First Day at the show

Okay -- so I promised to at least TRY to post a blog...but the problem is,I am on a hotel computer and cannot actually SEE the pictures I'm trying to post. So, therefore -- they could be caddy-wompus. Like this shot of the Gold Gate this morning -- but, trust me -- there were A LOT OF PEOPLE...soon after I took this picture, I ran into my friend Marilyn and her Mom...and we had to have a cup of coffee...



Then, moments later, I met two women -- one of them was coming from CALIFORNIA to attend EXPO for the very first time. What are the chances? I mean, for me to have a "virgin sighting" so early in the day...



You can see it was cloudy -- but, mostly -- the weather was good enough. Kind of chilly, and a bit overcast in the morning. But the sun came out later in the day and we had HORDES OF EXCITED SEWING LADIES...nothing can get us down on THE VERY FIRST DAY OF EXPO...



Then, okay -- this picture was a surprise for me, too. It's my three-year old nephew, Cash, helping bake a cake. Yes,chocolate is his favorite. I don't know why it's still on my camera. But it seemed a shame to waste it...



Thursday was AMAZING. Our attendance was UP by over 800 people. THIS IS SUCH GOOD NEWS. I am de-lighted!! Next time, I'll try to put up ALL EXPO PICS...

AND I'll try again -- over on the show blog...

If you're not in Puyallup already -- HURRY UP!! iT ONLY HAPPENS ONCE A YEAR...

I'll try...

Okay, I'm busted.

As it turns out -- I MISS WRITING THE BLOG.

Really...taking the last few days off, I felt kinda off balance. Like I left the house and forgot to unplug the iron, y'know??

Apparently, I have trained myself to WRITE SOMETHING EVERY DAY -- and I do miss it. Yes, Eileen, you are right. I NEED to post while I'm at the show. I'm like a drug addict without her crack...

So, I'll be looking for a WIFI...and then try to jerry-rig something together so I can post pictures as the show is being built.

IT'LL BE FUN...

But it may involve several rolls of duct tape...

Sewing Inspirations

You NEVER know where you'll find your sewing inspiration. For me, it's often in a thrift store or at the Goodwill (as you well know). But, I am very fortunate to be able to visit NEW YORK CITY every now and then -- and it never fails to inspire me. This picture is of me and the Hey Rita tote getting off the plane in December...




This is a picture of TIMES SQUARE -- I was scanning the street for my friend, the Naked Cowboy...



And this is an OLD picture -- of Mary and me eating a fabulous lunch at Tavern on the Green. Wow. I was fat then. Heck -- I'm still fat. Just not AS fat. lol. It was the big trip we took with Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine. One of the travel highlights of my life...what a GREAT TIME we had...(Mary is just visible on the right hand side of the photo)...



My favorite new project is the New York City CIRCLE WRAP...which I found in December, during my sister Deborah's "all girl weekend". I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO SHOW IT TO YOU!! Although, of course, I had to modify it to fit us big girls...

I'VE ALMOST GOT IT FIGURED OUT. Nothing left to do but THE SEWING..!! Then, I'll show you the NYC wrap -- and unveil my own version at Friday Night LIVE...

I'M ON MY WAY..!!

Today -- as you read this blog post -- I'll be getting on a plane to head out to the Sewing & Stitchery EXPO in Puyallup, Washington. Here's how I roll:

In the next picture -- notice the necklace...one of my favs...and -- the inspiration for my fabulous SWEATERCOAT -- which I will unveil at Friday Night LIVE when I'm ya yain' with Mary Mulari. AND then, I'll wear it at the show on Saturday -- WITH THIS FABULOUS ACCESSORY...



Me and my Hey Rita tote will hook up with her sewing-tote-birth-mother-- Jan...


AND I always look forward to seeing the hard-working CTA's -- here, Bonne is visiting with one of our favorites -- Trish..(they bumped into each other in a FABRIC store -- imagine that!).



SO -- BLOGGERS -- PACK YOUR BAGS. IT'S TIME TO GET THEE TO PUYALLUP. THIS BLOG IS GOING DARK. Really. I can't even think about it...I AM TAKING A BREAK.....
For the very first time since July, when I started doing this....

