Mascara To The Rescue!

I hope that all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving had a lovely holiday. It was rather quiet for us, but lovely nonetheless. I did take my annual Thanksgiving day hike with Berkley. It was such a gorgeous day. I posted this picture on Instagram, so if you've seen it, I apologize for the repeat. It's just such a lovely picture of Berkley. Such a regal looking little guy :) Too bad that I am in the picture :/ 

I've intended to do this post all last week, and well, it didn't happen. So, I am doing things a little backwards. I decided to go ahead and do this post today, and I'll do my recipe post tomorrow. It's a good one...at least I think so ;)

Back in September, I attended the Denver, Colorado American Sewing Guild annual sew-in. If you have never taken the time to attend a sew-in, by all means, ya gotta! It was 4 days of no guilt sewing, and I loved every minute of it. So much so that I plan to attend again next year! 

One of the ladies who attended had a little treat for us, mascara brushes. She collects mascara brushes, puts them in the dishwasher to wash out any leftover mascara, and then uses the brushes to clean the lint form her machines. Who would have thought?!!!     

The lint brush that came with my machine doesn't even begin to compare with the mascara brush. And too, when I use it, it flicks lint around more so than actually picking it up.

The mascara brush really picks up the lint.

And the handle on the brush allows you to easily hold the brush while you reach into tight spaces. 

I just love how the lint adhere's to the brush! The lint is easily removed from the brush, but you can also rinse the brush if it gets to caked with lint. Just be sure to allow it to dry completely before putting it back in your machine.  

I can be the WORST about cleaning lint out of my machines. But, no more. The mascara brush really makes it easy...and fun too!

As we all know, lint can really clog up a machine. So, wash out those mascara brushes, and put them to use. You will love it!!!

Celebrating with Creativity

My birthday was last Wednesday. Rather than a party, I opted for a quiet celebration. 

Two years ago, I took a nuno felting class at Esther's Place. Rather than make a specific project, we created yardage that we could then make into anything we would like. I created the piece below. My intention had been to make a skirt. Once I got the piece together, I just couldn't bear to cut into it.

So, I wear it as a shawl, or a wrap skirt as you see above. 

Once I completed the first piece, I then understood the process a bit more, and thought that I would like to create another. I bought all of my supplies, brought them home where they proceeded to sit in the bag for the last two years :/

Back in November, I said, "enough!" I called Natasha who owns Esther's Place and asked if I could come in for a private lesson. The day that worked best for both of us was the day before my birthday. Fabulous! It was the best way to celebrate, creating, doing something that I love :)

The piece that I made is below. My intention had been to create a piece that I would then make into a sheath dress with a sheer yoke. I think it will still be a dress with a sheer yoke, but not so sure about the sheath aspect. I love the wispy, lighter than air aspect, so I think I want something that has some movement.   

The day was so much fun. I am now addicted to nuno felting. Now that I have done two pieces, I feel that I can tackle a project on my own. So, I am planning my next piece!

I just have to share this with you!!! The American Sewing Guild Chicago Chapter had their annual holiday party on Saturday. It was so much fun. They are celebrating 10 years. Amazing! There was a gift for everyone. Little needle cases had been made with the ASG logo fabric.

Inside is a small pocket that hold a needle threader and stick on thimbles.

Within the pages are various sizes of Japanese needles and some lovely pins. 

  
A special cake was made for the celebration. Made by one of the members. The entire cake is/was edible. We devoured it!!! The top half was chocolate, and the bottom half was vanilla. Such a treat. 

This neighborhood group began as a dream. The founding members felt that there had to be others who are sewing away in high rise apartments. They were right! I'm not sure of the membership number, but it's a great group of ladies, and the membership continues to grow. I would encourage you to possibly start a group if one is not in your area. The payoff of friendship and comradery is worth the effort! 

Have a wonderful day!

Rhonda

Sleeves, Sleeves, Sleeves...It's a Workshop

Getting "back on the horse" can apply to so many aspects of our lives. I went skiing on Monday. It was a gorgeous day. The mountain was jammed with people as it is spring break for many across the country. I was coming down an intermediate run, and in the distance I saw a ski instructor with a very large class traversing the hill from a beginner run. I slowed up to give them time to pass. Evidently, there were some stragglers who had not been paying attention and suddenly realized that the class had left them behind. With that, one of the members of the class made a sudden turn, right in front of me. In avoiding her, I went off of the trail and flew into the trees. I knew I was going to hit hard, but luckily for me, the snow was deep, I was caught just inches from my head slamming into the tree. As it was, I had to dig myself out of a hole that was over knee deep. I must have fallen 5 more times just trying to dig myself out. I'm heading out today to get back on that proverbial horse :/

SLEEVES, SLEEVES, SLEEVES!!!

