Hey Rita & Charmin

Under the category of "you just would not believe it" -- Charmin has a storefront right on Times Square. The interesting thing is -- they're not really selling anything. I mean, it's not like you're going to stock up on toilet paper during your visit to New York City...After you take the LOOOONG escalator ride up -- there is a big room with maybe 40 different "doors". Behind each door is a toilet with a sink --completely stocked with every different kind of Charmin toilet paper. Really. I am not kidding.

There's a comedian, who greets people. And there are a half dozen "housekeepers" who check each little room before you enter. Then, there are places for "photo ops". Like this gigantic toilet...

One of my favorite group shots -- our first night in the City -- on our way back to American Girl...

Of course, I had to sit on the comfy sofa with the Hey Rita tote -- so we could rest...


Oh, yeah -- when I'M YOUR TOUR GUIDE -- you do not miss a thing in The Big APPLE..!!

P.S. -- My son Ross travels all the time, and "pack your own Charmin" is his #1 travel tip...

Sewing Tote Bags for Afghanistan Children

I read a wonderful story the other day about a woman in Rye, New York who teaches sewing.

Since 2004, Pam Sheerin has been sewing tote bags and filling them with school supplies for the children of war torn Afghanistan. Here's a link to the complete article:

Sewing for Afghanistan Children

Sheerin says, "We're sewing for both the children and the soldiers." "This small gesture is our way of acknowledging the incredible work being done by our servicemen, and also a way for us to help promote peace and education around the world."

The Rye sewing effort is one of 30 such groups across the country, creating bags in a joint venture with Bridges of Learning. Bags are collected from groups in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland and Florida.

What a GREAT IDEA!! If you belong to a sewing group -- maybe this is the project you've been looking for.

Thrift Store Shopping

You NEVER know what kind of bargains you're going to find while thrift-store shopping. The secret is to be OPEN to the possibilities...and not be looking for anything in particular. During our recent treasure-hunt, Mary found a heating pad in excellent condition, with a soft flannel cover...(Mary ALWAYS travels with a heating pad -- she says it comes in handy more than you can imagine.)

I found a vintage box of baby bed linen -- beautiful embroidery -- still wrapped in the unbroken cellophane. The language on the box was all in German. I think. And, when I opened it, I STILL DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS. But I am delighted to own it. And, hey -- it was only $1...

Mary is wearing her new apron, and carefully folding several of her like-new men's shirts. Remember -- she's GOT A BOYFRIEND now. Doug will be delighted to know she was thinking about him...and -- hey -- if he doesn't like the shirts -- they'll end up being used in one of her new SEW GREEN projects!!

Here I am, with some new outfits for baby Lillian. Although the leopard fur came from Bloomingdale's -- the fabulous red tafetta came from the Goodwill Store...if you look closely, you'll see ANOTHER Christmas dress with a black velvet collar. The little orange dress is a soft, cuddly corduroy that cost 67 cents....As it turns out, she already has enough pink. I guess I'm the anti-pink Grandma!! I can hardly wait to see Lillian in her new outfits...

Rita's Sew Fun TEAM

Sewing has brought many wonderful things into my life. It's more than a hobby, isn't it? It provides me with common ground -- and a shared passion that connects me with some really, really wonderful sewing sisters.

Whenever Mary visits Iowa -- we have a reunion of the "Rita's Sew Fun" crew. In my former life, I was a sewing machine dealer and Rita's Sew Fun was the name of my store. I LOVE THESE WOMEN. Here's a picture of Mary with Judy Irwin -- they're talking about "Sew Green", I think...



Phyllis Krogman brought a sewing show-and-tell. She's making Christmas centerpieces for all her kids...Phyllis is mostly a fabulous GARMENT seamstress -- and as it turns out -- she is NOT that excited about shopping for quilt fabrics. Hey -- I thought that was the BEST Part??



