Team McCall

This is what I'll be sporting when my Punkin crosses the finish line at the Eugene Marathon this weekend. Just a plain ol' sweatshirt declaring my loyalty to the runner I love the most! Also in the pic are the finished boat seats waiting to be stretched onto the frames. Here's what they used to look like: I drafted the pattern for the uprights and cut all the white vinyl out before heading up to the studio to create the sweatshirt. I may even get around to tracing out some BWOF patterns for me. Here is a pic of my Fabric.com bounty that I received the other day:The sapphire colored jersey on the left is going to be BWOF 103B and the beatuiful florals are that shantung I was crowing about. There is some nice white shirting, a paisley in oranges that will fit well in my wardrobe and on the right the lime and silver striped gauze. I am making bread and homemade mac & cheese, listening to Dierks Bentley's "Feel that Fire" CD. It's a rocker, so I need to go dance now...need some activity to counter all the carbs I plan to eat for dinner!

Waiting on Fabric.com

I'm not complaining...I just ordered the vinyl on Monday!!! Actually I am quite proud of myself. I knuckled down and have the seat upholstery all sewed up, piping and all, ready to attach as soon as Tom fixes the bases. The uprights are all deconstructed and I will make the pattern this morning and cut out the white vinyl. The piping for these pieces is already done, so as soon as the rest of the red vinyl arrives, this project will get done. This will give me some personal sewing time. I have so many ideas swimming around in my head. I plan to embroider a sweatshirt for Sara's marathon this weekend. I think she is past the age where Mom can embarass her (maybe not). I have a hoody that I plan to embroider "Team McCall Run Sara Run" on the back. I'll have to see if I have any designs that would be appropriate to go with that (since the big external hard drive crash, I'm not sure what had been backed up and what has left the building for good) I need to pack my bag for the trip so I'm ready to roll when I get home from work on Saturday. It looks like it's going to be cool and rainy, which will be great for the runners...not so great for those of us hanging out waiting for our runners! That's okay...there are lots of cool little places I can slip into in Eugene for a cup of coffee or browsing. Also I am glad to hear that Jason and Melissa have parents coming too, so we can hang out together. It will be fun. Well, I hear stirrings coming from up above, so it's time to cook breakfast! Later...

I Heart Fabric.com

I know I've talked smack about them in the past, but I'm all over that now. First off they saved my behind by still having some of the red vinyl I need to finish the boat upholstery project. I had hoped to have enough from a prior project, and it was close, but not close enough. So I let my fingers do the walking and voila...what I need is on it's way! I did get the seat portions cut out. To brighten my day even further, the Fabric.com order I placed last week arrived today and I am even more pleased with my selections than expected. Both pieces of shantung are gorgeous and are destined to become sheath dresses that will coordinate with the white pique jacket I intend to make. Don't you love it when your stash plays nicely with others? The sapphire blue jersey is heavier than I thought it would be and rather than a top, I am previewing dresses instead...there was a blue dress on last May's BWOF I believe (too lazy to go check right now) in that exact shade that would be perfect. The white poplin shirting is nice and the gauzy cotton with lime and silver stripes is yummy! I gotta get this upholstery project DONE!!! In other news...JoJo committed a major party foul this morning. When I went to feed the squirrels this morning I found that something had killed a wild bunny and left it in our yard. I'm sure it was not Kodi, because he is more of a Satchel type dog and wouldn't hurt a flea (except if we were threatened...I think he would step up and defend me if necessary). He looks formidable and he probably scared off whatever did this dastardly deed, but he's been ruled out as a suspect. Jo doesn't have unsupervised time outside and he's not much bigger than the rabbit, so that let's him out. The cat??? Well, he's old and blind in one eye and really doesn't move fast enough to catch a rabbit. He did catch a chipmunk much to our surprise, but we decided that the chippy must have been retarded to be caught by Figaro. Anyway, I digress. I grab a garbage bag to remove said bunny carcas from the yard. Jo is not paying any attention to it...in fact he is over by the hot tub eating grass...or so I thought. I call him to go in the house and he's not coming. I walk over in that direction, which usually means "uh-oh, guess she means business" and gets the requested response. Nothing! I pick him up and realize he is not eating grass, but the entrails that whatever killed the bunny had drug to another part of the yard...EEEEWWWWWW! So I'm trying to get it away from him and it smells bad...I am dry heaving all over the place and he's not giving it up! Smelly bunny body fluids are all over him! He won himself a one-way ticket to the bathtub...Do Not Pass Go-Do Not Collect $100!!! Plus a major session with his toothbrush! I have been nibbling on ginger all morning trying to get my stomach to settle. I have dealt with many a gross thing as a nurse and I have never been sick around a patient, but this was over the top! Dogs!!! I did get a special invite this morning to accompany my daughter to the Eugene marathon this weekend. Her husband normally is there for her at the finish line, but since he is away at tech school and her best friend can't make it, Bryce said "Why don't you ask your Mom to go?" Major Mom points for the boy!!! I guess I should start saying "the Man". Anyway, it's been a long time since we had a girl road trip...we decided the last time was our trip to Eugene to see Third Eye Blind. That was back Mother's Day 2000 and we sure had a good time. Celeste went with us and the girls scammed backstage passes to meet the band. I have some great pictures and memories of that trip. Looking forward to making more memories. It still seems surreal that my baby is going to be living in England and we can't just call the kids up when we're over on their side of town to go grab a burger or something. I need to get onboard with Skype this summer. Well, best go see what that little rascal is up to and get ready for work. It's my Friday!!! Yee Haw!!!

