The Reading Room

Just finished a book by what to me is a new author -- Kate Atkinson.  The book is called "Started Early, Took My Dog".  I picked it up at the local used book store because the title was interesting.

I started reading it, and the character name sounded familiar.  Jackson Brodie.  Hmmm, where have I heard that name before??  Well, as it turns out, this book is not the first by Kate Atkinson, nor is it the first about Jackson Brodie, although it's the first I've read.  There was a Masterpiece Mysteries series on PBS a couple of years ago.  Seems that someone in the UK turned her earlier book, Case Histories, into a made for TV movie.  Oh, I think I made a mental note to look up Kate Atkinson in the bookstore after I'd seen the credits.  So much for mental notes!

Well, if the author didn't stick in my head long, it didn't hurt that the yummy Jason Isaacs played Jackson Brodie, and that's what remained in the back of my mind.

Does he look familiar??  Way back when I was watching, I remember I was trying to remember where I've seen him before and suddenly it hit me!

 

Lucius Malfoy!!

 

For the uninitiated, or if you've been on Mars for the last 10 years, he's one of the villains from the Harry Potter movies.

 

Actually he's been in some other big things, Black Hawk Down, Armageddon, in 2004 he was on The West Wing.  How did he slip by me in those roles?  Must have been the white hair that made his face so memorable.

 

Anyway, I'm going back to the bookstore for more Kate Atkinson.

 

Sew on!

Project Runway 2013

A couple of seasons ago, when the contest was won by another nincompoop who couldn't sew or design anything original, I swore off Project Runway for good.  I said I would never, ever, go back and watch that group of know-it-alls make such poor decisions, especially knowing how hard some people work and NEVER get the chance for that much recognition.

Well, my mother used to say you shouldn't swear.

I have to tell you I really like Tim Gunn.  He's the voice of calm in a mad world out there in Lala Land.  And I don't hate Heidi Klum.

So, Thursday night, with nothing else on TV worth spitting at and not really being in the mood for anything I recorded, I switched on PR and watched the first 20 minutes of the new season.  If you watched it, did you love the way they took the designers to the airport runway and had the jumpers come down with colorful parachutes?  Those guys were worth watching, and I was holding my breath!

The idea of making a fashion statement from a parachute was interesting.  And two of the designers are from Milwaukee.  So I pressed record, went to be, and hoped for the best.

Today I watched the taping.  I watched the runway show twice.  How cool were the designs?  The winner and runner up were awesome.  I really liked both equally well, and I think the judges made a good decision.  And hey, I even liked one of the lowest designs, but the Russian guy has to learn to fit better so parts that should remain unseen actually do.

And what the heck is up with eco-guy, doesn't believe in hair products and makeup, and then HE comes out in a pair of glitzy high heals??  Duh.

So I'm hooked again for a little while, anyway.  This season the judges are going to chat with Tim Gunn before deciding, and they're going to look at the garments close up.

All I can say is THANK GOODNESS Michael Kors is doing something else this year.  And I'm actually starting to like Nina Garcia.

OMG this could be fun!

Sew on...

Becca Sews

I've talked before about my Friday night sewing sisters... actually they're aunties and cousins and such.  We meet lots of Fridays at one of the aunties' homes, and sometimes we sew, other times we plan or talk or eat or comfort each other as needed.

Last Friday, one of the little girls decided to come to "sewing", and she had a project to complete.  She's 9, so she can reach the petal of the machine and she isn't afraid of the actual act of machine stitching.  This is always a plus!

She wanted to make a quilt for a baby gift for someone in the family.  I'm not saying who, so you can be surprised.  Anyway, she came with her little project bag and asked if we would help her sew.

Nancy showed her how to use a rotary cutter, and helped her even out the edges of the panel she had found.  They cut some border pieces from her other fabric.  She pinned the borders on with Nancy and Grandma helping.  Then she sat down to sew.  With the aid of a quarter inch sewing machine foot, she added the borders.  Grandma turned the speed down to low so she had time in the sewing for adjusting the fabric feeding in.  I showed her how to press, but she did most of the pressing herself.

