Sewing Weekend in Beaver Dam

Every year I save some vacation days for the weekend that Nancy Zieman holds her Sewing Weekend seminars in Beaver Dam, WI.  In my opinion it's three of the best days of the whole year.

Sewing Weekend has been going on for a while.  This year was the 28th year.  It is a big deal now, but if you have attended any of Nancy's seminars anywhere you've probably heard about how it started in the basement of a church with about 250 people.  And that was more than were expected to come, so it was a hit from the get-go!

DISCLAIMER: I have NOT been paid to talk about any of these products, nor do I work for any of these companies. The opinions expressed here are my own!

This year I didn't check the numbers before I left, but thousands attend, and they come from all over the country!  There's a map where you can stick a pin in your home town.  Of course I live close (OK 87 miles give or take.)  There wasn't room enough in the map for pins from everyone from the southeast corner of Wisconsin.

Many ladies came with or were delivered there by their husbands.  It's nice to have someone who supports your passion and is willing to carry your purchases!  And there are activities for the guys in the area... golf, fishing, sporting goods department at Sears, etc.

You sign up on line on Nancy's web site to attend lectures with national sewing experts, attend 'sit and sew' classes where you make a project on a high-end sewing machine provided by Baby Lock.  The lectures and classes are reasonably priced.  There are evening entertainments on one or two nights.  There are vendors who demonstrate their products and show you what's new.  And there are free lectures/demos in the warehouse if you have a bit of time.

For lunches on Sewing Weekend days, you can enjoy the buffet at Ponderosa Steakhouse or grab a quick sandwich or salad at a wonderful snack stand in the warehouse.  The same ladies have been there for the last 5-6 years or so.  I always want to ask the name of their business but never remember to do that until after the fact!

The best part of the weekend for me is going to the lectures.  This year you could have seen and heard Alex Anderson, Louise Cutting, and of course Nancy Zieman, among others.  In the past I have gone to lectures from Sandra Betzina, Patti Palmer, Marty Michel, Eleanor Burns and Eileen Roche, just to name a few. 

It's the one time of the year that I get to ride on a yellow school bus!

Here's the drill:

You arrive at the Nancy's Notions warehouse at least a half hour before your seminar starts.  The times are staggered so everyone doesn't arrive all at once.  You park your car, either on the parking lot if you're early enough, or on the grass next door or across the street.  Beaver Dam policemen and other volunteers are there to assist you in finding a good spot.  You do a quick or leisurely meander through the building depending on the timing of your arrival.  At the bus loading station, where shipments usually arrive, there are yellow buses and plenty of drivers and aides to help you on the bus.

Bus drivers take a route through town to the various places that have been rented for classes.  Since Beaver Dam doesn't have a convention center, the places where you may be dropped off include the high school and middle school auditoriums, the Family Living Center, or a couple of the area churches.

At any location, you will enjoy a lecture or demonstration of some sewing or quilting techniques, trunk shows, how-to-do this or that, or mysteries revealed/quick and easy methods from a nationally known expert in the field.

When it's over you jump back on the bus, to be delivered either to a lunch location or the warehouse for shopping.  If you get tired of hauling your basket around, you can check your package and sit down for a bit of refreshment or a short, free lecture in the warehouse.  You can take a nap (a favorite husband activity) in a nice comfy chair in the NN employee break room if you want to, but I personally try not to miss anything!

There are usually contests for sewist young and old.  This year there were lots of lovely challenge quilts hanging in the halls.  Nancy and her staff support the sewing education of 4H and other young people in Central Wisconsin. 

You can sign up to win door prizes too.  I always wish I had remembered to put address labels in my purse when I'm writing out the 23 numbers and letters of just my street address!

Nancy said at her lecture this year that the radio station reminded everyone that it was sewing weekend, and basically to look both ways when crossing the street.  It must be a big deal if it makes the local radio station!!

If you haven't been to Beaver Dam, a sleepy little town of about 15,000 normally, when it gets invaded for sewing week, what are you waiting for?  Mark your calendars for next year, and come to beautiful Wisconsin!  We'll leave the light on for you.

