Cross Over

My latest interior decoration attempts at Fat Meat Is Greasy.

Headroom in the Bedroom

So the inspiration I cited here is slowly making a difference.

I made pillows for my now stained, erected, boxspringed, and mattressed bed. Again, Ikea is fabulous. Cheap cushions for covering.





$1.49 and $2.99, 14"x14" and 20"x20", respectively.

Easily turn those into these.

Reversible with piping

I recommend that finished pillow covers are one-half to one full inch smaller than the measurement of the pillow for a more snug, less baggy look. Also, don't bother with zippers. Just make the back panel about two inches wider, cut in half, fold and hem at the meeting points, and sew front and back panels together at all four sides to make an easily removable cover.

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Also made a dress that I won't wear this season since summer was a selfish ass. Plus, I made it way bigger than I am, so it needs to be taken in and hemmed.

Okay, So This Is Sooo Not a Knitting Blog Anymore

It's more like my hobby-of-the-moment diary, replete with pictures and good-intentioned but mostly unexecuted plans.

Right now my hobby is decorating my floor of the new apartment. The bathroom's done up in a slightly ridiculous luau/monkey theme, and the bedroom is next.

My inspiration? Laura Gunn's Lantern Bloom Collection for Michael Miller. Seriously pretty stuff. I love the whole turquoise and red thing. Mirar.

More Skirts, No News

My plans to make dresses are falling prey to my laziness. I have, however, cranked out a couple of skirts.

I'm So Official/I Have a Serger!

It's here, my Brother 1034D 3/4 Thread Serger is here, right here ... in this house. My fellow seamstresses have to know why I'm so excited. I mean, I've been sewing on a Singer from the 50s, so I was in the dark about the strides the home sewing industry had made. I can attach a ruffle to another piece of fabric without gathering it myself? I can have finished seams just like the ones on store-bought clothes? Word?

So yeah, real excited about this despite the serious complexity of this machine.

Also, discovered some gorgeous fabrics online. (I'm telling you, Etsy is the spot for EVERYTHING!) Vogue is cool for well-priced, pretty standard pieces and accessories, and Jo-Ann has a few cute patterns in the quilting section, but if you really want something unique, you have to take it to the internet. Peep my latest purchases.

Check out Fabricworm on Etsy for more fabrics.

And while their fabric selection is a bit too pricey and just okay, Jo-Ann has the best pattern sales anywhere. Now I'm not so much into the whole pattern thing, but when a dress is on the agenda, I need some guidance, preferably guidance for $2.99 or less. No matter when you go, you can count on Jo-Ann offering just that, patterns marked way down--anywhere from $0.99 to $2.99. My latest picks are adorable.





Notice that they're all fast and easy. Mmm hmm.

Nothing To Do With Sewing or Knitting/R.I.P. Mike

Look, I don't pretend to really know Micheal Jackson, but being a 30-year-old whose earliest musical memories were saturated with his glittery gloves and moonwalk and mega hits, it does feel some kind of way to have an icon this big gone.

I don't know what plagued Mike. I don't know why he chose to live his life as he did. As a result, I can't really speak with any type of authority on his motivations. I do feel safe, however, in saying that he seemed to be plagued by what our Judeo-Christian society usually identifies as "demons." Hell, his life certainly looked painful and lonely from the outside. All I can do is say "skip it" (edited for the children) and prance through this trying life with a beatific smile on my face just because. If I look like Charlie during the denouement of Flowers for Algernon, so be it. I'm not letting this world drive me to an early grave.

So what am I saying? I know my message-y post screams incoherent through the six pack of eisbocks I'm drinking. Well, I suppose I'm saying a little selfishness isn't so bad all the time. And I suppose that if you're a cross-dressing fella with a penchant for shiny black Louboutins, you shouldn't be ashamed of that. I'm a heathen. I don't believe in reboots, reincarnation or heavenly rewards. Enjoy what you can now cuz living for other folks won't make you any happier; it'll just give you a heart attack and allow people you probably don't like to spout some comforting lies at your funeral.

Now, to my musical appreciation. Some of Mike's finest moments. (And yes, I did buy the Invincible album; i got the orange cover, so there! I'm a bigger fan than you.)

"I Can't Help It"


"Baby Be Mine" -- My favorite song by him ever!


"Butterflies"


"Man in the Mirror" Monica and I wrote a parody of this in 5th grade.


"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" The fam and I used to dance like hell to this 12" in the crib.


"Big Boy" The beginning.

Quick Projects

You know those convertible dresses? The ones that double as both skirt and dress? I wanted one and didn't want to spend millions on it. So ...

It's much cuter in person, but I can't get it to flare out on the dress form.

Also, I wanted to try my hand at the tiered skirt. They're pretty easy. Use the tutorial here, and you'll be set. (Thanks Chica and Jo.)

Curiously, I had to hit up the quilting department to find such cute prints. I call it my Monica skirt. (There, Monica, is that enough of a plug?)

Chunky and in Need of Gear

Yep, your girl's been in the house eating and expanding. Now that it's necessary for me to leave the house AND look presentable, I can no longer rely on the three pairs of jeans that still fit. Nope, I had to hit up the Vogue Fabrics for materials to fashion some funky duds for the chunky. In all, I've done some pretty quick and easy stuff, a circle skirt here, a convertible dress there. My dresses are still in progress, as they require a bit more concentration and effort.

An as yet un-hemmed circle skirt made from what Schmoses called,
"your ugliest fabric yet." Clearly, I disagree.

Another circle skirt from cotton damask. The high waistband allows me
to mask my gut.

The first circle skirt I made this summer.
A bit too short, but I'm sure my need for Spanx will
provide some additional insurance.

This is actually a relic from one or two summers ago.
Originally, it had an elastic waist and no net overlay.
The waist band is much better. If you recall, I was trying to
emulate a Martin Margiela skirt:



I think it worked out well. I may even do another is silk.

All styled and pretty.

So ... yeah ... knitting

Let's just say I've been on hiatus, a very lazy and unproductive hiatus. It's not that I don't want things and that I don't want to make them, I just don't feel like making them. To help overcome this laziness, I've been easing back with some stylish and quick-to-knit cowls. Check it.