Happy Birthday, Stephen!

 

Hope your year is HAPPY!

Today is the fall equinox. The sun rises due east and sets due west. Day and night are equal in time. It is the official start of autumn in the northern hemisphere. Learn more from the Old Farmer's Almanac.

September 21 - One of my favorite days of the year!

Yes. I am an Earth, Wind, and Fire fan. 

Maybe it is because they were popular during my youth and I can recall dancing September nights away. Maybe it is the sound of the brass horns mixed with the nonsensical lyrics. Who knows?! I am still a fan of the group, though.

I recently read an article about how the song came to be written by Al McKay, Maurice White of Earth Wind and Fire, and Allee Willis. I really learned so much about Willis that I didn't know and I have sort of become a fan of her as well!

Maybe it is because she is the same age as me. Maybe it is because she is touted to be "the most interesting woman you never heard of" by the Washington Post. Maybe it is because she is such a creative person.

She was the writer of the theme song for Friends, "I'll Be There For You," "Boogie Wonderland," and "September," for Earth, Wind, and Fire, and "Neutron Dance" for the Pointer Sisters. She co-authored the musical adaptation of "The Color Purple" as well. There is a string of accomplishments - just Google her name to see!

Willis claimed that the nonsensical words and the date September 21st are all Maurice White. The date was said to, "Just sing better." She fought with White over the 'bad de ya' line till the last hour. She said she conceded when he told her, "Never let the lyrics get in the way of the groove." It was a lesson she applied throughout her career. 

Do you remember the twenty-first day of September?

Just 3 Things | #45

I've had sort of a slow week in regard to having completed projects. I had a doctor checkup appointment and I was called into volunteer duty for the cemetery a couple of times. Then, I waited on a zipper shipment only to discover that I had ordered the wrong size. Then, waited again. I am also waiting on a new kind of heat erasable fabric marker. I found that the white ones from the set I had before just don't do as well as I'd like. Maybe I am old with failing eyesight but I know I'm not the only one. So, I am trying a new kind. I'll report later on how I like it.

- What I've Been Working On -

One thing I did work on this week, though, is some more Christmas ornaments. I found that I absolutely love the way so many of my designs look when stitched on that stiff felt. I was joking last week with the concept that everybody on my list will get an embroidered ornament for Christmas, but I think that will be an actuality. 

I am personalizing each one on the back side and adding the year. I don't know if I will make this a tradition or not but it never hurts to put a year on an ornament because we all loose track of time as we age.

I've looked into getting an ornament bundle or two but for now, I'm just using the bag tag options I have and adapting them in different ways. I've expanded the size a bit so that the ornament is a little larger than the typical bag tag. I've chosen a couple of designs and adapted them by leaving parts off and adding parts of a different design. I am just experimenting and having fun creating.

I think if somebody came in and gave a look at my sewing machine screen during my creation process they might be really confused at what I'm layering. A couple of good examples are the saxophone ornament and the lamb ornament. 

I pulled the saxophone from a design that included music notes. Since the design has easy stops to change thread color, that made it easy for me to skip colors and move to get just the sax. Then, I added a bow from a a design for monogram wreath frames. The machine lets me rotate the design a bit as well as skip colors. Next, I added a large bag tag outline as a final layer to finish the edges and stitch around the hole. So, the sax now looks like a cute little gift all wrapped up for Christmas.

I centered up the smallest sized lamb inside a monogram frame with a different scalloped edge. Then, I layered the volleyball bag tag design and skipped to the white stitching to get the outline for the hole. So, three different designs all layered atop one another and used the machine features to get just the look I wanted. For the back side, I just floated a different piece of the felt on another hoop and used the built-in fonts to spell out the name and year. Stitched those, and pinned or 'floated' the finished piece on the bottom of the hoop. Once the placement stitch for the outline was stitched, I just cut away the top layer with the 'picture' design and cut away the bottom layer with the name/year stitching. Then, ran the last finishing stitch. The two pieces of felt are stitched together back to back that way and there is no messy unfinished side. Plus, the two layers of stiff felt are such a good thickness that will hold up well year after year. The stitching really does take some time but that is part of the gift, in my opinion. My time and love are included in each unique one. I have seven completed, making me almost half done!