Sewing with Nancy

Today I am going to beautiful downtown Beaver Dam, WI, for one of the best shows in sewing.

www.nancysnotions.com

Bargello Redux

This weekend I worked on two projects:

• Twisted Bargello
• A's project 'blankee'

So which one got more time, do you think?  I'd say it was about even!

These are chumks of the twisted bargello... other pieces go between some of these sections, that's why it looks choppy.

I'm behind everyone (except Meta & Sharon, I think.)  I got desparate for some progress so I sewed some of the adjuoining strips together.  This necessitated re-pressing some of the seams in the opposite direction from where I originally pressed.  And there are a LOT of seams in each strip!

But it's starting to take shape.  After helping with a couple of these I feel pretty confident that I can actually get it sewn up into a top before the end of the summer...

By the way, I also finished the LLA preschool quilt.  Susie Banks quilted and bound it.  We are an awesome team.  It's ready for auction, so the teachers can expect a special delivery today when DH drops A off for school.  Here's a peak.

The hand prints are in alphabetical order.  I love the one leftie... Miss A is not in this class.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Andy's mom came up with for her class.

Yay, Amazon!

I got home from work today and there's a box from Amazon in the kitchen.  Yay!  My Bonnie Hunter books are here!  I posted about ordering them last Wednesday or Thursday.  I ordered them on Thursday, and here they are!

   

I'm going to take my iced tea over to my favorite chair and give them a good read.  I love books, and books about sewing are a little piece of heaven!

Then I have to get my butt to the basement and put a hanging sleeve on the preschool quilt.  I'll post a picture tomorrow.  Susie B did a great job on the quilting and binding.  I hope the parents like it and they raise a bunch of money for the preschool when it goes to auction.

Question of the Day:

Why is it that the dial pad on your telephone...

is not the same as the key pad on your calculator???

Whichever one you use the most often gets embedded into your fingers... and it certainly makes using the other one more challenging.

Friday News...

If you're reading this early and the ASG blog hasn't updated yet, please go back a little later today.  Those of us who check EARLY in the morning sometimes beat the postings, but Samina at ASG promised it will be there today.  And E and I thank you for your interest in her progress!

I mentioned this week that it was Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday.  I got a nice bouquet of flowers from one of the execs I support, and in the afternoon I received an email from Amazon.com Gift Cards that said

from the managers in the office for all your efforts every day making the office run smoothly.

So I went right out and bought a copy of Bonnie Hunter's book,

... which I have been lusting after and somehow never ordered.  Her books almost never go on sale anywhere.  Then I added



because if I'm getting one 'free' with my gift certificate, that is the same as getting two for one, or half off both!  I'm very happy and expressed my gratitude to Chuck, Kevin, Paul, Mike and Jim, a bunch of truly great guys to work for!  If you have to work outside the home, it's good to be in such great company.

Guest Blogging Friday

My granddaughter E and I are guest blogging this Friday on the American Sewing Guild blog again.

You can check us out at www.asg.org by clicking on the Blog icon in the upper left corner of the screen.  It's open to the public.

While you're over there you might want to check out the member benefits, and if you want to join you can do that right on line!  ASG has lots of great things going on, including meetings in a neighborhood near many of you, on line classes that come free with your paid membership, newsletters and quarterly publications, member discounts at lots of merchants, and the best national convention you will ever attend.  This year the conference is in Houston, Texas, which just happens to be the home town of ASG headquarters.

If you love to sew you should be a member of ASG!

Keep on sewing.

Sowing Along...

This Sow-Along is so enjoyable that I can't resist sewing a few blocks nearly every day.

I'm also trying to do things like hem pants and finish a couple of projects, but...

I took the corner squares off the churn dash and substituted white for the print that was there before.  I like it much better, don't you?

I completed the block called Darting Birds.  It's turned a different way in the book we're not talking about.  I think it's very cute, with its little one inch hsts!

Then in keeping with the birds theme, I finished the block called Flock.  I think I have this picture upside down, but it's also cute.  1.5 inch hsts and 3.5 inch hsts this time.

