I had gone dumpster diving the other day, and in addition to some BRAND NEW Merrill hiking boots (seriously, they were a bit scuffed on the toe, but the treads weren’t even discolored) I found a really cute size small corderoy jacket, and a size small skirt in a color blend that would go great with my skin.

Corduroy jacket

First the skirt. Just a simple polyester skirt. The awesome thing about most skirts is that they tend to have an A frame, so even if they are too small at the waist, they will fit my body at some point. I pulled this one over my chest and decided that it would make a perfect top! I cut off the top couple inches, because it hada zipper and button I couldn’t close. I then hemmed the new top, and cut strips for straps. Awesome tunic top! I can wear this by itself in the summer, with a belt just above my waist.

Since it isn’t summer yet, I opted for cover. I took the corderoy jacket, and a slit in the body of the jacket under the armpit. I then found the center of the sleeve (it did NOT line up with the seam of the arm! Grrr, but good to note BEFORE cutting) and cut the sleeve to join with the body. I did this on the other side as well.

I decided to leave the front panel open for my arms, so I just finished those sides. I didn’t do a fabulous job, and I may cover with a ribbon later.

I sewed the back of the sleeve to the back of the jacket. I did this with both sleeves, resulting in three panels. I did have to shorten the sleeves, and I folded and bartacked the sleeves with their new length.

Here they are together:

I mentioned Marisa from New Dress A Day before. Her innovative look at seemingly hopeless garments has really inspired me to take a new look at clothes. I have stopped bypassing clothes just because they aren’t my size. Instead I look them over to see if I can’t make it fit, or give it another use.

I am so excited! I seriously feel like a 5 year old, all giddy and excited!

To my regular readers: I am sorry I have been AWOL. I have been training for my 50 mile hike. I have some pictures from recent hikes that I want to show you guys! Hopefully this weekend!

In whatever you are doing, it is always important to think of safety first. Its hard to appreciate that brand new tiling kit, if you have shards of tile in your hands because you didn’t wear gloves. Woodworkers must watch for shards of wood, so safety glasses are a must, even if you don’t consider yourself a handyman/person.

Some safety gear, and how to use them:

Safety glasses: EVERYONE needs to wear safety glasses when cutting/chopping, etc. Safety glasses are fantastic for cutting jalapenos, so you don’t touch your eyes while chopping. I mentioned earlier wearing glasses while tiling.  Whenever things may go airborne, its always a good “eye” dea to protect those peepers!
Special note to you eyeglass wearers (like me). You MUST wear safety glasses, just like everyone else! Take care to find ones that will fit OVER your glasses (because its great to be protected AND see at the same time!). These gorgeous pink safety glasses fit over most eyeglasses, and the temple is adjustable.

knee pads:
gloves:
ear plugs:
head protection: Casual crafters may not need a hard hat, but you must think about head and hair protection. Long hair should be pulled back out of the face. You should be concentration fully on your project, not on your hair flying in your face. Long hair can be caught on some tools.

I cut up the coat and lining, ending up with yards of material!  Yay!

The shiny lining was just calling to be to be made into roses!  I cannot remember where I found this tutorial, but here is an awesome one using three different kinds of material.  I will just be using polyester lining.

Find a shirt or fabric.  It needs to be synthetic!  Shiny cheap clothes tend to be fake.  Check the thrift store discard bin for these.  It makes no difference if the shirt is torn, stained, or smells funny (well, that one might be an issue if its  really offensive odor you can’t get out!).

Now you need to check it for burnability.  Cut a piece out that you can hold safely.  Hold the edge over a flame.  Blow it out if it catches fire (or place it in water).  You want the fabric to melt, not catch fire.  If it gets nice and crinkly, with a lovely melted edge, you are in business.

Now we will make roses.  Cut roundish shapes out of your material.  These do NOT need to be circles!  I like to fold up my material and cut lots of round shapes at a time.  You will want various sizes, from small to large.  I used mainly small and medium petals for my flower.

Starting with small petals, put a dab of glue at the bottom of each petal, and overlap, adding petals as you go.  I used  three petals for the center.   I like to hold the rose in the middle while I add bigger petals.

Sorry the pictures are so blurry.  My macro wasn’t working for some reason.

Once the rose is the size you want, take a smaller leftover petal and fold it in thirds or quarters, with the burned parts facing out.  Glue to the center.  You may need to glue again to keep the petal together.

You can glue this rose to projects, make it a pin or a necklace!  This won’t wash well because of the hot glue.

link party!

This project I am going to do as soon as it gets sunny again. Right now its sprinkling and damp. Not great for getting things to dry quickly.  These will probably turn up in Christmas packages come holiday time.

A trip of this magnitude requires lots of planning, supplies and money. Below is a list of supplies and the suggested price for a new item. For example, if a tent is listed as costing $50, but you have a lightweight BACKPACKING tent that you are willing to give (or possibly loan) to me, I will put your name (and or blog link) and what item you donated/paid for on the side of my page under “PCT sponsors 2010.”
I get hundreds of page views each week, and my posts update to my facebook. I have over 400 FB friends, and many of them view my blog and pass it on to their friends.

Needed                                                                         Cost                                                                  Sponsor

backpacking tent                                                        $50

lightweight sleeping bag (under 3lbs)              $100

backpack (external or internal frame)             $250

sleeping pad, foam                                                       $15

water bladder (like platypus) x3                           $25 ea.

hiking stove (alcohol or butane)                             $50

I will add to this list as I think of more/find links.

I was supposed to start hiking last week. I got that good first hike down, and then my son got sick(er), which wasted that whole week. And of course, I procrastinated.

Last night I posted a “I’m new here, HALP!” post on a PCT mail list, and got motivated to start walking. this evening I threw on my light hiking shoes (really cool land’s end shoes that have mesh instead of fabric or leather) and took off. I made myself stay out for an hour. I probably walked about two miles. Truthfully, I am not quite sure how I will get in the 5-10 miles a day that I want to work up to. I mean, if I expect to cover 10 miles in a day, it should take me 3 hours to walk5 miles. Who has that much time? Oh well, start slow, and the rest will follow .

On my hike, I got to see spring in action! I climbed this steep hill (the first seven miles of the PCT in my area are straight uphill. Yay.) and saw gorgeous flowers of every shape and color. Some looked like snapdragons (but on a bush) and others looked like Irises or orchids. I need to bring my camera tomorrow and hike that hill again! When I do, I will post pics!

My husband found this gem:

My camera’s batteries were dying, so its the only pic I got of it.  It was kind of cute, but was way faded on the side.  It was 100% acrylic (and way too small for me), so dying was out of the question.  Instead, I cut it up for felt!  The lining was fabulously silky red, so I saved that as well.  I can’t wait to show you what I did with the lining!   But, that’s a post for a different day.

Happy clicking!