Birthday Presents

I went to Nancy's Notions Sewing Weekend a couple of weeks ago.  It's been held the same weekend as my birthday for several years now.  I feel that this fact allows me to buy myself something nice that weekend, something beyond the usual fabric, patterns and notions.

This year I took some classes from Gail Yellen of Gail Patrice Designs.  One was called Cosmetic Sergery.  It sounded interesting, and since I have a serger that I like, I thought I'd see what she had to say.

I was impressed with everything she knows about how stitches form and other technical stuff.  I mainly use my machine to sew seams and finish raw edges so I was prepared to be wowed and I was very pleased.

After seeing the ruffles she made with a few simple adjustments, I was SO ready to go home and do that!  Miss A loves ruffles... and she likes skirts with ruffles most of all.  After watching Gail do a ruffle in mere seconds, I knew what I was buying!  New feet!

Now seriously, when I told people that, they laughed...

I picked up the clear foot, just because I could and at 33% off, why not?

I also got the cording foot.  Gail made this really cool button cording using this foot and skinny elastic with decorative thread.  I'm in!

I got an elastic foot too, as long as they were on sale.  Gail showed how to add elastic to a waistband with the serger, then you just turn it under and topstitch.  True no-roll elastic!

And of course the ruffling foot.   I'm trying to type 'ruffler' but BlogSpot wants to spell check me.

So maybe if I get some time to sew, the grands will have some fancy summer skirts and dresses soon!  And when your birthday comes around, feel free to give yourself a gift you'll enjoy, whether people understand it or not!

Happy birthday to me. 

Sew on...

New Knitting Projects

I love coming home to find packages on my kitchen table!  Of course DH is not nearly as enamored as I am with visits from the UPS man, or the mail carrier!

Yesterday this box came for me from the Loopy Ewe... lovely red cotton yarn, hand dyed and silky-feeling.  I spent about half an hour while I was watching Foyle's War on PBS winding it into balls.  This is about 450 yards.  Yes, it costs more than Red Heart or any of the choices at the local craft store, but look at that color!  I don't splurge often, but this called me.

The plan is to find a scarf/shawl pattern and knit it up during the month of June.  I am not saying I'm going to Camp Loopy, but I might just try it!  I'm thinking of something that could be tossed over the shoulders when the air conditioner is running this summer.  My mom used to say keep your back warm and the rest of you stays warmer.

What's Camp Loopy?  The Loopy Ewe shop in Colorado is run by a very creative bunch.  They issue challenges to get you motivated to knit and finish things.  This summer there are three month-long challenges to knit something that reminds you of a movie or show you have seen, using 400 yards (purchased from the LE).  If you do it, you get a discount on yarn you buy FOR the camp, and if you finish you can post your project.  I think there are rewards for doing the challenge, and more if you do all three. 

I didn't pay attention because I'm not committing.  Yet.  Maybe I'll do July's if I can finish one in June on my own.

You know my level of commitment on knitting...

These items take little or no time and are fun to do, no pattern to follow really, and if they don't turn out, there's not a lot of resource wasted.  Research shows that knitting and crochet provide zen-like opportunities for your mind to rest from the madness of normal life, which can work to keep your brain young.

I have knitted children's sweaters, scarves, etc.  But not normally in this tight a timeframe.   So we'll see.

I also purchased two skeins of a yarn called Madelinetosh in a color called Georgia O'Keefe.  You can't tell from this photo but it's a gorgeous blend of dark greens and a little brown thrown in for fun.  Who could resist anything named after Ms. O'Keefe, and green is my favorite color. 

 

Sorry for the horrible photo, my camera is on the blink and I'm using the cell phone.  Think luscious dark green soft wool yarn, hand dyed and slightly textured.  Got it?

 

                                                

 

Georgia O'Keefe was a famous artist and painter.  She was born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, which is near Madison.  She studied art in Chicago in 1905-1906, painted during the early to middle part of the 20th century.  She moved to New Mexico and became famous for capturing large floral blossoms and dried animal skulls in great size and detail.  Her first show was without her consent (although she later agreed to keep things going) arranged by Alfred Stieglitz, a gallery owner.  They later married after much scandal for the time... he had been married when they met.  It's interesting reading if you're so inclined.

 

Here's Georgia in her later years in the southwest where she painted.  I love her story, a modern woman ahead of her time, comfortable in New York and New Mexico, making her own way and being creative until her death at age 98 in 1986.

