Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Spring Quilt Market Style Show

One of the best things about my job with Sew Expo was making FIVE NEW SPRING OUTFITS. It was always fun to plan them, and sew them, knowing that the audience there was the MOST OBSERVANT, APPRECIATIVE sewing audience in the world. I'd blog about them in advance, then, at the show -- everybody would stop me and make comments...always kind comments. Nobody ever said, "those pants make your butt look big".

Yep.  You've gotta know your audience...

And my TMBC crew is the BEST.  They know that for the last two weeks, I've been working like crazy -- Franken-sewing my outfits for the QM in Salt Lake City.  When I invited them to the preview-breakfast-fashion show...I warned them that ALL THE OUTFITS MADE MY BUTT LOOK BIG...

They all came anyway...and kept that comment to themselves.! 
My faux-Marrimeko palazzo pants.  I added the two asymmetrical blue stripes.  Now they fit me great.
Yes, a man's cuban shirt.  An actual silk "Cabana" shirt!
I cut up a black silk shirt, and added the side panels -- and remade the sleeves.
THIS was such a hit!!  I bought the lightweight cotton shirt years ago because I sooo loved the fabric.  It is so old, there was an IGLWA label in it.  And covered buttons.  But it was a size M.  WAY too small for me...
I cut off the sleeves, and did a simple facing around the armholes...
And added the black and white side panels...!!
The shirt was perfect.  But too short.  So I added several layers of fringe  NOW WE'RE TALKING!!
Remember the hot pink dress from the Peoria Goodwill?
I cut off the worthless strapless top, added the black shirt with the sexy sleeves...
More black side panels...
Believe it or not -- I found this necklace ($1.99) at the Salvation Army the week I finished the dress!  YES, RITALUCK IS A WONDERFUL THING...
Time to pack up the bags and HIT THE ROAD...Spring Quilt Market and Salt Lake City -- HERE I COME...

Monday, May 30, 2016

2016's First Porch Party

On Wednesday, I was leaving for Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. So, on Tuesday, I invited the TMBC out for our first PORCH PARTY of the year!!
The perfect occasion to use Aunt Rozella's Silver!!
AND I whipped up some popovers. I always forget how EASY these are to make. PERFECTION!!
We tag-teamed the food, and the morning was cool and breezy.
Ross was here, so he actually took a picture of our whole group.  My sister Ronda is our special guest...
Frankie enjoyed meeting everybody.
Linda is a dog person...so he felt a kindred spirit
He thought Sandy was going to take a little more convincing.
But, he ended up here...LP...
Everybody is waiting for me to do my Salt Lake City Style Show...

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day Weekend.  Although this has become the official "kick-off" weekend for the summer -- it's a lot more than that.

Nearly 150 years ago, Memorial Day— first called Decoration Day— was set aside to decorate the graves of the men who’d recently died in battle. America was still reeling from the Civil War when Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a proclamation in 1868, according to a PBS account of his decision.  “The 30th of May,” he declared, “would be an occasion to honor those who died in the conflict.”

This photo, and the linked article, I'm a veteran, and I hate "Happy Memorial Day"...made me think. 


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/05/22/im-a-veteran-and-i-hate-happy-memorial-day-heres-why/

Friday, May 27, 2016

Home Sweet Home

Quilt Market and Salt Lake City was a WONDERFUL TRIP....and I will be blogging about it for at least a month!!

But, if you're doing your life right -- the best part of travel is GOING HOME. I cannot tell you how happy I was to sleep in my own bed...

My suitcase wasn't even unpacked before I went to pick up Warren. I missed my Warren Wednesday last week...and I'm sure I missed him more than he missed me....
When I got to his house, he was taking an early morning nap...
But as soon as he got to our house, he TOOK OFF...
This weekend, I will unpack my suitcase, download my Salt Lake City pictures...and get back to a normal blogging schedule. Whatever that is...

Thanks for your patience...

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Roy Carver

Carver, Roy James (December 15, 1909–June 17, 1981) –industrialist and philanthropist—was born to James R. and Laura (Risley) Carver in Preemption (Mercer County), Illinois. He graduated from high school in Moline, Illinois, in 1927; earned a B.S. in engineering from the University of Illinois in 1934; and then worked as a highway engineer for the state of Illinois.

