First of all i have the best of news for anyone with a family. You know how from time to time the family gets unhappy and the general peace is disrupted?? Well, earlier this week i was looking at the take out menu for May China Restaurant here in Garland and i discovered something very very special. I discovered that about half way down their entrees they sell the "Happy Family" for 8.95. Boy i have to tell you that is good news. Gone are the days of making everyone kiss and make up, now I'll just simply go to May China and for about ten bucks I'll have the Happy Family and all will be restored in the world. If you need their address, just let me know. They do deliver, so if it's an emergency, just google them.
Now for something far more trivial. A good number of years ago i was diagnosed with a hormonal abnormality. Basically, i had gone through, for lack of a better term, male menopause. So my hormone levels were ridiculously low. Now is where you should be giggling, cause hormones and sex go hand in hand. However, for me it really was more frustrating than anything else. Sure, the pharmaceutical companies gave us men pills to counter act the inability to perform in the bedroom, but while everyone was making jokes about whether or not a person took Viagra, cialis, or levitra because they wanted to or due to a need, more important details were left out.
I used to take my little blue pill and marvel at just how effective, sorry for using the pronoun but it makes me laugh, it was. However, the blue pill notwithstanding, there were other things that weren't so mundane. My mood, get up and go, and overall feeling of well being were all but gone and my teeth seemed to be dissolving in front of my eyes no matter what i did. Enter one dentist that was focused on the whole patient and not just the bill. I remember wanting to make sure the dentist knew that i wasn't a drug user and that it was important to me that he believe me. He said, i know, you have a hormone problem. Huh?? How does a dentist know this?? He told me before treatment i needed to go see my regular doctor and get a hormone test and a bone density test. And he was right. All the time i had been taking Viagra for poor sexual performance, my body had been trying to tell me that it was out of hormones. I was tested and my results were so low that we tested them again with the same outcome. It was at that time that i was placed on Hormone Replacement Therapy. Basically, i smear this gel on my shoulders everyday and make sure my wife doesn't come in contact with the gel as it would make her grow a mustache. Like she needs help in that department ;-D The thing about the gel is the cost. Typical HRT for a woman is about thirty or so dollars a month. For men, it's about Three Hundred. Why you ask?? I'll tell you! It's all because some lawmakers in Washington are mad that some professional athletes use steroids and so the stuff that goes in the gel is legislated by that and that drives the price up. Totally not right, but that is the state of things. So, now I'm on the hormones and I've had the bone scan and life goes on.
Here's the point to all this. This week, i had oral surgery to remove my teeth and repair my jaw from the effects of having low hormones for so long. I have bone loss in my hands, neck and other parts of my body and the lack of hormones drove my cholesterol number for years. Here in a couple of years I'll probably start getting calcium treatments like one of those little old ladies and all of this was largely preventable. If you are a man or have one that is over forty, have him get his hormone level checked. The test is cheap by medical testing standards and the benefits so completely outweigh any embarrassment he might feel. Insist on it, hormones aren't only for the bedroom. Just wanted to share, Dave
p.s. next time I'll tell you why i never tell her to cut or not to cut her hair.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
nothing old or predictable
Well it's been nearly a month since i last penned something here. For my absence, you have my deepest apologies, for some, and it must have been a refreshing break, for others. truth be told, since i signed up on Blogger i haven't blogged like i usually do. I'm not sure if it's because it seems more formal here or if i've just grown lazier. The smart money is on the latter.
While it is true that i live in Garland, i started teaching a sewing class at Lone Star College in Houston in March. It's just one day a week, but that takes three to four days to do. I tell you now, it's not a commute for the faint of heart. I have 12 women in my basic sewing class. These women have skill levels that range from "so this is a sewing machine" all the way to, "are all the projects going to be this easy." A couple of them have Kenmore's. A brand of machine marketed by Sears for years and they generally work pretty well. I don't know who actually makes the machine, but they have pretty much always been a pretty reliable machine. The balance of the class ALL have Singers from Wal-Mart. The first thing i guess i should say is that i think that Wal-mart is the Devil!!! I detest it!!! The vary mention of it makes me cringe!!! At any rate, the class has progressed nicely and all of the ladies have taken to a man instructing the class just fine. I guess the class is going fine, i've been asked back to teach three different sections this fall. I have to say, i had my reservations when i took the gig, but it has turned out alright. I'm sure that as time goes by it will only get better. But, as of tomorrow, i only have one class left. I have to tell you that i'm ready for it to be over with. I need a break from this traveling. Leave garland on sunday, go home on wednesday, repeat?? Yeah, i've had enough of that for a while.