 

Did I tell you the Loopy Ewe sent me a gift too?  This little package was included in my order, it contains a pattern with just enough yarn to knit a sock shaped needle holder, and six project cards that can be given with gifts (they have a place to say what the project is made of and how to launder, and have  a gorgeous photo of yarn on the back.)

Monday was an altogether good day.

Now if I could only find some time...

Sew on!

Putting the NO in Technology -- Argh!!

This is supposed to be my post-sewing weekend post, showing all the cool things I purchased there and telling everyone how enjoyable it was.

The best laid plans of mice and women, people!!

Here's the thing:  my printer will NOT under any circumstance read the disk from my camera today.  Technology when it works is great, and when it doesn't it is horrible.

Trying to work around it... the first day there I went to classes with Pamela Leggett of Pamela's Patterns, and Gail Yellen of Gail Patrice Designs.  I've heard of them previously, since they are well known among members of the American Sewing Guild.  So Pam discussed designer details using both your sewing machine and your serger. 

<Insert here a picture of Pam's tee-shirt pattern and the pattern to customize purchased tee shirts!>

See how well that worked?  Ha!  Hopefully I'll get the photos at some point.

I learned a few tricks... such as using a narrow serged seam for the first step of a French seam, or using a narrow rolled edge for seam reinforcements in sheer garments.  Cool.

From Gail Yellen I learned that I am NOT using my serger to its full potential.  For example my Baby Lock serger has a ruffler foot that I don't have, and I think that I can use this in sewing form Miss A and even for myself.  I'm happy to report that I have one now, along with a clear foot, a cording foot and an elastic foot.  They were 33% off the list price so I treated myself for my birthday.

<Imagine a picture of serger feet>

Friday I went to see one of my favorite sewing people, Mary Mulari.  I'm a Mary Groupie -- I try to see her whenever she's in the area.  When I was a chapter president of our local ASG Mary was one of the first outside speakers we brought in, and she did a great job for our chapter.  You can never go wrong with Mary.  So I  knew some of the material she was presenting (and I enjoyed that) but she did have some new tricks and tips and I enjoyed those too.  She has very cool bag and accessory patterns, and I was reminded of how many of her designer jackets from sweatshirts I would love to make.

<See the picture of her latest travel book and CD??>

I picked up some great bargains in the warehouse... lots of Madiera thread, sewing machine needles, some Bare Knits fabric from a Canadian manufacturer called Siltex.  That stuff is wonderful, with dyed to match ribbing and top and bottom weight cotton/poly... I picked up a few yards of that this year.

We went to two different evening programs at Beaver Dam high school.  Mary and Nancy Zieman did a hilarious second round of Kick It Up A Stitch -- a little sewing, a little cooking, a lot of laughing.  They took the shirt off the back of Steve from Baby Lock and cut off the sleeve and made a bag out of it, then they cut off the logo to make a tag (and gave him back the shirt, hole and all).  Ask your friends who were there if they tasted the kale smoothy...  I heard it was kind of chunky!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to see Nancy's class, had lunch with friends and ended up at church -- the fellowship hall of Peace Lutheran in Beaver Dam hosts classes because it's big.  Deborah Jones taught me lots about doing lettering and monograms on a home embroidery machine.   I will not do monograms for myself in the normal way.  My last initial is S, my first is S and my middle is A.  DH's initial is A.  So if we do a couples monogram that would be little A - large S - little S and if I did my own it would be little S - large S - little A.  Noooo.... probably not.

I also got 20 fat quarters for $19.95 - a bargain whether you actually need them or not.  Picked up some pink plastic clogs for Miss A's doll, and a few other miscellaneous items that filled up four shopping bags.  Yes, I am helping the economy when I can.

Hopefully I can fix my printer soon.  You'll enjoy the photos!

Sew on...

Sewing Weekend Starts Tomorrow!

Not a very big secret around my part of the world... you see, I live in Wisconsin and it's home to the sewing capital of the world, Beaver Dam, home to Nancy's Notions retail store and catalog business.

We were discussing this one time in our sewing guild after-meeting lunch, how long have we been going up there?  I don't know but I have commemorative pins that go back as far as 1997.  I'm sure I went a couple of years before they started giving out pins too.

It's the best show I've ever attended in Wisconsin or many other states.  It's well organized, the people are helpful beyond imagining, there's too much to do and too little time to do it in, and I haven't missed one since I started going.  I'd have to be hospitalized to miss it.