 During the Depression, in 1938, Carver, with his brother Ralph, founded Carver Pump Company in Matherville, Illinois. Specializing in self-priming pumps, the Carvers' fledgling business soon had the opportunity to supply the U.S. and Allied navies during World War II. The United States' entry into the war in 1941 coincided with Roy Carver's decision to buy out his brother's interests in Carver Pump. The need for a larger production facility for pump manufacturing precipitated a move to Muscatine, Iowa, where Carver purchased an abandoned sauerkraut factory.

Muscatine would remain the center for Carver's business operations as well as home for him and his family. Shortly after his move to Muscatine, Carver married Lucille Young in 1942. They raised five children. Carver Pump remained part of Carver's business assets until his death in 1981, but Bandag, Inc. became synonymous with his success.

In 1957 he purchased the North American rights to a "cold" process for manufacturing tires. The "cold" process, invented by Bernard Anton Nowak, cures or vulcanizes rubber tires at lower temperatures than other retreading processes. The name Bandag is from Nowak's initials (BAN), D for Darmstadt (Germany), and AG–the German notation to signify incorporation. Upon Nowak's death in 1961, Carver purchased worldwide rights for the retreading process. "Cold" process retreads proved stronger than tires vulcanized at higher temperatures, but it would take considerable research by Carver's team in Muscatine to develop a tire line that performed to market expectations. Hence, Carver Pump subsidized Bandag in the early years, and Carver is quoted as saying, "We almost brought the Carver Pump Company to its knees during the time we were developing the product [tires] and preparing it for the American market.

"Research brought key, industry-wide developments, and Carver established franchises, which by the late 1970s would expand to more than 850 dealerships in more than 50 countries. Throughout the 1960s, Carver led Bandag's day-to-day operations and guided it to going public with its stock in 1968. By the early 1970s Carver had positioned Bandag among the top American corporations. In 1973 sales reached $95 million and earned the company the 909th spot among Fortune magazine's top 1,000 companies. In 1980, one year before Carver's death, Bandag achieved $331 million in sales and netted $27 million in profits.

At the time of Carver's death, Bandag remained intact under family leadership. Risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and hard work characterized Carver throughout his life. In addition, in the last decade of his life, Carver became known for both expensive tastes and philanthropy.

Steadily, through the 1970s, Carver withdrew from Bandag's daily operations and other business endeavors. At the same time, after separating from his wife in 1972, Carver cultivated a flamboyant lifestyle, with airplanes, yachts, and cars, and homes in Cannes and Miami. Still, Muscatine remained home, and Iowans became the primary beneficiaries of his philanthropy.

The Muscatine Journal noted, "He took pleasure in helping others."Although Carver's philanthropy ranged outside of Iowa, including contributions of nearly $200,000 to Richard Nixon's presidential campaign and $1.5 million to Augustana College (Rock Island, Illinois), his focus remained on Iowa. In 1971 he began a legacy of generosity to the University of Iowa with a gift of 85,000 shares of Bandag stock valued at $3.5 million. Carver's gift became the university's single largest gift to that time, and was the first of several to the university.

He played a key role in the development of the University Hospital, endowed professorships, and athletics. The Roy J. Carver Pavilion of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Carver-Hawkeye Arena remain among the most visible legacies of nearly $10 million in contributions by the time of Carver's death in 1981.

 Carver died of a heart attack in Marbella, Spain, at the age of 71, and was buried in Muscatine's Greenwood Cemetery. His death drew much attention to his wealth, which in 1981 was estimated at between $200 and $300 million.

Carver left one-quarter of his wealth for the purpose of a charitable trust, the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, which was established in 1987, after nearly five years of legal proceedings. Located in Muscatine, the Carver Trust became the largest philanthropic foundation in Iowa, with assets valued at $300 million in the early years of the 21st century. Through the trust, the University of Iowa remains a recipient of Carver's goodwill, along with other charitable, educational, scientific, and cultural endeavors in Iowa, as he specified in his will.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The Splendid Sampler™ Wednesday

The Splendid Sampler™ Wednesday
(...skip this part if you're not new here...)