Tomorrow, after class, i'll go home and have oral surgery on wednesday morning. I'm terribly apprehensive about it, but what can ya do. If you need it, you need it. Hopefully, i'll be drugged out of my skull for the whole procedure and remember nothing. At least, he claims that i'll remember almost nothing of the hour and a half. Here's hoping he's right. I bet i talked to thirty surgeons before i found one i felt comfortable with and so now it's on and paid for. I guess at this point all i need do is show up.
Next week, i'll be back down here in Houston for my last class and then home again. I'll be home for about two and a half to three weeks and then i'll be headed off to Alpine for a while. When life closes in on you there is no place to get your head wrapped around things like in the high desert back home. I've been needing a break for a number of years now but i've never taken the time and you know what?? I'm taking it. I know my mother has a grocery list of stuff she wants me to fix around her house and i'll do my best to get all that done. Though sometimes her lists never end. As you get one thing cleared off, two more get added. Then again it's for Mother Nature, what's a guy to do. After all of that, i have to get back in time to get my "bruiser" son to "weight camp", no he's not fat, it's a football thing. So somewhere along in here i'm just hoping to have a day or two where i can throw my feet up and just enjoy the day and i hope you do as well. Till next time, y'all be good, Dave
p.s. Most of the people i know that blog any at all feel obliged to include random recipes and with all of the phone calls i get for how to cook something, i'm going to give you my stupid peanut butter cookie recipe. i hope you enjoy.
1-2-3 cookies
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
beat that all together and make peanut butter cookies. bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or golden and enjoy. yes i know there is no flour in the recipe. Trust me, they're great. Have i ever lied to you before?? peace!!!
While it is true that i live in Garland, i started teaching a sewing class at Lone Star College in Houston in March. It's just one day a week, but that takes three to four days to do. I tell you now, it's not a commute for the faint of heart. I have 12 women in my basic sewing class. These women have skill levels that range from "so this is a sewing machine" all the way to, "are all the projects going to be this easy." A couple of them have Kenmore's. A brand of machine marketed by Sears for years and they generally work pretty well. I don't know who actually makes the machine, but they have pretty much always been a pretty reliable machine. The balance of the class ALL have Singers from Wal-Mart. The first thing i guess i should say is that i think that Wal-mart is the Devil!!! I detest it!!! The vary mention of it makes me cringe!!! At any rate, the class has progressed nicely and all of the ladies have taken to a man instructing the class just fine. I guess the class is going fine, i've been asked back to teach three different sections this fall. I have to say, i had my reservations when i took the gig, but it has turned out alright. I'm sure that as time goes by it will only get better. But, as of tomorrow, i only have one class left. I have to tell you that i'm ready for it to be over with. I need a break from this traveling. Leave garland on sunday, go home on wednesday, repeat?? Yeah, i've had enough of that for a while.
Tomorrow, after class, i'll go home and have oral surgery on wednesday morning. I'm terribly apprehensive about it, but what can ya do. If you need it, you need it. Hopefully, i'll be drugged out of my skull for the whole procedure and remember nothing. At least, he claims that i'll remember almost nothing of the hour and a half. Here's hoping he's right. I bet i talked to thirty surgeons before i found one i felt comfortable with and so now it's on and paid for. I guess at this point all i need do is show up.