I haven't decided what kind of things I'm looking for this year except that they have a really good price on rotary cutter replacement blades.  I'm always looking for bargain fabrics for the church's quilt group, and of course I'll have to check out the doll shoes and accessories for Miss A and Miss K.

I'm ready for a long weekend immersed in the sewing world!

Sew on...

Three Days To Go!

It's almost here!!  That's right, Sewing Weekend starts this Thursday!  Can you tell I'm excited!!??

My favorite time of the year is nearly upon us.  Well, upon me anyway, I don't know about you.  I've signed up for some awesome classes at Sewing Weekend in Beaver Dam.  Of course I'm going to Nancy's class, and then my second favorite teacher Mary Mulari.  It doesn't matter how many times I see these ladies, they always have something new to say.

I also signed up with three people whose names I know but I've not seen them before... Deborah Jones' Letter Perfect Monograms & Lettering (I assume for machine embroiderers), Gail Patrice Yellin's It's All About Embellishment, and Pamela Leggett's Knits and Fits.

My suitcase is in the hall ready for packing and my tickets are in a safe place.

Here's what I've been working on while I'm waiting for Thursday:

This is a scarf, well actually a cowl, that I'm knitting from some of the hand-dyed yarn I picked up a the Loopy Ewe website.  It's teal and green with pale blue and some brown tossed in.  It probably will go with my gray winter coat but I bought it specifically for the brown color.  Once I've knitted the required length, it gets seemed together in a big loop, then folded in half and draped around neck and shoulders.  I have brown and teal in my wardrobe a lot so it should go with a few different outfits and match my turquoise bracelets.

Just for fun, I'm making a striped doll sweater for 'Audrey Anne', our American-Girl-From-Target.  I usually knit front and back at the same time to make them even and symmetrical, but with two colors sometimes this results in a tangled mess.  I'm trying to remember to turn back and forth at the end of each row instead of around and around.  Old habits die hard, I'm afraid...

Never being one to be happy with just one project in the works, I recently purchased this book with the idea of maybe making each block once to see if I'd enjoy making the whole quilt.  So far all I've done is pour over the book for a couple of days and think about fabric.

Maybe I'll see some I'd like to use while I'm at Sewing Weekend!

Sew on...

Happy Birthday...

Tomorrow is my Aunt Zel's birthday, so if you know her, be sure to wish her a good one! This is how we see each other most of the time...

 

Although usually it's ME on that side of the sewing machine...

 

I won't be seeing her tonight or tomorrow because she's quite the world traveler, which is awesome because she does not drive!  But she's an honored guest in a lot of vehicles on a lot of trips.  So she gets around. 

 

Tonight she's headed 'Up North' for a little trip to the vacation villa.  Actually it's the town she grew up in, along the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River.

 

Have a good trip!  Come home soon and safe, we have a prom dress to alter for Amanda!

 

Sew on...

Stash Enhancement

I never used to enjoy shopping on line, but over the past couple of years I've not found shopping malls very satisfying, and I really don't have a lot of spare time to travel all over looking for things I need.  Or want.

Since about 2009 I've tried many mail order and on line sources for various products.  I do love Amazon for books and other 'hard goods', I've gotten used books for as little as $4 including shipping.  Hey, they read just as nicely as new books, right?  If shipping is free I consider it a bonus because I haven't used $4 a gallon gas to make a purchase, even though my car gets pretty decent mileage and I can sometimes stop on my way to somewhere else.

Yes, I do know the library is free, but there's that time thing.  Plus returning on time... that's a whole 'nother story!

The drawback is you don't always know what you're getting so you have to do your homework. 

Fabric shopping on line can be hard if you don't know enough about weights and fiber content, etc.  Then there's the tactile nature of sewing, fabric shopping is as much about feeling as it is about seeing.

Because in my area most of the fabric stores are quilt shops, which I do love but they don't carry much garment fabric, or they're chains which don't always carry the quality of fabric I want, I started checking out on line fabric stores.  Now if you're an American Sewing Guild member, you get a leg up on this!  Many on line vendors have been at various ASG conferences so you know the quality of their goods.  Many of them offer deals through the ASG web site, so you can try them out and help the Guild at the same time.

I have a couple of favorites... I love Vogue Fabrics in Chicago and will even sometimes take a road trip there.  I've gotten nice things at good prices from fabric.com too.  There are some others but those are my go-to defaults.

I was looking for some leopard print fabric that would be appropriate for a jumper or dress for Miss A.  I only found swimsuit fabric and fleece locally.  But fabric.com had some poly/cotton and some sweater knit so I ordered some.

