Men's polo refashion

I recently got a sewing machine as a wedding present. For a while I was just itching to use it. I asked the hubs if he had any shirts that he wouldn't mind if I accidentally ruined while I play around with my new sewing machine.

Turns out that I get a ton of enjoyment out of sewing and remaking things. Thus, a new category on this blog was born!

REFASHIONS!

This was my first refashion that I have actually been really proud of. I am still figuring out what all I should document in pictures to be able to fully explain my refashioning process. And, since this post I have bestowed the responsibilities of Before/After shots to the hubs. Mirror selfies will soon disappear.

Sorry... I know you were excited to see more of those.

Enough dilly dally. Lets get to it.

There isn't anything terribly wrong with this shirt. It's a normal men's polo, but Philip isn't really a polo dude. This shirts wasn't working for me as is either. 

I did love the super soft material. It's also fairly difficult to find shirts that are long enough for me, so I liked that it was a little big.

My first step was to remove the collar. 

So long! 

After the collar was removed, I stitched up the raw edges that I just made. I zipped along the same seam line sans collar.

Next, I tried on my shirt and measured how much I wanted to take in on the sides. I measured at my bust line, waist, hips and sleeves. Once I had my measurements, I turned the shirt inside-out and pinned along the sides. I ran my shirt through the sewing machine.

After, I snipped off the extra fabric that I took in from the sides. I made sure to keep all the extras... I had plans for it later.

Is the suspense killing you?
Good... then you can keep reading.

I tried on the shirt again to measure how long I wanted the length of the bottom and sleeves to be. Again, I measured, turned inside-out, pinned, and stitched. This time I used a zig zag stitch so that the seam would have a little give with the stretchy fabric. 

Back to that extra fabric!

I made both pieces into a long tubes by sewing closed three of the edges on each piece and then flipping the tube inside-out.

TA-DA!

I then used my seam ripper again to undo the top part of the button down on each side. I sewed the unfinished edge of my long tubes into each side of the newly unfinished edges. This part is a little difficult to explain....so come with me, I show you.

See? kinda?

Now, I have two long strips of fabric that I tied to make a bow at the top of the button up.

FINISHED PRODUCT!

and the cat...and a cookie sheet in the sink....

I'm not sure how I feel about having a big bow on my shirt. I kind of feel like a five year old. What do y'all think? Make me feel better about myself ha ha.

And the classic before and after pic

China Visit Overdue Post

This is so old that I'm almost embarrassed to post about it. But, on the other hand, it's too cool not to share.

My sister, Kelley, is currently in her third year of teaching English to university students in China. We visited her over the winter holiday of her second year teaching {which shows how much I have been slacking with putting these pictures up}, and we had a blast. It was just a girls trip- mom and all the sisters.

We spent the first half of the trip in Harbin, the city where Kelley taught that year. The second half of the trip we visited Guilin, which was a nice change of pace for everyone, including Kelley.

 Although it was pretty rainy, it was significantly warmer in Guilin. We Florida girls couldn't prepare for the freezing weather in Harbin even if we wanted to. I think the high one of the day was 9 degrees Fahrenheit. I cried at one point because my fingers hurt so bad from the cold. Yes, I felt stupid about it.

 If a picture is worth a thousand words then I would have to do a lot of rambling to account for all the pictures that I took. But since I already have a tendency to ramble sometimes... here you go:

The main attraction, everyone!

Sun and Moon Pagodas in Guilin

Elephant Trunk Hill in Guilin

Elephant Trunk Hill Park

Elephant Trunk Hill Park

"Its the climb..."

The view from the top of the climb at Elephant Trunk Hill Park

The view from the top of the climb at Elephant Trunk Hill Park

Solitary Beauty Park in Guilin

Street vendor in Guilin making stamps for us

Boat ride to Yangshuo through the mountains

My beautiful family!

Books

There is a quote by Charlie "Tremendous" Jones.

"You're the same today as you'll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read."

I was thinking about that one day and decided that I was going to attempt to read a book per month for the next... well, I never set an end date...
This whole thing was to get into the habit of reading more, not to see how long I could keep up this one per month thing. So, I told a few friends of my resolution, and they decided to join me. Thus, our book club was born! Yes, we actually schedule out chapters and gather to talk about the past weeks readings. No, we're not really normal.

So, first month's (July) book: The Ragamuffin Gospel- Brennan Manning 
It had its good parts. It had its parts I didn't like so much. i did not agree wth everything that I read, but that is alright. I would recommend it if you are able to read with a critical eye and not accept everything without wrestling with some things first. 


August's books: Outlive Your Life- Max Lucado
Very good reminders for every Christian. An easy but powerful read. 
Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
THATS RIGHT! I'm attempting two books this month! let's see how this goes. I haven't started the second book for August yet, and it's already half way over. I'm not sure if I can give Mere Christianity the time it is due if I want to finish this month. 

Expect to see many more posts about random things I have been reading (much like the last one). Feel free to leave suggestions for our upcoming months! You could be altering the very character of five crazy college kids.

Books

From The Ragamuffin Gospel

"Trust clings to the belief that whatever happens in our lives is designed to teach us holiness."-Brennan Manning

Kelley

 













This is my big sister. She is the coolest. She is moving to China on Monday. I'm gonna miss her.

Can't stop listening to....

Bombay Bicycle Club- Fairytale Lullaby

I'd give her a HA! And a HI-YA! And then a OUU-WA! And I'd kick her, sir

This Friday was probably one of the best days ever.
In the morning, we talked to some friends who own shops along the beach. We love talking to them and playing with their children. In the afternoon, my group was working with what was supposed to be the English class. Our contact, however, learned that I was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and asked if I would teach a self defense class if they postponed then English lesson. So, I pulled out a sleeping(a.k.a.punching) bag and taught the girls who showed up the proper way to punch, kick, block, fall, and take down someone. I showed them how to get out of situations when people attack you and several submission techniques. The girls were on fire. They were eating it all up. Some of them scared me a little bit with how quick they took to it. A few of those girls were born for martial arts haha. Watching them pair up and practice with each other was one of my favorite parts. It was so funny. It made me wonder how I looked when I first started.
I hope that the girls keep practicing. I pray that they never have to use anything I taught them. But, if they do, I pray that some of it sunk in, and that they can recall what they learned.