Next week, i'll be back down here in Houston for my last class and then home again. I'll be home for about two and a half to three weeks and then i'll be headed off to Alpine for a while. When life closes in on you there is no place to get your head wrapped around things like in the high desert back home. I've been needing a break for a number of years now but i've never taken the time and you know what?? I'm taking it. I know my mother has a grocery list of stuff she wants me to fix around her house and i'll do my best to get all that done. Though sometimes her lists never end. As you get one thing cleared off, two more get added. Then again it's for Mother Nature, what's a guy to do. After all of that, i have to get back in time to get my "bruiser" son to "weight camp", no he's not fat, it's a football thing. So somewhere along in here i'm just hoping to have a day or two where i can throw my feet up and just enjoy the day and i hope you do as well. Till next time, y'all be good, Dave
p.s. Most of the people i know that blog any at all feel obliged to include random recipes and with all of the phone calls i get for how to cook something, i'm going to give you my stupid peanut butter cookie recipe. i hope you enjoy.
1-2-3 cookies
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
beat that all together and make peanut butter cookies. bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or golden and enjoy. yes i know there is no flour in the recipe. Trust me, they're great. Have i ever lied to you before?? peace!!!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
just some typing,
It wasn't long after the movie started that everything else began too. You know what they say, "never a dull moment." Well, they can say it all they want, but it doesn't' mean it has to be, in any way, truthful. I guess Mike bringing Steve over was what got the ball rolling, but really didn't have anything to do with the final outcome to what will forever be known as "Oh That".
Mike was chronic in his befriending of the damnedest people. I mean, just what kind of friends do you meet at the Waffle House and the thrift store at four in the morning? Okay, so i get the Waffle House thing but the Thrift Store? Four in the morning? Steve, certainly, was no exception. Early on, we thought Steve might be a better class of reject because he worked for an entertainment company. Our acceptance turned out to be short lived. Rumors circulated and later confirmed that Steve ran a Tilt-a-Whirl for a gypsy carnival working the area. I guess that qualifies as entertainment, just not in my book. Still, Steve showered and dressed nicely for a Carny, though i have no idea what he did with the razor i gave him.
Mike told me that Steve had an allergy to one of the metals in the alloy used to create razor blades and it would cause him to have to go to the hospital if he even touched the razor because of residual particles of those metals on the razor itself. I've heard some pretty peculiar stuff in my life but this one was the most peculiar. At least that's what i thought until i asked Steve about it and he recounted his appendectomy which was performed with medical grade plastic instruments to keep the surgery from killing him on the operating table. I guess it's a good thing he's not allergic to our silverware. If he were he'd surely starve to death.
Mike was chronic in his befriending of the damnedest people. I mean, just what kind of friends do you meet at the Waffle House and the thrift store at four in the morning? Okay, so i get the Waffle House thing but the Thrift Store? Four in the morning? Steve, certainly, was no exception. Early on, we thought Steve might be a better class of reject because he worked for an entertainment company. Our acceptance turned out to be short lived. Rumors circulated and later confirmed that Steve ran a Tilt-a-Whirl for a gypsy carnival working the area. I guess that qualifies as entertainment, just not in my book. Still, Steve showered and dressed nicely for a Carny, though i have no idea what he did with the razor i gave him.
Mike told me that Steve had an allergy to one of the metals in the alloy used to create razor blades and it would cause him to have to go to the hospital if he even touched the razor because of residual particles of those metals on the razor itself. I've heard some pretty peculiar stuff in my life but this one was the most peculiar. At least that's what i thought until i asked Steve about it and he recounted his appendectomy which was performed with medical grade plastic instruments to keep the surgery from killing him on the operating table. I guess it's a good thing he's not allergic to our silverware. If he were he'd surely starve to death.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Netflix scares the hell out of me
On any given day i get out of bed around ten in the morning. See, now i can hear the groans already. I have a reasonable answer for this. I am a chronic insomniac. I've been this way my whole life and know no other way to live. It's not all bad though, those hours I'm awake and everyone else is sleeping provide the perfect opportunity for me to get things done that i wouldn't ordinarily get to. But, more on that later.
My day generally starts with making a command decision on what to have for supper. I know this seems like nothing, but ask anyone who has been responsible for the evening meal for ten to fifteen years and they'll all tell you that they don't know what they are going to fix until they start to fix it. If they claim to always know what they are making, they lie, their feet stink, and they just aren't right in the head. Once that little gem is lined out, i go about picking up the clutter from the evening before and whatever the guys left out before they went to school. Following that i usually sew on something.
