poem and how to make a T-shirt tote

Greetings, earthlings. Today, I've got two things. First, a poem, since it's still April, and National Poetry Month is in full swing. Here's that:

And Beyond

What is a poem

anyway, but a
soul on the shelf,
a philosophy tied
with a royal blue
velvet bow,
a bit of hip or
lip held out on
the palm, a
memory rescued,
a melody played
slowly dipping
and rising just
so, the sharing
of the solo sung
by your little
self - arms held
up pathetically
at end with an
uncertain grin
displayed beneath
two endlessly
searching eyes
leading in, under,
through and beyond.
     -Kimberly Laustsen

     Don't ask me what it means, exactly, but it was fun to write. I guess it's somewhat about that in-between place where poems live and grow. That place is a level below conciousness, like the state between asleep and awake.

      Thing two: I wanted to show you how to make a totally cool tote from an old long sleeved tshirt or henley. I got the idea when I saw this huge multicolored  men's long sleeved henley at Goodwill. The colors drew me in. I don't know anyone big enough to wear the thing, so I thought it would make a good grocery store tote, and bought it. After much pondering, I struck upon the fastest and easiest way to sew it. I got a couple of other long sleeved T's to practice on (this one here included), and to try variations. Here is how you make it:

First, using a rotary cutter (or scissors if you do not have one), cut the bottom of the shirt off right below the armpits.

Then cut off the arms at the longest point. You want to make a cut perpendicular to the seam going down the arm. Cut it straight across right below where it joined the shirt body.

Thirdly, using a tight zigzag, sew the shirt bottom closed along the bottom edge, right sides together. (If the shirt is wide, you may want to slice off a section, cutting inside of the seam, then zigzag down that edge to join that, right sides together.) You can leave it like that, but I prefer to then square off the corners so it hangs better. To do this, line up the bottom and side seam on a corner, right sides together.

 You'll have a triangle shape. Sew straight across the triangle bottom about 2 inches from the point at midpoint using the same zigzag. I sew another line inside of this one, then trim off the corner.

Fourth, take the sleeves and sew them together at the end closest to your hand, right sides together. Pull the inside one out to make a long tube. Now, lay the thing out and have the seam on top in the middle. slice off the ends to make them straight lines across, both sides even.   
Take this piece, put the non-seam side against the right side of the torso portion, with the arm sleeve seam in line with the torso side seam (if that makes any sense - email me if questions). Sew these with a zigzag. I usually sew once with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, then again right along the edge, but then I am neurotic and tend to over-do the seam thing. You can decide for yourself.

Fifth, here's the place where two roads diverge. You can stop here, esp if you have used a shirt with the bumpy weave common to henleys, or regular t-shirt fabric. If you have these and want to stop here, then tug on the exposed top edge of bag boy to make it roll so that it looks good and will not fray. If you have ribbed fabric, or just want a more blingy look, then proceed to the next step.

Sixth, take a bias cut strip of fabric (2 &1/2 inches wide), or t-shirt material. fold it together, right sides out. Sew the thing to the top edge of the bag all the way around ends together on the outside side of the bag (the one you see when you use it, not the seam side) joining the ends together when you make the whole circle. Use zigzag. Trim edges. Flip the folded edge up and over the seam and down the inside edge. Zigzag along the bottom of this on the inside. (Apparently, I am in love with zigzag.) You can stop here. Only the brave will go further. If you are one of the brave, then you may want to fashion some sort of clasp/closure device. You can sew a button, with a loop, sew two strips of the bias to the open sides for tying, even put a zipper. You can probably come up with even more interesting options than that. Have fun! Email me if you have any questions.