The Pile!

~There's a pile on my floor and table. It's fabric. Blues, reds, greens, browns. One as pretty as the other. But they're all over the place. I have no room! There's another pile. It consists of elastic, ribbon, trims, and appliques. Then there's the bag of thread. And the jar of buttons. All this couched in a small space in our cute little Florida condo. Whew!
~I was never the most disciplined kid on the block. I was the one coming up with wild ideas. I was always organizing something or other that required costumes or uniforms or a function that needed fabric and trim. Once in 6th grade, I organized a cheerleading squad for the 6th grade basketball team. I loved the cheerleading part, but I reached fever pitch when my mother gave me 4 cotton percale sheets and a box of dye out of which I created the most darling cheerleading skirts for all of us girls. They were powder blue. (Never mind that our school colors were green a white. Mom had a package of blue dye, not green, so blue it was.) They were circular skirts that opened up fully when we twirled around. We all had to wear tights underneath lest our underwear be exposed. Oh, how fantastic they were! Our disorganized little squad got out on the floor of the gym during every break and cheered our hearts out, twirling till we were dizzy. We were glorious.
~And so it continues. Even into my retirement years. I am surrounded by fabric and the rest of the lot. Dreaming up aprons in my head now. Pretty aprons. Cute aprons. Practical aprons. Each night when I rest my head on my pillow hoping to drift off to sleep, I imagine the next one. Will it be green, will it be blue, will it be yellow? Have to check the pile.
~The pile, by the way, continues to grow. Whenever and wherever I see fabric, I am drawn to it like a bee to honey. My heart beats a bit faster and my step quickens. Most women get excited when they see shoes, or handbags or designer fashions. I get all a flutter when I see fabric.
~And so it goes. The pile grows. The imagination wanders. The inspiration comes. And a new apron appears. But first...I have stop gawking at the pile and get back to work.
~Check and see what comes out of the pile next at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

And Another!

~I'm on a roll. This one makes me wish I was still a young mom having a birthday party for one of our kids. I'd love to be wearing this happy apron!

http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

Did it!

~Got it done! Made it work! Figured it out!

~Got to work yesterday...cut and sewed a new apron for my shop. It's a beautiful, lavender/purple batik fabric. While I was making it, I was a bit uninspired. I didn't have that excited feeling I usually get when I'm sewing up a new apron. Oh, I liked it just fine. But I wasn't getting pumped. It felt more like a duty. Until, that is, I got to the embellishments. Before we left for Florida, I had made a blue batik apron embellished with buttons and little ragged ties, made by tearing strips of the batik fabric. The look is really adorable and lends itself to an almost "hippy like" feeling. I decided to add something similar to this new apron I was creating. Like a lightening bolt, my sentiments changed. The minute I added the first button and little torn tie, the apron started to captivate me. By the time I was done, I absolutely loved it! It made me think of Pocahontas! Remember the pretty little dress she wore in the Disney movie? It had a fringe along the bodice that was the lure. Well, the little ties across the bodice of this new apron immediately gave it a name. Purple Pocahontas.
It has little ragged ties at the bodice and on the pocket and it comes with its own, matching, elasticized ditty bag. Check it out at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com
~ And now, on to the next apron. Hoping for the same inspiration.

Back to work! Back to work!

~I absolutely must get back to work. Hadn't even had the sewing machine out since we arrived here in Florida almost a month ago. Just can't seem to get in gear. Last Friday, I dragged out all my fabrics and looked everything over, hoping for inspiration. Set up the sewing machine, thread, pin cushion, scissors...all in order on the table next to the machine. I'm ready. Everything is waiting. So why is it now Monday and I still haven't touched any of it? Ugh. I need a kick in the pants, as my mother used to say.
~Today is rainy and dreary. The perfect day to sew and be creative. I swear, I will get back to work. I will. I will. I'll let you know tomorrow!!

The Eyes Have It!