Grandma and others then helped her layer backing, batting and top for sewing together using the Eleanor Burns 'birthing' method.  She sewed the layers together with only a bit of help.  After she turned it, Aunt Amy did a little free motion quilting around the fairy to hold the layers together. 

Here she is with her finished product.  Can you think of the last itme you've seen a bigger smile?

She says even when she gets to be a teenager and the other girls want to go do other things, she will STILL want to come to sewing night!

I believe that this little girl has the bug, and I'll bet she goes on to wonderful things!

Sew on, Becca!

Do You Know This Bird?

This afternoon my hubby said "hey, do you want to see a strange bird on our patio?"

OK, sure.  We have lots of birds in the yard.  We have a feeder and a birdbath, and we like to listen to them and watch them come to eat.

This bird is one I have not seen before... it stood very still on the patio, very nearly motionless for about three minutes.   The air conditioner was on and the sliding door was closed, so I didn't think he could hear me.  I grabbed my cell phone and moved slowly toward the patio door.  I took a couple of snaps through the screen door side.  The bird moved ahead a couple of steps.

I moved over to the side without the screen, to get a picture not distorted by the mesh of the screen. 

The girls were waiting for DH to open the pool, and we didn't think this guy was going to be getting to the birdbath any time soon, so he opened the back door and the bird flew up into the tree.

Strange bird for sure!

I did some internet research, I believe this is an American Bittern.  It's a relatively common bird in Wisconsin, although never in my back yard!

 

Sew on!

Gramma, I'm Building A House...

Yesterday when I got home from Church, there was a very large piece of paper on my coffee table, with a smaller piece on top of it.  Miss A had been over visiting before I got there and had left me a sheet of "instructions" and a "plan".

-- the six year old version of this.

Hmmm.

She's building a house in our back yard, and I have to help her.

OMG when you are six the world just looks like anything is possible!  She started collecting tree branches to build a house.  And not just a small playhouse.  Oh no!  No way.  She's going to build a regular house

with a pool and a hot tub inside,

swings,

a teeter totter

and two guest rooms.  She's planning that I will make her some quilts so people will be comfortable.  And since the guests might want to stay very soon, she thought I might need to get started.

Oh yeah, I have "blueprints" for those too, drawn up by you-know-you.

I'd better get busy!

Sew on!

Great Advice

I don't read newspapers much.  I glance at headlines and will read stories that are important or that grab my attention.  I read the local news and the comics and I do any available crossword puzzle.  Usually in ink but only because pencil smudges.

I DO read magazines, books and newsletters, especially the ones related to sewing.  Our American Sewing Guild chapter has a newsletter, plus if you're a member you can go on line and read the newsletters of the other hundred and thirty/forty-some chapters if you like. 

I read the newsletters from the magazines, stores, vendors and internet sites where I have registered.  Actually I am a voracious reader and will read nearly anything.  I read about a dozen books a month, and a gazillion emails.

At work we have a Chatter Digest that comes out daily.  Yeah, I know, but it IS something to read!  Sometimes it's full of useless information that doesn't apply to what I do, but every once in a while there is a nugget of gold buried in the drek.

Today was one of those days.

The title was Wear Sunscreen.  It references a column from the Chicago Tribune.  Now I don't even read my LOCAL newspaper all that much, so I would never have gone out looking for the Trib's column. 

Here's a link; go there and read it if you wish.  I think you'll find it good advice, well written.  There's more than just sunscreen, it's a great read.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-schmich-sunscreen-column,0,5909206,full.column

And if you're a sun god or goddess, here's more advice on sunscreen from the Vancouver Sun (appropriately named, huh?)

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sunscreen+safe+summer/8572397/story.html

I guess the moral of the story is you can find anything if you will just read.

Sew on!

Today's Rita-fix

Go Here:  http://ritassewfun.blogspot.com/2013/06/you-have-power.html

Read the whole thing!  I could not have said it better.

Sew on.

Retirement... or not

My boss retired this month.  <Sigh>

Who cares, right?  Well, for one thing, I wasn't sure what his retirement would mean for MY job.  I mean, he may be financially set, but I have to work until I die.  Or maybe a year or so after that.