My sewing has fallen off a lot lately. I have so many things that are cut out or are nearly finished but i just haven't put the finishing touches on for one reason or another. More often than not it's because I'm in some pissy mood about something that is currently going on or has recently and you know what they say, attitude is everything. Well, if that's the truth then my attitude sucks. It's just a funk i have found myself in and I'm going to have to pull myself out of it.
I usually take a break from things around one o'clock because Tyra Banks is on. Okay, if you don't think she's pretty, check your pulse. Though i have to admit I'm more of a Queen Latifah kinda guy.
I'd give anything to just lay around with her one day and just shoot the shit. Just talk to her about life and the world and as long as I'm dreaming here, get her to sing a little bit of one of the old standards to me. You know, Bette Midler would work too. Crazy dream?? have them sing a duet to me. I'd die on the spot.
Anyway, i generally don't watch Tyra, but i do turn it on and listen while I'm futzing around the house. What I'm really doing is waiting on my judge shows to start. At two, the judge shows start. Judges Alex, Joe, and Judy the man hater. I'm some kind of perverse fan of these shows. Hell, everyone has to have a hobby right??
The guys get here around five as Judge Judy is going off and it's homework time or whatever the current thing is, like now it's shot put. Then Dinner around seven or eight depending on what time she gets home from work. Then we eat and clean up.
After that, i chase the guys off to bed sometime between ten and eleven and head that way myself. It's at this point that things began going south for me Thursday evening. After shower time and the like, it was time to watch CSI. Now i don't watch it on TV, i watch it on Netflix where there are no commercials and it only takes about forty five minutes instead of an hour. Well, Tuesday's episode of CSI Miami wasn't posted yet, but CSI NY was so i watched that and watched Donna fall asleep. I swear, she always says, let's watch xyz and then goes to sleep. After fifteen years, anytime she says, let's watch.... I just smile cause it's funny. I know she's going to sleep and she does.
Anyway, after CSI, i watched The Andromeda Strain. It was kind of a landmark film with a pretty clear social message and it's just a classic in terms of American Cinema. The story was written by Michael Crichton, the same guy that wrote Congo and The 13th Warrior, not to mention that he penned several of the ER episodes. He really is a fantastic writer. Be that as it may, the movie came to a close and this is generally where i get up and get me something to drink and to be quite honest, watch another movie. I was planning on watching Casa Blanca, or Key Largo. I was in a Bogey frame of mind. See i doubt it was quite three in the morning at that point and i don't generally go to sleep till around five or six.
So i lay back down and read a couple of flagged articles that i had flagged earlier and when i was done i clicked on netflix to go to the browsing tab and the following is what i got.
Site maintenance?? Really?? While I'm in the mood for Bogey?? Who do these people think they are. Eh, well i survived, but it really made me wonder what i did before netflix and i couldn't remember. I was terrified. How could they let this happen to me?
I layed there for a while deciding what to do and the next thing i knew it was just short of nine in the morning. I fell asleep and now I'm up an hour earlier than normal. The rhythm of my day or rather of my life was suddenly thrown out of whack. I have to say it is nothing short of a travesty.
While coming to terms with this and forming a plan to get my life back on track i got a call from my mom. My parents showed up the next day for a four day visit. I guess getting myself back on my schedule will have to wait for a few more days. I can handle that, what really bothers me is that my mother and netflix got together and ganged up on me this way. It's just unfair.
Y'all have a great weekend, Dave
My day generally starts with making a command decision on what to have for supper. I know this seems like nothing, but ask anyone who has been responsible for the evening meal for ten to fifteen years and they'll all tell you that they don't know what they are going to fix until they start to fix it. If they claim to always know what they are making, they lie, their feet stink, and they just aren't right in the head. Once that little gem is lined out, i go about picking up the clutter from the evening before and whatever the guys left out before they went to school. Following that i usually sew on something.