I am trying to mix up the greens with each block, but I find myself trying to use up the chunk of fabric.  Also I make a sheet of hsts of one size, so the same fabrics tend to appear when the size is the same.

This is Old Windmill.  Four different shades of 1.5 inch hsts were called for, but I used the same white background for all of them.

This one is called Peace and Plenty.  I loved these two fabrics together.

On a roll with hsts, this one is called Prairie Queen.  The four patches are two inches finished, and the hsts are two inches finished...  This one maybe should have had more contrast between the two light fabrics.  It does look nicer in person.

This is the Railroad block.  This one is two inch four-patches and two inch hsts (finished measurements) similar to the Prairie Queen.

Here is Spool.  This one is based on 2 inch finished hsts and squares.  I think I like the one made with more squares per block, because you can make the spool portion wider.  This looks like an empty spool -- not something you want to encounter in the middle of a project!!

I'm up to 30 squares.  I actually have more made, but some are duplicates, and due to my inexpert measuring and my inability to make the templates work for me, I have four that turned out to be 8 inches finished instead of six.

I'm not too worried, I will either find a use of them, or A will cut them up for her next project!!

Happy Sowing, everyone!

Saying Thank You

For those of you who work in offices anywhere, this week Wednesday is Administrative Professionals Day.  It used to be called Secretary's Day... way back when.  Suffice it to say that calling it Secretary's Day, or calling the person who helps you do your work a secretary, has developed some negative connotations.

Enter Administrative Professionals.  There are all sorts of folks who assist in the ordinary everyday operation of your average office.  I used to joke with my boss that I was waiting for Executive Assistant's day or Financial Assistant's day.  See what I mean?

Gone are the days when you have to pick up the boss's dry cleaning, get him/her a cup of coffee with two sugars, or pick up gifts for his/her spouse or kids!  Unless you work for the Devil Wears Prada boss -- but I think that's just a movie, right??  Ha ha, I wouldn't have lasted half a day with THAT boss!!  I'd have said 'I don't do coffee' and I would have been so fired!

I work with a great group of senior executives, who are for the most part self-sufficient and can handle their own business.  They rely on me to review and analyze information, prepare necessary paperwork, keep meetings on schedule.  I keep track of busy calendars, resolve schedule conflicts and arrange travel to send them all over the world. And get them back.

It's nice to be recognized as part of the team.  Some of these people are very good at expressing their appreciation.  It's good to know that even though they don't always say so, they notice the extra care put into making their jobs easier.

I try to do what gets them what they need and where they need to be with a minimum of B.S., red tape, and aggravation. 

And sometimes it pays off!

Oh no, Marty, thanl YOU!  And you're very welcome.

Creativity & Inspiration -- Where Do YOU Get It?

I work for a bunch of engineers and planners.  They're heavily into the calculated and precise.  Measurements are made in minute increments.  Stress levels and capacity are known quantities and have to fall within predetermined tolerances.  Slide rules and calculators are the norm.
I work in the accounting/finance field.  There are the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles that dictate your actions on a daily basis.  Numbers have to meet budgeted expectations within a prescribed percentage, a SMALL percentage.  Endless analysis takes place when you miss the target!

My vocation is finance but my avocation is fiber arts. 

Let me say that the left brain, know for mathematical ability, critical thinking and logic never leaves town.  It's what allows me to structure my time to get tasks accomplished, helps keep me organized so I can locate things and remember where they are, and helps me think through processes to solve problems.  But my creative right brain will often bring in the crazy or unusual to make the project spark, or use old things in new ways.  Sometimes it lets you take inspiration from unusual sources.

Did you ever read the book "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"?  Yeah, sometimes the answer is very simple.  You can get it from a child.

For example, if you don't have a piece of fabric the color you need, why not make another fabric into that color?



And you can use lots of little pieces to make a big piece.  If you don't like something, you can cut it off...

Be proud of yourself!!  Present a happy face to the world.

Don't take life so seriously that you can't have a little fun.





Learning to Sew

This is a reposting of the day I was guest blogger on the American Sewing Guild web site, http://www.asg.org/ in March.

