Bean Bags for the Loft

I made some new covers for the bean bags at the Loft  because the old ones were, well, old and faded. I made a pattern by cutting up an old cover. They have darts and a zip on the bottom. I stitched all the seams twice for strength. The fabric is IKEA cotton. Nice and bright and cheery (and a print to hide the inevitable stains).

This is Spock and some random hostel guests.

Spock and Lucy. She's from New Zealand too. It has been great hanging out with her - reminiscing about all the great food that you can get in NZ (lamingtons, pies, microwaved Cookie Times...).

Me, Tom and Dan

How is this possible?!

A couple of months ago I started making a blue georgette dress which is basically going to be the same as my black and white linen dress. I cut out all the pieces for the bodice, interfaced them, started sewing. Then I had to move a lot of stuff around in my room (old furniture went out, new stuff came in) and somehow I lost a few of my cut out pieces of fabric. So I thought I would leave it until I found them again (I didn't want to re-cut them because then the skirt would have to be shorter and/or less full than I had envisioned). I am still looking for those missing pieces and decided to cut out the dress again this time in a nice grey fabric that has a little sparkle in it. I cut out all the bodice pieces, pinned some together and put it on hold for a few days because I didn't have any grey thread. I bought some thread yesterday. I started sewing it up today and realised some of these pieces are missing now too!!! It is freaking ridiculous! Maybe I should just sew the blue and grey pieces I have together? It makes me want to scream! And I even tidied up my room. This is why I don't like cleaning!

Summer Bag

I made this bag last summer. I saw the fabric and it was just begging to be turned into a bag. It's lined with an old sheet. It has a couple of pockets on the inside - and a tiny one for my lip balm - very important. I go crazy without lip balm....

These shorts used to be my favourite jeans back in 2006. They were straight leg jeans but after a few years of wearing skinny pants I couldn't wear them any more. They just felt too humongous. So the other day I cut them short and hemmed them. I was actually thinking about going a bit shorter but my friend Tom was like "but your minge will hang out!!". Thanks Tom.

T.Rogers groupie

My friends have a great blues band called T.Rogers. I went to watch their concert last night so I wore my newly refashioned T-Rogers tank top. Such a nice way to spend a Saturday evening - drinking delicious beer, listening to good music, chatting with friends.

They have been playing at this smoky, sweaty pub, Fregatt, every week for something like 10 years! I have been going to their concerts since I arrived in Budapest. I actually went to one of their concerts before I met any of them.

Ferci gave me this t-shirt a few years ago but I never wore it because it was this big unflattering mens t-shirt with a neck that strangled me. It didn't even have side seams - it was one of those continuous tube t-shirts....

I haven't finished any of the hems because it stretches when I try. It doesn't fray though. If I find some suitable binding I will apply that otherwise it will stay as is.

Apples and Cherries

I made these shorts a few months ago but it hadn't been warm enough to wear them so today I finally got my chance.

I made them from some stash fabric which has apples and cherries on it. It wasn't even my fabric - someone else left their fabric stash behind when they moved out of the flat where I live now!

I made my own pattern for these shorts. They have four darts at the back, a side zip, an apple button (I was really quite super happy to find the perfect button after sorting through tons of them in the button store), and pockets on the back.

They have a tendency to ride up a bit when I walk around- is the solution to this just to make them bigger? They are completely comfortable when I am just standing around normally.

After the market I was looking into the Serbian church's garden and they have a swimming pool in there!!! I need to figure out some way to sneak in there.... Pity they have such a huge fence around the place....

Lessons from Me-Made-May

I have learnt a few things from Me-Made-May.

- Wearing stuff I have made myself makes me happier! It feels good to wear things I have put my time and effort into. Plus, it is a trillion times better getting a compliment on something I have made myself opposed to a store-bought item. I even liked doing my laundry during this month - pulling all my me-made stuff out of the washing machine, it was satisfying.

- I don't really need more clothes (at least for this season). I managed to get through the month with just two cardigans. Sure a few more items would make mixing and matching easier (like a solid coloured jacket), but they are not necessary. Usually the things I need are actually things I want. I need to change my thinking on that. There is too much clothing waste everywhere. And in my case, I buy far too much fabric which I really do not need.

- Before May started I was a little worried about how I would get through an entire month without certain items (like my H&M tank tops which I previously wore pretty much every day layered under other things or alone). But I barely even thought about them! I have too many rarely used things taking up space. I'm going to cull my wardrobe which shouldn't be too difficult since at the start of the month I separated all my me-made stuff from the store-bought.

So I want to say a huge thank you!! to Zoe for creating Me-Made-May. I enjoyed this challenge a lot, the ups and downs of it and following everyone on the flickr group. I am looking forward to being a part of Self-Stitched-September!

'I, Jodi, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-September. I endeavour to wear only handmade and refashioned items of clothing every day for the duration of September 2010'.


There are three months until September so that is plenty of time for me to make stuff like socks and underwear - things I don't have me-made of.

Me-Made-May: Day 31

The last day of Me-Made-May! This month passed so fast.

I spent my morning and afternoon sewing stuff for other people - I think tomorrow I will do some work on stuff for me. I can't believe I still haven't finished my polka dot Spring trench coat! It doesn't really matter though since it is too cold to wear it anyway. It is freezing again! The weather has been so crazy this month. Brrrrr.

I decided to bike home from work this evening. It was just spitting a little when I closed up the office but like 30 seconds later it started pouring. I got drenched and there were huge puddles and the passing cars sprayed water on me :(

So here I am all bedraggled in my plaid jacket, blue wrap cardigan and black holiday dress. I'm wearing my one and only pair of me-made undies too. No pics of them...

Here you can see my dress better. I love this dress but rarely have occasion to wear it. It's another Burda 7829. I think this is my favourite of them.