Help Me Decide!

Once again, I would like to thank all of you for your kind wishes for my dog Gracie. We are a week out of the second surgery, and oh my, what a difference! She has started wanting to scratch her ear, so I think that's a good sign, a sign of healing. She was so funny last night, she was lying on the sofa beside me, and wanted so badly to scratch her ear. Her back paw would go up, but stop short, as if she was saying, "oh, but I really want to scratch." She has actually been quite good about keeping her foot out of her ear. The vet said that the stitches need to stay in for 14 days, so I think that if she has had this much improvement in a week, the next week should be all the better. And I will have a huge sigh of relief :)

Oh, and my toe is healing, not that it's such a big deal. I walked a little too much yesterday and paid the price last night. In time, this too shall pass :)

A few weeks ago I shared this coat that I have had forever. It's a faux fur coat that I really love. The fur is quite nice. While I won't wear it any longer as is, the fur can be saved, so I've decided to remake it. The coat is now apart, and I need to decide what to do with it.   

I have this trim which a friend gave me and I have been aching to use it. It may be a little difficult to see, but it has a lovely gold metallic thread that runs through it, and ruby beads in the center of the flowers. I have quite a bit, so there are lots of possibilities. 

I found this picture, and fell in love. I want a longer coat, so I thought I could do something to create a full skirt. I should actually have enough of the faux fur to create a great skirt.     

 Maybe something like this.

I really like this coat as well. I thought that I could use the fur and trim around the bottom of the coat and maybe mix it with a wool coating.

And then, OH MY GOODNESS, I love this coat!!! If I did this, I would forget the trim all together and mix the fur with a cotton velvet. 

All are quite dressy, so it's not a choice between something casual and something dressy. I would love your thoughts. 

Whatever I decide to do, it should be really pretty. 

Thanks for your thoughts!

Rhonda

The Wednesday Showcase/On Being Fabulous!

Believe it or not, my most difficult birthday was when I turned 20. When I was a child, I dreamed of turning 13, it seemed to me a magical number. I would then be a teenager and my world would explode...parties, pretty dresses, driving, having a fabulous group of friends, even getting a job. The life I envisioned for my teenage years was very much out of a sitcom, Father Knows Best. Of course, no life is a television show, but what I got was far, far from what I dreamed. In fact, life was so difficult that I ended up with stomach ulcers at the age of 15. So when I turned 20, I mourned, I mourned for what I had dreamed, and what now would never be, at least that's what I thought at the time. 

One of my exchange students, being the cocky teenager that he was ;), asked,"Wouldn't you love to be 17 again?" He thought for sure that he had something on me, that I would love to once again be a teenager, like him! Since that 20th birthday, this was the first time that I actually thought about my age. As I thought, I realized that what I have now is SOOOO much better, and my answer was no. He was shocked! "But why, why wouldn't you want to be 17 again?" I replied that my teenage years were far from happy, but more importantly, what I have now, my life and what I can do, I wouldn't trade them for anything. And then I said, "Think about it, if I were 17 again, I wouldn't have you. You can be a challenge at times, but I wouldn't miss having had you come into my life just to go back in time." 

This student is now a grown man with a beautiful wife, a precious baby girl, and another baby on the way. In a recent conversation, we talked about that day, and I asked, "Do you understand now how I felt when you asked me if I would like to be 17 again? Would you possibly trade what you have now...for then?" There was a pause, and he said, "No, not for anything." 

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a brunch where Angela Missoni was the guest speaker. Talk about WOW!!! She was so lovely and such an inspiration. During the reception, I met a very interesting woman, Wendy Packer of Fashion Over Fifty. Her life story is quite interesting. She began life as a oncology nurse, became a lawyer, and then a mother. She began her blog as she has a passion for everyone, especially women to live life to its fullest. She feels that she has been "called to awaken every woman to the realization that she is full of wondrous beauty everyday she is alive." I love that! 

