tie dyed doilies

did everyone remember to set their clocks back today? i woke up this morning at 4:45am and slept in an hour cos it was just too early. i like to get up before sunrise and get the oven going with something fragrant to warm up the house... this morning i made *cinnamon coffee cake (*recipe from my very tattered copy of Vegetarian Nights: Fresh from Hawaii).

next on my to-do list was to dye Rob's old army shirt black. it was gray from when he dyed it black years ago. i also threw in some little sock monkey hats and a doily in the pot. well, the jacket turned out looking the same before i dyed it :( some kind of impervious military material. but not all went to waste... i was delighted to unwrap my delicate 6" square doily and see it transformed from blah white to totally cool black tie dye! here's another neat tie dye i did, orange striped on vintage wide lace doily:

so before you banish those dull doilies to the thrifts, try dying them fun colors! they're usually crochet cotton so they take the dye wonderfully. i used RIT dye for these.

make-do leg warmers, the buddhist way

"the garments of many of the brothers are in rags; i am going to distribute the garments among them."
what will you do with the old garments?
we will make bed-covers out of them.
what will you do with the old bed-covers?
we will make pillow-cases.
what will you do with the old pillow-cases?
we will make floor-covers out of them.
what will you do with the old floor-covers?
we will use them for wiping cloths.
what will you do with the old wiping cloths?
we will use them for floor-mops.
what will you do with the old mops?
...we will tear them in pieces and mix them with mud and use the mud to plaster the house-walls.
-from The Teaching of Buddha.


i habitually repurpose things if it can be put to good use. not only in the studio, but anywhere in the house. this doesn't mean holding on to junk "just in case"... it must be useful on a daily basis. "what will you do with the old garment?" there are a few fun ways to look at that first question. for example: i've wanted to knit my own leg warmers (have to learn to knit first, lol) but it's cold and i need warmth now. i thrifted a nice solid brown sweater for DH but it was too small for him, and too big for me. so i had the idea to cut the sleeves off and use them for leg warmers! the wrist part keeps them up snug and the raw cut end goes around the bottom for a slight boot flare. this works best with a machine washable sweater, not a fat cable knit or one that will unravel. i went further and cut the tight neckline off and it now it looks pretty rockin' in a rustic-vagabond kinda way, great to wear over long sleeves. project in a pinch:

instant make-do leg warmers:

supplies:

• one "too big for you" sweater (or boyfriends old sweater, lol. machine washable, won't unravel kind).
  
• scissors

cut off sleeves (a few inches below shoulder seam) for leg warmers. optional: cut off neckline of sweater and use as short-sleeved vest. 1 sweater=2 garments. great for kickin around the house or under long skirts. do you have a neat repurposed idea? please share!

etsy treasury ~ ode to summer

our blu bobo epattern is featured in "ode to summer" etsy treasury curated by dawn of LaTouchables (fab handmade handbags, do check them out). thanks dawn! can you believe we're already sailing into fall? doesn't feel like it yet with these scorching temps. i think we're all ready for a break in the weather... can chicago have a few days below 90 before it snows please?! lol. despite the heat, enjoy these remaining lazy easy days of summer...

No-Sew Sari Curtain

A while back I mentioned on Facebook about my sari curtain project for the bedroom. Well, finally I'm sharing with you the pics and details of this super easy, super cheap DIY project. Above is the before/ after. Sorry about that bed post~ it's a small room, with a queen sized bed!

First thing you'll need is a curtain rod. Nothing fancy here. It's from IKEA and only $1.99! We were looking for a thin metal rod, in white, that was much like the original rods on the windows when we bought this 1920's house. I threw all those away 'cos I was freaked that they may be coated in lead paint. Anyhoo, IKEA IRJA curtain rod set (minus the plastic "teething ring" finials), cut down to size.

For our small room, I wanted to add the illusion of height. So we hung the rod high up on the wall as possible. This allows plenty of room for the sari to drape and pool.

The cafe clips + tie backs are by Allen+Roth from Lowe's. I was so pleased to find these tie backs, as the space is tight and most tie backs stick out too far from the wall. These slim dangle hooks were the perfect solution, and I love the vintage white finish. The tie backs were the most expensive pieces of this project, around $12 a pop.

Okay, now for the fabric! I used 2 sari's I picked up at the thrift shop a few years ago. I layered them together to add privacy, plus the transparent colors create stunning effects. One sari is shorter than the other, but no matter- it still looks great layered.


For each sari:
- Fold in half lengthwise, and cut= now you have a pair of curtains.
- Layer one of each color together, take the raw cut edge and fold a tiny bit into the ring clips.
- Stand back and admire the great job you did!

The beauty of this no-sew curtain is that you can reverse the saris if you get bored, or interchange with different saris. Simple bohemian elegance. How easy was that?

*BTW, it took us 2 years to finally get proper window treatments on that bedroom window (stapled up fabric does NOT count!) :oP