The Apron Brigade!

My daughter made me laugh. She called me here at work to tell me that I seemed like a perfect future member of the Red Hat Ladies. I'm sorry, but that is so done. When Hallmark gets in on the action, well, let's just say it's gone on long enough! So I said I was part of the Apron Brigade! She asked me if anyone other than the other bloggers knew about this phenomenon and I told her no, it's a secret society-that's what makes it cool! So, ssshhhhh, don't tell Hallmark!

Insert Rasberry Sound Here

What a terrible case of the blahs! I think I'm in the middle of summer burnout. Tempetures continue to hover around the 100° mark with no end in sight. In spite of the air conditioning, my sewing/dining/family room gets the setting sun so it's still a little too warm for evening sewing. I guess I could bring in a fan, but I'm just not feeling all that inspired. It's a pretty sad thing to not be inspired for sewing.

I've also become quite tired of my children. What a useless bunch! All they do is make messes, sleep all day, play video games and watch tv. I need to drop kick the bunch of them. How long till school starts?

I really want to work on Pink Lemonade for Tie One On, but my fabric is at the post office and there doesn't seem to be a long enough break for me to go get it! I ordered the most beautiful cotton organdy direct from India on ebay. I'm itching to get my hands on it! Maybe I can sneak over there sometime today. (Yikes! I went over to ebay to link to the seller I bought from and ended up bidding on a vintage organdy apron and a pair of vintage organdy curtain panels!)

So...sorry I'm not more entertaining.

Good Weekend!

We had such an awesome day Saturday. Friday afternoon I was googling my family (I know I'm not the only one who does this!) and the first thing I found for my husband's name was a news article in a tiny Utah newspaper. It was about his grandmother and father. Their log cabin burned down last week. So that was bad news, but fortunately they got out okay. In the article it quoted Earl's auntie and said she lived in Nevada City, CA. Well, hello! That's like an hour away from us!

We looked up her number and Earl called her. She was so happy to hear from him. Earl is kind of like an orphan. In the ten years we've been together we have not had any contact with his family. His mother married a truly awful man and there are mitigating circumstances involving that side of the family that make us avoid (like plague!) any contact. And on his father's side, well, let's just say that his dad has had his own set of problems. So to find this auntie was like a miracle to him.

We packed up the kids Saturday morning and went visiting. We also got to visit with Earl's cousin (she was super nice too). He hasn't seen these folks in over twenty years. We got to look at family photographs and talk about where people are and who looks like who and it was just awesome! It meant so much to Earl to find people that love him just because he exists. The kids were amazingly well behaved and made me very proud of them. Nevada City is a really, really cute gold mining town with a huge (for the region) old town. We went window shopping and had the most delicous Nevada City Iced Cappacinos and truffles. Everywhere we went, his Aunt Jacquie introduced Earl to her friends and acquaintances. You could really see how special it made him feel. Oh, and his aunt and cousin called him E.G.! His grandpa was called Earl (since he got the name first!), his dad was called Junior and so the family called Earl by his initials. He said he almost forgot that name!

Anyway, it did my heart lots of good to see my sweetie get all that lovin! I always say he is like Ferdinand the Bull (remember the Disney short?). Sweet and gentle, but forced to fight. Saturday was his day under the tree enjoying the flowers.

So many wonderful, talented crafters out there!

I have nothing of my own to share today, but I'm sure enjoying everyone else's craftiness! Claire has the May Flowers up at Month of Softies. Three pages of amazing creations!

And then I was over at A Bird in the Hand which I haven't done in a while. And Lisa has been making the most gorgeous shadow boxes. I especially love this one.

Amy at Tie One On was super nice and included my Home on the Range apron here, even though it was dreadfully late! Thank you, Amy! I didn't expect that!

Currently, I have been sewing the prettiest dolly underwear! Remember Miss Columbia? I'm getting her ready for a charity doll auction. I'm pretty excited about this auction. It's in New York and it's all dolls. It benefits a women and children's shelter. The name of the shelter is the Evangeline Booth Home. I chose Miss Columbia because the original Miss was also a fund raiser for childrens' charities. The only problem is that she has no undies! Yikes! I can't send her off into the world like that! Since she is a handsewn doll with a handsewn dress and bonnet, she must have handsewn unmentionables! I'm just using unbleached muslin, but I'm adding some pretty details like pintucks and satin ribbon. I'll post some photos when I'm done. She's going to be completely outfitted for her journey!

Home on the Range (at last)

Hillary has already finished her Pink Lemonade apron (so amazing!) and I have only just finished last month's apron! Anyway, I'm very pleased with it and I'm happy to say that it will be going to a good home in Texas! My stepdaughter and her family is moving away to Texas (from California) and I wanted to make this a little good bye gift.

It's made of woven suede and the horseshoe pockets and trim are brown gingham. The funnest part was cutting the fringe at the bottom. I'm so pleased with it's "come and get it" goodness!

Also going to Texas are these fun little Wee-ha's! They are, of course, Wees made from Hillary's pattern, but they've been embellished by more Texas fringe. And little sheriff's stars with the girls' initials on them. Wee-ha, if you didn't know, is pronounced just like a cowboy's "Yeeehaww!" And they're very fun to toss around while yelling "Wee-ha".

Anyway, while I hate to see my family move away, these little love tokens ease the pain a little bit for me.

The Master

I am sitting here at work doing the most boring of all my tasks-data entry. I think we should all take a moment to recognize the genius that is Paul Simon. His Graceland album makes my task more than bearable. Thank you, Great Harmonizer and Writer of Fabulous Lyrics.

