Fun With Tea Towels

Good Morning!!! I am a very happy girl this morning :) I had  a colonoscopy yesterday, and not a polyp was found...WOO HOO! The last time I had one, 4 years ago, a polyp was found, precancerous, so not an issue, but I was concerned going into this one...
There's a history of colon cancer in my family(my grandmother died with colon cancer), one has already been found, I'm older, and, the list goes on. 
No one likes to think, much less talk about getting a colonoscopy, but if you are hesitant about getting one, please, by all means don't put it off. Yes, it's 2 days out of your life, but the 2 days spent could mean that you have more rather than less days here on earth. 

I'm a little late in getting this out, but Spoonflower is having their annual 50% off fat quarter sale. You may remember that I took a stab at designing a piece of fabric this past summer. Here it is below as a fat quarter.

If you might like to have one of your own, HERE is a link to my page and the design. A fat quarter of this piece is just $7.00 during the sale. The piece makes a great tea towel as well as a bag, or an insertion on a jacket, or skirt. So, the sky is the limit!!!

You may remember the super cute woven t-shirt that Becky of Trial Balloons made with my design. We also devoted 1 segment of our summer challenge to tea towels. 

Spoonflower suggests their Linen Cotton Canvas fabric for tea towels.

The sale only runs through Thursday, November 8, 2018, so be sure to hop over quickly if you want to participate in the sale.

I ordered a  few tea towel lengths for myself as well as gifts...

I love just about anything with vegetables. This is the Farmer's Market Tea Towel and you can find it HERE. 

I ordered a pile of these to give to my sewing friends. You can find the sewing machine tea towel calendar HERE.

And finally, I thought this deer calendar would be such a lovely little gift. You can find it HERE.

We are supposed to get snow tomorrow for the first time this season. I can't wait!!! I have no idea as to whether Mr. Berkley has ever seen snow, but I'm sure he will enjoy it. He enjoys everything!!! :)

Have a wonderful day!

Rhonda 

A Collaboration

Can you believe that it's the last day of July?!!! 

One of the best things I did for myself this summer was to create the Summer Bucket list. It was not my original idea, but the idea of a precious teenager who sadly lost her list. But in doing so, gave me a wonderful gift. 

The pictures below document a few of the things I've done. While in Colorado, I did a 13 mile hike along the Fraser River. All alone, and I loved it. Took a hot air balloon ride. The bottom pictures are of me at Gene's Sausage Shop here in Chicago, eating at their lovely rooftop garden. BTW, I did not eat sausage! I had their potato pancakes. They are sinful, but so worth it!!! I have wanted to enjoy the rooftop garden at Gene's for years, but finally made it happen this summer :) The view is so lovely.   
   

Not exactly on my list, but I took a fun block printing class at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee. Finished up my leather sneakers, and have been enjoying my artwork.  

 
There are a number of things on my list that are fast approaching. One is Shakespeare in the Park. Should be a delightful evening.

Now for something new... 

A number of years ago, I decided to do the Passion For Fashion contest at the American Sewing Expo. Sadly, the expo no longer exists. The contest was set up to be a mini Project Runway competition. On Thursday night, we chose our models. Friday morning we were given out challenge, along with $100 to create our garments. We were given until 7 that evening to work, and then again on Saturday until 3. At 3, our models returned, and we had about 45 minutes to make any adjustments that needed to be made. We then went before the judges. All a bit of a whirlwind. We even had our own version of Tim Gunn, Becky Fulgoni. 

A few months ago, Becky sent me a note and asked if I would like to collaborate on a project with her. Of course I would!!! Becky is so very talented, and has the loveliest sense of style. What she proposed was a t-shirt collaboration.

We have finally worked out the particulars, and here's a little peek at what will be happening every Tuesday the month of August. 

We have decided to do woven t-shirts, and we will be using some non-traditional fabrics. With each post, we will also include a tea based recipe. It might be a drink, and it might be something to eat.

You can find Becky's blog, Trial Balloons HERE. Be sure to pop over and follow her blog so you can see what she creates. But, in case you forget, I will be posting links on my post to make it easy:)

When I think of summer, my mind always goes back to picking vegetables, afternoons swimming at the lake, a big glass of ice tea, and wearing cool, comfortable t-shirts. I'm excited about the collaboration/challenge. What a fun way to finish out the summer!

Monday Morning Fun!

The best thing happened last week :)

I had surgery on my right eye last Tuesday. It seems that all went quite well. The best part is that the awful vertigo feeling that I had after the surgery was done on my left eye in May was immediately gone. So happy! But, that's not the best news...