Of course I also found a few nice pieces for doll skirts and dresses to go with the sweaters I've been knitting.

Here's what came yesterday:

Leopard and some camo, all knits.  The back one is a sweater knit, perhaps for Miss E or my daughter.

Cats and pink plaid are a nice weight of flannel, and the blue and yellow are cottons.

This one is mine, a nice weight of doubleknit for a spring top and there's enough for either a skirt or a cardigan too.

Such a fun time when I come home and there's a package for me!  It's like Christmas... with the added bonus that DH is becoming fast friends with the UPS man. LOL!

Now I need to get some of this prewashed and pick out some patterns.

Oh, did I say I won a pattern package from another blog, Sew Everything (link in my blog faves at right).  I'm pretty excited about that, I haven't statistically been lucky at winning things and it was such a pleasure.  Of course the odds were in my favor, not like the lottery.

New fabric, new patterns, now all I need is some vacation time.

Sew on...

Administrative Professionals Day

It's nice to be appreciated.  Today is Administrative Professionals Day, formerly Secretary's Day but renamed to be more politically correct.  I remember fourteen or fifteen years ago, my boss at the time asked me if I minded being included in celebrations of Secretary's Day since I was more in the line of Financial Assistant than Administrative Assistant.  Evidently one of the women in the marketing group had taken exception to being invited to the luncheon because she was "so much more than a secretary".

Well, I never turn down a free lunch if I can help it.  AND I think the people who support the people who were paying for the lunch deserve everything they get and more!

Who makes sure the meeting rooms are reserved and the coffee service is ready and the travel arrangements are made and the bills get paid and the documents are properly prepared, sent, filed, witnessed, notarized or even spell checked?  Who makes sure supplies are ordered, visitors are made welcome, taxis are called, emergencies are handled?  Not bosses most of the time, not mine anyway. 

Big companies run on the efforts of all the little cogs represented by the people at desks in tall buildings and in small suites all over this country.  It's wonderful when that is acknowledged, in any manner.  It would be great if those support people could all be paid what they're worth, but I think that would mean the Big Guys up in the ivory towers would have to all realize that they don't exist in a vacuum.

Did you ever see the move The Devil Wears Prada (or read the book)?  Those poor assistants!!  They deserve a day every week if that's how the fashion industry really runs!

Anyway, my boss retired last year, and I now support a small fleet of managers from various states.  I do a multitude of things for them from arranging large meetings at conferences to processing invoices for payment to making expense sheets appear out of envelopes of crumpled receipts.

I think all of them appreciate it.  Some of them even show it.

Thanks to all the little people who work hard every day to make the Big People look good!  You rock!

Sew on...

Where Has The Time Gone??

I looked at the calendar today to check the date for something I was working on and it's April 17!  Where has the month gone??  Where has the year gone?  Does time really run faster these days or is it my imagination!?

Two weeks from today I'll be driving my car north to beautiful little Beaver Dam, Wisconsin for Sewing Weekend... WOW I AM EXCITED!!  Nancy's Notions warehouse will be bulging at the seams with stash enhancement opportunities and all the latest gadgets and patterns.

I love books and I love sewing, and books about sewing seem to send me right over the edge.  I have winnowed my collection of things that are outdated or unused.  I wonder if any of you picked up my old books at the Goodwill?  LOL!

Last month I cleaned out a small area in my big storage closet and tossed scraps and bits of old interfacings and stabilizers, discarded spools of thread where there appeared to be only wisps on the spools -- not enough for even filling one hand needle.  I also consolidated needles into full or nearly full cases and tossed all the empties.

By the way, did you know it's better to put all of your bent and broken pins and needles into a small container than just to toss them in the trash??  Oh yeah, ask me how I know this.  Also you should not just toss the container when you're done, most cities have a time for 'hazardous waste disposal' where you can get rid of things like old paint cans, etc. and you can toss your broken pins and needles at the same time.  And don't even THINK about using old dull needles in your sewing machine, or for anything else!

So the point of this whole post is that hopefully I am cleared out of old junk and ready to restock in Beaver Dam in a couple of weeks.  :-)

Color me happy!

Sew on...

Judy Made Me Do It!!

Most mornings I do the same thing, my regular routine... I get up and shower, get ready for work, go downstairs to greet the hubby and grands, make my lunch and drive to the office.  Today, hubby said "the computer's broken", which really means "I saw something I didn't understand, can you please fix it?"