<Sigh>

So imagine my great surprise when, as soon as people knew he was gone, I started having to work overtime!

I guess that's good, but this is definitely cutting into my sewing time.  Not to mention my blogging time!

Retirement, ha!

I wonder if his WIFE knows what that really means?

Sew on, if you get the chance!

Summer Sewing

This summer our quilt group from church is meeting on Saturday mornings instead of Sunday afternoons.  We're also skipping around on dates, instead of meeting monthly.  Vacations are getting in the way, I guess.  That's OK, it's too nice to sit inside in June and July OR IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE!!

I know it's still technically spring, but jeepers creepers, when are we going to get some nice weather??  Today's desk gadget says that here in downtown, near the lakefront, it's 66 degrees.  There was fog this morning and there is haze now.  Yuck.

People often donate things to our group, and the latest acquisition is a sewing machine.  It's a Montgomery Ward and I think the model number is 1265.  I forgot to look more closely at the manual.

So a week ago when we met on Saturday morning, I grabbed it out of the bin and tried to clean it up.  And did it need cleaning!!  Sorry to say, more cleaning than I was capable of.  It still runs well, the tension is fine, and with a  little TLC it will be put to good use for our charity projects.

The funniest thing about it was that it has a kind of unusual thread path.  I told Suzy that it has been ages since I've had to look at the threading diagram on a sewing machine!



Our new old machine!

We counted up our quilt tops, kits and finishes.  We sent 50+ dresses and 30+ pairs of shorts to the group that's going on a mission trip to Burkina Faiso.  We're well stocked on baptismal quilts and we have a large box of charity quilts ready to be distributed.  Our new fall projects might include some Quilts of Valor type projects, if we can acquire some red/white/blue and other fabrics appropriate to the cause.  (Usually we get florals and baby prints, not too often do we get themed fabric or specific colors.)

Then I saw this on a trip through some blogs the other day... lots of jeans patches, I wonder if this is something we could do for fall?  Hmmm, I'll file that one away for future reference.

Sew on!

Spam, and my apologies

I have been away from my blog for a while... things are going crazy at work, I've been putting in lots of hours and trying to keep my head above water.  My boss retired and I've been planning his retirement parties in addition to everything else.

So imagine my complete horror when I looked at the blog today and saw a gazillion comments on a post, and they were all SPAM!

I apologize for not knowing about filters, and if anyone got spammed by my spam.  Ugh, WHY do people do that?  Nothing better to do, I guess.

Anyway, today I am attempting to organize my projects and get some stuff done.  I'll try to pay more attention and keep the junk off my blog.  I'll also try to keep it up better!

I'm knitting some more AG doll sweaters and we're going to be receiving a new doll in the next UPS shipment -- Audrey Anne will be joining  the family from Target in honor of granddaughter number 3's sixth birthday.  I can hardly wait until she gets here.  They will both have blonde curly hair and blue eyes.  I've made her a box of clothes too, so this should be fun.

I also need to make myself a new red tee shirt -- my old one has faded to a soft pink and no longer goes with the jacket I wore over it.  I picked up some soft red cotton knit fabric in Beaver Dam in May so I'm ready to sew.

Now if I can just remember where I put it...

Sew on!

Another Awesome Brother and Some Stuff....

"Where have you been?"

Have you heard that from anyone recently?

Boy, these days my life has been insane!  For the last two weeks I've been working 10 hour days and trying to stick everything personal into weekends that just ooze with activities.  We had our Church quilting group on Saturday, and I signed up for a Saturday Bible study.  They wouldn't have overlapped if we hadn't spent time chatting before the 8 a.m. Bible study class -- and then I dashed home to find my house full of grandchildren! 

The oldest of my brothers, my favorite brother whose name is Dave, stopped by one evening after work.  He was supposed to come on a Wednesday but his Tuesday plans fell through so he came a day early.  He lives in the fine state of Minnesota, where we all went to junior high and high school.

We lived in a little town called Cottage Grove, south and east of Minneapolis.  We moved there when I was in 8th grade, and Dave was in 7th.  (Tom in 6th, Ken and Gail in 4th, Phil in 2nd and Chet about to start Kindergarten.)

