First Refashion

About a year and a half, maybe two years ago, I was losing weight and needed some clothes to get from where I had been to where I thought I was going to end up (hope springs eternal, and all that). Included in that set of clothes were two shirts that I got for $4 each on a clearance rack. They were a little too short for me (I am very tall) and I didn't like the collar, but I would only be wearing them for a few months and then planned to refashion them.
Well, it seems that my svelte body is on back order, and these shirts have not outgrown me yet. Sigh. They were identical except for color. I didn't take a before picture of the blue one but here is the pink one:

I added about two inches of crochet to the bottom edge. Just several rows of double crochet and then an edging I got from the March/April 2009 issue of Crochet Today.

I cut off the neckline and folded it over and did a row of single crochet and then the beginning row of the pattern for the edging which is really just a simple picot stitch. The sleeves were edged the same way the neckline was but without any other modifications.
In order to have something to crochet into I first did an overhand stitch along the edges I wanted to crochet. I read about the technique on Crochet Me and wasn't sure how easy it would be to actually do the crocheting into the stitches, but it was, in fact, very easy. The only hard part of all of this was the overhand stitching. Also, I'm not real crazy about the way the thread cuts into my lead finger as I work, but I do like the results and I have now either built up a bit of a callous on that finger or have done enough nerve damage to that finger that it isn't so bad now.
Next time I think I might add some beads to the edge of the bottom band of crochet. Also, I will be trying other edging patterns. It is amazing, to me at least, how quickly this uses up no.10 thread.

Did You Hear That?

Last night we all heard a loud bang around 9 o'clock. We commented to each other about it, "Did you just hear that?" We all heard it, but couldn't identify it. Didn't sound like a gunshot or an accident, so we didn't worry.
This morning when I came out to water (before 10 a.m. -- water rationing), I noticed a car across the street with it's blinkers flashing. Two women were talking on the corner.
One called out to me to ask if I had heard a loud bang last night. Turns out she had found the remnants of a bottle bomb on the corner, by the elementary school.

This is the main part. Back by the tree you can see the bottom of the bottle that had been blown off. It had some odd colored liquid in it. All around, including on the other side of the elementary school fence were these balls of burned foil.

The police officer who came to check it out was not too concerned because they had had other small explosions on the other side of the school in the last few weeks, but when he actually went over to the remains and saw what was there you could see that this was a bit worrisome because it is apparently a step up from what the neighborhood bomber had been doing.
When he found out we had heard it -- the woman who found it had not -- he asked if we came out to investigate. No. And now that I know what it was, I don't feel so bad about that. But now that we know what a small bomb sounds like we will call the police next time. Sigh.
The hope is that the person will be caught before they hurt themselves or someone else.

I've Taken the Pledge

I have been a lurker at Wardrobe Refashion for some time and have finally decided to take the plunge and take the pledge. I am only going for a two month pledge to start, but hopefully this will be the start of a more lasting relationship .

The Pledge

I joanieponytail, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed, joanieponytail.