Since Wendy has had her blog, she has produced 3 fashion shows for Bloomingdale's, featuring models over 50. Her blog is full of wonderful tips, news on events, and fabulous ideas on dressing and pairing wonderful ensembles. 

I love this ensemble, especially the shorter pant style. I initially thought, Oh, I don't know...," 

But I really like how the shorter leg can showcase a great pair of shoes.

As I said, Wendy has produced 3 fashion shows for Bloomingdale's. Here she is in a great another great ensemble. Love the leather pants. Don't be afraid to wear a pair of leather pants!!! It's all about how you wear them and with what they are paired. The draped top softens the pants and adds movement.  

The pants she is wearing here remind me of the Marcy Tilton pattern, Vogue 9035. Love the inspiration of not being afraid to show a little shoulder!

One of the tips I found on Wendy's blog was how to walk the catwalk. Professional runway coach, Mark David Carter makes it look easy! The Haute Couture Club of Chicago will hold our annual show on Sunday May 6, 2018. Walking well is something that we can all do better ;) What struck me is how he takes his time. Take a look...



Now for the best part, at least for me, aaaand if you are a member of the Haute Couture Club of Chicago, and will be attending our holiday party, Wendy will be our featured speaker. She will be sharing her life story, her tips, and fashion encouragement. She is so very excited to be around women who sew. She wishes she could sew, so maybe we'll be able to inspire her a bit too! She would like for everyone to wear their handmade garments as she would like to do a special post on the Ladies of Haute Couture. How exciting is that?!!! 

Be sure to check out Wendy's blog, Fashion Over Fifty. I think you will find her to be quite inspiring. 

When her post is up on the Ladies of Haute Couture, I'll let you know.

Not Dead Yet Style is another blog that showcases women in their middle years. I'm sure most of you know about the blog, but just in case you don't, check it out, and be sure to check out her post, Visible Monday where you can broadcast to the world just how amazing you are!

True enough, my teenage years, and somewhat beyond, were not at all what I had hoped for. I love this quote from Desmond Tutu;

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.

Morning breaks, and light does come. Embrace who you are and where you are in life. It takes a lot of hard work to live a great life :)  

I will have a very special Sunday Night Reflection's post coming up on December 3rd where I will share a little of my life. I hope that it will be an inspiration.

Now go out and shine!!!!!

Rhonda   

Sunday Night Reflections

Sunday's Soup/Winter Root Vegetable Soup with Kale

Happy Sunday Everyone!!!

Thank you for all the wonderful comments that were left on my Grateful post. A couple of you had me laughing so hard with the idea of the antics of my girlfriend and I sounding like an episode of I Love Lucy!!! Like I said, we've been friends for 35 years, and have done some pretty crazy things. Yes, we could be our own comedy show ;) Thanks for the laughs, I really needed that. Nothing like a good laugh to cleanse the soul :) 

Have you ever heard of the Moosewood Cookbook? It's a funky, vegetarian cookbook that I absolutely love. In fact, the same friend from the Grateful post gave it to me over 30 years ago. My copy is now a very well worn book, loose pages and a taped together spine. 

One of the things that I especially enjoy, other than the recipes, are the cute little drawings that accompany each recipe. When I began putting the soup recipes together, my goal was to eventually publish a cookbook/soup book. I'm now working on the book(finally), and rather than photographs, I'm doing drawings that are similar to what you might find in the Moosewood Cookbook. 

I'm currently going through my recipes and testing/tweaking them just to make sure that when they are published, and tried, it will taste just like what I make. 

Back in 2013, I published a recipe for a Creamy Winter Root Vegetable Soup.   I love a good cream soup, but when I began to test the recipe, I decided to make it into a vegan version, and that's what I am going to share with you today. 

The ingredients are basically the same, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, garlic and fresh basil.

No butter was used in this recipe, just olive oil. The onions were sauteed until tender in the olive oil, and then the vegetables were added, along with the vegetable broth.