I'll be back sometime....maybe....but don't hold your breath...

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW..!!

'bye,
Rita

Chicago Weekend

I'm writing this post because my friend Marion told me she is reading this blog. We'll see...lol...

Thank you, Marion -- for one of the best weekends of 2009. Oh My God. I still remember what you said at breakfast that morning, at the luxury OMNI hotel, enjoying the view of downtown Chicago, fresh brewed coffee...living in the moment....you remembering all the times your Dad would say, "I wonder what the poor people are doing right now?"




Then -- on to the Art Institute...



But, of course -- our REAL mission -- to try on all the mink coats in Chicago...



I'm glad you decided to buy the Prius instead...

Here's to GREAT TIMES ahead of us, Marion...! Thanks for the phone call. Enjoy the warm weather...I'm headed out the door to DO THE PUYALLUP..!!

Baby Blue Jeans

Rhonda Pierce, who works for Schmetz -- and is putting together the FRIDAY-WEAR-YOUR-RECYCLED-JEANS-DAY. (along with Luveta Nickels -- the Junk Jeans girl...)

Rhonda said, "I can hardly wait to see the recycled jeans you make for Lillian."

OF COURSE.........Why didn't I think of that??

Hey -- it's HIGH TIME I started sewing for the show. The sewing is actually THE FUN PART!!

RECYCLED BABY BLUE JEANS FOR LILLIAN. I AM SOOO EXCITED....

That'll make her smile, don't you think??



So -- on my next visit to the Goodwill store -- I found a couple pair of likely candidates....perfect for a makeover!



On Friday -- Recycled Jeans Day at the show -- I WILL BE wearing the pants I did for the blog challenge last summer...but I think I'll save the picture of me & Lillian for the Ya Ya Sister's on Friday night...

Midwest Ya Ya Sisters & the STALKERS

The Midwest Ya Ya Sisters was BORN because of the Sewing & Stitchery Expo. Years ago, the show had just gone to FOUR days instead of three -- Sunday attendance was slow...and Joanne Ross asked Mary Mulari and me to come up with "something special" for a "Sunday ONLY" presentation.

Mary & I came up with the "Midwest Ya Ya Sisters" -- a very fast paced 'QUICK GIFT" seminar. It's a topic we both live and breathe -- and just the kind of creative sewing we both enjoy. Here's a picture of us -- four years ago -- I was 100 pounds heavier...Mary STILL LOOKS THE SAME!!

I digress....

Anyway -- we did that seminar at Puyallup for several years and it became very popular. One year, we did the Ya Ya show three times in one day. I noticed two smiling women in the front row -- AGAIN. As we were starting the seminar, I pointed to these two women and said, "you DO KNOW this is going to be the same show you saw an hour ago, right?

Imagine our surprise when they replied, "Oh, no it isn't. We come to every single show every year -- and they're different every time."

At that moment, I dubbed them 'THE STALKERS"...

Here they are -- Chris and Judy -- with me & Mary -- last year they helped out with Nancy Zieman's show. (They were the PROP MANAGERS)...

This is me with THEM right before the GO RED show last year...



Here's a picture of me with them-- as they are GIVING ME GIFTS!! Seriously -- they are the best stalkers anybody ever had!!


And THIS YEAR -- you can see them at the FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE show. I hope they read this blog -- because I am announcing right here and now that they will have RESERVED SEATS...in the FRONT ROW. We haven't ya-ya'ed in Puyallup for three years -- and we want to make this show a very special experience for them...

So -- in the interest of paying them back for being such Super-Fans -- Mary and I will be GIVING THEM GIFTS THIS YEAR...!!

ya...ya....

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW, GIRLS...(Tickets to Friday Night LIVE are $20 each, and if there are tickets available, you can buy them at the Ticket Booth when you get to the show -- located in the Showplex -- over by the Free Stage!)

Lillian's Recycled Sweater Coat

Inspired by two extraordinary, creative women. My new friend Jill -- the Etsy artist who made my new recycled sweatercoat. (I'll unveil it at Friday Night LIVE -- at the Midwest Ya Ya Sister Show -- at EXPO, Friday, February 26...).

And, then, my old friend Anne -- the talented young mother of twins -- when she sent pictures of her daughter Sarah, restyling a vintage sweater.

