Mason's Farm Room

Olympic Note: They don't give nearly enough coverage to the Synchronized Swimming events! Those women are amazing! And they have taken swim suit design to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL. The Russians had these Picasso faces on the front of their suits...all sparkly and graphic. If I can find some good pictures, I'm going to do a whole post on their swimsuits. Maybe that'll get me back on the WW program, eh?
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Back to my Iowa life...

The day of Kelcy's birthday -- I had the honor of delivering the great CAMERA cake (made by her mother) to her workplace... One of my favorite pictures of the summer...

That night -- Emily and I went to Kelcy's house -- remember how much Mason loved the Pinterest cookies?? (Six people have emailed to tell me THEY ARE WONDERFUL)...

After the toddlers-cooking-activity -- Mason was excited about showing me his NEW ROOM...
Ahhhh...yes....a hand-painted mural on the wall. What else??


Kelcy is SO CRAFTY...his room is wonderful. The PERFECT place for a little boy to hang out.
Kelcy is a very creative young woman. I was THRILLED to get an email from her the other day saying, "since I'm sewing baby bonnets for my newborns"...
YES...SHE IS SEWING...Deena and I are both so proud...

Wait til you see what Kelcy did in HER OWN BEDROOM..!!

Painted Furniture

I am hooked on Pinterest.

One of the boards I created was "Painted Furniture". OH MY GOD. There are soooo many wonderful pieces of furniture out there. I have long considered the furniture in my house the ART I live with. But it wasn't until I started looking at OTHER people's furniture that I realized how many zany pieces I had...

For example -- John and I got married in 1970. In 1973, I was studying tole painting -- and I did this red "wedding trunk".

Nowadays, that trunk has a new purpose and lives in Lillian's room. She keeps her dress-up clothes (crowns, wigs, fur stoles, WAY TOO MANY LITTLE velvet dresses!)


Here, in the messiest corner of my kitchen -- is a dry sink I painted during that time.
Really -- it was some of my best work...


In later years -- I got a LOT MORE CASUAL about my furniture painting. This table is one of the MOST OFTEN-USED pieces of furniture in my house. It sits on the right side of my Lazy Boy....

This is my "T-Table". Get it? TEA table??
Never mind...

I believe in the power of words. And, as it turns out, many of my favorite words start with a "t". Some of the words I painted on the top of my "t-table":

tacos, tomorrow, talk, totem, togetherness, trust, taste, trouble, talent, travel, time, truth...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my painted furniture. And I have been so inspired by the pictures on Pitnerest -- I am REALLY EXCITED about doing some new projects.

And, honestly -- THANK YOU, FELLOW PINNERS. Before Pinterest, I never would have thought about PAINTING MY WASHER AND DRYER...!!
I AM SOOO EXCITED!!

T-shirt Philosopher

HEY -- As long as I can buy 25-cent t-shirts -- my life is worth living.

Obviously -- it just doesn't take much to make me happy...

Yes -- My name is Rita and I am addicted to THRIFT STORE SHOPPING. I can't stop. Last week, there was the usual quarter day at my local Goodwill store -- AND THE NEXT DAY the giant Salvation Army in Davenport had all their children's clothing FOR 49 CENTS.

Who can resist such bargains??

My daughter-in-law bought Lillian's winter wardrobe...including Lands End purple snow pants (yes, for 49 cents!). Me? Yup. You guessed it. I bought more T-SHIRTS...

Unfortunately, some of the pictures insist on being SIDEWAYS...(if you can't read it, just turn your computer sideways)...

When I buy a pithy shirt -- sometimes I know exactly who it's for. This one is FOR ME...


And, oh yeah -- THIS ONE IS FOR ME, too...

Gee...how many t-shirt must I keep for myself? Planning ahead -- THIS t-shirt is for a dress I'll make for myself....at some future date...


But I often find a shirt that is perfect for somebody else...and obviously, THIS ONE IS FOR MY FRIEND VALERIE...
I know. You wish you were me. I get that a lot...

Yes, More Maxi Dresses

When I originally made this dress, I didn't know who it was for. Amy was trying it on for these pictures...

She laughed at the panel that said, "Save the planet, it's the only one with beer"...So I decided it would be perfect for her! She could pull it over her swimsuit and wear out on the river with the boys. They do a lot of camping -- it'll be great in the RV... But, to make it work for Amy -- IT MUST BE LONGER...

The problem is that I cut slits up both sides. So I had to add the length in the MIDDLE of the dress. I simply wacked it apart -- added a whole new section...
Then I had Kelcy try it on to see if I was right about the length. Perfect... isn't it wonderful that I have so many beautiful, interchangeable, cooperative model/nieces??

Do you ever watch American Pickers? Frank and Mike do this thing called "freestyling"
-- when they drive around the countryside -- randomly looking for a treasure trove.

AND that's how I feel about sewing with recycled t-shirts....it's sewing"freestyling". There are no rules and ANYTHING GOES. Sometimes, I start with the words...or a great designer top...or I am inspired by the colors. Once I get started, I try it on a niece, then make it longer or shorter, or add some fringe, maybe a red sleeve and a blue sleeve...maybe add more fringe...it could go horizontal AND vertical...
YEP. That's what I'm gonna call this. Maxi Dress Freestyling...

