Afternoon Sewing Project: Potholders

I wanted to sew something, but wanted a quick project. Enter the potholder.

Yesterday afternoon I was in the mood to sew, even though the weather was still hot and my lack of inspiration still had a stronghold. It was then that I decided to make a pair of potholders as a wedding present to friends of ours whose wedding we missed because we were out of town, but were having a barbecue at their house last night. I pulled out the quilted ironing board fabric I bought years ago specifically for making potholders (though now I’m wondering if I should use it for the ironing board since it irons cottons so beautifully and quickly), a retro-modern fruit fabric from my quilting stash, and started cutting out eight inch squares from each. I then picked out a brown from my solids, cut it into two-and-a-half inch strips by thirty-six inches (I needed one strip for each potholder), and ironed them into binding for the potholders.

To sew the potholders together, I sandwiched the front and back wrong sides together. Using a neutral cotton thread and the quilt lines from the ironing board cover fabric, I stitched over them to create the same pattern on the front. Before sewing the binding on, I switched to a matching brown thread and bobbin, snipped three of the four corners, leaving the upper right corner square since that would be the starting and ending point, as well as the hanging loop. On the last run of the binding I sewed the strip together to the end. To form the loop, I double folded the end of the strip in and matched seams before making an X within a square to secure the loop. The results? Two cute potholders for a wedding gift and a quilting withdrawal satisfied.

Sewing, Sewing, Sewing

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day sewing. Today I plan more of the same.

I’ve been working on my coworker’s going away quilt for a few days now, but only in the sense that I was trying to figure out a design and made a few sample blocks. Last night I finished the top. Today I will sandwich and quilt it. That is, assuming I can get enough motivation to finish it… or don’t get distracted watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Clown Bag

As was evident during the St. John’s Parade, a bag of supplies comes in handy. But what about one the clown could carry himself?

Friday night I asked my husband if he’d want a clown bag and he said yes so I had him choose the fabrics and I went from there. I had hoped to complete the project before yesterday’s Hazel Dell Parade, but alas, poor planning and my insistence on reading the instructions before starting the project led me to the realization that it was not going to be done in time. Balls.

So my fussy cut flowers I ironed fusible webbing then fused to micro-suede brushed cotton needed reinforced.

So my progress was slow.

My pinning wasn’t precise.

But in the end, I had a super cute clown bag… or regular market bag. I’m thinking one made with primary colors would fit his character better. We’ll see how ambitious I am to make another one of these pretties. That’s a lie, I loved making this bag and it was super easy! I also added two smaller pockets to hold stickers or small trinkets and a water bottle pocket to the inside liner. Overall I am well pleased with my efforts.

You can make your own Jane Market Bag with the pattern for sale at http://rosylittlethings.com/janemarketbagpattern.html.

Desperate Housewife’s Quilt: Block Seventeen

With my To Do List from yesterday completed (well mostly, I didn’t vacuum) I decided it was time to sew. And sew I did.

Perusing the list of yet-to-be-done quilt blocks in The Desperate Housewife’s Quilt being hosted by Jane over at Want it, Need it, Quilt! (quiltjane.blogspot.com), I decided on block seventeen also titled Swing Me Around on the Hills Hoist. This was another foundation pieced block and while I’m not that big of a fan of perfection, seeing those tight points and perfectly aligned corners did give me a thrill. Perhaps this foundation piecing technique is growing on me!

In case you are unfamiliar, foundation piecing is using a printed paper design to aid in creating the block. All of your lines and angles are on the paper and you simply place your fabric where you need to sew and sew along the lines. It’s pretty simple and straight forward. Also, it’s super easy because you don’t have any exact pieces to cut out, you just have to use a piece of fabric that will fit within the design and trim after it is stitched together.

For my block, I chose two colorful batiks and made the Hills hoist itself from black and white fabrics that I’ve been using in various other blocks in this series. I was going to try to make it with a variation on a color, but couldn’t decide which one would work, so to make it easy went with black and white. The result is a block that is super fun and was super easy to make.