If you have a child or grandchild or know a child, maybe they want to learn to sew.  My grands have always played in my sewing room while I worked.  My kids did that too, although for many years they didn't have a choice because I sewed in the kitchen or a bedroom!  You might have small people underfoot while you're sewing too.

One of the first things I did when the kids wanted to sew too was to establish some basic rules.  Don't touch the scissors or the rotary cutters without permission, don't sit near the foot peddle, don't cut anything except your OWN stash, etc. (A cut a chunk out of her hair, so we now have a rule about who cuts hair too!) Once they understood the rules, they each got a plastic bin to keep full of their own treasures.

The most recent acquisitions

Two of my grands have their own stashes. I let them pick things from my scrap box, and have taken them shopping at the 'scrap sale' at a local quilt shop, where at the end of the year they sell their left-overs by the pound. They also have ribbon, trims, rick rack and buttons, and beads for bracelets and necklaces. They add small balls of leftover yarn, and I bought a stack of plastic canvas sheets for their use. This is theirs to use as they choose.  Of course they have design in their genes!   

E's Fabric Collage

A's quilt, designed by her but sewn by me!  Yes, I sewed everything just where she placed it!

At the age of four to five to six, I taught each one how to thread a big-eyed needle with some yarn and pull stitches through plastic canvas.  That got them used to using an instrument with a pointy end, and how to go in and out of a base material.  These gems are now wall decorations and coasters.

My oldest grand, E, progressed to hand sewing with regular fabric and thread at about the age of 8.  Once she asked me how I managed to do this without sticking my fingers.  I said "I still stick myself once in a while."  We both laughed about that.  (If you bleed on your work, your own spit will remove the blood!)

At some point E wanted to make a doll sized quilt.  She was able to reach the foot control of my sewing machine, but when the needle started to whirr she removed her hands and decided she wasn't quite ready for this!  We sat next to each other on one chair and she worked the foot while I guided the fabric.

Our next projects were all hand sewn.  But last year when I was sewing doll garments for nieces and cousins, E wanted to try the machine again.  So we had a lesson on where to hold your hands, she sewed on some scraps, and she sewed some lines of decorative stitches on the bottoms of the pants legs for some 18" doll outfits.  I then finished the pants.

Some suggestions for teaching, from E and me:

• Wait until the child expresses interest and is not afraid of the machine.
• Start simple, with a project they pick.  Or just let them play with stitches on the machine.
• If they pick a project that looks kind of advanced, offer some interim choices or do practice pieces.
• Slow the speed on your machine.
• Tell them to watch the fabric and the foot, NOT the needle!
• Boys can sew too.  Sewing machines are power tools... 
• Finishing the edges is optional on some fabrics, and those make good first choices.
• Let the kid choose his/her own fabrics.  Even if you don't think they go together, they will enjoy it more if it's their choice!

·        Give them some scraps to practice on.  E sewed on striped fabric to get used to following a line. 

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Practice on scraps... us paper for stabilizer if you need it.

• If they get bored, let them finish another day.  (Encourage them to finish though, because that's what gives the sense of accomplishment.)
• It doesn't always have to be a project.  Sometimes we just like to play with the materials.
• Do cool stuff.  Make things they will use, like pillow cases and iPod/iPhone bags, and tops they can wear.  Or sew dog or cat scarves and hats.
• Relax the rules sometimes.  DON’T be surprised if they don’t want to hem knits or do French seams!!
• It’s fun to embellish ready-to-wear garments. 
• Listen to music while you’re sewing and sing along if you know the words.



Try all the fancy stitches!!

• Have fun with it!

Kids love to sew in groups, just like adults do.  However, they need to be kept ‘engaged’.  Have enough machines so they can work in small groups.  They can watch each other and learn, but if they have to wait too long for a turn you can lose their interest.  We have sewed with Girl Scouts and 4H groups and church groups.  Two years ago the kids at our church sewed over 100 dresses for the Little Dresses for Africa project.  Girls as young as 6 tried their hand at some pillow case dresses. 

Next time E and I will talk about a second phase of sewing with kids – choosing a project.

