FrankenTop

I always save my bits of fabric with good intentions, but this time, I actually followed through! You may remember these two refashions...

Seeing Spots

This dress was another last-minute grab at the clothes swap last month. It's an XL, is missing its belt, and has a big rip up the back seam. But I love the sheer polka-dotted fabric!

Knit Pencil Skirt

I have another sweater vest today that wants to be a skirt now. The neckline on this one was a bit higher than the green vest-skirt from the previous post though, so I decided to do a little more to keep some length.

Vest to Mini Skirt

I confess: I love vests. I don't know what it is about them - maybe the fact that I'm always cold so layers are good - but I always had a predilection for this wardrobe staple. Sometimes though, they turn on you. I've had this lime green sweater vest for a long time, but kinda big and boxy. Back when I was big and boxy I think it worked, but now? Not so much. I'm thinking it needs to be turned into a little mini skirt.

Aloha!

Sorry for my absence, but I have an excellent excuse. Hawaii. Yeah, it was awesome. In fact, I can sum up the awesomeness of the trip in three words: "I POKED LAVA." Yep, seriously.

Do I look excited? Because I was really, really excited.

I won't bore you with all the details, but how about a quick day-to-day breakdown?

• We spent our first day roaming around old downtown Hilo, on the east side of the Big Island, and checking out a nearby black-sand beach.
• Days 2 and 4 were spent hiking around Hawaii Volcano National Park. Highlights include Kilauea Iki and Pu'u Huluhulu. Have I mentioned my husband is working on his PhD in geophysics? Well, he is, so this trip was a decent bit educational as well. Bonus!
• On the third day, we oohed and ahhed at Akaka Falls State Park and the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.
• Day 4 was concluded with a 2-hour, 4-mile hike over the very rough terrain of an old lava field in the rain and half in the dark. Then we spent an hour playing with lava (I've uploaded a few videos here, here, and here), followed by another 2-hour, 4-mile hike back in the dark. There was not a single muscle south of my ribs that wasn't sore the next day(s), but it was totally worth it.
• On the fifth day, we drove over to Kona on the west side of the island and settled into our second B&B for a few days of relaxation.
• On day 6, we ventured north of Kona to the most gorgeous beach you've ever seen, Hapuna Beach, and spent the morning getting sunburned.
• And on our final full day, we strolled around Historic Kailua Village, doing the more traditional touristy things.

And now, after another looong day of sitting on my butt on an airplane, I get to sleep in my own bed again. I have to admit though, I'd give up my Tempurpedic in a heartbeat to be back on the Island again.

For this and much, much more, check out my photo collection on Flickr.

You asked for it!

This week has been hectic with all the last-minute preparations for our Hawaiian vacation. But I managed to eke out enough spare time to do a little knitting. I've revamped my Lego Man Mitts pattern to now include a range of sizes to fit the whole family!

That's right! No more excuses for stealing little Suzie's mittens. You can make yourself a pair of your very own!

I know I'm going to enjoy mine this winter.

Check out the free pattern, here on my blog, or download the pdf from Ravelry!

Full to Fitted

I picked up these casual navy slacks on Target's clearance rack a while back. They're fine, I guess, just not great.

Infinity Scarf

Here we have another piece I grabbed at the clothes swap. It's a light-weight, sheer fabric in a lovely fall color palette, but it's an XL and not really my style.

Bye-Bye Bells

I attended a clothes swap last week hosted by the theatre company my friend works for. If you've never been to a clothes swap, you should really try to find one in your area. Basically, you bring any clothes/shoes/accessories you don't want anymore, pay an entry fee, and get to take home as many of other people's clothes as you want. It was fabulous! Since I was kinda sorta working the swap with my friend, helping hang up clothes as they were brought in, I stayed the entire time. So at the end of the night, when last call was announced, I basically just went down the racks and grabbed anything that I might be able to do something with, whether it fit me or not. Wanna hear about my haul? I knew you would.

3 suits (one skirt suit and two pants suits)
8 dresses
1 pair of pants
5 skirts
4 tops
1 scarf
2 necklaces

A few of these pieces actually fit fine as they were (I mean, in addition to the scarf and necklaces, obviously). But now I've got plenty of refashioning material too.

Let's start off with those pants. They were chocolate brown, Old Navy bell bottoms, with a subtle, textured, pin-stripey thing going on. They fit perfectly in the waist, but those bells are just not my style... anymore.