I tend to think of fabric, yarn, thread, ribbon, etc. as my "art materials." And though I try not to spend a ridiculous amount on them, I rarely never scrimp at thrift stores or garage sales. The upside of this is that I have a lot of raw materials to work with. The down side is that I have A LOT of raw materials--some of it unlovely-- and limited storage space.
Another issue I have is my skin tone, which my husband describes as a "lovely olive color." Sadly, this lovely color (which changes with the seasons) can look horribly sallow next to anything yellow, yellowish or yellow-like. Last week I decided to get rid of some of my fabric that will never look good on me and is making my space unuseable. I dragged my husband to the bedroom where my stash was strewn spread, and made him help me decide what to Get Rid Of. (Remember GRO ?)
This how it sounded:
Me: How about this ?
Him: Umm. . .hmm, not really.
Me: Not really what? It's pretty!
Him: Well, it doesn't do anything for you.
Me: Okay, what about this?
Him: You're kidding right ?
Me: But I like it.
Him: Those pink chickens make weird lines.
Me: It's fun! That's the pattern: chickens. . in lines.
Him: What would you make with it? You hate chickens. And that color, it doesn't do anything for you.
Me: Alright, What about his?
Him: Those flowers look like. . . that floor tile you see in public bathrooms.
Me: Hmm, that's true. But it's so soft.
Him: It has yellow in it too-- It doesn't do anything for you.
Can you tell he is afflicted with Minnesota Nice ? an aversion to confrontation, a tendency toward understatement, a disinclination to make a fuss or stand out, and emotional restraint (defn. via wikipedia).
So everything that didn't "do anything" for me went into a bag to get rid of.
At the end of this session, I picked up a ridiculous pillow sham that I used to use as a sewing machine dust cover and asked him if I should consider making a skirt from it.
"That," he said with no restraint, "should stay a dust cover!"
I ignored him. After all, I noticed he did not say it wouldn't do anything for me.
It's the first in series of Ridiculous Summer Refashioned Wardrobe Builders Representing Different Fashion Decades (RSRWBRDFD). (I am still working on the pronunciation of that one.) As I mentioned to the lovely Jessica awhile back, I was becoming paralyzed by trying to make the perfect summer clothes. I think this theme is bizarre and difficult enough to keep me sewing for awhile.
It's supposed to look like one of those late 70's prairie skirts. When I wear it people stare. I'm not sure why. Probably because I live in Minnesota and they are too polite to comment.
So, has anyone else ignored well-meant sartorial advice lately? Want to join in with the ridiculous movement ?
Specs:
- fabric: thrifted 50/50 cotton poly pillow sham. 80's vintage. (The ruffle went around the whole outer edge and took me an hour to unpick.)
- notions: thread, zipper: thrifted
- pattern: none. The front is one rectangle, the back is two small rectangles with a center back zipper. Ruffle is 2.5 times longer than the skirt bottom and the waistband is my waist plus 2" (1" for ease and 1" for seam allowance.)
- cost: 3.50 ?
- time: ripping serged ruffle out= 1.5 hours, sewing= 1.5 hours (mostly sewing the damn ruffle back in.
