Welcome to this months edition of The ReFabrication Challenge and I really feel like titling it "The One I Didn't Screw Up"

Yeah, that's right. I'm sitting here having a quiet little horn toot because not only did I get mine done this month well on schedule, but I also actually LIKE what I've done which is a novelty in itself. This months challenge was to source supplies of two materials - either something in a stretch knit or denim. And we've already established in previous blog posts that I kinda like denim. Well, I really like denim and am not shy about it. And since I wouldn't know what to do with a stretch knit since I'm a  professional photographer and not a seamstress, it was DENIM.....FOR......DAYS.....YEAH!

So the Turbo Tracy and I arranged our day to get supplies and were joined by some other members of the designers group at our usual haunt and got to shopping in between quick chatting. Since everyone was masked up, it was funny because conversations were being had with total strangers, thinking they were part of the group too and if they weren't, well they were by the end of the expedition!!

I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do and so I cheated some there. I opted to create something that I knew I could do as it was something I'd made many years ago and figured this would be a good one to work on. I even wasn't overly worried about having to use a sewing machine since as mentioned, this is a project I'd made in the past and I knew I'd be able to tackle it and deal with any issues if they popped up. So I hit the aisles of denim and got to selecting my supplies. The jeans, the shirts, the jackets and the skirts - there was much to be had and I knew I had to be pretty cautious since a lot of modern denim has stretch to it which I did not want. People have have sauntered by and given me odd looks as I gave many pairs of jeans a good solid tug, they may have wondered why I was looking in the junior section since I'm no junior (well, I have the humor of a teenager at times but still, more often than not these days, I get asked if I'm in the senior discount category) - and of course since I wanted to make sure I had enough fabrics, I hit the plus section since I knew I'd get good bang for my buck in terms of yardage. As it stands, I still have plenty of leftovers from this haul which will be great for other projects.

Of course it goes without saying that I did get a little side lined into buying a few other things as always but that's not a bad thing if it's something for myself to wear or something for a project that I want to do. I was on the prowl for some plastic bowls and asked people to remind me to look so every so often, I'd hear someone say to another "Did Sam find some bowls?" and that's why I adore this group of humans!! Yes, I found bowls. Thank you to all who remembered and reminded me. Bowls are being used for another super secret project so I'll be sure to share when that's done.

So to sum things up, I nabbed 6 pairs of jeans and a shirt. Grand sum spent, around $20 in all since some items were 50% off. And we were all pretty well loaded up with goodies so our darling Pene thankfully offered to give us a ride home which was much appreciated since my feet were giving me much grief that week. Thanks Pene! Home to get everything in the wash and ready for the best part....DECONSTRUCTION!! It seems (seams....ha ha) we are all a bit in love with the process of tearing into things and ripping them apart and I find that extremely funny - I'm not sure what it is but it's seemed to be spoken of with reverence every time we do one of these challenges. And I'm no exception. After I'm done, I sit panting like a dehydrated trout with tiny snips of thread all over the carpet like glitter and my dogs look at me like I've done lost my mind. What can I say? It's satisfying. Of course I couldn't help myself when I was ripping the jeans apart, I thought to myself "I bet someone farted while they were wearing these" because odd things like that do skim through my mind at times when I'm working with used garments. 

You've never thought about that? Well now you will. You're welcome! This is why I wash EVERYTHING that comes through my door. Because.....poo dust. And what did I say earlier about my humor?

After finding the pattern that I knew I wanted to use, I got to work, cutting out the pieces - pin and cut, pin and cut, pin and cut. Pin pin pin pin pin and sew. Sew sew sew. Then for the stuffing. Stuff stuff stuff. And lastly, spend two days trying to work out how to attach a jeans pocket which I ended up hand tacking on with invisible thread (which I nearly lost my mind because that stuff lives up to it's name) and after a consult with the Man of The House for his creative input, the addition of some pom poms which were leftover from the January ReFab project. And a giant button sourced from my craft stash and the job was done. I love how I can flip the pillow over if I want to since it's all business in the front (button) and party in the back (pocket) - it's the mullet of pillows!!! SWEET!

But seriously, I'm really happy with how it turned out and the pocket is a nifty touch to hide things like snacks, a cell phone, devils lettuce, some sealed files from the CIA - anything you want to stash away, the pocket is there.

And that's a wrap for this month's challenge my friends. It's been a good one and I may look at doing some more pillows like this down the track using other fabrics just for fun. It's now time to get the information together for the May challenge (can you believe it?) so off I go, more adventure awaits and until next time, stay well and stay out of trouble.

Thanks for reading.

Sam.