New Quilt Project

My goal of not starting another quilting project until I finish the top for That 70s Quilt has been crushed by Pinterest. Thanks.

After seeing a picture on Pinterest of a quilt block that looked like a bunch of Polaroid pictures scattered across the floor, I thought this would be a super cute way to showcase fabrics that I love. It also would mean fussy-cutting and a lot of waste, something I don’t love. However, I decided to grab a stack and start cutting. I would have clicked on the picture on Pinterest, which probably would have led me to a tutorial or something, but instead decided to wing it. Sometimes the less information I have the more informed my decisions are… when it comes to quilting that is!

For the Polaroids themselves, I decided to fussy-cut a three by three inch image with one by three inch strips of white on either side, a one by four-and-a-half inch white strip on top and a one-and-a-half inch by four-and-a-half inch white strip on the bottom. This creates a four by four-and-a-half inch Polaroid. I then gathered various shades of grey and started cutting out strips to create the outer edges. At first I was cutting them out on angles and sewing them together to create the wonkiness and scattered look, but then I figured that if I simply cut rectangles and chose my direction afterwards it was less of a headache. I highly suggest the latter approach if you plan to make these yourself. To further the scattered look, I threw in a blank grey square and plan to have anywhere from one to three of these in future blocks.

I highly suggest that if you love this block as much as I do, you visit the blog Stitched in Color (http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2012/04/polaroids-on-cloudy-day.html) and read about her approach.

Kitty Catnip Pillow

Years ago we bought our then two cats pillows stuffed with Poly-fil and catnip at Portland’s Saturday Market. I decided to go ahead and make one for our cat, Dexter.

For years I’ve had a plethora of upholstery fabric for various projects that either have already been completed or never even came to any sort of fruition. When I redid our bedroom and guest room, I used upholstery fabric for the bedspreads for a couple reasons, but the biggest being we have animals and they like to sleep in places we really shouldn’t allow them to. The other was because of the large-scale prints in easy to clean duck cloth. Anyway, lots of denims, canvas, duck cloth and jacquards all in heavy enough weights to withstand kitty claws and one-hundred and twenty-five pound dogs are now taking up space on my fabric case and not being utilized. So I decided to make a kitty catnip pillow with a small portion of one of them!

What You’ll Need:

6½ x 12 inch piece of heavy weight fabric

Poly-fil

catnip

thread

The first thing you will want to do is take your fabric and fold it in half like a hot dog bun with the right sides facing.

Starting with the short end, sew closed two sides, leaving you with one end open.

Now take your tube and carefully pull it inside out.

Next, take a handful of Poly-fil and stuff it into the tube. I use a chopstick to help ease it down to the bottom. Sprinkle a little catnip inside and alternate until it is nice and plush but not overly stuffed.

Fold the ends inside by about ¼ to ½ an inch and sew along the edge. For extra strength I sewed forward then reversed it to sew another line backwards. You can use any decorative stitch you’d like as well or even a simple zig-zag stitch. Clip the loose threads.

Give to cat and let him or her enjoy!

Dress Up Your Roll

When I read about the competition to Dress Up You Roll, as in toilet paper roll, I was intrigued. When I actually got around to doing it, I was clueless.

So, after I had already started cutting out the fabric I intended to use, I realized mine was going to be able to cover two rolls. Hmmm… could this be a deal changer? I don’t know. However, I decided what the hell and pressed on. Literally. My sock monkey fabric was quite wrinkly. Why use the knit look fabric from Moda? Because I was making a Roll Monkey!

I approached it the same way I suppose I would have had I been making an actual sock monkey, except that I ran a little short on fabric. I opted to use the plain muslin I was using for the hands, feet, mouth and hat for the back, along with touches of red like it was from the tip of the sock. Of course, I’ve never actually made a sock monkey, so naturally things didn’t always go according to plan, or the fact that I was simply designing as I went.

