b natural. c sharp.

I ended up having the day off today because one of my students stopped taking lessons. I was determined to be productive with this extra time, unlike the lazy blob I’ve been the past few days. I sent out emails for my bands upcoming shows, duplicate stitched a name on a stocking for work, worked out, weeded a section of the garden, showered, and finally decided to a sewing project was in order (not to mention posted this blog!). I’ve been wanting to make a dispenser to hold my extra grocery bags for a while now but didn’t have any elastic handy. I just happened to need some for a pair of bed socks that I made for a finishing project at work last week and had plenty left over. Thanks to trusty Google, I found a tutorial from Dioramarama. It was a super easy project and now my grocery bags aren’t all willy nilly.

I also recently sewed together this sweet Dr. Who inspired scarf! A friend sent me about 5 scarves that he got at the dollar store. I de-fringed all but two ends and sewed them together. I had a little problem at first with the stretchy knit fabric being bunchy but lengthening my stitches helped. It turned out great!

I’m done being productive now. It’s time for dinner, Battlestar Gallactica, and Majora’s Mask.

Whenever I come across a helpful hint, I like to share it here so maybe you’ll find it useful too!

I’ve recently subscribed to a great blog called CRAFT, which is run by the makers of CRAFT Magazine (also a great crafty source of inspiration). March was deemed “Mending Month” where they featured a ton of really helpful sewing and repair tips. One of the posts was about fighting off those annoying sweat stains on shirts. The combination of sweat and deodorant can really do a number on your shirts from yellowing to dark, hardened stains. Like the author, I will not deny that I am a sweaty lady and many of my favorite shirts have been banned to wearing around the house because of embarrassing stains… until now!

As suggested by the post, I picked up a jar of Oxyclean powder and poured some into a cup of warm water. Then I attacked the troublesome spots using a toothbrush and the solution. I let it sit for about 10 minutes, then soaked it in the washer on warm for about 20 more minutes. Finally I let the wash cycle run using normal detergent. I am so impressed by the results!

I took a before and after picture of one of the worst stains. As you can, the dark spot from my t-shirt is nearly invisible! I’m really excited to be able to wear these shirts again without being self conscious! Thumbs up for Oxyclean, that wacky guy on the infomercials was right.