Midwest Writing Center

According to Martha Stewart, you should learn "one new thing" every day. I couldn't agree more.
15 years ago I went to my first writers conference in New York. My local group -- the Midwest Writing Center -- has programs throughout the year and an intense 3-day workshop every summer...

Eric Butterman came from Dallas, Texas to teach a class about making a living as a freelance writer...he was chock full of information and real-life examples.

In one class, I was sitting behind Julie, Joel and Cindy. You can just barely see the Hey Rita tote laying on the back table...This was the 8:30 AM class. The workshop was at St. Ambrose University --and I was there until 9:00 PM EVERY NIGHT...

The 8:30 teacher was Dr. Roald Tweet -- and I insisted we have our picture taken. In the last ten years or so -- I've attended his "Non-Fiction" class four different times -- and I learn something new every single time.
It's funny -- but I feel a lot of pressure trying to WRITE about Dr. Tweet. So I'm just going to do what he told me to do. Observe what's there and tell the truth.

Dr. Tweet is the best teacher I ever had. Because when he teaches, it's not about him. His goal is to make you think...and to tell your own story.

He is one of those rare individuals who has no idea how good he is....and I will continue to take every class he teaches every time I get the chance.

The shirt I'm wearing says it best, "How Can You Go Wrong If You Write?"

And -- hey -- because of this goofy blog of mine -- I get to do it EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Mildew on Cotton

Of all the things I've sewed in my life -- nothing has given me more pleasure than the slipcovers I made for my porch furniture. You've seen pictures many times...

And because MOST OF YOU SEW -- you will understand how many hours I spent making them. At the time, I was trying to USE UP MY STASH -- so I mixed up a lot of different fabrics. There was a little upholstery, some zebra knit I backed with muslin, some applique with t-shirt knit fabrics...some faux piping to create stripes...I SPENT HOURS AND HOURS making these slipcovers...

So, for the last three years, I've been careful to COVER the furniture if there's a big storm coming through. But, the last time I covered the furniture, it must have already been wet...so, two days later, when I remembered to remove the cover...there it was....the bane of my existance...the enemy of cotton...the kiss of death...MILDEW...

Mostly, the mildew was on the love seat bottom cushion. Specifically -- if you look at the pictures, the butter yellow fabric. That yellow fabric is sweatshirt fleece. I had about 3 yards of it at the time, and I remember thinking the sweatshirt fleece would hold up. BUT IT'S THE ONLY PIECE THAT GOT MILDEWED. ugh. You will notice -- THERE IS A LOT OF YELLOW...

I tried the following remedies: OxyClean, vinegar, Whink mildew remover, soaking overnight in buttermilk, spraying with Tilex mildew root, spreading with a paste of salt mixed with lemon juice. Obviously, nothing worked. I'm ready to state, for the record, that NOTHING WILL REMOVE MILDEW FROM COTTON.

Wow. There ought to be a way we could harness that kind of power, y'know? And use it for good instead of evil...

My plan is to sew some new fabric on top of the yellow fleece and then cut it away...that should work, eh? I'll keep you posted...

Creative Machine Photos

My friends on the Creative Machine Newsletter asked me what kind of sewing I'm doing right now. And I realized I've been LOVING THE HOME DEC projects. I wanted to post some pictures -- and it's easier to put them up here on the blog. My regular blog readers have already seen many of these pics...

For example -- this is a picture of me working on Emily & Elliott's ZEBRA walls for their guest room...
Speaking of zebra -- the next few pictures show the t-shirt valance in Lillian's room...

Who was the woman who handed me this little orange t-shirt at the Goodwill Store in Beaver Dam? SEE -- I told you I'd put it to good use!

I'll be posting a video of the finished room soon -- I LOVE THE VALANCE...

The biggest job I EVER tackled was making slipcovers for my porch furniture...and there are many pictures of them in the previous post on this blog...

This is part of the fabric-starched-fabric-wall treatment I put up in Lillian's little bedroom..

I cut up an old bedspread to make some bolster cushions...Landon thinks the room is pretty cool.