You already know it got me to thinking how baby clothes are never made out of cashmere. What a pity! BUT I SEW...

Here's how it started...a pile of sweaters...(the purple one is actually cashmere!)

Last time I wrote about Lillian's little sweatercoat -- you saw pieces I was about to serge together....

I decided to "edge" the crossover front with some lovely knit zebra fabric.


I used a boring yellow fleece baby coat from the Goodwill as a "pattern" because I liked the way it crossed over in the front.

IT IS SOOO ADORABLE. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE LILLIAN WEARING IT...

gheesh...I might have to get in my car and drive the 4 hours to Wisconsin just so I can get a picture OF HER IN HER NEW SWEATERCOAT.

THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING to put into the PowerPoint for the Midwest Ya Ya Sisters Friday Night LIVE event...

IF IT WOULD ONLY STOP SNOWING LONG ENOUGH!!!

P.S. -- Please forgive me. If you live in Virginia, Maryland, Philadelphia or the District of Columbia -- you have been stuck in your home for over a week, have 24" on the ground, blizzard conditions, and more snow coming your way....I'm sorry I ever whined about the Iowa winter. You win the "my winter sucks bigtime" contest.

THE OLYMPICS

I AM an Olympic Junkie. I will watch every single event -- figure skating, downhill, crosscountry...sports I NEVER GAVE EVEN A SINGLE THOUGHT TO for the last four years...

Maybe it's because they come at a time when television is full of reruns. Even the Real Housewives of Orange County are repeats...over and over again, I have to watch Tamra cower as Simon hisses through clenched teeth, "I AM NOT CONTROLLING - AM I? GO AHEAD -- TELL YOUR FRIENDS THAT I DO NOT CONTROL YOU...GO AHEAD -- TELL THEM HOW HAPPY WE ARE. RIGHT? TELL THEM WHAT A PERFECT MARRIAGE WE HAVE. TELL THEM!"

I mean -- really -- how many reruns can a person take? I am READY FOR SOME KIND OF REAL LIVE ACTION... and -- HEY -- if you like to sew -- Expo is OUR VERY OWN SUPER-BOWL OF A SEWING SPECTATOR SPORT... but once every four years WE HAVE TO COMPETE WITH THE WINTER OLYMPICS..

Because I certainly can't miss a moment of EXPO....the closest thing we have to SEWING OLYMPICS....We have Style Shows -- EVERY DAY five different shows. AND then, there's the Free Stage -- with all those free demonstrations and how-to sessions. Not to mention the ticketed seminars, the brand new more in depth two-needle seminars, all the hands-on classes, the evening special events, the Sunday morning charity fashion show...no matter what your "sewing sport" is...Expo has something for you..

And, imagine how all the talented Olympians look forward to getting together with their athletic friends from all over the world -- I'm looking forward to visiting with my once-a-year-sewing-friends in Puyallup.... Marilyn, Bonne, Judy, Chris...and, of course -- the Hey Rita tote's birth mother...JAN...

SO -- HEY -- GREAT JOB, CANADA. But I'm going to have to TIVO the last few days of Olympic events. Because I've got a real LIVE EVENT OF MY OWN that only comes around once a year...

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

Remember -- today is the LAST DAY YOU CAN VOTE. Go to Burdastyle.com and vote for your favorite garments to be in the Coats & Clark Pink & Red Fashion Show. I have a link on the show blog...

Rita's Sewing TO DO list

OKAY -- this is the FUN PART of my job. Really. For me, doing the actual SEWING is like the icing on the cake. At some point, I get to decide what I'll be wearing every day at the show. The good news is that on FRIDAY -- I get to wear my recycled denim -- which -- thanks to this blog -- IS ALREADY DONE!! hurray...



Then -- because I'll be the emcee for the Sunday morning Coats & Clark Pink & Red Fashion Show -- I FEEL THE NEED to make a special garment...which you alredy know about...it's coming along (that's my way of saying I haven't started it yet).

