The Sewing Mom

Many, many years ago, I used to play tennis. I was never really that good at it, but I could get the ball going back and forth across the net. It was an enjoyable sport, I just never had the opportunity again over the years to play it myself.
I have enjoyed watching professional tennis though.

Did you know that the first tennis match played at Wimbledon was the Gentleman’s Singles in 1877? The match was won by Spencer Gore and was watched in person by around 200 people who paid 1 shilling each for the privelege of viewing the game.

In 1884, Ladies Singles was introduced as well as Gentlemen’s Doubles. The popularity, while it’s had its share of ups and downs, has significantly increased over the years. It wasn’t until 1968 however, that professional tennis players were allowed to participate in the Wimbledon championship. Today, Wimbledon is considered to be the world’s premier tennis tournament. Did you know that the stadium at center court can seat 15, 000 people! That’s amazing!

I always love watching the Wimbledon tournament because it’s played on grass, not clay, which gives it a unique twist to the tennis most of us are used to playing. I think it would be so much fun to be in the stands watching a game at center court in person. Wimbledon debenture tickets are issued every 5 years and the holder of the debenture ticket Holder automatically receives one Center Court ticket for every day of The Lawn Tennis Championships. I imagine the tickets would look something like this:

While I don’t follow tennis that closely, I think attending Wimbledon would equate to attending the Superbowl or the World Series. Let’s face it, with all the history surrounding Wimbledon, it would definitely be an amazing experience.How about you, are you a fan of tennis? Have you ever been to Wimbledon?

Tags: Wimbledon Tennis, Wimbledon tickets

I bought a new serger on April 4.   I attended the free class a few days later and learned quite a bit.  This is my first time to use a serger, much less own one.  I feel I can use the serger a lot to create more finished edges in the bags I’m making.

Today, I took the serger back to the store.  I spent the weekend trying to get it to work and I didn’t succeed.  I thought maybe it was something simple, but the lady at the store couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working either.  So, the serger is being sent in for repair.  What a pain in the butt!

I am disappointed, I had planned on finishing of some interior seams and some fleece blankets.  Oh well, I’ll just have to do it on my sewing machine, it’s just not as fast as a serger.

Tags: serger machine

Okay, the only thing I love more than buying fabric would have to be buying shoes! I don’t get to go shoe shopping very often, but I recently got the opportunity and found exactly what I was looking for, my first ever pair of Keds!

The funny thing was that I had seen these cute, backless sneakers in a fashion magazine while having my hair done. I had to hit several shops before finding the ones I wanted, but I finally found them, on sale even, at a department store. I’ve been wearing them just about every day since. In fact, I’m hoping that I can get a second pair in another color. Who knows, maybe my daughter will get them for me for Mother’s Day! (hint, hint)

Speaking of shoes as gifts, I just got off the phone with my sister, the only person I know who loves shoes even more than I do. I was wondering if she might like some Tsubo shoes as a birthday gift, or maybe even some Seychelles shoes to add to her collection. She would love it!

These Tsubo shoes are a great slip on sneaker that I would like to have myself!

Of course, my love of shoes has also rubbed off on my daughter, who this year, created quite a collection of Converse shoes herself. I think the only shoes she got in the last 8 months that weren’t Converse were Minnetonka boots that she wore in the winter. I personally love the Minnetonka sandels.

Whether I’m buying as a gift or buying for myself, I love to shop for shoes!

Tags: Converse, Keds, Minnetonka, Seychelles, Tsubo

After staying away from my sewing machine for over a week, (this is a long time when sewing is an addiction), I got back in there and finished sewing a bag that I had started 3 weeks earlier.

This is a charm bag with ragged edges. The front is made from 5 inch square fabric charms sewn together with wrong sides together so that the edges are ragged instead. I also used the 5 inch squares to form 2 interior pockets. The lining and back fabric are a coordinating color as are the handles which are reinforced with batting for shoulder comfort. The bag has been quilted.

This bag is a great tote bag and is for sale for $30.

If you’ve tackle something this week, why not join 5 Minutes for Mom and Tackle it Tuesday?

Tags: fabric bag, sewing, tackle it Tuesday

I was surfing through some of my favorite blogs and I ran across the most beautiful poem at Waterrose Handcrafted Obsessions. She has kindly given me permission to copy it here. This poem was written by Carrie A. Hall and Rose G. Kretsinger.

The Patchwork QuiltOf all the things a woman’s hands have made,
The quilt so lightly thrown across her bed–
The quilt that keeps her loved ones warm–
Is woven of her love and dreams and thread.

When I have spoken to you of its beauty–
“A mere hodge-podge of calico,” you said,
“A necessity of homely fashioning,
Just a covering made of cloth and thread.”

I new you’d missed the message hidden there
By hands that fashioned quilts so long ago.
Ambition and assurance are the patches
And the stitches of a quilt are love, I know.

I think a quilt is something very real–
A message of creation wrought in flame;
With grief and laughter sewing into its patches
I see beyond the shadows, dream and aim.

One of my favorite poems and my favorite past-time.
From: The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America, by Carrie A. Hall and Rose G. Kretsinger, written in 1935.

Tags: The Patchwork Quilt

After living in this house for almost a year, I finally did it, I go the bathtub/shower fixed in my daughter’s bathroom! You see, the mixer valve, the valve that allows both hot and cold water to come out of the faucet at the same time was broken when we moved in. I had a handyman come out and take a look at it months ago, but he didn’t seem really too sure of himself and made the work sound much more complicated than I though it should be, so I didn’t call him to come back. I finally called a regular licensed plumber who fixed in pretty quickly. My daughter can finally use her own shower instead of ours!