I brought along a bag of fur collars -- I've been collecting them, thinking they might have a kernel of a "Ya Ya' idea --

My sister Ronda brought along her grand-daughter, Memphis. Doesn't she look excited to be wearing a fur? She'd make a great PETA commercial, eh...(YES, THAT WAS A JOKE)..

Here we are, after our lovely breakfast -- starting with Mary Mulari in the center back, then me, my sister Ronda in front of me, then Phyllis and Judy standing on Mary's other side.

I am telling you -- IT'S NOT EASY for five busy women to get together two weeks before Christmas. But it is soooo worth it. We talked, we laughed, we shared. There are NO BETTER FRIENDS in the world than women who sew. I am a very lucky woman....


Memphis was as good as gold during our long breakfast. But she is not one of those silly-smile-for-no-good-reason-goofball-babies. This is as close to a smile as she came all day long -- Judy's gift to me -- a zebra striped check book cover -- ALMOST DID IT!!

Winter Weather

So far, this winter SUCKS.

This is my car -- buried in snow, and sitting on a sheet of solid ICE. It got just warm enough to melt a lot of snow -- then the temperature dropped, FREEZING everything -- then more snow.

Easy to understand why all those Iowans and Minnesotans go to Florida and/or Texas for the winter, eh?

Like millions of other people in the country, we were hammered by another blizzard on December 23rd. Again -- NO ELECTRICITY for six hours. At least, this time, it happened in the morning -- so I was able to do things like make fresh beds, pick up the house, etc. Then, I went to my sister's house (she has a different power company) for a shower and to make a pot of coffee. My niece Kelcy was there with her baby, Mason. Here's Mason. (all his blankets are jungle themed!).


Chad's 3-year old daughter, Madeline, was also there -- so she and I played games. She did her best to entertain me...

This is Madeline surrounded by some of the blankets my sister Deena made to send to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. When soldiers travel, they often really NEED a lightweight blanket.

If you find yourself with a large stash of polar fleece -- think about making blankets for soldiers. Here's the website for Soldiers Angels

100 Years of Sewing

Congratulations! Christmas is over -- and if you didn't punch any family members -- you may consider it a BIG SUCCESS. Every woman I know puts her entire heart and soul into Christmas. We cook, clean, sew, shop...we make plans and work for weeks because we want the perfect day. Of course, the biggest problem is that often, our family doesn't seem to appreciate our extreme efforts.

Well, think about this -- Christmas -- like most things in life -- often remembers better than it lived. Really...

When Mary & I took our historial tour -- we saw many examples of extreme sewing, most of it done 100 years ago. And I wonder how it was "received" at the time -- versus how well it has "remembered"...

Like this quilt made out of fair ribbons...imagine all the work and love that went into this quilt. But I wonder if the recipient was appreciative at the time? Maybe, maybe not...but I like to think the quilt itself was handed down from one generation to the next -- and became family lore before it finally ended up as an exhibit at the historial society...where thousands of visitors -- like Mary and I -- have gasped at the workmanship...



Because Geneseo was a stop on the underground railroad -- we learned a little about the "Secret Quilt Code"...and I think about the work and love the women put into these quilts with messages of hope and survival...



Certain patterns meant things to the fugitive slaves -- what direction was safe; their next stop on the underground railroad; how to avoid the bounty hunters...

There was a "signature quilt" folded on the back of a chair...

Here's a close-up of the women who signed the quilt...simple yet elegant, eh? I can just about picture the gathering of the women who got together to quilt it. Both of my grandmothers belonged to a "quilting bee" group. It was their biggest social event...

And -- THIS just might be in one of our future Ya Ya seminars. Can you see what it is? A beautiful "muff" -- with a zippered purse on the back! Who might have received this as a gift 100 years ago?

THREE BABIES First Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, everybody!! If you came to this blog because you're not having a wonderful, magical day -- where you feel appreciated and loved -- just remember -- Norman Rockwell painted FICTION. And it's only one day a year. And always, always, always -- the secret to happiness is LOWERED EXPECTATIONS...
Remember our Thanksgiving babies? Well, you should see the cute little "First Christmas" outfits they're wearing today! (maybe you will, eh?)