AND this year, I have quite a bit of sewing to do for Friday night LIVE. As Mary & I went over our final list...and here's what I need to work on:
Ya Ya Show:

I'd like to make some new t-shirt totebags (cuz I use them all the time, and my current ones are kinda dingy...), and another stuffed creature (THESE are soo much fun to do, I love 'em!), then a new braided BELT, if I can only find those D rings, then, Mary and I are both doing a different version of -- NO WAIT -- THAT PROJECT IS A SURPRISE... and I was inspired by a very unique circle wrap I bought during my recent visit to New York City....and I have to figure out the dimensions for "larger sizes" -- because we decided it's such a unique project, we'll put the directions in our handout...well -- you get the idea. I'm not QUITE ready...

AND the pool table looks like this again....CAN I GET ALL THAT STUFF SEWN UP IN TIME??

A Mother's Love

My friend Sandy sent this to me -- I saved it as a Valentine's Day gift for you...

In a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cub's, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species, will take on the care of a different species. The only 'orphans' that could be found quickly, were a litter of weanling pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops??

Take a look...



Having a family...it's all about the love...



Everybody needs somebody to love. The thing I understand NOW -- that I didn't get when I was younger -- is that loving others is a gift you give to YOURSELF....

Project Runway MAGAZINE COVER challenge

Although I am DELIGHTED that Project Runway is back in New York City -- and only God knows how thrilled I am to have a brand new show to look forward to every week -- I've gotta say, I'm just not that into it. Although I haven't missed an episode, I don't even know any of the designers names...

I loved the challenge. Make a garment for Heidi Klum to wear on the cover of Marie Clare magazine. The editor gave them a lot of excellent notes about what they look for.

As the designers were working on their garments -- the room was completely quiet. Nobody was talking...teasing...joking...there is absolutely no interaction between this group of people. When Seth Aaron said he was "going to fall asleep"...the other designers did cutaway interviews calling him immature...blah, blah, blah...

Just TRYING to drum up some conflict...it's like the producers suddenly realized...watching somebody read a book is not good television. Neither is watching a dozen different people lay out a muslin...

OH OH. I SENSE TROUBLE...I AM AFRAID...VERY AFRAID....

It worries me that the producers will try to flog these designers into some kind of contrived bad behavior just to make "good television". Like how the MTV producers make sure all the kids in "The Real World" house are drinking all the time.....or the TLC producers started sending Jon & Kate on all those bogus "outings" and "vacations" because 6 sleeping babies was not exciting television...

Anyway -- at the end of the show -- I liked Anthony's teal dress -- and I also like Anthony. But my favorite was Ben's -- the wrap dress, dark teal, with yellow and black inserts. I thought the color choice was daring, and the back was really interesting.

Anne's Baby Blankets

This email came from Anne -- Sarah's mother --

Hi Rita,

I loved your blog about baby blankets. When we found out about Sam and Sarah I started sewing - of course. I ordered a bias tape application foot from Nancy and edged quite a few cream colored flannel blankets with bias tape that I had cut and folded myself to match the sheets and dust ruffles. I am also an instant kind of sewer and tired of the tedium after a while, so I just serged around the flannel squares. Those thin, but large blankets are still in use. They protect the seats in the van under the kids booster seats. They are drop cloths when the stomach bug hits, they are great for dolls..... I'm sure we'll wear them out and then cut them up for dust cloths. They are certainly one of the best gifts you can give a new mom and dad, and now you've inspired me again. Our nephew and his wife in Cincinnati are expecting in August.

Anne has promised to send pictures of Sarah's recycled sweater project. Although they were going to remake the adult sweater into a Sarah's size -- at the end of the day -- Sarah couldn't see the point of a "short-sleeved sweater". No kidding...what's the point? I feel the same way about decaffeinated coffee, Sarah...

So -- instead -- the white sweater has morphed into Sarah's doll bedding...

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

REMINDER: WE EXTENDED THE VOTING WINDOW UNTIL FEBRUARY 16th...go to coatsandclark.com OR burdastyle.com -- and view the Pink & Red Fashion Show entries. Over 100 talented sew-ists have sent in a picture of their garment. VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE...the top 10 vote getters will be invited to walk in the Fashion show!!

Pink & RED Outfit

Okay -- as we come down the line for the show -- I FINALLY GET TO SEW SOMETHING. lol. My first project is the Pink & Red outfit for the Sunday morning Fashion show...

