Memory Quilts: Part 2

Here are pictures of two of the three finished Memory Quilts from my college friend's stash of her boys baby clothes. One is done in blues and whites, and the other in blues and reds. The third we're working on will be blues and greens - we're still trying to find the right combination of fabrics for the top.

In case you may not see at first glance, if you look at some of the squares, the clothes were re-worked to enable a 'square' - the front of overalls do not lend to a 'square' and even less-so on sewing around gromets. The thickness of some clothes is also a hindrance, so the seems need to be ripped out and re-attached to provide a 'thinner' fabric. I cannot take any credit for these reworkings as it was all mom - she is truly talented with the projects and machine!

Can you see the collar parts she put together with backing of fabric from the body of the outfit?

Saturday at the US Open

So off we went this morning and arrived by 10am. With little grandstand space (no surprise there), we did get to see alot of great players and some good, but fewer great shots. With the rain rolling in, we were stuck in the mud, but remained relatively dry with the umbrella. And, it is amazing how much the seats clear once Tiger moves to the next tee-box. We called the 15th green our home today and got to watch Stricker, Weaver (my new fav), Campbell, Furyk, Olgivey, Jiminez, Weekly, Poulter, Edefors, Harrington, Stricker, Westwood, Leonard, Woods....and I just cannot remember all the others. BUT, by 4:15, we called it a day. And are happily watching the start of Round 3 from the comfort of our living room couches - glass of red wine in hand. I'm a happy girl.

Goooooooooo Weaver! and Gooooooooooo Tiger.......I have to root for him to have a big comeback, repeat on the Black, and repeat last year.....

2009 U.S. Open: Bethpage Black

For those of you that follow golf, I have to say, the Black course seems absolutely brutal! After last year's Open, I went into the lottery for tickets to this year's event. I figured I'd go for the Wednesday practice round and the Saturday regulation round. Sunday is not only Father's Day, but also Ryan's 3rd birthday.....so family time will be spent by all! AND both are families are players so there will be no argument over turning on the TV that afternoon. :-) BUT, I digress....

So we went yesterday and besides the forecast for clear skies, we could not bring cell phones or BBs, so it actually felt like a vacation! With rain the last 12 of 15 days, the course was fairly dried out, but there were patches of just 'wet'. With today's rain cancellation, I don't know how all that water is going to soak in enough to make it playable. But, they are pros and the purse is $7.5 million - thems alot of clams on the table! BUT, I digress again....

Bethpage Black - the infamous course an old friend used to sit in his car on weekend mornings in order to get a tee-time (that was before the 2002 US Open was held here - and now there are so many people vying for times, I don't think camping out for 2 days would do the trick). Here are teh Black stats: 7,426 yards with a rating of 78.2 and a slope of 152, and a par of 70 ....thats right - 70 (the pros are playing to these specs). The Black course is a monster with good reason. The 13th hole is 605 yards....three of the par 3s are more than 200 yards. Now, I'd have the 'ladies tee' advantage, but with the tee distance to the fairway and the fescue leading up to it? I'd lose a dozen balls just trying to hit my tee shots.

As for yesterday, we did see some big golf names - Veejay Singh, Jimenez, Westwood, Weekly, Cink, Anthony Kim (who was playing alone and walked with an entourage of 10 people including 2 state troopers - WHO is he again??), and my new pro-favorite, Ernie Els. Why? Ernie was super crowd friendly, he gave autographs with a smile, wasn't so serious in playing with his pairing of Swartzel (Ernie putted in one of Swartzel's misses), and played good golf!

A co-worker has a pool where I need to pick 4 golfers and a tie-breaker score. For the record, my picks are Woods, Michelson, Furyk, and Els....I waivered on Furyk with Mediate (bc I just adore Rocco's down-to-earth attitude and he has a great smile), but went with Jim at the end of the day. I'll likely regret this decision. I have alot of respect for the pro golfers - and jealousy bc I'd love to have that life - AND I think that after this tournament on the Black course, the pros will give it alot of respect as well - not only because it is a hard course, but also because it is the only truly PUBLIC golf course that is played in a USGA event (the fee for a resident during the week is $50 and on weekends $60).

NOW, if only the rain would stop!!!!!

Memory Quilts of Baby Clothes: Making 3!!

An old friend from college was clearing our her attic and came upon her sons old baby and toddler clothes. All those clothes that she had stored away after having three boys. We had talked years before about making quilts and she decided to send the clothes to us so we could make her three Memory Quilts - one for each son's family when the time comes. So here is what arrived - two big boxes of clothes!




We started sorting by color and fabric and weight. We planned a layout in the Crazy Quilt style and patchwork style - and she would like patchwork.


All three will incorporate different fabrics and we are grouping by colors....Here is the layout of two so far.....





I'll post pictures when we're done!

The Little Pansy: Part II

So that little pansy that started growing in our brick front door staircase is still living. Get this - it bloomed a second flower.....and today when I checked, it has 3 on the way out and a bud getting ready to open. Who woulda thunk it??

My Little Handbags

When I lived in my NYC apartment and then moved to this Long Beach house, my mom, ever the talented lady with the sewing machine, offered to make me curtains. So off we went to Duralee Fabrics in search of the perfect design for my windows. Of course, with our different tastes, we rarely agreed, but in the end, I got cool curtains and also loaded up on some fabulous designer fabrics!

What to do with such a stash? After sewing so many baby quilts and animals, I decided to try making some fun little handbags. I always carried a big work bag (and I'm not one for actual purses), so I wanted something fun, easy, and light - something that could fit a small wallet, keys, cell phone, and lipstick. Voila - my little bags were born! For my button bags, I've used buttons hoarded away by my great-grandmother Emilia - she had some collection. I've had people buy them for Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, teacher gifts, and to use as gift-wrap. What do you think??

ETSY Advanced: Seller Tips

Pop on over to Jessica Schope's site to get her latest book titles "Etsy Advanced" - I'm looking forward to getting my copy since I need serious help to kick some sales my way.