YAHOO....Sewing!!

This is the week I get to sew some BABY BLANKETS....

My cousin Kim's son, Matthew, and his wife Michelle, are expecting their first baby this month. IT'S A GIRL...

And John's nephew, Joel, and his wife Tran, are expecting their third baby -- BOY NUMBER THREE...

Tie One On Day!!

America is ramping up for the H-O-L-I-D-A-Y-S.

Thanksgiving is our big kick-off to two months of non-stop family fun (and work).  Cooking, cleaning, shopping, and partying.  I hope you are looking forward to a very happy time....surrounded by your family and friends. Enjoying good food, lively conversation, with lots of hugs and kisses.

But, the holidays are a lot of pressure.  Family drama is complicated and magnified at this time of year...and if you lost somebody -- well, it can be a painful and lonely time. 

There are people you know who may not be having a Norman Rockwell experience. Many people are lonely and sad during this time of year. They don't have warm, fuzzy families or giving, caring friends who include them.

Which is why I love the whole concept of Tie One On Day. EllynAnne Geisel, author of The Apron Book, created this day and I LOVE IT. You can go to her website to read more about it: Apron Memories

In a nutshell -- on Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve, you use an apron to wrap a gift of food and deliver it to somebody who just might need a lift. Consider it a random act of kindness...paying it forward....

It was an honor for me to interview EllynAnne for Inspired To Sew magazine. Click on the link to read the story -- and then, I'm sure you'll want to TIE ONE ON this year!!

OR -- click on the Tie One On badge on the right side of my blog.  I leave it there, all year long, and it's fun to go there and read other people's stories.  

There are only two rules...you must personally deliver your apron/food/gift...and you must include a hand-written note.

This has become a new tradition for me....Thanks, EllynAnne...

A Perfect Fall Saturday!!

Lilly and I usually spend one day a week together -- either Saturday or Sunday. Sometimes, I have a specific plan. Most of the time, we just play it by ear...

Last month, we started off our Saturday with some thrift-store shopping. Yes, this is a SWIVEL Lazyboy. And only $60. Perfect. Who could resist that?? (not me, that's for sure)...

It was a beautiful, warm fall day. I decided to go to Eagle Point Park in Clinton, Iowa. There is an old-fashioned ice cream stand in that neighborhood...

We sat at this picnic table with our new friends -- and enjoyed our raspberry shakes.

The trees were just starting to turn. Eagle Point Park is GORGEOUS.

There is a lookout tower -- Lilly calls it the castle.

She was determined to walk all the way to the top.

The stairs spiral up, round and round...

Until you reach the top -- and the incredible view.

OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER...

Here's the thing. There could be a woman somewhere in the world who is a better Grandmother than me...in many ways, of course...But nobody is enjoying the job more than I am.

Halloween Tablecloth

We live in a small house. There is no separate dining room, or enormous family room. We eat most of our meals at a big round table in the kitchen. That table is the first thing you see when you walk into my house. I like using vinyl tablecloths...they wipe off easily, and it's fun to change them with the seasons.

A Christmas theme is easy to find, of course, and I have an Easter egg version, a Fall look...

Recently, I found an actual Halloween vinyl tablecloth...

Love the colors, cute, eh?

BUT, it's the wrong size. For a 60" table, you need a 72" round tablecloth. And that is often hard to come by...

But -- HEY -- I sew. And I have a mountain of t-shirts in my basement. WHY NOT ADD SOME FRINGE??

I decided on an elegant 10" fringe...and cut up some t-shirts, mixing up the colors...

After I serged the t-shirt pieces (right sides together) -- I went around to topstitch the soon-to-be-fringe...

By overlapping the colors, I create a nice double fringe...

Final step -- cut the fringe with a scissors...

YES. It is amazing. Sewing, I mean...

I'm sorry I didn't get this posted in time for Halloween. But -- hey -- you might find some wrong-size vinyl tablecloths for Thanksgiving!! Fringe is a wonderful, simple way to make a tablecloth BIGGER...

Project Runway Finale

SEASON 14 of Project Runway COMPLETELY, TOTALLY SUCKED.  I was so upset by the way it ended, I had to blog about soup for ONE WHOLE WEEK...

But the Finale aired a week ago -- so, without the fear of spoiling the end for it's ten remaining fans -- here we go...

OH MY GOD.  The Finale was a crime on so many levels.  If the Fashion Police was real -- they would be issuing warrants and arrests would be made.

Just in case you don't know how it turned out -- and you care (highly doubtful at this point) -- do not read on...I'm about to rant a bit...

As a fat woman, I was delighted the show had a plus-size designer this year. But, although Ashley had some early success, it became clear that her skills were very limited. As the season wore on, the judges seemed determined to make the "WE EMBRACE FAT GIRLS" their mission for Season #14.

