My friend Simon Haskins

Here's a review of several blog posts I have written about my friend, Simon Haskins...

In 2010 -- I wrote:

Okay -- THIS IS SO MUCH FUN. Simon Haskins is on a whirlwind midwestern tour -- in the weeks before the International Quilt Market in Houston. Here's a picture of Simon at the Spring Quilt Market -- as he autographs a book for my sister Deborah -- his biggest fan.

You ALREADY KNOW what a huge fan she is -- she loves Jenny Haskins embroidery designs -- and I believe she's made 27 embroidered silk quilts so far. (that is only a slight exaggeration)...

This is the back of her denim jacket -- adorned with Simon's designs...

Well -- as you know -- she embroiders clothes for me ALL THE TIME. And she will never accept any money...but today I figured out a way to PAY HER BACK...

I have arranged with Simon's host shop -- in Paducah -- to present Deborah with a gift certificate at the beginning of the day!!

SURPRISE, DEB!! And -- hey -- KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! FINALLY! My embroidery-crazed sister Deborah got to meet her sewing star idol -- Simon Haskins!! If you are a regular reader of this blog -- you may remember an actual video of Simon talking to Deb on my cellphone...

Yes, she's a HUGE FAN of his...

Behind this embroidered masterpiece -- my sister Deborah...taking part in an all-day hands-on class with Simon Haskins -- in Paducah, Ky.


After attending Simon's class -- Deb sent me this note:

The day was awesome Simon did a great job teaching the class and keeping everyone on track. We learned different things about stabilizer-how to weave ribbon on sticky stabilizer and attach to a design-how to use fabric softener to get the sticky off the fabric by letting it soak in water. It was really neat seeing the quilts that you have seen in magazines.

Simon was just like I thought he would be -- creative and fun loving. He is all about just getting it done.

This is a picture of my sister Deborah on the left, Simon, and her friend Nancy...



This is my favorite picture...of Deb and Simon...I'm gonna have it framed...

AFTER the class -- Simon sent me this note:

Rita -- Your sister is a doll you are lucky to have her and she is drop dead stunning. We had a great day she was wonderful to have in the class full of energy and happiness.
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Fast Forward -- two years later -- maybe the best sister moment I ever had -- Deb and our faux sister Barb greeting their best-embroidery-buddy -- Simon Haskins at the 2012 Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup....  

Deb and Barb are SUCH HUGE FANS of Simon.  Deb has made so many of his embroidered quilts...her talent, and artistic touch with the embroidery machine, and his passion for this creative hobby we all share.

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UPDATE:

As I write this -- our friend Simon is in the fight of his life back home in Australia.  He was diagnosed with  a rare cancer -- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and he will be undergoing chemotherapy for the next two years.

If you are on Facebook, you can go to Simon's page to cheer for him and be awed by his spirit and heart.    WE LOVE YOU, SIMON...

Disney Princesses

Just so you know -- WARREN occasionally is doing great -- smiling all the time.  He is the HAPPIEST baby I have ever personally known...and we don't ignore him -- really...

But because Emily is still nursing Warren -- the biggest favor I can do for the E team is to spend time with Lillian. No problem. We are having a wonderful summer. She spends one night a week at Grandma Rita's house. It is amazing to me how her brain works, and she is really beginning to THINK things through for herself. I enjoy listening to her...and we sew, and cook, sometimes watch a movie.

Here she is in her new swim cover-up she helped me make...of course, you can see the touch I added...t-shirt fringe...

Her favorite part is the embroidered THREE PRINCESSES on the front. Ugh. We argue about this all the time. From the beginning -- I was not a fan of Barbie. But I thought the Disney Princesses were harmless enough. BUT I WAS WRONG...

Here's a typical exchange between me and Lilly at the Goodwill store...Lilly brings up a Princess piece-of-junk and asks if it's a "possibility"...

Grandma: Sorry, Lilly, you know I am not impressed with the Princess message...

Lilly: I know, Grandma. But I am. And I can't help it...I'm just a little kid. Remember -- I am only four years old.

You can also see in this picture how I completely opened the sleeves when I added the t-shirt fringe. Because it was a size 3 -- and she wears a size 6. The sleeves were far too tight. But, hey, it did have her favorite Princess emblem on the front -- and the zipper was awesome.

The BIG sewing adjustment I made was adding 8"of t-shirt fabric to the center back -- with a box pleat at the top...NOW it's perfect...

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What's in a name??

From the moment Emily and Elliott selected "Lillian" as a prospective baby name -- I pictured the beautiful orange Lillies that are so prevalent in Iowa during the summer months.

I have always loved them.....

Seeing these stands of beautiful flowers along the roadside -- in all their exuberance and abundance -- used to be what taking a "Sunday Drive" was all about.

I realized I was MISSING THE BOAT!! Why didn't I think of this sooner? I should be taking Lilly's picture in the middle of a large stand of LILLIES....

Of course, we didn't have to drive far to find some a BEAUTIFUL STAND OF LILLIES...

