A is for Apron ...... D is for Disorganized .....

A is for Apron (as in the one I promised to show you all a couple of days ago ..... because I really, really did finish sewing it on Monday .... but , for me D is for Disorganized ... and I just didn't get a chance to get back to Blogland until today .... and now I bet you're thinking "oh sure... that's a likely story ... you really weren't finished making the apron and you needed a couple more days .....")

Well, anyhow ..... (drum roll please .....) here it is !!!!!

this is how it looks hanging on a hanger ....

....and this is how it looks with my new red shoes in my kitchen ....

....and this is how it looks with my new red shoes in my kitchen with my handy dandy red fire extinguisher ....

...and this is how it looks with my new red shoes while standing on the toilet with the matching red hand towels hanging right there ....(I really have to get a full length mirror so I don't have to stand on the toilet or hire a better photographer ....)

Anyhow, you're probably tired of looking at that apron by now , but stay tuned because there's a matching chef hat (just finished it about a half hour ago but I didn't take any pictures yet ..... and I'm sure again you're thinking "yea right... you're not finished with the chef hat ... you're just saying that ....") Also, there's an apron extravaganza coming soon (pictures I took of some of my mother's aprons ) ..... so get some rest then come back for another visit!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Happy Memorial Day! Happy Summer !!!

.....Ahhhhhhhhhhh.........it's a BEAUTIFUL day here on my front porch. I spent some time finishing up that apron (YES!!! It's DONE !!!) earlier today, so I decided to come out on the porch and prop my dawgs up on the coffee table, have a glass of tea, and look at a new quilting magazine I picked up at the store yesterday.

I was looking at this page with these CUTE patriotic pillows ....


...Maybe I'll make some for out here on my porch .... or maybe for my mother's Fourth of July birthday ..... but first I've got to finish/start Matt's graduation quilt (I'm thinking of giving him one of my famous I.O.U. notes for unfinished graduation quilts on the June 6th graduation day, and shooting for the June 28th tentative graduation party date ..... how's that for strategy ?! .... always good to have that back up date !!)

Anyhow, those cute patriotic pillows are in this magazine....


















....oh ..... and how about those orange shoes!! Wait, here's a close up.....


Cute huh?!?! (saw them at Walmart and just couldn't pass them up)




I got the orange ones, and these spiffy red ones ....


.....don't ya just love the fabric on the insides!!! I can't decide what's cuter ... the insides or the outsides .....
Anyway .... back to our busy schedule of relaxing ....

(that's Evan about to take a snooze after making sure the bear went back into the woods ..... I'm pretty sure he came out looking for a steak after sniffing the neighbors' BBQ ..... the bear, that is, not Evan .... although Evan was sniffing the air in the direction of the neighbor's grill, too....)

Hope you're having a nice day ... and I'll be back soon!!(with pictures of that apron because.... did I mention that it's FINISHED !!!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

OK mud.....I'm ready for ya now!!!!!

How 'bout them boots?!?!?!

Yea, yea.... I KNOW I'm supposed to be SEWING, but I took a little break yesterday to meet my Sis for lunch and a bit of shopping at Target' (pronounced with a French accent please, as I only shop at the finest, most upscale establishments!!) .... anyhow , just LOOK at those boots!! Black and white polka dots on the outside and HOT PINK on the inside!!! ....AND waterproof and MUD PROOF !!! they oughta be able to stand up to ......



......THIS !!! and anything else the next rainy dirtbike race throws at me!!!



.....oh! and look what else my sister spotted at Target'....


......this looks like it could be our kind a book!!! It says it's a novel about "sewer pipes, pageant queens, and big trouble" ..... so I just had to buy it!!! It's by Laurie Notaro . Some of the other books she's written (none of which I've read yet ... but they do sound fun!) are "The Idiot Girls' Action - Adventure Club", "I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies)", "Autobiography of a Fat Bride", and my personal favorite "We Thought You Would Be Prettier" .....Sounds like some good summer reading to me !! WHAT A HOOT !!

OK, OK .... enough piddling around ..... back to ....


.....the sweat shop....er, I mean sewing room!!!





Be back soon ..... (hopefully with pictures of a FINISHED apron!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

EVERYBODY is sewing !!!!!

EVERYBODY is getting into the sewing act today !!









......well, almost everybody ....















.....ANYWAY, as I was sayin'..... everybody is sewing these days (and knitting, and crocheting, and stitching, etc) .... it's "hip to sew" !!! (we no longer have to hide in the closet afraid of being too much of a geek ....THANK GOODNESS !!) Happily, I was able to squeeze in a teensy bit of sewing this morning (and if I don't wash my hair, or clean up the mess in the kitchen sink, I'll be able to squeeze in a few more minutes before I have to go to work!!!) ....I'm DESPERATELY trying to finish up .....