Another change with this recipe is the addition of chopped kale, green pigeon peas (for protein), and dried rosemary. 

If you have never used green pigeon peas before, they are a lovely little pea that has a bit of substance to it, not at all mushy.

This is not a creamed version of the soup, just a nice hearty winter vegetable soup.

Winter Root Vegetable Soup with Kale

printable recipe

Ingredients;

3 tablespoons of olive oil
4 parsnips sliced, about 3 pounds in total
4 Irish potatoes, chopped
4 carrots sliced
1 large yellow onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
4 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
2 cups finely chopped kale
1 14 oz. can Green Pigeon Peas drained and rinsed
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary 
10-12 cups of vegetable broth 
salt and black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot. Add chopped onion and saute until tender. Add carrots, parsnips, potatoes, bay leaves, and garlic along with 8 cups of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 20-30 minutes. Add chopped fresh basil, chopped kale, pigeon peas, and rosemary. Adjust liquid. Depending upon the size of your vegetables, you may need to add up to 4 more cups of broth. If more broth has been added, bring to a boil once again, then reduce to simmer and cook for another 10 minutes, giving the herbs and kale time to flavor the soup.

Serve with warm crusty bread, or my favorite, a pan of fresh made cornbread. 

The recipe yields 8 hearty servings. 

If you give it a try, hope you enjoy it!
Rhonda

Grateful

Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.  

                                                        Henry Clay

If you live here in the U.S., or if you don't, but enjoy celebrating a day of Thanksgiving, I hope that you have enjoyed a wonderful meal, and maybe some time spent with family and friends. 

For me, it has been a bit of a trying week. 

The surgery that my dog Gracie had for the broken blood vessel in her ear, it seems was not done correctly and caused a huge problem. We were out of town, but found a wonderful vet who ended up doing emergency surgery. Leaving her in the office, crying for me, absolutely broke my heart. When I got home, I sat down at the kitchen table, put my head in my arms and just cried. We were able to pick her up that evening, and she and I have not been apart since. I am so very grateful for such a kind, caring, and knowledgeable veterinarian.  

We had friends visit for Thanksgiving. I love to make special meals on holidays, so I began the day with Cottage Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries. My new oven evidently cooks at a very high heat as the strawberries boiled over the side of the pan and burned the bottom. It was an absolute mess. My girlfriend and I worked, and worked, and worked at trying to get the burned sugar off of the bottom of the oven. I was in a bit of a panic as I needed to cook the turkey and I didn't want to heat the oven and burn the sugar even more. She said, "No problem, we'll just cook the turkey on the grill." We ended up cooking the turkey, sweet potatoes, and the asparagus on the grill. OMG!!!! everything was soooo good. The only thing that was missing was the pie, but we were all very satisfied, so the pie really wasn't missed.

In the course of putting our dinner together, I managed to stop up the sink by putting potato skins down the disposal. Evidently you aren't supposed to put potato skins down a disposal. I had no idea! One thing that my husband absolutely hates is plumbing issues. When I saw the sink back up, I said, "Oh my, Carl is going to have a fit!" My girlfriend said that it might go down, so just leave it for a bit. We had managed to keep him out of the kitchen, but when we went out to check on the grill, I looked through the window and there he was at the sink. My heart sank. In 33 years of marriage, he has only lost his temper twice, and I thought for sure this would be the third time, but he kept his cool, and even took dishes down to the basement to wash until we could get something done with the kitchen drain. 

While he was in the basement washing dishes, my girlfriend and I began working on the drain, pouring in baking soda and vinegar, and plunging it. I worked and worked at it and then miracle of miracles, it suddenly went swoosh!, and it was over. My girlfriend and I looked at each other in disbelief, but we did it! But then, the thought occurred to me that all the plunging may have broken the pipe and everything was in the bottom of the cabinet. Nope, it had all gone through smoothly :) She and I have known each other for 35 years, and during that time have done some pretty crazy things. I told her that we can now add plumbers to our list of abilities ;) We are not available for hire!!!