In the end, my entry is cute and makes me laugh and as bonus holds two rolls of toilet paper. I’ve been keeping my eyes away from the competition so I wouldn’t be held back by my imagination, but now that I’m done, I have to go take a gander. I’m curious to see what others have come up with!

Toilet Paper Project

I’m in the middle of a project involving toilet paper. I’ll allow you to use your imagination.

Sometimes a little silliness in the quilting world is in order. I decided to indeed join in on the fun of designing a cover for the humble toilet paper roll. Actually, I got a little ambitious with my undertaking and it will actually cover two rolls, but alas, the more the merrier, right?

Since I decided to just wing it, my measurements are a little wonky. This is what happens when you just jump into a project or at least to me anyway. Working out the kinks is part of the fun/stress of quilting. No pictures just yet because I’m trying to keep the end results a surprise until I enter it into the competition.

What?! There’s an actual competition going on for this thing? Why yes there is. Jane over at Want it, Need it, Quilt! (http://quiltjane.blogspot.com) is hosting Dress Up Your Roll. I’m entering a little late in the game (it started over a month ago) but will have it done by tonight or tomorrow to enter.

Projects

Now that all the holiday hustle and bustle is over, it’s time once again to focus on unfinished projects. But with so many of them, it may be hard to figure out just where to pick up again!

Let’s see what I’ve got on my To-Do List… the Desperate Housewife’s Quilt blocks I’m terribly behind on; the Fall Quilt that I need to find a quilt hoop for so I can begin hand quilting; the Uninspired Quilt needs to be sandwiched and quilted (although with a lackluster name like Uninspired, it is no wonder I haven’t!); the Frog and Fairy Quilt that was commissioned months ago desperately needs to be quilted and sent off to the recipient before the baby arrives; my 17^th Birthday Quilt top my mother made me also needs a backing and quilted before the end of the year, especially since I turn 35 in March. These are just the unfinished quilt projects I’ve got that I want to (or need to) finish by year’s end and don’t include the ones I want to get started this year.

I suppose if I made a plan and accounted for when to do everything it would be beneficial. Supposedly. If I were to make a plan today, it would include a trip to Country Manor, my local quilt shop, to find a quilt hoop with the gift certificate my husband got me for Christmas. Maybe I’ll even pick up a couple balls of perle cotton too. Actually, that is my plan. Now I suppose the only way to fulfill said plan would be to get dressed and ready for the day.

Fresh Fabric Treats

One of the things on my Christmas wish list was Fresh Fabric Treats. I’m happy to say I was not disappointed.

I’ve been eyeing this book since I first heard it was coming out last spring. Fresh Fabric Treats combines the great tutorials from Moda Bake Shop with the professional look of a quilt book and the shortcuts people like you and me discover from trial and error. It doesn’t hurt that there are fantastic projects waiting inside its covers. Personally, I’m looking forward to making the Block Holder Books. I may have to add a few more flannel pages to hold more blocks, but the idea behind it is fantastic and a great way to keep your blocks not only all in one place but prevent them from getting distorted.

Of course, the main reason I wanted this book so badly was because of the featured quilt on the cover, Summer Sorbet Quilt. It hasn’t at all helped my obsession with finding just the right stars to use for my Christmas Quilt that has been in the find-me-a-pattern-and-make-me-already pile for way too long. However, now that I’ve seen it in the Fandango line, and I just happen to have a couple charm packs of those laying around, my mind is wandering to what that would look like if I changed up the accompanying nine patches, another of my favorites that will be utilized in my That 70s Quilt full of a random assortment of Alexander Henry’s In the Kitchen line and coordinating solids.

Alas, my brain is so full of ideas it’s about to burst! Perhaps I should instead focus on figuring out the dilemma of how my fuzzy math got in the way for The Fall Quilt before attempting to start yet another project. Stupid math. Besides, six unfinished projects is enough, right?

