I can resist anything - except temptation!

Ahhh, sweet temptation. That siren song that lures you to your doom. Actually, I’m hoping my temptations won’t be my doom – it’s hard to imagine how the current, shall we say, obsession could spell doom. Unless it all fell on me at once and I smothered. Could happen, I suppose.

Talking about clothing to upcycle here. Found more this weekend, and last weekend. It’s just so available…and SO inexpensive. I tell you, I can’t help having a bit of a superior chuckle when I read how much other people who are refashioning pay for their raw materials. “It was only $8.99 at the thrift store!” or, “a mere £4.50 in a local charity shop!” they enthuse. (Google tells me that at today’s exchange rate that’s a little over $7.00.) I’m not sure I could cut up a $7 shirt!

I just had a look at my spreadsheet for this year, and wow, I really have brought home a lot of pieces of clothing. They range from scarves to coats, sweaters, pants, shirts, dresses…a whopping 111 pieces. Yikes, I really could smother if it all fell on me at once! And the outlay? $76.25. Less than 70 cents each on average, with $2 being the top price for any one piece. Less than $10 a month for hours of fun (both the buying and the remaking!), and the resulting unique pieces of clothing and other items.

Okay, I feel better. Yes, I succumb to temptation on a regular basis, but my gambles are small and my wins are big.

So here are my latest finds. Friday morning Judy and I headed out, our first stop being in our second favorite midcentury neighborhood (our most favorite being our own!). They were still unloading boxes and boxes of clothing. I overheard someone ask what size a pair of pants might be, and the answer was, “I’ve been every size over the years from a 10 to a 22, so they could be about anything. But they look like about a 12.” Evidently she bought lots of things at every size, and any piece was a dollar. I actually did resist most, but brought home a heavy wool blazer, more of a coat really, to embellish

a short dress of 100% linen

and a rayon border print shirt and skirt. I’ve already figured out how I’m going to combine these two pieces.

Judy found a shirt in heavy plaid rayon that’s way too big, so we’re going to play with refashioning it for her. I don’t usually get to do any smallifying, so this will be fun.

She had a bunch o’ shoes available as well (also a dollar a pair) and most were too small for me, but I gambled on this pair of boots.

Green boots! How could I not? Not sure they’re going to work though – a bit tight, and I don’t do hurty feet. I wore them for a while yesterday, and they may be okay for short periods. Or I may get over my yen for minty green boots and give them to Judy, whose feet are a bit smaller than mine. (Sigh.)

My other finds of the day were a dog brush for Zoe and a ream of very old stationery, which I have made into a pad by smearing hot glue on the top edges. Handy scratch paper for my desk.

And at our last stop, a 50¢ pair of heavy linen slacks that were just what I was looking for

to make into a bath towel. A nice quick project!

I like the one I made before from a couple of linen pillowcases, but wanted to try another with heavier linen. The finished result is rather rustic, but I don’t mind a bit.

Last week was similarly clothing focused. I was garaging alone, so there was no one to tell me to stop (not that my usual companions do that anyway). I only went to 4 or 5 places, and found nothing until I arrived at my final destination. Oddly enough it was just around the corner from where I found this week’s scores. Something about that neighborhood?

This lady had very high quality stuff; she told me about buying one of my items at Nordstrom “In that expensive department they had, you know the one I mean.” I agreed, but I was lying! The really expensive department at Nordstrom would not be my natural habitat. But her shopping habits paid off for me. I picked up a couple of wonderful print skirts like this one       

that I will probably combine with this silk shirt.

Silk lining, and the top fabric is not a print but rather cut velvet. Amazing to the hand.

Got a couple of pairs of silk slacks (cream and midnight blue), a Carole Little skirt

and this Sixties-vintage velveteen skirt that I’m thinking of making into a cape.

Also two matching silk pieces, a long skirt with an interesting waistband (complete with clip for your keys or something)

and a jacket that I think will become a vest.

Just couldn’t resist the butt pockets. What WERE they thinking?!

If that weren’t enough, I spotted a basket of textiles sitting on the ground with a little sign saying “Scarves 25¢.” I’ve been thinking about ways to combine scarves into garments so I picked up the basket and started going through the riches therein. Picked out a dozen! A few were silk

and the rest are tissue-thin 100% wool.

Her husband saw me selecting scarves. “She used to buy a scarf just about every day,” he told me with a nostalgic smile, “and then she’d usually wear each one once and put it away.” Some husbands would say that with ire, but not this guy. I can see I should have asked him to adopt me on the spot.

So I must be off to my upcycling, my little chickadees. It might be a good idea to use up some of that stash before it DOES fall on my head!