Week 12: Brittney

Greetings from...

The road trip kicked off today and I brought LA with me on the road...

I got to work on my edits from the comforts of the passenger's seat :)  The cup holder on my tray table is awesome to hold coffee and Vitamin Water, but for my sequins that will make an appearance shortly, I can't wait for this to be their little cross country home.

I figured it would be fun to have hand-stitchable projects with me while on the road to give me little breaks in-between chunks of writing.  When I got this amazing hand knitted rose from Brittney, I knew it would make a cute (and quick) road trip project!

Brittney sent a few other pieces which will come back at some point, but here's what she said about the rose...

"I just decided to send you this rose that I knit.  I made a hat as a Christmas present for a friend and I was trying out different flowers for decoration.  I decided on a differet one, but I bet you can find a use for this :)  I have been following NDAD ever since you were featured on Yahoo, and I love finding each new post in my inbox.  So, I will leave you to your creating!"

This rose is a wonder to me because I'm still stuck in basic scarf phase.

With this scenery to my right and left...

...I took a break to do a little bit of sewing.  With a needle, thread, and a pinback, I was going to make this flower a new accessory for my cardigan.

After an easy stitch in-between the holes in the pin back I had my piece of flair!!

This road tripping is even better when you can meet up with friends along the way.  One of my favorite people, DL, resides in Phoenix so we were able to catch up over Mexican!  )I got to chat with her and my dad got to chat with one of his work buddies - margaritas for everyone!!)

I loved that this little pin was the first thing crafted on this journey because I will always associate it with Road Trip 2012: Day 1!! (Thank you Brittney!)

I will also associate Day 1 with showing up at the wrong hotel location (right chain though!) and wrong dinner location (right chain though!) as well.  Two total Marisa blunders.

Yeah, I googled the hotel in a dodgy wi-fi spot right by Blythe, CA and thought that the first location that was brought up was correct.  Unfortunately it was the only location that came up on my search.   When I began to check in, the lovely gentleman at the desk of the mistaken spot kindly said I was at the wrong crash pad.  He called the accurate location to make sure the reservation was in fact made, which it was, and when I arrived to the right hotel, the lovely check-in gal said she was sorry about my blunder and gave us an upgrade!!  Tonight's mistake gave us a room with two bathrooms, holler!!!

Week 12: Kaitlin

I love me some quilted nightgowny jackets, so you can imagine the excitement when I opened up this jade wonder from Kaitlin. I just love thinking about who wore these years ago because as comfy as they are, they heat up fast and are quite thick.  Perfect for the couch, but to sleep in...I'm not really feeling it!

"I loved this piece when I found it!  I picked it up at a garage sale because I was attracted to the color and thought it was a quilt.  Unfortunately it was not a quilt but instead this splendorous nightgown!  The woman holding the sale said that a lot of these pieces came from her mother-in-law and this was one of them.  I got a few more things (an American Eagle skirt, a pair of Sam & Libby ballet flats, and a few belts that you'd be proud of!) and she just gave this to me for free.  I'm passing it along your way now.  There are buttons missing, but I think you'll be able to fix them.  Thanks for the inspiration!  :)Kaity"

I had tons of Sam & Libby flats, with those cute bows at the end when I was younger!  Great score K!!

OK, here's the piece...

Let's make this something to wear out and about!

There were just two cute greenish pearly buttons on the piece and a lot of white strings left from where buttons used to be.

Those strings are actually super helpful because they're going to mark the spots where new buttons will be added!  I found these fab gold, square, weaved ones that fit perfectly through the button holes.

I began by removing the lone two pearl buttons...

...before adding the new ones (five total) to the piece.  I did a fast hand stitch to secure the buttons, but use safety pins if it's easier.  Clasp from the inside of the jacket and you won't see them!  Either will do the trick.

Next, I cut the piece and took off about 10 inches.  I want this to have the feel of a jacket and hit around my knees.

After a quick trim job, I stitched a new hem in place and was rockin' my new coat!!

I'm actually excited for this piece, because I'm taking it on the road trip with me.  It's going to be the cozy coat for inside the car that can also be rolled up into a makeshift pillow!!  Already thinking about the multiple options.  There is something else I want to do to the coat, but I haven't fully committed.  I'm going to take another day to digest the idea and then decide.

I loved the gold buttons, so I had to be matchy and I wore my gold Steve Madden heels.  I'm loving the little bit of glitz added to this more basic house coat.

Kaitlin, thank you for sending this freebie my way!!

Week 12: Peter Pan Collar

Can I just say how good it feels to be back in action?  After rest, lots of soup, a ridiculous amount of tissues (I'm still blowing...), I'm feeling grrrreat!

Today's piece was one I worked on for the gals who asked about the Peter Pan collar!  I procured this piece myself...

I loved the diamond-y print to this piece and the neckline is going to work like a charm for the collar.  Grab a doily and let's get crackin!

Something with a basic scoop or crew neck will work best for this piece, so keep that in mind when scouring your closet or thrifting!

I began by cutting the piece short to make it a top.  There was some snagging over the thigh areas, so it was an easy choice.

I cut it to hit  just above the waist and then stitched a new hem at the bottom.

It could be good to go as is, but it's collar time!!  I took a doily that I picked up at Joann's, but you can grab one from your own collection (my mom has oodles but they were packed up and shipped off to NC already) or at Goodwill.  I went with one that was 10" in diameter to fit along the neckline's edge.

I'm going with fabric paint to change the color of the doily, but dye, fabric markers or even leaving the doily as is works too.  Go with what you like best or have time for :)  I took a foam paint brush and began to attack the doily with Tulip's Soft Fabric Paint.

If you paint, make sure you have something underneath like newspaper or an old towel as the paint will be seeping through the holes in the doily.  I used an old padded envelope to catch all the paint!

After painting was complete, I let it dry for a good 12 hours.  The doily definitely hardens up when it dries which actually made it easier to work with as I could mold it a little more.

Next, I snipped a slit towards the center of the doily and trimmed around the edges, leaving about 2 inches of trim to use.  I basically used the round piece in the center as a cutting guide.

I folded under about a 1/4 inch of the top of the doily trim on the inside of the piece, pinned it in place...

...and then stitched down in place with matching red thread.

Once it was affixed, I put it on, threw on my shades, and soaked in the very warm weather.

I wanted to see the collar flap a bit, so I started my House of Pain, "Jump Around" dance.

Cheap and easy and super cute = Peter Pan collar success!!