Greetings star nosed moles. It’s hot here in Minneapolis and we’re all too befuddled to come up with good post titles.
This weekend was EXTREMELY productive, sewing-wise, for me. Amazingly so, since it’s near record levels of dew points here (over 80 yesterday!) which means that not only it is it hot, it’s SUPER STICKY!! Like, last night the outside temperature and the dew point were pretty close to each other, so when you walked outside you immediately felt all wet. Ewwwwwww….
So I (mostly) stayed inside and I finished four dresses!!
OK, I lied. I only finished two dresses yesterday. The green maxi dress all the way to the left and the white and green dress 2nd from the right. I finished the pink and brown dress Friday and I ALMOST finished the red dress yesterday. But still, four dresses in a weekend!!
Since I was so busy finishing dresses I didn’t get around to taking any real pictures of them (although I wore the pink and brown dress on Saturday, so you can see it in my snugbut365 picture! This is the Kwik Sew dress I’m teaching as a class later this month!) You’ll have to be content with hanging-on-the-door photos until I can suit up for reveal pictures!
How I spent the REST of my weekend…
I usually try to avoid rambling, personal diary type posts, but I have quite a few tidbits from the weekend that are relatively sewing-related and offer some picture-taking opportunity. So here goes.
Ten cones
I ran to Joann’s yesterday morning to pick up a package of clear elastic. Of course, I got sucked in by the sale on Gutermann thread and added to my slowly-growing serger thread collection. Yesterday I added red, pink and black to my orange, green and white. Want to know something funny? The first color I bought was orange. I mean, seriously. Of all the colors who picks ORANGE as the most crucial?? Wouldn’t an off-white-goes-with-everything have been better? I’ve been buying three cones of the colors and four of the neutrals. What’s everyone else’s cone-buying strategy??
Also, note my thread rack. It’s a new one that I got from Joann’s. I couldn’t resist spray painting it white so it matched everything else in the sewing room. Sigh.
Closet Organization
Like many sewists (I imagine) I have been experiencing some logistical issues with closet space lately. As in, I keep sewing and there’s nowhere to put the new things! I’m pretty ruthless when it comes to donating clothes that don’t fit right, don’t wear well or I don’t completely love, but I know my taste pretty well and don’t have as many of the don’t-love garments coming off the assembly line. And since I’m in this sew-the-same-dress-eight-times rut, new projects are fitting the way I like. Last week my friend Daria and I were pawing through my closet and she told me to go to Target to get some Huggable Hangers. I was initally resistant because she said they were fuzzy and I have bad memories of mismatched fuzzy hangers from some point in my shady past, but she also said they were really skinny and you could fit more stuff in the closet. Plus, since they’re ‘velvet’ they hold onto the garments and don’t let them slide off, no matter how silky or wide-necked. I was intrigued.
My star-nosed friends, they work like a DREAM!! Does anyone else use them?? I got about 30 of the ‘real’ Huggable Hangers from Target – from what I understand they are a Home Shopping Network thing that migrated to Target. And they’re PRICEY!! It’s $5.00 for a set of five of ’em or $20.00 for a box set with 24 hangers (or something like that) and some clips to make ’em into skirt hanging hangers. It’s sort of annoying, because amongst my other inconvenient OCD tendencies, I can’t stand it if my hangers are different colors. I can stand slightly different colors – like white and beige. But I can’t tolerate totally different colors like black and white. So I have to replace all my hangers in a relatively short time, otherwise I’ll obsess over it to the exclusion of all else. Also, black seems to be the more popular color (whatev. Clearly these people do not own white, hairy beasts. Like I’d let black velvet through my front door), and so all the accessories are available separately from Target, but only black. I like to hang my skirts on the type of hangers with clips, but my clips CLEARLY need to match, so since Target only carries black I had to order the white ones online.
I found these at Marshall’s – 18 hangers for $9.99. The colors close enough to not drive me buggy, so I got two packages of these as well.
Apparently they are also available at Costco in packs of 50 for $15.00, but only in black. Clearly, Costco’s buyers are a bunch of crazy cat ladies prone to rescuing the bad-luck black kitties and gave no thought to those of us who own the non-dark arts variety of pet.
Anyway. Look what they can do! Here’s 17 shirts on my old white plastic hangers.
