Best Flash Mob EVER

As far as I'm concerned, being a witness to one of these Flash Mob events would be reason enough to travel. This one is pretty special...and I loved it!!

Our Rocky Start

John is from Pennsylvania. We met in 1970 in Washington, D.C. and were married later that year. Although we've spent most of our life together in Iowa, and raised our boys here -- we have always gone back to Pennsylvania every summer to visit John's family.

Yes, 45 years of summer road trips back to Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania...it's a 14 hour road trip.  And John never lets me drive  Fun, eh?

We rented a bright rust-colored Hyundai Santa Fe on Friday, September 23. We picked it up at the airport at 5:00 pm-- with the intention of leaving at Midnight. (in order to get through Chicago at 3:00 AM, missing the rush hour).

So, it was after dark when we were packing the car. John went to bed about 9:00 to take a nap. Ross came home from work at 11:30, and chastised us because the dome light was on in the rental car, and also John’s trunk light was on. (According to him, he had to turn off the dome light in my car three times last week,) Ross helped us pack the car, then he went to bed.

30 minutes later, we were ready to pull out -- but couldn’t because John’s Honda was parked behind the Santa Fe.  At that moment, we realized that neither one of us had a house key. So -- we had to wake Ross up. I called his cellphone, and he picked  up and said, “you're locked out of the house, aren't you?”

Ross came down and opened the door so John could get his Honda/House keys. We’re off. FINALLY. Five minutes later, we pulled into the local 24-hour gas station to “top it off”…as gas is much cheaper in Iowa. 

The problem was that we couldn’t find the little tab that pops the gas cap open. We looked…and looked…because it’s a Hyundai, and I drive one myself, I figured it would be in the same general area on the dashboard. It was not. WE LOOKED EVERYWHERE…

Finally  -- I gave up and got out the HUGE book from the glove compartment. I tried to use the index…but there was no such topic as. “gas cap”… The light was bad, the mosquitoes were awful, and I could not read the tiny little print in this large 800-page book. I was annoyed to see two people inside the gas station, their faces pressed against the window...watching and laughing…

FINALLY -- I saw a diagram in the front of the book and realized the tab in question is ON THE DRIVERS DOOR…WHA??

OMG...##&^%$$#^^&&!!!. It was almost 2:00 AM before we got on the road…and I was already whipped. So was John. We drove straight through Illinois -- and it was early morning when we stopped at a Travel Plaza in Indiana. We both went to use the bathrooms…and then, sat down to eat a breakfast sandwich. John went out to the car...I stopped to buy a bottle of water.

When I got out to the Santa Fe (remember the BRIGHT RUST COLOR) -- I was surprised that John wasn’t sitting in it. But the lights were going off and on. Hummm… I went to the passenger door, and it was unlocked. As I was about to get in, I finally saw John. He was 40 feet away -- opening the door of WHITE Santa Fe -- that apparently had unlocked with his key fob.

I started to laugh…then, called his name, just as he was about to get in the wrong vehicle. When he heard me -- he closed that door and came over to our BRIGHT RUST COLORED car. I was laughing so hard, I could not speak.

He said the first Santa Fe he opened was a gray one -- but when he opened that door, he smelled smoke, so he knew it wasn’t ours…but he was sure the white one WAS...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? He actually got that Hyundai key fob to open up THREE VEHICLES….

Yeah...it was a rocky start...at 9:00 AM, I texted Ross, "at the first Travel Plaza, your Dad got in two wrong cars"...and Ross texted back..."Stay where you are.  I am coming to get you."

Deborah's Second Featherweight

Recently, my sister Deb came to Iowa to visit her grandkids (she lives in Nashville). Her secondary motive was to PICK UP HER SECOND FEATHERWEIGHT sewing machine.

Although I know you may be getting tired of this topic -- apparently, THERE IS NO END TO MY FEATHERWEIGHT LOVE. And the stories just keep coming. (Please note -- I do try to limit my Featherweight blogs to once a week.)

To review -- Deborah bought her FIRST Featherweight the week after our Sisters Sewing Retreat in July. She drove all the way to St. Louis to buy a WHITE Featherweight.(see this link)...

The same week she bought her White Featherweight, she saw a 1953 Featherweight WITH A TABLE listed in Davenport, Iowa, on Craigslist.  That happens to be her birthday year -- and before that moment in time, none of us realized there was any such thing as a Featherweight table??!!

