~She told me so ~

So ... you may have noticed (if you actually care and you may or may not ... care) that there has been a distinct lack of posts about sewing. Or anything else that is interesting. Truth be told I sort of packed everything up when I had my sewing room painted over a month ago (do you miss that pink and green stencil from the early 90's?) and I haven't had the heart or the gumption to find everything I need. Or to mess it up.

Or to sew.

But I did have this one project on my to-do list that was mentioned here. It involves miles of sewing straight satin stitched lines on a bedskirt.

Mi-les.

When I first blogged about this project, my oldest daughter warned me that it would be the most boring project ever.

E-ver.

And boy, was she right. Of course this is the girl who would not be deterred by such a project, and in fact when faced with one ... taught her Bernina to Sew. By. Itself.

The proof is here. See for yourself.

And I don't know which is worse ... the fact that she can so honestly tell me "I told you so" or that I never could find my seam ripper and had to resort to using my embroidery scissors instead.

Huuummmph. I should have just left well enough alone. That room was so dang clean before I started messing with it.

Please tell me it will be worth it.

Next: Banjos!

So ... Ms. Gee and I have been hanging out in The Kingdom together. Our "Dueling Berninas" system is actually more productive than what you might think. Yes, there is much raucous laughter and a lot of talking to our own selves ... only to be questioned by the other one about what was said and then needing to repeat it ... but progress is made. Seriously.

Keep in mind that Ms. Gee is working on far more complicated projects than me. Her's involve zippers and linings and algebraic equations. Mine involve 1/4" seams. Hers will turn into chic one-of-a-kind handbags and will be featured on her Etsy Shop. Mine will turn into Pillow Slipcovers to be featured in my living room (and in a future post) and these red/green babies will be a class sample to be taught here on April 22nd.

I am well aware that my whales have been hanging on that wall since last summer. I swear to you that I have made progress on them (they are hand appliqued) and are really, truly my next project to bring to completion. Really.

In the meantime I will savor every moment of our dual reign in The Kingdom. There are only a couple more weeks to enhale all that mother/daughter goodness. After that it's back to talking to myself ... and then having to answer myself too.

And that is just too much for one woman. Truly.

more red, white and blue

So ... I'm having one of those birthdays that just keeps on giving. The kind of birthday that I really ... really ... like. Just yesterday a friend of mine gave me the dishtowel pictured above. I am pretty certain it will never actually meet up with a wet dish because it's way too precious for that. But just in case you are marveling at the delicate hand stitching, think again. My friend digitized this and sewed it out on her Bernina (730). Believe me ... that takes some marveling of its own. Very impressive. Thank you, my friend.

Our celebratory weekend was definitely on the low-key side. Ms. Gee was here along with temperatures approaching 110 degrees. Spending much time outside seemed to be unwise, so we took a trip to Blockbuster instead. We only intended to get two movies until they convinced us that the third one was free. Here is my professional opinion. You must keep in mind that I'm very easily entertained.

* Confessions of a Shopaholic: Better than I expected. Isla Fisher was quite charming although I found Hugh Dancy to be ummm .... blah. The most impressive thing about this movie, however, was that the following day Ms. Gee and I went to Nordstrom's Rack and came out empty handed. We both agreed that the movie's message was definitely an influence. Interesting, very interesting.

* Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Definitely fun in an Indiana Jones kind of way. Hard to get past the extraterrestrial angle and the enormous amounts of ants and the fact that Indy is getting too old for the job, but still ... fun.

* Swing Vote. You probably don't even remember this coming to a theatre near you and there is probably a good reason for that. However ... if you stick it out to the very end you might get a little teary as I did. The message comes across with the delicacy of a sledge hammer ... but it's a good message, no doubt about that.

There you have it. Sewing advice and movie reviews in one fell swoop. So do tell ... do you digitize? Did you see any of these movies?

Dish. Just don't expect to use my dishtowel.

Love means never having to say you're sorry.

So ... the ol' girl let me down. For the first time in all the years I have known her, she is insisting upon a doctor's appointment and refusing to wait for the annual spa treatment.

Aaaarrruuugghh.

Yeah, yeah, I know she's sorry but could she have considered the timing of her ... untimely ... illness? Could she have picked a different project to start throwing up thread balls on the underside of my machine quilting? Could she at least have up-chucked them on the top half so that I didn't sew for 20 minutes before discovering the problem, only to take 45 minutes to unpick the damage?