And here’s 22 shirts on the new hangers in the same spot!
And here’s the side of my closet with my dresses. I could barely fit anything in this side before switching hangers! This was partially because all of my trousers were hung separately and I switched to one of those ladder-style hangers. But I also added in my scarves when I freed up all that room! I can fit, like, 20 more dresses in there easily. Oops – make that 16 after this weekend…
Yay! I’m very pleased with my new, super slim velvety hangers!
Raspberries and hot dogs
Also this weekend I ventured out into the suffocating heat to pick our first bowl of raspberries from the canes we put in last year! We stared them down for a few hours, trying to decide between freezing for the making of jam later this summer or immediate gobbling.
Mr. Bug had his with angel food cake. I just ate my half straight out of the bowl. Even Lucy the hound got a few!! She’s not a big fan of fruit (of fish) but she always gets a taste of things we grow in the garden, since she’s part of the family.
Finally, think kind thoughts for all the hot puppies today! It’s hard on them! Yesterday I heard a poor puppy yapping away – she’d been shut up in an SUV on a day when I wouldn’t even let Lucy sit OUTSIDE for more than 10 minutes or so!! Some people are so not-thoughtful. Luckily, her owners came out while I was still circling the SUV considering breaking and entering. I refrained from a lecture (the boy owner was a bit intimidating) and the dog seemed OK, but egad! Here’s my hot dog. She’s forgotten that pillows are for heads.
Wow, four dresses! Good work :D. I’ve been lurking in the sewing room a lot because it’s cool, but definitely not four dresses worth.
Enjoy your new hangers! I must admit a couple of items have crept from my closet into my husband’s, and I’m seriously considering moving some of the less-frequently-worn stuff into one of the kids’ closets. Having a large wardrobe is such a new sensation for me…
Oooooo…. Dan’s already grumpy that my sewing is taking over the guest room where ‘his’ closet is… I can just imagine how he’d react if I started putting stuff in his closet. He is a closet FREAK – he has a complicated system of hangers and color coding. I can’t even put his hanging stuff away because I don’t understand it!
And it was my CRINOLINE that drove me ’round the bend with the hangers. When I got that back in my possession and put it away – EGAD those take up a lot of space!! I’d love more colors, but I’m thinking maybe just one white and one fun color… more than that and we’ll have to start looking for a new house!
“Of all the colors who picks ORANGE as the most crucial??”
buddhist monks?
Of course orange is the most crucial color cone thread! Could that come into question?
Partial pictures of dresses on hangers that leave me only to imagine what dresses they are? That is very very cruel. I’m restraining my impatient need to clarify the mountain of question bubbles that popped up all around my head and have now buried me. I will refrain from asking about hem bands etc until those questions can be answered with my own eyes.
Maxi, knit’n’cotton, knit’n’cotton, Claire…
I’m loving that green maxi dress, and those are pretty groovy hangers. I’ve seen them before but the cheapskate in me is appalled at the cost. But, that is some magic space saving mojo. I might just have to cough up the dough. Oh, I totally spray painted my thread rack sparkly gold to match my diy pattern weights. It’s happier that way. š
Yay! Sparkly gold!
First off, thanks for sharing your Lucy, My Bassett, Mollie was with me for 18 1/2 years, I miss her every day.
The dresses look great! 4 in one week-end, are you kidding me? There has to be some kind of award for that! And the hangers, yes, yes. I discovered them at Costco last summer and have essentially replaced every one of ours less the beautiful wooden coat hangers. I like the black because they blend well with my wardrobe and current pets. You are correct, one can stuff more clothes in any closet with these. Any device to validate our clothes:))
Mollie is such a great basset name! I know someone who just got a basset puppy and they named her bubbles! I love Lucy pictures – she’s just so funny all the time! She’s curled up on a mountain of pillows on our bed as I type this. She shoves them around with her snout until they’re perfectly piled for her!