My sewing has fallen off a lot lately. I have so many things that are cut out or are nearly finished but i just haven't put the finishing touches on for one reason or another. More often than not it's because I'm in some pissy mood about something that is currently going on or has recently and you know what they say, attitude is everything. Well, if that's the truth then my attitude sucks. It's just a funk i have found myself in and I'm going to have to pull myself out of it.
I usually take a break from things around one o'clock because Tyra Banks is on. Okay, if you don't think she's pretty, check your pulse. Though i have to admit I'm more of a Queen Latifah kinda guy.
I'd give anything to just lay around with her one day and just shoot the shit. Just talk to her about life and the world and as long as I'm dreaming here, get her to sing a little bit of one of the old standards to me. You know, Bette Midler would work too. Crazy dream?? have them sing a duet to me. I'd die on the spot.
Anyway, i generally don't watch Tyra, but i do turn it on and listen while I'm futzing around the house. What I'm really doing is waiting on my judge shows to start. At two, the judge shows start. Judges Alex, Joe, and Judy the man hater. I'm some kind of perverse fan of these shows. Hell, everyone has to have a hobby right??
The guys get here around five as Judge Judy is going off and it's homework time or whatever the current thing is, like now it's shot put. Then Dinner around seven or eight depending on what time she gets home from work. Then we eat and clean up.
After that, i chase the guys off to bed sometime between ten and eleven and head that way myself. It's at this point that things began going south for me Thursday evening. After shower time and the like, it was time to watch CSI. Now i don't watch it on TV, i watch it on Netflix where there are no commercials and it only takes about forty five minutes instead of an hour. Well, Tuesday's episode of CSI Miami wasn't posted yet, but CSI NY was so i watched that and watched Donna fall asleep. I swear, she always says, let's watch xyz and then goes to sleep. After fifteen years, anytime she says, let's watch.... I just smile cause it's funny. I know she's going to sleep and she does.
Anyway, after CSI, i watched The Andromeda Strain. It was kind of a landmark film with a pretty clear social message and it's just a classic in terms of American Cinema. The story was written by Michael Crichton, the same guy that wrote Congo and The 13th Warrior, not to mention that he penned several of the ER episodes. He really is a fantastic writer. Be that as it may, the movie came to a close and this is generally where i get up and get me something to drink and to be quite honest, watch another movie. I was planning on watching Casa Blanca, or Key Largo. I was in a Bogey frame of mind. See i doubt it was quite three in the morning at that point and i don't generally go to sleep till around five or six.
So i lay back down and read a couple of flagged articles that i had flagged earlier and when i was done i clicked on netflix to go to the browsing tab and the following is what i got.
Site maintenance?? Really?? While I'm in the mood for Bogey?? Who do these people think they are. Eh, well i survived, but it really made me wonder what i did before netflix and i couldn't remember. I was terrified. How could they let this happen to me?I layed there for a while deciding what to do and the next thing i knew it was just short of nine in the morning. I fell asleep and now I'm up an hour earlier than normal. The rhythm of my day or rather of my life was suddenly thrown out of whack. I have to say it is nothing short of a travesty.
While coming to terms with this and forming a plan to get my life back on track i got a call from my mom. My parents showed up the next day for a four day visit. I guess getting myself back on my schedule will have to wait for a few more days. I can handle that, what really bothers me is that my mother and netflix got together and ganged up on me this way. It's just unfair.
Y'all have a great weekend, Dave
Monday, February 16, 2009
Army buddies, Tall tales, and Chicks dig scars...
A three legged dog walked into a salloon and hopped up on the bar. The bar keep asked the pup what he could do for him and the dog said, "Ah, i'm just lookin for the man who shot my paw."
Shameless, isn't it?? If you tell that joke out loud it's a great little kid joke, but written down it just isn't much of anything. Now don't take my word for it, go tell it to someone right now. Yes, i know it's a groaner, but it is so much harder to make a funny joke without using profanity or blatant inuendo. So, i like it. I hope one of you finds it cute as well.