After I graduated high school (back in the dark ages) I moved back to Wisconsin, got a job, got married and settled here.  Dave met a girl in high school, they married and he settled in up there.  His kids went to the same high school we did.  Funny story for another time, but a guy I had a crush on back then is now a teacher there!

Dave was in the Air Force for four years, where he fell in love with airplanes.  He's especially fond of the B-52 if I understand his Facebook page... 

Cool, huh? 

He's also a motorcycle enthusiast, and owner of a Harley Davison -- don't ask me what kind of cycle it is, there are so many different models and I am NOT an enthusiast.  I think he inherited the love of cycles from our dad.  I remember how Dad used to bring one home in the fall in bushel baskets with a bare frame and spend all winter cleaning and assembling it.  I can see pieces laid out in rows as he pulled apart the engine, cleaned and oiled it, and put it back together.  Then he'd paint the body and shine it all up and ride it all summer.  When winter was coming he invariably sold the bike and bought more parts and pieces!

Dave is a member of the Minnesota Patriot Riders.  Well, I think actually this year he's the Ride Captain I think they call it.  They turn out for all the veteran funerals they find out about, and they ride to honor the fallen. 

Dave is in the center in the denim shirt.

 My sister-in-law, also named Sue, has been putting up with his shenanigans for a zillion years.  She was behind us in high school.  Dave had already joined the Air Force and was going to be sent to Guam.  She would not be able to join him unless they were married, so they got married during her senior year, as soon as she turned 18.  That meant that she graduated from high school with the same name as I had, only differing by the middle initial!  I told all my other brothers they needed to marry girls name Sue too.  (One did, and when someone said "Aunt Sue" we all said "Yes?"... too much fun!)

 

She still looks the same, except for the sparkles in her hair...

So Dave dropped by to say hi while he was in Wisconsin, and we had a nice chat.  It's nice to see the big lug once in a while!  He had work the next day and so did I (groan)... so he left for his hotel and a stop at a local book store he read about.

He's turned out to be a very good man, one of the good guys.  I'm very proud to be his big sister,

Sew on!

Family Across the Country -- and Just ONE of My Amazing Brothers!

I've posted about family before, how I have six siblings in various parts of the country.  One on the east coast, one on the west, one in the south and the rest in the Midwest.  I have a brother who lives in the great state of Washington. 

He's married and although I have not met his wife because of the distance, we're getting to know a little bit about each other through Facebook.  Hopefully we'll meet in person some day.


not him... but he was this cute!

This brother was not the youngest but was always the baby of the family.  He was an adorable baby and small child.  As a teen he was a crack-up comedian and seemed to move at a frenetic pace most of the time.  He was a sweet boy, and could always be counted on for a cuddle in the early mornings before I went to high school and he went off to elementary school.



Now he's a grown man, with a gray beard and glasses, and he looks so much like my late father that sometimes I have to smile. 

I knew his exes, two of them.  I make no judgments of any of them, and who knows why people break up, or even get together for that matter?  This one is different from the others in a lot of ways, and I have to say that I think they're so right together.  She seems to appreciate the right things in him and he in her -- I was teasing her about some goofy thing on FB and I said I think they're a perfect match.

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone had that?   Although maybe what I mean is a perfect FIT or a perfect PAIR.  Sometimes opposites attract, and that works too.  My DH and I are probably 180 degrees apart in personality and likes and dislikes.  I'm a people person, and he's the Grinch's much crabbier brother, who thought that story was GREAT right up to the end where he gave the presents back!  LOL!  Just kidding... maybe.

Whichever kind of match or pair you are, or even if you're one sock on your own, I hope you enjoy life and get the most from everything you do.

Rock on!

Think...

Auction Follow Up -- Doll Sweaters

Who knew  those doll clothes were going to be so popular??

A couple of weeks ago I posted about some doll clothes I made, suitable for the 18" dolls, American Girls or similar, for the church's youth auction.  I made several outfits, probably about a dozen or more items.  If you were buying the items from a store or craft sale, I estimated you'd have to spend about $8-10 an outfit.