Catching Up on the Sow Along

Finally I got situated to sew some more Phone Guy's Wife blocks!  Three hours in the sewing studio yielded a number of new blocks.

I think I'll take the corners off the block on the left and
replace the outer triangle with white.

 This is a new attempt at Churn Dash, along with the one I sewed in February (?)... neither makes me particularly pleased.  It's amazing how different they look in the photos.

 This block is called Calico Puzzle.  I should have made more contrast between the two darks. Honestly, the leaf pattern looked more medium in person. 

Maybe it will grow on me...  I love all three fabrics.

 The block - Butterflies at the Crossroads -- caused me untold stress.  The book we're not talking about doesn't give measurements.  I did the math -- a 6 inch finished block divided by five elements equals 1.2 inches per element.  Add .5 for seam allowance and you get slightly less than an inch and 3/4 cut.  Allows for inexact seam allowances, right?  Except for some reason I could not get the size right!! 

I finally resorted to half square triangle paper and threw away all of my unsuccessful pieces.

I'll tell you about the triangle paper later in this post.


Four Winds.  56 HST and 8 1-inch finished squares!!  Oh yeah!

This Four Winds block was actually pretty much fun to sew, believe it or not!  It has a crazy number of pieces altogether -- 64 total.  The HSTs finish at one inch.  I cut out all of the pieces so carefully, counting the number I needed of each and checking them off.  Then when I was sewing them together, I discovered that I had miscounted the green/light green HSTs and I had to make two more.  Plus I sewed one quadrant together with one square upside down.  Twice!



Friendship Star.  A sewist-friendly block if there ever was one!   Except that I ran out of the light green background so the corner squares are a slightly different fabric.  Hardly noticeable in real life but it shows up pretty well in the photo.

There are lots of ways to make a HST, but my favorite has become using triangle paper.  You can use Thangles or Triangle Paper or you can find various directions for doing them without paper.  I just bought software that makes about three dozen sizes and prints on whatever kind of paper you can put into your printer.  It's called Print and Sew from 1-2-3 Quilt at  http://www.quiltpro.com/.  I'm not endorsing it and I haven't been paid any money to say this so take it with a grain of salt.  But I like it.

I get nice crisp squares with hst paper... and once I cut off the dog ears my pieces fit together well!

These are some of the 64 pieces of the Four Winds block.



Next I hope to be finishing up the raffle quilt for the preschool class.  I also have to get back to my DD's blue and brown quilt one of these days.

Happy sewing!

Lost My Place... and found it.

Last night I went downstairs to my sewing studio to straighten up from the weekend and get started on my April pile of Phone Guy's Wife Sow-Along blocks.  I had a pile of half square triangles sewn, and another pile ready to pin and sew.

But I forgot to mark what blocks I was planning to do!  I couldn't find my place, where I left off, what my plan was when I finished up last time I sewed!!  Have you ever done something like that? 

I remembered going through the block patterns and placing HST paper in between the pages where the finished sizes matched, along with some strips and squares of fabric I intended to use.  But something must have gotten into the plastic bin and rearranged everything because some things were obviously mixed up...

...hmmm, Miss A was working on her project this weekend.  I wonder if, while I was busy with E working on HER project, A wandered over to this bin and went shopping.

Oh oh!!  Under the table sits a little pile of scraps.  On this pile of scraps is a little piece of patchwork.  Not a WHOLE piece, mind you.  A chunk of a piece, cut from a block I had in a bin of practice blocks.  It was a portion of a mariner's compass.  If you've ever done one of these, bless you!  They are gorgeous but kind of intimidating.

You paper piece or template cut all these triangles and when you're done it's amazingly beautiful.

The one I did was very basic.  One row of points in an arc that would have made a quarter of a circle if I had sewn the last piece in.  It was to have had a quarter of a circle sewn to the center, with the arc around the outside edge.

I had used a pack of fat quarters that were reproduction fabrics from the Civil War era. 

I'm quite sure I would never have made a whole quilt with this pattern.  Heck, I couldn't even finish one square before I lost heart.  But seeing that little pile of scraps under the table made me sad.

