Summer Menu

I continue to be inspired by the possibilities of the Liberty fabric covered beads.

While visiting my brother in Michigan we stopped in in to see some dear friends that have a lovely old farm house complete with a barn that is being renovated and beautiful gardens that produce massive amounts of vegetables. We took home the first crop of tiny radishes and a handful of chives. Later we served them with sweet butter on grainy bread and a touch of coarse salt....YUM!

I was admiring the vintage tablecloth that was spread on the kitchen island and my friend and I talked about how we both collected them. I no longer have an outdoor patio or a kitchen table, for that matter, now that I am living in a high rise condo. I offered to keep a look out for any inexpensive gems . Two hours later I found this cloth at a local antique flee market......so with much regret I am passing it on....along with one of my necklaces... these colors are right up her alley.

....my swirly plate is full of possibilities for another braided or charm necklace! I better hurry...summer is nearly half over.

Clare Potter... Vintage Perfection

My recent fascination with vintage women's magazines has led to this charming new addition to my Spring wardrobe featured below.


While browsing the pages for fashion illustrations to add to my collages I came across this article on Clare Potter...one of the first ladies of American sportswear. After a Google frenzied search I came up with little information about Clare Potter's career but surprisingly...on Ebay(where else?)...I actually found this stunning little linen jacket up for auction from a seller in the UK...and shockingly I won the item for under $20. It fits me perfectly and is in beautiful condition. What makes this jacket special is the attention to detail. The collar is ecru satin with a sage green velvet trim and the buttons are covered in a pale gray satin.


I like the addition of this 50's star burst brooch..also an Ebay purchase for $9.99. The jacket looks real cute with another one of my spring bargains... gray silk, pleated cropped harem pants that I found on a a double markdown +coupon at Express for $15.99.

........ the great froo*gal style is workin'!!!

Happy Mothers Day

Truthfully, I have always hated Mothers Day, I think my expectations have always been too high and we all know when your expectations are too high, there is no where to go but down. This year I am choosing to go with the flow and see what transpires...the idea of my husband and son cooking in my kitchen has always induced some stress but if that is what they want to do then...have at it...I will just "show up" when the dinner bell rings!

Fuel

Life is ironic........as soon as I thought that my quilting days were over and the bulk of my fabric sold on Ebay, what do I decide to do?....Go to the International Quilt Show! That was all it took to suck me back in...well that and the fact that I had taken on a commission to stitch a quilt for a friend of my Mom two years ago, when I was leaving Santa Fe....yes that's right...2 YEARS AGO...I unearthed the remnants while cleaning out the stash.

The quilt show refueled my interest and gave me the spark I needed to get the ball rolling on this project. I came home with one small bag of fabric for the quilt and one tiny bag of treasures for me (featured on the plate above).

All those little treats, with the exception of the felted beads, came from a dealer that was selling "dead stock" from a jewelry factory in Venice, Italy...one of my favorite cities. Doesn't it all look yummy!

Victorian Collage...30 Minutes for Creativity

Here is a little 30 minute creative project I did last week. I came across an old book that I bought a few years ago in a used bookstore...a great place for inspiration...the book, Book of Collage by Gloria Vanderbilt, one of the original "craft maven's extraordinaire" is full of wonderful and simple ideas for putting together keepsake Victorian style collage but also features many of Gloria's wonderful fabric collage works of art that are very contemporary in look.

I was able to put this piece together quickly because I had just finished sorting through a box of ephemera that I was going to list on ebay. The box I was about to list was an accumulation of odds and ends that I have gathered over the year from box lots that I have purchased at auction. As I was looking at the pictures that I had had uploaded to the listing I started having second thoughts but went ahead and listed anyway. The very next day while I was in the bookshelve I stumbled on the Gloria book and immediately ended the listing (this is not usually a good idea!)and that afternoonI snatched out these elements, grabbed some fabric scraps from the now "highly edited fabric stash" and there you have it...all it needs now is a nice little frame (or not)...I am on my way to the auction house tonight and will surely be able to find a frame in another one of those box lots!