My nephew Toby and his wife Brenda welcomed Clayton on Thanksgiving day...



Then, Toby's sister -- my niece Kelcy and her husband Andy had their baby boy, Mason -- the next day...

During Mary's December visit -- both babies were at my sister Deena's house -- and we went there to hold the newborns...just when Mason started to fuss a bit...

I decided to give Mary a turn...

Such blessings, eh?? These two little guys make our Lillian look like a teenager...she was born in March. RIGHT AFTER LAST YEAR'S EXPO!! But all three babies will be celebrating their FIRST CHRISTMAS this year...

So, now you're wondering if the whole point of this blog is just to give me a reason to post pictures of our Lillian??
Well -- DUH!!

My special guest room

MANY of you are dealing with Christmas visitors. Whenever I get company -- my favorite part is making up their beds. I especially love to hang their sheets out on the line so they smell fresh and wonderful. And, of course, I dig out my best embroidered pillowcases. During Mary's recent visit, I washed my most elaborate embroidered top sheet...


The quilt on the bed is a winter scene, complete with ice-skating. But, of course, the really big story in our guest room is the paint job on the walls...


This paint job happened years ago, after Ross moved out of the house. I invited my sisters & cousins to my house for a paint party and the room got a complete REDO. We were experimenting -- there may have been Margueritas involved...

I wasn't content with every wall being a different color (like my living room). Why not paint free-form lightening bolts and use two or three different colors of paint?? This is the door...

And this is the opposite wall -- where I sit to do my jigsaw puzzles. Notice the yellow ceiling...which comes down onto the wall. Mostly because we were all laughing too hard to deal with a fussy straight line...

This is Mary's last night -- packing up two GIGANTIC suitcases full of Ya Ya treasure...we had to get up at 4:00 AM to get her to the airport.

I told her we couldn't have coffee for the trip to the airport -- because the caffeine would interfere with my master plan. Which was to drive her there (45 min.) drop her off, drive home, get back in bed and pretend it never happened...

Mary & Hey Rita Tote

We got off the bus and a butler opened the door for us at the Geneseo Historial Museum. This house was a major stop on the underground railroad...

There was running water -- but BARELY...(be grateful this holiday season for your DISHWASHER!) Imagine cooking in this kitchen...cleanup would have been a nightmare...

Mary is standing in front of the quilt made-out-of-fair-ribbons...

Our afternoon mansions were MUCH MORE ELABORATE -- the Deere-Weiman house and the Butterworth center. Both former residences of the wealthy John Deere family. This picture was taken in one of their expansive dining rooms.

That evening, we went to my sister Deena's house to see the TWO THANKSGIVING BABIES, and we wrote out some baby shower invitations, made homemade baby-wipes, and a batch of those marshmallow/caramel/rice crispie treats.... In this picture, Deena, Rita, Mary, my niece Amy, and her mother, my other sister, Ronda.
The Hey Rita Tote was exhausted!

Socks for Soldiers

I sewed two sock monkeys last night in about 20 minutes. And I thought to myself, "this is a piece of cake -- I should make ten of these before Christmas..."

Then, I started to "stuff" them. Ugh. NOW I SEE THE PROBLEM...

Oh, dear. The stuffing -- and then, there is hand-sewing the ears, the arms, the tail, the mouth. Uh huh. It took me two full hours to finish ONE MONKEY. But the good news is that my son Ross took pity on me -- so he helped with the stuffing...

Anyway -- I'll post some pictures as soon as they're done. (DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH)

In the meantime, I wanted to tell you something special about the Fox River Mills people in Osage, Iowa. They make all kinds of socks. Merino wool socks, special moisture-wicking sports socks for hiking, workouts, snowmobiling, etc. -- AND, special military socks.

