A Little Preview....

Tomorrow I promise you a wonderful story about the dress....along with pictures from start to finish....it was a hit with the person who ordered it....it is a birthday present for someone that I know....and I had a lot of freedom to do it my way!  I'm worn out today, though, haven't even sewn anything.  I'll be here tomorrow with my story of the blingy dress! Thanks for tuning in....have a peaceful evening and some blissful rest!

The Dress...Bling in a timeless look...

Well, I'm just thinking about what I"m going to write about tomorrow.  Its too late for me to get excited...so I'll wait till tomorrow morning....hope you don't mind.
The custom order dress was just fantastic to make.  And it turned out just right.  I sure hope that its recipient likes it....I'm pretty sure she will flip, in a good way, of course.  I have documented this dress's rebirth and I will tell you about it and supply some pics that go along with the rebirth....I so do love my job.  I am truly blessed...tomorrow...till then, practice kindness, find snatches of peace and enjoy them.

A Handbag for Spirit!

I spent all of yesterday (Sunday) making a bag to help a young, blind, injured and beaten-up horse named Spirit; you can catch her story on www.facebook.com/goodkharmarethreads if you don't already know the details.  Anyway, I wanted to make a bag that I can sell and donate 100% of the proceeds to the NPO that has Spirit in their care.  I had posted a picture of the 'raw materials' that I would be using last week sometime, and yesterday I dedicated the day to getting the bag done and ready to offer to the public.
I thought it would be cool to take photos and take you through all of the steps for making Spirit's bag.  The first picture is basically the 'raw materials' that i would be choosing from.  I had already chosen the black shorts to be the base, or bones, of the bag, and the white with black cloth napkin for inner lining.
The second picture shows the inner lining attached

to the inside of the shorts aka bag.  I love the weight and touch of fading that the black and white cotton napkin offers to the whole package, along with its soft feel. I knew I would be adding interior pockets to the bag, thus having to cover up some of the lining.  If not for wanting more pockets I would have been happy for it to look just like this...simple and neat.

Next I decided to put the bottom on the bag.  I used a salmony-pink and white checkerboard cotton placemat.  This placemat has just the right color of pink and a nice weight and thickness for the bottom, pretty as well as durable. I also chose to sew the bottom onto the bag (I had already split the middle of the shorts and reconstructed them so that they resembled a skirt instead of shorts.) in an inset fashion so that the edges of the bag and the bottom 'rolled' together, allowing the bag to 'sit' flat when put down.

Before I could change my mind about putting pockets on the inside (since I so love he black and white lining and hate covering it up) I went ahead and devised a couple of pockets with the salmony-pink and white colors.  The first pocket I made was from a pair of baby girl's seersucker gingham- checked  'panties'.  I sewed the little leg openings together to close the bottom of the pocket, and used the waist as the top of the pocket.  The elastic in the waistband should work to hold items in the pocket, at least to some extent.  I would be happy to add a piece of velcro to the top of this pocket if it were requested by the buyer.

The other inside pocket was made from a pair of our special salmony-pink with white polka dots (big dots) in a soft but sturdy terry cloth.  I closed the leg openings to use as the bottom of the bag, and then I sewed up the middle of the bag so that it splits into two pockets, with mild elastic tops.  Each side also has a small outside pocket (like a back pocket) for stashing the little things.  I made sure that even with the added pockets there was still plenty of the black and white lining to see (yes, I am enamored!).

 Probably the most difficult part of designing this bag...the horsey part!  I had an adorable little girls' cotton knit skirt to work with...white with the salmony-pink (a bunch) or black (a few) horses doing various things, from trotting, cantering, rearing, etc.  It also was topped with a wide white knit fold-over waistband....i ultimately decided to cut the waistband off of the skirt, as it just didn't look like it belonged.  I cut the skirt in half at the side seams, and at first pinned the pieces to the front and back of the bag.  Well, it really didn't look right, and when I pinned a strap on to see how it would look when being carried, I knew that it was just not right that way.  I re-pinned the two skirt pieces to each side of the bag, with the center of the piece lining up with the side seam of the bag.  I pinned on the strap and went back to the mirror to see how it
looked....big improvement....really cute.  This also gave me a place to
add two outside pockets, one front and one back, in between the skirt
pieces. So everything finally fit together like it should.  I had managed to put this oh-so-cute puzzle together, for the most part.

Of course, the bag would not be complete without some type of closure at the top.  I took a black scrap of fabric and made the two pieces for the two parts of  a magnetic snap closure.  I attached the snaps to the fabric pieces, and then sewed them onto the bag so that it could be snapped shut instead of gaping open while being carried or while sitting around.
I had a hard time deciding on the handle/strap for this bag.  Ultimately I went with the leather-look woven belt with buckle, as it was soft and infinitely adjustable.  The daintier belts I had to choose from were simply too short to be anything but a handle, and I know most people these days want a bag they can sling over their shoulder or over their head and shoulder and just go.  Once I got the belt attached to the bag and had a look in the mirror, I realized that it didn't detract from the bag in any way.....yay!!!
Lastly, I sewed in the GoodKharmaReThreads label and whew!!! I had completed the Bag Full of Spirit for Spirit!
As I have posted elsewhere, I am asking $50.00 for this bag, and 100% of the price will go to the Beauty's Haven Farm and Horse Rescue as a donation toward the ongoing care of sweet little Spirit....
If you or someone you know are interested in purchasing the bag, just message me on facebook or google+ or e-mail me at sheynascv@gmail.com.  Would make a great gift....thanks & peace 2 U!

Whew! I've Been a Busy Bee....