I went with her to look at the machine/table. But the price was $675. And when we went to see it, the machine was kind of rough...the belt was broken, there was no case...so, Deb took a pass.

Then, three weeks later -- I saw the very same sewing machine and table listed on eBay -- still for $675.  The guy had tried to glue the belt together...  hummm...

The listing ran out, and the guy never got a bid. Deb still had his cellphone number, so she called and offered him $325.

AND HE ACCEPTED HER OFFER. Oh my!! Because he is near me, I picked the machine and table up -- and could hardly wait to do a complete spa treatment...oil, lube, new belt. CARMON AND CHRISTIAN HENRY would be very proud of me!! And she is a beauty. SHE SEWS a perfect seam...

But maybe the BEST PART of Deb's deal is the folding Singer Featherweight table.  WHICH WAS IN NEARLY PERFECT CONDITION.

Deb invited us all over for dinner.  She made shrimp and grits AND key-lime pie!!

I'm telling you -- that Featherweight fits SO PERFECTLY into the table top.

The Sewing Sisters.  Deb, me, Deena and Ronda. 

Deena is doing some ironing....WHAT'S THAT??!!

The Splendid Sampler™

The Splendid Sampler™ Wednesday
(...skip this part if you're not new here...)

The Splendid Sampler™ is an internet sew-a-long created by Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson. It is an EPIC sew along...

• 83 fabric designers have created specific blocks that feature different quilting techniques. (paper piecing, fused applique, etc.).
• The blocks will be released each week, and are FREE to participants until March 2017. (at that time, they'll use the designs to publish a book).
• You can use whatever fabric you like.
• There will be pictures on their Facebook page, etc.

The new block designs come out twice a week....on Sunday morning and Thursday morning. I'm doing this with my TMBC...and, therefore, it is my pleasure to BLOG ABOUT IT every Wednesday.
*******************

At the Featherweight Workshop at the Princeton Library, my sister Deb issued a challenge to the TMBC by sending some embroidered designs. 

Everybody picked one to take home...and the challenge was MAKE SOMETHING...

LP picked the top piece. And, of course, being our resident over-achiever -- she was the first to complete a project.

Of course -- a COVER FOR HER FEATHERWEIGHT..!!

With Featherweight fabric on the sides.

LK is LOVING HER new Featherweight!!

And look what she made!! Yep, inspired by LP, LK also made a cover for her Featherweight.(since she's leaving it up all the time now!)

LP did doubles of both blocks.

AND LK had another finished project to share with us.!!  She made a table runner from vintage hankies (great idea, Mary Mulari!)  SHE WAS ALL SMILES...

Sandy shared her completed quilt top (from a three month quilt-along)

Back to the SS blocks, Sandy used Mary Mulari fabric for the pieced block.  And she is loving all the hand embroidered blocks (yes, that is sarcasm).

Franken-sewing

If I wanted to teach a sewing class -- my new title would be, "Franken-Sewing". I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE doing this, and it seems like I always have a new dress or purse or project I'm working on...

This latest dress started out as a pink shirt...I cut it off, and used it to start the dress. the skirt on the left side used to be a size small dress...and I box-pleated the vertical stripe...

The bottom of the shirt turned into a very large pocket.  With lots of t-shirt fringe.

I've loved this long scissors -- and it's been in several dresses.  I keep recycling it!!

A crappy mirror photo -- but you can see that I made no attempt to even out the hemline. Each piece ended at a different length.  And I'M FINE WITH THAT...

Honor Flight

A friend of mine recently went to Washington D.C. on an Honor Flight. He is one of 159,000 veterans who have made this trip since 2005.

The Honor Flight Network Mission: To transport America’s Veterans to Washington, DC to visit those memorials dedicated to honor the service and sacrifices of themselves and their friends.

This particular flight -- out of Moline, Illinois -- was the first in our area to focus on Vietnam-era veterans.

Don is married to my TMBC friend, Linda. They were both very impressed with our local chapter of the Honor Flight -- and it seems to be driven largely by the sponsorship of our regional grocery store chain, Hy-Vee.  After Don signed up to go, he attended an information meeting, and he and Linda also attended a special dinner the week before the flight. They were both surprised by how many volunteers were involved in the Honor flight -- and every event was extremely well organized -- with every possible detail taken care of.