How does one stay on top of one's favorite blogs?

I have so many "favorites" now that I can't keep up with them. I know Amanda at Zhinka dinka doo has a site she uses, maybe I'll try that. I've also thought about organizing my Favorites into categories like "frequent posters" and semi-frequent posters" so that I might not miss anything. So many wonderful, creative women that I so admire. I need to add more to my links here.

I have recently discovered Joy Madison. She is quite awesome. Young, young children, but so busy! She does the most beautiful scrapbook pages and takes gorgeous photos of her family. I am most impressed!

I have many cute things to share, but need to get my hands on a camera. The one I call "mine" is actually my boss's. It has been recently returned to work, but may have to come right back home with me tonight! I want to show you the darling bag that my partner in the Tote Bag Swap sent to me. Plus...I finished my Home on the Range apron!!!! It turned out even cuter than I imagined, so I must get some pictures! Also made some shorts for myself this weekend and a cute top. Photos soon...(I hope!).

A herd of aprons!

The June gallery is up for Tie One On. So many awesome aprons! I'm so sad that I didn't get mine done. I think I'll have to make it anyway because it really does exist in my mind as if I HAD made it. Although I saw many that had elements that I wanted for my apron, none were really that close. I must make my apron!

The theme for July is Pink Lemonade. How yummy does that sound? I know almost exactly how I want to work it, but whether or not I can find the fabric I want remains to be seen...

We hosted a barbeque on the 4th. 72 back breaking hours of yard and housework to get ready for a five hour party. Honey sprained his ankle on the 23rd so guess who got to do the mowing and edging? Quarter of an acre! Hey, this is a big deal for a girl who has lived in apartments for the past 22 years! Sunburn, mosquitos, muscle aches, oh my! (It was a fun party, though!) I feel like I've been doing a lot of recovery since the party, but not much crafting. Actually, we are in the process of fixing our air conditioner too. 100° and no central air! Waahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okey-dokey, crying over. So many people in much worse circumstances than me. I don't speak much of my faith, but Londoners are certainly in my prayers today and in many others' prayers as well. And I don't want to get political on my blog either, but how do these terrorists think that violence and killing are going to get them what they want?

Here's the back of the bag. I used a craft weight interfacing so the bag actually stands up on it's own. The rick rack that runs from side to side is edging a built in pocket.

My first big swap on Craftster is finished and I know my partner received her bag, so I want to post a photo here. I have to say, I got the sweetest thank you note from my partner. (Thanks, Carmela!). She actually brought tears to my eyes with her nice comments. So here is the tote, a little zippered bag and a card. The gingham fabric on the flower pin is also the lining for the tote and zipper pouch. The Dior model on the card was my inspiration. I printed the photo off the web, blew the image up, traced it onto the pink linen and painted it in with brown craft paint. I added a book in her hand because Carmela is a librarian. The brown stripes are also painted and the brown rick rack is vintage from a never opened package. The buttons on the pouch are also vintage, including one very old tiny rhinestone button. I'm so glad she liked it!

Laughing hard in a quiet, professional way hurts!

Here:
http://www.threadbared.com/

Try not to bust a gut!

Lovey Buggy!

Here is my sweet lovey buggy modeling my love bug pincushion. I really don't know if I can bear the thought of sticking pins in it! I think it's just going to be a softie for Max. Which is fitting since it was my endearment for him that inspired it's creation. Here's a closeup, too, for the Month of Softies Gallery.

Awesome!

It worked!

So, what I wanted to write about is my cute little Christopher Robin. I showed his body a couple of days ago. Since then all I've accomplished is a pair of boxers for him. I really don't know what kind of underwear boys in the 1920's wore, but these are just pretty basic.

I also got a little help from my friend, Patti-Ann Stanley, regarding yarn choices for hair. And I've been surfing for good images of Christopher and 1920's boy clothing in general. I found some really sweet pictures of the real Christopher like the one on my previous post. Here are some more:

This is Christopher with his mother

And here is one with him and the "real" Pooh

But the most useful one for my purpose is this ridiculously expensive figurine up on top there. I love that smock he's wearing. It's a very common item in the book's illustrations. I would guess that it's a "clothes protector" for children of that era. If anyone can tell me more about this clothing item, I'd like to hear it! Also, I'm on the prowl for a tiny bear pattern so that I can make a Pooh. I don't know what I'll be doing with this doll, but he is demanding to be made!

Just a note here: I made a June bug for Month of Softies, but I lost it! I made a Love Bug! I used to call Max a love bug when he was little (okay, I still do!) so I created a cute little bug pin cushion. Well, Mr. Max has absconded with it! So it may not get on the gallery, but I will share it here when I find it. And....no Home on the Range apron! Boohoo! I got as far as cutting out the pieces and that was it. My tote bag for the Craftster swap took up almost the whole month. I'd love to show it off, but I have to wait for my partner to receive it!

Test

Blogger is telling me that I can post photos directly to my blog from my files. Let's just see....
This is a photo of A.A. Milne with his son, Christopher Robin Milne:

This is kind of interesting...

You scored as Idealist. Idealism centers around the belief that we are moving towards something greater. An odd mix of evolutionist and spiritualist, you see the divine within ourselves, waiting to emerge over time. Many religious traditions express how the divine spirit lost its identity, thus creating our world of turmoil, but in time it will find itself and all things will again become one. Idealist 94% Cultural Creative 94% Postmodernist 75% Existentialist 63% Materialist 38% Romanticist 38% Modernist 31% Fundamentalist 25% What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

Some of the questions were quite ambiguous, in my opinion. I don't disagree with my results because I've always been accused of idealism!