Backburner Projects

Like dust collecting on my sewing machine, so are the days of my not quilting. I’m about to go all serial killer if I don’t get a fix in soon.

A little too dramatic? Maybe. But since this whole Christmas Season thing has started, many of my quilting projects have been put on hold. However, I’m wondering if perhaps I should start working on them again this afternoon when we get back from church. I mean, with everything we planned on getting for Christmas out of the way, the only thing we need to do still is bake cookies. Lots and lots and lots of cookies.

I’ve got two projects currently that I would really like to see done shortly, The Fall Quilt (and yes, I’m quite aware that we’re only a few short days from winter here in the Pacific Northwest) and the Frog and Fairy Baby Quilt which, honestly, should have been done ages ago. Not that I’m anticipating that much downtime during our Christmas vacation, but just in case, I’d like to have a project to start hand quilting should there be any. With only two more blocks on The Fall Quilt and a simple border and backing and binding for the Frog and Fairy Baby Quilt, I probably could have had both of these done yesterday after work. Alas, my mind was elsewhere… as in The Vampire Diaries and The Smurfs movie. Let’s try not to repeat that pattern again today.

Simultaneous Projects

Working on multiple projects can be rewarding. It can also be mind boggling.

While on my break yesterday at work I started embroidering the feature panels. Free flowing embroidery is one of my favorite things to do as it adds a new level of dimension and texture to a quilt. Deciding on where lines should be flowing and color choosing are the only hard parts, but pushing the boundaries between reality and fantasy are part of the fun. I use the same approach when illustrating a children’s book or painting in that I will sometimes put shadows and highlights in places they wouldn’t normally occur. I’m not sure why I do this, I just like the look.

After getting home and reheating some delicious Chicken and Corn Chowder I made a few nights ago for dinner, I continued working on Block Thirteen of The Desperate Housewife’s Quilt. This block is taking a little longer than most in that there is a lot of hand stitching. Must be because Block Twelve went together so quickly! I should be finished with it tonight, assuming I don’t run into any obstacles.

Sometimes it is best to have multiple projects going on at the same time when there are tedious and repetitious tasks to perform. That way when you inevitably get bored, you can always switch to another one.

Quilt Block Blues

Do you ever start a quilt block and decide that perhaps it would be best to rethink the design slightly? I’m having those thoughts lately.

I’m currently working on Block 5 of The Desperate Housewife’s Quilt over on Jane’s blog, Want it, Need it, Quilt! (http://quiltjane.blogspot.com) and have been thinking that, while I love the design, I really want to incorporate my appliqué style into it, which isn’t much other than hand turned with obvious stitching. Therein lies the problem. I told myself to start this fifty blocks in fifty weeks thing (which, admittedly, I’m four weeks behind, but I’ll catch up by this weekend) to learn new techniques. So, what is one to do?

Okay, so really there are a few issues I’ve encountered, which, let’s be honest, I’m not all that great at following directions. So what if my block isn’t the right size and I need to adjust the center appliqué pieces to compensate? My other option would be to simply take the extra block pieces (it made twice as many as required) and start over, but I feel like that would be a waste considering the finished block is perfectly fine the way it is. Of course, it doesn’t help that Jane herself has been telling me she can’t wait to see what I do using the batiks I’ve chosen for this quilt, so perhaps a bit of performance anxiety is happening here too! Okay, so that is just an excuse, as her encouragement keeps me going.

And so I’ve made the decision to go ahead and use both the iron on fusible web technique combined with hand turned appliqué. Why? Because my blanket stitch sucks, and of all the various stitches available to me on my 1963 Singer Touch N’ Sew Deluxe Zig Zag Model 600 sewing machine, that isn’t one of them. The bulk should prove a challenge, but I shall overcome.