Liberty Print Fabric Bead & Button Necklace

I am really pleased with my version of the Anthropology fabric, bead and button necklace!

This necklace was amazingly easy to make and requires very few skills, if you know how to braid and sew on a button you got it knocked. I was going to share instructions on how to make this necklace but then I had what Oprah would call "an aha moment"....I am going to sell DIY packets! I have been contemplating an etsy shop for over a year now. I just need to DO IT.

Most of the projects that I do are unique because of all the collected elements that I have to work with. It takes time to hunt down a collection and a certain eye to put together the pieces...and that is my specialty!

Until I get the etsy gig working I would be happy to take orders so send me an email and I will put together a kit with your color choices.

Signs of Spring

I have spend a lot of time recently weeding out my fabric stash. It has been a long and arduous process but it was time to let go of some things and get down to the bones...keeping only what I really like and only what I will really use. My rule has always been if you haven't worn it, looked at it or used it in a year you never will....for most of my fabric it has been more than one and nearly seven years. I also believe that in order to make room for new growth to bloom you must weed the garden.

While sorting stacks of potential lots to be auctioned on Ebay my mind was already a buzz with ideas and little piles were starting to form...this is one of the piles. This pile is about to become a necklace like the one pictured above that I saw in an Anthropology catalog.

Now that I am out from under the "ground cover" of my fabric garden I can finally see the little heads of crocus peeping through!

Liberty Print Charm Necklace Part 2

I thought I would have a second look at this necklace today to see if I could improve on it but decided that is was great just the way it is! I did however add a couple more charms that my son begrudgingly handed over...these vintage crackerjack charms represent dollar signs to him. Last summer he purchased an enormous lot of these treasures at auction and has been reaping the rewards on EBay ever since. Every time I went to his apartment last Fall I would snitch a couple. One day I was caught with my hand in the Crackerjack jar (so to speak)and I thought the gig was up but much to my surprise a little bag stuffed with these beauties showed up under the Christmas tree...YIPPEE! I am eking them out for various projects...the next one will be a knitted bracelet.

Assembling this necklace is very easy. I snipped and tore 1/4" strips from 1/4 yd lengths of Liberty fabric leaving the edges raw and frayed. I then gathered together some of my fabric covered beads (see tutorial in January 2008 post) vintage beads, buttons, Bakelite and charms and threaded everything on the fabric strips. I made 4 different strips and tied them together. I held all the strands together and rearranged the elements to fit and then tied all 4 strands together in a knot so that I could wear the necklace at any desired length.

Liberty Print Fabric Charm Necklace

This is a necklace I have been working on using my fabric covered beads with the addition of vintage buttons, pieces of Bakelite, old enamel earrings and vintage Crackerjack charms. I saw bracelets made from torn strips of Liberty of London fabric on the Liberty website and thought making a whole necklace loaded with charms and beads would be a fun project. I started this a few months ago and it has been hanging on my door knob all winter. I think it is time to take it out and play around with it a bit more. I will publish the results after some tweekage!

Couture Knits for Blythe

Blythe's sweater dress was knit on variegated sock yarn using #2 needles. I used a Barbie doll pattern as a loose guide for binding on stitches but then I went "freelance" from there, fitting as I went.

I love knitting on small needles but it can be daunting if you are making a full size garment so this was very satisfying. The jacket is a strip of fringed wool that I hand stitched into a little bolero with a tiny felted flower.

I am wondering why I have waited so long to take on this fun little project.

Blythe Couture at Target

It seems that Alexander McQueen and I are entertaining the same muse these days!

When I opened the March issue of Bazaar, there she was... sporting an original designer frock...at Target no less...(one of the froo*gal's favorite places to shop). I promptly picked up my needles and finished the couture ensemble that I had been working on...I didn't want my Blythe to feel left out.