However, I am quite sure that Miss A loved that piece of patchwork, so I cannot be TOO sad for it.  The piece has served a purpose, and after all, if something I did brought a little joy to at least one other person, I am happy.

But I'm going to make sure that the things I really care about are put away high up on a shelf!! 

Lesson learned.

Keep on sewing!

Follow Up to Spring Tasks

I am loving these new underthings!!  Jockey briefs with fabric covered elastic is definitely worth the extra bucks I paid.  The package of three pair was $25 but I bought them on sale. 

The elastic on my previous brand was sewn together at the side seam on the inside of the panty.  That created a bump which tended to rub on the skin at my waist.  Combine that with the waistband of pants and it's tolerable.  But add pantyhose, a slip and a skirt and it's miserable!

To those of you who are thin enough not to require elastic waists in trousers or skirts, this may not be a big deal.  But I am feeling very happy today!!

Thank you, Jockey brand!

Spring Tasks

Now that I've completed the dreaded TAXES there are some follow up errands to take care of.  Once a year I review my 401K status and make sure that I have the right amount of life insurance.  I also make an appointment to see my OB/GYN for the annual exam and mammogram.

IF YOU ARE A WOMAN AND YOU ARE READING THIS, I strongly suggest that you be good to yourself and make that appointment to see your Dr. for an annual exam if you haven't already done so.  Catch anything early!  I do it at the same time every year because my doc doesn't send reminders.  Making the appointment after the taxes are done helps me remember to do it.

OK, getting off the soapbox now.  But seriously, take care of yourself!!

Another spring errand involves buying myself some new 'unmentionables'.  What fun!!  The grands told me that they would not be going with me on this trip.  "Seriously, G, that's embarrassing."  All alone, I trucked over to the mall.  The store I normally go to is moving.  OK, there's about 75% of the store that's totally empty!  But hey, everything is 60% off!!  Lucky me, I found four of the bras I normally buy.  Plus two others in my size that look like they will work.  The lady at the counter says "did you try these on?  ALL SALES FINAL!"  No, I get the same ones all the time, so I know these will work.

But now I need panties, and the bin they had in my size was about the size of my refrigerator's veggie drawer and full of things I cannot imagine anyone over the age of 16 wearing!  Seriously, they call this a pair of panties??  And it was the one with the most coverage.  Do people not want their whole behind clothed anymore?  Huh.

I just cannot imagine what they are thinking... OK I will admit that the part of my body that was intended to go into that garment is too big.  For the garment, and for my size.  But people, that does not look comfortable at all.  And the rest were even worse.

So I took myself over to a major retailer hoping that they had nice, sensible cotton briefs for ladies of a certain age.  They did, but my heart did a stumble when I saw the price for a package of three pair.  OMG when did things get this expensive?  I guess if you only buy once a year, the price can really change!  Oh, did she say 25% off?  Well at least it's the price, not the amount of fabric in the item!

I thought as long as I was out I would hit one of the other major retailers in the mall.  The sales were pretty good and I picked up some sweaters at a really good price.  Also one very nice top in a navy print. 

After lunch of a giant burrito and a diet soda I tackled one more store and found two pairs of dress pants that I can wear to work after I cut four inches off the bottoms and hem them.  I do that even with the petite sizes.  Good thing I sew or I would have to pay someone else to do that. 

All in all it was a pretty good trip.  I still hate the mall.  But my annual errands are done, and barring anything unforeseen I'm good for 12 more months!



Honoring Those Who Have Gone Before...

I have a Susan B. Anthony dollar taped on a card and placed in a picture frame on a shelf in my sewing room.

Why, you ask?  Or why should I care, maybe?

A while ago I was having lunch with some of the younger ladies and we were having a discussion about various books we were reading.  I was at that time reading Anne Perry's series with Thomas and Charlotte Pitt as the main characters.  Farrier's Gate, The Cater Street Hangman, etc.  Look them up on Amazon if you want to know more.

Anyway the discussion centered around how difficult it was for the women in those books to do the things that we take for granted, and how lucky I consider myself that I didn't live 100 years ago! 