Kids Activity Binders

When going on a long car trip with children and without the aid of a portable video player, it’s a good idea to have other activities. I decided to make the kiddos activity binders.

The boys are addicted to the television as it is, which is why we limit their viewing. However, I must admit the temptation to simply put on a movie or two during a car trip has its appeal. We almost talked ourselves into packing it just in case, but decided against the matter. Instead we’ll rely on car games, activities and the binders I put together last night for the boys.

A couple nights ago I sewed together covers with pockets and a chalkboard fabric surface on one side and last night filled it with printed out coloring pages from the PBS Kids website (http://pbskids.org), plain paper for drawing and lined paper for writing. In the pockets I put a pack of crayons on one side and a pack of colored chalk on the other, along with the ear of a puppet I never actually put onto a puppet to be used as an eraser. It works perfectly.

While I’m not completely satisfied with how everything turned out, these are just prototypes and I will either add onto them or make new ones based off of what I learned making them. But I know one thing is for certain, and that is that I wish I had one of these growing up instead of lugging around reams of paper and coloring books and markers and crayons into a crammed car!

Baby Quilts

Finally I got some quilting done over the weekend. You have no idea how good that feels.

After working a couple extra shifts at work earlier in the week, I ended up having a four day weekend. One would think I’d have taken full advantage of that and packed up stuff or finished a few projects. Instead I spent most of Thursday doing nothing. Okay, that isn’t true, I did go grocery shopping.

Friday, after wrestling with my dog trying to bathe her and then cleaning up her sudden head-shake induced blood splatter off the walls, door, ceiling, counter, floor, and especially the cabinets, I cut my hair and showered myself. Then I hopped in the car and desperately searched for the Better Homes and Gardens Perfect for Precuts special publication because some of my favorite designers were featured on the back cover. Yes, I know, silly. Anyway, it was to no avail as I went to all three major craft stores and my favorite quilt shop, Country Manor, in search of it. Oh well, I got some more needles for my sewing machine and a new rotary blade for my cutter since it’s been a bit dull as of late and picked up another fat quarter of fabric to finish my brother’s baby-to-be’s quilt. I then did the dishes before my husband got home to make it look like some housework had gotten done.

Fast forward to Friday evening. I somehow managed, after my somewhat busy day to also start and finish the top of my brother’s baby-to-be’s quilt. I can’t show any pictures because he reads this blog too because, well, my family is nosy and likes to know as much as possible about everyone probably so any juicy bits can be used against them in an argument. We all do this. Anyway, Friday night I had one quilt top down. Yea.

Saturday was too busy, what with looking at the house we’ll be renting next month and then off to the Farmer’s Market and then a trip to the emergency room to watch the boys while their mother took her seven month old daughter in to find out why she had a 104 degree fever and then out to dinner and drinks with friends for my unbirthday since I spent my birthday weekend making cakes and celebrating other peoples birthdays and holidays. Okay, so Mardi Gras isn’t so much a holiday as it is an alcohol-laden gluttonfest, but still.

Sunday after church, which I’m surprised I even went since I was so tired and had zero energy from the night before, I made a late breakfast and then started figuring out how I was going to make the three baby quilts I said I’d make for an auction our church is holding for an additional fundraiser to pay for the stained glass and roof repair work that was done last year. I’d decided a while ago that I wanted to use the Lily & Will line and picked up two Charm packs to complete all three quilts last month. Yes, I know this doesn’t seem like enough, but I knew that I already had some solid cream Charms leftover from my sister’s baby blanket that I could use to make up the difference. And so after separating the squares into colorways of pink, blue and green, I then used the remaining cream and brown squares to fill in and added two solid creams to each pile. After randomizing the squares I chain stitched them together and then pieced the whole thing rather quickly. Gotta love precuts. I’ll be posting the process I went through soon. However, one top down, two more to go. I’m hoping to have those done today.