PS.....if you can actually buy Blythe at Target for $14.99...that is a REAL bargain!
PSS....I am liking those bangs...I may have to send her back to Michael for some fringe....I just hear a little scream from the other room!

Sock Darning to the Rescue

After holding my breath to pay my bills I decided to darn my socks....see a complete "how to darn" February 14, 2008 blog entry. Do you want to know how long it took to preform this task...seriously...3 minutes! These socks were not even old socks, they were maybe worn a dozen times and I probably paid $8 for them...so there you go!

Knitting For Blythe

A few years ago, while living in the desert, I became obsessed with "Blythe"....obsessions were common place for me in the desert....no friends and a lot of time on my hands.

I had an Ebay customer that send me a picture of her Enid Collins handbag collection, something that we shared in common. Propped up against one of the handbags was a Blythe doll. I googled Blythe and was enthralled! To make a long story short I spend the next few months scouring the Internet for one of my own. The dolls are made in limited editions and the prices can rise high on Ebay. I managed to find one in my price range on Amazon...the only problem, (for me anyway) was that she had pink hair. I had read many articles about customizing these dolls and figured that I could make a few changes by enlisting my hairdresser Michael.

...and that is when Blythe cursed the day she ended up in New Mexico.

My hairdresser was probably my only real friend in Santa Fe and I love him dearly. We share the same offbeat sensibility so when I approached him with the idea of taking on a "vinyl diva" he was up for the challenge....it was not until later that he confessed to a pile of "skinned" Barbie dolls in the closet of his youth! (the hairdresser prodigy that he was).

Apparently when I went to pick her up he had to fish her out from under the back seat of his car...he had put her there because she had basically turned into "Chuckie" after he made a mess of the dye job...her eyelashes fell out and she was covered in black streaks! He was not quite sure how to break the news to me since I had high hopes of her becoming "The Next Top Model" for my own personal line of Blythe fashions.

....well something was lost in this whole process(but not my hairdresser). I dressed Blythe in her store bought clothes, wrapped a ribbon around her head and propped her up on my work table, sans eyelashes...and that is where she has stayed until recently when she has decided to forgive me for the "wrath of Michael"....I think I owe her a new dress.

Birthday Girl

While I was putting together my patchwork monologue entry for today I thought about this quilt that I made a few years ago and drug out another dust covered box from under the bed to retrieve it. This project was part of a quilt group challenge that I participated in. The challenge for this particular piece was to use the ugly green fabric that can be seen in the skirt. I was also experimenting with other techniques like curved lines and digital printing on fabric. I am not sure how this ties in with today..."my day of days"...but it reminds me how much joy creativity has brought into my life for 57 years and even when my venue changes my innate style remains the same.

.........my horoscope said this is my lucky year...maybe I will win that dream house!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

I am headed to Austin, TX today to visit my best friend Ann...YIPEE!...I'm thinkin'....margaritas, Texas barbecue, shopping...resale shopping, and some much needed "talk til ya drop" therapy!

Patchwork Monologue will be on hiatus until Tuesday when my creative juices will be flowing over.

"Misti Alpaca Tunic Sweater Vest"

I finished my tunic sweater knit on circular needles and I am very pleased with the results! I have to admit I was "winging it"...sort of a "design as you go" project. I used 2 different patterns as a jumping off point, one for the top and one for the bottom. I have knit handbags in the round before but this is the first time that I have knit a sweater. Circular knitting is great for the "knitting while you do something else" projects, also there are no seams to finish so when you are done, you are pretty much done and that is always exciting!

I have a set of Denise Circular knitting needles that have inter-changeable tips and ends so when I finished the bottom I just snapped the needles off and put the plugs on the ends to hold my stitches. I worked the top pretty much "free style". I found a pattern for a top down knit vest and used that as a guide for how many stitches to cast on. I had to work out my pattern so that I would end up with the same amount of stitches left on my top needles as I had left on the bottom stitch holders. I transferred the stitches to straight needles

I joined the top and bottom with a "three needle bind off". I had used this stitch before when I was making handbags and thought it was so cleaver I wondered why you don't see it used more often.

