Memory Lane Monday

I always mean to remember this ONE day of the month, but it flies by like every other day except today. I happened to catch Donna's remembering her Grandpa and it set me to remembering my Grandparents. My grandparents lived in neighboring towns.I remember going there many Sunday's, first to one house, then to the other.

But my most indelible memories are of my grandma's. Each so different but each so loved. Both have gone on to their reward now, many years ago. But they are quite alive in my memory.

This my fathers Mother, holding me as a baby

My fathers mother was the seamstress. It was where I got the DNA for my own sewing addiction - yes, I blame it on Nature :) She had a tiny sewing room, that I believe must have once been a nursery. I never asked that, I just knew that little room was her sewing room. She was always knitting or sewing on something - I caught that from her too. My hands won't stay idle. Sometimes she'd call me and ask me what I was doing. I'd say 'Sewing' and she would just ask me what I was sewing. Other people who would call and ask the same question, getting the same answer would say, "Again?" or "Still?" like they just couldn't believe ANYONE could sew as much as I did. But she understood.
I never remember seeing her wearing pants. She might have, but I always remember her in a dress, most likely one she made. She sewed for many of the ladies in her town, right up to the end.

This was the last picture she had taken. Her name was Bernice, but everybody called her Bunny. I always thought she looked like Tweety Birds Grandma in this picture, and I know she would have gotten a kick out of that :) 

For many summers (it seems) I got to spend a week with my other Grandma. She would always buy me those big orange peanuts candies - you remember those? I guess I liked them then, for she always had them when I was there. I remember one time she took me out to lunch in a nice restaurant. I ordered a big hamburger and she asked me if I was sure I could eat all that! "Oh yes, Grandma I can!" I nodded enthusiastically. Not even halfway through it I began to slow down and thought I would burst if I ate another bite. How did she know? I learned that Grandma's know everything. She would take me to the swimming pool, except for one year when I didn't bring my bathing cap. Remember when we had to wear those in public pools? I tried to convince her that I could wrap my head in Glad Wrap and it would be the same thing, but she wasn't buying it. lol

This was my Grandma in the middle, my mother on the her right side and on Grandma's other side, my mothers twin sister! Such beauties!  :)

I remember going to her house and watching The Lawrence Welk Show. She and Grandpa seemed to love that show. I was so young, I loved seeing all the beautiful dresses and the bubbles floating around - it was like a dream. As I got older, I didn't appreciate it quite as much :)

And here she is much later, with my two uncles at somebody's wedding, I don't know whose it was. 

Most of all, I remember being totally loved by my Grandmothers. They seemed to know everything and loved me to pieces. Now that I'm a Grandma, I understand that love. I love my grandchildren with a special love, in a way that I don't love anyone else - just them. This new love surprised me on the birth of my first grandson, but I didn't fight it. I fell in love with each one of them and wished they all lived around me so that I could see them often. But they have to go where their parents go - I don't know who thought up that rule!! And just for the record, I never did give my son permission to move to Alaska. It didn't matter that he was married and had two children, he still should have asked me. Just sayin' is all.

Happy Thanksgiving :)

I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you're able to spend it with family and/or friends. If you find yourself alone tomorrow, find someone else who is alone and make a group dinner! Don't be sad, give of yourself and determine to make someone else's Thanksgiving wonderful. I've spent holidays with no family or friends, and it's kind of a lonely day.

Here is a wonderful project for Thanksgiving that I found on Joy's blog, Artful Homemakers, who just happens to live not to far from me! :)  http://www.artfulhomemaking.com/2011/11/blessing-journal-tutorial.html 

It's a Blessings Notebook. I know things are hard, money is tight, but we still have more than a lot of people do. For one thing, we have a computer and internet access - and what a blessing that can be! I'm going to make one of these Notebooks and I hope you do too. Keeping track of your blessings will help you to notice more of them. Believe me there are blessings all around us, if we'd just pay attention to them!

Have a very Blessed Thanksgiving - to all my blogging friends!

Karen

A Box of Goodies from Fabric Mart!!!!

Whenever a box arrives from Fabric Mart, you KNOW it's a good day!!!! :) Let me share with you what I purchased, along with the Free Assortment Bundle. I'm about addicted to those Assortment Bundles!
Ok, let the show begin! :)

This was in the free collection, 3 yds, a very nice, fine feeling piece of cotton. Not at all sure what to do with it at this point!

A wool blend plaid that I purchased, I think there are 3 or 4 yds. My thought on ordering it was for a jumper, and I think I'll probably stick with that.

This is 100% cotton, quilt shop quality, I bought 5 yards for 1.99 a yd!!! It's going to be my main fabric for The Farmers Wife Quilt Along at Brynwood Needleworks

It's hard to tell here, but this a gorgeous piece of Marc Jacobs wool flannel stretch that was on sale and I also got the end of the bolt (yay) and will be turned into one of the tunics Pam wrote about on her blog.

