Stealing other people's ideas

Sisters4saymoreismore showed a great redesign of a cardigan by embellishing with flowers made of T-shirts.
















First curve one corner.


They used about 34 flowers, which sounded like a great deal of cutting. However, I figured out how to do it fairly simply and quickly.




What usually slows me down is cutting from the upper or left-hand side, because I'm right-handed.









Cut in the top side of the first petal, then curve
the next corner.


So I did all the cuts in one direction, flipped the flower, and then made the other cuts. Here's what it looks like in progress.















After making all the cuts, flip it over.















Then make the other cuts of the petals, going in the correct direction once again.

Dang my lack of HTML skillz! I can't figure out how to a) move the pictures around to where I want them, and b) line up the captions correctly. Grrr.

And a year later...

Meanwhile, Baby Girl has grown a bit while I've been ignoring my blog. "A bit" being, of course, a euphemism for doubling in size. Fortunately, she was able to wear the baseball dress again this year. As a shirt.

H&M

Last night Michael and I cruised the Post Street H&M. Last month we'd met at the Powell Street store, where I was returning a sweater. Last week we braved the crowds to check out the new Westfield Mall and walked by the H&M there. The mall, btw, was CRAZY! We went at six p.m. on Saturday - I figured the stores would be closing, and we'd have a chance to just walk past the stores to see what's there. No. It was packed. Shoulder-to-shoulder packed. My son, for whom shopping is a pastime, couldn't get out of there fast enough.

The H&M in the mall has a lot of children's clothes. That was enough for us to notice - I didn't see anything calling my name, so I felt fine skipping an interior look. I'd read reviews saying that the Post Street H&M had clothes that were more suited for older women (omigod! am I one of those?), so I thought it was worth checking out.

It is indeed for women (no men's department, no children's), but I'm not sure that older is quite accurate. Colder, perhaps - I saw no fewer than 10 different types of overcoats. And the upstairs seems more geared to either 13-year olds, or closeouts. It was all garish colors, mostly Ts, tanks, and polos.

The clothes downstairs mostly looked like a repeat of what's at the Powell Street store, but without the crowds. That in itself is a big plus, but since the selection is so much better at Powell, I think I'll stick with it. Even with the 30 minute + wait for a dressing room, it's worth it.

At least I've learned that I shouldn't even bother looking at their pants. They are not ever going to fit me, no matter the style. But everything else works. It may be cheap, it may fall apart, but it'll look good for this season at least.

Menswear

Last night I drove past a man getting out of his car. He was at least 70, very tan, and wearing a seersucker shirt, madras plaid shorts, and topsiders. He looked so out of place as to appear comical. It reminded me of going to New York to drop Michael off when he moved there. It was August, and people weren't wearing much. I felt as though I was in a completely alien environment because folks were baring so much flesh.

Mark Twain is credited as saying that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. I've thought about the cold (it's hard to avoid thinking about the cold), but I hadn't thought much about how it impacts what we wear. A summer outfit, to me, involves a cardigan or windbreaker. Beachwear involves a fleece jacket and long pants. It's not that there's never a time for shorts, but it certainly isn't at the beach. And madras? With a tan??? Where on earth was he from?

Then as I continued home I drove past a guy who was jogging in a T-shirt which read "I (heart) hot moms." My heart sang, and my faith in Berkeley men's couture was realigned.