Music Monday

Music is a big part of my life. Not that I am particularly musical...I have a guitar, but my playlist consists of like...one song...and nobody wants to hear me play "What do you do with a drunken Sailor" ever again. I sing...poorly...but I enjoy the heck out of it and try to do it when I'm alone. My favorite place to sing is out in the garden with my mp3 player tuned in and the weeds a'flying! I like to dance and play air guitar too while I'm at it. (My playlist is endless on the air guitar) Sometimes my solitude is interupted when my husband's buddies show up at the house. One morning I was having a whale of a good time in the garden when I looked up to see three men laughing uncontrollably. I gave them the social finger salute and kept on gardening...It's my perogative (which is another song!) However, I digress. Music Monday was born in the echoes of my sleepy mind last night. I love Flashback Fridays and totally am into Dogs on Thursday. Music Monday is an easy write for me because I love so many types of music and music identifies a period of my life for me. Today's picture was taken Mother's Day 2000. It features me, my lovely daughter Sara at age 18 and Brad, the drummer from Third Eye Blind. I took Sara and her BFF Celeste. The show was in Eugene, Oregon at the Hult center and we splurged and spent the night at the Hilton. We dressed up for a pre-concert supper at the hotel restaurant (the name escapes me) and then headed over to the venue for the concert. The girls quickly realized they were overdressed when they saw most of the other kids were in shorts and flip-flops, so they opted to return to the room to change their clothes. I opted to stay and enjoy my glass of wine, because as a 40+ year old woman, I wasn't out to impress anyone. As fate would have it, the girls ran into some of the band lighting crew in the elevator and scored back stage passes for us after the show. Across the lobby I hear Celeste screaming "Tell me you love me Mary" as they rejoined me. A good time was had by all that night and it was really a good distraction during those tense teen years. Third Eye Blind music really spoke to me then...especially their debut album. It was a rough era for me and the song "Narcolepsy" really epitomized how I felt at the time..."I'm on a train...but there's no one at the helm...and the demons in my brain...start to overwhelm"...Thank God that is not my current them song ( Trace's "You're gonna miss this" might be closer today), but it still is comforting to listen to my "old songs" and realize how far I've come. Maybe my music will be a link if I ever develop dementia (remember this Sara...it runs on my side of the family...play me the Violent Femmes...and Peter Frampton...okay?) Anyway, tune in next week for another Music Monday...who knows what I'll be rockin' next week!

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and Mary really does sew

I decided that it has been way too long since I have included a picture with my blog. I talk about sewing, but I rarely put my money where my mouth is and show what I have been up to. This is a top I made a couple months ago from a vintage pattern circa 1975 or 76 (I'm too lazy to run upstairs and check the date) I made the first version in a long granny dress in a maize colored gauze with an ecru lace at the neckline and sleeves. I loved that dress and was pleased to see that I could still fit in the pattern. Made in cotton it makes a nice "nursey" top for when I want to actually look like a nurse at work. Luckily I can wear my street clothes to work. I must say that I love reading blogs where people take detailed pictures of techniques they use to create garment details. That being said, I must admit that I am not disciplined enough to take the time to do that for my blog. When I get in the creative zone, I am so into getting from point A to point B, that I can't take the time to document the process. Maybe it comes from years of production sewing for Jantzen where speed equaled money. I don't know. Current projects are on temporary hold as I finish paying jobs. I hemmed 5 pairs of pants today for a customer and need to do up some sample embroidery for a new customer by next weekend. I have 3 days off this week and no plans to head to Elkton, so some stitching should be in order. The weather has not been too cooperative for outdoor work. The lawn needs mowed, but Mother Nature has been punking us here in the Pacific Northwest. Yesterday was my birthday and it snowed. It has never snowed on my birthday here...EVER...kind of weird. In other unrelated tidbits, I downloaded Trace Adkins live version of "You're gonna miss this" from Celebrity Apprentice at iTunes this morning. The significance of this act is that all the proceeds go to the Severe Food allergy and anaphylaxis Network; the charity that Trace was working for on the show. I couldn't bid on a night out with Trace (I'm sure Ivanka could totally outbid little ol' me), but I could do this small thing to help support his effort. I never have been a Trump fan, but I really enjoyed this season of the Apprentice. There you have it...another dirty secret...I enjoy some reality TV shows. I don't go in for the sleazy ones like Paradise Island, but I do like to people watch. It's getting late...I think I will take the dog out to go potty and head to bed. Later...

