Cleveland Original Sewing & Quilt Expo

As I walked into the Expo Hall in Cleveland -- I looked up to see all these huge stars hung from the 50' tall ceiling...


AND -- the elevator building (going downstairs to the second vendor floor) -- was actually painted to match the carpet.
It's always great to visit with Puyallup friends...here Patti Otto and her husband, in the Great Copy booth...

Nice to see Ellen March, editor of Sew News magazine...

I've gotta say -- I have never seen better "show food" in my life. THANK YOU, ORIGINAL SEWING AND QUILT EXPO!! This was the most delicious sticky bun I've ever eaten. PERFECT...One day, they actually had "perioges" for lunch. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Also nice to meet with some new friends. Emma Seabrook -- puzzled about the Hey Rita tote...


I loved being able to enjoy a cup of coffee as I watched Peggy Sagers do the "what's new" fashion review on the free stage...

HEY -- WAIT -- that wasn't the REAL Ellen March in the first picture. Can you see it now? It was "Flat Ellen "...greeting everybody at the door of the show. Be sure to check out Ellen's television show "Sew it all" on your local PBS station..
Mary and I had a WONDERFUL TIME in Cleveland. Thanks so much for inviting us to the show -- and thanks for coming, sewing fans!!

I have a new "card" in my camera -- so the Cleveland pictures came out perfectly. And I have a LOT TO SHOW YOU...(I've spent hours and hours on the Puyallup pictures -- but it's still a muddle...)

My Life Mantra

Can you guess where this china is from? I'll give you a hint...somebody was eating their dinner on this china, 100 years ago today...April 1912...

That's right -- these are the actual dishes from the wreckage of the Titanic -- which sank 100 years ago this month. Last summer, I was lucky enough to visit this traveling exhibit. It was at the Putnam museum in Davenport, Iowa.

They did a wonderful job giving a sense of what it must have been like to be a passenger. The Titanic was the best-of-the-best. It was the state-of-the-art luxury liner and you were lucky to have a ticket...


My sister Ronda and I went to the exhibition...

With her daugher Amy and the boys. Garrett, Cale and Cash...We had such a wonderful time. Looking at the pictdures again reminds me that I need to get busy planning some "Aunt Rita Adventures" for my great-nephews (and Memphis). Those little day trips are the highlight of my summer...

One of the things the actual "Exhibit" did was to give each of us, as we were entering, an actual "ticket" --with information about one of the REAL Titanic passengers. At the end of the tour, you had to look up your passenger to see whether or not they survived.

There were so many stories on that day -- like this one...

There was another French family traveling second class. Michel Navratil, a French tailor who had kidnapped his two young sons, Michel Jr. and Edmond from his estranged wife, assumed the name Louis M. Hoffman. He was taking the children to the United States. Michel Sr. died in the sinking and photographs of the boys were circulated throughout the world in the hopes that their mother or another relative could identify the French toddlers, who became known as "The Titanic Orphans." [15] After arriving in New York, the children were cared for by Titanic survivor Margaret Hays until their mother, Marcelle Navratil traveled from Nice, France to claim them.

Here's the picture that appeared in the New York Times -- the caption was "Titanic Orphans"..
If the ship hadn't sunk -- that mother may never have known what happened to her boys.
The story of the Titanic always reminds me of one of my life mantras..."most days, you can't tell your good luck from your bad".

If you go to the movies to see the re-release of the "Titanic" -- you'll see that Jack won his Titanic ticket in a card game.

The man who lost the ticket cursed his bad luck....

See what I mean??

Happy Easter!

OH MY LORD...how much fun is this? Lillian is three years old and I KNEW it was time for her color some Easter Eggs -- and for me to plan her first Easter Scavenger Hunt...


As it turns out -- she wasn't at my house for Easter -- so I had to hurry up and plan the hunt to take advantage of their week-before-Easter-visit. (c'mon -- she's only THREE -- it's not like she's looking at a calendar)...

The night before the "hunt" -- I found an Easter basket and put a new Princess book (wrapped in the plastic Goodwill bag it came in) and a bunny ring (adjustable, made out of rhinestones). I didn't even have time to shop for a proper chocolate Easter bunny..

So -- here are my lame clues...the first one was taped to the door of her room. She noticed it the minute she got out of bed that morning...

Happy Easter, Lilly – here’s your first clue…
Look inside the toe of your pink sparkly shoe….


For your next clue – go out on the porch and look under the chair…
There is a pan with a towel and you should look there…




To find clue number three – go to the frig and look up….
Your next clue will be there, stuck under the yellow cup…

One more clue to find and it’s easier than you think…
Find the little purse that is all-over-pink….

Your Easter Basket is hiding IN THE CUPBOARD RIGHT UNDER THE SINK…

Lillian loved her new Princess book -- so did Sophie! Together, they looked at every single page...before she noticed there was a tiny little box still in the basket...