Piece by Piece

The upholstery project is coming along. I chose not to work on it last night when I got off work because starting a project after a 16 hour shift is asking for disaster and is...well, just plain dumb!!! So I did my chores and cuddled up with my favorite pomeranian to watch (fall asleep to)48 Hours. I love the sleep timer feature on the TV. They were doing a story on the Craigslist killer, which was quite interesting...just not interesting enough to stay awake. This morning I awoke early and the project began in earnest. I drafted my pattern on muslin from what was left of the old upholstery. The fact that some of the parts had pieces missing hampered me a little bit, but I sewed the pieces together to fit it on the frames and I now have a workable pattern for the seats. I had to stop at that point because it was time to get ready for work, but it will be a good place to pick up from in the morning. My next move will be to trace out the pieces onto the vinyl and make the piping. I should be able to get the seats done tomorrow before work barring any unforeseen complications. I sample stitched the vinyl with Ricci using the heavy duty thread I picked up on Friday...2 layers...like butter...4 layers...still like butter!!! I think she is up to the task. I hope this project goes smoothly...May BWOF should be here soon and I have big plans! I want to make some new things for PR weekend. Can't wait!!!

Progress Report

Success at Fabric Depot! They had Home Dec fabrics 40% off and had exactly what I needed to do the seats...white marine vinyl! With the discount it came to under $9.00/yard, so I bought a little extra for insurance (and the next big "Got a project for you!") Chatting up one of the employees, I also got some insider information about the Pattern Review weekend. This employee, a delightful 77 year old woman who retired and missed it so much she returned to work, kind of let it slip that there was going to be a sale that weekend, but then back pedaled to say that it wasn't officially on the calendar yet, so don't go tell everybody. So you didn't hear it from me, but... The local folks who know Fabric Depot will know what I'm talking about and for the rest of you...well, you'll just have to experience it for yourselves! That's all I'm going to say until we get confirmation!!! I picked up some cute rems there too...who can go to Fabric Depot and not come out with some fun fabric too? One will be a new Spring skirt for me and the other is for a special Father's day project. I also stopped at JoAnn's for their 50% off thread as I needed some heavy duty thread and needles for the upholstery job. I also found some nice black shirting on the clearance racks, which were an additional 50% off. I identified a need for a black shirt/blouse when cleaning my closet. It always helps to clarify holes in your wardrobe when you cull the dead wood! Also nice to be able to see what's hanging in there! I picked up a couple rems there too (I'm a sucker for a good rem)...a dramatic yellow, white and black print that will also be a skirt and go with the new black shirt and some brown to coordinate with the skirt rem from Fabric Depot. I see that yellow is a hot color this season, but I can't wear a lot of yellow. It makes me look ghastly, but small doses are okay. As far as progress on the upholstery, I got the old pieces off of the frame and deconstructed. The vinyl is so old it cracked and tore in places, but I will make a muslin pattern and test fit it before I cut into the vinyl. My motivation to get this done is that there will be no sewing for me until this is finished, so boat seats are priority one for my next days off. Tom is going to sand and repaint the wood portions of the seats, so that gives me a little time. Hopefully by this time next week Charlie will have his new boat and then we can get a fishing report!

We Interrupt Current Sewing...