- What I've Been Loving -

We went to a local county fair this past weekend. A couple of our grands were exhibiting heifers in the livestock show. We saw a lot of old friends around the showring and made some new acquaintances as well. The boys did a really good job of showing the heifers - probably the best that they have done so far this year. This experience really seemed to showcase how much work and dedication they have invested into a project and how it has expanded their horizons.

What I think I liked best is that we could see their growth as showmen, participants, and competitors grow with each lap around the ring. The judge for the junior show was a special kind of person. She took time to visit with the youngsters and give them pointers. Then, when the guys returned to the ring for subsequent classes, she commented on how she saw that they had improved. Positive encouragement!

The show staff was all so helpful and friendly to us and to the children. The facilities are new and improved and so clean and welcoming. Most importantly, though, the children had a fun time and really seemed to learn and engage with the activity while they were there. 

It is fun to watch the next generation learning and getting similar experiences that we had as youngsters and their parents had as youngsters, too. As adults, we sometimes don't realize all the things we know and skills we developed over the years and when we watch our children and grandchildren it reminds us of what it was like to try to incorporate all the things into the experience.

I find that I often need to remind myself that these kinds of opportunities are what made up the whole package of who I became. These experiences also make me hope that these children will build on them and eventually look back to see that it was a wonderful opportunity that most folks miss out on or never have offered to them. I've loved watching the children grow.

- What I've Been Reading -

I read Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner this week. It is about a family in the spotlight that is shattered for a time by a poor choice. More importantly, it focuses on how each member of the family moves forward afterward. 

I think what I liked about it most is that each and every character has foibles and faults but still moves forward in a positive direction after reflection and the way they have an influence over one another. After all, whether we like it or not, our family does tend to influence us.

I can't let the week go by without mentioning the weather. My Daddy would be so proud! It is still so very hot here. We are a bit past half-way through September and still experiencing high ninety degree temperatures. Never in my life do I remember having this before. Yep, I am starting to sound like a little old man sitting around at the country store! I hope your weekend is filled with cool fun and relaxation. See you next week!

Today I noticed...Polka Dots never really go out of style.

Message from my daughter:

Just 3 Things | #44

The Mister spent some time indoors this week and I was thankful. It is still so very hot outside that I am concerned that he will overheat when he is out there for long stretches. I do sometimes sort of like it when he acts like an old guy and kicks back in the recliner to watch seventy year old westerns! (Gunsmoke premiered on television on September 10, 1955, and ran for twenty years. It is one of the Mister's favorites.)

- What I've Been Working On -

I decided this week to try something a little different with my sewing and embroidering. I was awaiting the arrival of a supply shipment of foam stabilizer for stitching up another tote bag and some zippers in colors and sizes that I ran out of. So, I cruised through the interwebs and noticed that some folks were stitching up Christmas ornaments. Eureka! What a great idea! I have been gifting an ornament to the grandchildren each year for a while. So, I decided I might give a go at stitching one up. In my mind that would be similar to creating a bag tag. 

I have been reading where folks are using a stiff felt for bag tags and decided I would put that knowledge to work for creating an ornament or two. 

Let me just say, I am thrilled! Like a bag tag, making an ornament that is decorated on both sides is a bit of a thought process and takes some wiggling. The thing is, though, the stitching on that stiff felt turns out absolutely beautifully. 

I used the baseball bag tag design I had purchased. I started by stitching out the recipient's name and the year on a piece of felt. In this case, I used orange because he was a part of Team Tennessee this summer for the World Series. That became the back side of the ornament.

On the front side I stitched out the bag tag as it was designed and added my favorite baseball player's number.

Where the split ring would generally go for a key ring or bag tag, I just ran a piece of cording and tied a bit of coordinating ribbon onto it. Each ornament is somewhere between four and five inches in diameter. 

I'm already dreaming of more ideas for ornaments and perusing what designs are available! Here are some I am considering or maybe these or these. I'm thinking I could applique fabrics onto the felt to change things up. Of course, the perfect, preciseness of the stitching might not be there with another fabric appliqued onto the felt but it is just the right thickness and stiffness to make pretty ornaments!

