Faking It

Recently, on an airplane ride out to California, I was flipping through Sky Mall magazine and stumbled upon something that made me laugh.  A before-and-after photo of a woman demonstrating Clip-On Bangs, for the low, low price of $50.  The synthetic bangs reminded me of how I used to be a bit of a faker.  In early elementary school, I frequently faked sickness to watch The Price is Right (or Bob Ross...or Sewing With Nancy) at Grandma Alice's.   Once I even faked laryngitis with my 5th grade teacher, miming "I don't have a voice" right to his face.  He was either thoroughly impressed with my mime skills or too tired to have a one-voiced conversation with me about sticking it out for the last half of the day.  I got to go home.

Probably the peak of my faking came in the form of socks.  In junior high, I really wanted some Nike socks, but thought they were too expensive.  So what did I do?  Made some of my own by drawing a Nike symbol on the sides of my white socks with black permanent marker.  Oh, how I wish I had a picture to show you!  But here's something even better...a home video from 1996.

Ahhh...dorkdom.  Let me know if you would like to order a pair of custom Nike socks;  I'd be glad to make you a pair for the low, low price of $50.  I jest.

Here is a random sewing project I completed recently, hopefully a little bit cooler than a pair of tube socks I colored on.

A nice springy hot pad!

I did some flower quilting for the first time ever; happy spring!

Cluck Cluck!

Cluck, cluck!  I am a like a proud mother hen...I have to show you this!

This iPad cover was made by my amazing little sister Karli as a gift to me for my birthday.  She is 9 years old.  She picked out the fabric and whipped it up with the help of Coach Grandma.  The R is for Ree, obviously.  I am so proud of her, and SO grateful for her gift!  Just had to show it off.

You may remember a few months ago when I shared my failed attempts at sewing clothes.  Well, I'm at it again.  As usual, it was a spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of decision, this time in the form of, "Hey, I'm going to sew a summer nightgown!"  Because, those are wildly popular right now, right?  Oh wait...that was the 1950s.  Right up my alley.

But, good news, it wasn't a flop!  I actually wore it last night and it was comfortable and I had sweet dreams of performing in a musical with my little brother Luke (true story!).  I decided to make a scottie dog to put on the front, because that seemed pretty 1950s to me.  Here's a close up:

Once again, a big thank you goes out to my #1 fabric supplier, Grandma Alice, for the pink knit fabric and turquoise gingham.  I may end up making another one of these because I have a lot of knit up there in my sewing room!  Perhaps an old-fashioned nightshirt for Michael?

More amazing men's nightshirts  (click here)

We can only hope!

Passport to Stardom

This week, I received a very exciting document in the mail from my longtime friend, The Government.  I got my very first passport!  This calls for a 15-minute-or-less sewing project!

Thanks, Sew Mama Sew, for the tutorial!  I now have permission to roam the world, starting with Paris, in style.

Many moons ago, there was a weekly program on my hometown radio station.  It was called Passport to Stardom.  We would occasionally tune in on a Friday night to hear the locals belt their favorite country tunes from a bar in a neighboring small town.  One woman alone kept the show rolling.  Her name was Mary Butts.  If there was a ever a lull in the entertainment (insert clinking beer bottles, the low hum of sleepy conversations and nervous laughter), it wouldn't be long before the host would exclaim, "And next up we have....Mary!  Mary Butts!  You are next on the Passport to Stardom!"  She could always be relied on to come through in a pinch.  Without a doubt, she sang more than any other person on the program.  And though she may have never made it to stardom, she worked her way into my memory.  And now every time I hold my passport...or hear a 1980s country song...I will tip my hat to Mary.

I was talking to my brother on the phone today, and the question came up...Is there country music in France?  All I know is that if we end up in a karaoke bar near the Eiffel tower, I may start channeling Mary Butts while donning an American flag button-up rodeo shirt.  All with the help of my new friend, Riesling, introduced to me by my camping friends this weekend.

Swank.

Living Room Olympics (and a Bears mug rug!)

I am generally not a sports person.  Unless you count the Olympics.  I really enjoy watching both track and field and gymnastics in the summer games.  And I don't mind watching figure skating in the winter games.  I have fond memories of recreating both gymnastics and figure skating in our living room as kids.  We used to skate around the rust-colored shag carpeting in our socks, commentating along the way.  "Wait...is it?...yes, a triple sow cow!!"  Gymnastics were even more entertaining.  We would do "flips" and other amazing feats without actually leaving our feet.   Points were deducted for balance checks, but the crowd would go wild as we stuck our landings, arms held proudly in a high V position.   Olympic gold.

When my hubby recently asked me to sew him something, I was beyond thrilled.  I know he just did it to be sweet and supportive of my newfound addiction; what a sport!  He asked me to make him a Chicago Bears mug rug, quilted with orange thread.  So specific--I love it.  A mug rug is basically a smaller-sized placemat; just the right size for a mug of coffee and a little snack.  I don't know when or why these things became popular in the sewing/quilting world, but you can find tutorials for them all over the internet.

I found a sweet deal on some Bears fabric at Hancock's (down here in St. Louis...sorry, Rams??), and got right to work.  I sort of let my imagination run wild with this one.  You'll see what I mean...

Hold the bus...what are those things in the corners???

Oh, that's right...FLAMES.  Quilted flames.  Now, what inspired me to quilt with flames?  No idea.  Although, I think I made some connection with the Bear...in my mind, he looks like he should be breathing fire, but I don't know how they ended up in all four corners instead of coming from the Bear's mouth.  One little side note: It is a well known fact that my hubby does NOT like flame decals.  He gets a grimace on his face anytime we see a car with flames on it, or flames up the side of a pant leg or sleeve.  Which begs the question even further: What on earth was I thinking?  It did make for quite the reaction, though.  "Flames?!"  But then he decided it didn't look so bad if you held it farther away.  Da Bears...a la mug rug.  I'm holding out for the Bears to have a great season (not a football fan in the slightest), just so I can say, "Man, those Bears are on fire!!" as I hold up the mug rug.