Not sewing-related but…

I’ve always said I want to be Dame Helen Mirren when I grow up. She manages to look not only elegant and beautiful but sexy as well - not an easy feat when you are in your 60s! After seeing this photo of her, I love her even more! She’s chosen a bikini that is just so perfect for her when it would be so easy to go wrong and look like mutton-dressed-as-lamb.

I mean, I think I look pretty good in a bikini but, MY GOD, she is the same age as my mother - well past bikini-wearing age (hell, I think I might be past bikini-wearing age!) - and she looks fabulous. Maybe if I work extra-hard to stay in shape and possibly sell my soul to the devil getting older won’t be so bad…

Button magnets

I’m not into crafts (rather be sewing!) but today I made magnets out of vintage Patrick Kelly buttons! You see, I bought a magnetic bulletin board at my friend Bonnie’s garage sale last year. I finally hung it next to my desk a couple of weeks ago but had no magnets for it. I was going to make these great magnets from Not Martha but they were just too involved for me. Then I came across a bag of these buttons that I’d purchased on Ebay a couple of years ago and voila! in less than 5 minutes I had some cute sewing-themed magnets. You can buy magnetic discs at Michael’s. I used the 1/2″ ones and some E-6000 glue to attach the buttons.

If you want to hang cards or larger photos I’d recommend the 3/4″ discs as they are stronger than the 1/2″ ones.

Tada! The new sewing studio!

Well, I have a few paint touch ups and have to rehang the manilla paper on another wall since I changed my mind about the layout but here it is! I know there’s a lot going on in all the pictures but, what can I say?, I have a lot of stuff.

Here is the view from the door:

The two machines on the right side are my Singer 20U (zigzag) and my Consew 206RB (a walking foot machine). I had the two plain stands leftover from my embroidery shop - they were used as work tables and for hooping. Since I often work on really large projects on these two machines I put a plain stand behind each one to hold all the extra fabric. I really could have used this when I made the cover for my pool table!

On the left are my two coverstitch machines, back to back. I know I would have had more space in the center of the room had I put them against the wall but there is a method to my madness! Now that I live alone I wanted to be able to pull the attic ladder down without having to move any machines by myself - the coverstitch machines are especially heavy! I still have plenty of space to move around the cutting tables. Speaking of which, these are the cheapos you can purchase at JoAnn’s. I originally wanted the much more expensive Horn tables with the drawer but I’ve had these for a number of years and they are great! Of course, with the money you save you must buy the matching rotary mat.

I won’t be doing any construction pressing in this room (I have a Naomoto gravity feed in my other sewing room) but I’m thrilled to have the space to keep the ironing board up! I usually turn on the iron and press things as they come out of the dryer. Now I won’t have to set up in the kitchen!

Straight ahead is my 12-needle embroidery machine. I have pretty much decided to sell it as I don’t see myself using it all that much. After 10 years in business, the bloom is off the embroidered rose.

From the other side:

The Merrow machine sits in the corner to the left of the window since it’s not used very often. My manila paper roll will hang on the wall above it. That wall is concrete so I need to get the proper anchors before I can take care of that. To the right is the Jiffy steamer and on the table is the heat press (that’s the water heater enclosure next to it). Everyone is surprised that I didn’t sell the press when I closed my business. Are they nuts? With a 16×20 surface area I can fuse interfacing quickly and easily! Those paper dispensers on the hot water cabinet used to hold embroidery stabilizer, now they hold examining table paper.

Oh, and I just love my new floor! It’s epoxy garage floor paint and I sprinkled colored paint chips onto it while it was wet. The chips really help hide any imperfections and it was so easy! Since I couldn’t move everything out of the room I had to paint in two sections so the entire thing took nearly 10 days before I could move the machines back in. I had to let the concrete patch and then the bonding primer dry completely before I could even begin painting. The bonding primer drove me crazy because it stays tacky after it’s dry and my shoes kept sticking to it. I ended up wearing old socks instead which worked great.