This may be the year of the ornaments. You get a hand-stitched ornament! And YOU get an ornament! And YOU get an ornament!

- What I've Been Reading -

I just finished reading Carol Burnett's book about her relationship with her daughter who was lost to cancer. In some ways it was heart-wrenching and in some ways it was enlightening. Burnett shares the painful struggle her family and daughter, Carrie, experienced through her teenage drug addiction. She also shares stories of Carrie's successes as an adult and hard-fought battle with cancer ending with death at the young age of thirty-eight. 

The thing I walked away with most from the pages of that book is an affirmation that parenting is never easy. Burnett's family had far fewer financial worries than ours but they still had the difficult parts of growing up and becoming independent. It also drives home how a parent's job of being the guide for their children is never an easy one. Finally, it also emphasized to me that even though our roles evolve over the years as parents and children, we still have a strong bond of love and hope. 

Even though I finished reading the book a day or so ago, I thought about it again today when I was reading The Good List for the week from The New York Times. The author shares one more thing at the end of the list about how a woman wrote her husband a letter each year for their anniversary. The woman claimed that she learned of a father who wrote to his child each year on her birthday. Wouldn't that be a beautiful gift? What a keepsake to have throughout ones life. 

- What I've Been Loving -

A friend or two has stopped by during the past few days and we always welcome a friendly face around here! One was the Mister's cousin who is an entrepreneur with a lighting business who worked for years at the local electric company and he had stopped to pick up sausage from the Mister. I was working on my own bandana tote and he peeked over my shoulder and said, "What are you working on? It really looks interesting." I explained that I was creating a tote that I had seen online and he wanted to know what I would charge to make one for his wife. I jokingly told him that I didn't think anybody would be able to afford a bag made by me because it was slow going and lots of thinking and sewing. Remember, it was my first tote and I was still deep into the learning phase. Yet, I loved his reaction to what I was creating.

I've progressed and made a couple more totes as gifts for the granddaughters and then used the leftover bandanas to make them a 'set' for Christmas. One of the granddaughters was snooping on her mom's phone and saw one of the sets and told her mother that she really liked it. I loved hearing that reaction. So, at least I am on the right track for gifts for one member of the family anyway.

Then, another friend stopped by a couple of days ago and she noticed all of the totes, zip pouches, and wreath sashes that I've got laid out in the basement bedroom. She was amazed and immediately gravitated toward the totes. I loved her reaction to the things I had fun creating! She asked me if I was going to sell them and I gave her the same reply - I would have to charge more than I think folks would be willing to pay. I did ponder about how I could make the creation process simpler and tried my ideas by creating a tote for one of the granddaughters. After all, we have seven granddaughters. 

I realized the process was still pretty labor intensive and thought some more before creating a tote for another granddaughter. I've been thinking and watching videos and reading since then. I've got an idea or two for improving my method and plan to start the fourth tote next week. Ironically, the Mister had another friend stop in yesterday and he noticed my tote hanging on a dining room chair. He asked the Mister if I might be interested in making one for his wife. Here is the thing. We have ten grandchildren and I have set a goal for myself to create gifts for all of them for Christmas. Then, we also gift their parents. So, that makes a total of eighteen family gifts and that doesn't include gifts for extended family and friends and so on. Plus, I have only been retired for a couple of years. I have a variety of things I like to do with my time and, yes, one is sewing and machine embroidery. I worked hard for most of my life and am enjoying the days where I choose what I do and whether I complete a task or not. If I go into the business of creating these totes, I will be back at it full time, I fear. Even if I only took a few orders, I would be working on a daily basis and I'm not sure that there is a large enough profit margin that could be made for the work input. Unlike when I was younger, I am not looking for a way to earn extra money and stay at home with my children. Oh, we could use the extra money, don't get me wrong. However, we are making ends meet right now and I am enjoying the opportunity to just play and putter and create gifts for family. I love my time spent with my new sewing and embroidery machine. It keeps me learning and doing and trying things. So, am I being selfish to just say no to folks who would like to pay for my creations?

I hope it is cooler wherever you are than it is right here. We are off this weekend to a local fair to watch some of the grandchildren exhibit their cattle.

Happy Birthday to the Mister!

Hope this year with two crooked numbers sees you doing loads of the things you love!