During the course of everything, I managed to run into a cabinet and break a toe. That is more aggravating than anything. Hurts, but hardly the end of the world. 

The quote that I began this post with rings so true for me. A veterinarian that said, "I'm just doing my job." No, not just doing her job, she saved my dog and healed my heart. A friend who stays calm when everything seems to be going wrong, who treats my home with the same importance as if it was hers, and steps up to help when it really isn't her problem. A husband who realized that I was already upset and didn't want to add insult to injury, a blessing beyond measure. Yes, to the one who is giving, it may seem like a small, trivial act, but to the one who is receiving, the gifts really do strike deeply in the heart. And, I am so very grateful.

I have said it before, but gratitude can never be expressed enough...

A heartfelt thank you to all of you who take the time to stop by, read my words, maybe leave a message, or send a note. You warm my heart and remind me of the wonderful gift this life truly is.

Gracie and me :) After she came home, the incision in the middle of her ear began to bleed a bit. I put a band-aide over it and now she won't let me take it off as it's rather stuck to the stays that have been sewn into her ear. Oh well, I'll eventually get it off.       

May you too experience blessings that strike deeply in your heart.
Rhonda 

Sunday Night Reflections

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday/The Cabbage Rose

Something a little sweet today, a beautiful cabbage rose. They look rather complicated, but are quite easy to make.

All it takes are a few rectangles and a circle.  



They look lovely on a hat, bag, pinned to a coat or jacket.

They can be scaled down. Decrease the measurements by 2" and you'll have a smaller rose. You can also increase the measurements by 2" for a larger rose. 

So, have a little fun and let your imagination run wild with all the possibilities. You can even make a bouquet for an arrangement that will brighten your home all winter long!

Enjoy!
Rhonda 

Thrifty Thursday/Super Cute Slouchy Hat

I have done a LOT of dumb things in my life ;) When I was in the 8th grade, I remember one particular day when it was so cold that I thought my ears would literally fall off of my head. Truth be told, had that happened, it would have been my own fault as I was just too vain to wear a hat on my head while walking to school. That day was a game changer though. As I walked, and my ears grew colder and colder, I vowed that I would never be this cold again, and yes, I would wear a hat. 

At the time, hats were just not the thing to wear, but after my experience, fashion or not, I was going to be warm. And so it has been ever since. I LOVE hats!!! If you were to look into my drawer, you would probably think I have more than 1 head since I have as many as I do. I have changed a lot since those days when I thought hats were horribly hideous. Having a hat for whatever the occasion may be is now just absolute fun! And soft hats fold down to nothing, so having a bunch is really not an issue. 

I recently saw a post from On The Cutting Room Floor for a free slouchy hat pattern and thought it was especially cute. A great little hat to wear, and when off, easily folded and stored in a coat pocket. It's intended for knit fabric, be it fleece, wool, or just a knit that you have left over from a t-shirt project. 

 

There are only 6 pages to print out, so quick and easy.

The pattern looks a little like church steeples to me ;)

I had a sweater that I had felted. I love the color and thought it would make into a fun hat. 

The sweater had side seams, so I couldn't cut the hat in one continuous piece, 

So I just cut it down the center and then added seam allowances to each side. 

I used the hem of the sweater for the bottom band. The instructions say to fold up the bottom 1 1/2". In the above picture, you can see that I placed the pattern right on the edge of the sweater, making it actually an 1 1/2" longer since I would not be turning up the bottom.If you aren't using a sweater with a finished edge, I would add at least 1" to the bottom of the pattern. You can always cut it off if you feel the hat is a little too long. But, it is supposed to be a slouchy hat, so a little more slouch is not such a bad thing :)  

I decided to have a little fun with the hat and add a tassel. All I did was take a piece of my sweater knit and cut it into fringe, leaving about 1 " at the top uncut. I then rolled the fringe around to make a tassel and stitched it securely together at the top. Once it was stitched together so that it would not open up, I then stitched it to the top of the hat.  