Good News

Ma went home today!!! Yay!!! Her BP seems to be stabilizing and she will be able to do outpatient rehab, so that is a big relief. We are heading back down tomorrow to settle her in. Tom is so tired! Maybe some sewing will take place soon. Maybe I'll take some fabric to cut out down there!!!

Quick Check in

Duty called and I had to go to work, so I did not go down to the hospital today. Ma is making great progress considering the injury she sustained. She still can not talk, but does make some sound when she gets excited, which we all applaud. She understands everything and is writing and drawing to communicate, albeit with her left non-dominant hand. She has had a lot of visitors, so one less hopefully will let her rest some. Sara and Bryce went with Tom today, so I'm hoping her firstborn granddaughter will excite her to sound. She improved so much from Thursday to Friday, so hopefully this trend will continue. Of course there will be plateaus, but I feel very encouraged. Ma is fiecely independent, and I am sure that trait will serve her well in her recovery. I just worry so about her blood pressure and her dislike for conventional medicine. I am not opposed to alternative therapies, but as a nurse, I am a believer in using what works best to achieve the goal and that is a safe blood pressure. No major sewing for awhile, but I may be able to serge a seam here or there and take finishing projects with me when I go south on my days off. Ma has a lot of work ahead of her, but she's never been one to back down from a challenge, so it's onward and upward. Thanks Sharon and Christina for your thoughts and prayers...I truly appreciate them! Mary

Life...

Is what happens when you are busy making other plans. Received bad news this morning that my Mother in Law has had a stroke, so my honey is on his way home so we can head to Eugene. I was babysitting little Hayden and he was so sweet, patting my shoulder to comfort me while I was talking to Tom. I don't know when I will get back to sewing...I finished one of Sara's skirts (long story) yesterday and sewed new EMT patches on David's shirts and jacket (Congrats to the newly licensed EMT). Time will tell...prayers going up for Ma

Kiss me...I'm Irish!!!

Well, partly Irish anyway...I'm a Cady as my Grandma would say...My sweet Irish lass Sara gets it from both sides...Pop was a Fitzgerald! Tomorrow is Sara's birthday...my baby is turning 26! My how time flies. I am working long hours today...>15, so probably not much sewing will occur tonight, but I have the next 3 days off, so I hope to get some things done. I have traced several BWOF patterns, the wrap top 116 and white blouse 108 from 1/08; blouse 119A from 2/08 and I hope to trace 116B to sew up as well. I found a beautiful embroidered remnant that would look awesome...Sara suggested I line it with a rich contrasting color for the collar...I tell you...that girl has creativity in her genes!!! Haven't heard from my cowboy yet, but I'm sure he will call when he's high on some ridge and has a good signal. Well, I'd best get to tracing...Later

Retro Hippy Girl

I am wearing my new top to work. I have dubbed it "Retro Hippy Girl". I totally love the fit (thanks to my Valentine's day dress form...I shall name her "Valentine") and the fabric is a funky bohemian paisley patchwork cotton in rust, ecru, shades of turquoise and gold accents. It was a "what the heck" purchase from Fabric Mart from the 99 cent clearance while they were having a 25% off everything sale. It was worth it at that price even if it ended up a muslin, but I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it well enough for a wearable garment. I had the perfect rust grosgrain ribbon for trim. It may be a little out there for a work outfit, but hey...it's Saturday and administration is not around, so why not??? I will try to get a picture taken of me in it tonight...otherwise you may see Valentine sporting it. Next up I plan to work on my quilt block swap as Margie is going to Seattle at the end of the month to meet Linda and has graciously offered to deliver our blocks to her to avoid paying postage to Canada. That's motivation enough for me to get moving on it, especially since I think Linda is my swap partner in the next month or two anyway. Besides, it's pretty easy to crank those babies out when you group your operations. I also plan to trace out some BWOF patterns, as my project table is almost empty. I just have one summery top, the shorts for my BWOF pjs and the green coat left to finish. Time to start cutting again and prepare for the mini wardrobe contest at pattern review. I have several ideas, but have not committed to the patterns yet. I received my last box of patterns yesterday from ebay...I think I will cool it for awhile buying patterns...I have quite a few now and if I can't find something to make out of those plus BWOF...I am in trouble!!!

Productive Day

I just spent 10 minutes blogging about all I accomplished today and then hit a wrong key and deleted it all...NUTS! Better go to bed

Time to blog a little bit...

