Uh Oh.....Look What I Did

Remember the funny saying, "The devil made me do it!" Well.....he didn't. I did it all by myself!

I had the option of buying my leased Camry this month, however it had 40,000 miles on it already, needed new tires, already needed some repairs and by the time I financed the buy out and paid on it for another 5 years, I would have paid way more for that car than it was ever worth.

So, I did this instead. This is my new, darling, non-gas guzzling little Toyota Prius! I know three people that own them and love them and are getting 47 mpg. That will be awesome for me since I drive 20 miles each way to and from work.

I haven't named her/him yet, but I'll let you know when I do.

:)

It's Happened Again!

Every season when I dig out my clothes from closets, boxes and spare dressers, I ask myself the same question, "Where the hell are all my clothes?" Then I remember.....the clean out. At the end of each season I take a long hard look at my weary wardrobe and pull out everything I didn't wear that I thought I would, and things that don't fit right, and things that don't look right, and things I really don't like and I take them to the local resale shop. I always think, "I will just buy some new things next year." Well, next year comes along and I never have the money to go out and buy new to replace all of the old I gave away, so I end up making do.

I think however that I have been making do for so long now that what's left...just won't do!!

I need some summer clothes for work. I have the cute little tops I bought for Tresa's showers and the rehearsal dinner, but once school ends next week, I can wear whatever I want to work, and I want to wear jeans, capris and t-shirts. I have the jeans and some capris....but the t-shirts I have left can't be worn to work. They are either fraying, have holes in them or are an awful color because of our rusty water.

Guess I'll have to head out and buy some stuff. I'll start out at Walmart and Target because I really need to get a lot of bang for my buck. If that doesn't work, I'll head on over to my favorite store and get no bang for my buck at The Gap!

The nice thing is that whatever I buy I can wear on vacation too. That is how I will justify the purchases! :)

How does your wardrobe hold out from year to year? Any better than mine?

Moving Right Along

The aprons are coming along and as soon as I find a willing model I will get 3 of them into my shop. I'm hoping Tresa or Bernadette might cooperate. :)

It's really going well. I did run into some issues with one of the patterns I bought. It just didn't look the way I wanted it to look. It's okay, but I think I'm going to combine parts of one pattern with parts of another to come out with an apron I really like. This first one is a longer apron that uses a "D" ring for the neck strap. I like that style, but didn't like working with this pattern.

My first craft show/vendor apron will be done tonight and it is so cute. I used that watermelon fabric I showed you last weekend.

There are just so many things I want to do right now, but no where close to the amount of time I need to do them all. I really need to get my head out of the "hurry up" mode so I can relax and really enjoy what I'm doing. I got like this before and it really takes the fun out of my business.

I love this little peachy apron. The pattern was wonderful and I love the look. It's a tie neck and little shorter style.

So, starting today....I am going to slow down a bit. There really is no reason to rush to get these things in my shop. When they get there....they get there. Right? I think it is just the excitement that takes over when I find something I really enjoy making, and sewing seems to be my thing right now. Who knows what it will be next month. I can't seem to do any one thing for very long as you can tell my looking at MyOtherShop.

This sunflower one is the same pattern as the peachy one. It's so bright and sunny! If I wore an apron, this would be mine!!

I am just having so much fun with all of this. If you create and sell your work, do you love it so much that it's all you want to do, or do you follow a schedule of some sort? Me, I get home and say hi to Irv and I can't wait to get started. Maybe when I try to slow down today....I'll be able to sit for a couple of minutes to chat about our days before I run off to the workshop....but probably not. I can hear it calling my name before I even pull in the driveway! "Kathy, Kathy, get in here quick. Look how much fun we are going to have tonight. See all the pretty colors and prints. Hurry up, get in here and let's play!!!"

HAHA! Have a great day everyone!

Happy Anniversary

Today is Irv's and my 37th wedding anniversary. My oh my...where does the time go? We were 20 years old when we got married. Much too young by today's standards, but pretty common back then. Like most couples that have been married as long as we have, we have definitely had our ups and downs, but through it all...we have grown and our love has grown.

I remember at our 25th anniversary party, one of our younger neighbors asked us how we had stayed married so long. I told him it was because we could never afford a divorce!