.....that apron !!! SHEESH !! You'd think it was some big complicated project !! (and, I need to finish this up like YESTERDAY since I still have to finish .... er, I mean start Matt's graduation quilt!!! .... graduation is in 2 weeks !!!! Uh Oh !!)






...OK, so like I said, I'm trying to make some progress on this apron when .....



......"I wanna learn how to sew !"









"Can ya teach me?!? Huh?! Can ya?! Huh?! Huh?!"(she is so darn impatient!) KITTY !! MOVE!!! You're in my way !! "But I wanna sew too!!!!" (big sigh .....) OK, I'll tell you what. While I TRY to finish up this apron, why don't you look through the kid's beginner sewing book my mom got for me WAY before I was old enough to sew ......




.... here's a list of some tools and equipment you need for sewing ....








...and this page explains different stitches ....




....and here's how to make a bias strip ....






Well, this was all pretty uninteresting to our Miss Kitty until she saw this ...


"Look! Here's how to sew baggy underwear!!"















....and a "work apron" ....


....."what's a work apron?" .....(apparantly our Miss Kitty is not familiar with doing chores around the house ....)

.....and then .... "ooooooohhhhh !!! Look at these cute matching outfits!!! We should make one for me and one for you!!!"











Well Kitty I think you should really start with something a little easier for your first project .... and I also think you should go back to the beginning of that book and learn the basics .....



....."UGH.....learn the basics?!? .......BORINGGGGG !!"



"Hmmmph! I'm leaving!! If I can't make a cute outfit right away then I don't wanna sew !........ 'Happy Sewing Days"?!? ......Hmmmmph!!!!"


Well that didn't take long .... she left faster than I thought she would!!! Just ask her to do a little work and she's good as GONE !!! ....and now I can get back to sewing that apron!

Like the book says "Happy Sewing Days"! Be back soon!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Extreme sports calls for Extreme quilting !!!

Before I get into tonight's blog topic, thank you everybody for your nice comments about Matt and Kitty's Prom attire. They both had a really great time ..... and to answer the question everybody has been asking (i.e how did Kitty score a date with Dr. McDreamy?!?!) .... well, seems her dad and his dad are old army buddies and you know our Kitty whined and begged and threw a tantrum until "Daddy" called up his old army buddy for a favor!!! SHEESH !!!

ANYHOW......seems one evening of "formal" attire is about all we can handle around here ..... by Sunday, we were back to the races ..... dirtbike races, that is ...... rainy, muddy dirtbike races ....


......like I said, it was raining and we had about an hour to wait until Matt's race started (Evan wasn't racing because of some mechanical problem with his dirtbike) .....so, I "set up shop" on the dashboard of the truck..... there's my magazine stash (Quilt Sampler, Country Living, and Somerset Life magazines) along with my snack (a chocolate peanut Go Lean Kashi bar) and a cup of tea from the concession stand (which was a much too far muddy, rainy walk from the truck resulting in wet, muddy sneakers...)

Anyhow, I was leafing through Somerset Life magazine when I spotted this article .....



....it was written by Rebecca Sower and she talks about how her 9 year old son went out for football and how the practice schedule is a bit over the top (i.e. like EVERY night for 2 hours !!! BEEN THERE !! Like her, I always thought it RIDICULOUS to be that intense about football for kids that young .... as if they were gonna win zillions of $'s for the coaches at the superbowl .....) ANYHOW, she realized in order to preserve her sanity and attempt to get something productive done during those ENDLESS hours waiting around at football practices, she decided to bring her crafting/sewing supplies with her ...... BUT, she also wanted her carrying case for those supplies to also be creative and pretty, so she fixed up a vintage train case for the purpose (it's pictured there on the left page of the article ..... isn't it pretty !!! and so creative the way she has everything set up !!!) Well, being a veteran of soccer practices, knee hi football practices, little league baseball practice, knee hi wrestling practices, high school wrestling tournaments, and now all day dirtbike races, I too have my "carrying case" for my "hurry up and wait" projects ..... and here it is ....


....a large size ziploc bag ..... complete with a sandwich size ziploc bag inside to keep my scissors, needlecase and thread together (fancy, huh!!) ..... definately not as pretty as Rebecca's, but in these EXTREME conditions, practical (i.e. water and mud proof) wins out over pretty ....because did I mention that it was raining and very .......


.......MUDDY !!!!!! (that's my foot and Evans' great big foot .... stuck in the mud)




Anyhow, back to my EXTREME quilting project ....


....in Extreme quilting, you have to be able to balance everything on your lap because if it falls on the floor of the truck ..... mud .... and lots of it!!! Anyhow, this is my dirtbike race hand piecing project that I also blogged about last summer in this post

Well, now that quilting "travel kit" isn't the only travel kit you need for Extreme sports/Extreme quilting ...... here's another one .....