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET??

Because -- trust me -- I have NOT EVEN MADE A DENT in my mountains of t-shirts...!!

Sue's Housewarming Gift

Like most women friends, Sue and I have exchanged gifts over the years. This was the housewarming gift I gave her when they moved into their completely restored house in 2007...

When I got a tour of the remodeled upstairs bedrooms -- I was delighted to see this very old lilac quilt. Sue always loved this quilt, and many years ago, she asked me to repair it. I'm afraid my repairs were obvious but Sue was delighted -- and it hangs in a place of honor...

Three years ago -- when her grandson was born -- I made this tractor quilt. Sue's daughter Kara works at John Deere...
But the biggest surprise for me was in the little bedroom under the eaves...on the baby bed, there was the little pillowcase I made when Kara was a baby...33 years ago...??
Thank God for me -- Sue treats the people in her life with as much care as she treats the linens. And she NEVER GETS RID OF ANY OF US...

Maxi Dresses As Hotel Attire

You know how I like to start with some pithy "words". This picture is sideways -- but the words say, "Common Sense tends to be uncommon. Let's not have that problem."

In the coming weeks....or months...because she will be spending a lot of time in hospitals and rehabs, my friend may just NEED THIS WISDOM..

The dress started off with a FABULOUS designer shirt -- made out of a very soft silk knit -- I loved the bold graphic design...I wrapped the words around the side of the skirt. And sewed in some t-shirt strips that will be cut into fringe before the day is done...

One of my favorite models -- Amy tried it on for me. She is skinny enough -- but about 6" too tall. The length was PERFECT for my friend -- hitting her right at the ankle...
The second maxi started with a wonderful black Ralph Lauren top...(the yellow is the plastic hanger...sorry...)

Amy models again...I decided to use the ruffles from a recycled dress for the bottom of this maxi.


Really. No t-shirt fringe at all. And no pithy words. I am trying to be tasteful -- for my conservative friend ...

The night before my friend was leaving town -- I gave her these two maxi dresses. The PERFECT thing to wear in a hotel. BECAUSE THEY ARE T-SHIRTS!! You can fall asleep in it, wake up in the middle of the night and walk down to the vending machine, or wear it to the lobby for breakfast in the morning...no ironing required...

Sewing Sister Moments

This blog is a very personal thing. In the beginning, learning "how to blog" was just an exercise. I needed to figure it out because of my job with the Puyallup Sewing & Stitchery Expo. So I took some classes -- learned how to post...then how to upload a picture...change the design...etc...

If you're a regular reader -- you know there is often NO POINT WHATSOEVER...

Maybe that's what I like about it. I'm not trying to sell you anything (most of the time)...I don't worry about being politically correct...I share a lot of personal stuff...I never know what I might blog about.

Often -- I'm inspired by the pictures...I still have not solved the mystery of the 2012 Sew Expo pictures. But I have 400 shots from the pre-show day....and what if that's all I ever get? Can I really write about these same pictures over and over again? For the next year?

It was a miserable cold wet day...





When I look at this picture of Connie Crawford's class -- I remember the wonderful visit I had with her -- YEARS AGO -- when she had her studio in Sedona, Arizona. My friend Marion and I were on one of our fabulous "road trips" -- and Connie invited us to her home and gave us a tour. It was my first (and so far, last) trip to Sedona.

In Sue Hasumann's class, I had a similar moment of memory. Sue and Herb were the official hosts when Mary Mulari and I went on our first (and so far last) trip to Sweden. What a fabulous time we had...we visited Mary's relatives in Norway, cruised through the mountains, Sue set up a country tour of a barn where a woman made linen (or was it flax?)...Herb was our bus driver....I weighed over 300 pounds at the time and nearly DIED walking up a hill in Sweden trying to get to a museum to see some boring damn Viking boat...(On the other hand -- Mary could have walked to Paris...)
In this picture, Janet Pray is having a conversation with Ann Sagawa. Looking at it, I remember the incredible trip to New York City with Ann. We experienced frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity with my friend Jeff. And then, my mind snaps to a wonderful weekend at Janet Pray's family lake house in Michigan...Janet was going to teach me and Donna Babylon how to dye yarn and knit socks...

I've never been back to either the Serendipity or the Lake House...

And this picture of Cindy Rowell -- teaching machine beading. I remember the time I stayed at Cindy's house -- in Canada -- and we were driving to the ferry so we could go to the big sewing show on Vancouver Island..in the Empress Hotel in stunning Victoria. WE RAN OUT OF GAS...and I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants...
And I've never been back....either to Cindy's house or the Empress Hotel....

Wow. It suddenly hit me. How lucky I have been to meet so many interesting women and visit so many incredible places. How many moments I've shared with these sewing sisters of mine. All over the world.

Looking back, I realize that I only had that one shot....that one chance to enjoy that place and those people...

...and I can live with that.