A defiant capitulation to entropy

When I like things, I tend to want to save them for the perfect project or perfect occasion. Or I work under the assumption that once I have something it will always be available whenever I need it. Unfortunately, the passage of time can have different ideas. My 'good' pyjama top, the one for wearing on camps or when visiting relative, isn't so good any more. After some fruitless searching for a replacement I liked as much – or at all – I elected to make my own. I traced a pattern from my old shirt and found a beautiful cotton knit at Spotlight (it's so soft).

I have some lovely, shiny paints left-over from some Barbie costumes I made probably 10 years ago. Faced with the realisation that these paints wouldn't last forever either, I thought it would be nice to add a picture to my new pyjama top. I have several peacock garments but nothing with butterflies, which I also like a lot. (There's a theme here – I like only the fanciest creatures.)

I printed the design on overhead transparencies and cut out a stencil. On opening the paints, I had a moment of panic as they are more gel than liquid now. Thankfully, they weren't too dried up to use, but I had to dab them on more than paint with them.

The final touch was a decorative stitch around the neckline. The original shirt has this in silver, so I kept with the metallics and used gold.

Once the butterfly was painted on, any 'what are you working on' discussions, with my parents or with visitors, ended in the conclusion that this garment couldn't possibly be pyjamas. So it has ended up in my daytime wardrobe as a comfy, casual tee which is great for getting the most out of my painting effort.

I haven't solved my pyjama problem though.