It never hurts to be prepared!

Dudes, I made a skirt!

When it gets to be this part of the summer--the long, hot, interminable part--I always start wishing it was fall. I love fall--school supplies, Halloween, campfires, penny loafers, wooly scarves, corduroys. I decided to prepare myself by buying corduroy in July.

I can't decide if this fabric is ugly or awesome. I really like the teal/mustard combination, but I think it might be weird from a distance. Oh well, too late now!

I like this pattern a lot--it's McCall's, can't remember the number at the moment. It came out a little big--I took it in, but it still sits more on my hips than my waist. I'm going to make another from this pattern, and I'm going to try to make it so it sits more at my natural waist, and hits above the knee.

Granny Squares

The past few days of my life have been about doing the minimum necessary. This has mostly involved sitting in the same chair for hours and hours, watching 30 Rock (although now I've seen every episode, so maybe I'll be able to leave the house again), and, above all, crocheting granny square after granny square.

The good thing about granny squares is, once you've figured out how to make one, you can make dozens or hundreds more without too much attention. That makes them perfect to work on while watching a movie or TV... or, I suppose, while sitting next to a pool or in a meadow somewhere, but I wouldn't know, since I haven't been outdoors since June.

So far the granny square count is around 25. I figure if I make 120 or so more I can sew them together and have a blanket! That should only take ten or twenty years. Or, at this rate, a week or so. Anybody have any good movie recommendations?

Old Table, New Beginning

Okay, so, having just graduated college and being unemployed and living in my parents' house and all, you would think I would use all my newly-acquired free time to do craft projects and then blog about them. Right? Well, so far this summer I'm afraid the allure of Watching TV and Doing Nothing has proved frighteningly strong. HOWEVER. I have been making some changes to my (bright purple, childhood) bedroom, including rearranging furniture and, most importantly, adding a... drumroll please.....

CRAFT TABLE! That's right, an actual flat surface dedicated solely to sewing and making greeting cards and felt badges and all kinds of good things. This table is kind of a project in and of itself, though. It came from my (great-great-?) Aunt Hilda's homestead in northern Minnesota. My mom inherited it and stripped years of layers of paint off it years ago, and promptly stored it in the attic to be forgotten. I rescued it, though!

I "finished" the table by rubbing tung oil into it with a soft cloth, and leaving it in a ventilated area for the odor to dissipate. The tung oil creates a bit of a waterproof barrier, and a slight golden color, without covering up any of the imperfections that give this piece of furniture character and history. I'm pleased with the result!

Here, the table serves as a place for me to display an awesome table cloth I thrifted from ViLynne's in Grinnell. Man, I miss that store.

And here's the finished craft nook! That ugly green tablecloth is temporary, I promise. I'm looking for some sort of oilcloth or other protective covering to keep my sewing machine and scissors from scratching or denting the soft wood of the table. On the bulletin board is an awesome picture my friend Amanda found for me of dollhouse rooms from the '70s.

And finally, another rescued treasure. My grandmother had this clock hanging in her kitchen since 1959. It still runs perfectly, but last time I was at her house, she had it in a box to give to Goodwill! So of course I claimed it for my own.

That's all for now, but cross your fingers that I'll actually make stuff and then blog about it! That would be awesome!