To do a three needle bind off you hold the needles with the 2 pieces that you are joining side by side in your left hand then using a third needle you place the tip through the first stitch on each needle as if you were knitting one stitch only you knit the 2 together as one. You knit a second stitch, the same way as you would for a regular bind off and then put the first stitch over the second and proceed with the remaining stitches.

Using this method leaves a beautiful smooth seam front and back!

Workin on it.....

I have started the "top down" loose turtleneck for my tunic. This yarn knits up real fast on size 13 needles. It really flows and those little felted leaves just pop right through. I think I will just knit until I run out of yarn, in ever increasing rows, and then see what happens next!..I love this kind of knitting..... I am thinking just one odd stripe and then more of the alpaca before I join the top and bottom.

Knit Tunic Project

I started this tunic vest on New Years day. I saw this knit sleeveless tunic in a shop in Sutton's Bay, Michigan last summer. I have a picture of it on my Blackberry but have not been able to download my pictures with any success but I will keep trying. It had this nice big soft turtleneck that was slouchy and knitted with an interesting variegated yarn. The bottom was slightly flared. I found a pattern that was close to the same shape and I used that to knit the bottom on circular needles. I am using "Misti Alpaca Baby Chunky" yarn. I am close to the armpits and have decided to start the turtleneck on different needles and work from the top down. I have a really interesting idea for joining the top and bottom so we will see how that goes and I will post my results. I am going to work in this really cool novelty yarn that I bought in Venice, Italy 4 years ago...as you can see the colors are perfect together!! YEAH!

DIY Purse Organizer

How to make the purse organizer:

Supplies:

2 pieces of template plastic 14"X4"
2 contrasting pieces of fabric 29"X4.5"
1 piece of fabric 29"X9"
1 piece of quilt batting 29"X4.5"

*Layer the two contrasting fabrics and right sides together and the quilt batting on the bottom.
*Stitch 1/4" along one edge.
*Press seam towards batting. Fold in half and press.
*Trim 1/4" off the raw edge of batting.
*Place layered piece on top of the 29X9 piece of fabric.
*Measure the areas you want to divide for the items that you carry in your purse and mark with pins. Make sure to give a little ease so that your items will fit in comfortably and stitch through all layers to create pockets. Back stitch at top to reinforce.
*On one end turn the batting filled piece under 1/4" and stitch through all layers.
*Fold larger backing fabric over and line up raw edges.
*Stitch 1/4" along edge and along the end that was not folded under.
*Turn right side out and slide in the 2 pieces of plastic template.
* Turn in 1/4" on raw end and stitch closed.

Voila!...Purse pockets!

"Purse Pocket"

As the winter sun is setting my bright yellow bag has a new custom made purse organizer!

I will post the "how to" tomorrow.

Yellow Bag Project #1

The problem with this yellow bag is the inside...there is no lining....its like a black hole...no real pockets or compartments.

Last fall Oprah featured a handbag organizer on one of her "favorite things" show. My Mom called me hot on the trail for this item that was only available at the Container Store...poor her, no Container Store in Santa Fe. I headed over there and snagged the LAST one...and then had to decide if I should be a good daughter and give it to my Mom or keep it for myself...Mom won.

The "handbag organizer" is just what this bag needs and it looked really easy to make... plus I get to make my own fabric choices!

...........so that is my Saturday afternoon project....finished product coming soon....

Yellow Bag

I have an idea for a project and it involves this new yellow bag...that I bought 1/2 price from JCrew. More later.

J'amie le verre de blue francais

One of my favorite collections!

