Creativity Found!

Thanks to some thoughtful friends and some serendipitous scheduling at work, I was able to relax into spontaneity which led directly to a burst of creativity!  My friend Echo came to pick Isa up last Saturday afternoon after work.  Joshua was working the night shift at his job, so I found myself enjoying some truly FREE time.  After my last blog post, this seems like such a pendulum swing.  I had planned on using my alone time to paint, but alas, I was surprised to find myself sewing.  I have been feeling the effects of the 90+ degree days with high humidity, not only when I'm sweltering in our home, but also when I'm out on the bike.  I have a little cotton skirt that I bought a few years ago that seems to be the only comfortable clothing I can wear in this heat.  So, instead of searching like mad for a few more of these lightweight skirts, I decided to make some.  I hopped on my bike and pedaled my way to the thrift store down the street.  I scoured the whole store, not missing a rack, searching for suitable t-shirts to convert into cycling skirts.  And for less than $10, I have made four skirts.  Not only are they comfortable and perfectly suited to my needs, but they are each unique, one of a kind creations that flowed from unplanned, spur of the moment sewing!  FTW!  Here are some photos of these fun little cycling skirts:

This is the first one I made.  The waist band is made from a tank top that someone gave me a few years ago.  I loved the material because it was really soft and colorful, but the tank itself was really unflattering on me.  The bottom of this skirt is made from an old green turtleneck that has been sitting on my sewing desk since last fall.  It was just waiting for me to make it into something new and useful!

This second skirt is made from one of my favorite shirts.  About ten years ago, I bought this amazing little shirt in a boutique in Chicago while Joshua and I were visiting our friend, Jay.  The front was this screen print of art nouveau style ladies.  The back was a very light green color.  The back of the shirt became a waistband for this cute little skirt, and the art nouveau ladies got cut from the front of the shirt and sewn to this turquoise t-shirt I found at the thrift store for 89 cents, which became the bottom of the skirt.

The collar of that turquoise shirt became the handy little pocket on this skirt; the sleeves, once cut open and then sewn together,  became this skirt's waistband.   The "make it yourself" patch was bought from a little left wing bookstore in Toronto while I was there with my friend Eric (Dirklette) in 2003.  I've been waiting to use it for a long time!  

This skirt is made from a thrift store t shirt too.  It's a heather-y sort of red color.  It was SO soft hanging there on it's hanger, I couldn't resist.  It had these cool contrasting ringers on it's short sleeves and collar, which I had planned to use to make pockets for this skirt, but I decided against them once I had gathered the skirt at the hips.   

It seemed too plain, though, so I added this little bike patch, which I just sort of sew-sketched onto a piece of scrap t-shirt.