This is a very fast project, and something that would make a great, quick gift for just about everyone on your gift list. I made one for my husband, but shortened it so that there was no slouch. He loved it!

You can find the free pattern HERE. 

I plan on making a few more. A trip to the resale shop is on my agenda. Hopefully I'll find some fun sweaters that I can use. Our church usually has a request for hats, and or gloves at this time of year, so I thought I would use the pattern to make up a bunch. 

Enjoy!
Rhonda    

Sunday Night Reflections

Sunday's Soup/Roasted Cauliflower with Arugula

Whew!, it's been a while since I last checked in. In my last post, I shared that my dog Gracie had a ruptured blood vessel in her ear. Well, it resulted in surgery last Thursday. She is better, as better as one can be with a cone around their head ;) But, the cone is needed as she wouldn't have an ear at this point. The cone keeps her from scratching at her ear, but I can't keep her from shaking. UGH!!! I never realized that the dog shakes her body as much as she does. 

In the meantime, I came down with a cold and have been a running temperature. Oh well, it's my yearly cold, so hopefully I'm getting it over with and will have a super fun winter, full of winter sports! As I type, I'm drinking a cup of tea with a little whiskey, actually Grand Marnier(my favorite). I'm telling myself that the orange flavor of the liqueur is vitamin C ;) Regardless, the warmth of the tea mingled with the liqueur is very soothing to my throat, so...good enough for me!!! 

I did manage to make a wonderful soup this week. I wanted something simple, and I wanted a little extra warmth as I've been so cold, so I decided to do a little roasting. If you haven't roasted vegetables, by all means, give it a try. Roasting gives the vegetables a slightly smokey taste and I think, enhances the flavor.

I wanted a big batch, so I used 2 heads of cauliflower. The recipe will be for a smaller version using just 1 head of cauliflower.

Begin by breaking the cauliflower into small florets. Slice a purple onion and garlic cloves. Line a baking sheet with foil. I laid out my cauliflower first, and then topped it with the sliced purple onion and slivered garlic. I then sprinkled olive oil over all of the vegetables and added salt and black pepper. My absolute favorite salt is pink salt. I purchase it in a large grinder and use it for almost everything.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the vegetable mixture in the preheated oven and roast for approximately 45 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. The bottom of the cauliflower will be nice and brown, and the edges of the onion will be crinkled and brown. 

I then put my vegetable mixture in my pot. Added vegetable broth, and pureed the mixture with a handheld mixing wand. If you don't have a handheld wand, puree the mixture in a blender. I like to say that there's almost always another way to do just about anything ;)

Once the vegetables were pureed, I added the chopped arugula. Love the spicy taste of arugula. I then added thyme and oregano, and adjusted the salt and black pepper. Brought the mixture to a boil and then reduced to simmer for about 10 minutes to give the arugula time to flavor the soup. 

As is, the soup is the perfect vegan soup.

If you would like, and you don't follow a vegan diet, top the soup with a little shredded parmesan cheese and chopped green onions.

If I may say so myself, the soup is delicious!

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Arugula

ingredients;
printable recipe

1 large head of cauliflower broken into small florets
1 medium purple onion sliced
2 cloves of garlic slivered
2-3 tablespoons olive oil sprinkled over vegetables
4 cups arugula before chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme  
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6-8 cups vegetable broth for desired consistency of soup 
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Break cauliflower into small florets and place on foil lined backing sheet. Top with sliced purple onion and slivered garlic. Sprinkle olive oil over vegetables. Top with salt and black pepper. 
Roast in preheated oven 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Once tender, place roasted vegetables in a large soup pot. Add vegetable broth. Begin with 6 cups and add more if needed for desired consistency. Using a handheld mixing wand(or blender), puree the soup mixture.
Once the soup has been pureed, add the chopped arugula, thyme, and oregano. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for approximately 10 minutes to allow the arugula to flavor the soup. Adjust salt and black pepper to taste.

