I'm a little annoyed.

This bothered me today.
 I am a paying member for a wonderful sewing blog called 'SewingMamas'. They are a great group of ladies who share sewing and raising childen in an open, caring kind of way. They rejoice with the good news, commiserate with the bad, offer helpful advice or just a shoulder to cry on. Their stories range from tug-at-your-heart to wet-your-pants-from laughter. I don't comment as much as some but I check in with them every time I'm online. I especially love that they are non-judgemental. Everyone has different beliefs, different stories, different philosophies but I have never seen anyone disrespect another.

Today, someone posted about this project from the very popular "SewMamaSew" site:
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2012/06/readysetgo-patchwork-car-shade/
 It's a cute idea but, even though the instructions call for you to "leave a gap for checking your blind spot" it struck me as a dangerous idea to block any part of a car window. I'm not alone: the SewingMama who posted it brought up the concern and several Mamas chimed in that it seemed unwise. Here's the bothersome part~ several of the Mamas took the time to leave a comment on the site questioning the safety of the project. Instead of addressing those concerns every one of their 'negative' comments were removed.  
http://www.sewingmamas.com/b/showthread.php?t=156371
All the comments I've read on the Sew, Mama, Sew site are happy, gosh-isn't-that-great fodder. And I think I have finally found why I dislike the "big" sewing and crafting blogs. They're not real to me. They're too happy; too perfect. There are too many exclamation marks over simplicity and too much love, love, love. And apparently you get this illusion of perfection by removing content that you don't want to deal with. I'm not by any stretch of the imagination saying every big, successful blog does this and maybe Sew, Mama, Sew doesn't do it all the time. But I do know I will not support a site that does it even sometimes.

I love reading sewing blogs and my favorites are those that show me, inspire me, make me laugh and even cry. Real people who admit mistakes and don't give the illusion of 'perfect'. I was taught the 'if you can't say anything nice...' and the 'always be kind when you comment' lessons but I also believe to can say something that opposes respectfully without being unkind. Debate is good, we have to allow differences of opinion. Otherwise, how will we ever see outside our own little box? I want to see/hear others' thoughts. I won't waste my time on gosh-isn't-that-great fodder. Time is too precious.

Did you guess?

Did anyone guess which block I chose to make with the Americana print?

It's Katie Blakesley's Old Town Star! :)

Now for the time to make more...

All work and no play~

Shakespeare is in full swing so I have no time for 'play sewing' (aka the stuff I want to make). I was able to get a bunch o'stuff at the costume rental place but there's lots of little pieces (skirts, vests) and such that need to be done and trimmed out in the steampunk style. But before I dove in, I pulled some DUFUS fabric from the stash. I have a collection of 'patriotic Americana' type fabrics and most are at least ten years old. Some are a good deal older. What to do with them, though? Well, after dog-earing my new magazine, these three fabrics made the first cut and one block from the new Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks was chosen.

Can you guess which one I made?

I'll share it later~

I have two doll quilts due for June--one is at the hand sewing stage and the other is almost there. I hope to use backstage time to finish 'em up (the show opens June 27) but I might not have sit-and-sew time for this show. It's a busy one with many actors playing multiple roles and that means lots of changes!

You know it's showtime when...

... the posts are few and far between. While I have been tiptoeing into the steampunk world for "Hamlet"  other stuff happened. A friend needed a costume for a special festival that happens here in Norfolk. And 'my' theatre was getting ready to open the last musical of the season. I am not the costumer but I did get a call because the actual costumer was waaaay behind and they needed help. Help? My goodness, she hadn't made the most crucial pieces the actors needed and should have had to rehearse with from the very beginning of rehearsals! I shouldn't have jumped in because I'm behind for Shakespeare now, but, oh well. It'll get done.
 I also joined this wonderful group, Doll Quilter's Monthly, and have started exchanging doll-sized quilts with other members. My first quilt was for May, with the theme 'May flowers'.  I sent my partner this:

                                                 (Vivian's picture I "borrowed" from DQM)

and received this beauty from Viv:

 I'm excited to see what comes in June for the theme 'something old, something new, ...borrowed ...blue'! I hope my partner likes hers~ it's almost done! Pics later, after delivery!

 I'm doing another doll quilt exchange with the SewingMamas, too. I'll share that one after delivery, too!
 I also participated in a purse exchange with the SewingMamas.  This is the one I sent:

 I'm not crazy about the quality of my sewing on the interior. I've decided to stick to totes and simple bags. I'm not a happy purse maker. I LOVE the purse I received~ I have to get the camera back from B to take pictures.

 There's a lot of  "I"s in this post. So, hows' you doin'?

It's not a Mother's Day gift~

... but, really, it is. The kids know how I feel about Mother's Day so they treat me nicely and call it something else. And boy, did they treat me this year:

Yes, it's an Alexander Henry chair from Arrow Sewing Cabinets.
I'd knock their heads together for spending that much money on a chair except I know they didn't. They found two new-in-the-box chairs at a thrift store! Needless to say, I did not knock heads. Patrick's mom got the other chair. She rode hers down the driveway, such was her excitement. I'm a little more subdued. I just gave Ashes my old chair/stepladder and began to sew. Comfortably.  And when I pushed back from the machine it rolled smoothly and did not take a layer of varnish from the wood floor. *sigh* Thank you, children. I've always known you had my back. Now I know you also have my butt.

Now I can show it~

 I participated in a fun swap last month that was sponsored by Heidi; she of Handmade by Heidi and half the duo behind the Friday Night Sew In. The swap was to be anything of a sewing nature and just for fun! I had been looking to make some of these so what better reason! Here is the sewing organizer I made for my swap partner, Cornelia from New Zealand!

                                        
                                     I hope she enjoys it and gets lots of good use from it!
                                                             Happy Sewing, Cornelia!

She's 7 months old today~

   Because... yes. It seems like I just posted about Kal-El's arrival and now Leia Elise ~his little sister~  is seven months old. *smh*

                                                            Kal-El is two years old!

 It would have been my dear Auntie Betty's 85th birthday today, too. Remembering you today, Auntie~   I will bleach my countertops and vacuum my curtains in your honor.

  In sewing news~ I haven't done much this week because I have a temp job at a florist shop! It's mad-crazy during Mother's Day week and they bring in folks like me to prep flowers and do the general stuff to keep the designer's flowing. I'm keeping an eye on them because I've only played with silk flowers for a few weddings and  I'm eager to learn! Oh, the irony, since I strongly dislike Mother's Day AND receiving cut flowers as a gift! They even brought B in to do deliveries for the next few days! He does have a job interview today so think happy thoughts for us, would you?