What Not to Wear

It's a resolution: I will try to dress more like an adult. Granted, I haven't figured out exactly what that means yet, but it seems like something that is do-able in the course of 2010. My wardrobe tends to be a mish-mash of items, most of them found on sale somewhere, most of which don't fit all that well. My color palette is all over the place: browns, blacks, blues, limes (yes, limes), greys. It's not very unified and there's not much that works outside of particular outfits. I buy outfits rather than clothes. I need to buy clothes that work together in multiple configurations. I need to figure out how to do just this.

In preparation for a wardrobe overhaul (which has been overdue for a while now - part of the fit issue is the weight I dropped a year or so ago), I've started purging my closet of those items I don't wear anymore. Most of the stuff will go to Goodwill, some of it will be made into rags, and others I have plans for. Like the sweater above. I bought it about two years ago at the Gap for a dollar. Ever my mother's son, I couldn't pass up such a deal. The catch? Small patterns utilizing multiple colors do not work for me. I've got a lot of surface area and such a pattern stretched across such a space only managed to make me resemble a Magic Eye.

The sweater wasn't 100% wool, so there was no possibility for felting, which seems to be all the rage in the magazines these days. Instead, I decided to see what I could do with the sweater if I cut it up and sewed it into something. What resulted was the above throw pillow - not a terribly well done throw pillow, mind you, but a throw pillow all the same. Note to self: interfacing is essential when dealing with fabric of this sort again. Regardless, it's wintery and looks nice and homey on my couch. Best of all, it took about twenty minutes to whip up.

And, no, I will not be buying any Fair Isle sweaters any time soon.