Not A Sock Virgin Anymore

I've knitted since I was a child, but had never made a pair of socks. While I was away in Maine, I finished my first pair and wow, do I ever love them.

Socks always seemed to hold some mystery to me, turning a heel, shaping the toes. Yikes!!
Determined to overcome my fear of knitting a pair of socks, I bought this book,

 where I found this pattern,

a basic sock, just what I needed.
The instructions were wonderful, as you can see, I was successful in knitting a pair of socks. Even turning the heel didn't seem to be that big of a deal.

Now that I've knitted my first pair I understand why some people end up with a drawer full of hand knit socks. They are like luxury for your feet.

 So I'm on to another pair.

If you've never knitted a pair of socks, but think you might like to, I encourage you to get the book I used. There are 18 different sock patterns in the book and even better, there is an entire section devoted to the history of socks. Very interesting. You can find the book on Amazon. A used one goes for as little as $2.04 and a new book for $7.95. Quite a deal with a list price of 24.95. Here's a link, http://www.amazon.com/Folk-Socks-Techniques-Handknitted-Footwear/dp/0934026971/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379365536&sr=1-2&keywords=folk+socks
If you're anything like me, you'll wonder why it took you so long to give a sock a try.

Sunday Night Reflections

The benefit of seeing can come only if you pause a while, extricate yourself from the maddening mob of quick impressions ceaselessly battering our lives and look thoughtfully at a quiet image. The viewer must be willing to pause, to look again, to meditate.
                                                                                     Dorothea Lange

The Halfway Mark, 450 Pillowcases For Mary Bridge

Well, it happened, 450 pillowcases were hung. What a momentous day! My husband worked on stringing the lines for me on Friday night so that we wouldn't have that to do on Saturday morning. Below is a before picture with the lines crisscrossing all over my garden.

And here is what it looked like from above once the pillowcases were all on the lines.

I couldn't have asked for a better day, the temperatures were in the mid 70's, very little wind and great sunshine. Today it's raining. 

I would like to give a special thank you to the two pilots who flew over and took pictures, Lee Hogan and Butch Bejna. Butch and I meet because we volunteered to fly for a program called Young Eagles. The program is sponsored through the Experimental Aircraft Association which is in Oshkosh, WI. The focus of the program is that by introducing children to flight, it will help them realize whatever their dreams are for their own lives. To date, Butch has given almost 2000 children a ride in his airplane. That's one child at a time as he only has two seats, one for the pilot and one for a passenger. I've flown quite a few, but nothing like Butch. So, once again, thank you Lee and Butch for giving us the gift of seeing the cases from above.

Butch and Lee also too the pictures to celebrate the fist 100 donated pillowcases. Just to refresh your memory, here's what the first 100 looked like from the air.

 The last flyover will be when we have reached the goal of 900 pillowcases. This will take place when all the leaves are off the trees, so this will be a spectacular sight I'm sure. 

I made a little video. What fun it was to walk through all of the cases.



As I said in the video, generosity abounds. When I first thought of participating in this project, I thought that I would donate at least a few, but the universe spoke to my heart and said, "why not 900?" I knew I couldn't do it alone, so I asked and look what has happened, truly a miracle. Thank you for your time and your resources. We will never meet the children whose heads these cases will hold, but we will touch their lives in a very special way as they will know that someone cared enough to do something special for them.
For anyone who has just happened upon this blog post, the pillowcases are going to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. Each child who is admitted to the hospital is given a pillowcase. We are very close to reaching the goal of collecting 900 pillowcases, a little less than 200 are needed. If you would like to participate, here is a link to the simplified instructions that I did, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html And, if you are participating, email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com and let me know.
Thanks again everyone!!
Rhonda

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

I know, I know, it isn't Friday and I should be posting Sleeves On Saturdays. Next week, I promise:) But here's the deal, I really have something wonderful in store for you today. It's a real free pattern, no work involved, well, except to print it off the computer and tape it together. The pattern is from Disparate Disciplines and it is just the cutest camisole top.

Fabulous design lines. I love how the seam line curves over the bust and the how the lines down the center taper to nothing right at the cleavage point. The top is especially flattering.

She designed the top so the it is slightly longer in the front than the back. For those of us who wish to not show the world our belly button, this is a great design feature.

A picture of me in the top.

I want to make just a small adjustment so that my bra strap is not quite so noticeable, but all in all, I am super pleased with the fit and style of the pattern.

A view of the back. I made no attempt to hide my bra straps.
I am going to be making a ton of these tops as I always enjoy wearing them. Great for everything from yoga to a pajama top. The pattern can be lengthened and turned into a slip dress, or even just a slip for that dress that is a little too see through. This top can be worn with a t-shirt underneath, there are just a boat load of opportunities with this pattern. So my suggestion is that you RUN to http://disparatedisciplines.com/product/yellow-tail-camisole-3101/ and get a copy for yourself.
Now there is one little side note. I think that it is very kind of Mari to come out so early with a truly free pattern. So here's the deal, you can get the pattern for free if you just want to give her patterns a try for the first time, or you can also pay whatever you wish. The suggested retail price of the pattern is $10.00. Here is what Mari has said about the pay what you wish program,

 What’s with this “Pay what you want” thing?

