The Teen with the Jeans!! (see previous post!)

My Treasure
Originally uploaded by txstitchermom.

I wanted to let you know that just because one loses something does not mean one has lost everything. As you can see above, I have a Fabulous Treasure!

Two weeks ago tomorrow, via telephone, I suffered another personal relationship loss. At first I was devastated. But I find that all is not lost, in truth. And as I learn to see with my Sarah eyes again, I think that perhaps this is a good thing that has happened.

I have, as you see, my daughter who is as beautiful inside as she is outside. In spite of transmogrifying health issues, my hands, fingers and smile still work. Oh yeah, and my feet, in case I have to give anyone a little kick in the ankle (cheeky grin!!). And I have my friends, both in real life and in our textile/fiber/fun-with-fabric-creativity community (I defy Germaine Greer (click for story) to pound THAT down [grin!])

Blogging may (or may not!!) be a bit less frequent as I pack and move and unpack (I expect a group groan of sympathy here), but please know I am truly a blessed woman. And I am made even stronger by all of you who read my blog, participate in the Yahoo! groups, check my Flickr site, and comment, email me, etc.

My life is so very rich, thanks to all of you.

So be caring! Be creative! And I'll be back!!

What Aspect of Sewing Fills YOU With Dread??!!

I was talking with my friend Rain a couple days ago and she asked me that question. Without ANY hesitation, I said, "Mending." And then I further clarified, "JEANS." She couldn't understand so I had to explain to her the grueling process of trying to mend the jeans of a teen aged girl.

The jeans are brought to you, waving hysterically in the air. MMMOOOOOMMMMM, can you mend these? They have a hole in the back. So I take the jeans turn them over, around, upside down, and inside out. And I finally find the hole. The teeny weeny infitesimally small hole which is unacceptable because Heaven Forbid anyone would see the color of their panties for the day. Which they only could see if their face was an inch away from the hole and they had a magnifying glass. Although what someone is doing that near to my daughter's bottom would Require An Explanation.

But, I lovingly proceed. I find the patching denim. I pin it on. I tape it, too, just in case. I armwrestle the jeans onto the free-arm of my little machine. I begin. The jeans have to be turned three times. After an hour and a half, I've sewn at least three fingers together, my eyes are bloodshot from squinting trying to find the minuscule hole, and my mouth is dry from biting my lip concentrating. I manhandle the jeans off the machine and take them to my treasure. She examines them and hands them back to me, a lone tear dripping down her cheek. She says there's a wrinkle in the patch. HUH????

So I go back to the machine, which now seems to have fangs and an evil laugh. I base my foot against the dining room table for leverage, haul the jeans onto the machine, and begin again. By this time, my face is red and I have invented words that would make God blush. I've sewn at least two more fingers together. My feet are practically waving in the air as I keep my nose dangerously close to the needle and carefully sew out the wrinkle that I never *did* see in the patch I could *hardly* see over the hole that it took me five minutes to find in the first place.

Finally, after another three hours, I finish. Triumphantly, I turn the jeans right side out, shake them out with a good, satisfyingly hard smack, and, brandishing them with victory, take them to my daughter, my darling, my delight.

As I retreat down the hall, I hear a piercing shriek of anguish. MMMOOOMMMM!!! WHAT?? I've put on half a pound in the last five hours and now the jeans don't fit!!!!

Go Figure.

And THAT, dear readers, is why I HATE mending jeans.

What is YOUR Least Favorite sewing chore??!! (Very Big Grin!!!)

FREE!!

If you have not yet been to Quiltersmuse, you must go visit as soon as you finish reading this post. Pat Cummings, owner of Quiltersmuse, is one of the foremost experts, if not THE expert, on Outline Stitch Embroidery. She also has amassed a formidable knowledge of quilting, quilting and embroidery history, and other types of embroidery in addition to OSE.

Jim Cummings is Pat's hardworking, totally wonderful husband who handles all the photography needs of the site. And over the last few years, the two of them have produced several stellar books. Previously these books were available for sale on the Quiltersmuse site. Now, however, Pat and Jim have begun putting the books up online...available FREE OF CHARGE.

The first book that went cyber is Straight Talk About Quilt Care: Display, Cleaning and Storage of New and Antique Quilts and Needlework. Straight Talk gives extensive coverage exactly as it promises. Display, cleaning, how to know when to call in a professional, and several other subjects are presented interestingly and thoroughly. The information is applicable NOT ONLY to those in traditional quilt and needlework fields, BUT ALSO is equally applicable for those in the art quilt field. I highly recommend Straight Talk to anyone in the textile field.

The second book that is now available is Pat's Just For Fun Redwork Book. Just For Fun includes stitch directions and 98 authentic old redwork patterns from an antique quilt. Again, this book is offered entirely free of charge.

There are also many fascinating tidbits...for instance, the bear logo in the top right corner is a redwork piece that Pat completed when she was five years old!

I don't think I've ever seen such generosity with this type of research and information. Quiltersmuse not only has these books available (and more on the way), the site also covers an abundance of other subjects. Pat has other free patterns, historical articles, product reviews, and many other categories. And the Quiltersmuse also has a blog which is fascinating reading.

Go visit the Quiltersmuse today -- it will surely be worth your while!

Be educated! Be inquiring! And I'll be back!

Fibers, Fibers, NEVER ENOUGH!!!

BJP Fibers
Originally uploaded by txstitchermom.

You know I'm involved with the Beaded Journal Project as well as Sharon B's class, Sumptuous Surfaces. I began to show you my stuff for SS (yes, more pix by end of week); now here's a bit of what colors I'm using for BJP. These fibers are very soft and, as you can see, so beautiful! I got them from Gail at Gail Forces Fabrics. Gail's link is in my sidebar, but click here, too, and you can visit her great site.

Who Knew??!!

I now know (painfully!) why the instructions say to REGULARLY change the blade on your rotary cutter. After an hour of frustratedly wondering what the *#*@&!!? was wrong, getting crookedly cut pieces and neatly rotarying three fingers (grrrrr!), it finally dawned on me that Other Rotary Cutters do not behave in this murderous fashion. So I called Mother. Her first question, after laughing unsympathetically at my tale of woe, was "did you change the blade??". AHEM. So we hung up, her chortling in my ear, and I changed the damn thing. Humph.

Be safe! Be aware! And I'll be back.

P.S. Please notice the cool thing about blogging versus writing someone a letter is that blood cannot drip on the post. (GRIN!!)