The auction on was held on a Saturday night, and that following Sunday, a lady came up to me after church and said "Well, I managed to get two of your outfits."  I was kind of confused, not really connecting the conversation and the auction and not remembering what exactly I had donated.  The confusion must have appeared on my face, because she said "The doll stuff... I was outbid by that darned Roger on the outfit with the sweater!"

Turns out that they had split the outfits into three groups, and there was one with a skirt, pants, tee shirt and sweater that generated a fierce amount of bidding! 

It looked similar to this one, but the yarn was in blues and reds with some gray and white.  It's a pretty easy pattern, it's made with self-striping shock yarn.  The only thing I'm not totally crazy about is that when you go back and forth instead of in a circle you get non-matching fronts -- you can see where the dark stripe ends up on the edge of one sleeve and in the middle of the other.

So far, the dolls are not complaining! (Nor, I gather,  are the grandmoms and grandpops!)

Self-striping, for you non-knitters, is yarn that forms a stripe because of the way it is dyed. 

They come in lots of colorways, and will make either thick or thin stripes depending upon your garment size and the length of yarn in each color.  Here are some socks knit with self striped yarn:

No, not knit by me... borrowed from Pinterest.  But aren't they gorgeous?  Sometimes if you don't start the second sock at exactly the same place as the first, you end up with two different patterns.

I'm working on using up my 'end of skein' balls of yarn and making more sweaters, some like this and some long sleeved, a few with a cable in front and fasted in the back.   I have a denim sweater being blocked on my ironing board which is shown below, along with pieces of an oatmeal colored sweater that still needs some sleeves.

One sweater takes about 2-3 hours to knit and sew together.  This is so much more fun than trying to knit an adult-sized sweater!

More later... sew on!

Books and Things...

I'm currently in a mode to read lots of things.  It goes in streaks, you know how it is.  Some months I read a couple of books a week, and then I go a couple of weeks where the only thing I read is whatever section of newspaper is left in the bathroom.

The thing is, I love murder mysteries!  And I get into a series of books like the Kinsey Milhone books from Sue Grafton, or the Robert B. Parker Spenser novels, and I want to read them from the beginning of the first book, and read them in order.

A lot of research is required to read an author in order, unless you're getting each book hot off the presses, as happened with Sue Grafton.  So discovering a new author and going back can be a challenge.

I like what Amazon has done with some authors... they'll put "detective xxx number 4" next to the title for some series.  I've read some really good ones and a couple of so-so series that I didn't read too many of... some of the ladies at church recommended the Left Behind series.  Really?  I started reading the first one and could not even get through half of it.  Sorry, I've read and studied Revelation, and I don't think I pictured it quite that way.  If you enjoyed it, more power to you.  Good thing I bought the book used or I'd be more disappointed.

So authors I like/really like:

• Sue Grafton
• Sarah Paretsky
• Robert B. Parker (sadly, deceased and no new books are forthcoming) 
  

 

Spenser -- a Boston detective played on TV by Robert Urich and

Jesse Stone played in the made-for-TV movies by Tom Selleck.  Loved the movies but loved the books first!

• James Lee Burke -- hard-boiled, but oh gosh his prose is more like poetry
• Dana Stabenow -- Alaskan adventures at their most exciting
• Ruth Rendell  -- classic English mysteries
• Anne Perry -- Victorian novels in two series, I love them both
• Dick Francis -- Don't know if he's still writing but he is a former jockey, his books all involve horses and racing.

murder most foul-- these will keep you up at night!

• John Sanford
• Michael Connelly 
• Elizabeth George
• Robert Crais
• Lee Child
• James Patterson  -- I like  almost anything he writes and now he's writing for kids too

Here's a list of light mysteries -- sometimes someone dies but it's not gruesome and gory most of the time:

• Diane Mott Davidson -- her chef Goldie Schultz solves crimes
  
• Monica Ferris -- knitting and crime solving
• Maggie Sefton -- knitting and crime solving
• Jennifer Chiaverrini -- quilting stories, sometimes a mystery, sometimes historical

So when I go to the used bookstore, Downtown Books in Milwaukee, I gravitate to the mystery section, and I'm always on the lookout for a new author.  Someone at work told me about Louise Penny.  He says she writes the same type of books as Elizabeth George and Ruth Rendell.  I'm about to meet her detective, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec in the first novel, Still Life.

