First Day of Sew Expo

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE SHOW!!

After all the weeks and months of work -- it all ramps up to this...

DAY ONE of the biggest sewing party in America! The Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, Washington....

Unless I can figure out how to do "remote posting" -- I may not be posting on this blog until I get back to Iowa.

So -- to all my family and friends who come here to read some Rita News -- I AM HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME. Deb and Ronda are coming to the show this year -- they get here on Friday. I promise MANY PICTURES AND REPORTS after the show...

Right now, I'm busy doing my job -- WHICH I LOVE -- in Puyallup!!

Ronda's Sew Expo Jackets

YES, my sisters Ronda and Deb are both coming to the show. Yippee kayee...I am SOO DELIGHTED.

One of the BEST THINGS about having two sisters join me is that I have ENOUGH JACKETS FOR EVERYBODY!!

As it happens -- Deb is a much smaller size than me -- and she'll be embroidering her own Show Jackets -- thank you very much...

BUT Ronda -- although also smaller than me -- is a great candidate for some of my "maybe they're too tight" jacket candidates. She came over to my jacket emporium recently to put together her SHOW CLOTHES...

At Quilt Market in Houston Texas one year -- I paid a lot of money for this black on white jacket...and the sleeves were always too tight...

Ronda LOOKED GREAT in this jacket...and I think she'll be wearing it on Saturday...

THEN -- Deb embroidered this gorgeous lime green jacket -- with the fabulous winter theme sewing machine embroidery...

Oh, yes, it's a little big, Ronda -- BUT THE EMBROIDERY IS STUNNING....

Wow...there's nothing as great as a lined spring jacket -- black silk -- with energetic embroidered flowers ALL OVER...

Her favorite?? THE SEW SISTER silk...Coldwater Creek did the jacket -- Deborah did the embroidery!!

OH, YES -- THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!!

Time to pack up those suitcases, people....GET TO PUYALLUP....

And if you see these jackets -- and the woman looks a little confused -- maybe even lost -- tell her you are a friend of mine....and take her to the Information Desk in the Pavilion...

Ross's T-shirt project

I am the QUEEN of the recycled t-shirt....and you already know what a kick I get out of t-shirt wisdom...

One day, it just hit me that I should make Ross a new shower curtain -- and maybe I could use some "message" t-shirts to give it that personal touch...

Of course, that was exciting because it gave me SOMETHING NEW TO SHOP FOR during my next thrifting trip...


THIS t-shirt depicts Ross's point of view on many levels...

Imagine my shock to find this old North Scott High School football shirt -- EXACTLY like the one he wore in 1996!!

Are there words?


This shirt says a lot about Ross...
But -- can you even imagine my shock and surprise when I found THIS T-SHIRT -- hanging at the Salvation Army.........!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. This is a stunning bit of "Ritaluck". Even I could not believe it...I swear on a stack of bibles -- I DID NOT MAKE THIS SHIRT...

Then -- two aisles over -- I found a$2 denim shower curtain with those big grommets at the top...now all I have to do is cut the t-shirts and put it all together...trim it out with some zebra stripes....oh, yes, this is gonna be fun!!

THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!!

Hey Rita Tote Game

I am ALREADY IN PUYALLUP -- and I am SOO EXCITED about the 2012 Sewing & Stitchery Expo. This is the first year TWO OF MY SISTERS will be coming to the show...and we're going to do a little touristing of the Seattle area for a few days AFTER the show...

DURING the show -- they'll be finding their way around the show -- and looking for the HEY RITA TOTE -- JUST LIKE everybody else!!

Rhonda Pierce will be our official "Facebook Hostess" -- and if you find the Hey Rita tote hanging around -- you should pick it up and take her to the Facebook Place (over in the Showplex -- near the Ticket Booth).

In the last three years, the Hey Rita tote has attended MANY SEWING AND QUILTING SHOWS....she is the unofficial fifth member of our book/breakfast/club...

And she ALWAYS puts a smile on my face...and other people smile when they meet her, too...



She is delighted to have such an important job at this year's show. She understands there's an element of danger...but her best moments have been when she's with me -- living on the wild side. Her philosophy is that a life without risk is not a life worth living...

My New Rolling Duffle

Taking a page from Oprah's magazine...there's one thing I know for sure...