The Splendid Sampler™ is an internet sew-a-long created by Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson. It is an EPIC sew along...
  • 83 fabric designers have created specific blocks that feature different quilting techniques. (paper piecing, fused applique, etc.).
  • The blocks will be released each week, and are FREE to participants until March 2017. (at that time, they'll use the designs to publish a book).
  • You can use whatever fabric you like.
  • There will be pictures on their Facebook page, etc.
The new block designs come out twice a week....on Sunday morning and Thursday morning. I'm doing this with my TMBC...and, therefore, it is my pleasure to BLOG ABOUT IT every Wednesday.

***************

Last week was different because I was leaving for Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City...so I invited the girls out to my house for our annual summer porch breakfast.  That way, I could do a little fashion show and share the FIVE NEW OUTFITS I made for Quilt Market...

We tag teamed the food...I made popovers!!
I even had A BLOCK TO SHARE...
And LP had FOUR NEW BLOCKS to share!! 
Sandy was the first to tackle the Dresden plate.
And her sewing machine was perfect
Mine is a work in progress...
Linda is losing the will to quilt....
I don't think I shared this picture...LP's embroidery is perfect.
Sandy's new job is to take pictures and post them on our private Facebook page.  (for all our remote members -- JACKIE)
Sandy's embroidery on the Bonus block looks exactly like a map of the world.
Coming soon -- pictures of my porch fashion show, and then pictures of those outfits at Quilt Market...SEW MUCH FUN!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

My BIG FLOWER dress...

A couple of months ago, TMBC took a day trip to Peoria, Illinois...and, of course, we stopped at the local Goodwill store...

I found a brand new beautiful cotton bed sheet (queen size)...for  $3.38....
And this fabulous knit dress...
With the GIGANTIC flowers...
A fun, shirred bodice
size Medium...
Although it just about whipped me -- I was DETERMINED to frankensew it into a dress for ME. Yep. I did it. And it was packed up in the bag to go to Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City...

Before the trip, I had the TMBC breakfast on the porch, so I could do the official Quilt Market Style Show....


There were five official new outfits!! 

I'm just getting home from Salt Lake City...and it will be a few days before I get the pictures out of my camera....but you won't believe it...

Monday, May 23, 2016

My New Art Wall

I live in a small-ish house. There is only one eating area -- IN THE KITCHEN, AS IT SHOULD BE...(lol). And that table is a few steps away from our living room.

There is one long hall -- leading to two bedrooms and a bath. For many years, this wall has been hosting my ever-growing collection of embroidered samplers. I love looking for them, finding them, buying them, and living by their wisdom...
One of my favorites...Mary Mulari and I were inspired by this one to create a similar design for our Homemaking embroidery CD...
I bought this for $2, at a garage sale in Tennessee, on a rainy day, on a road trip with my cousin Jackie...!!
Each one has a special meaning and/or memory for me...and I love them all.
This is the view from the other direction...
But, ALAS, (I am always delighted when I get to use the word Alas)...CHANGE IS GOOD. (somebody ought to embroidery that on a sampler, eh?)....

And it's time for a change.

Lilly and Warren are here a lot.  They love coming to Grandma's house, and I love having them.  But I know this is just a chapter..a short-lived phase that will be over in a blink.

I'm trying to enjoy every minute.  And I want the wall to be about them.  So -- the wall has been evolving...

When Lilly makes a picture, I want to hang it in a place of honor...
Lilly's Christmas gift to me.
And, Ross has taken some exceptional pictures of the kids -- so, of course, THEY MUST also be hung where the kids can see them, and be reminded of these joy filled moments...
Then, too, now that Lilly is my main partner during Saturday junk-hunts -- we often find bargains that we think will look good on the wall...
PERFECT -- right??  Lilly was six, and she read these words to me...it was the moment I knew she was going to be a good reader.  I am so happy for her...!  And she is a maker...
ART combined with WORDS...Hey -- quite a good fit for my sampler wall, don't you think??
Carrie helped me take down all the samplers. I could never part with them, so they will be stored in the basement. Lilly and I are working on the new wall. It's already been a month. This project is evolving, and I'm fine with that. She is hammering in the hanger/hookie things all by herself. Turns out, small hands are much better at that job than large ones...

We hang a few new things, then re-arrange them as other new things come into our lives...

As I watch Lilly, hammering, I think how valuable my sampler wisdom has been...and how much I will miss it...
Maybe Lilly and I will make our own version of a "sampler"...it will say, "Change can be hard. But if you're doing it right, CHANGE IS GOOD."