The paint then requires 72 hours dry time before furniture can be moved back in. Of course, that is when The Boyfriend mentioned that the walls would look really nice painted a light tan (they were cold, stark white and looking a little dingy)… That set me back a few more days but it was so worth it! It drove me nuts to have my living room and bedroom piled with machines and stuff but now that it’s done it looks great! I can’t wait to get back to sewing. Unfortunately, I’m having oral surgery tomorrow and then going away for the weekend (provided I don’t swell up like a chipmunk!) so I’ll have to sit tight for a few more days.

Almost there!

I am finishing up the painting in my new studio today and then The Boyfriend is coming over later to help me move the machines back. My son hates, hates, hates moving machines with me because he says he always stubs his toes on the stand (true, it happens to me too). I am giddy with anticipation!

Here’s a pic from Animal Kingdom - me with the wonderful man in my life. It rained all day and we were soaked to the skin before we broke down and bought those stylish ponchos. I’m so glad I thought to bring my lucky Red Sox hat so I didn’t have to walk around with really bad hair all day. Take a good look, you’ll probably never see me this dressed down again.

Speaking of my son, he closed on his house this past Thursday and is moving out on Monday. When he first told me he was buying a house (and leaving me!) I was very upset. Now? Well, I’m very ashamed to say that I’m looking forward to not having to clean up after him, not having any comings and goings at all hours of the night and not having my son and his friends drink all of my beer and liquor. Because when a girl wants a martini she doesn’t want to have to go out to the liquor store to replace the bottle she bought three days ago! Yes, I do feel like a terrible mother and very guilty but I guess that comes with the territory. I’ll wait a few days before I do the Happy Dance.

Do you wear pantyhose?

Before I go I had to share this article about pantyhose in the workplace with you:

Sun-Sentinel

Yes, I do own some pantyhose although they are probably no longer good since I haven’t worn them in at least a decade. Here in south Florida I rarely see anyone wearing them, certainly no one my age or younger. My best friend is a senior partner in a major law firm and only wears them in court. Even the officers at the bank aren’t wearing them anymore. If women in conservative fields have tossed them out why not everyone? They are certainly very hot and uncomfortable plus they look matronly with open-toes, peep-toes or sandals. Sounds like it’s time to clean out my pantyhose drawer! The only ones I’ll keep are the fishnets and tights which I like to wear periodically when the weather is cooler.

I’d be interested to hear from readers in other parts of the country - hose or no hose?

ETA: Wow, I had no idea my post would elicit such passionate responses! I still feel they are a bit passé especially in this part of the country probably due to the climate. I believe it is perfectly possible to look polished and put-together with clean shaven, bare legs - I see it every day!

ETA: Here is another interesting article on the demise of sheer pantyhose:

Philadelphia Inquirer

I’ll be back shortly…

I had a wonderful time this weekend at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Sea World! Now I’m back to working on the floor and had to disconnect my computer last night. I’m working on DS’ laptop right now but will have limited access for the next few days. I also have some emergency dental work that needs to be done this week (isn’t it always something?) but I should be back by the weekend. I hope you are all busy sewing something wonderful!

TTFN!

The boyfriend and I are headed out to Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the weekend so things will be quiet here. I’m not a park person *at all* but we had so much fun at the zoo that I figured what the heck! It’ll just be nice to get away and, on the plus side, I won’t have any little kids to run around after.

I’ll be back on Sunday and we will start moving machines back into my shop (I guess I should call it Sewing Studio #2 now that I’m no longer in business). I still have to move and paint under the desk and file cabinets but I should be back to 100% by next Friday. The floor looks fantastic, I can’t wait to be back in action! Now that I’m on a roll with my sewing again, these past few days have been killing me.

DIY Paper Dispenser

After two years I thought it was finally time to get my roll of manilla pattern paper out of it’s box on the floor and into a dispenser. I looked online and the least expensive single-roll wall-mounted dispenser I could find was around $100, the most expensive around $200. Thrift is certainly not one of my strong suits but I had a problem paying that kind of money for something to hold a roll of paper.