....yep....hand sanitizer and tissues .... because now that we've spent the last hour reading our magazines, stitching on a quilt and SIPPING TEA while the rain was pouring on the windshield of the truck, we now have to leave the semi dry and semi clean truck and slop through the mud and muck to .....



......."The Best Seat in Town"









......YUCK!! ...it really wasn't (the best seat in town) but when you're out of options, like they say, any port in a storm!!!!!



......glad I had the tissues (no toilet paper) and the hand sanitizer !!!( I just wanted to dump that stuff ALL OVER MY BODY after using "the best seat in town"!!

OK, so it was FINALLY time for Matt's race ......



here he is, all nice and clean , right before he heads to the track.....





....and here he is coming in on his final lap ....



MUD MAN !!! (actually, they all looked like this half way through their FIRST lap, so it was pretty hard to tell who was who!!)

..... and here he is after he chipped the mud away enough to get his helmet off....



..."hey Mom .... do I have something on my face?"






Of course, AFTER the race was over, it stopped raining and the sun came out ......









Now, I'm thinking I should submit this post to Somerset Life magazine .... I noticed in the back of the magazine they had an article "How to get published in Somerset Life". It says they are looking for stories "that offer simple and accessible ideas that transform ordinary moments into extraordinary ones, and infuse art and beauty into all facets of life" ...... Well..... I'll bet nobody attempted to "infuse art and beauty" into a dirtbike race ....until now!!! First of all .... the "hurry up and wait" quilting project in it's own fancy carrying case qualifies as art and beauty (if you squint your eyes and look from real far away ....) ; next, that "best seat in town" was a lovely shade of blue .... maybe I could hang a pretty wreath on the door or something to spiff it up a bit more ....; BUT, the real beauty of that dirtbike race was the fact that Matt finished the race with only a minor (we hope) shoulder injury ......and ...... how about that RAINBOW !!!! (talk about your art and beauty !!!! ..... I'll have to order one of those for every dirtbike race !!)

OK .... got TONS of mud to clean off of EVERYTHING !!! Be back soon!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Prom Night !!!!!!

It's here!! It's finally here!! PROM NIGHT!!!! .... and so, with no further adoo (is that how you spell that?) .... I present to you .....



......Matt !! (seen here posing with grandparents, George and Nancy).



Now, if you're a fan of the movie,Dumb and Dumber, you'll recognize that ORANGE TUX !!!

...and here is Matt with a gang of his friends right before they left for the Prom...



.....he certainly stands out in a crowd, wouldn't ya say !?!?!!!





......and , of course we can't forget Kitty !!!! ..... and again, with no further adoo ..... I present to you (drum roll please ......)



.......Miss Kitty in her Prom finery ....








....and here's Kitty with her dad (she's his daughter from a second marriage ....)














...OK, and the moment we've all been waiting for ..... LOOK who is Kitty's Prom date !!!!!!!!



......GASP !!! WOW !!!! Be still my heart !!! It's Dr. McDreamy himself !!!!!! How in the world did Kitty score a Prom date with him ?!?!? !!!!









Well Blogland friends, it's been an eventful evening. Time to make a cup of tea, do some stitching, and wait for Matt and Kitty to get home from the Prom and tell me all about it! Be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Prom preparations......

This Friday is the Prom !! A few days ago Kitty (who conveniently got over her huff and snit) came over so we could decide on fabric and the style of her prom gown.....


......she decided she wants something frothy and pink....





......and today she came over for her final fitting ....


....no peeking !!! Kitty doesn't want anybody to see her dress until Prom night!



Matt, Kid #1, will also be going to the Prom on Friday. Matt is not real big on dances so I've been trying to convince him for weeks now that he should go to his Senior Prom with his friends .... and believe me , this took alot of convincing!! He's changed his mind about going at least 5 times .... but his friends finally convinced him to go ... and he said he'd go ONLY if he could wear this ....

.....that's all you get to see until the big night .... yep it's ORANGE .... Matt is not one to take a formal affair too seriously ..... YIKES !!!

Anyhow, Kitty is still being mysterious about her Prom date .....let's see..... it could be this guy .....


.....he's been taking dancing lessons for the past month from Lucy ... seems like he's getting in practice to take somebody to the Prom.....

...or, it could be this dreamboat ....


.....Kitty just LOVES a man in uniform.....








...or, maybe this slightly older, sophisticated man of the world ....


....uh oh..... wait, I don't think he'll be allowed to smoke at the Prom ... and besides, I think this guy is married ..... I hope Kitty doesn't plan to go with him .... he might end up getting arrested .....

.....oh! maybe she's going with one of these guys ....


...I always thought the older one was cute .... and he's about the right age too...



.....hmmmm, maybe she's just going to take her chances with this guy.....















.... I guess we'll just have to wait and see ! Well, I'd better get back to the last minute alterations on Kitty's gown and Matt's tux.....

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)