It’s exactly what it says: pay whatever you want for the pattern, whether that be $0, $0.01, $10, $100.01, or whatever sum it is you want. Everyone loves things for free. If you want to try out a Disparate Disciplines pattern for free before purchasing one of the paid patterns, or if you can’t afford to purchase a pattern, then please take this one for free. If you would like to see more patterns like this or have gotten some value out of the other work & free resources that are being offered on this site, then please pay what you feel comfortable with.

Why not just offer this pattern for free?

50% of proceeds are going to charity. Next week you will be able to vote on the Disparate Disciplines blog for which charity you would like all the funds collected (not just your contribution) to go to. The charity with the most votes wins. The charities you can select from will focus on providing food to hungry people.

Why will Disparate Disciplines be keeping half of the proceeds?

• to pay for the cost of the plugin that allows you to pay whatever you want
• to attempt to break even on the cost of producing the pattern
• to fund future charitable patterns

I have another suggestion, download the pattern and give it a try. If you are pleased with the pattern and would like to see more patterns from Disparate Disciplines, you can always go back and put a little something in the bucket.

If you do download the pattern. I think you are going to love it as much as I do. Now RUN,RUN, RUN!!!!!! to http://disparatedisciplines.com/product/yellow-tail-camisole-3101/ 

Surprises Are Always The Best

Last June, at our year end banquet, I told my fellow members of the Haute Couture Club of Chicago about the pillowcase drive for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. So many took a copy of the instructions, but I had no idea who would actually participate. This past Saturday, I felt like a princess as a number of ladies bestowed me with bags of pillowcases. One of those ladies was Linda B. who placed a bag of 26 pillowcases in my lap.  

 They are all so colorful, but as always, I have a favorite and here it is, sewing tools!!!! Yea Linda!

She also included a precious Winny the Pooh,

 trains,

 and this beautiful batik print.

I especially love this shot. The pillowcases look like candy floating in the breeze.

Thank you Linda. It was a great surprise!
If you would like to participate, here is a link to the instructions, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html If you do decide to participate, email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com and let me know.
If you would like to read more about this project, here is a link to the other posts that I have done, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge
All of the collected pillowcases, our goal is 900, will go to the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. Each child who is admitted to the hospital is given one of these special pillowcases. The hospital goes through 900 pillowcases each month.

Want a Good Laugh On Friday the 13th?

I am still laughing! The video is only a minute long. You will need to watch it to the end. Trust me, it'll be worth it.

Little Boy Recites Books of the Bible... Then Does Something Hilarious from joylights on GodTube.

This reminds me of a story that my grandmother told me about her little brother. They were all supposed to memorize a Bible verse and recite it in church on Sunday morning. Some older cousins decided to teach the little boy a verse and this is what he got up and said,

I had a little dog and his name was Blue. I put him on the tracks and he fairly flew.

My grandmother said that her grandmother was sitting in the front row and the look that came over her face was one of udder horror.

Hope this starts your Friday the 13th off on a good note with a smile on your face. It did mine:)

In Honor of Healthy Boys

Mary from Pennsylvania sent in 6 pillowcases. In her package was this lovely card and the pillowcases were tied in this great button ribbon. 

 Here's her note.

So, 6 boy themed pillowcases.

 There are whales,

 dogs (always a favorite of mine!!) with fire hydrants,

 and dump trucks with tools and other heavy machinery.

What boy wouldn't love one of these cases?
Thank you Mary for your generosity and I too am sending wishes that your boys are always healthy and happy.
Now, what about that button ribbon? I'm keeping that!!! Well, sort of, it's going to get used for something rather fun, so stay tuned.
I also have some rather exciting news to share. Last Friday I received a call from Joanne Ross of the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, Washington. We had a lovely conversation. She is going to be doing an article on our project for their September newsletter. I told you that I had exciting news!!! As soon as the newsletter is posted, I will have a link for you.
Also, as you know, we have actually gone beyond the half way mark of 450 pillowcases. Scheduling the big hang has been a bit of a project, but it is going to happen this Saturday. My friend who is a pilot will be flying over around 2 in the afternoon to take the aerial shots and once the pillowcases are hung, I will once again do a video. Hopefully I'll be able to keep my composure and not burst into tears...this time:) I think it is going to be an amazing sight. I will probably post everything on Sunday rather than Saturday as I will have to wait for the aerial photographs.
I have not been posting a link to the pillowcase instructions with each and every post as I was afraid everyone was getting tired of me saying the same thing all the time. But, one sweet follower told me that she thought that I should, so I will. If you would like to participate in the pillowcase drive for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington, here is a link to the simplified instructions that I did, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html
If you would like to read more about this project, here is a link to all of the posts that I have done, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge If you do take a moment to scroll through the posts, you'll see that it has been quite a journey. I'm so blessed to have been a part of all of this.