For an upholstery project! You never know when the next big project will hit in this house! One of my FILs (yes, I said "One"...long story, too much to do and you know how I like to go on!!!) has been looking for a little boat to go lake fishing. He was going to borrow our little Columbia, but Tom was busy and didn't go get it from his brother's house until Wednesday, so of course a good boat presented itself for purchase...and it was located in Estacada of all places (our family lives a few hours away)! She's a cutie...a little P-14. I will take pictures later (before & after) Tom went to look at it yesterday and when he returned home said..."Got a little project for you". I hear that frequently from many different people. Oh well...I get excited over new projects. The boat is...older, but in good sound structural shape. The upholstery shows some wear and is cracked and pulling away from some seams. The vinyl on the back seats is dry and cracks with any pressure, so new upholstery truly is in order. Upholstery is not difficult, especially when you can deconstruct the item being recovered. The seat portions are actually a box frame, so should be pretty simple. This will be Ricci's first project. Nothing better than a big old heavy machine when you are working with heavy materials. And the kicker? I have a roll of red marine vinyl in my stash from a prior "Got a little project for you" for the Fire Department. The boat colors? Red and White! So now I have a reason to go fabric shopping today (you laugh???). I hope to get the seat portions done today (if I can find the white vinyl) and then work on the upright portions on Sunday. If I can't find white in town, Denver fabrics has white marine vinyl, which is where I purchased the red, but then I will have to wait afew days to really get going. I work a double shift tomorrow and Tom said he will help take the seat backs off for me. In unrelated news...I bought a previously viewed copy of "Twilight" the other day and stayed up last night to watch it! I loved the scenery (okay, so it was filmed here...shameless plug for the PNW...sorry Forks folks) and it was fun trying to identify all the places. Total Gorge love and the beach scene looked like Pacific City to me, but I need to check. (Fact check...Cannon beach...Close enough for government work!) Enough rambling...this girl's got work to do!!!

Unloved...

Sometimes you have to knuckle down and do chores when you would rather be doing something else. Today was such a day. Our garage usually ends up being the catch-all for anything heading out of the house, whether it be down to the shop, to donate to charity or if we just want to get it out of the house. By the end of winter things can get pretty messy out there. The other night my darling husband indicated that the mess level was at critical mass, so I promised to do something about it on my day off. A clean garage should be reward enough, but sometimes when you do the right thing good karma pays off. I took a load of things to the Goodwill drop (I also cleaned out our closet this morning) and then headed to the recycling depot to recycle newspapers and cardboard. The cardboard drop is a huge container that you have to climb up stairs to a big platform to dump your cardboard (flattened people...the sign says flattened!!!) Down at the base of the platform there was some items that were clearly not recyclables...a computer monitor, some pots and pans and a sewing machine. One of the depot workers was in the cardboard container (flattening cardboard for those who can't read the sign!). I made a comment about the sewing machine and he stated he was just glad they hadn't thrown it in the bin. It was dirty and the latches had some rust on it...a machine obviously unloved and abandoned. I opened up the case and saw that the felt on the spool spindles was fairly new and the throat plate was a shiny chrome. I took a quick look at the mechanisms and they looked clean. I asked if he minded if I took it off his hands. The guy was more than happy to have me cart it away, so she came home with me. I did not take a picture of her dirty as I don't like my picture taken when I'm not looking my best! I took the head out of the case and everything got a good scrubbing. After I put it together I plugged her in and she works like a dream. Meet Ricci...my new Riccar. See, it pays to get your chores done!!! In sewing news, my dress is done and ready for review, but I need to bring up the tripod to take some better pictures tomorrow. Also a little tease...Ann at Gorgeous Fabrics is have a great sale on all fabrics for Mother's Day...See you over there!!!

Will Power...

I have none. Even in the face of economic crisis, I succumbed to the call of Fabric.com. I knew it was coming. I have been wanting to buy some fabric for some time now. Not that I NEEDED to buy some more fabric, mind you...WANTED is the key word. I missed out on the great Fabric Mart knit sale. I looked longingly at some of the bounty you all scooped up and said "Hey, I wanted that fabric too!" I was otherwise occupied, away from cyberland, so you all beat me to it. Today however, the temptation was too much! They had some gorgeous shantung at a ridiculously low price and some other fabric that just screams SUMMER to me. I need to check my cheery cotton supply, because I might be back in the scrubs business soon (of course after I finally part with my big tote of scrubs that I had been holding onto for sentimental reasons...DOH!!!). Anyhoo...all of the fabric I ordered had a goodly amount of yardage listed and it's early enough that I don't think I'll get the dread message that there is none of my choice fabric left. Guess I need to get off the computer and start sewing so there's room for my new pretties!!! I apologize for the lack of pictures lately, but I should have some things to post real soon.