EVEN the porch has a striking tshirt valance

I have always loved this porch, and it's had many "lives"...there were the flamingo years...

I haven't exactly named this stage yet...but I really should. There is a lot of zebra...

Anyway -- WHATEVER YOU'RE SEWING -- ENJOY....

And thanks again for asking me to host the Creative Machine Newsletter.

Pleated paper window shades

There are two windows in Lillian's room. The fabric wall done -- the furniture is moved in -- it's time for the FUN PART. Right? WINDOW TREATMENTS!!

My first consideration is practical -- something that will block the light. Emily told me about this great new window-darkening product she had discovered at Walmart...

It's a folding paper shade that you simply cut to size with a scissors. Wha??

And then -- here's the best part -- you remove a strip of protective paper -- which reveals the ADHESIVE STRIP -- and then you just STICK IT IN PLACE AT THE TOP INSIDE OF YOUR WINDOW...

No nails? No screws? No worrying about getting the right "hardware" to hang the roller shade. AND then making sure you hang the darn thing "evenly"...

EXCELLENT -- A WOMAN INVENTED THIS!!

We cut them to size and had them actually hung IN THE WINDOWS in 3 minutes FLAT. And I love the look of them....now it's time for the t-shirt fringe valances...

Two little white clips come with the shades...here's what it looks like, pleated and clipped...



When you remove the clips -- the shade drops completely -- and it really is room-darkening!!



THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA...wow. Now I can move on to the fun sewing part -- the fringed-t-shirt valances!!

Let's Sew A Room!

The "guest room" in Elliott & Emily's house is a comfortable bed in the corner of a very large, open basement. Emily wanted to make two fabric walls -- so I went to Wisconsin with my sewing machine, a bolt of white muslin, and about six yards of zebra upholstery fabric...



Here, Emily is covering a pole with some zebra fabric...


I also had a white shower curtain -- because I thought we could use the grommets...

After some measuring, and sketching, and some ripping -- I started the SEWING...

As it turned out, the grommet part of the shower curtain was a great way to make the corner of the "fabric walls" come together...

You know how I love to RECYCLE anything...

THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!!

NYC Challenge Pics

This is the email and picture I received from Bonne... I had almost forgot how beautiful this knit fabric was!!
Hey Rita!

What can I say? I'm going a direction...not sure where I'll end up....in other words I think I'm going to be as surprised as anyone with the end result as it keeps evolving.... The pic provides some hints as to where I think I'm going - GRIN!!! Trying to push myself to think like Rita on this one....NOW pick yourself up off the floor and quit laughing....it could happen LOL!!!!


Okay Jan..... since I'm not sure exactly where I'm going I can't even gloat so you get off easy this week :-) But watch out next week as I plan to be done with the knit part of our challenge....how about you? Bonne

Then -- an email and update pic from Jan --

Well, I'm moving along on this project....hmmm, no zebra stripes seen anywhere? Huh, how can this be?

Hey bonne! What's the bonash doing there - a "no sew" project?!!! I can see the YLI Candlelight too!

Having too much fun!
jan
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this floral print on the dramatic black background. But I could not figure out, for the life of me -- what to do with it. I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO SEE what these two come up with!!

Valerie on her way to FLORIDA

As hard as this is to believe -- my friend Valerie is on her way to Florida to be with her beau...

Here she is, getting her luggage out of the car...

Even as I'm taking the pictures -- I can hardly believe she is LEAVING IOWA...to be with the man she has been talking to on the phone for 6 hours A DAY for the last two months...


For the last 20+ years -- she has been a decidedly single woman. And, on some level, we both think what she's doing is crazy...(okay, maybe that's more me than her...)

Here she is, excited about a free baggie from the TSA...

This picture is one minute before the TSA agent tells me to step away from the line...
Then -- POOF -- she's gone....

Valerie used to be a Karaoke regular at a local joint -- the "Chef's Hat". The crew at the "Hat" put together a betting pool to see how long Val would live in Florida.

I put money down on day 3...

It's been more than a week...Either Fairy Tales really do come true -- or she's just staying down there to spite me...