Looking in my 'stash" -- there are quite a few pink and red things. With me, it's not ALWAYS fabric, y'know. I mean -- who could resist this...I mean it IS pink....and it was only $1.65....you know this craving I've developed for recycled sweaters...

For the RED -- hey -- maybe I need some ruffles??


I'm working on my Pink & Red outfit for the Sunday Coats & Clark charity event. Do you have your ticket yet?? Remember -- we do this every year -- and we always pick a worthy cause. I might start with the t-shirt I'm wearing...



This year, the money we raise from the Coats & Clark Pink & Red show will go to fight heart disease and breast cancer. So pack up your mother, your daughter, your nieces, cousins or friends. Use your love of sewing to build an awareness of these silent killers of women. The life you save could be a woman you love.....

Make your own pink and red outfit to honor them...

(Did you vote? Go to Burdastyle.com to see the 100 entries in the Coats & Clark Pink & Red Fshion Show. The top ten vote-getters will BE IN THE SHOW..!!

Simplicity DESIGN contest

An email I received from Simplicity:

Think you have what it takes to be a designer? Put your creativity and talent to the test in Simplicity’s Inspired by Project Runway® Pattern Design Contest. You may find your original design added to the Simplicity Pattern Collection and marketed worldwide!

GRAND PRIZE: Winner will win a trip to NYC, meet with the Design and Production staff. The winning original design will be produced and distributed worldwide as an Inspired by Project Runway® pattern in the Simplicity Pattern Collection and featured on www.simplicity.com.

+First Prize: Brother Project Runway® Sewing Machine,a $300 Simplicity.com shopping spree and your design featured on Simplicity.com.

+Second Prize: Simplicity Bias Tape Maker and a Simplicity Rotary Cutter Machine.

+Third Prize: A $50 Simplicity.com shopping spree and Simplicity 8” Shears.

HEY -- THIS IS MY SISTER DEBORAH -- during our December visit to NEW YORK CITY!! She's standing in front of one of those wonderful decorated department store windows...I'm telling ya -- if you've NEVER been to New York City -- YOU MUST GO. Wouldn't it be awesome if one of my bloggers WON THE DESIGN CONTEST??

Go to their website and find out all the details!! Then keep me posted!!




I love this picture of Deborah. She just got back from a sewing retreat in New Hampshire! AND she promised me PICTURES...apparently, they had a little too much fun....but I only asked for pictures about the SEWING part of their activities...

Fleece Fringe VIDEO

One of my blogging friends actually sent me this YouTube LINK -- and -- guess what -- SOMEBODY ALREADY MADE A VIDEO! I'm having quite an issue posting pictures right now. hey -- some days Internet Explorer is fine -- other days I have to use Mozilla...blogging continues to be a MYSTERY.

Anyway -- thanks to my friend D.T. -- here's an excellent video of the "technique". Deena uses the little Olfa cutter, my sister Ronda uses a scissors, and this woman uses a seam ripper to make the small "hole".

Whatever you use (wouldn't a buttonhole cutter be perfect?) -- I think YOU WILL ENJOY THE FINISHED RESULT...

One Family's Pink & Red Story...

TODAY IS THE DAY YOU CAN GO TO BURDASTYLE.COM and view the slide show. OF THE MORE THAN 100 ENTRIES.....to the Coats & Clark Pink & Red Fashion Show.

NO KIDDING....100 ENTRIES.......SO PLEASE be sure to look at every single entry before you vote!! The top ten vote getters will win a prize from Coats & Clark -- and be invited to walk the show...

If you also read the show blog -- you already know about the "family entry" for the Coats & Clark Pink & Red Fashion Show.

One of my favorite parts of this job is getting to hear other people's stories. I always say, "why would anybody write fiction? Because the truth will NEVER let you down..."

I am always aware that every single woman sitting in my audience has a compelling story of her own...complete with comedy, drama, love, hate, heartbreak -- and an interesting cast of characters. Six women got together to tell their family story through SEWING...and that is truly amazing.



Carol and her family used sewing -- this hobby we all love -- to tell their own family story. As a way to honor the women who came BEFORE them -- and celebrate the survivors.

