UFO extravaganza

I haven't posted in a long while due to a combination of crazy work hours, limited internet and a phone (camera) that's on the fritz. One major change in the last month is I've been housebound recovering from major organ surgery. As a result, I've had plenty of time to tackle my unfortunate collection UnFinished Objects. I've managed to clear at least one Australia Post tub of items. I'm pretty proud of this spring clean.

So far...
3x vests requiring button replacement
1x yellow dress requiring button replacement
1x purple bodice needing hemming
1x blue tea towel (hand woven in part by me) which needed the final threads darned back in.
3x bras requiring repairs where wires have popped through (so sick of this).
1x pair of very long business pants that needed hemming as I'm not one to wear high heels to work
1x cute pink cardi requiring new buttons. It originally had crocheted buttons but they unraveled so I was going to replace them with 50's esk half pearl buttons. But then I found cupcakes! (new UFO - cupcake button earrings)

1x bee dress. This has been in my tubs since the Caulfield days. I started it back when I had no idea and I'd overlocked it together (rather than sewing). It fits really nicely, but once the pieces were together I realised due to the nature of the fabric, the dress needed to be lined. As I had patterned the dress on the fly, I didn't relish unpicking all the edges so into the UFO box it went. Older (and wiser) now, I decided I could wear a slip with the dress, lining be damned. Instead I made some facing for the top edge and used lace to trim and hem the bottom. I'm in love with this dress! (new UFO - bee hair bows)

1x cream tunic with blue trim. This stalled long ago when I realised it was too narrow for my hips. I didn't have more linen and I wasn't going to throw it away. It needs someone a size 10-12 and about 10cm shorter than me. I finally finished hand sewing the trim on and have put it to one side to donate to the right person wanting a nice linen tunic.

1x Squid outfit. I made this for my niece as my lovely sister had decided to do 31 days of Halloween. Without a child to fit it to, I was running off a vague idea of how a 7 month old's proportions should look. I'm really happy with how the top came out with the little tentical. Happily, it matches the Squoodie I made her mother years back. :)

1x orange blockprint top. I bought this when I was in india a year ago with the idea of converting it to a short undertunic for future garb use. IT HAS POCKETS! Step by step conversion below:

The original tunic with a horizontal orange block print. The arms are straight cut so I tapered them to the elbow (left) for a more comfortable form fitting look. The neck has a very short oriental collar with buttons and a placket down the front.

I unpicked the placket and the collar and very carefully trimmed off the buttons and button holes. I used the placket material to line the neck. I smoothed out the front collar to create a plunging neckline which will be held shut with a small brooch or pin.

Done! And all the hems are hand sewn down as the original had machine sewn french seams to prevent the heavy cotton from fraying.