~Mothers and daughters....So different yet so alike. I came across this photo of myself and my three daughters recently and couldn't stop looking at it. We all are so different, but so much alike. Visually. It's in the eyes. Hazel it is...the four of us. And, I think it's in our smiles. Big, toothy grins, always. Happy faces. Happy souls.


~Couldn't help but compare the photo of my girls and me to one of the few pictures I have of my own mother with her two sisters and my grandmother. I never knew my grandmother but Mom always said she was a sweetheart. I just know I would have loved her. My mother is the one on the left. The three sisters resemble each other somewhat, at least in the photo. I only knew one of them personally and she looked a lot like my mother...especially in the eyes.

~Our son has the eyes, too. Tiger eyes, we call them. Big like his father's and hazel like his mother's. In the little Connecticut town where our kids grew up, people could always identify them as a family member by their eyes. The eyes have it! Yes, they do. The eyes have it.

Isn't envy one of the seven deadly sins?

My gut reaction each time I read Teresa Porter's blog, www.cherrycheckers.blogspot.com, is envy. Teresa does the most extraordinary things with her hands and her sewing machine. I first discovered her when she painted her kitchen floor in a black and white diamond pattern that looks absolutely divine. The perfection of Teresa's work is evident in everything she does. Her curtains and slipcover projects, are done with such expertise, you can see it even in a photograph. Teresa is the official seamstress for www.theletteredcottage.blogspot.com, which remains one of the top ten lifestyle blogs on the net with thousands of hits per day.
Once I get over my envy at Teresa's talents, I become inspired. I can sew up an apron with efficiency...or a blouse, or even a pair of curtains. But attempting a slip cover frightens the heck out of me. Yet, when I look at the lovely projects Teresa has done, I am so inspired that "I think I can...I think I can."
Here in sunny Florida, we have a smallish barrel chair that swivels. It's very comfortable and doesn't take up a lot of room so it works well here in our modest little condo. However, it's white! White doesn't stay clean for long, especially in a place where the newspaper is well read. Every notice how newspaper ink seems to find its way around the house? On the
walls, the phone, and in our case, the arms of the white swivel chair. As luck would have it, I found some beautiful, off-white cotton duck fabric that was inexpensive enough to buy several yards of the stuff. (I had no idea how much I would need.) I draped, and pinned and cut and sewed. Swore, and grimaced and pouted and sewed. Finally ended up with a slipcover that does the job, although I'm not sure I should admit to anyone that I made it. The good part is that it comes off easily and can be washed when the newspaper ink builds up on the arms. The little pillows I added can be turned around to get double wear. And the chair looks clean for the first time in a long time.
So...thanks Teresa, for the inspiration. You told me I could do it and I did it. But...don't look too close. I don't think it can pass the test of scrutiny. Maybe I'll get better with time. Hmmm, let's see what else I can cover.

~It's cold in Florida too!~



~I'm not feeling particularly prolific the past few days. There's always so much to do trying to settle in when we get to our place here in Florida. I hate unpacking just as much as I hate packing. But we do have a "real" closet here with lots of room...unlike the one free-standing wardrobe thingy we have back at home. It's just that everything looks wrinkled and forlorn after its been in the car for four days.~

~Hubby carted along his inversion table this year so he could "decompress" while here in sunny Florida. I'm quite impressed at the way he has taken a severely debilitating back condition and single handedly corrected it to the point that he can now walk again and do most of the things he always did. Faithfully doing his PT exercises, riding his bike and hanging upside down several times a day seems to have healed areas of his spine that were in line for surgery just last March. Just look at him...isn't that impressive? It always pays to try and do everything you can before having back surgery, but self help remedies don't always solve the problem. In his case, they seem to have worked. However, bottom line is that we have a huge piece of equipment sitting in the living room. But...some inconveniences are worth the trouble.~

~You all probably know that the temps here are chilly. However, it's a good week for us to get everything cleaned and in order without working up a sweat. Today, it's raining, but I need to grocery shop and do a Walmart run anyway. We always enjoy our home no matter where we are, so we'll probably take advantage of the weather this afternoon and read, blog or play on the computer...comfortably nestled in with no threat of snow!~