On Sunday, I headed to Home Depot with the hope that I would find something that I could repurpose. My original thought was a pair of curtain rod brackets with a metal plumbing pipe but they were not deep enough for the roll of paper. Then I found the perfect thing: closet brackets designed to hold a rod and shelf! The metal closet rod was available in 4′, 6′ and 8′ lengths. Since my paper is 48″ wide, my boyfriend cut the 6′ rod down to 5′ for me - it is perfect! Although the brackets are rated for 125 pounds (my paper roll weighs 67 lbs) I opted to double them up and tie-wrap them together for extra stability. The brackets on the right are attached to a stud. On the left I used four 75lb EZ-Anchors.

Supplies needed:

* 6′ Rod $9.79
* 4 Brackets $13.16
* End caps $1.79

Grand total: $24.74. And it looks nice! Now I am getting ready to paint my garage floor with epoxy paint, ugh. I was going to lay a nice floor down but now that my son is buying a house and moving out next month (!) I’m thinking I’ll probably sell as soon as the market improves and don’t want to invest in anything expensive. While I certainly can fill up a 4/3 house with sewing stuff, the maintenance is just too much for one person. I’d rather spend my free time sewing! Let’s hope I can find a large enough town- or patio home to house all of my sewing equipment…

Where in the world am I?

I know I haven’t been writing much here lately - maybe you’ve noticed, maybe you haven’t! I am still working on my Cosmopolitan Dress over at The Sewing Divas and working on a shoulder bag pattern for The Sewing Divas so posting here will be light. I did receive some faboo new fabrics from Ann this past week and will post them soon.

I have had lots more time to sew the past couple of weeks and feel like I’m finally getting my mojo back. Those of you who know what’s been going on in my personal life the past two years know that I haven’t felt like sewing much. I know it would have been really good for me but I wasn’t able to concentrate or get motivated so enjoying sewing again is a really HUGE development and I am sooooo happy about it! It makes me feel like I’m getting a little bit of my old life - and the old me - back. Now I feel confident that once I get going I’ll be cranking things out in record time once again!

Happy Sewing to all!

I’ve been tagged!

Elle has tagged me! I’m honored as I find it so interesting to read about all of my wonderful sewing sisters. Thanks for thinking of me.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was running my 1 year old embroidery business, teaching sewing on the side and spending my free time traveling around to my son’s baseball and hockey games. Not much time for myself in those days!

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
1. Sew two work tops
2. Tidy up my sewing room
3. Have a picnic dinner on the beach with my BF
4. Go to JoAnn’s to pick up the new Threads
5. Run

3) Snacks I enjoy: Cheese, grapefruit, real black licorice, chocolate
and CHEESE!

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
I will answer this as if I were to suddenly come into a fortune! I already live a very good life so that wouldn’t change too much, I’d just pump up the volume a bit.

1. Travel the world
2. Become a philanthropist!
3. Sell my marital home and buy a great place that’s all mine. Naturally, it would have a huge whirlpool tub overlooking my very own woods, a gigantic closet, a steam room and a wine cellar. My sewing room would be an enormous workroom with it’s own kitchen and bath - also overlooking my woods.
4. Said closet would be filled with fabulous shoes and bags
5. Buy a Corvette while I’m still young enough not to look foolish in one
6. Buy that house on the slopes in Steamboat Springs that I covet every time I’m on the lift. I would spend wonderful snowy Christmases there with my loved ones (kitties, too!) every year.

5) Places I have lived
Köln, Germany - my birthplace!
San Francisco, CA
El Paso, TX
Laredo, TX
Kaneohe, HI

6) Jobs I have had:
1. McDonald’s worker (ugh)
2. Bill collector
3. Bank teller
4. Pharmaceutical market research analyst
5. Market research project manager
6. Sewing teacher
7. Embroidery shop owner
8. Restaurant owner/manager
9. Merchandiser (my current, interim job - I’m still looking)

7) 6 peeps I wanna know more about

Everyone I’d like to tag has already been tagged so I’m at a loss here…