It was a pretty easy fix, a Microsoft message that didn't require response, but then I had to check the internet, because he has to check the bank statement and his lottery numbers or the whole day will go badly.

So I checked a couple of my favorite websites, Rita's Sew Fun blog and Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times. 

Judy loves a yarn shop in Colorado called the Loopy Ewe.  I've seen her blog about Loopy challenges, and her yarn stash grows with the most gorgeous colors of hand-dyed yarn that I have ever seen.  And when she knits these wonderful yarns into garment she posts photos that make me jealous -- first of the yarn and second that she actually completes things!

I saw a scarf she knitted called the Hitchhiker.  There's a reference to a book about 43 steps or something, I know I'm not getting it right, but this scarf has one edge that curves around your neck, and the other has periodic decreases that create little steps.  You can find the pattern like I did, on ravelry.com, which is a site for knitting and crochet projects and patterns.  You join for free, but the pattern is not.  I bought it and made one with some variegated yarn I had, which turned out really well.  If I had taken a picture before I gave it away, you'd see it here.  (Next one, I promise.)

Today I also checked out Just Quilting, a blog by Denise Russart who also sews and knits.  She was talking about having sent in an inspiration for colors for hand dyed yarn to guess where, Loopy Ewe!  Her color is called Denise's Mandarin Duck.  OMG the picture of the duck is gorgeous.  She said Judy had asked her about it.

Of course I HAD to go look at the yarn at loopyewe.com.  I had to. 

Judy made me do it!

I ordered some -- not the Mandarin Duck, I started looking at the colors and the other hand dyed yarns, and before I knew it, I had five skeins in my cart.  I bought some red/teal/black/white called Lisa's World Fair Celebration dyed by Lorna's Laces, and some green/teal/brown called Lark which is dyed by Huckleberry Knits.

I'm going to try the Loopy Challenge for the second quarter of 2014, which is to knit (and finish and post a photo) of something made with multicolored yarn. 

If you read my blog you know that my speed is little things that knit up quickly.  Baby sweaters, doll clothes.  Scarves.  Maybe some socks.  This challenge will have to be done by the end of June.  Wish me luck!

Hopefully I can do something for myself.  I was thinking of another Hitchhiker that I will keep. 

Fingers crossed... knit on!

Things You Learned in School...

If you've known a kid, had a kid, or been a kid, you know at some point in your school years there comes a time when you hear something and you say to yourself "Why do I have to learn this?  I'm never going to use it!"

Most of the girls I knew said that about gym class and many of them said that about algebra.  My daughter said it about algebra.  I said it about geometry!  But never, ever, did I ever say it about spelling and grammar.  My mom said swearing was a sign of a poor vocabulary, and I did NOT want a poor vocabulary.  No way.

Now that I'm a quilter and a knitter, that geometry is coming in really handy!  And I use math and algebra all the time, at work and at home.  Can you cook without knowing math?  Try doubling a recipe... I'm just sayin'.

In this country we should be proud that good education is available to so many people.  In other places education is saved for the rich, or for men, but here in America anyone can go to school.  Children, even those with disabilities that are profound, have opportunity to learn.  Adults go back to school all the time, to finish a degree, to complete a GED because they dropped out of high school, or just to pick up a new skill or two.

You can even teach yourself.  If you want to learn something, you can find a way.  Refresher courses, adult education, vocational school, You Tube, books from the bookstore or the library, mentors, friends, it's all there.  You can even learn from radio and TV.

There are references to 'talking like the man on the six o'clock news'.  Anchor people usually try to lose any regional accents and polish their speaking skills if they want to get beyond local markets.  They're pretty good at reading the news from the teleprompter or script, and most of the time they do a fine job of sounding educated.

So they must have learned things fairly well in English classes.  I wish everyone could do that. 

I have a few pet peeves in the grammar area.  One is the misuse of the words 'me, myself and I'.  As in "If you have any questions, please call John or myself" or "please call John or I" -- if John were not an option, would you call myself?  Not so much.  OK, not a big deal.

Then there's the whole apostrophe thing.  John's Deli.  OK.  Walk-in's welcome.  No.  The problem is, sometimes if you type walk-ins, spell check wants to fix that for you.  So, how about when you use it's and when you use its?  It's a fine day.  The dog lost its bone.

Boy, I really feel for people who have to learn English as a second language!  The rules can be pretty obscure sometimes! 

 

I read a book called Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss.  OMG I laughed SO hard, but everything she said was true...