It is a killer schedule. The veterans get to the airport at 5:30 AM. They fly to Washington D.C., get on buses, visit the various Memorials, and arrive back home by10:00 P.M. that night. YOUZA...

Every veteran has a "Guardian".

My sisters and I were having dinner that night -- and Deena was going to the airport to welcome home the Honor Flight.  Her son-in-law was one of the Guardians, and her whole family would be there.

I thought it sounded like a GREAT idea -- and I knew both Linda and Don would be surprised to see mel IF I COULD FIND THEM....

Because -- THE PLACE WAS PACKED!!

People were singing patriotic songs...and there was am impromptu trumpet player...

I had very little chance of actually FINDING my friend...

AND THEN I SAW THIS..!!

LP has ALWAY known how to dress for the occasion!!

My sister Deb and I were so delighted  to be there on that night...

It felt like we were really a part of something special...something important...

When we found him, Don had the biggest smile you can imagine.  I think it was a wonderful day, all around...

The entire team was color coded.  Every vet wore a gold t-shirt, and every guardian wore blue.  The HyVee administrators were in red shirts.

Both Don and Linda wanted to adopt their young guardian...I think his name was Koby. His real family also came out to welcome home this Honor Flight.

If you or anybody you know is a veteran -- please tell them about  The Honor Flight ...it is a genuinely wonderful thing they are doing, and I was very happy to be even a tiny part of it. 

The Most Amazing Robert Tinker

I love visiting giant old house museums, and I do it often. But this was a first. Tinker's Swiss Cottage was all ORIGINAL. The rooms, the linens, the furniture, the art on the wall -- everything was exactly as it was when Robert Tinker built it 150 years ago. AMAZING.

Even Thomas Jefferson's home -- the stunning Monticello -- was basically dismantled.   The property was sold at auction, and all the furnishings were scattered.  When you visit, the things inside the house are just a best guess...

The Tinker Swiss Cottage was only ever owned by ONE family -- and they bequeathed it to the City of Rockford, with every piece of furniture, every family souvenir or treasure, including family papers and journals -- ALL KEPT IN PLACE.  

After an extended tour of Europe, Robert was inspired by the Swiss Chalet architecture. So, when he came back to Rockford, he built this cottage on a 40 acre estate.

Now -- a word about where all the money came from.

In 1853, John Henry Manny started to manufacture the Manny Reaper (an early combine, pulled by horses).  It could be argued that the reaper was one of the most important inventions of the 19th Century, because for the first time, farmers were able to grow more grain than their own families could consume.  Farmers being able to sell their surplus meant the city populations could grow...and grow... 

Cyrus McCormack sued John Manny for patent infringement.  Manny hired Abraham Lincoln -- and won the suit.  Unfortunately, only two years later,  John Manny died -- leaving his widow,  Mary Dorr Manny, to run his business.  Which was really not allowed in the 1850's...so Mary had to hire people.

One of the new guys was a young accountant from New York -- Robert Tinker.   After a torrid love affair that scandalized Rockford (I am making some of this up -- but can't you just imagine??  He was much younger than her...and she sent him off to Europe with FULL PAY...until the gossip died down...so I'm reading between the lines...)

Robert and Mary were eventually married -- and it lasted for 30 years (until her death).  She had an elaborate mansion (the largest house in the city) -- and he built his cottage just across the creek (with a nice suspension foot bridge).

Robert was a gifted artist -- and his entire body of work is housed in his cottage.  Actually, the Swiss Chalet itself was probably his biggest work of art.

One of the most astonishing things in the Chalet is this spiral staircase...made out of one piece of wood. Put under steam pressure and gently curved for 2 1/2 years...HOLY COW...WHO'S GOT THAT KIND OF TIME??!!

This pocket door has a smaller door in the middle.  SO interesting...

Every detail is original -- including the fixtures which were a combination of gas and electric.

A crappy photo of me and Becky -- taken in a mirror.  One of my signature pics...

Robert painted these frescos...they are all original to the cottage...

Robert made exquisite furniture out of tree roots.  This is a loveseat.  Just stunning...

Becky and I had such a wonderful day in Rockford.  As I was driving home, I took this picture of the sky. This is as good as it gets, people...