Soup may be topped with grated parmesan cheese and chopped green onions. Serve and enjoy! 

I have SO enjoyed this soup. It will freeze well and be great for an easy dinner in the future, or a fabulous, warm lunch. Or, you can be like me and double the recipe and share...or maybe not ;)

Rhonda

Sunday Night Reflections

One Pattern So Many Ways, All In One Place/A Great Design Resource

I love patterns! There was a time when I couldn't wait for the new Vogue pattern catalog to come out. I would go to the store and literally sit for at least an hour(if not more!)and dream over the patterns. Better than a Christmas wishbook for me! 

Then...I went to school and learned how to design and draft my own patterns. One thing I learned is that a good basic design is really all you need, well that and some instructions :)

A while back, I took Butterick 5678, which is sadly out of print, but available on sites like Ebay and Etsy, and showed you how to take it from a basic shirt and add lots of design details. The instructions are a little difficult to find as they are all over the blog, so I thought I would consolidate them all here on this post. That way, if there is something you would like to try, you can easily find it. 

This was the first piece that I did. The basic shirt was used, but a Peter Pan collar added and a change in the sleeve. You can find the instructions for the Perter Pan collar HERE, and the sleeve instructions HERE.

While this looks rather complicated, it's really quite easy. The collar tutorial can be found HERE, and the sleeve tutorial HERE. 

This is a favorite of mine, the raised neckline. The collar tutorial can be found HERE, and the sleeve tutorial HERE.

This is a wide variation of the shawl collar. Look closely and you'll see that the collar sits up a little higher on the back of the neck. This is one of my favorite dresses for summer. The tutorial for the collar can be found HERE.

This is the narrow version of the shawl collar. You can find the tutorial for the collar HERE, the sleeve tutorial HERE, and the circular skirt tutorial HERE. 

I also showed you how to take the pattern and turn it into a summer jacket and add pockets HERE. The sailor collar tutorial is HERE. The sleeve has a turned up cuff, and that tutorial can be found HERE.

And finally, my favorite of all!!!!, my zebra dress. You can see my design process HERE.

This is a dress that I find every excuse to wear. 

Although the pattern I used is out of print, plenty of basic shirt patterns can be found. Any of these designs can be used with a pattern that has a good neckline, the shoulder seam sits at the shoulder, and has a princess line seam.

I think it's about time to choose another pattern and have some fun with it. I'll put that on the schedule for January. In the meantime, I'll start looking around for a good basic pattern and deciding how I can manipulate it. If you have any ideas, let me know :)

My Stephen Burrow's Inspired Coat

Thank you to everyone who sent notes yesterday. I'm so very happy that I once again received a great report. It seems that the moles have grown a little in size(width), but not in depth, and depth is what can mean cancer. So, I can still see, and you will continue to receive my crazy blog posts ;)

Our fashion show chair for the upcoming 2018 Haute Couture Fashion Show has been very inspired by the work of American designer, Stephen Burrows. She would really love to have an entire segment of the show devoted to pieces that have been inspired by his work. 

Yesterday, I shared with you the sewing challenge entitled, "Designin' December." Linda of Nice Dress, Thanks I Made It, loves to sew and loves to try and inspire others to sew, so she came up with the idea to encourage others to copy, rather than purchase a garment that they would like to have in their wardrobe. If you would like to participate, she even has a button that you can attach to your blog.
   

When I did a little research on Stephen Burrows, I found the coat below and loved it! So I told our fashion show chair that I would recreate it with the hope of getting a few others to make up a Stephen Burrows inspired design for the fashion show. So since I am coping a designer original, I thought I may as well participate in the Design' December challenge. 

My fabric just arrived yesterday. My coat will not be an exact match, but still inspired by the original. Sadly, I just couldn't get the light right, as the colors are much more vibrant than they appear, especially the yellow. It's much closer to the yellow in the original coat.

