Holy Moly, What Have I Done?

I joined up on Wardrobe Refashion.



In the spirit of non-consumerism that simmered just under the surface of yesterday’s post, I have now pledged to buy *myself* no new clothing for the next two months. I can mend, remodel, sew from scratch, knit, crochet, hit the thrift store or the gently-worn shops, but no Coldwater Creek, Avenue, or those nifty stretch corduroy pants in the new L.L. Bean catalogue that I was contemplating.

As required by the terms of the website, here is The Pledge:
I [Lynn] pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of “new” manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovated, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that my thriftiness brings! Signed [Lynn].

Note: I tweaked a few typos on the pledge as written.

And here are The Rules:
1. No buying new! (handmade is excepted; So this allows for Etsy purchases etc!!) All clothing must be Recycled, Renovated, Preloved or Thrifted, or Handmade only for the term. Employment related and special needs clothing (ie sports, school), shoes and undies are excepted from the rules, although you are encouraged to have a go at making these.
2. In extreme circumstances, maybe a special event, or the world’s greatest and most amazing never to be repeated sale that you simply can not pass up, you may use the Get out of Refashionista Jail Free card. You are able to use this card once during the 2 month part of your contract; i.e., 1 for 2 months, 2 for 4 months etc. Of course you need to fess up on the blog and display the button! [This means that if the jacket I want at Coldwater Creek goes on sale for $22.50 before the 23rd of February, I am grabbing the cake with the file in it. It also means that I will not be buying those scarves I was eyeing at an online outlet, but *vintage* scarves on eBay are fair game, woohoo!]
3. You must post on the blog at least once a week to let the community know what you’ve been up to. This will not only give you brag points, but inspire and encourage others! Of course you need to display the button on your blog [check] and have copied the pledge in at least one post [check], and provide a link to your pledge under the button [check].
4. You need to be honest and admit when you’ve fallen off the Refashionista Wagon! Go directly to Refashionista Jail, do not pass GO and do not collect $200! Apply for parole once there.

In this spirit of fashion virtue and frugality, I present to you:

a. One button sewn back on:



b. The second cuff on November Mystery Sock:



c. Today’s agenda? Progress on a long-term UFO, the embellishment of a denim duster with recycled lace and silk ribbon embroidery. This is where it was when I picked it up again:



Detail of lapel:



My sister has a lovely denim jacket with a nosegay of silk flowers embroidered on it. Me? I’m going for that whole Palace Gardens at Versailles effect. It will probably not weigh as much when I am finished as the bodice to Firstborn’s wedding gown that I spent two and a half months beading, though I am using some of the leftover pearls and beads. But it may end up with its own area code, just from the visual noise. Have you ever known me to do things simply and tastefully when over the top will do?

Holy Moly some more -- I have 7 subscribers! Thank you, you make me blush! I have been puttering away, adding my own favorites to Bloglines and deleting bookmarks, which may drive down the Harlot’s numbers a little [are we there yet? are we there yet? what? no new column in the last 15 minutes?]. Eventually I will get everybody transferred over there, and then there will be no more, Did I read X today?

You may recall my nattering on about how the silk yarn and the bamboo needles were singing like unto Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald? Unfortunately, as you may guess from the rumpled ball that is attached to cuff #1, they are now bickering like Tommy and Dick Smothers. There was a major frogfest on Thursday night after the turkey-induced euphoria wore off. I ramped up to the 2.5mm needles and added five rounds in the leg pattern before dropping a stitch that went rappelling down the sock. I carefully frogged back and started over. Three rounds later, it happened again. I have just now put both cuffs on 2.5mm Addi Lace needles in the fervent hope that two points per sock will be more manageable than eight, and that the coating on the Lace needles will be grabby enough to keep the yarn singing on key.

LittleBit and I are planning to put in another two hours of parent-taught drivers ed before she needs to go to work. And I will *finally* get some face time with my best friend; we have been trying to get our schedules in sync for a couple of months. She called me yesterday afternoon, just before I took LittleBit to work, but as I had been up since 2:30 I knew I was likely to fall asleep mid-sentence, or on the road. So we opted for tonight.

What is with Blogger randomly inserting paragraph marks into my post? Every time I turn around, the spacing goes wonky on me.