I need a Passport...pronto

My darling daughter came to spend the weekend with her new kitty (permanent name to be determined at a later date...Bryce didn't care for what we WERE calling her). I took some pictures last night, but hope to get better ones today before I go to work. What's that got to do with a passport you ask? Bryce got his orders and the kids are moving to the UK in August! My baby is going to be living on another continent! That will get me out of the country for sure. I need to find out where all the good fabric stores are in London...hehehe!!! Off to play with ???? Later Kittens (Ann said that really bugs someone...I love to be annoying!!!)

May BWOF

There's not a lot of sewing going on here, so I did a little sneak peak of the upcoming BWOF to get my creative juices going. I must say I found alot of interesting garments that I want to sew. I love this blouse BWOF 5/09 #110. It looks comfortable and has nice lines that I think will be slimming. They also did it up in a print. I have a couple of shirting pieces that I think will make up nicely. I also found a couple of dresses that are very promising, such as BWOF 5/09 103B Check out this cute little vest or waistcoat BWOF 5/09 #108. Cute! Cute!! Cute!!! It would look smashing over a cute little sundress.
I hope to do a little sewing this weekend. We'll see. I need a little therapeutic time in the studio to process all the changes coming about at work. I guess no one is immune to the grip of the poor economy. I need to put my thinking cap on to figure out what is best for me and my family. On a positive note, we busted out a lot of brush this week in La Pine!!! It's fun to watch the property evolve and thanks to Papa Jim and Mama Louise for the wonderful gift of a homemade squirrel feeder and feed. The critters say thanks too!

Things I Don't Want to Punch in the Face

No, No, No...don't sweat it Jennifer...I'm not trying to shamelessly copy your gig...this is a one-time deal. We all have things that just chap our hides...make us seethe in anger...ruin our day. We all like to vent once in awhile. However, once in awhile good things happen, the girl gets the guy, Superman saves the day, blah, Blah, BLAH!!! Today was one of those days for me. I would like to acknowledge good customer service because it is a rare and precious animal. Let's back up to the beginning of this story. Back in November I decided that my old crockpot with the handle that had fell off one too many times was deemed unsuitable and needed replacement. We shopped and found a nice programmable stainless steel cadillac of a crockpot that had a lid attachment that made opening hands-free, it came with a nifty strap to secure the lid and a handy-dandy travel bag. Sweet! Just what the doctor ordered. I don't crock alot, but it gets used at least once a month. Last Thursday I made a pot roast to take down to the firehouse to feed the guys on duty. When I pulled my trusty crockpot out of the cupboard, a screw was missing from the lid attachment, making it floppy...WTH??? I went online and sent a message to Rival's customer service department and asked if they could replace that piece. A few friendly emails later, and a new crock pot is on it's way to me. I didn't have to jump up and down and scream...didn't have to threaten them with the Better Business Bureau (Oh Hi, Belva!) They listened to my complaint, gathered the pertinent information and fixed the problem. Here's what they had to say:

Dear Mary, Thank you for contacting CrockPot, a brand of Jarden Consumer Solutions. It looks like you are under warranty. So we sent you a new unit to you free of charge. That will be shipped out within 7-10 business days. If you have any further questions please let us know. Please write back if we can provide further assistance. You may also reach us at (800) 610-6665. We are open from 8:00am to 8:00pm, EST, Monday thru Saturday. Best Regards, Justin Jarden Consumer Solutions

So here's to good customer service...raise your glass (or CrockPot lid).

Slow Start...

I am in the mood to sew, but it seems like I'm dragging my feet. I entered the PR contest One Fabric: Knits and have a couple different fabrics in mind to work up...a gorgeous buttery soft rayon jersey knit from Gorgeous Fabrics in a zebra print or a black red and white print from Trendy Fabrics. I perused a couple of boxes of patterns and have a couple picked out, but have no made a definitive selection. I really need to get serious, as I will be losing about a week of sewing since we are heading East again to work on the property. Oh well, I seem to work better with a deadline! I am trying to recover all the embroidery designs that disappeared with the external hard drive death! Luckily the important things are backed up, but I have collected random freebies and an awesome alphabet that I think are lost. The alphabet was quite an accomplishment because it was one of those that if you missed an installment you were SOL. I think it was the first one I didn't miss a letter! Gotta laugh!!! The rain is falling and I have a headache...bed sounds really inviting right now!!!

