I was nearly at a loss today. The make something prompt suggested I create something new from an old tee shirt.

Here I am, on vacation, clear across the U.S. from the dresser drawer that holds the ancient tee shirts I never wear but am too sentimental to throw away. Shirts from high school and college events. Reminders of fun, sometimes reckless activities with good friends.

Cutting is not required for today’s exercise … but at least from this distance I am not even challenged to consider that option. I don’t think I could cut any of those old shirts.

So, once again, I bent the rules. The tee shirt I worked with is not old. It’s a new-ish shirt Jim brought along on our trip.

I wasn’t about to cut or tear or even stretch Jim’s shirt. So folding seemed the best option. I’ve never been on a cruise, but friends have shared funny stories of returning to their cabins to discover works of art fashioned from towels. If a towel can be manipulated into a sculpture, why not a tee shirt?

Why not? Well, sleeves for one thing. And a neck hole. And flimsy fabric. But I tried several “recipes” and finally found one I could reasonably create with Jim’s tee shirt. All I needed to add were a few coins from my purse …

Voila! A button-down, collared tee shirt! (I hear thick, fat collars are all the rage in Paris this year. Right?)

* * *

My theme for this year of making things is “words.” The words I’d like to assign to today’s creation are desperation and resourcefulness. And finished.

I wonder how well equipped I will be for tomorrow’s assignment …