Meet Berkley!!!

I took this picture as we drove home, me holding his little feet as he slept :) He's 24 pounds of pure love. His little tail is constantly wagging. Such a happy little guy. 

As I was supposed to be resting my eye :/, a thought came to me to just take a look and see if there were any Schipperke dogs up for adoption. It was the strangest thing, a rescue website came up that had nothing to do with Schipperke rescue, but there was a picture of Berkley. This has never happened before. But, for the first time since I lost Miss Little Bit 2 years ago, this little dog spoke to me. I ran upstairs and asked my husband what he thought. He said, "I think we should go for it!" I filled out the application and a questionnaire about what attracted me to the little dog. Friday morning the rescue called and said that they would hold him for me until we could get there on Saturday. My husband actually drove me all the way to Detroit to see this little guy. A 10 hour round trip adventure, but worth every minute :) Gracie isn't all that happy, but, she's doing better than I thought she would. All seems right in our home once again :) I have had a smile on my face since Saturday!

Remember my Summer Bucket list? You may remember that I had a piece of fabric made of my painting. I went back to the Spoonflower site, played around with the design, and did the mirror piece below. The true colors didn't come through in this picture, but I was SOOOO very happy with how the piece turned out.     

I've thought of all sorts of things to do with the yardage, but finally decided to just do a wrap skirt and keep the piece in tact. I keep pinching myself as I cannot believe that something I painted is actually printed on a piece of fabric, and that it looks so pretty, at least I think so ;)   

 Another happy little unexpected gift. 

Kathy of Running With Rockets posted this little vintage tool on her Instagram page. She loves to go to yard sales, resale shops, and find vintage sewing tools. She had said that if anyone was interested in this tool, she would be posting it on her Etsy site. I jumped on it as I had wanted one of these when I was a child. To my surprise, Kathy said that she would like to gift it to me!!! How nice :)  

The little tool makes these daisy shapes, and it came with an instruction page for this sweet top. I'm so excited!!! 

Now, if you've gotten this far in the post, I have a nice little surprise :) I've had so many lovely things happen to me lately, and I would like to share a little happiness with someone. 

This is the tea towel that I made from my painting. Because I don't know how to stretch the design to the entire length of the fat quarter, there's a repeat that will need to be cut off at the bottom. But, there's enough for a tea towel, bag, or even a skirt panel. I've started a skirt with a panel that I'll be sharing soon.  

So, if you would like a chance to win one of my tea towel panels, just leave a message on this post. Let me know what you think you might do with it. Don't worry, I won't hold you to it ;)

I will post the winner next Monday, July 30, 2018.

Good Luck!

And may you have a happy, happy week!

Rhonda

Monday Morning Inspiration/Oscar and a Bucket List

A few weeks back, I shared the summer bucket list that my husband found folded up and laying on the ground in an alley. He brought it home, thinking that I would enjoy seeing it, and I did :) I especially love the simplicity of the list. Everything is achievable within the course of the summer. I also loved the idea of being excited about the possibilities of the summer. When was the last time I was excited about the summer?!! This simple little bucket list inspired me to do my own. You can find my original post HERE. 
   

I decided that my bucket list needed to be special, not just written out on a piece of typing paper. So, I sat down and painted the picture below.  

I did not write on my original painting, but rather copied it on to a piece of paper that I will mount on a piece of poster board. Below is my list. So far, 2 things have been checked off. I really wanted to see 2001: A Space Odyssey for the 50th anniversary. That kicked off my summer as we saw it on Memorial Day, for me, the official beginning of summer. We have a wonderful theater in Chicago called The Music Box where they play all sorts of international films and art films. It was there that we saw the movie.

  

There's a great German delicatessen in Chicago called Gene's Sausage Shop and Delicatessen. When you walk through the door, you feel as though you have been transported to Germany. They have a rooftop beer and wine garden where I have wanted to eat since they opened, but have neglected to. It finally happened last Friday night. I loved it!

As you can see, I've tweaked the list to my own liking, but all things that I would like to do, and if I didn't have the list to remind me, I just might let them slip. What a fun project this has been. So much so that I am inspired to make a list for fall and winter.

Now for some fashion inspiration...

I recently came across the picture below. This lovely dress is from the Oscar de la Renta 2019 Resort collection.

So many of the pieces are just fresh and fun.  

I especially love the plaid coat on the left below.

And I found the brown stripes to be refreshing.

The shorts on the left below are such fun with the contrasting pockets. I thought the short suit on the right was lovely too! 

The design of the pieces is really nothing new, but I just love how pieces are paired. 