The 'youngsters' don't remember a time when women couldn't hold any job for which they were qualified.  That's not too far back in our history, people!!  Women have only had the right to vote in the US for 92 years.  (Although there were exceptions and a couple of pretty progressive places where women voted if they owned enough property.  When they were allowed to own it... but I digress.)

And it only took us about 2/3 of that 92 years to get as apathetic about exercising the right to vote as men are!

The kids have the right idea!

Maybe the only thing we really want is what we do not or cannot have.  Hmmmm....  well, I think it's a good idea for people to think about having a say in what's going on in their world. 

So we're having all these recall controversies in Wisconsin.  We're becoming quite famous for them!  Not exactly as good as being a cheesehead, but you take what you can get I guess.

Seriously, are the gazillion people who signed on for the recalls part of the fraction who voted FOR the elected officials and now are angry about what they did?  Or are they part of the apathetic majority who didn't vote and now are upset that things aren't going as expected?  I'd really like to know the answer to that one.

Anyway, the next time the opportunity arises to vote, think about those who have gone before.  You have a right to express your opinion in the booth.  In Civics Class they taught us about responsibility and civic duty.  And our mothers and fathers taught us that if you're not participating in the process you don't have a right to whine about it.  Of course you have the right not to vote.  But in my opinion not voting equals not whining later.

While you're in the booth making your choices, say a little thank you to Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns that you have the opportunity to do so.  They're the ones that marched, made speeches, got arrested and even went on hunger strikes so you could. 

And oh yeah, Woodrow Wilson, one of the original flip-floppers, who was totally against it in 1917 but realized that women were people too when he needed their help during wartime.  Good old Woodrow!  What would he think today??

Your choice, people.  I'm just sayin'...

Easter weekend

I hope everyone who reads this had a wonderful Easter weekend.  DH and I went to sunrise service at 6:30 a.m.  It was a beautiful day, chilly but sunny.  We went out to breakfast after.  There was a breakfast at church but he never will go with me to those things so I went with him to a restaurant instead.

The kids and grands were all elsewhere.  Grands 1&3 dyed eggs with me on Friday, and 2&4 dyed their eggs with me on Saturday.  They took them all home, so we ended up with the six undyed eggs that had cracked in the boiling. 

I bought NO jelly beans, no chocolate bunnies, no marshmallow eggs.  This year I'm putting myself on the austerity program!  See if I can lose a pound or two before my next doctor's appointment!

One of the dye packets had chalk and 3-D glasses in it.  And special stickers.  The kids got a kick out of coloring with the chalk after the eggs dried, but it didn't appear to last very long.  One good look with the glasses and the handling seemed to rub it all off.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

Meanwhile back at the ranch, we read the paper, took little naps, and I did some sewing.  I put together the main portion of the LLA class quilt.  It's too cute!  I have to take a picture of the progress and post that later.  I'm trying to embroider a banner-type header for it with the class year and teacher's name.  I'm looking for cute lambs to embroider.

I actually cut out and sewed two tops for myself.  It's nice to have a stash of fabrics in your own personal colors, that coordinate with the rest of your wardrobe.  You don't have to worry about whether the stores are open, and if you want a new top, in an hour you can have a couple!  Well, one is completed, the other has to be finished up tonight.

Happy spring!  Keep sewing.

Who took these pictures??

Every time I upload photos from my camera to my computer, I am surprised by some of the pictures!  Since we have a digital camera and taking pictures costs virtually nothing, we don't forbid the next door set of grands from taking pictures.  I think if they show an interest in picture composition, color, subject, whatever, they're learning something.  And they don't print a copy of just anything, because that's the part that costs money.

This winter, E took lots of pictures of the snow in the back yard that stayed just long enough after the warm spell to build a snowman.  She's taken pictures of lovely things like leaves and flowers in the yard. 

 And some decidedly goofy things, like the dog wearing glasses.  How did she get him to sit still for that?  Well, he IS a pretty laid-back dog!







There's A's favorite subject... her feet.  On the downstairs carpeting.

On the upstairs carpeting.   

                                                     Bare toes.

                                                       and with shoes on.

Just how far down the steps do things go when you kick them off the landing???