Of Quilts and Beer

Last night as I was working on another project for my sister’s baby shower, which, by the way, is tomorrow, I realized that part of the instructions were, well, not in the tutorial I was using. Thank goodness I know a thing or two about sewing!

The project I’m working on requires handles. The tutorial I’m using shows how to cut the pieces out for the handles but not the actual process used to get them from a semi-raw state to semi-finished product. Instead it simply says “Attach handles over such and such area” and magically shows them completely ready to go. They didn’t look like that before? How do we get from quilt-sandwich to handles? Alas, previous experience needed to come into play. Or the ability to read ahead in the tutorial for another similar but not the same type of handle.

Anyway, so I know what I need to do and begin sewing down lengthwise on the pieces I cut out from my quilt-sandwich (pieced top, batting center, backing, all quilted together before being cut into various sized pieces) with the right sides facing. I then attempted to turn the piece right side out. Let’s just say this is easier said than done. After a half an hour of trying to push through small sections at a time and breaking some chopsticks in the process I resorted to beating the living daylights out of the poor tube. I didn’t say that my previous experience was based off of anything I read out of a book or the internet, but rather a simple deduction of what will be the easiest way to make the damned thing right side out.

So here I am, shoving a little bit of the handle into a small portion that I’ve already gotten right side out and then holding onto the bottom edge of the piece while I whack it against the futon frame over and over again. This took a good thirty minutes. One handle down. Yeah. Instead of starting the next one I go to the kitchen, peruse our beer selection, grab one, open it, take a long swig, and return to my craft room to begin the torture all over again. I swear the beer made the second handle go by much faster, but the clock on the wall said otherwise.

After all was said and done, the handles were completed and attached where they needed to go without too much fuss. Now all I have to do is put the rest of the project together, bake, frost and decorate some cakes, wrap everything that needs wrapping, go to work, come home, finish everything I didn’t get done, go to bed, go to work in the morning, come home and finish whatever I didn’t the night before and pack it all up to go to the baby shower. Exciting. That and all the bruises up and down my right arm and index finger should prove to start some interesting conversations.

“Oh my! Were you in a fight?”

“Only with my latest sewing project. I wouldn’t have gotten through it without the help of beer.”

Baby Blanket

Ugh, I’m having some creative issues on my sister’s baby blanket. I definitely should’ve drawn out a plan before starting it.

Okay, so when I made my other sister’s baby blanket and posted the step-by-step instructions on this blog, I figured I’d gotten all the little kinks worked out. However, I must have forgotten about the worst kink of all… the creative one. I usually have a simple drawing with what the basic plan is for the blanket and, if needed, templates for the center appliqué figure. I didn’t do any of that with this blanket and the sad part is that I can’t post the specifics about the blanket to get some feedback from you because, well, my sister reads this blog. My other sister doesn’t so I didn’t feel any pressure posting how I made her little boy’s blanket.

Alas, I’ll have to tough it out. Perhaps I may even have to make a quick sketch just to have something to go off of before I get too involved in the project and have it turn into another Uninspired Quilt. Yes, I definitely need to do that. And I definitely need to find just one more fabric for the border. Maybe then I won’t be so nervous about the project!

Sewing

Ah, finally I was able to sew yesterday. Of course, I could’ve gotten more done.

After going through my stash I realized I have absolutely nothing that would work for a baby blanket I’m working on, which isn’t surprising if you know my sister or her quirky color combinations. So I made a quick trip to one of the local quilt shops, Country Manor. Okay, so quick is a relative term as there is so much fabric to sift through and the lady who owns the place likes to talk. My first stop, as usual, was the clearance room where I quickly found two patterns that would work and was desperately hoping I’d find a third but didn’t have any real luck. I also picked up a few Charm Packs while I was there for both the baby blanket and some White Elephant gifts for tonight’s After Holiday Party for our church’s choir. I’d tell you what they are but too many of them read this blog.