I have been formulating a plan to move my quilt journal to either a new blog or a folder on this blog and revive the essence of froo*gal because that is where my heart really is and my ideas are starting to pop again...I feel like I needed the quilt journal to kick start my creativity.

I have such an urge to continue my love of fashion and design and feel that the universe is calling the froo*gal spirit in that direction. It may take a few days to move things in that direction so bear with me.

Belated Christmas Gift for the Girl That Has Everything

I must confess that Christmas came and went in the twinkling of Santa's eye. As I mentioned in my last post, I worked at Neiman Marcus for the holidays AND continuing my Ebay business. I was wrapping gifts for customers until 5pm Christmas Eve...needless to say not a whole lot of holiday cheer left my house this year so on the 16th of January I was busy making a gift for my college roommate and long lost friend who is part of the higher echelon of a most famous retailer...I won't name names but the background of my photo should give you a hint

....so what do you give the girl that has diamonds at her fingertips...for me I have always chosen to "craft" my dear friend a gift!

J. Crew had these cute little bug pins in their holiday catalog that caught my eye and I just knew that I could improve on the design and add my own touch. This little pile of fabric and beads had been on my work table since November and finally came together yesterday and will be winging its way to the "Big Ap" next week....I hope I will be forgiven my tardiness!

New Year New Juice Old Projects

I just finished reading a comment on my last blog entry from Jennspiration and it was just the jump start that I needed to write a new entry...sometimes I spend too much time thinking about what I will write and end up not writing at all.

Since September I have consistently read cjanerun (who btw just won the Weblog Awards for Best Major Blog) I have realized that I don't always have to have a purpose or a goal for every entry...I just need to DO IT after all cjane has a baby under a year old and has taken on the care of her sisters 4 children after her sister and her husband were badly burned in a plane crash.... if cjane can find the time to write witty and uplifting blogs nearly every day I can certainly find the time...how about if my goal is writing an entry everyday with a picture... it can even be 1 line or paragraph, I just need to be consistent...OK! I have verbalized my intent...or should I say "blogalized"!

I have been thinking a lot lately about "unfinished projects" and yesterday I dragged a dust covered box out from under the bed and when I opened it this(see picture above) was on the top.......this is a block for a quilt that I started 3 or 4 years ago, at a time when I had hours every day to devote to creative pursuits...sadly it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon with our economy failing and the bank account dwindling...so the challenge now, for me personally, is to try and find a few minutes each day to give myself some JUICE!

Creativity has always been my form of meditation and relaxation. I have come to realize that starting this blog last year, one of the busiest years of my life, was an attempt to hold a place for myself in my creative world and in many ways I was able to achieve that goal...however, the "not buying anything new" goal?...that is another story...one that I don't care to focus on now...I failed to make it to the end of 08 but I did make it until August....WOW!!!

Then....it all slowly came undone...but not in TOO bad of a way and to be perfectly honest I think I have always been a froo*gal, I just needed to stop using credit cards...like millions of other Americans...so onward and upward....believe it or not I actually ended the year working at Neiman Marcus so you can imagine the temptation there...30% discount (a couple of times even an EXTRA 30 off already marked down merch!!!!!)...try NOT SHOPPING in the Emporium of Style with that incentive...anyway...I digress.....

......so....about the daily creative activity that will actually WORK for me...you know the "middle of the night idea" I had...so this is it......

A QUILT A DAY...I am not talking a bed size quilt here, I am talking about a 16 patch...I am also not talking about stitching...I am actually trying to come up with a way I can make my quilts... easy to assemble, small, paper or fabric glued to paper, in a book, journal style, with NO LIMITS only that I have to document each day on this blog with a tiny quilt.

The goal is to CUT & PASTE 16 tiny squares into a journal every day.........let the journey begin.