This passed weekend, my oldest and dearest friend came to visit. I hadn't seen thig guy in more than twelve years. It had been since he had married this woman and moved back east somewhere. You know, to one of those states where only poor people eat brisket and those lovely green peppers we all love are called jal-uh-peen-ohs!!! It's nothing short of divine intervention that they didn't lock him up for wearing cowboy boots. God knows that Ranger belt he wears probably scared the hell out of them. But, anyway, he's back home in the Lone Star and i for one am glad.
He got here Friday and said he'd bring the beer. Well, how can you argue with that?? True to his word he did and while it wasn't what i'd usually drink, i think i'll be drinking it again. Stupid limed up beer, who thought of that?? Well we sat up both nights chatting like a couple kids on a sleep over and come sunday, he left.
It was so good to see my friend and twelve years is too long. If he runs off like that again, I'll just have to hunt him down, get him in a submission hold, and make him sing "Take me back to Texas". Come back anytime, we didn't get any pictures !!! Dork!!!
My 8th grader has his first track meet this week. He does field events and has been consistently throwing the shot just short of thirty feet. So, that should make him competitive but we'll just have to wait and see. The 7th grader got a math award last week for something. I know that sounds bad that i don't know what it was for, but when i asked him about it he started telling me how female spiders chew on the stomachs of male spiders during intercourse. The moral to this story is, sometimes spiders are more important than some piece of blue paper.
Now before i go rub aquaphor onto my itching skin cancer scar i just want to wish everyone a great week with whatever it is that you are involved in. Y'all be cool, I'm aquaphor bound. D
Shameless, isn't it?? If you tell that joke out loud it's a great little kid joke, but written down it just isn't much of anything. Now don't take my word for it, go tell it to someone right now. Yes, i know it's a groaner, but it is so much harder to make a funny joke without using profanity or blatant inuendo. So, i like it. I hope one of you finds it cute as well.
This passed weekend, my oldest and dearest friend came to visit. I hadn't seen thig guy in more than twelve years. It had been since he had married this woman and moved back east somewhere. You know, to one of those states where only poor people eat brisket and those lovely green peppers we all love are called jal-uh-peen-ohs!!! It's nothing short of divine intervention that they didn't lock him up for wearing cowboy boots. God knows that Ranger belt he wears probably scared the hell out of them. But, anyway, he's back home in the Lone Star and i for one am glad.
He got here Friday and said he'd bring the beer. Well, how can you argue with that?? True to his word he did and while it wasn't what i'd usually drink, i think i'll be drinking it again. Stupid limed up beer, who thought of that?? Well we sat up both nights chatting like a couple kids on a sleep over and come sunday, he left.
It was so good to see my friend and twelve years is too long. If he runs off like that again, I'll just have to hunt him down, get him in a submission hold, and make him sing "Take me back to Texas". Come back anytime, we didn't get any pictures !!! Dork!!!
My 8th grader has his first track meet this week. He does field events and has been consistently throwing the shot just short of thirty feet. So, that should make him competitive but we'll just have to wait and see. The 7th grader got a math award last week for something. I know that sounds bad that i don't know what it was for, but when i asked him about it he started telling me how female spiders chew on the stomachs of male spiders during intercourse. The moral to this story is, sometimes spiders are more important than some piece of blue paper.
Now before i go rub aquaphor onto my itching skin cancer scar i just want to wish everyone a great week with whatever it is that you are involved in. Y'all be cool, I'm aquaphor bound. D
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
The end of the "W's" of My Sewing...
I said that i would throw up a few pics of some of the things I've made and so here they are. I have pages of stuff and it was hard to pick, so i just grabbed a few of the more memorable ones that shouldn't offend anyone.
This is a Patent leather and brocade corsette that i made to go under a Victorian Dress i made for a Christmas costume party for my lovely. Obviously the brocade side is out.
I often say that if you can describe it i can make it. Well, when i was asked to make an Oakland A's cheerleader outfit for a baby, i was intrigued. When i found out that it needed to be the size of a onesie for a newborn, i knew i had to try. I think the picture speaks for itself. On the side you cannot see there is the last name of the baby appliqued just as the A's is on the front. Notice there are A's on the outside of the sleeves too, just like the real jersey. This was nothing short of a labor of love. It's two piece, the onesie and the pleated skirt with flashes. Well there is the little girls headband also. It remains one of my most favorite projects of all time.
