Clothespin Bag from Repurposed Child's Dress

This idea came when I spotted a vintage clothespin bag at an antique mall, fashioned to look like a child's dress.  Not wanting to pay the price, I quickly went home and sketched the design.  I put that aside but then recently found this little child's dress that I had made many years ago.  Not ever having a daughter, granddaughter, or any other little girl to give it to, I remembered the vintage clothespin bag idea!

This can be easily fashioned by sewing the bottom of a child's dress together, cutting the bodice down the center and folding back the "lapels" for easier access to the clothespins.  Child's hanger completes the look, easily hangs on a clothesline.

I'm taking this to the farm, where I LOVE to hang out clothes on the clothesline.

Reconstructed Shirt Dress

About 20 years ago I was purchasing recycled and reconstructed clothing at upscale boutiques in upstate NY.  The one-of-a-kind "artsy" look appealed to me.  Why I never considered making my own "rag bag" clothing is beyond me.  Not because I couldn't sew, more that I lacked the confidence to take risks.  I was an avid quilter, but the concept of going off the map without a PATTERN was more than I could fathom.

I guess with age and maturity you start to let go of some of that fear.  The above "dress" was actually inspired by one of the outfits I bought and loved 20 years ago.  It was constructed from a man's shirt, with an added patchwork skirt.  I wore that dress so much it almost disintegrated.  I kept it because I liked the design.  The skirt on this dress is the second time around....I cut it off the first one.  The suede-like shirt is my husband's.  For some reason we had matching suede shirts?? Neither one of us had worn the shirt for years. 

The important thing in this type of sewing is that there are NO MISTAKES.  If you don't like something you just change it. It's the person inside of the clothing that MAKES IT WORK.  If you like it, then it's good.  

This dress is loose and comfortable and not like any other on the planet.  I will enjoy wearing it.

Fruit Loop Donut, eh?

This blog is supposed to be about finding beauty in unexpected places.  I may have to change that definition to "finding beauty and/or humor in unexpected places."  So this donut showed up at work today.  WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS??  Does anyone think a Fruit Loop donut sounds yummy?  hahaaaa 

Thong way from Classy

Ok, these are a thong way from classy, but they made me laugh!  These Western gals lost their skirts, but not their boots!  These are actually bar stools, spotted at The Town Dump, Cave Creek, AZ.  I live in Cave Creek but I think I need these for my horse barn in Wisconsin.  I am planning to convert the horse barn into a "bunk house" and these stools would be perfect for those crazy sister get-togethers I am planning to have (don't tell my mom).  Now how to ship these?  They weigh a ton.

Chenille Jackets

These adorable little jackets were spotted at the Opera House Antiques Mall in Lake Mills, WI.  They are made from old chenille bedspreads and hankies (top jacket has little hanky triangles coming out of the pockets.) How CUTE, right?? 

Lotsa Meatsa, Meetsa Door Handle

Well this is an interesting idea, spotted at The Meatball Shop in Chelsea, NYC.  A meat grinder for a door handle!  For a meatball shop or butcher shop, sure, WHY NOT?  The night before visiting The Meatball Shop I had seen Sweeney Todd at Lincoln Center.  If you don't know the plot for Sweeney Todd there is a SPOILER coming up.  Here goes:  in the play they are grinding up dead bodies in the basement and then taking them upstairs and making them into meat pies and selling to unsuspecting customers. 

So The Meatball Shop/Chelsea, has a basement, too.  And while we were there people were running up and down the stairs for things.  And I kept thinking about Sweeney Todd.  Hahaa.  But seriously, the meat at The Meatball Shop was all yummy.  No reason to worry (probably). 

So back to the meat grinder....I think you could make an interesting door handle out of any number of heavy old implements.  Clever! 

Jaguar Chair

A pair of these cool chairs can be seen at the Club Monaco flagship store in NYC.  They were discovered by their buyers at the Paris Flea Market.  The seats are made from vintage Jaguar car seats.  I tried to get them to sell me the pair, but they only laughed.  Apparently they've had offers from other customers.  One woman actually said, "I'll pay you ANYTHING for those chairs!"  (that wasn't me) Well, they're not for sale.  So I will need to find myself some chair frames and an old Jaguar so that I can recreate the look. 

The Birth of the Elevated Bag Lady

I can remember the moment it all began. I was 12 years old and at an auction with my mom and her friends. This was a country estate auction, the kind where everyone stands in the yard of the poor deceased and the auctioneer stands on the front porch while antique dealers, neighbors, relatives, and other curious folk jostle and compete for ownership of the sad remains of a lifetime.

It had been a long, but exciting day, one which completely fascinated me. It was the end of the day and the serious buyers had either gone to settle their accounts or stopped taking interest in the few remaining boxes of junk. The auctioneer was determined to clear it all out, and when he was unable to rouse a bid for an odd box of glassware he pointed at me and said, "Would the young lady like this box for 10 cents?" Well DUH! Of course I wanted the box for 10 cents! Well that opened the floodgates.  After that I bought a few more boxes for a quarter. And, well, before you knew it I was the owner of a trunk load of glassware. I had NEVER felt such a rush of adrenaline and excitement!

Good thing I had a paying farm job of $1.00/hr., as that began my obsession with glassware, and indeed, a life-long desire to find and use what others had no use for. 

Over the years I've shopped garage sales, auctions, and thrift stores. I've picked things up off the curb on garbage day. I've sewn, glued, and reupholstered countless numbers of items and spent several years selling Antiques from my own store, wearing funny old hats around town to establish my identity. (That's the crazy lady with the antique store!) 

This blog will be dedicated to recycling, upcycling, repurposing, creating, and just generally finding beauty in unusual places. The name and idea came to be while dining at a fine restaurant in NYC discussing my son's fashion blog, The Modern Otter. What could be more fun than contrasting my style with his? 

So here we go. Thanks for joining me. 

PS I am pretty sure this little girl was me in a previous lifetime.  If she looks unhappy that is just an illusion.  She is secretly laughing her head off, but she'd really like some new clothes.