So instead of spending the day sewing, I spent a majority of it doing laundry, dishes, grocery shopping and getting fabric. I really didn’t want to work on the Uninspired Quilt anyway as I am just so uninspired by it still. I did, however, get the center section of the baby blanket started and am nearly finished with the White Elephant gifts which I will finish after I get home from work this afternoon. I promise to post pictures tomorrow of the projects, but sorry Sister… you’ll have to wait to see the baby blanket!

Sewing on the Mind

With the inevitable move looming in the not so distant future, the idea of packing and moving a bunch of material is not appealing. A plan must be made.

I love fabric. It is apparent that I do in the fact that some of the fabric in my craft room closet I’ve had since I was a kid. I’d use a little for a project and keep the rest for later use, which most of the time never happened. It also wouldn’t be surprising to know that I have the hoarding gene in my blood. Thanks, Mom.

However, I think it is time to finish some projects I’ve started, like the Uninspired Quilt and Fall Quilt, as well as think about what I want to do with all those puppet making materials. Hmmm… perhaps make puppets? I mean, I could make some more of the basic puppets like the pattern I have in my Etsy shop, or I could make theater quality puppets, which, honestly, while they take a lot more planning and work are totally worth the effort in the end result. But the problem with that is then I’d have a puppet to move as well, so if I make another puppet there will need to be a purpose, which means there will need to be a puppet show they would be made for. Alas, none of those in the immediate future.

So I’m thinking it would be time to possibly purge my bins and bags and random fabrics again and see what I should keep and what needs to go away. This means actually taking out the stuff on the bottom of the closet too, not just all the stuff on top. A scary thought considering I haven’t touched those bottom bins in five or six years. A scary thought indeed. I know I somewhat did this last summer when I went through the fabrics in the top portion of the closet and put coordinating prints together into potential future projects, but the bottom bins are another thing all together. That is the stuff I’ve been carrying with me for years. I don’t even remember what is in some of them, and quite honestly one is probably filled with nothing but beads for necklaces and such which I haven’t used in fifteen years.

With so many raw materials, perhaps I need to start sewing and stop thinking about sewing. Wait a minute. Take out the perhaps. I need to start sewing. If for nothing else, just to get some of the unused fabric into something that someone can use. And since our church is having an auction this Spring to raise additional funds for the skylight and cathedral glass we just had fixed this past Fall, I can donate some of the quilts I make to be auctioned off. Perhaps the Uninspired Quilt will find a home after all.

Scrubs

Nothing is more unattractive on a person than ill-fitting scrubs. Scrubs aren’t known for their sexy factor, but when they don’t fit it’s just awful.

I just started a job at a veterinary clinic last week and yes, the required uniform is scrubs. I was allowed to go through the assortment they kept at the clinic and take my pick, which for me was pretty slim. First of all, I’m a guy, and most of the scrubs were quite feminine. Second of all, I’m six feet tall and trying to squeeze into a medium sized scrub top was, shall we say, difficult, but getting out of it was rather entertaining.

However, there is something to be said about scrubs as opposed to dress clothes for work. I mean, you get dog crap on a tie and it’s goodbye tie, but the same thing happens to a pair of scrubs and you just toss them into the washer… perhaps with an extra scoop of Borax, because, well, poop. Of course, I don’t know how I’d feel about this when I start making some tops out of super fun animal themed fabric I’ve seen lately in the quilt shops and fabric stores. And of course I opened up my big mouth about not finding much in there and may end up making my own to which the office girls now all want me to make them some too.

But for now I’ve got a pair of bottoms and a few tops, only one of which I picked out. As one of the other receptionists was going through the communal scrubs for Keeps and Donations, she came across a couple that would fit me. One of them was just a simple burgundy with nothing else on it and the other was Lion King. So today I’m wearing the latter, even though it is only graced with images of Simba and Nala. However, one of the receptionists said she’d wear her Timon and Pumba one today so we could coordinate.