Lilly totally understands that her name is the same as this flower...this is her best fake smile...the one you get after Grandma says, "okay, honey, you are standing in the perfect place...would a smile kill you??"

And we had a nice walk along some beautiful country roads...

Yep.  Another perfect day.  And maybe a NEW TRADITION.  (If I remember to take a picture of her NEXT year at this time!)

Tinkerbell Dress

MY FAVORITE KIND OF SEWING...

It was a typical Sunday morning. Lilly had spent the night -- and I was downstairs doing some laundry. She was rummaging around a pile of thrift store treasures, when she found a Tinkerbell shirt that was two sizes too small...

I had a lavender knit dress with a ruffled bottom that was five sizes too big...but I knew I could turn Tinkerbell into a great dress for Lilly -- all I had to do was cut off the skirt, and, well, maybe the sides as well....

You can see in this picture how I added the ruffled skirt to the bottom of the Tink shirt...

I also added 5" (from the original lavender shirt) to the sides...

Can you guess where Lillian got to wear her new Tinkerbell dress that day???

No kidding. PETER PAN?? Yes, it is amazing. That Tinkerbell shirt has been in my basement for weeks or maybe months...but on THAT MORNING, a little girl, who didn't even know she was going to a play that day...found it.

Hey -- maybe I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES...

Visit from the COB

In May, I wrote about John being inducted into the Holland Club. And the CRAZY weekend I spent with him and his old submarine buddies, Pat McGovern and Joseph O'Hara...

The week after we were with him in Connecticut -- Joseph got in his Prius and started a two month cross-country odyssey that would take him to Alaska and back. Along the way, he drove his car onto a ferry in Alaska and slept on the deck for five nights, ending up in Bellingham, Washington...Joseph met people from all over the world...and he has friends in every state of the Union...

Joseph O'Hara was the Chief Of The Boat on John's submarine. So they all call him the COB. The way I understand it -- the COB's job was to know what was going on with the enlisted men on the submarine. He knew if a guy was having problems at home, or maybe drinking too much. He was more or less the buffer between the sailors and the officers. And it is clear that men on that boat respected the COB, and they are all very fond of him. Here's a picture of John and the COB going for breakfast on his first day here (obviously, wearing their favorite shirts AGAIN...)

Joseph called on Monday night to say he'd be arriving the next night.  Of course, we wanted to impress him with our best Iowa food. And wouldn't you know it -- it was the FIRST DAY for local sweet corn!! DELICIOUS...

Oh, yeah -- I also made roasted new potatoes, deviled eggs, and a prime rib roast....

I had planned on making a boiled green bean dinner for my sister Ronda Tuesday night...but I called her that morning to say I was uninviting here because I had to go to Plan B.  We had company coming, and I was making a prime rib roast instead and the E team would be joining us -- she said, "wow, who's coming for dinner? The Pope?"...and I replied, "as close as I am ever going to get..."

The Princess Is A Beast

It was a BEAUTIFUL Saturday in the middle of summer. I'm taking Lillian and Memphis for an outing...they don't know where we are going...

Just 15 minutes from Lillian's house -- we are on the Clinton, Iowa waterfront. They have built a beautiful dike along the Mississippi -- complete with lighthouses...

In the background, you can see the Lillian Russell Showboat. Where they are rotating three children's plays this summer....Saturdays at Noon -- for only $5 admission...

As we got closer to the Showboat -- the girls were excited about walking up the gangplank...

Then, we found some good seats in the front of the small theater -- so they wouldn't have adult heads in front of them...

The play was terrific. With a wonderful message...about how you can be a beautiful person, but if you treat others badly, you are ugly on the inside. All the actors in these children's productions are local high school students who are interns for the summer season on the Showboat. During the regular performances, they are the ticket takers, scenery changers, etc. Right now, the main show is the Sound of Music. 

After the show, we ate McDonald's Happy Meals at one of the tables overlooking the river. It was a stunning summer day. We talked about the play....and how some people can be rude or mean...it doesn't matter what a person looks like on the OUTSIDE...what really matters is what they're like on the INSIDE. And that is always about kindness....

My Near-Miss Fall

A bad fall is one of those things that could happen to anybody. In a split second -- your life is changed. Sometimes forever..

Three months ago -- my friend Pat was delivering a pie to a friend when she fell down their steps. She broke her ankle, had to have surgery, pins, then months of rehab...and lots of pain.

The night I was coming home from Shipshewanna -- I fell walking UP THE STEPS to my own house and I swear to you, as I laid there, crying, because the pain was so bad -- I was thinking, "this is exactly what happened to Pat!! 

It was late -- I had been driving for six hours -- I was too tired, and sooo happy to be home. At 10:00, I got out of the car, and with my arms full,  I rushed up the steps to the outside kitchen door. I opened it, and my driving flip flop got caught on the last concrete step and I fell down full force into the little vestibule off my kitchen. My full weight landed on my left leg -- because that foot was still caught on the step.

HOLY COW. It happened so fast -- I didn't know what hit me.

John was asleep in his chair...but he heard my screaming...