I thought both of the gowns below were especially pretty. You can see all of the collection HERE.  

If you would like to make your own bucket list, you are welcome to print off my little piece of artwork :)

I also put together the piece below that can be printed off if you like. Just a nice reminder to write down our dreams to make them a reality. 

Have a wonderful week!

Rhonda

A Summer Bucket List

I'm back, I'm back, I'm back! 

The cataract surgery on my left eye was last Wednesday. It was done very late in the day. By the time it happened, I was quite anxious, so I ended up having a little more anesthesia, but the surgery went well. The only downside of the anesthesia was that I was quite fatigued and a little dizzy for a few days. I'll see my doctor on Thursday for my one week checkup, so hopefully I'll get a thumbs up, and life will return to being at  least somewhat normal again :)

My husband had been out running a few errands for me over the weekend. When he returned, he said, "look what I found!" When he came out of the store, he looked down, and there was a folded piece of paper laying on the ground. He picked it up. What possessed him to pick it up, I don't know. Most often, people will just walk over a piece of paper laying on the ground. But, he did pick it up, unfolded it, and saw a teenage girl's summer bucket list. When he opened it, and discovered what it was, he looked around trying to find who it might belong to, but he said that no one was around. Rather than just throw it in the garbage, he thought he would bring it home to me. The list is pictured below.

As I read it over, I thought, "what a great and doable list!" 

*Get Tan

*Watch the sunrise on the beach

*Henna (tattoo)

*lolla (Lollapalooza, a music festival)

*Bonfire

*Tubing

*Paddle Boarding

*Movie In The Park

*Lacrosse camp with Katie

*Read a good book

*Watch The Sunset

*Have a Summer Fling

*Acai Bowls

*Go On Runs

*Spend the night in the tent

*Go Jet Skiing

*Dance In The Rain

*Skinny Dip (:/)

*Margies (for ice cream)

*See Mamma Mia with Kelsi

*Cubs Game

And finally;

BE HAPPY

As I read the list, I thought about when the last time was that I was excited about summer and all that it could hold. To be honest, I don't remember. Sad :( As I continued to study the list, I thought, let this be an inspiration. 

*Get tan. I do not want to sit out in the sun and get a tan, but I can go for a spray on tan. 

*Watch The Sunrise. I can get up early, go to the beach and watch the sunrise. After all, it's only a couple of miles away. 

*Henna. How fun would it be to get a henna tattoo?!! 

*Going to Lollapalooza is not my thing, but an evening at the  Grant Park Music Festival would be lovely. Sitting out on the grounds and listening to some classical music under the stars. Lovely!

*A bonfire would be fun. Haven't done that for a very long time.

*Tubing. Again, not in a very long time, but such fun.

*Paddle Boarding. I've thought it would be fun, so why not?!!

*Movie in the park. Last year, we saw Romeo and Juliet in the park. Such fun. I'll see what I can come up with.

*I won't be going to Lacrosse camp with Katie ;)

*Read a good book. I can actually cross that off my list. More about that in an upcoming post. 

*Watch the sunset. I think an evening in Michigan, sitting on the shore and watching the sunset would be so lovely. 

*Have a summer fling. Not quite sure what she meant by this. I won't be having a "fling" in the traditional sense, but maybe there's something nontraditional that I can do :) Any hints???

*Acai Bowls. Sign me up! I've already downloaded a few recipes!

*Go on runs. I won't be running this summer, but I will take some nice long hikes. There's a 15 mile hike that I have been wanting to do.

*Spend the night in the tent. I just don't like to camp, so I will not add this to my list.

*Go jet skiing. Another thing I've wanted to do. I'm sure there's somewhere to rent jet skis here in Chicago.

*Dance in the rain. Why not? :)

*Skinny Dip. That won't happen!

*Margies for ice cream. I can walk there, so that may happen in the next day or two :)

*See Mamma Mia with Kelsi. Well, I won't be seeing anything with Kelsi ;), and I'm not a big fan of Mamma Mia, but there is an opera that I would like to see.

*Cubs game...nah. Not much of a baseball fan. 

What I want to add to my list is;

*Go zip lining

*White water rafting

And again, last but not least;

BE HAPPY!

Maybe this will inspire you as well. We don't have to be a child to enjoy summer and all it has to hold. Write out your summer bucket list. Share it here in the comments. I would love to see some of your ideas for having fun, and things that will make you happy. We'll meet again at the end of summer to see how well we did.

BTW, if anyone by chance knows who the list above belongs to, let me know. I would love to return it. At the very least, a great big thank you to this child for opening my eyes to some fun filled days :)