HOW TO Make Your Own Designer Medallion Necklace

Mission accomplished!.... and I am thrilled with my new one of a kind designer inspired necklace....and this is how I made it:

YOUR OWN DESIGNER INSPIRED NECKLACE

It helps to have a "stash" of treasures, but if you don't you can find everything for this project on Ebay ( if you need help email me!)....for me, hunting for the treasure is part of the creative process and is what will make your necklace truly unique to you. I did a search under "antique applique" and that is where I found the most beaded pieces that will work for this project. You may also try "bullion patch" or "vintage sewing trim".

When you have found the centerpiece for the necklace you will need a base to attach it to. I used a scrap of felted wool. You could also use a piece of felt. I cut 2 pieces about an inch bigger all the way around than the beaded patch. I fused the 2 pieces of felted wool together using Heatnbond which you can find at Joann Fabrics. I then hand stitched the beaded patch unto the felt.

When the bead work was in place I carefully cut around the edge leaving about 1/8th inch border. I have a large collection of antique cloth buttons(which you can also find on Ebay) and I selected three and sewed them to the top of the medallion.

I had this beautiful scrap of vintage silk kimono fabric that I have held unto for years because it was long and narrow like a ribbon and it had a beautifully frayed edge. I was never sure what I would do with it but I knew that someday it would make its way into one of my projects. I wide silk ribbon would work equally as well.

I made crochet loops on each side of the top edge of the felt and knotted the strip of fabric to each loop. I then threaded 2 fabric covered beads that I made(see instructions for Fabric Bead Necklace from January blog entry) onto the strip of fabric and knotted each side, I then added 2 vintage wood beads above the fabric beads. I had a small piece of the kimono fabric left so I gathered it into rosettes and stitched it to the back of the felt. The finish touch was the purple silk ball that I attached to the bottom....and within a couple of hours ....VOILA!...my very own fabulous chunky, centerpiece, one of a kind, beaded medallion necklace.

New Inspiration for Fabric Bead Necklace!

I clipped a page from October Vogue magazine that featured a beautiful fabric and bead necklace designed by Roseanne de Pampelonne. I immediately remembered a lot of vintage beaded medallion's that I had purchased at auction recently and was inspired to created my own version of this $675 necklace.

Yesterday I dragged out boxes of vintage kimono silk, antique fabric covered buttons, hand dyed felted wool and metallic seed beads. I have allowed myself the luxury of an afternoon project that is long over due.

I recently was asked to have my Louis Vuitton Knock-Off Fabric Bead Necklace featured as a holiday gift idea on a wonderful website www.sewmamasew.com.....check it out! (Thank you to Beth Wilson for returning my attention to my true passion.) I would also like to post an easier solution to stringing the fabric beads that I discovered.

I am hoping to post pictures of my afternoon project sometime in the next 24 hours so check back for results!!!!!

Signs of Re-Entry

This is what creativity looks like ...I know, kind of a mess but for much of the last 4 months this workspace has been CLEAN except for packing and shipping supplies for the ever growing Ebay business.

I recently returned from a short trip to Santa Fe, NM, the place I called home for 5 years before moving back to Chicago a year ago....to be honest it was somewhat of a reluctant trip, although I was excited to visit my Mom who still lives there, I had no great desire to return to the place where I always felt disconnected. But you know a surprising thing took place....everywhere I went I knew someone...I was in fact....connected....people asked "where have you been?"...as though I had only been gone a couple of weeks! It was really comforting to know that I had been "visible" to so many people and that I had in fact been "connected" even when I felt like an alien.

The other revelation I had on that trip came from wondering around my Mothers home..a mini museum of my creativity.... the quilts, the art work, all the little treasures I have crafted for her reminded me what I am all about. I had a sudden pang of homesickness...not for a place but for a part of me that has been sadly neglected in the past few months.

And now my mind is a buzz of ideas....so many it is hard to focus on one, but it will all come together. Right now I am writing a pattern for a vest that I plan to knit, designing my nieces wedding invitations, working on my own interpretation of a Marni necklace I saw and planning the quilt for my bed....and there is WAY more to write from the "confessional booth" in regard to falling off the "froo*gal" wagon...I am not looking forward to that but the story must be told ...."My name is Kathy and I am a clothesaholic"....at least when I indulged it was'nt campagne.....it was beer!