I have been so busy sewing this week, trying to get ready for the craft market.  However, it will be over 100 degrees tomorrow and I will be staying home after all.  I wanted to post some pictures to show you what I've worked on, completed, etc., and what's next...Taking it item by item...the green top above...I had major technical issues with my sewing machine when I sewed this one the FIRST TIME!  I ended up completely removing and repinning and resewing this top.  the second time wasn't nearly as traumatic...only change was I replaced the three buttons (they were white and plain and looked like a bad afterthought) with three pearl black vintage buttons, and it was a lovely improvement.  The light turquoise top had the interesting feature of double sleeves, each with crocheted hems.  It gave me the idea to cover the bottom layer of the sleeves with my embellishing fabric, leaving some of the crocheted hem showing at the bottom.  I think it worked out very well and is a unique look that accentuates the crochet work in a subtle way.

The little girls' top is finished and pictured above.  I showed a picture of this one (incomplete at that point) in my last post.  I embellished with a collar from shoulder to chest and the little frog closures all the way down the front (non-functional, as I didn't open and reconfigure front of top).  The back, which of course you can't see, has the collar pieces leaving the neckline at the back of shoulders and coming down to form a 'V' between the shoulder blades, which looks very crisp and neat.  I added a pocket to each side, near the bottom hem and centered on the side seam.  This top turned out really nice and I'm proud to offer it as my first Girls' item.


Now for this lovely pink creation....the first picture shows the stage where I start seeing where I want things to go and why, and how each part of the garment affects the other parts.  It is always great to see a garment 'filled out' on the dress form.  From this shot, you can see that while this top is a Medium and is ample and flowy, the embellishment will bring in the waistline and make the garment rather fitted when all is said and done.  I wanted to find a way to be as unconstricting as possible while achieving the tailored look.  As you look at the second picture, the finished top, you can see that i pared away a good bit of the area from the neckline over the upper chest area.  I felt like this would give a better look to the garment and also allow more freedom of movement. The other thing I did to 'free up' things...i attached each side along the side seam of the top, but i merely hemmed the part from center of chest to side seam,

leaving it unattached from the top to allow for movement and also accommodate various chest sizes (at least, this is my theory...we'll see if it works out...i'll let you know when i know).  The top is rather unimpressive on the hanger and I plan to put it on my womannequin for display when I return to the market (after this heatwave has done its work and moved on), showing off its fitted features.
With all of these pics, the color is off and doesn't do the clothing justice.  I need a better camera and better lighting, and probably, a better photographer...but hopefully you can see past all of that .  Later I will be working on some bags, picture frames, and the dress I have to have ready by next Wednesday.  I will come back to you with more inferior photos of these things....until then...stay cool (literally and figuratively) and let yourself be clothed  in peace and happiness.  Life is too short for anything else!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!!! to all....i do revel in my independence...don't take it for granted.  that is what small business is all about.  Today i have independently finished two lovely ladies' tops.  i am working on a girls' top and hope to have it finished tonight...we'll see..it is pinned and ready to sew, for the most part.  it is pretty cool, too.  my first 'girls' top...it is really going to be a nice top, too.  i took a picture...lets see if my phone will come through....it got stuck.  technology.....why i make bags and clothes....okay, here is the picture...the color is too light and red...it is a darker cranberry and the gold in the oriental embellishments is darker and more subtle...the whole thing is more subtle...just bad lighting....anyway there it is....
i like it so far...still have pockets to add...probably one the sides near the bottom hem.
i also have a dress that i've been commissioned to create.  i think i will take you along on that adventure...i will get some pictures and start tomorrow.  for now i am filled with the love and light of the universe and it is so good!!!  i have picture frames to cover to help some horses!!  till tomorrow....peace.

Why Not Good Kharma?

I am no technological genius so this may be easy for me or not...ah, not so hard after all!!  These are photos of a handbag that I made for a fundraising auction for the Louisiana Horse Rescue Association (www.facebook.com/LHRA1).  I missed the deadline to get the bag to LA for their silent auction, so I told them I would sell the bag and send them the proceeds as a donation.  So here is the handbag, quite lovely and original and a one-of-a-kind treasure that will be great as a handbag or tote or combination thereof.  The price for the bag is $60.00 - 100% of the proceeds goes to LHRA.  I can take debit or credit cards, or paypal.  Just let me know if you are interested in purchasing this wonderful bag for such a worthy cause!
So as I said, why not good kharma.....this is my favorite part of being GoodKharmaReThreads....seeing my work turn into love and help for others who can't help themselves.

And even as I offer this bag for one group, I have already picked out the 'raw materials' for the next bag, this one for a young horse named Spirit, who is blind and has been beaten up by the herd of horses she was with, and had injured herself just because she tried to go with the herd but ran into things due to the blindness. So I want to raise a little money for her, too.  People have her and are treating her wounds and giving her a chance...I'm on board and will make a great bag for Spirit....i found a piece with 'spirited' horses all over it...kind of cool!

Why Good Kharma?

To give you a bit of insight into why my business is 'GoodKharmaReThreads'....most obviously, I only purchase my 'raw materials' from thrift stores in order to insure that my money goes to help someone or something.  The more rewarding and, at the moment, kind of overwhelming part is creating pieces to donate to various non-profits for specific and/or general fundraising.  Today I will post my first piece that will have a set price and a way to purchase through me....and I will be sending 100% of the purchase price directly to the non-profit so that they can continue doing what they do, or, in some cases, deal with overwhelming influxes of animals/people in need. I will also begin work on another piece for a different non-profit.  When I get back on today, I will share with you some pictures and links so that you can better understand 'why'. The things I keep asking myself are 'why is this even necessary?, 'why do people do these horrible things?', 'why do we as a society let things go so far without doing something about them?' Must go, but will be back soon!  until then, practice peace and kindness....