It’s that time of year again! With spring tentatively on its way, we can finally look forward to the end of…

SeaSoNaL AfFEcTiVe DisOrDeR!!!!!

I don’t know how I got signed up for this yearly membership, but I would like to unsubscribe.

Aside from that gift from the universe, the past year was a doozy. In order, my soulmate of a dog for the past 17 years passed away, shortly followed by the untimely and sudden death of my beautiful cat from congestive heart failure. Losing my babies was brutal. Then, a student of mine also passed, and he was only 17. At least it was painlessly in his sleep, but oof, that was an unprecedented loss. And finally, my dad ALSO passed away, a day after my student. That too was unexpected, and now some unresolved healing will just stay– unresolved.

Long before this blog was a thing, and I had way less responsibilities (pre-Master’s degree and teaching job; rewarding but time consuming), and before ~ e v e r y o n e ~ decided to hold hands over the Rainbow Bridge, I used all that glorious free time to refashion clothes. Since I didn’t make great money, I was usually refashioning hand-me-downs. This forced a type of creativity that I sometimes miss, now that I’m flush with THAT TEACHER SCHMONEY

As the entire world is aware, teachers are underpaid. However, for me, this is still an improvement. I can afford a Goodwill haul from time to time now! And *gasp* sometimes even NEW clothes, of which I am the first person to own them!

That’s something to be grateful for (as my old therapist told me to remind myself). Focus on the things you’re grateful for, and think about how much you’ve overcome. Yet, as with all therapeutic strategies, that is much easier said than done. Rather than imagining times that I pushed through and felt good about it, let’s take a trip back in time to my other projects over the years!

~ From The Archives ~

Of all the dresses and clothes I remade, this is the only one I still have. I made this 10 years ago from a dress donated to me by my ex’s mom. The elastic waistband is the best feature, because naturally your body changes your whole life!

This was another of her dresses. I liked the outcome, but that polyester silk material was not very breathable and had no stretch, so it went to live another life with someone else. I look so 2014 in the after picture!

I remember being pretty proud here because I refashioned every piece of that outfit into something else (even the leggings became a scarf!)

Okay, I’ve never been a t-shirt and jeans person, but I did attempt a more feminine baseball tee look. This was really hard because I drafted the sleeves and had to stitch the floral stripe on to some pretty finicky knit fabric. I was surprised at how well it turned out! Even now I wonder if I could pull that off again 😂

I remember making this boiler suit dress over a weekend where I was *very* sick. I pulled my hair out of its ratty bun long enough to take a semi-decent picture, and then I was back in pajamas immediately.

Another of my ex’s mom’s dresses! Red has always been my *thing* (because of the dark hair and pallor), so it was perfect. I wore it til I grew out of it. I miss any pretty dress with pockets, especially that gal.

For some reason I don’t have a picture of me in this dress, but since it was 2013, I doubt I’ll ever find one. Anyway, I dumbly bravely decided to make the top surplice, and amazed even myself when it came out the way it was supposed to!

This was a Halloween costume I made for my little sister. I don’t remember the characters name, but I think I did a pretty good job sticking to the look of the guy.

The last of the ex’s mom dresses. If this one was so itchy and excited to ride up my hips, I think it could have been cuter. A modern version of that is pretty much my uniform — I love a pinafore/long sleeve combo.

Once upon a time, around 2016 or -17, my roommate dated a girl who refinished a chair in this material. I made myself a dress for my birthday with the leftovers. I still have it, because holy cow was it a lot of work starting from scratch!

P.S. I got some kittens in February because the house was just too quiet, and I need someone to howl at me when they want treats. Otherwise I start losing my mind and I can’t afford to go crazy. So(!) introducing my sweet new babies . . .

Xantheppe and Paris!