Feeling Energized at Home - 2013

Last year I wrote about September being my high energy month of the year - and it is still true in 2013. This year the energy level seems to be even greater and directed over a broader swath of activities.

Basil ready to dryLike last year, there is a lot to do outdoor as we near the end of the growing season. The red-purple leafed plum tree has lost enough leaves to begin raking; my plan it to spread them over the garden patch cleared of lemon balm, honeysuckle, and other wild plants in August. I’ll scatter seed pods from cone flowers and zinnias there so that flowers will grow there next summer under the sycamore.  I am also harvest basil and mint from the containers on the deck; the basil is already in a tray in the kitchen drying. The mint may take more than one tray so I’m waiting to cut and process it until the basil is dry and stored away for winter soups.

Clearing ‘stuff’ from the house is splitting into two efforts.

• Two T-shirt DressThe first is to change items into forms that are more useful. The two t-shirt dresses are an example I wrote about earlier this month. I’ve also made a Kaftan from a piece of fabric - using an old handkerchief for part of the neckline (I’ll post about it when I finish). I’ve also discovered that an old Mr. Coffee carafe (the machine itself has long since been replaced) with its handle removed fits in crockpot for baking and custards. We’ve also repurposed my husband’s the old chair mat that was cracked to protect the carpet under and around the cat litter.
• The second is to start reducing the number of ‘keepsake’ boxes. For over 15 years while my daughter was growing up we always had a box that was catching anything we did not immediately decide to recycle or trash. There are several boxes for every year! I’m going to use a ping pong table to make annual piles and I’m sure there will be quite a lot that is not worth keeping.

Considerable energy is going into planning for travel and guests for the next 6 months. I always like to do my research about places I travel and understand what guests will be most interesting in seeing when they are in town. I enjoy the planning almost as much as the activities planned!

I’ve already posted about classes in progress. There are now 4 Coursera classes in progress. They are all excellent - thought provoking in very different ways.

September is definitely a high energy month for me. It’s easy to be enthusiastic about everything in my days.

Making a Two T-Shirt Dress

About a week ago I had one of those ideas that come just before sleep that kept me awake for at least an hour - working out the details and making plans. The idea was to reuse some T-shirts my husband had culled from his closet (the neck was stretched out, the underarm fabric was rotting, or the cat had made a hole trying to untangle a claw) to extend the length of some of my T-shirts into dresses. I have quite a few T-shirts and tend to not put them on frequently enough to ever wear them out…and I enjoy wearing the one knit dress I have during the hot days. I came up with several ideas about how to put the dresses together to get enough length for a dress.

In the morning I started my first Two T-shirt Dress. I started with a turquoise T-shirt that I’d used for painting - managing to get some splatters on the bottom hem. The pattern on the front of the shirt ended for a high waist - a good place to cut. A Black t-shirt with a little writing on the upper front was in the pile from my husband; I cut the bottom off just under the arms. His shirt was a little bigger around that mine was so I made side seams in the black tube to make it the same circumference as the turquoise one. The dress needed more length so I was going to have to use the turquoise piece I had cut off at the bottom of the dress. I cut the hem off the black T-shirt so that the seam would be less bulky and cut the teal peak on the bottom so that there would be a slit to make walking easier. Both bottom pieces were use inside out from the original shirt so I had to turn up a hem in the lower teal shirt portion. I used a stretch stitch for the seams and then finished the edges together with a zigzag stitch.

The second dress was even easier. I decided to just add onto the end of my light blue T-shirt because the pattern was so large. The bottom was cut from a navy blue T-shirt and simply gathered onto the bottom of the light blue T-shirt (I cut the hem from the light blue shirt to reduce the seam bulk. The original hem of the navy blue T-shirt became the hem for the dress - so this was a one seam dress!

The third dress was the hardest because I had to piece the ‘skirt’ part to get enough length. I decided that I didn’t want to length in the lighter color and I didn’t want it again at the bottom of the dress either. Also - I did not realize until after the dress was made that it would need to have some elastic at the waist because it looked way too big otherwise. I made the casing for the elastic by stitching the edge of the seams attaching the lighter shirt to the skirt.  I'll probably tie a scarf around the waist of this one.

All three of these dreses are going to be worn frequently until it gets cooler.

When my 40 year old sewing machine actually worked after I oiled it, I thought I would use it for some fabric/thread doodling - maybe make a small quilt - but I am way more satisfied with my Two T-shirt Dress project!