Oh, yeah. I love my job. THANK you, Carol -- for taking this challenge way beyond anyplace we ever thought we were going...

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

Voting is open from February 8 - 12.

And, of course, you still have time to make YOUR OWN pink and red outfit to wear to the show -- to honor the survivors in your own life.

Tickets are still available for this good cause...your $10 donation can be given to either charity. Go to the AHA or ACS booth (In the Showplex, near the Free Stage) -- and they will GIVE YOU A TICKET...

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

P.S. -- tomorrow, I'm posting a VIDEO of the fringe technique...

Fight Like A Cowgirl

Recently, my family helped out at a fundraiser for a young friend of ours. Lissa Kucher, only 33 years old, is fighting breast cancer. Lissa lives with my nephew Cory. She's worked and studied for years to graduate from Palmer School of Chiropractic. She has always loved horses -- so, of course, she wanted to become a horse chiropractor -- and she accomplished that goal just last spring. Here we are (me, the Hey Rita Tote and Lissa) right before the fundraiser started...



Lissa designed her own t-shirts...this is me with my sister Ronda (left) and her daughter Nicole (right)....in the kitchen..


..the men's shirts said, "Real Cowboys Wear Pink".

Breast cancer is enough of a battle -- but, like so many other young people in business for themselves, Lissa doesn't have any health insurance benefits...

The small town of Maquoketa, Iowa -- TURNED OUT FOR LISSA...on a bitter cold winter night, hundreds of people came to the soup supper. We served soup for hours and hours... so many people brought chili, it felt like the neverending soup pot....then there was an auction, and a dance....



This is Ronda's other daughter -- Amy -- in charge of t-shirt sales. See her pink apron? I made it out of a long-sleeved t-shirt...Now THERE'S A FIVE MINUTE PROJECT, PEOPLE...


I'm telling Lissa's story to put a face on breast cancer. Early detection can make all the difference...so have regular mammograms, most importantly -- do self-exams, -- and talk to every young woman you know. Be aware. Know what to look for -- and TELL OTHERS.

My outfit for the Coats & Clark Pink & Red Charity Event will be all about FIGHTING LIKE A COWGIRL...

Delicious Pink Potatoes

Just another random post about food...I want to tell you how to make PINK POTATOES -- Because they are amazing...

It's not so much a "recipe" as one of those Rachael Ray fast & easy techniques...and the amounts and actual items you put into them is pretty much up to you -- and your own personal taste.

Basically, it's mashed potatoes with tomatoes -- and I promise you -- pink potatoes will be a BIG HIT...

Peel the potatoes, cube them, boil till tender,then drain... (I'm basing my amounts on 2 cups of boiled potatoes -- hey -- we're only two people...)

While they're still hot -- add your ingredients, and roughly mash with a hand potato masher:

2 TBL softened butter
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes OR one large tomato, chopped & drained
1/4 cup chopped green onions & tops OR -- 1/2 cup chopped parsley -or coppped red onion

2 TBL sour cream OR cottage cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese OR grated cheddar cheese, Monterery Jack is great, too...

YUMMO...THE TOMATOES POP FROM the heat of the cooked potatoes...the whole dish turns beautiful PINK...the onions are a tad crunchy...

You could make a huge batch -- and heat them up in the micro for lunch the next day. And maybe the next day....nah....they won't last that long...

OF COURSE you can add crispy cooked bacon!!

Project Runway ADDRESS Campbell's Challenge

Last night's episode of Project Runway had a great challenge -- to make a red dress for a fancy party -- using the Campbell logo/fabric/design -- AND making it fit real women models...I love the idea of using fashion -- something all women care about and identify with -- to create an awareness about heart disease...

The models for the RED DRESS challenge were real women. Of course, all of them had very moving stories about heart disease....

It's just too bad all the dresses sucked. Really. I can't remember a more disappointing episode. Ugh...

BUT -- here's my point. Last year, we had our own GO RED show at Expo. Remember when Jillian Lewis, from Project Runway, modeled her red dress?