He also says the BBC is making the Inspector Gamache series into movies or TV shows and they'll probably be on PBS at some point.  I'll let you know how I like this author!

Reading makes you beautiful!  Or so I keep telling myself...

Sew on!

Sewing with Nancy 2013

I'm getting ready to take the annual trek to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, for Nancy's Notions Sewing Weekend.  Tickets are purchased, the suitcase is ready, and I've done the mapquest for my hotels.  Oh yes, this year I am staying overnight instead of coming home every evening and driving the 90 miles back every morning.  The cost of gas is less than the cost of a hotel room, but the time in the car is less.

This year, my favorite Midwest Ya-Ya Sisters, Rita Farro and Mary Mulari, are doing an evening presentation of their new wrap patterns on Thursday night.  They are always a total hoot when they get on stage together.  I cannot wait to see them this year!

I'm taking a friend from work with me, a NNSW virgin on top of it!  I consider it my responsibility to infect as many people as possible with the sewing virus and hope they are never cured...

I was both sad and happy to hear that Mark Lipinski couldn't make it this year.  Sad because I wouldn't see his two daytime seminars to hear all about his take on quilting, but happy that the reason he couldn't make it was that he's finally gotten his kidney transplant.  But Eleanor Burns is filling in, and there are lots of things to do there, even if you don't sign up for a class.

So spring is trying to make an appearance in Wisconsin this weekend.   The weather is good so far, and although it might not be 65 and sunny all weekend, at least it won't be 32 and snowing!

Come on over to Beaver Dam if you get the chance...  Once again Nancy is throwing me a huge birthday party.  I've got my birthday money in my hot little hand and my catalog all marked and my list made.  Maybe I'll see you at the warehouse!

http://www.nancysnotions.com/category/sewing+with+nancy/sewing+weekend.do

Sew on...

Hand Print Quilt 2013

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in Southeastern Wisconsin... in fact it was a gorgeous weekend.  The first one we've had all year, I think.  No rain, no snow, just sunshine and warm air.

I spent some time after church preparing my Purple Heart pickup, straightening out my closets and cupboards.  My version of spring cleaning -- Spring Cleaning Lite.

On Sunday afternoon, I had a project to finish for the church's preschool -- same as last year but different as my sister used to say.  Every year when the 4 year olds are studying the letter Q, they make painted hand prints on muslin.  The teacher writes their names on the squares, and they ask for a volunteer from the moms and grandmoms to make a quilt.  It gets raffled off on graduation day.

For several years I've been stepping in when there is no 'class quilter', finishing up the quilt in time for the last day at the end of May.  This year, they had TWO classes that didn't have a class quilter.  I volunteered our quilt group to finish up both of them.

 

This is Reese's hand print on muslin.  It's interesting to see the size of the little hands. For reference, the squares were cut down to 7 inches finished.  And there are some right hands and a few lefties.  I don't know how they decided which hand to use. 

 

This class used three colors: green, orange and blue.  I found a piece of fabric in our stash with stars that made a great sashing.  We dug around some more and found a nice green for borders.  The quilt will be backed with green and bound with stars.

 

This is the finished top hanging on my design wall.  I will layer it, someone else will quilt and bind it.

 

The second quilt has hands in pink, purple and yellow.  We found purple for sashing, and some floral for borders.  Someone else finished that one up.  I'll post a picture of that when it's done.  That one only has 16 hand prints so it's square rather than rectangular.

 

These are so cute I might have to make one for the family... hmmm, what a project that would make for the grands.  I'd only have to have them make FOUR sets of prints.  I'll put that on my 'to do' list.

Sew on!

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa...

Do you love the old song "Mona Lisa"?  Mona Lisa was sung by Nat King Cole.  Oh, my, that man had a smooth voice.

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile
Is it only 'cause you're lonely they have blamed you?
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?

Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?

My grandchildren are all wonderful, and of course the most beautiful children that ever lived!  (Aren't yours too?)

But when I get photos of the eldest, she always seems to have this half-smile, which so reminds me of Mona Lisa.  In fact, I'm thinking I'll give her a new nickname:  Mona.



OK, not exactly excited about the first day of school...

Neither one looks happy here.  Maybe sugar overload!

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters...

 Can you tell me what old movie THAT song was in??  Hint, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.

 

She's either making a goofy face, or doing a half smile.  Maybe she just doesn't like having her picture taken!

But I prefer to think of her as keeping a tiny little secret from everyone.

Al la Mona.

Sew on!

Finished Something!

Actually I finished two somethings. 

I have a box in my sewing room of 'works in progress'... WIP for short.  Kind of a nicer way of saying 'UFO'... or unfinished objects.

Every once in a while I drag something out of there and try to get it done, so I can make room for more WIPs.  Occasionally this even works!

So last Sunday afternoon, I decided to 'git 'er done', to quote Larry the Cable Guy.

 

The first one is tomato fabric that I just loved when I bought it (yes, I love red!).   X number of years ago I was making aprons as gifts.  I planned on making a barbecue apron for my son-in-law.  Turns out he doesn't like tomatoes, even on an apron!  Guess I should have gotten the BBQ ribs fabric.  He took one that had onions on it instead, so tomatoes went to the bottom of the pile.

The other one is a piece with ducks.  I got it off the free table at one of those ugly fabric exchanges.  I don't know what I thought I would do with it, but I have outdoorsmen in my life so I heard it calling me.  Duck call.  OK, never mind.

Buy this or other great apron patterns at www.marymulari.com.  Tell Mary I sent you!

I didn't have a pattern, but I had worn enough aprons in my time to know what they should cover up, and I just took scissors to fabric and cut out appropriate shapes.  I later found this lovely pattern from Mary Mulari for a reversible apron that would have been neater and made a heavier apron, but looks very similar to my end product.

I made several aprons, but two got as far as having the seams on the strap pieces sewn, then I put the project aside.  I didn't even turn the straps right side out at the time.  When I moved (was it into or out of the condo??) the pieces went into a zipper seal plastic bag.  This became part of my WIP box.

It's so far down you can't even see it!

Sunday was THE day.  I pulled out the bag, turned on the machine, and went to work.  In under an hour I had two aprons done.  I sewed the pocket on straight on one, then after looking at Mary's pattern I slanted the other, so you can slip your hand in to grab a key or a napkin or any other small thing easily.

 

 

 

 

Done!!  Yay!!  So do you think this counts as one finish or two?

Sew on...

Even Long Time Sewists Get the Blues...

I am laughing and crying at the same time today.  I knew better, but did I listen to myself??

Nooooooo... of course not!

Always.  Prewash. Fabric. Before. You. Sew.

ALWAYS.

I have been quilting for such a long spell, and getting away with not prewashing, that I got careless.  Sloppy.  Lazy.  Stupid. 

Having been making garments for more years than I want to admit sometimes, I know very well that what goes into the washing machine is not always what comes out.  If you want to put a garment in the washer and dryer after you wear it, you need to know how the fabric will react.  Some stuff (like batik and polyester) comes out looking the same.  Some stuff (wool, 100% cotton, rayon) does not.

I took out a piece of gorgeous fushia knit the other day.  OK, granted, I could have done a fiber test, burned a piece to check the results, or just serged off the ends and washed the danged thing, but it was late in the afternoon and I wanted to actually FINISH something.

I left the top I made folded nicely on the quilt rack that's in my downstairs hall because I had to stop in the downstairs bathroom.  When I came out, I forgot to pick it up.  I should have put it on a hanger, or remembered where it was.  I should have gone down to grab it the next day when I wanted to wear it!  Shoulda, woulda, coulda.  I know.

DH grabbed the laundry on Thursday to take it in the basement.  He must have thought I intended that top to go all the way downstairs instead of all the way upstairs.

The picture will speak for itself.

Originally this top was longer than the jacket.

<sigh>

Sew on!