Lots of people use bad grammar and don't realize it, but lots of folks should know better.  I know someone who wants a better job than the one she has, and she has had some interviews but no offers.  I want so much to tell her that if she could polish up her speaking skills she'd have a better chance.  You're not going to get a job if the word 'ain't' is a staple in your vocabulary.  Or if you continually use me, myself and I in the wrong places.  And don't get me started on who and whom!

I tell everyone who will listen, learn everything you can about anything that's available.  You never know when it might come in handy.  I wish they'd paste that into every grammar textbook on the planet.

Sew on...

Feelings

No, not the annoying song -- although some of you will have that running through your head like I do now.  You're welcome.

I've been feeling a little sluggish for the past week.  I have one of those girlie infections of the not fatal but really, really inconvenient variety.  That makes more than 5 in the past 12 months.  I have a referral to a urologist, and when I called for an appointment I got one - in MAY.

I need to set up an account at the urgent care, and just get an express line pass!

So I'm trying to figure out how to feel peppier.

Here's looking at you...

Then I had some floaters and flashing lights in my right eye -- which prompted a visit to the optical guy.  I have a follow up appointment next week, but so far it's just the aging process.

Oh joy. 

Work isn't helping, it's busy, it's the end of the quarter, maybe it's even a full moon.  People are cranky and they want everything yesterday.  One of my project managers just asked me about a bill we've been paying for something we've been buying annually for the past  13 years, and he acted like it was the first time he's ever seen it!

I'm praying for extra grace this week.  My mom used to say you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.  Who wants flies, I want to know??  I'm working to be nice rather than swatting...

The aunties are on a world tour looking for sunshine.  I miss them!  I could use a hug right now.

Maybe I need some retail therapy!!

OH NO, NOT this...

I think this time of year when everything is gray and brown, I get a little blue.  If I could only actually turn blue, it might be helpful.  I'm tired of winter clothes, and I can barely tolerate wearing my winter coat any longer.  I want to buy myself something in bright green and wear it for a week!

I use this method...

Trying to spend some time in my sewing room didn't work out too well last week because the place was such a mess I spent most of the time cleaning and reorganizing.  But I came up with some really good ideas for storage, using the things I already had.  And I spent about an hour cutting down a box of scraps into my favorite sizes and putting them in bins.  I almost feel ready to start a new project.

OK, I'm feeling better now.  Can't wait for spring!  I want to see the gazillion greens of southeastern Wisconsin, and my daffodils and heck, even dandelions!!

 

 

So Mother Nature, if you're reading this, bring it on. 

Something in My Eye

Actually there's a lot of things in my eyes, and I'm so glad they're there!

I had an interesting experience over the weekend. I started seeing these little flashes of light, reminiscent of lightning, off to the right side of my right eye. At first I thought something was wrong with the kitchen light fixture again, but then it happened in the upstairs hall and in the garage.

Then I saw what most people call floaters. You know, where you see shadows or dots, but they're not really there.

I mentioned it at church on Sunday morning to my friend who is a nurse. She seemed concerned and told me to get in to see someone about it. I did some research on the web and found out that sometimes this indicates retinal detachment.

On Monday I called my optometrist, expecting to get a referral to an ophthalmologist, but Dr. wanted to see me right away. My eyes were dilated and he spent about 20 minutes looking into the back of my right (and left) eye with various types of lenses and lights. I think he even took some digital images.



My eyes stayed dilated for about six hours -- hard to see like this!!



Lucky me, no tears were found, but we're watching things closely, pun intended!



The retina goes around the vitreous sac of fluid in your eye;  the vitreous sac call pull away, and tear the retina, which could result in loss of vision if not repaired.  Not everyone who sees flashes gets retinal tears, but it's better to be safe than sorry!

Do you remember high school science class where they discussed cones and rods, and how some people are color blind and others see more than the normal range? I think I must be in that second group, or maybe my DH is in the first, because he'll say something is blue, and I can clearly see it's periwinkle or aqua or cerulean! I can tell the difference between shades of a color like green or red, and if I try to put together things that aren't quite right it bothers me.  That scarf with that blouse?  No way!

This paragraph is borrowed shamelessly from a site that shall remain nameless, but which clearly is as much in awe of eyes as I am:

"The retina is quite a complex portion of the eye. The retina is made up of 75-150 million rods and 7 million cones, figures which are difficult to fathom.  Images are created with the functioning of both the cones and the rods. Cones that are sensitive to light that is green, red and blue in color are absent in certain individuals which causes color blindness. The retina functions in a truly amazing way to compress the size of images to fit the scope of the optic nerve."