If you want to send socks to an American soldier -- they'll pay the shipping.

My sister Deena and her co-workers have been adopting soldiers for almost ten years...and I called to tell her about Fox River.

You may know a soldier who would appreicate some super-duper-made-in-America-wick-away-the-moisture-military-socks. Remember -- if you go to the website to order the socks, they pay the shipping if the socks are going to an APO address.

If you don't have a specific soldier in mind -- Fox River also has a 'wish list" of many companies serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea -- all over the world. You can order socks for these soldiers and Fox River pays the shipping.

It just seems like a practical, worthwhile gift. And something any soldier would appreciate... Again -- their website is (Fox River Mills)

Homemade Baby Wipes

My sister, Deena, has FOUR grandchildren. As you can imagine, "baby wipes" has become a major new category of spending in her house. When Mary and I went to meet the two Thanksgiving baby boys -- she was making her "homemade baby wipes". And I COULD NOT RESIST photographing the process. This is a GREAT idea -- and something you may want to have handy -- even if you don't have three or four pooping infants!

The first thing is to buy the right container -- these Sterilite containers have the little covered hole in the top -- buy the 16 ounce size...

Then, using a serated knife, you must CUT a roll of BOUNTY PAPER TOWELS in half. (they MUST be Bounty).


Bring to a boil: two cups of water with two tablespoons of Baby Wash.



You place the half-roll of towels (rough side DOWN) into the container, and pour the hot solution into the container:



After a few minutes, the cardboard in the middle will soften -- and you pull it out.



Pull up the first wipe from the CENTER of the roll...

Thread it through the little hole -- and VOILA -- YOU HAVE A GIANT CONTAINER OF HOMEMADE BABY WIPES...

Fox River Web Site

Bonne already sent me an email -- after this mornings post -- about taking a tour of the Fox River sock factory.

I cannot believe I didn't do this sooner -- but here's the actual Fox River Mills Website

It's a GREAT website -- with information about finding a store in your own area -- OR ONLINE ORDERING. And their prices are excellent, with free shipping if you order more than $50.

I wish I'd gone there sooner. DUH. But I didn't realize until the socks came what the name of the company was...

Sock Monkey Update

Wow. My Rockford socks have arrived. I had forgotten how good it felt to actually buy something "MADE IN AMERICA".

IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when I read the label and realized these wonderful socks are manufactured in Osage, Iowa. (I had to look it up -- it's three hours away from me.)



AND -- as if I wasn't already happy enough -- they include COMPLETE SOCK MONKEY DIRECTIONS on the other side of the sock header! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? WHO DOES THAT?? Really? A free pattern??


I bought some large blue socks -- and some size small brown socks. Oh, yeah, this is going to be fun...

YOU ROCK, FOX RIVER MILLS!! I can hardly wait to start making my sock monkeys...

World's Most Delicious Easy TREAT

My sister Deena is famous for making 50 cookie trays every year, with at least that many varieties of cookies. She knocks herself out -- baking into the wee hours of the morning.

But, with TWO THANKSGIVING babies this year, she had to scale down... When she asked her family to pick one or two favorite cookies -- imagine her surprise when many of us said, in unison "the marshmallow caramel crispy things".

During Mary's visit, we made a double batch of these delicious treats...this is a picture of my people -- before we actually got to the cooking portion of the evening.

You will need:

2 bags of marshmallows
1 box of Rice Krispie cereal

To make the caramel:
2 bags of Kraft Caramels (unwrap them)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of butter
______Deena microwaves the caramel mixture -- but you could also melt it in a double boiler.

Working fast, one at a time, roll the marshmallows -- first in the caramel, then in Rice Krispies. (if the caramel gets too hard, just reheat it..)

WE ARE TALKING SOME serious heaven here, folks!! And it's a fun treat to make with kids, too. They're best after they set up for an hour or so...Store in an open container (otherwise, the cereal gets soft).