I made this flapper dress for my BAGF for a Halloween Party. It was fun to do, but the challenge in this was getting it done fast enough. It was sort of an after thought and it turned out alright.
This is a Patent leather and brocade corsette that i made to go under a Victorian Dress i made for a Christmas costume party for my lovely. Obviously the brocade side is out.
This is the Victorian dress i made her for that Christmas party. It was a lot of fabric and is very heavy. It has four layers of petticoats beneath the lace over laid Jacquard. This dress is seven pieces. Aren't you glad you don't have to dress like that day to day?? It was a whole lot of fun to make. I wish i could put up all the pics of it to show all of the braiding and everything but, eh, this should give you an idea of what it looks like.
This Empire waisted bridesmaid gown was a trip. The dress is really easy to make and doesn't take all that long to finish. Unless, your measurements don't vary by more than a couple inches, such as the case here. This lady is well over six foot tall and terribly long waisted. Her measurement from under bust was constant all the way to the point of her hips and that ran for nearly ten inches. She was a doll and looked like a cake topper. I enjoyed making this one as much for the challenge of fitting her as i did just for meeting her. She's just a jewel of a lady.
I often say that if you can describe it i can make it. Well, when i was asked to make an Oakland A's cheerleader outfit for a baby, i was intrigued. When i found out that it needed to be the size of a onesie for a newborn, i knew i had to try. I think the picture speaks for itself. On the side you cannot see there is the last name of the baby appliqued just as the A's is on the front. Notice there are A's on the outside of the sleeves too, just like the real jersey. This was nothing short of a labor of love. It's two piece, the onesie and the pleated skirt with flashes. Well there is the little girls headband also. It remains one of my most favorite projects of all time.I could go on and on, but i think you have an idea of what i mean by i get asked to make anything and everything. I could post pics till all my hair falls out, but it's gone and you don't want to flip through that much. I sincerely hope you enjoyed something in this series and know that anything is possible.
Thanks for reading my post and for asking the question,
Y'all be good, D
Thursday, January 29, 2009
More on the "W's" of my sewing
I've always been told, "never start anything with an apology." Well, don't you just love rules?? I'm sorry if this isn't a seamless transition from the first installment, but if it were i'd have to pay myself for doing this. Oh and seamless, is just a word.
The one question i get asked over and over again is how i got started sewing. While this is a fairly easy question it is also fairly involved. However, as with most things, it is a story.
As many of you know, i grew up in the weeds of West Texas. My hometown is more open desert than urban sprawl and even moreso thirty years ago. When I'd go out to play, most days, I'd end up crawling between strands of barbed wire or sliding down piles of crumbled boulders. On others, I'd hike up the dry creekbed that ran though town or ride my bike along the railroad tracks that ran away from our town in three directions. With all this, i could take a new pair of jeans and reduce them to something torn or relatively crotchless in an afternoon. Given what jeans cost, it wasn't reasonable for my folks to keep replacing jeans and repairing them became the norm. Not to mention, back then they didn't make stone or acid washed jeans and it takes forever to wash a pair of jeans to the right color and feel. At any rate, somewhere along the way mom got tired of fixing my pants and made me responsible for my own stuff. So, someone, probably my grandparents, found a sewing machine at a garage sale and when i got home that day, i got a sewing machine and a book. Along with the machine i got the advice to read the book before i tried to sew anything.
The first few repairs i attempted were less than laudable, but over time i got to where i could do well enough that i rarely noticed my jeans were always fixed. I can still mend a pair of jeans and even hem up a pair of new ones without losing the factory hem. Now that's self-aggrandizing....lol
From these humble beginnings, i moved on to seat covers for pickups and friends cars. Most of my friends in the next town over knew i could sew, but it was a closely guarded secret in my hometown. The last thing i needed was for someone to find out i could sew. I was a terribly wimpy boy back in those days and took quite a bit of hazing for it and knowing how to sew would have just fueled the flames.