I have worn glasses since I was 14.  I wear contacts now, but I do wear readers for most close work.  I try to be very mindful of my vision. I cannot imaging what it would be like to miss seeing everything that is beautiful and colorful in this world. As you can probably guess, I don't do monochromatic very well or very often. I love bright jewel tones and strong color, but also pastels and black and white with any primary color.

If you haven't had an eye exam this year, I think you should schedule one. The eye doctor is the only one who's almost never going to hurt you! You only get one pair of eyes, take care of them.

If you're over 40 and are overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart conditions, or have had a stroke, you have extra risk factors. If you take certain medications you do too. Find out! People, the eye exam to get your driver's license does NOT count!!

Love your eyes. They're the windows to the world.

Sew on...

One Way Conversations, Or Talking to Yourself?

Do you ever talk to yourself?

I do. Some days more than others. Some days no one else is listening. Some days I get the best answers from myself.

I try to have patience with people with whom I have actual conversations. But sometimes it's hard because there isn't the best connection. Like when I say something to one of the grands, but I use a word they don't know, and there's no reference point. You have to go back and explain. Then the conversation can move forward.

Or so you hope.

Email has made conversations less frequent, and often less necessary. This can be rather sad sometimes.

I had a recent e-correspondence with someone who was multi-tasking. They sent an email about one subject, which I was answering. Meanwhile, they were on to a different topic, and sent another email with a very similar topic, and RE: in the subject. You know, that reference to a previously held conversation.

My mind was still on the first topic. So I answered with reference to topic 1, and they responded with another question -- like "What? You said what now??" -- and I had a little side conversation with myself that went something like "And did you even READ my answer to your first question??"

Lucky for me, I didn't write and send that!

So I went back and read thoroughly through the email trail, and realized I was actually in two conversations with one person, and obviously not keeping up.

How much better did you like it before emailing, texting, Facebooking, and Twittering were the only way people communicated?  I don't mind emailing, or texting, or whatever.  But often the conversation would be better and maybe quicker, and certainly clearer, if it were on the phone or in person.

Face to face, you can see body language and expressions.  You get the whole effect.  You can read between the words.  Optimal, but not always possible.

If you call a person on the phone, the question gets answered or the topic gets discussed in a flow. Not always uninterrupted, but at least you're both in the same place in the conversation at the same time. So if someone does interrupt, or introduces a new topic, you have half a chance to follow along. Making rude conversations with yourself all but unnecessary.

Or one could hope.

Which is maybe why I like blogging. Stream of consciousness or writing because you are impelled to do so, on topic or just at random is more calming than trying to have multiple conversations at once, and sometimes with more than one person!

Call me old fashioned. Call me techno-challenged. Just call me!

Sew on...

Stash Report

OK, I am never going to actually tell anyone how much fabric I have in my stash because

honestly... I have no idea!

Seriously, no idea.

I know I have one large bin of each of blue, green, red, black/white, tan/cream quilting fabrics, and the green one overfloweth into a couple of small bins. I have what for me is a tiny bin of yellow, purple and orange.

I have what probably amounts to one large bin of Christmas fabric, and one more of multi-colored things that just could not be categorized.

There's a small bin of fruits & veg, and another one with florals I was always going to use for a landscape quilt. Honest. I bought the book and everything!

There's a half-sized big bin of batiks too. That came in handy when I took the class with Jan Krueger in Reedsburg a couple of years ago. Hey, I should get that top quilted, it's quite a stunner...

Honestly, I am never going to be this organized... wish I were!

Oh, I have a big bin of tops that are either ready for quilting or might need a final border before they're ready for quilting.

This is why I never count my stash.

I'm not going to tell you how many bins of garment fabrics I have. One of these days I have to get back to sewing for myself. Things I make fit me so much better than things I buy. Well, it is officially spring (according to Miss A) so it's probably time for cleaning out the closet anyway.

I spent so much time sewing and knitting doll clothes this winter that I am afraid my own spring wardrobe will suffer. Although in Wisconsin, we're still wearing winter coats every day. Some spring, huh? Who thought we could get so excited about 53 degrees!!

I did embroider the rest of the communion linens over the weekend, and while the embroidery machine was running I cut pieces for my eventual Flying Geese quilt, and also used my new template/ruler from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, The Crumbler, to cut some tumbler pieces.

