A Little Dye Will Do Ya

It's been a bit chaotic this week. Who am I kidding it's chaotic every week! This is my life we're talking about here. But by grace alone we're still kickin'. I did a guest blog on the Diaper Pin. I get a lot of comments on how neatly my pre-folds are pinned, so I shared some of my tricks. My biggest secret is that I use nice stretchy bamboo diapers. If you've ever been curious you can read about it.

I've become more interested in repurposing and refashioning. In my previous life we never thought twice about tossing items a little past their prime or sending things with minor flaws to Goodwill. But now we waste not want not. And really it's a far more satisfying way to live. This weekend we made a trek to the thrift store ourselves. I was looking for cute sheets to make pillow covers, but struck out. However, I did find my new favorite jeans and spent all of 99 cents on them. Shh!

Pawing through racks of unwanted items with holes and stains and a little what were they thinking?! I remembered that I had a shirt sitting at home I had been meaning to return to a wearable state. I loved this shirt; simple soft cotton, well placed stripes, and good for everyday. Then I washed it with something I shouldn't have and it has been molted blue ever since.

Poorly lit picture of evidence:

Not convinced? Let's zoom in... See it's like a Smurf was murdered. There are splotches like this in numerous places turning one of my favorite shirts into rag bag fodder.

What's black and white and blue all over? Wait, wrong joke. I happen to have happy little jars of dye shelved away. And while I couldn't make my shirt black and white again surely I could find another acceptable hue afterall my shirt was already changing on it's on. I threw it in a pot o' tint. I've never actually done a solid dye job before, so I was a tad nervous. Hey, I couldn't make it any worse right?

I think the key to a solid dye job is: Just keep stirring, just keep stirring... I didn't want it to be very dark, just enough to cover the splotches, so I only let it soak for about 2 hours. Look at my new blue and black stripes:

Ignore my frizzy hair, darn humidity! Notice my capris, another $.99 thrift find. Two new pairs of britches that ACTUALLY fit without constantly yanking them back up. Bottoms that actually require unzipping in order to use the restroom equals two dollars well spent. I can say that having clothes that fit can go a long way towards making you feel human again.

Back to sewing pail liners...

G'nite-