Even though Ashley had NO CLEAR IDEA how to fit her own body. She wore a version of this skirt every single week. Her sleeves were always too tight...she had absolutely no clue how to dress HERSELF. But Project Runway was determined that she was going to be THE DESIGNER for the fat women of America!! 

Her own clothes were always, always terrible...

BUT -- when she decided to make her entire collection about "Plus Size Women" -- things went from bad to worse-than-I-ever-imagined crappy.

Her final "collection" should be named, "No fat girl would be caught dead". EVERY SINGLE GARMENT WAS AN ABOMINATION.

She made three HUGE, unforgivable mistakes...

Her first mistake was the color palette. Really?? PINK?? Easter egg pastels??

Second mistake -- fabric choice. LACE?? The itchy, cheap kind. Ugh.

Third mistake -- POOR FIT. Not a single garment fit the model.

Fourth mistake -- SLEEVELESS, Ashley? Really? I notice we never saw your upper arms during the season!!

Fifth mistake -- HALTER TOPS?? Oh, c'mon, people...ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME??

Yeah, I was wrong about the three big mistakes. I could go on and on...it was ridiculous that the judges didn't call her out on any of this shapeless garbage.

And -- TALK ABOUT A TASTE LEVEL?? Really, Zac?? You're going to gig Candace about one dramatic black hat -- but not say a word about the cheezy FAKE FLOWER CARMEN MIRANDA CROWNS that Ashley kept pushing down the runway??

At some point, I was yelling at the television screen. Ashley did a terrible, terrible job and her finished clothes were ridiculous, unflattering at best and cartoonish at worst.

This was Ashley's "Plus Size Collection". SEE THROUGH LACE?

Although it would be very difficult for me to pick the WORST outfit in Ashley's collection -- the pink shorts with the riding up crotch (second from the right) would certainly be a front runner. Believe it or not -- that shorts outfit, made out of the stiff cheap fabric, with the midriff cutout is actually a jumpsuit with a center back zipper.  Clearly, going to the bathroom would be OUT OF THE QUESTION.  WTF??  

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse...Her big finale garment came out.  Cheap shiny polyester -- with glued on fake flowers. AND ANOTHER HALTER TOP...Seriously, I was laughing and screaming at the same time...my throat hurt the next day...

The judges loved Ashley -- and nobody had one harsh word to say about her collection. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Heidi, Zac, Nina -- your credibility is gone. You were more concerned with being politically correct than providing us with a decent fashion/design show. Shame on you. As a lifelong fat woman, I am insulted and feeling EXTREMELY patronized.

As punishment, Heidi should be forced to wear Ashley's purple fruit salad finale garment to the next Met Ball...and Nina should have to wear a fake flower/fruit crown in her next Marie Claire bio shot...

Shame on you, Project Runway.  WE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER...

To Honor Our Veterans

Last fall, it was an honor for me to write a story about the Quilts of Valor Foundation for Inspired To Sew magazine.

Here is a link to that issue. (I hope you also enjoy the interview I did with Mary Mulari!)

Quilts of Valor is a genuine grassroots organization, with thousands of volunteers all across the country.

Terry Austin, the local coordinator, invited us to attend their 2014 Veteran's Day event, when they awarded 25 quilts at a ceremony in Rock Island, Illinois. Here are some pictures of that day, and their beautiful quilts. It is a wonderful thing they're doing...

Terry Austin and John. She was a terrific emcee...

There was a large audience...

Veterans from Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan...

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines....

Each quilt was lovingly draped on the receiving veteran....

THEN, they had patriotic cupcake refreshments...

A large group picture. 

The only WW II veteran being honored on this day was Lillian -- who was a WAVE in the Navy.

While John was comparing good old Navy days with Lillian, I was visiting with her granddaughter. On her 90th birthday, Lillian went sky-diving....

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This year, my husband John and my son Elliott were both honored with their own Quilt of Valor...I'd hoped to have the pictures for today's post, but that didn't happen.  It was a very special day...and I will write about it.

But, in the meantime -- today is Veteran's Day.  Thank you for your service.  We are a grateful nation...

Chicken Soup -- Chapter 12??

Ah, yes, Chicken Pot Pies.  Or, in this case, TURKEY pot pies....one of my favorite winter dishes.  And another GREAT thing to have in the freezer...mostly prepared and ready to go...

Remember this trick?

Start with a little help from the grocery store...

Thicken the soup with a flour slurry.  Sometimes, I add additional chicken breasts, corn, green beans, whatever your preference is for chicken pot pie.  Put the thickened chicken stew into the unbaked pie shells...

When the filling is cool, I put the pies on trays and set them in the freezer. You are now two-thirds of the way to a delicious chicken pot pie supper!

Sometimes, I thaw the pie out before I bake it. Other times, I start from frozen...you can add a top crust or a can of biscuits during the last 15 minutes in the oven.