Oh, and because I used red thread instead of white (bad direction or a personal hearing problem, I don't know) on a dozen I have do to make some more, so I ordered a couple of yards of white linen from Fabric.com. See, the stash grows even when I'm not intending it to grow.

Now I need to schedule some vacation time to sew. And sewing would go so much better if I could spend some time straightening up my room. I was cutting and making kits for the church sewing group, and it gets kinda messy when I'm doing that! I know, clean up as you go, right? Easier said than done sometimes.

Plans are coming together.  I guess spring is here, mentally if not physically!

Sew on...

Commuting in the Midwest

Tuesday on my commute to the office, it was slow going.  I left early and allowed extra time, but not nearly enough.  Here's the car in front of me...

The freeway sign that was hanging above traffic said "Icy road ahead.  Reduce speed."

OK, it's not going to get much more reduced, unless I can stop...



So I got off at the next exit, and took one of the major arteries through the city.



Be careful what you wish for...

Sew on...







My Collection of Rulers

Someone asked me what kind of rulers I use for quilting and sewing.

Well...

A better question would be, what kind do I not have??

I started out with an Olfa rotary cutter, and not surprisingly, an Olfa ruler. The first one I had was long ruler, because when I first began quilting (and thus cutting fabric) I was taught to cut the fabric just as it came off the bolt, that is folded in half, so about 22 inches wide. Very quickly I decided that it worked much better to fold twice, so my next acquisition was a three inch by twelve inch long ruler.

From there it went to a six inch square, and then to a 9 1/2 inch square.

At some point I started taking the quilting seminars at Nancy's Notions, and a whole world opened up before me! I discovered Eleanor Burns, who over-cut things and trimmed them down. Quilt in a Day -- yes, I could do that! I learned lots of short cuts from Eleanor... and Kaye Wood (I started out life as a 'pointless person') and many others.

Let me pause here and say I am a dedicated strip quilter. Yep, a stripper. It NEVER occurred to me to use a quilting template. I once bought an apple core template from Shar Jorgensen because I loved the pattern. Did I ever make one? Nope.

One year I went to a class given by Trudy Hughes. She approached things differently, to say the least. Her background (dad maybe?) was geometry teacher inspired. She said if you measured right, cut it right and sewed it right, there was no trimming down. Being math minded myself, I had to agree. Who wouldn't, right? And it would save TIME if you measured, cut and sewed it right the first time.  She had some rulers that were supposed to help you do this. I bought those too. I still use them. Great combination of markings, one in black and one in white. A great size, small enough to lug around.

Enter Marti Michel and her log cabin rulers. Who needs a ruler for log cabins, right? Oh boy, can I tell you about log cabins I have seen where to blocks ripple when they get bigger because they're stretched when they are sewn? Plus Marti said the lengthwise grain is sturdier so try using that.  So why not cut exact sizes and match ends, rather than sew, cut, sew, cut, oh, don't forget pressing.

I'm sold on those log cabin rulers! You can kit up log cabins and no matter who is doing the sewing, they should come out right every time, barring gross negligence on the seam allowance.

So now that I've come to enjoy using Marti's methods I bought some templates. I have sets A and B and some other miscellaneous templates, mostly the ones that are used with 2 1/2 inch strips. That's the size I try to cut all my leftovers into. Good size for bindings and other random piecing.

The debate is whether yellow lines or white lines or colored lines are better. I say it depends. How's the light in your space? Is it day or night when you're cutting? What color is your fabric?  To quote someone famous, the choice is yours. Use what you like, I promise you the Ruler Police have taken the day off.

 My favorite ruler right now is one that has multiple colors and lots of markings. And I had to replace it recently because I discovered that, even covered with carpeting, a concrete floor and plastic rulers do not make for a happy situation if they accidentally meet at the speed of gravity.

Since I started doing the scrap therapy whereby everything gets cut into predetermined sizes or tossed, I have discovered the joy of small rulers. Really small. I have a 1 inch by six inch, a two and a half inch, and believe it or not I bought a three and a half inch square twice. :-)

I have Olfa rulers, Fons & Porter rulers (love the point trimmer), triangle rulers, a ruler that adds a quarter inch to things, and one with slits where you can cut multiple times without moving either ruler or fabric.

I need to get these rulers organized now. I have a drawer, and one of those wood blocks with slits. I need more of one or the other, or maybe both! I saw some excellent storage ideas the other day. Just have to get down to the sewing room and get organized. Again.

Sew on...