Golf Balls for Iraq

This is a picture of my cousin Kim -- watching John carefully washing dozens of old golf balls...



Which will be SENT TO IRAQ. Kim's son, Matthew, is a helicopter mechanic in the National Guard. This is his second tour. Kim tries to send regular packages -- but it's hard to come up with stuff that isn't perishable. Apparently -- GOLF BALLS are in big demand over there.

When John heard that Matt and his buddies like hitting balls off into the desert -- he got busy gathering up his collection of "range balls"...



I hope Matt enjoys HITTING those golf balls as much as John enjoyed cleaning them!!

The REST of the Story...

After the excitement of our all-star-girl-concert...(Janis Joplin, Carley Simon, Carole King and Joan Baez) -- Ally, Lexi and I were hungry.

So, to stick with our 60's theme -- I took them the 24-hour joint that was MY FAVORITE SPOT way back then...C'mon, Jackie -- YOU WERE THERE WITH ME at 3:00 AM....

This joint also happens to be the place where Grandma Deborah had her VERY FIRST JOB...

We talked about a lot of different things...I am sure they were fascinated with my version of 1960's history...it was so much fun to have a conversation with these two young women. To hear their opinions, to learn about their taste in books and music.

During our time together, I kept thinking about a conversation I had with my friend Marion. (She has THREE granddaughters)...about how we (women) are our most genuine selves when we are this age. Right BEFORE we start trying to please boys...

Ally and Lexi helped me eat a Magic Mountain. That's a thick slice of Texas Toast, topped with loose meat hamburger, lots of french fries, and two cups of melted cheese. YES, IT IS MAGIC... INSTANT CELLULITE...

Ally took this great picture -- the glass is etched, "Home of the Magic Mountain"....is it ringing a bell yet? This restaurant was recently in the news...any guesses? Another famous person recently chowed down on his own Magic Mountain...


That's right!! It's Ross's Restaurant in Bettendorf, Iowa. Preident Barack Obama was in town to visit Alcoa -- and made a surprise visit to Ross's. They did NOT know he was coming...

Hey -- if it's good enough for the President of the United States -- the leader of the free world -- well then, I guess it's good enough for me and my girls...

Click on this LINK -- if you'd like to read about how and why President Obama ended up eating a Magic Mountain...at my favorite blast-from-the-past-24-hour-JOINT...and what the aftermath has been!!

Project Runway, Week #2

Yes, OF COURSE I AM WATCHING Project Runway. Although, in my humble opinion, the bloom is off the rose.

I mean -- when it was new, I used to get phone calls from at least five of my girlfriends on the night of the show. It WAS MUST WATCH television..

But Heidi Klum has had at least three babies since then -- and Tim Gunn has had that many failed cable television shows...

So -- last week (the premiere) was just okay for me. Although I was glad the geezer won. (54-year old Bert).

This week they shopped in a pet store. Tim specifically said, "the challenge is about unconventional materials. The judges will not look kindly, for example, on a contestant who simply takes apart a dog bed."

Well, DUH, Tim...

I'm not going to go over who did what. If you watched it -- you already know. And if you didn't watch it -- you don't care.

Here are my observations.

22-year old Oliver is the most annoying contestant. Born in Cincinnati, now from New York -- he speaks with a very strange English/Japanese/French accent?? What is that about? He took apart a dog bed to make a dull beige sherpa top. His dull beige skirt-from-hamster-bedding was better -- but he didn't know when to stop -- so he glued the bedding wood chips onto the model's eyebrows. Really??

Considering Anya still does not know how to thread a sewing machine...her garment looked very polished on the runway. They should set up a secret camera in that workroom after the designers go back to the Atlas for the night...I'm pretty sure there's a Trinidadian cleaning lady coming in after Midnight who does Anya's sewing...

Because Bert had immunity -- he barely woke up from his nap long enough to sew one back seam in his FABRIC outfit. I was sooo disappointed. The best line of the night was when Tim, critiquing Bert's dress, said, "You're on such a high with the judges right now. This could potentially recalibrate their thinking..."

Geezer-Bert did, as predicted, change my perception of him.

Have you ever heard of the guest judge? Stacey Bendit? She was wearing a shapeless black dress...with a very annoying large Beatrice blue thing-a-ma-jig in her hair (they really are ONLY suitable for royal weddings, honey), an orange necklace, a purple belt, and red shoes...ugh...

At the end, the two top designers were:

Oliver...with his boring, shapeless beige outfit made out of a dog bed. (remember the eyebrows)

Anthony Ryan -- he made a muslin dress, then glued birdseed all over it. The collar area was out of sunflower seeds...on the runway it looked like an amazing beaded cocktail dress.

However -- Nina thought Oliver should be the winner. Heidi wanted Anthony to win.

Based on Tim's early admonition NOT to use a dogbed, I'm thinking the right guy is gonna win. I'm with Heidi -- it should go to Anthony....

However -- despite her very German personality -- Heidi gets trumped by Nina every time..

And I was right to worry.

Oliver won. The DOG BED GUY...OF COURSE...

Obviously -- the lesson is -- DO EXACTLY WHAT TIM TELLS YOU NOT TO DO!!