Long ago, in a far away place.......

Hello my friends!!

I have been gone but hopefully not forgotten!

The other day I stumbled upon a disc entitled Kathy's Projects and found this collage that I did a few years ago for an art auction to benefit the arts council where I once lived. Seeing it again gave me a much needed shot of inspiration. I have had an idea lurking around my brain involving some old t-shirts, some photographs and a printer and it may even involve some Kool Aid...hows that for a summer taste sensation!

...all these ideas came together when I saw this collage with new eyes....it reminded me of the yarn that I dyed at my last Craft of the Month Club which seems like months ago and come to think of it it was...that is where we experimented with Kool Aid as dye!... and you can see how lovely it turned out...I just happened to lay it down on top of a book my Mom left behind from her visit last week...I had not really noticed the title until I took the picture and then I picked it up and read the back and it it must be an omen....This Charles Dickens novel is "a brilliant defense of art in the age of mechanism...England as it struggles with the massive economic turmoil brought on by the Industrial Revolution"...sounds like a tale for todays world....hmmmm..maybe I should read it.

I am on my way to buy some Kool Aid.

NO NEW CLOTHES.....The saga continues....

No I have not buckled yet...nearly...a couple of times but...alas...I have been saved of disaster and ruin....I owe it all to my dear friend Wendy who is getting married this weekend. She presented me with a gift card to Nordstroms in lieu of payment for invitations that I designed for her bridal luncheon....after hours of deliberation I ended up with 2 very sensible clothing decisions....an "everyday" pair of black flats and a fashion forward long slouch cardigan in a neutral taupe with a fleck of gold...a great seasonless investment for this unpredictable weather we have been having lately.

and the RESALE RACKS have turned out some interesting ingredients for my summer wardrobe. I have decided I like the idea of a cotton blouse instead of a tshirt...don't get me wrong, tshirts are still high on my list but blouses seem fresher, and here is what I found:

a mid century print blouse by Marni...$5
a green gingham check blouse with a tiny ruffle and puff sleeves by The Gap...$8
an all over rose print sheer cotton blouse by Express nwt...$14.99

and I also found a pair of mens seersucker bermudas...like I said before...I am loving the fit of mens pants better than womens right now..and I am on the look out for a tiny floral print blouse to wear with these..I would love to find a Liberty print...but so far no luck.

and the search continues...

froo*gal

Four T-Shirts and a Confession

Okay...I"M BUSTED...I caved, and for $34 at Old Navy I could not be happier.

The truth of the matter is, when you are as busy as I am you don't have time to SHOP...let alone look in the closet and try and figure out which t-shirt doesn't look like a dust rag... untidy and ungroomed don't work well on an over 50ish woman.

The whole idea of "upscaling" an old piece of clothing can look fun and hip on a young woman but can look really tacky on someone my age. So I have decided to rethink the concept behind my New Years resolution and the creation of this blog. I want to come up with ideas that can really WORK for a woman that cares about fashion and personal appearance but also wants a creative twist. I will not give up sharing my PROJECTS because that is the key for me and was the inspiration behind froo*gal but its time to break some of my self inflicted rules....I have always hated rules anyway!

T-shirts are like underwear...hard to buy at the resale shop...I know because I have tried for the last 3 weeks to find ONE decent t-shirt that wasn't piled, stained, stretched and too short...that is when I threw my hands up and went to Old Navy(always my very FAVORITE for good quality great selection and price when it comes to t-shirts) because t-shirts are like underwear, they are the foundation of a wardrobe.

Who can beat $35 for 4 t-shirts and they made me feel SO GOOD everyday this week when I put a new one on...the BEST!

froo*gal