Tutorial- The "Spiral" Cowl Collar

Beautiful chocolate colored cotton, with a little Lycra in it. Not sure yet - pants or jumper. I do love jumpers in the winter, worn with warm tights, are just as warm as pants. (many times) :)

5 yds of this stretch bubble gum pink cotton - looks like a great few pairs of jammy's. Not sure yet.

This was in my free bag and is ten times brighter than what you see here - this is BRIGHT! But it's a lovely piece of cotton cloth, feels fine and I think could be used if I could tone it down. Will be experimenting with some tea dyeing.

Another in my free bag, 2 yds, 60" wide, a satin of some sort, beautiful! There are texture lines running through the cloth that you can't see in the picture, but I love it.

Again, free - beautiful, fine piece of navy blue cotton with a little bit of Lycra. Just love it!

So, today is a Fabric Mart Holiday as I play with my new fabrics and make plans for them :) Happy Fabric Mart Day!!! lol

Coffee Cozy's - Merry, Merry!

I made these coffee cozy's the other day and had so much fun! I've added them into the Ornament Department just because that one was so empty :)

Aren't they cute? And don't you know someone who would love to have one? Now, I'm not always going to try to sell you something, but I was just so tickled with the way these turned out, I couldn't help myself. Check out the Ornament page!

You know what I like most about the armoire? My favorite plastic bins fit into the drawers perfectly! Tells me this was 'meant to be'!

Two bins fit perfectly in one drawer! Even with the lid on! I'm so happy with this piece of furniture in my sewing room, you'll probably be hearing about it a little bit more.

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Are you having guests? Got the menu planned? So many things to do and cook. I'm so blessed to have a husband who cooks and loves to cook these big dinners!

Karen

The armoire is FULL to bursting!

Well, here it is, full! I was able to squeeze in The Pattern Collection to the left, 14 bins of patterns! 

I've got the first two bins of patterns on the spreadsheet and in the binder, but I don't foresee any further work being done on this until January. But at least they are all in the same place. Each bin is numbered, so it shouldn't be hard to find anything.

And I have to say, it feels SO good to have this Finished!

Score at the Thrift Store!

Riley and I hit our favorite thrift store this morning, and boy did I score! Last time I went I got a large zipper bag full of lace for $5, and this time - a box of cotton, much of it hand crocheted lace for $4.50!!! I'm so excited!

 

And the beginning of the end of my storage problems! More pics to come!

Today was the Day...

we were going to move the armoire downstairs, but our strong, muscled help got called in to work :( Not his fault, but boy is my sewing room, dining room and guest room a mess!!! We moved everything out of the way in anticipation, just putting things wherever, because we were going to put them away.... right away! lol Just so you'll appreciate the after pictures I show you later, this is the way it looks now. And I didn't even take pictures of the dining room and the guest room! There is only so much a person can take, I do want you to come back :)

See that brown sort of plaid in the foreground? That's the fabric for the A-line part of my Layered Skirt

And the wall where the nice big armoire (how DO you spell that?) will go! Wait till tomorrow, or maybe the next day! :)

Have you been to the HandMade Connection page yet? You're invited!

Meet my friend Louise

My friend Louise has started her first blog and I wanted to share it with you. She is quite the seamstress, and very creative. AND uber organized - she's already got most of her Christmas gifts made - humph. But I love her anyway, so stop by her blog and show her some blog love! Slave to My Needles
She's also participating in HandMade Connection, so she also has a Studio FULL to the brim of super things she makes, and specializes in custom orders!

Making Layered Skirts

I can't find my Inspiration Picture for this project, it's in my mind, but that doesn't do you much good. I'm sure you've seen pictures of them - It looks like the woman is wearing several skirts of various lengths, almost a peasant type of look. I'm sure 'back in the old days' women would wear several skirts, to keep warm on the coldest of wintery days. I love the look and plan to recreate it by making a skirt for myself, without it looking too 'costume-y'.
And since I really don't want to wear several of my skirts at once, I have an idea, which I'll be working on today. Making a regular A-line type skirt, with a slip under it, but the slip hem is really layers of different fabrics, making it LOOK like I'm wearing lots of skirts!
I'm not talking about tiered skirts, darn I wish I could find that picture! Note: When you find the picture you love - Pin It on Pinterest or put it in a file or print it out - but now I'm going to have to rely on my memory (ha) and you have a post with no picture, which I try very hard to avoid. But, I'll keep you posted on my progress, and there will be pictures :)

In the meantime, don't forget HandMade Connection (tab up above) I listed the jewelry I made yesterday and here's a sample (oh good, a picture!) And if you make and sell things on your blog, you're invited to my Linky Party right HERE

Ok, I'm off to sew and see what I can come up with - More later, Karen

You're Invited to My Linky Party!