There have been times when I would have gladly sent Irv "to the moon" and I'm sure there have been more times when he would have liked to have shipped me off somewhere....anywhere, but as the years go by, we grow more and more comfortable, and find it easier to overlook the other's imperfections. Things that would drive us crazy years ago, we don't even bat an eye at these days. I like to look at marriage as an adventure....always a new challenge....always changing.

So, our hair keeps getting grayer, our wrinkles are getting wrinkles, the pounds gather in not so flattering places, we have become very attached to our routines, we go to bed ridiculously early, we often forget things we use to remember, we rarely remember that we already told that story the day before, we sometimes move a little slower, but we are together. It's funny to think that we have been together since we were kids, and I truly can't think of anyone I would rather share this adventure called "marriage" with.

Happy Anniversary Irv!

Got Summer Plans?

So, what kind of plans do you have for summer? Anything exciting? Going on vacation? Taking any little trips? Making any home improvements? Are you moving this summer?

I have summer on the brain right now. I work for a school district and everyone is so excited that the school year is coming to an end and summer break is just around the corner....everyone except for us in the District Office. We are 12 month employees, so there is no summer break for us. To be honest with you...I'm just happy to have a job right now, and summer is a little different in our office. We get to work summer hours and we get to wear shorts, tees and flip flops if we want...so it's nice.
We will be going on vacation this summer thanks to our tax refund...otherwise we would be going nowhere. We head to Telluride, Colorado the end of this month and I am so excited. It will be fun to see Matt and spend some time in the awesome mountains...even though they scare the heck out of me!

Beyond that, Irv will spend his summer working in the yard and on his wonderful garden, and I will be in my workshop. We hope to do a couple of craft shows, so that will be fun. I might drag my bicycle out and start riding a bit, and maybe we'll rent kayaks on the Fox River again. That's a lot of fun.

My living room and all of my doors and trim could use a fresh coat of paint and the bedroom I redid last year ended up being one of those, "what was I thinking" things and really needs to be redone....again.

I would like to go visit some of the conservation areas around our county. They are beautiful and each so different. It's nice just to walk around them. This photo is from our conservation district's website. So pretty.
If I do even a fraction of all of that, it will be an awesome and productive summer! How about you? Got summer plans?

Do you?

I do. If you do iron...what do you iron? I iron most of my clothes, although I am a master at the "Open, grab, shut and hang" technique. You have to be quick with the dryer still running....just open it up and before it stops, you grab one article of clothing, slam it shut so it keeps running and hang the item up....then you do it again, and again, until the dryer is empty! Works beautifully and makes for less ironing.

My old boss sent all of her laundry out so she never had to iron anything. My mother-in-law use to iron just about everything including her cotton bras. My grandma use to "sprinkle" the clothes with water, roll them in tight little "tubes" , put them in the laundry basket and then go iron them while they were damp.The summer after my freshman year of high school I was a "Mother's Helper". I was hired to watch the kids, but ended up being the maid as well. I ironed my little heart out that summer. That lady ironed everything, including sheets and pillowcases.

Since I started making pillows for MyOtherShop and now the aprons...I've been ironing a lot, but this is fun ironing. I like ironing nice flat things that don't have sleeves or lumpy pockets or cuffs.

I had to buy a new iron this weekend and man I hate to spend my money on stuff like that, but the old one didn't get hot enough, didn't steam properly and leaked occasionally. I spent $30 for one that was on sale and let me tell you...this thing is so shiny and slippery that one of these days it's going to flying right off the ironing board!

So, do you?

Colors and Prints and Fruit...Oh My

Gee, I guess that wasn't very nice of me to tell you about all of the awesome fabric I bought for the new aprons last night and not show them to you was it? Well, here they all are. I am still so excited. I am headed to the grocery store and when I get back I will be washing fabric!

On a side note....I am really starting to like the hair....straight. I am going to call my girl today and tell her it needs some fixing. The two sides just don't look the same ....at all. :) I just keep telling myself that it is just hair and it will grow and no one will notice! HAHA!

Enjoy the fabric, and here is the new apron pattern with the craft show apron I'm going to try and then a pattern for grocery totes and bags I fell in love with. Not exactly sure when I will be making those, but eventually.

Have a fantastic Sunday everyone!