For my daughter, the biggest difference is that now, instead of a glass enclosed shower stall, she’s using a shower/bathtub combination with a plastic shower curtain. She hasn’t had any issues with it and actually seems to enjoy being able to use her own bathroom. I on the other hand, am not a big fan of shower curtains. Whenever we stay in hotels, it’s the one thing I don’t like when I’m using their shower.

I have this thing about shower curtains. For some unknown reason, the air movement in the bathroom somehow manages to blow in onto you when you’re all wet in the shower. The result is the thing sticks to you. Now, I know that they do a very good job in most hotels cleaning the tub & tile, but I can’t help wonder if they EVER disinfect the shower curtain. Just consider all the other human bodies that shower curtain has rubbed up against and stuck to. It’s really disgusting when you think about it!

Whenever I get the stuck slimy shower curtain touching my skin I feel like I have to scrub myself down all over again to get rid of all the germs that the shower curtain just rubbed all over me! I don’t feel clean unless I’ve done it, it’s like having to take a double shower. I’ve been known to try stacking shampoo bottles and other heavy items on the bottom of the shower curtain to keep this horrible event from occurring, but nothing seems to work. There’s no controlling a psychotic shower curtain!

Personally, I don’t know why hotels don’t just install the ShowerBow. It’s designed to give you more space in the shower by pushing the curtain outward and away so that it never comes in contact with your skin, what a relief! It’s simple to install and inexpensive. I really thing anyone who uses any type of shower curtain would benefit from this simple product.

Tags: moreshowerspace.com, shower curtains, ShowerBow

Yesterday I asked for bread pudding recipes and I am happy to report, my request was granted! Kelly from City Mouse - Country Mouse gave me this recipe that her mom uses from Italian Cooking and Living Magazine. Thanks Kelly!
Corrin from Oh Hey! uses the same recipe and highly suggests using a Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean!

1 vanilla bean
6 cups whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup brandy
9 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
ten 3/8?-thick slices rustic bread, crusts removed
2 lemons, cut into 20 thin slices
10 mint sprigs

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape the seeds from the pod and combine them with the pod, cream, milk, and brandy in a 3-quart pan. Bring to just below the boiling point over medium heat. Discard the vanilla pod and seeds. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until thick in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the cream mixture, whisking constantly. Arrange the bread in a 3-quart soufflé dish. Pour in the egg yolk-cream mixture, submerging the bread with a spoon so it soaks up some of the liquid. Place the souffle dish in a 10? x 14? baking dish and fill the baking dish with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the souffle dish. Bake 30 minutes, or until the edges have set and the center is still a bit runny; the pudding will continue to cook out of the oven and will set as it cools slightly Serve warm, garnished with the lemon and mint. Serves 10

Tags: bread pudding recipe

As I’ve said here before, I am working on selling what I sew, having my own small business. It’s definitely not easy, and one of the trickiest parts of starting a business is that you have to spend money before you can make money.

Spending money really comes into play when you consider the supplies you need. Of course, I have to purchase fabric and thread among other actual sewing items. But there are other items that have to be considered, including mailers, labels, and packaging supplies. I’m on a very limited new business budget, so it’s nice to know there is a place where I can get wholesale products at a great discount.

The truth is, anybody that knows me will tell you, I’d rather spend my money on fabric, so buying wholesale for other supplies allows me to do that!

Tags: wholesale products

How is it possible that I can feel that I accomplished quite a bit today, while at the same time, I feel like I got nothing done?

I got up this morning with good intentions.  I got the kitchen and family room all cleaned up and vacuumed.  I got the sheets washed.  I even changed light bulbs in the patio that had been burned out since we bought the house a year ago.  I spent a little time over a cup of coffee reading blogs and responding to comments and then I headed out to do errands.

I picked up more fabric at the quilt shop (another new bag will be made soon!).  I then went and picked up hair supplies for each member of our family and even stopped and bought dog food.  On my way home I made one last stop for groceries for tonight and tomorrow nights dinners and then came home.

I spent a couple of hours then on the computer dropping EC’s before starting dinner.  Now here we are, it’s after 8 and I haven’t even checked my email today, much less worked on any sewing project.  Perhaps that’s the problem, I haven’t sewn anything in almost a week and I have several projects that I’m in the middle of.  Maybe I need to focus on those this weekend.  Of course, if I’m sewing, then the yardwork won’t get done.  I’m feeling a bit torn tonight, maybe I just need a good nights rest.

Sorry for going on, I just need to talk myself through it!

No tags.

If you’re a reader of my blog or you’ve read the title of it, you know I sew. One thing I don’t sew is clothing. I’ll sew costumes, but not every day outfits, I just don’t enjoy it. So, that means, a shopping I must go.

I’m going to be attending my niece’s graduation from nursing school in a couple of weeks and I have no idea what to wear. I basically live in my capris and jeans and don’t really have much else that isn’t 15 years old. I don’t really want to buy anything that I won’t wear again, but maybe something I could wear out to a casual dinner. I really do not enjoy shopping for myself, so this could be a challenge.

I’m checking out the “Spring Event” at OhSoChicBoutique where I can find cute dresses and, if I use coupon code “SPringFling” at checkout, I’ll get a 15% discount. I’m hoping I can find something quickly so I won’t stress about what to wear!

What do you think is appropriate dress for this type of graduation?

Tags: OhSoChicBoutique.com