Sewing With Nancy and Other May Activities

I have a milestone birthday coming up.  It's one of those awful things where you look at the date and you go "really, that's me?"  Or someone says to you as I wrote in a previous blog "you're lying about your age".

Funny how I don't always feel any different on the inside than I did when I was, say 24 or 35.  And then again on other days I don't want to put my feet on the floor in the morning or go do my treadmill steps in the afternoon. 

So says Mark Twain.  Although another version, less grammatically correct, has been attributed to Satchel Page, and some say Jack Benny said it.  Maybe they were just paraphrasing Mr. Twain.

This year a couple of things happened to me, one was I started getting all those stupid ads from health insurance companies who are trying to sell you policies that supplement or replace the one with the dreaded Medxxxxx name.  Then my current insurance company sent me a letter saying that they were dropping me the last day of the month before my birthday.

To add insult to injury, my work benefits include some life insurance and that company sent me a letter saying that as of the month of my birthday my premium was going to increase by $10.  Per WEEK.

Happy birthday to me!!

The good news is my health insurance is going to cost me less but I'll be spending the savings on the life insurance.

I'm getting psyched up to attend Nancy's Notions Sewing Weekend.  It's the first time I'll see Mary Fons in person.  I read her blog (Paper Girl) all the time.  I met her mother, quilter Marianne Fons back when she was touring with her then-business partner, Liz Porter when they came to Sewing Weekend, and I've heard her speak in a couple of other venues.  I actually made Liz and Marianne each a vest way back when.  I wonder if they ever wore them??  I never saw them wearing them on TV...I digress.

.. if you're not going to Sewing Weekend, the question is why not?  It's the most fun you can have in Beaver Dam on May 5-7 this year if you like to sew.  It may be the most fun you can have all year, anywhere in the US! In my humble opinion anyway.

It's a great big sewing party, and I'm excited to be seeing Mary Fons, Sandra Betzina, and Nancy Zieman on successive days. There are other sewing experts there and sometimes I can't decide what to sign up for.  Some other years I can narrow it down pretty easily.  For example if there is someone talking about upholstery I'll probably skip that, but you can always count me in for Nancy and Sandra.

There's plenty of time for shopping the warehouse.  I might stop by the Babylock booth and see if I can find anything that Miss E needs for the machine I won there last year.  And I always look in the warehouse for Mary Mulari and Rita Farro.  If either is there I have to stop just to say hello.  Who am I kidding, if Mary's got a new product I have to buy it! 

Speaking of Miss E, she graduates from eighth grade this year and wants me to make her a dress.  She found one she really liked and her mom bought it, but it turns out about five other girls bought it too... so we're making the same style in different fabrics so she doesn't see herself coming and going.

Here's the pattern I bought:

She wants View C in black lace on top and mint green chiffon over lining on the bottom.  Vogue Fabrics had the very thing and I ordered it today.  I have until the beginning of June to make it, so that shouldn't be too hard.  All I'm waiting for is the UPS man!

My daughter has a birthday and I bought her some pink shoes.   Shhh, don't tell.  She doesn't read my blog anyway so it's our secret.  I gave her some socks I knit that had pink in the yarn so I guess it's a theme.  Pink Footwear.

This coming Monday or Tuesday is girlfriends night out at Red Lobster.  If you see a group of ladies of a certain age enjoying each other's company, that will probably be us!

I just wish the weather was nicer.  The high on Monday was in the 70s, today is supposed to be in the 40s.  Brrr!

Memorial Day is coming up soon and I would really like to spend the whole weekend in my sewing studio.  I want to put up some shelves and sort out my excess inventory.  Maybe I'll have an 'overstock' sale, see if I can recycle some of the stuff I don't love anymore.  I have a giant shopping bag full of patterns, some never used, that need good homes.  Not to even mention the fabric I bought with good intentions!

Sew on...