I have been a lazy blogger. It's not that I have not been doing anything blog worthy...I just haven't written about it. I have been sewing a little almost every day...today being an exception because we had baby Hayden for the day and although sewing is my passion, I can't pass up an opportunity to practice being a Grandma! Hayden is growing so fast and it is fun to be able to just enjoy him. When Sara and even Jess were little, there was always things that needed to be done (or so I thought). With Hayden I don't worry so much about that, or maybe I have learned a thing or two in my old age and stop to enjoy the wonder of a little boy climbing the stairs or throwing a ball. Someone really got their nose out of joint and was happy to go to work where his brilliance is appreciated. Jo really is pretty patient with the baby for a little dog. Hope he remains that way when our real grandbabies come! On to other news...I made my first sale on ebay today...sold my PE Design. I really prefer Embird, although I have not done much designing lately...haven't really fired up the embroidery machine much either, but that will change once Daddy goes to the ranch...then the serious sewing can begin. I almost have top number 2 done...love, Love, LOVE the burnt orange grograin ribbon I used to trim it. It was just some ribbon I bought at JoAnns on clearance for like...a quarter...not knowing what it would become, but as I searched for the perfect trim, it sat quietly on my ribbon dowel, waiting for me to discover it...I hope to finish the top soon...if not tomorrow, Wednesday for sure (Daddy has to work) I won't even mention the green coat...oops, I said it again! Another accomplishment this weekend was I started a bunch of seeds in the greenhouse...I bought a few more packets yesterday too...the law has been laid down...I can plant anything I want, but I can't have any more beds...I have a tendency to go nuts and plant up every spot of unused dirt I can find...going for quality this year, rather than quantity. We are in the process of testing the soil of all our beds...the good news is the pH has been great...looks like we are deficient in Nitrogen, so there's some amending to do!!! The garden should be good this year!

I'm Back...

Bet you didn't miss me! Made a quick trip up to Lake Stevens, Washington to take care of some business and then hightailed it home to return to work! I did manage to whip up a new top last night using my new serger. I must admit I had a few "DUH" moments, but luckily the Evolve is pretty forgiving. I checked out a fun little site that tells you what your name means (thanks Sharon) Here is who I am according to this site:

What Mary Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Pretty accurate, wouldn't you say?

I am Starving to Death

What does that have to do with sewing? Nothing really, unless you consider that my size must be swindling away and that means alterations...well, that probably is not reality, but for some odd reason I am just famished. It may be the smell of Tandoori chicken kabobs coming out of the kitchen, or maybe I am just bored. maybe a spot of tea will tame my appetite. Now that the hunger issue has been explored, let's talk about sewing! The gray fleece jacket is done. I sewed the buttonholes last night. I sampled a couple of different types and decided on the oval shape. I used 2 layers of black tear away stabilizer underneath the fleece to minimize the stretch. The machine malfunctions on the first buttonhole, starting the second side about halfway. Grrrr! I ripped what I sewed and started again, this time with greater success. I made this jacket as a wearable muslin and am pleased with the end results. I will definitely do this view over again in a thinner fleece so I can double the ruffle as the pattern instructs. I have another view cut out and in the queue to sew up. It should sew quickly. I also need to get cracking on my quilt block swap. I am a month ahead, but we meet next Sunday so if I don't start working on it I will just be at par, or egads, worst yet...fall behind!!! I am feeling a little ambivalent...must be that low blood sugar...better go eat!!! :)

Rainy Day...good day to sew!

The rain Gods have prevailed upon us again and sew I think it would be a good afternoon to sew! I am totally in love with my new Evolve...I am awestruck by the things that machine can do and have many projects to finish. The gray fleece jacket needs some type of closure and it will be off the mannequin. I probably will finish that today so I can wear it tomorrow. I have 2 shirts to embroider for pay, which should be easy (Don't want to jinx the sewing mojo by being too cocky about it) The evolve (I think I shall name her "Eve") is threaded for a couple of tops I have cut out and then there is the green coat. I doth procrastinate, but Tom will be going fishing and to the ranch soon, so I will have lots of time in the studio to finish these things. While I was getting dressed for work this morning I realized that I really need some mix and match pieces to pull my wardrobe together. It's like I do all my shopping at the Goodwill...wait a minute...I do DO most of my shopping at the Goodwill...seriously though, I need to embrace the SWAP theory and create a plan to my wardrobe. I am really into browns with warm coppery accents and some turquoise thrown in for compliment. I also must have some basic black and red (and of course...the Green Coat!!!) I have some things in mind...but more on that later. I anxiously await the first BWOF of my subscription. I hope it starts with March...oh please, oh please, oh please...I may buy it next Friday when we go to the mall if they have in at B&N...It will come for sure then! There are a lot of cute designs in that issue!