Which had this very special (adjustable) bunny ring. It had a lot of bling -- and she LOVED IT!!

Rita's Sewing Sister Posse...

Here I am -- at some point -- on one trip or another -- with my usual buddy -- the Hey Rita Tote...I cannot even think about the hundreds of thousands of miles we've logged together...

And every time I pack her up -- I think about her birth-mother -- Jan Potter. Here's Jan -- with her own Hey Rita tote (my tote's half-sister, right?) Jan is half of the Inspired2Sew girls...taking a class on the first day of Sew Expo...

I also got a great picture of Sue Hausmann, teaching a class on that day. Sue will be in Beaver Dam for Nancy's Sewing Weekend (May 5) -- and if you have never attended one of Sue's classes -- THIS COULD BE YOUR CHANCE. Or -- hey -- even if you HAVE attended one of Sue's classes -- she always brings something new. Sue is one of the best teachers I've ever had the pleasure of taking a class with. (please don't write to me about ending this sentence with a preposition...) I can't even begin to tell you how much I've learned from Sue...
This is Ann Sagawa -- checking on some of our students taking the four-needle classes on Wednesday.


Jan's Sewing Sister -- Bonne Swett. These two are SEWING FANATICS...hey -- maybe that would be a good class category. Something for the "sewing fanatics"...
Saying hey to Linda Boothman! I can always count on Linda to weigh in on topics of interest -- on Facebook, or this blog...whether I'm sewing a sock monkey or writing about a totebag challenge.
I'm having so many wonderful flashbacks about the 2012 Sew Expo. It was great, wasn't it??

Sewing Weekend in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

One of my MOST FAVORITE sewing events in the country happens every year in May -- in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. It's "Sewing Weekend" at Nancy's Notions in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

Last year -- I took some candid pictures. Here's Steve Jeffery, President of Baby Lock -- doing a little embellishment. Or maybe he's playing with his new Sashiko machine...when you see Steve -- be sure to congratulate him on his new (and FIRST) baby grand-daughter!! (at the time I was writing this, the baby was DUE)...
And, of course -- you're bound to have a Nancy Zieman sighting. Even though she teaches every day, and presents a special program in the evening -- she takes time to visit the warehouse...

Mary and I did our Midwest Ya Ya Show last year in Beaver Dam -- and YOU PEOPLE WERE OUT OF CONTROL!!

Every classroom in the little town of Beaver Dam is packed with avid, eager sewing enthusiasts. Here, Pam Masche is teaching a hands-on class at the Nancy's Notions store...

But you could also be taking a class at the Junior High School, or the Skating Rink, or maybe across town at the church.

There are BUSES that take you all over town. I LOVE BEAVER DAM...

And YOU WILL LOVE THE SEWING WEEKEND. Go to Nancy's Notions right now to get more information and sign up for some great classes in one of the sweetest little town in America.

Mongtomery Ward Advertisement

Remember Montgomery Ward? When I was growing up -- we used to get three catalogs in the mail. Sears, J.C. Penney's and Montgomery Ward.

I absolutely love looking at old magazines and advertisements... I'm not sure what year this was from -- but with $1.77 shoes, it was way before my time...
Isn't this artwork stunning? I am quite delighted with the styles, the tulip skirts, the bows...and I love the colors...

And -- even WAY BACK THEN -- women were subjecting themselves to all kinds of tortuous garments to look thinner...

Who sent these images to me? THANKS SO MUCH...I saved the pictures, but lost your name. Please send me another email so I can thank you properly. I got a big kick out of sharing these pictures.

Quick Trip to Cleveland

One of the BEST THINGS about the Cleveland Original Sewing & Quilt Expo is that I got to spend a little time with Luveta Nickels.

But we really didn't visit. The show was WAY TOO BUSY...which is a great thing -- and there will be future posts!!

If you really want to spend some quality time with your sewing sisters -- I highly recommend starting out with breakfast at your favorite local "joint". Then -- a WHOLE DAY TO KICK AROUND IN A QUAINT LITTLE TOWN....

The town you choose should have some historical buildings...
And interesting little shops...

Here's a never-before-seen picture of Mary Mulari -- goofing around in LeClaire, Iowa during their Christmas-in-LeClaire weekend. These outings are where we find some of our best Ya Ya quick gift ideas...

If you're putting together a true "girlfriend day" -- it might have to include a trip to the local thrift store...that's where your find the BEST bargains...

Like -- an actual red fur Eskimo parka?? What are the chances??

Cleveland was great. They have some awesome parks -- which we only got to see when we drove through...It was a VERY QUICK TRIP. I saw the airport, the hotel and the Expo hall...

Next time -- I'm going to do better by Cleveland...and -- hey -- who's in charge of our next Sewing Sisters visit. WE ARE LONG OVERDUE...