What I Did On My Day Off

I cleaned the studio. I can't wait to mess it up again. Guess I need another day off! (picture courtesy of icanhascheezburger.com)

My New Favorite Blog

I am hopelessly addicted to blogs...not just the sewing ones either. I don't know how I found this one, but "Things I Want to Punch in the Face" has been making me ROTFLMAO for days. Note to Erin...you will love this blog...go check it out! Now she could probably do a rant about people who use acronyms like this...that would be good. She takes the everyday things that bug the $%^& out of all of us and tells it how it really is. I like that. Not too much going on in the sewing front. The studio is still a disaster...I have done some embroidery and traced a BWOF T shirt, but I have been otherwise occupied with other aspects of my life. We had to do some major shopping yesterday as Mother Hubbard's cupboard was getting a little bare. We picked up some fun things too. Tom wanted an atomic clock with an inside/outside thermometer for the trailer. His Dad bought one at Walmart, so we found a nice faux woodgrain one that looks great above the sofa sleeper. I found DVD's at Big Lots for $3.00, so I picked up "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (the original with Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and Sydney Poitier...not the Ashton Kutcher version); "The Dirty Dozen" for Tom and "The World According to Garp" with Robin Williams. The first time I saw this movie back in the 80's, I thought "What an odd little movie"...I didn't quite get it. Subsequently I have seen it a few times over the years and last night when we watched it, I think I finally understood it. Maybe I needed more life experience to relate to it. John Irving is a little deep at times. I love John Lithgow's performance as Roberta...what an actor! We took Barbie back to her rightful owner with her new wardrobe. She was thrilled and it made the project so worthwhile! I worked an extra shift this week due to illness and am dreaming of working in the garden when the weather turns nice again. So much to do...so little time!!!

Graduation Dress

My son in law Bryce is almost finished with boot camp. A couple months ago, Sara planned to make a dress for his graduation. My how 8 weeks flew by! We shopped for the perfect pattern (McCalls 5413...the wrap dress with the neverending hem), shopped for the right fabric and then...time passed...life happened and we were busy! Sara with school and work...me with work and the business of growing older! We had birthdays and spring break and trips to the coast and over the mountain...Were we ever BUSY!!! So in true Deeter fashion, we started the dress on Friday night after Sara got home from her symposium in Corvallis. I was 2 hours late getting home from work and worked on embroidering a birthday present for my boss (don't tell, my work buddies!) Up until midnight Friday, we laid out the pattern and cut...it was a late night for this old broad! I had to be to work at 6:00 am, so Sara started without me Saturday morning. We still had lots to do when I got home. We had some alterations to do...lopped off 4 1/2 inches off the sleeves and 7" off the hem. It was truly a joint effort getting it put together so the dress could hang overnight (bias skirt) before hemming. We got her done though and I think Sara is going to be the prettiest airforce wife on the tarmac! I think Bryce will agree!

Unplugged...

Wow...it's been almost a week since I last posted. Not an inordinate amount of time for me, but seems like forever. Went almost a week without television, internet, sewing (that was sad) or any other electronically powered device. I take that back...we did listen to the radio at times, but not alot. We made great headway on the La Pine property. Fell about a dozen trees, burned tons of brush and cleared a spot for the 5th wheel to live for the summer. The boys couldn't pull all the stumps because the ground is still frozen. We had snow everyday in some fashion...not that it really stuck, but there were residual patches of ice that came in handy when we prepared to leave. If you pile ice onto your burn pile and it does not melt...you're pretty much good to go! We met all the neighbors around us (except the back...it's zoned farm land and the only ones inhabiting it is the wildlife. Still a little early for the deer and elk to be coming in, but sure saw lots of sign that they have been there. The neighbor across the street said that they come through our property (since it is undeveloped at this point). They will still hang. We will plant things in the back to keep them happy and keep a goodly portion natural for their habitat. Returned home and plugged right back in. The baby shower at work that had been tentatively scheduled for Friday was moved up to Thursday. I got the message Thursday afternoon when we rolled in and so I had to hurry and clean up to make it. I'm glad I did...it was fun. Firebird licked the cake (he thought it was his party too), so nobody wanted a piece off that end! Now it is back to the old grind, but I feel truly refreshed and better able to deal with the inevitable stressors that working life brings. It's a good thing. I need to remember that when I start getting all wigged out about work stuff! Sewing has resumed at our house too. My boss has a birthday coming up next week so I embroidered a nice fluffy bathrobe for her. I may pick up some nice bath items and make it a "spa gift". She could use some pampering! (Can't we all?) Sara came over last night to cut out her dress and is working on it today. She said she is ready to take her sewing stuff home and work on some projects herself. That is exciting!!! In other news, I have reconnected with a few people from high school via FaceBook. I think it is time. 30+ years is a long time and maybe it is just getting older that is making me nostalgic, but I miss those people. Wayne did a couple of videos of our class, the teachers and our sports set to music of the time...Can you hum "Smoke on the Water" or "Bad to the Bone"? That's right...I'm old!!!