If you make HandMade items and sell them on your blog, you are invited to join in my Linky Party! Simply visit the page HandMade Connection and enter your information in the super duper Linky Tools doo dah! There are two rules - nothing crude or x rated will be allowed, and the second is, you must be selling from your blog. It doesn't matter if you also have an Etsy or whatever shop (i do too) but this is for blog sellers, let's get a good group of shops together and invite all our readers to do their Christmas shopping with us.Get the code in the right sidebar and spread the news!

Let's promote HandMade for all Independent Artists!!!

My Pattern Collection

Well, this might take longer than I thought. I bought those $1 plastic bins at the store today, 15 of them. I filled 14 of them with patterns.They also didn't have any white, so I changed to blue. I have two small shelves like this and pretty soon, they'll both be in my sewing room.

So far, I've got 2 bins in The Binder and the spreadsheet. Yikes! This could be my life's work!

New Christmas Tradition

 This is a forward I received in my email, and I just couldn't agree more and wanted to share it with you! 


Christmas Shopping 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking
into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of
cheaply produced goods --
merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American
labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will
give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There
is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing
can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in
a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?
Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates
from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some
health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned
detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a
book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down
the Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift
receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or
driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift
certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about
a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this
isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town
Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or
motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a
local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is
struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin
their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery
and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave
your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at
your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese
lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about
fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to
burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas shopping is no longer about draining American pockets so
that China can build another glittering city. Christmas shopping is now about


encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow
their dreams. When we care about other Americans, we help our
communities and the benefits come back in ways we couldn't imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas shopping tradition!

The Binder!

After reading all the input in the last post's comments, I've changed my plan, just a little. I started a binder.

"The Binder"

I copied the front and back of each pattern, and put the two pieces of paper in a clear page protector, so I can see the pattern on one side and see the back of the pattern on the other side. I used tabbed dividers labeled Bin 1, Bin 2 etc, so I'll know where to find the pattern. The order of the pages is exactly the order of the bin, so I'll know exactly where it is.

We have a few of these large binders, I'm sure that one won't be enough.

I've got 1 bin done and a few patterns from Bin 2 done, when I ran out of page protectors! I thought I had a zillion of those - what to do? Frantic text to hubby 'please bring home a box of page protectors'. Well, maybe not so frantic :) I know he has a very busy day, so I made sure to say ONLY if he had time, and he might not.

But, the project is begun and I'll have to finish it in order to have any 'order' in here at all!And I am continuing with the spreadsheet. I'm not exactly sure why, but I just have this feeling I'll need it at some point.

Spreadsheet

Here is the beginning of the spreadsheet. I made it in Excel, you could just as well make it in the Open Office equivalent. There are tabs for all the pattern companies I have so far. I've only done 1 plastic shoe box so far. I have a long road ahead of me, but this way I shouldn't have to look through every plastic shoe box in order to find what I want. Here is 1 shoe box full -

Each bin has a number, so I know which one to look in.

If you click on this, it will open really big, so you can see all the words and details. It took me awhile to come up with the headings, and they were changed several times. Most of my patterns are grouped by the headings you see - Baby, Children etc... 

At least I've begun!

Organization - A Necessity

I've admitted it before, I'm not very organized. However, it has currently become a necessity. My fabric stash, pattern stash, craft stash in general has grown exponentially (i'm not really sure what that means, but I think it means A LOT) and I'm lost in my sewing room.

I don't want to waste my time looking for things, I want to USE my time, sewing and working and making!!!

So - first things first - Mike has promised me on the next 3 day weekend (Veterans day) he will help me do this. We're going to buy another set of metal shelves, and probably some Rubbermaid Tubs and various containers.

I'm going to move all my yarn upstairs. There is no reason for it to be down here taking up space.

The patterns will be organized according to Brand (Simplicity, etc) and number, and stored in plastic shoe boxes, on the two small shelves that will be free'd up after I move some things. They will also be listed on a Spread Sheet, so that I can find what I have more easily.

This is the wall that needs the most help. Ya think? lol 

Oh my it's so embarrassing to show this picture, but just so you know how bad it is, there are two layers of 'things' in this picture. Those that are against the wall, and a whole other 'wall sized' portion of 'stuff' in front of it. In order to get to the stuff behind, I have to move everything in the front. It's so sad :(

Stay tuned as I tackle this wall in baby increments, and start my spread sheet, I'll keep you posted the whole way, and one of these days I've have a lovely NEW wall to show you!

I'm glad I'm among friends, please don't judge me too harshly! :)