to get so carried away that I completed this project in one weekend - it was supposed to last a while. Fortunately, I have more fabric, crochet thread, and pillows in need of cases.

This fabric came from my stash and has been there so long it's practically vintage. I really can't remember where it came from or when!

Thrifting

I had to share what I found when the girls and I went to the 2nd hand store last week. We all found something we wanted, but I get the prize for finding the PRIZE!

Beautiful, beaded crochet. Flawless, elegant and . . . $8.00!

Thrifting and a new creation!

Look what I got at Goodwill this afternoon!!!! 100% Cashmere, beautiful grey color and it looks like it was never worn -- all this for $4.99!!!!

Gotta love Goodwill.

And look at what I made! Cheerleader is involved in a major project for Spanish, which in some weird way involves fashion w/Extra credit for having an actual product. I found a freebie pattern for arm warmers that I thought she would be able to crochet. But she had trouble (didn't make it past the chain foundation), so I took over. That is when I realized that by following the pattern, I was not going to end up with the arm warmers in the photo. I was frustrated, but determined. So . . . I made up my own pattern and it is a huge hit. Cheerleader won't take them off and she wore them when we wandered around town this afternoon and received several compliments from strangers on the street! I will get the pattern instructions and photos sorted and post them here (hopefully in the next week).