Now to make up a muslin. The coat is a very basic design, it's just a matter of the placement of the colors. I think it will be a lot of fun to play around with the colors.

The fabric is a washable merino wool ponte from Fabrications in Michigan. I was a little concerned that all of the colors that they had on their website might not be available, but when I called to order, I was told that if they don't have it in stock, it's not on the website. Nice!

So, a fun new project. 
You won't miss me walking down the street!!! 

The Wednesday Showcase

A very Happy Wednesday to everyone :) 

In just a bit, I will be off to see the retina specialist for my eye exam. Three years ago I learned that I have moles on my retina and that they had grown. Shocked, I asked what that meant, and the ophthalmologist said, "cancer." What I thought would be the normal eye exam turned into something that I had no idea could even  happen. As it turns out, you can get melanoma in your eyes. As crazy as it sounds, it does happen. When I was originally given the diagnosis, I wrote about it here on the blog, and I was amazed by how many lives this has touched/changed. 

Melanoma in the eyes is treatable, but there is a catch, the closer the mole is to the center of the retina, the more likely you are to lose your eyesight when treated. I have moles in both eyes and in both eyes, the moles are near the center. But, so far, so good :) No cancer, and no treatment. 

When I first learned of the possibility of potentially losing my eyesight, of course I was devastated. But then, I decided that it doesn't mean life is over, it just changes. 
I'll share a little something crazy that I did...
The mountain where my husband and I like to ski, has a wonderful program for handicapped skiers, physical limitations as well as a program for the blind. So, I thought that in the event that I lost my ability to see, I can learn to ski without my eyes. One day, we were coming down a run, and it was especially quiet, so I decided to close my eyes and just experience what it would be like. Different for sure, but I found out that with the help of a guide, I could do it. 

One day, my husband and I were on a lift with a guide and a young man who was blind. When he began to talk about the runs that he likes to do...OMG!!!. Those are runs that makes me panic just to look at them! It's amazing what one can do when we only decide to try.

So, it's Wednesday! Let's meet some fabulously talented ladies :)

First up is Jess of The Sterling Thimble. Rather than me introducing her, I will let her do the honors as she has done a wonderful video on who she is what she likes to do. 




In Jess's video, she says that she doesn't have a lot of time to sew, but when she does, she makes the cutest pieces, like the pajama pants below and the lace trimmed top.

Love the red! This was made for Valentine's Day. What a gorgeous piece for a celebration. You can read more about her journey HERE.

And last, but far from least, check out the incredible handwork for a jacket she is currently working on.

These are handmade buttonholes ladies!!! Incredible!

If you've taken a peek at her video, you know that Jess loves getting to know fellow sewists, so be sure to say hello!

Next up is Linda from Nice Dress, Thanks I Made It. Linda has been enjoying a ready to wear fast since 2015, and addicited to sewing since the 70s.  
The holiday season can get so very hectic, and we can easily lose ourselves in the process of trying to do everything. but Linda came up with an idea to help keep us focused and create something special. So, she created "Designin' December!"

Here's a little of what Designin' December is all about;

"We have all seen something we LOVE, either in the stores, online, or on the runways, but don't actually want to buy it for some reason. So I propose that we sew that garment that we see/want. If you are lucky and already have an exact pattern, either and indie pattern, your own self-drafted pattern, or a big 4 pattern that you can use, great! Whatever it takes, let's make what we see and want!"

The contest runs through December 31, 2017. There are LOTS of prizes to be won. You can read more about it HERE. Such a great incentive to get that special garment put together for the holidays, or just whenever. Linda even has a fun button that you can attach to your blog and let others know you are participating, or to encourage them to join in.

Between Jess's incredible handwork inspiration, and a challenge to get you sewing over the holidays, I think that's quite the inspiration for a Wednesday :)

Have a fabulous day!
Rhonda