This year -- our charity event is the Coats & Clark Pink & Red Fashion Show. Sunday morning at 8:30 -- you can donate to either the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.
What are the symptoms of a heart attack in women?
Like in men, the most common heart attack symptom for women is pain or discomfort in the chest. However, women can also have a heart attack without having any chest pain. Some of the other symptoms women might experience include:

* Feeling out of breath
* Pain that runs along the neck, jaw, or upper back
* Nausea, vomiting or indigestion
* Unexplained sweating
* Sudden or overwhelming fatigue
* Dizziness

In the next couple of days, I'll have a post about breast cancer...

COME JOIN US SUNDAY MORNING for the Pink & Red Fashion Show. AHA and ACS are set up in the Showplex -- over by the Free Stage. You can give your $10 donation to either charity, and they'll give you a ticket to the event...

SEE YOU THERE...

Iowa Winter

My Iowa friend, Sandy -- sent me this. With the headline, "you know you've had enough winter when you see this..."



I COULD NOT AGREE MORE...this has been a particularly bitter winter. I give up. Last night, I found myself surfing the internet for Florida condos...

Deena's step-by-step

Okay, Sandy -- this is for you! And if you can't figure it out from the pictures -- WE'LL JUST HAVE TO GET TOGETHER FOR LUNCH -- and I'll bring a little demo-size blanket.

And, Lori B. -- if these pictures don't make it clear -- I can do a video! let me know if this is enough information...

The hardest part of making these blankets is lining up the two pieces of fleece and pinning them together. Deena is lucky -- she has a pool table. The first thing she does is cut away 3" at all four corners. Then, she uses a scissors or a pinking shears to cut 3" fringes (1/2" wide) all the way around (through both layers.) Here, she's holding the cute little Olfa cutter which makes the tiny hole that's required to pull one piece of fleece through...and then the other...



Which is what she's doing here -- make that tiny little hole -- through both layers -- all the way around the blanket. (yes, you do have to move your rotary cutting mat as you move around the blanket.)



That's it!! We used two very different pieces of fleece so you can see how she pulled the bottom brown fleece up through the white fleece hole..



Then, she pokes the white fleece through the brown hole -- and pulls it through...



This is what the finished edge looks like! No bumpy knots around the edges -- and the blanket doesn't bunch up on itself...



Here's a picture of one of her finished blankets. Simple, eh??



THIS is my little sister Deena. She's a wonderful, generous person who is always doing kind things for other people. Including me and my boys...THANKS FOR SHARING, DEENA!!

A new BLOG fan!!

Hi, Rita!

I've just found your blogs - the Sew Expo one and through that, Rita's Sew Fun. And I want to say THANK YOU for writing such a fun and creative blog about sewing. I've got a few favorites and yours is jumping to the top of the list as of right now - just a few minutes after finding it for the first time.

I'm looking forward to SewExpo and I hope you have a great time there, too!

Sincerely,

Kathy
Auburn, WA

**********

hey -- this is the way I roll, Kathy!! You send me an email and I get to PUT IT UP ON THE BLOG. Hey -- it's not easy to come up with SOMETHING NEW EVERY SINGLE DAY...

Thanks for reading my blog. SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!! DO YOU COME EVERY YEAR?

tomorrow I'll post pictures of Deena's fleece fringe technique...I took some great shots, but just couldn't get them from my camera into the computer.....but not to worry -- I WILL KEEP TRYING...

Deena's fleece blankets

My sister Deena is well known for her FLEECE blankets. She recently made several JUNGLE PRINT blankets for her new grandson Mason....

And, for the other Thanksgiving baby, Clayton -- a BANDANA fleece blanket for his farm-themed nursery.

Here's a picture of her granddaughter, Maddie Grace, sitting amongst a bundle of blankets Deena and her friends made to send to soldiers serving overseas...

Deena adopts a soldier every year. She's been doing this for at least the last ten years. She and the people she works with send a box every month. Sometimes packed with toiletries, or maybe homemade cookies. Brownies are always a favorite...

One of the things they really appreciate getting are lightweight blankets they can carry with them. If you don't know a soldier -- there is a website where you can go to find out you can use some of your FLEECE STASH and turn it into a blanket for somebody who will really appreciate it. The website is: Soldiers' Angels.

I'm taking pictures of Deena's process, step-by-step....it'll be in tomorrow's post!!