I am so very excited about a class that I will be teaching in Chicago on Saturday, April 21, 2018. It will be an entire day of drafting sleeves!!! My favorite thing :)

Here's all of the information; 

As you can see, you do not need to be an American Sewing Guild member to join the class, but it's a great group of ladies, so why not join? :) 

Supplies needed for the class;

*1 roll of white paper

*18” clear ruler

*1 black pen

*1 red pen ( a Sharpie will be fine. It just needs to have a fine point)

*Paper scissors

*Front and back bodice from a t-shirt pattern

*Sleeve from a t-shirt pattern

*scotch tape

*pins

I purchase my paper from an office supply store. It's called banner paper and it comes in a 30" wide, by 52 ft. long roll. I am a big fan of drafting with white paper as it's easy to see through when layering 1 pattern piece over another. 

It's important that the t-shirt pattern be a basic pattern. You can find a great pattern at Londa's Creative Sewing. The pattern used for drafting should have the basic round neckline, and a straight sleeve. For the drafting exercises, the sleeve, as well as the front and back bodice patterns need to have all seam allowances removed, and the pattern transferred to poster board. Having a hard pattern to trace around makes all the difference in the world.  

If you are interested in taking the class, you can find all of the info as well as links to the registration form HERE. 

Hope to see you in Chicago!!!

Rhonda    

A Wednesday Hello

Yesterday was a busy, busy day, a mammogram in the morning, followed by my aviation physical. Then, lots and lots of writing. Finally, off to see my niece in the evening about a project that she has been helping me with. I literally fell into bed last night!

Had a little time between dinner and heading out to do a little closet cleaning. Closet cleaning is one of those things that I kinda hate to do, at least when thinking about it. Always seems rather monumental. Then once I get started, it's like the best high ever! I will admit though that it's rather difficult to let go of things. But, I have come to a point that I can ask myself, "if I wear this, does it really represent how I want to present myself?" When I was growing up, clothes were kept until they were truly worn out, or I had out grown them. Even then, my mother would quite often turn pants into shorts to extend the life. T-shirts that had seen better days would be worn with pajama pants. That recycling spirit has remained with me, and I am grateful for it, but I have come to a point that sometimes it's just better to let something go. I once attended a play and realized that a piece I had given to a resale shop was being worn by the actress. I knew it was mine because of a small little tear near the hem. Not that all things given to a resale shop find a purpose, but that made me feel so very good about letting that piece go.

This Saturday, October 28, 2017, I will be speaking at the American Sewing Guild Luncheon and Fashion Show. My talk is on paper and I am in the process of memorizing it so that my delivery will be smooth. At least that is what I am aiming for :/ If I say so myself, it's a rather good speech ;) It's funny, heart warming, and thoughtful. I sent a copy to a friend of mine to critique. She read it to her husband, they both loved it. Nice :) I am going to ask someone to video the talk so that I can post it here on the blog and share it with all of you.   

Last Thursday I flew to Orlando to attend the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals annual conference. I chose to take the 2-day course on Illustrator and Photoshop. Whew, right over the top of my head! Actually, I learned more than I am giving myself credit for. One of the ladies in the class brought a wonderful book along with her that walks you step by step through projects on Illustrator. One of the other ladies told me about Photoshop Elements. I think that is a better place for me to begin as there is less to learn. 

I want to tell you about the lady who brought the Illustrator book to the class. Super interesting woman. Her business is Lightheart Gear and she makes tents and rain gear. Amazing! She has a blog which you can find HERE. The blog has lots of information on biking, hiking, and backpacking while biking. If you like to bike, hike, or both, I think you'll find her site to be quite interesting, and maybe even a little inspirational :) 

While I was away, I also learned a little something about myself. I have always known that I am quite shy. When I was a child, it would almost kill me to go anywhere where I would be left alone. I remember the car ride to church on Sunday mornings...my mother's speech would begin with, "now, you aren't going to cry when I take you to Sunday School, right?" I would agree, knowing full well that I would. Being the president of The American Opera Society of Chicago helped me so much. I had been the president of other organizations, but I was friends with the members, so the position wasn't so daunting. But with the American Opera Society, I had to conduct board meetings with powerful and influential women, and I had to be a gracious host at events. Neither of which was easy for me to do. Being quiet and observing is something that comes much more naturally for me. I think that is why I truly enjoy writing. 

I feel that when some who read the blog meet me, they think that I will be much more outgoing than I am in actuality. Please know that I am always thrilled to meet you, I'm just a little shy. 

Before I go, I thought I would share the fabric that I purchased while I was away. The first 2 pictures are a piece of a type of burnout velvet. Loved the colors!

This is a better picture of the piece. The background is very sheer. I think I may do a bias dress.

Found this gunmetal remnant. Someone asked what the fiber content is. I have no idea!  But it has a gorgeous drape. 

Then the piece to die for! It's actually a piece of navy blue fur. I just couldn't get my camera to pick up the true color. 

My friend Helen Haughey had Mendel Goldberg come from New York with her fabrics. There were SOOO many pieces that I would have liked to have had, but restraint won :)

Tomorrow, pants! Something rather fun, at least I think so :)

Have a wonderful day!

Rhonda