A whole lot of little projects

Since my last shirt refashion, I've found myself a bit unfocused, kind of fluttering from one small, neglected project or idea to the next:

• Louis' thermal knit monkey pajama tops
  Why do I even try to sew knits? I cut this shirt out months ago and it's languished in the garage. The thermal knit has no bounce, so when you stretch it out, it stretches until you wash it and stick it in the dryer again. Contrast that with the ultra-rigid behavior of the lovely brown knit I chose for the neckline binding. Don't I know better by now? No. Plus, my mysterious and enigmatic serger, which was on best behavior for my last 2 refashions, is completely on the freak again. Knits are not a priority at this point!
  
  
• Freezer paper stenciling
  I wanted to find something fabric-related to do with Louis that would offer a finished product that was very close to his original vision, like our art quilt from several months ago. I've silkscreened but it is not young-kid-friendly, so I went looking for something simpler. It amazed me how many tutorials are on the web for freezer paper stenciling, given there are all of three or so steps involved, which probably speaks to effectiveness of the process and how late I am to trying this out. We piloted the technique on a very small scale, then went after something a little more ambitious -- Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I need to stencil one of these for me now!
  
• Sewing fabric crowns
  Almost 2 years ago, right after I started sewing for real, Louis and I decided he would be Max, from the book Where the Wild Things Are, for Halloween. I sewed his white monster outfit using a New Look kids' footed pajama pattern but couldn't find a fabric crown pattern to save my life! I drafted one, being someone who loved Geometry in high school, and kept the pattern. Never made another one till now, though, and we are happily fabric crowning our week away. These are so great for using up fabric scraps, especially the ones you really, really love and must use in a worthy project. What's more worthy than something that declares your royalty?
  
• Sorting out my next shirt refashion
  I keep reminding myself that I bought 4 shirts for $1 each during my Florida thrift excursion, and the whole point was to make them into something I will wear, not to avoid them in the closet like other clothing items I currently own meeting the same neglected fate. I am working on the poly-cotton blend tuxedo shirt next. Heaven help me.
  
  
• An early birthday present for myself (or late, depending on how you look at it)
  More on this in coming weeks. :)

Next post: tuxedo shirt refashioned into a new shirt for me.