I think Becky should have won (the colorful flower dress). She and Viktor (the purple tie-dyed sheath) are the two most under-rated designers....and I am looking forward to what they'll do next week.

But I am over Geezer-Bert. No matter what he does next week -- he should go home.

Cale's Star Spangled Banner

Life is full of happy surprises. Like discovering that your 10-year old grand-nephew has a talent you never knew existed...



The day after our "Aunt Rita Adventure", I phoned Amy's house. Cale answered and we chatted for a bit, then I said, "please give the phone to your Mom, hon."

Cale replied, "I don't think I can, Aunt Rita. The telephone I'm talking on is from the late Nineteen Hundreds..."

I really had to think for a minute. How old is that phone??

Valerie's Going Home Dress

After a coupla weeks in the nursing home -- Val is rehabilitated and READY TO GO HOME.

As you know, words on t-shirts often make me laugh. And I've had A BALL making these dresses for Val -- always starting with a t-shirt.

Since she'll still be going places in a wheelchair for awhile -- these words seemed perfect:

OF COURSE, I had the exact right yellow t-shirt. I used other t-shirts to make the striped skirt....AND it needed pockets...

This is the back of the dress...

And this is the front of the dress. Where all the attitude lives...

The truth is -- I ACTUALLY DO wear "housedresses". Because I work from home -- I can stay in comfortable clothes -- but I dislike pajamas or housecoats -- and I wouldn't be caught dead in a "jogging suit".

But it's really hard to find washable knit dresses. I can't believe I didn't think about doing this sooner. I'm going to make HOUSEDRESSES for the 21st Century!! I'm going to make my own wardrobe of knit dresses from t-shirts...but I can't call them "housedresses". Hummm...any ideas??

Maybe "t-shirt dresses with words to live by"....No. That's too long...

My next dress will start with a t-shirt that says:

"It is what it is"

...there are many days when THAT will be exactly right...

I AM INSPIRED!! Thanks, Val...

now I'm gonna make you a special dress for your upcoming class reunion...

Muscatine Dad Stitches Quilt

Hey -- women who sew are THE BEST. I mean that. We are awesome. Simply amazing.

But, of course, men who sew are amazing as well...and I think you'll enjoy this story. I know I did...


There was a wonderful story in the Quad Cities times about a Dad who made a quilt for his national guard son who is returning from Afghanistan.

I avoid political discussions on this blog. But I would like to say that Iowans hav been doing our part for the last ten years. Our National Guardsman have done two, three and four tours of duty. First in Iraq and now in Afghanistan. Every family I know has somebody over there. I pray for Kim's son, Matthew, every night...and I think it's high time they ALL CAME HOME...

here's the link to the story. Great job, Mr. Zaehringer:

Whitening Master Class

Recently, I received an email from a Sew Expo buddy who inherited a BUNCH of handmade lace and embroidered pieces. She was asking for my best advice about whitening...and I sent her this:

You LUCKY DUCK!! What a wonderful gift to have -- pieces of antique lace and embroidery from your grandmother and her mother...

Here's my best advice about whitening. The first rule is to NOT BE SO PICKY...sometimes -- you just need to settle for "good enough". Because with delicate vintage fabrics -- you cannot go all the way to bleach. It's not worth the risk...

I asked her to send pictures -- and you can see that many of the pieces are very discolored...

...here's how I'd start:

1A. SOAK the lace overnight in tepid water. It's important to rehydrate fabric that may be verging on dry-rot. Because there's no coming back from that...

1B. after this first soaking, check to see if they need repairs. Lay the fabric out and air dry. Make the repairs NOW -- before the real whitening work begins...





2. the next step is to SOAK the pieces in warm water with a double dose of Oxy-clean. Overnight is best...

3. Rinse and assess. If you're still not happy, repeat step #2 again. And again. I once Oxied a pair of pillowcases six times over a period of a week...believe it or not, they improved with every treatment..and I never let the fabric get "dry" between soakings.

4. Once you're happy -- rinse the fabric several times in cool water.

5. Lay the pieces out FLAT to dry.

• If you're working with shaped lace, form the wet pieces on a piece of glass or mirror. That's what they do in museums -- to avoid ironing -- which you NEVER want to do. When the lace is soaking wet, lay it on the glass and squeegee out the moisture. When it's dry, it will be wrinkle-free.

• If it's not lace -- think in terms of "layers". Top an absorbent bathtowel with a white cotton dishtowel (or piece of a cotton sheet), then the wet vintage pieces, then more white cotton. "Roll" it up and apply pressure to squeeze out the moisture...remove as much moisture as possible...then lay the pieces flat to dry.
  

• Or -- my favorite tricks -- HANG THEM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE. One of my grandmother's whitening secrets was to lay her white linen napkins on top of green shrubs...(she believed in the magic of photosynthesis) -- and I'm not sure it doesn't work.

SUNSHINE, SUNSHINE, SUNSHINE...
***********
You can see from the pictures that my student did an EXCELLENT JOB with her vintage lace and embroideries...

I wonder what she has planned for next year's Expo???

P.S. If you actually ARE a textile curator, please do not send me an email...I know you disagree with just about everything I said...and I can live with that....