Copyright Infringement?

I finally sat down and reverse engineered my Thirty-One Skirt Purse this weekend!  It definitely wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be!!  I made a permanent pattern (heavy-duty, made from PVC), finished two new skirts, cursed minimally, destroyed nothing, and gave up not once in several hours!!  ... I know I am using a lot of exclamation points, but I am really excited.  :D   A sewing project where I don't curse the paint off the walls, destroy my project, or give up (usually with a strong desire to light the project on fire) is a rare occurrence.  I have the basic sewing skills needed to get me through life; it is neither easy nor relaxing for me to tackle a tricky project.  BUT!! This one worked!

Here are all the skirts I have now.  I think I've decided to become the crazy lady with the seasonal bags.  It's so easy to change them out!

I measured the fabric needed to make one skirt, and it takes less than 1/2 yard of 44inch wide fabric.  That means even expensive fabric is not expensive to buy for this project.  First, though, I used some of the left-overs from making the comforter cover a few weeks ago as a "test run."  I didn't want to ruin anything as I worked out the kinks of the pattern.  Though, I think it looks awesome and I'm keeping it as a real skirt, not just as a mock-up.

After the test run, I drew my pattern onto the PVC and cut out a permanent pattern.... that will last forever!  (John brought me the PVC scrap from his work for another project of mine, but there was enough extra to make a pattern for the purse.)  Then came the real question: could I make a functional skirt from the pattern I had just made?  I had found in my stash this cute bat fabric and wanted to show it off for all my caver friends next month.  This was the main focus of the afternoon...  and I think I succeeded!

As I said before, I think I'm going to start accumulating half-yards of fabric to make as many skirts as I can.  Change my purse every few weeks!  It's only copyright infringement if I sell the pattern, right?  Maybe I should look into that.   :)  To counterbalance, let me say that you should look up your local Thirty-One consultant (like Tupperware, Mary Kay, or Pampered Chef) and see the great bags they have!  It's delightful!

Kevorkian Scarf!

Lara and I are working on a knit-a-long project this month, and to understand why we are so excited about it, you first must watch this video:  (Safe for Work.  There is no truly foul language, just one "jackass.")



Back in college, we were all hooked on this series of web-toons, called Neurotically Yours.  (Beware of following that link; the main character is an extremely foul-mouthed squirrel named Foamy who has no problem telling you what he thinks of you.  Funny, but DEFINITELY not safe for work... unless you work in a biker bar.)  We were all foul-mouthed college kids at the time, so we loved Foamy dishing out his "squirrely wrath" to the unsuspecting public.  Flash forward .... a few.... years and imagine my delight when Lara shows me a scarf named "Foamy!"  (Raveled here.)  Instantly we re-name it The Kevorkian Scarf and decide we have to have it!!  :D

Lara and I both re-arranged the pattern blocks a little to make it suit our tastes more, but it's still pretty much the original pattern.  I used a skein of Tofutsies from the stash, a sea-FOAM green to match the pattern (color #789).  Haha!  For never having done drop stitches before and for not writing down a pattern, I think it's coming along nicely.  It's mostly big blocks of garter stitch, so it knits up quickly.

As John noticed, yes, it is more of a shawl shape than a scarf shape (i.e., triangular vs rectangular), but I will wear it more like a scarf ... neckerchief? bandanna? Around my neck, not my shoulders.  So I think it should remain "The Kevorkian Scarf."  "Kevorkian Shawl" just sounds weird.  :)

Walkies!

For Martin's Christmas 2010 present, we got him a harness and leash.  Now, I've never taken a cat outside on a leash before, but Martin is so persistent about escaping that we figured, "At least he'll be supervised this way and won't get hit by a car."

We didn't take him out too much .... because it was winter and cold.... but Martin quickly showed us that he didn't care about wearing a harness when he was outside exploring the Great Unknown!  We never make it very far into the Great Unknown; Martin's winter record was three doors away from ours.  Haha.  He moves very slowly when he stops to smell every bush and perk up at every noise around him.

    

(Lara loves those pictures because John is so tall and Martin is such a tiny cat.  She thinks it's hysterical.)

Anyway! Now that it is getting a bit warmer, I took him out again.  We very quickly beat our old record, making it FIVE doors down the road!  Whoa!  But then Martin got distracted again.... this time by a tree.  And I guess that a kitty will eventually do what all kitties love to do when they see a tree.  (Sigh)

    

Yes, I was terrified that the little goober would lose his balance, fall out of the tree, and choke himself on the leash.  I kept a very careful eye on him and how his harness was trying to wrap around the tree.  But I couldn't help but marvel at his determination and sense of adventure.  The owner of the tree who's yard we were in, of course, came home while we were exploring.  Thankfully, he was okay about us trespassing (not like some cranky pants would be) and just said, "I've never seen a cat on a leash before."  We shared a laugh as he went into his house.  I had to call it a day when Martin wanted to explore where our neighbor was going.  Silly boy, we are trespassers, not cat burglars!  Haha!

"OOH! What's over there?"

Yay for bags!

I know girls are supposed to be crazy about purses, but I have never really gotten into having 400 bags. I just carry too darn much in my purse and I don't like having to switch everything every time I switch a bag. Well! The solution is here! The company 31 sells a bag known as the Skirt Purse which has interchangeable slip covers. When you feel like having a different purse, you just swap covers and don't have to worry about transferring everything from one bag to the next. Yay! I finally bought one for myself and it arrived today!! So excited. :)

The black swirly print is my basic print, but I had to get a wild & crazy color, too! I plan to dissect the cover to make a pattern so I can make more covers whenever I see I fabric that I like. (Also, the covers alone are pretty expensive for only half a yard of fabric. I'm going to save some money, too.)

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