Flea Market Find

I made some purchases at a flea market a month or so ago. I got this small leather pouch for a dollar. It is a bit worn, but the inside is really soft. Not abad use of a dollar, if I may say so myself.

Good Shoes

Brand New Florsheim Wingtips!

Someone should buy these.

Dressing Frugally

Here are three items from past posts used together.

Six Fold Tie

Here's another piece I made a few months ago and haven't gotten around to posting. I made it from some thrifted cotton fabric I had lying around. The pictures are pretty bad, but I'm feeling really lazy.

Bow Ties New and Old

I recently realized two things. First, I have made a good number of bow ties for the Spring-Summer season that are unwearable in Fall and Winter (pink seersucker is definitely not going to fly in the snow). More plaids and small checks in subdued colors are needed for the coming weather!

Second, I haven't posted the majority of my early bow ties which I like and which see regular wear. The remedy to both is below:

Today's Thrifting

A trip to New Life Thrift Shop scored the wife a bunch of kitchen/household goodies, but not as much for me. There were 2 J Press tweed jackets with bad stains and a Burberry with the same. I did get this silk pocket square, though:



I just thought the other day that a simple cream silk pocket square would be a great accessory for pair with tweed blazers and wool/knit ties to balance the texture a bit. For a few bucks, it wasn't a bad find. Here's a tip for people not living in Philly--if you are looking for these things, they're usually in the ladies' clothing section with scarves. But don't take my word for it, the pros do it, too.

The bonus--after leaving the thrift store I noticed a set of dumbbells sitting on the curb a block away. After a quick U-turn, I now have two handles and 4 10 lb plates. The trip was quite successful after all!

My New Hat

This is something I started last winter and wasn't really pleased with. I basically made the whole thing three times to tweak the shape, and I am relatively pleased with it now. The bill was another thing I had to do a few times to get to work out, but I think I have found a pattern that works. I may add a few details later, but here it is for now:





It's nice to have something done just in time for the proper season. I usually start things when I want them and finish them when they're just going out of season (see bow ties).

Chair Finished

Here is the finished seat. There are a few gaps near the middle, but I am pretty please overall.


I may see if I can seal it in some way, because there tends to be some lint that comes off, though I don't think there is too much of it any more. I'm not really sure how that would work with twine, anyway. Maybe I'll try the bottom, in case it doesn't work out.

Chair

I have been in the midst of a move with some vacation in the middle, so I have neither made much nor had time to post what i have made recently. Here is one thing I'm working on:

I got this chair for $2 at a thrift shop while my wife and I were looking for furniture for our new place. I knew I could look up how to weave a seat for it.



A few youtube videos later, I was starting with some jute twine I got a Walmart for $3 or so.



I will probably have to get another $3 worth of twine (two packages) to finish up. If anyone is thinking of trying this--you are supposed to use a thicker paper cord, which cuts way down on the labor. I did it the hard way because I had the twine in hand and would have had to order the cord.

Identical Twins

Two more bow ties from a pattern promised in my first spring bow tie post. I should probably start working on fall patterns now, seeing as I can't seem to get enough time to get this stuff done in a timely manner. I get too many other projects taking up my time, but you've seen those. Here they are:

Watch Band

I made this from a silk neck-tie because I'm too cheap to buy these. I also enjoy making things.

I made some purchases for others

I found this great Brooks Brothers OCBD:





This is the best representation of the color:


I also found some ridiculous Polo cords with foul and guns embroidered all over. They're a 34W/32L: SOLD

I made some good purchases for myself

I found:

Brook Brothers Country Club wool pants. They fit me perfectly, and were less than $4.





Filson Sweater which also fits me--less than $4.





And some Camel/Khaki thin-wale cords were found at Saks off 5th.



If you thought those savings were good, check these out...



...plus an additional 50% off! That's Wal Mart pricing. They fit me pretty well.

Pocket Square

I made this from one of several shirting scraps I have from China. It's a very light pink multi-stripe. I know these should be hand-rolled, but I was impatient, so I did a zigzag over an ironed seam. I'm working on the last side of a hand-rolled number from another scrap, and will post that later.

More Bow Ties

More in the same colors as before:



The pink seersucker is gone.



(bow above right is gone)
There are also two left over from the last posting, so don't forget about them.

Belt

I have been quite busy, recently. I haven't had time to make blogs, because I've been making other things. Here is one of them:







I made this belt from scraps of bow tie fabric. It's kinda like patch-madras, or at least that's what I was thinking of when I had the idea. Most of the fabric is seersucker, actually.

A Present for My Bride

I added some exotic African veneers to a box and finished with oil-based varnish to bring out the grain. Bubinga burl on the top and corners, and zebrawood on the bottom and sides. The idea is for it to store love letters and notes--more things to make. I won't post those.

New Thrift Finds

I found these Sperry Makos in size 10M. They are in really good shape, and look as if they have hardly been worn. There is plenty of wear left in the soles, as you can see. They'll probably go up on eBay.





This Orvis jacket was also a steal. It's a little round in the midsection for me, but I am contemplating taking a whack at altering that. I have a few jackets that I want some more waist suppression in, but haven't gotten around to messing with. There are some nice details like leather buttons and elbow pads.

It is also a real sports jacket--removable button tab to keep you warm when fowling in foul weather and biswing (I think that's the right term) pleats on the back allow for free arm movement without pulling too much on the back.


I also got some ties for 50 cents. The one on the left is cotton madras, of about medium width (just what I like) and the right is thinner knit tie.

Spring Bow Ties Are Here!

Look at this dapper chap in a pink seersucker bow tie!

Spring Bowtie Preview

Here are the fabric cut-outs of the next batch of bow ties. These will be in spring/summer colors and materials: bright pinks and reds and greens and bluesin cotton seersucker and madras.

Tan Alden Derby/Blucher SOLD

I picked these up from the thrift store. They are a size 9D. They'll be headed to eBay as soon as I feel like posting them. Until then, anyone want 'em?

Hats

I recently finished crocheting the hat that Erin is wearing. It was something I didn't finish last year before spring came, but I got it done this year. I made it several times over, because I wasn't using a pattern. Every so often I would pull out a dozen rows and begin again to get the shape just right. The hat I'm wearing is one I made for myself from an old blazer last winter. I've started another one, but probably wont' finish that one before spring this year.

I made dinner.

Once upon a time, I made dinner for my (then) girlfriend. It was a huge undertaking (for me, anyway) consuming hours. I probably bit off a little more than I could chew, but I wanted to do something special. Reminiscing over memories of delicious Mediterranean cuisine I enjoyed with friends in school, I decided to make:

• Humus
• Fattoush
• Baba Ganoush
• Tabouli
• Kibbeh Balls

After about a quarter of a day, I think it turned out pretty well, considering the only thing I had previously cooked was an omelet. Lawrence of Arabia came on, so that was somewhat fitting, I guess. We ate on the coffee table and cushions, because I thought it would be more authentic that way. It looked like this:



(I cheated and bought the pita bread.)