Does she know that I need this finished before next Monday's Teacher's Meeting?

Does she??

And to top it all off, Miss Anne at Bunny Hill just posted the April Block. Seriously, in my delusional state I am almost beginning to wonder whether she did it on purpose.

Nah ... I know she loves me. I'm just wondering whether or not I need to bring a bowl in the car for the drive to the Doc.

Poor Girl.

all dressed up and no where to go

So ... I've been making all sorts of little changes around this place. Movin' stuff. Switchin' stuff around. Shakin' stuff up. I decided after all the hard work I put into my slipcovers in the Living Room a couple of years ago, it was high time I showed off my favorite part. Because I have an unnatural fear of zippers coupled with a deep and abiding love for the button hole feature on my Bernina, I will always choose buttons over zippers when something needs closing.

The aforementioned switch necessitated moving my favorite chair to a greater place of honor. I did not make the slipcover on that chair so sure enough ... it has a zipper. And in answer to your immediate question ... yes ... I still sit in that chair quite frequently.

Lately I have been sitting in The Kingdom, churning out Cherries with abandon.

When I'm done, I hope to have enough to make a pie.

Self-Medicating

So ... there's a reason that the Red Cross and the Swiss flag have something in common and that reason is this:

Swiss chocolate will cure what ails you. Or ... you won't even care about being sick.

I was lucky enough to be the recipient of this magical piece of pure swiss chocolate. Hand carried from Switzerland. From the proprietors of this store who took an excursion there, courtesy of Bernina.

Now ... I really, really like their sewing machines. And I generally feel better after sewing on mine.

But this ... this ... is different.

This is a medical miracle.

So ... what delectable goodness does it for you??

Embellished Excitement!

So ... the little yellow slips of paper have gone into the proverbial hat (okay, a bowl) and MarySue's name came out as the winner of the GiveAway. Congratulations. I am happy to have my quilt go to a loving home. When you email me with your address, let me know if anyone at your house is allergic to peanuts, because that third package may or may not include something chocolately and nutty.

Once again the ever anticipated "Teacher's Meeting" has caught me unawares, and I am furiously working to get a sample ready to show next Monday (which will be taught this fall at this store.) Boy am I having fun!! Part of that fun has included some experimentation with the many ... many ... decorative stitches on my machine.

The greenery above the door (of my no-cal gingerbread house) is a double dose (reg and mirror image) of stitch #140 on my Bernina 200. The snowflake "buttons" are #642. I used King Tut variegated green. I love, love King Tut thread (40 wt.) for a nice "nubby" look.

So tell me ... do you actually use those decorative stitches on your machine?

Fess Up.

And thanks to everyone for their sweet comments and ... poetry!

Pink Jumping

So ... I am still without my special friend, Bernina. I am sure she is enjoying a mani-pedi as we speak. I am really hoping that part of the package includes a loofah ... because let's be honest ... my special friend was in dire need of a serious cleaning.

But since I am in the middle of not one, but two projects, I am leaning towards the impatient side. Yesterday I did some hand work on this little number for my Miss Dub. She will be here next weekend which only adds to my impatience. Miss Dub's favorite color is pink. (When asked, she will tell you that her favorite activity is "Pink Jumping".) I thought she needed something pink to jump in.

So ... let me ask you ... is there anything more lovely than pink gingham? When I was a young girl and shared a room with my sister, we had pink gingham curtains at one point. I have absolutely no memories of those curtains in the winter, but I have dozens of summer memories of them. This is probably due to my olafactory memories of the breeze coming through them.

Sigh.

I plan to add a pink gingham ruffle to the hem of Miss Dub's dress. I plan to do that the minute I get miss bernina back. I plan to get her back tomorrow.

So do tell ... on a scale from one to ten ... how much is your special friend in need of a cleaning?

And how much do you love pink gingham?

Thing One & Thing Two

So ... I spent about 10 hours yesterday, helping out at a Bernina Event. At this store. It was all about Machine Embroidery. Which I have the ability to do, but don't do very often. (Which I did do on this pillow a couple of years ago.)

I learned two things:

The first thing I learned was that I really should do embroidery on my sewing maching more often. Not every minute ... just more often. And the second thing?

That I am way too old to be on my feet for 10 hours. End of story.