No matter how much you pay for your suitcase -- the airlines WILL DESTROY IT.

So, I've made the choice to travel with cheap 30" rolling duffles. They don't weigh much...I can get a LOT OF STUFF packed in them...they're easy and fun to decorate....and when Delta tears it apart -- it's not a big loss.

The first step is to stuff the suitcase with blankets or towels. You want the surface to be as flat as possible. The secret to success is a lot of different "coats" of paint -- and you have to let the project dry between layers.


Most important step -- a coat of Mod Podge. If you don't do this -- the paint just soaks into the fabric and you will never achieve vibrant color.

Then, I put down a white base coat...then big patches of pink or blue...

Next step -- lay out a design (sorta)

Next step -- paint another white coat over the failed first design...(lol)
When I think it's mucked enough -- I use a black permanent marker to add some detail.

FINAL STEP -- several coats of Mod Podge.


So THIS IS MY NEW ROLLING DUFFLE. If you're at the Seattle airport on Sunday -- look for it standing on the curb...

I AM SOO EXCITED!!

Surprise Breakfast Club GUESTS

You already know that Tuesday is my day for Breakfast Club...

Every Tuesday morning, at 9:00, the four of us get together to do a weekly review. Although we started out as a monthly "book club" -- there were two things wrong with that. First of all -- once a month wasn't often enough. Secondly -- selecting all those books was too much pressure...lol...

So -- instead of reading -- it's mostly our eating/talking/laughing/sewing club.

Sometimes we have guests...

Mary comes every December...

And my sister Deborah was our special guest in January.

One week later -- Linda P. was in Arizona, Linda K. was in California, so it was just going to be me and Sandy. So I invited my sister Ronda -- and as the three of us were enjoying our breakfast -- two young women walked around the corner. Remember these two??


WHAT A SHOCK!!

It was Deb's daughter, Glennda (from Tennessee) -- and her daughter-in-law, Stacy (who lives here).

WE NEVER WOULD HAVE EXPECTED them to find us in our little corner booth at the HyVee store!!

AND -- imagine my surprise when I realized Glennda was there to deliver the EIGHT JACKETS her mother had embroidered for me!! In less than two weeks...

Wow. She is amazing...and the jackets are STUNNING...

Both Deborah and Ronda will be coming to the 2012 Sew Expo -- SO LOOK FOR THESE JACKETS...

My Sew Expo wardrobe is ALL SET NOW...as a matter of fact, I think I'll have to change clothes every two hours or so...

If I had time -- I'd post close up pictures and we'd have a vote??





Stacy, Ronda (you'll see her at Sew Expo), Glennda and me at HyVee.

WHAT A NICE SURPRISE....I am getting sooo excited!!

Gayle King's New Job

If you live on Planet Earth -- you know that Gayle King is Oprah's best friend.

Oprah is ALWAYS GIVES GAYLE a job. Really...she used to do interviews for Oprah's show. Then she had her own failed talk show (produced by HARPO). Oprah made her the editor of "O" magazine. And also produced a radio talk show. Then, when Oprah started up her own television network -- Gayle, of course, got another talk show on the OWN network.

That's all fine with me. Gayle is a wonderful friend -- Oprah trusts her -- she's funny and articulate and Oprah enjoys having her around. And people should take care of their friends.



"Oprah giving a job to Gayle" seemed like a nice situation for everybody...and who are we kidding? It's been going on for most of Gayle's adult life...

So it was puzzling when Gayle quit her OWN show -- to accept the CBS offer to be one of the anchors for their REWORKED CBS morning show.

Really, Gayle??

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING???

OH MY GOD...CBS?? This can't be good...

I fear for you, babe...

Of course -- I am a devoted "TODAY" show fan. I like the pace of the show...Matt and Al...I'm missing Meredith...but then again, I got over the Katie Couric thing....

I wanted to watch Gayle. So did my friend Valerie. We were curious. The CBS morning show does terrible in the ratings....now they have Gayle King, Charlie Rose and a third nameless brunette...

After a couple of days of making it our "B" show -- Val said it best...

"When I switch from the TODAY show over to the CBS show -- it's like going from color to black and white..."

Val is soooo right...(a girl can never hear that too much!)

But -- here's the big question. When the CBS morning show is canceled -- is Oprah going to give Gayle yet another job??

I'm just sayin'....