I kept all the wooden coat hangers too – they live in the hall closet and are so great for taking pictures!
when i bought my serger, i collected thread in small bursts – a handful every time i went to the fabric store. so now i have every color in the rainbow except yellow, and many variations of the same color (several blues, for example). i buy 4 spools of each color, just because it drives me crazy if one thread line doesn’t match! but like i said, i can afford to do that since i built my collection slowly.
i am intrigued by the idea of those hangers – heard a lot of people singing their praises. i’m in the process of moving (well, within the next month) so i’m considering throwing out my old hangers & starting with fresh ones. it’s hard to stomach the idea of buying them, though – i’ve always considered hangers to be one of those free things people don’t pay for lol. i always got mine from people who visited the dry cleaners one too many times š
I was thinking of buying 4 of every color, except that 3 thread serging is OK, too (right? isn’t it?), and I sort of would like to fit everything on one thread rack!!
While it pains me to think of replacing perfectly good hangers, those skinny hangers above would really make a difference in my closet (which is a tiny hole that is shared by both my husband and me). Thanks for pointing them out. I can imagine myself leaving Costco with a crazy impulse buy the next time I’m there. Beautiful dresses as well. I can’t wait to see them fully!
They were an eye opener for me! Anything to better maximize the space in our closets. We’re lucky in closet space because we live in a house from the 50’s, but we could still use more!
Wow! 4 dresses! I am so jealous! I am in the process of moving and my sewing room is packed and I am going bananas seeing so much I want to sew! But, since I am moving, I am thinking I might have to toss some more hangers and invest in some fuzzy ones!
Also, my Husky likes to lay on her pillow with her head on the floor too! I think it is because the floor is tile and therefore cooler than the pillow for her hot head.
Get the fuzzy ones! If black works for you, the Costco price seems great!
We have pictures from when Lucy was a 10-pound-hound of her laying the same way. Giant puffet-bed, and she hangs off the side. Silly dog.
Orange is my favorite color! So, that seems entirely practical to me! ha ha ha
It seemed practical to me, too! Orange is also the only color of wooly serger thread that I’ve obtained!
Whoops, messed up my comment! I hope this doesn’t double post (if so, I’m sorry. Still getting used to this new site).
I feel so sorry for these poor animals. Imagine being stuck in a fur coat during this heat wave! I’ll bet that floor is much cooler on Lucy’s face. š
The dresses look lovely. I adore your fabric choices! I have such a hard time finding coordinating fabrics, so I’m always impressed how you manage to find such great combinations!
Whoops! Oh darn, it did post after all. š Sorry about that, I didn’t realize that the latest comments were at the top!
I know – it’s weird that they’re on top. It’s probably fixable – I mean, of course it’s fixable! But I think it’s in the code of the theme and I’m not sure where!
I was sure that you meant 10 ice cream cones, what with the extreme heat and all. :o) Serger thread is probably a much healthier addiction to feed!
Loving your colourful outfits, as well as the ruthless closet pruning. Must follow suit!
I would like 10 ice cream cones!
Sometimes it’s so HARD for me to prune! I finally put this horrible sweater coat into the ‘donate’ bag last night. I LOVE it, but it’s nasty acrylic in plum that attracted and tangled every single fiber out there. Not a good option for a girl who sews and pets a white dog!
I keep seeing those velety hangers all over the place and wondering if I should start replacing mine… (Which you would hate: they are black and white mismatched hangers!!!! I know. I will go to Closet Hell one day. rofl.) My closet is pretty *ahem* packed. Like you I have reached that point where most of what I’m sewing/altering/buying fits well both physically and with my aesthetic sense, so I really don’t need to get rid of things as much as in the past. I could, perhaps, curtail my sewing. But then I think I’d probably whither away and die. (Home dec and quilting still isn’t an option for me. Dressmaking is what really gets me going.) Which would be sad, right? (Right.)
Also: bravo for all your sewing mojo!!!! And I really need to get a thread rack. I still do not have one. I think I must be the last hold out. It’s shameful, considering how long I have been sewing and all my threads are jumbled in a drawer… Yikes.
All of my hangers are aqua. Hubs are black, Daughter M has periwinkle, Daughter J has bubble gum pink….
lady, we had the SAME WEEKEND!
same hangers.
same mass production sewing.
same raspberries.
and the weirdest of the bunch: SAME SERGER THREAD. we have the exact same colors, no more no less. the first cone i ever bought was green!
I am going to have to try those hangers! Seriously…they are fantastic.
Patty, Something I just found out recently and you probably already knew: short-haired white dogs can get sunburned on their bellies from reflected sun from the pavement, so plaster sunscreen on your puppy’s belly pooch.