When he opened the inside door -- I was laying on the floor, crying -- my left foot still sticking outside the door...

John: are you alright?

Me: No, I think I broke my leg.

John: Oh no.

Then -- I swear this is true -- the next words out of his mouth were: "Honey -- could you bend it at the knee so I can get the outside door closed? The bugs are coming in..."

NO KIDDING....and that just might not be our biggest problem, bud...

There was no way I could get up off the floor. I am too fat. And I was afraid to put any weight on my left leg. The pain was terrible...and the wind was totally knocked out of me. But after the initial shock of the fall, (after I was able to pull my leg up out of the door)...I didn't think it was broke....John put a sturdy kitchen chair in the threshold so I could put my weight on it, and I used the chair to get up on my right leg...

Turns out -- I am a fat girl with bones of steel.

I spent the night in my Lazy-boy with a bag of ice on my foot because any bump or wrong move and IT IS HURTING ME...

A week after the accident, my cousin Jackie asked, "what did the doctor say?"....and I laughed. Because two minutes after the fall, I knew it wasn't broke -- I never, not even one time, considered going to the doctor....

I got VERY, VERY lucky that day. And I have thought about you every day, Pat. I hope you're feeling better -- so that one day soon -- we'll be WALKING AND SHOPPING THE FARMER'S MARKET...

Last Week's Best Laughs..

I was telling Valerie about my recent excellent pedicure experience -- the relaxing hours spent in the powerful massage chair,  getting the awesome reflexology foot massage, then the hot towel, and the lotion all the way up to my knees.   Valerie said ""Wow.  That sounds way better than any pedicure I've ever had.  Where is this shop?  And how much do they charge for their pedigasm??"

You've gotta admit -- that's funny.  And the answer to the question is $27.00.  Yes, quite a bargain...
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Then -- while watching the Bachelorette with Ross...OKAY, OKAY -- this is the ONE television show I never watched.  I would say that with pride -- like I had some kind of television standards (which we all know is a load of crap).  Anyway -- it's now my Monday Night SHOW...

This was the week the girl, Dez, is dating five different guys -- and will determine which FOUR of them will go on to get a "home visit" with their families.

One of the contenders is Michael -- who is an attorney.  But, wow, did he have a terrible speech habit...the word "like".  Every other sentence had at least one or two "likes" in it...it was HUGELY annoying.

At one point, Ross said, "if he says the word like again, I am seriously going to start counting..."

Before the date was over, Ross was at the number 39...and he said,

"From now on, I'm going to call Michael Likeael..."
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During breakfast with my clubbers...we came up with a BRILLIANT BUSINESS idea...it's so good, we can't imagine somebody hasn't thought about it and started the marketing process...

STEALTH medication.

First of all -- birth control for teenage girls.  Wouldn't it be great if you could buy Fruit Loop cereal that contained birth control?  She would be protected against pregnancy -- without having that uncomfortable conversation about teenage sex...

At the other end of the spectrum -- let's say you have an elderly parent who is moody and depressed?  It can be a difficult situation to deal with...

We're thinking secret Prozac in prunes...
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Yes, I know...I LOVE MY LIFE....

Les Miz

This has been a summer full of wonderful of theater....and I am fortunate to have so many interesting people to GO WITH. One of the highlights -- FOR SURE -- was the Countryside Community Theater in Eldridge, Iowa, doing Les Miserables. Of course, this is JUST THE RIGHT production for me and my book clubbers. I do SOOO LOVE the music from Les Miz.


Because of a miscalculation on my part (I was making supper for my brother, who was batching it that week) -- the rest of the clubbers went out for dinner BEFORE the show. OF COURSE THEY DID....

But I caught up with them in time for coffee -- and we still got to the theater in plenty of time. We all enjoyed the show  (even though the guy with the French Horn was more or less terrible -- Sandy wanted to beat him with it...).

We went on Senior night -- and the tickets were only $7. WHAT A LOT OF ENTERTAINMENT for a little bit of money.

At one point, Linda K. leaned over and said to me, "we are so lucky to have such great theater in this area -- and for such a cheap price!"

No kidding. The girl who sang the part of grown up Eponine was so good, we read the program to see where she was from.   She is a senior at an area high school -- so it will be fun to follow her next year. I'm SURE we'll hear her sing again.

Having this production was a big risk for the Countryside Community Theater. It costs a lot of money to get the rights to the musical, not to mention building the revolving set -- and ALL the period costumes. People with wonderful singing voices came from all over the midwest to audition for this production. WELL DONE, PEOPLE!! You did a terrific job.

And -- at the end of the play, my face was wet with tears...just like the last time I saw it -- in New York City...

Here we are -- moments AFTER pie at the Village Inn. I am delighted to get a picture that night -- because I love, love, love Sandy's long dress. WAY TO GO, GIRL...

You can STILL GET TICKETS...it's running tonight and tomorrow. You will be listening to the CD for many weeks to come...and Les Miz does what art is SUPPOSED TO DO. It makes you think. It makes you grateful. And it makes you wnat to do better...