red pencil skirt

i felt the urge to be crafty this weekend. felt it in that overwhelming, can't ignore it kind of way. do you know what i'm talking about? no? oh well. regardless, for the sake of my sanity, something had to be created! but. biiiig but. i'm also trying to be frugal about my personal spending, so i didn't want to just run out to the nearest store and buy craft supplies. that meant painting, refashioning, and furniture remodeling {ha!} were out. i even tried making some progress on an ongoing cross-stitch first, but that wasn't really doing it for me.

enter a red knit fabric. once purchased to be the skirt of a homemade maxi dress, it has been sitting under my bed for a year now. but it could still be a skirt, right? right. and since my guy has recently expressed a like for pencil skirts... i decided to go for a casual pencil skirt. very casual, thanks to my lack of skills re clean seams on knits. alas. {i meant to post a semi-tutorial, but i forgot to take enough pictures along the way... sorry. i was distracted by the doctor&rose!}. anyway, try this one from merrick's art if you're interested in making your own!

 front    ::    back

 front again, with a look at the waistband {elastic, thankyouverymuch}

zigzag hem-stitch in blue. because contrast detail is cool. 

{orrrr i didn't have red thread.}

abeautifulmess selfies: 15-18

day 15   ::   day 16

  

 

day 17   ::   day 18

abeautifulmess selfies: 11-14

day 11  ::  day 12

 

day 13  ::  day 14

abeautifulmess selfies: 7-10

day 7   ::   day 8

 

day 9    ::   day 10

abeautifulmess selfies: 3-6

day 3   ::   day 4  

 

day 5   ::   day 6 

abeautifulmess selfies: 1-2

the ladies over at abeautifulmess started a 30-day self-portait challenge last month.  that seemed like a fun idea, but i also wanted a photo-challenge that made me think a little harder than just aiming the camera at my own face.  with the help of a daily idea list from pinterest, i started clicking away... looking forward to the result of the two mixed together! i'm using the abeautifulmess app to edit and label the pictures - all together, it should make for an interesting addition to my 2013 photobook.

day 1   ::   day 2

building habits, continued.

humpfh. july isn't even nearly over and i have failed so miserably at the plank & push-up habit. {i am, however, still making the bed daily. so, i guess there's that!} i am so far from a morning person, but being a night person just doesn't work outside of the sheltered world of academia. does anyone have tips on how to actually keep to a decent bedtime? besides turning off the electronics, because i already know that one.

anyway, i read a great article today on how to create habits that stick. it says lots of things i already know but forget to factor in when i'm setting my goals.  {i also forget to remember my own weaknesses - like being a night person - but that's a whole 'nother ball game.} check it out here: 5 scientific ways to build habits that stick.

so i thought maybe i would take a tip from the article, and frame my remaining efforts for 2013 in terms of macro-goals and micro-quotas. which are as follows:

micro quota (macro goal)
thirty minutes of rosetta stone spanish per day (learn spanish).
two hours per weekend documenting/scanning (digitalize memorabilia).
one hour of article work per day (write an article by october 2013).
go to bed/wake up 15 minutes earlier each day (reasonable hours...7-11?).

we'll see how this goes. i'll report back in a month.