After i left my hometown, i didn't sew for a number of years. It was like one of those transient hobbies you have only while you live where you picked up the habit. I didn't have a need for it, so it never occurred to me to get another machine. At least until i decided to marry the most contemptible woman on earth. She wanted a dress well beyond any reasonable budget, short of the guy who owns the country of Dubai, maybe. Here is one time my big mouth got me in deep. I went from a slip of the tongue about knowing how to sew, to yards and yards of taffeta and slipper satin in about twenty hours. I would love to come clean and say it really was over weeks, but it wasn't. It was less than a day and for the next three or four months i made a wedding dress. It was an experience to be sure. When we divorced, I petitioned for the dress, but... i wasn't the bride the judge said.
About fifteen or so years ago i started sewing stuff for me, pillows, quilts, shirts, or anything else i wanted. Sewing had blossomed into something that was part hobby and part obsession. Now, it's arguably all obsession.
My favorite things to sew are probably Martha Pullen heirlooms and quilts. I am asked to sew anything and everything. It seems the more outrageous the request, the more i enjoy the project. All in all, I think i just love seeing the results of what i do.
I'll post a few pictures next time.
Y'all be cool, D
P.S. I also knit, crochet, embroider, cross-stitch, and do leather
The one question i get asked over and over again is how i got started sewing. While this is a fairly easy question it is also fairly involved. However, as with most things, it is a story.
As many of you know, i grew up in the weeds of West Texas. My hometown is more open desert than urban sprawl and even moreso thirty years ago. When I'd go out to play, most days, I'd end up crawling between strands of barbed wire or sliding down piles of crumbled boulders. On others, I'd hike up the dry creekbed that ran though town or ride my bike along the railroad tracks that ran away from our town in three directions. With all this, i could take a new pair of jeans and reduce them to something torn or relatively crotchless in an afternoon. Given what jeans cost, it wasn't reasonable for my folks to keep replacing jeans and repairing them became the norm. Not to mention, back then they didn't make stone or acid washed jeans and it takes forever to wash a pair of jeans to the right color and feel. At any rate, somewhere along the way mom got tired of fixing my pants and made me responsible for my own stuff. So, someone, probably my grandparents, found a sewing machine at a garage sale and when i got home that day, i got a sewing machine and a book. Along with the machine i got the advice to read the book before i tried to sew anything.
The first few repairs i attempted were less than laudable, but over time i got to where i could do well enough that i rarely noticed my jeans were always fixed. I can still mend a pair of jeans and even hem up a pair of new ones without losing the factory hem. Now that's self-aggrandizing....lol
From these humble beginnings, i moved on to seat covers for pickups and friends cars. Most of my friends in the next town over knew i could sew, but it was a closely guarded secret in my hometown. The last thing i needed was for someone to find out i could sew. I was a terribly wimpy boy back in those days and took quite a bit of hazing for it and knowing how to sew would have just fueled the flames.
After i left my hometown, i didn't sew for a number of years. It was like one of those transient hobbies you have only while you live where you picked up the habit. I didn't have a need for it, so it never occurred to me to get another machine. At least until i decided to marry the most contemptible woman on earth. She wanted a dress well beyond any reasonable budget, short of the guy who owns the country of Dubai, maybe. Here is one time my big mouth got me in deep. I went from a slip of the tongue about knowing how to sew, to yards and yards of taffeta and slipper satin in about twenty hours. I would love to come clean and say it really was over weeks, but it wasn't. It was less than a day and for the next three or four months i made a wedding dress. It was an experience to be sure. When we divorced, I petitioned for the dress, but... i wasn't the bride the judge said.
About fifteen or so years ago i started sewing stuff for me, pillows, quilts, shirts, or anything else i wanted. Sewing had blossomed into something that was part hobby and part obsession. Now, it's arguably all obsession.
My favorite things to sew are probably Martha Pullen heirlooms and quilts. I am asked to sew anything and everything. It seems the more outrageous the request, the more i enjoy the project. All in all, I think i just love seeing the results of what i do.
I'll post a few pictures next time.
Y'all be cool, D
P.S. I also knit, crochet, embroider, cross-stitch, and do leather
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