The Modern-Day Alterist
This recent bout of incomprehensibly cold weather has induced me to spend considerably more time around the house than usual. This is not particularly inconvenient or unpleasant, as there is a fully-stocked grocery store merely two blocks away. Kevin has been busying himself with some of the preliminary structural work for finishing off our basement, so I have been left largely to my own devices. This has allowed me to do a bit of catching up in several domestic areas, including mending, laundry, arranging music, and (of course) updating livejournal.
My penchant for thrift-store shopping has necessitated the development of some basic patch-'n-repair sewing skills. I am not a particularly accomplished seamstress: the simple act of sewing curtains (four straight seams to make a rectangle) somehow requires hours of time due to perfectionism paired with a general lack of skill. Altering an existing piece, however, is not nearly such a challenge - and yet so much can be added with so little effort. Take, for instance, the Marie Antoinette costume, which was a $40 secondhand wedding dress restructured & embellished.
My current project is fixing my winter coat, my first "grown-up" (read: non-plush) coat that I purchased at a thrift store, also for ~$40. It's vintage, so I probably couldn't find a similar one new, but I'd imagine that an equivalent would sell for upwards of $200. It's needed quite a few repairs to the lining & trim, but still totally worth it. Especially now: when the weather turns arctic, long wool is essential.
In other news, I've almost finished an arrangement of Rehab for Faces for Radio. The lyrics, however, need work. We've already come up with "They tried to make me switch to decaf, I said no, no, no...", but I'm not sure that we could keep the Starbucks theme funny for all three verses (let alone one...). Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
My penchant for thrift-store shopping has necessitated the development of some basic patch-'n-repair sewing skills. I am not a particularly accomplished seamstress: the simple act of sewing curtains (four straight seams to make a rectangle) somehow requires hours of time due to perfectionism paired with a general lack of skill. Altering an existing piece, however, is not nearly such a challenge - and yet so much can be added with so little effort. Take, for instance, the Marie Antoinette costume, which was a $40 secondhand wedding dress restructured & embellished.
My current project is fixing my winter coat, my first "grown-up" (read: non-plush) coat that I purchased at a thrift store, also for ~$40. It's vintage, so I probably couldn't find a similar one new, but I'd imagine that an equivalent would sell for upwards of $200. It's needed quite a few repairs to the lining & trim, but still totally worth it. Especially now: when the weather turns arctic, long wool is essential.
In other news, I've almost finished an arrangement of Rehab for Faces for Radio. The lyrics, however, need work. We've already come up with "They tried to make me switch to decaf, I said no, no, no...", but I'm not sure that we could keep the Starbucks theme funny for all three verses (let alone one...). Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.