install/attach a zipper? any volunteers?

read: a mccall's sewing patern

learn: how to add an additional panel to a skirt that should fit your friend, but instead fits your 9 yr-old girl

grow: mad skills for installing a zipper

come back soon for the exciting photos which will reveal a finished zippered skirt (or me with a seam ripper jammed into my skull)

let's just be honest here

what have i really been up to?

blog lurking

blog commenting

a bit of envy

a bit of inspiration

some self-disclosure on a perfect stranger's blog (oops)

there's just something misleading about the intimacy of a blog, don't you think?

we see photos (mostly spectacular) taken of lovely people in exquisite surroundings eating and crafting wondrous quilts, skirts, aprons...

i like to do a bit of crafting myself, but my darn sewing machine nearly put out my eye a few weeks ago, and even my ever-frugal husband commented about the loudness of the motor/engine of that thing

i have:

1. about 6 sewing projects in various stages of completion

2. no fewer than 5 cookie/candy recipes dancing in my head like some deranged faerie

3. a son who wants me to play beatle's rockband with him

4. a car with a loose seal on the windshield

5. a netflix to watch

6. a Bible collecting dust on the bookshelf

7. speaking of bookshelf--i need about 2 more-floor to ceiling size, if possible--and black is a good color for our decor

SO...

why the heck am i wasting away my day lurking in blogland??

GOODBYE

sewing is not for the faint of heart

Yesterday the munchkins and i ventured over to the local (not really) fabric chain store and picked up some fun fabrics for pyjama pants. Oh, and we needed a unisex pattern...and let me just say, while i looooove touching all the fabrics (yes, every single one) twice, that after about 47 minutes my head begins to spin, and i have the overwhelming urge to bolt for the door, kids in tow or not!

I ended up with so many ideas spinning in my head, that now i am almost too tired and overwhelmed to start the crazy pants/sewing projects. Does that happen to you?

The kids really want these to take to camp next week, so we had better get on the stick, make hay, stop lolly-gagging, whatever.

The older child has already expressed apprehension about cutting out the pattern pieces, because apparently he inherited the need to know how to do absolutely everthing before anyone actually teaches you how to do it.... (from his mother)

So now i am going to read through this easy (really?) pattern and try to get an idea of what we signed up for before the kids come back inside ready to sew.

recycle your starbucks

yum yum yum

coffee is good. hot, steaming coffee with just the right amount of foam and sweetness, black coffee, iced coffee, frappuccino...i will slurp down any of them just about any time of day.

and while many people rue the day a starbucks popped up on a street corner near them, i want to sing the praises of the 'big-bucks' coffee chain.

1. the first time i picked up a bill bryson book was on the sharing bookshelf at the marion starbucks, and i have been reading and re-reading his works ever since. if you have never read bill bryson, his books usually chronicle his travels in europe in a humorous way. he also has a great one called "a walk in the woods" this recounts his trials and joys of hiking the appalachian trail...if you can't travel, then read about it-it's much cheaper, and less dangerous

2. i loooove to make something out of nothing, or to use the current terminologies, upcycling/repurposing. i have cut, pasted, and stitched countless cup sleeves and cups into gift-card holders and bookmarks.

3. starbucks will give you their used grounds to toss into your composter, which i have been told is great for your garden/flower bed.

4. order black fresh brewed coffee and you can take the leftovers and make these:

a. coffee ice cubes for a future iced coffee or frappuccino

b. espresso/coffee brownies--just replace the water called for (on the brownie mix) with

chilled coffee.

if any of you are so inclined, i would be happy to pass along a tutorial, or at least some photos of my upcycled creations using starbucks paper goods. just fling me an email, or leave a comment.