DRAGON along

A dragon lives forever but not so little boys.
(lyric, Puff the Magic Dragon)

We all know that I don't have to look far for an excuse not to finish a project. Any one will do. With the holidays fast
approaching I find myself sidetracked once again. You see my 3 year old grandson Grant has requested a green dragon costume with orange spikes for Halloween. How could I say no? I couldn't, even though I had just begun making progress with my latest unfinished project;  the "Tee Shirt Bag".  Yes the "Tee Shirt Bag".( my 2008 grand idea to turn special old tee shirts into pocketbooks. Laugh now but when you see my old Three Dog Night concert tee shirt transformed into a funky messenger bag you too will scour your closet and drawers in search of the perfect tee to do the same. )
     That said, I quickly abandoned the bag and went to work on the costume. I have loved every minute that I have spent sewing that costume. The bright green fleece with orange trim will be colorful and warm for Halloween night. Grant's excitement is uncontainable and so is mine. I can't wait to see it on him.

 Lets face it,  life is too short,  kids grow too fast and

 Three Dog Night

 can wait.

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get. I think it was Lewis Carroll, author of Alice In Wonderland  who first penned these words and he may as well have written them about me. As I race along toward my goal of completing all unfinished projects I find myself continually bumping into various obstacles thus re-routing my own projects and therefore putting me behind. My first excuse...ahem.....distraction was my grandson's 3rd birthday. This Toy Story themed extravaganza brought my progress to a screeching halt. I know, I know, it is my fault; I take on too much. I happily put away the old and began the new. I had volunteered to applique a tee shirt for the birthday boy. I had first seen it on ETSY and was eager to try my own.  It was a huge success and a great hit with my boy....... but it did indeed put me behind.

 

 

The next interruption was our long awaited trip to the happiest place on earth... Disney World. This trip with my older grand-son had been planned for almost a year and before we knew it, it was upon us. Again there was planning, shopping, packing and travelling to do so my "catch up" list was put aside.  So here I am behind the 8-ball again. But I fear not.

 

 I still have plenty to do and while my goals may be lofty my commitment stands firm.

Hail To The House Dress



Me on moms lap with neighbor.

You've seen them, our mothers wore them and we abhor them. To what am I referring? The House dress. You know, the frumpy old cotton frocks that our mothers wore around the house all day while they cooked and cleaned for us ungrateful souls. You remember, they were plaid or flowered or even plain but one thing is for sure they were ugly. I used to think it was just the style of the times but I have come to realize that the house dress was more

Dad holding me, grand-
mother in house dress.

than that, and our moms knew it; they were comfortable.  I reluctantly found this out during our recent New England heat wave.  I can't believe how hot and humid it has been thus rendering me useless as far as getting much done. I spent a good part of the past 7 days at the beach, cooling off.  I even filled up the grand kid's kiddie pool and sat in it by myself....hey whatever works right? I also dug out my latest Finally Finishing Project. Another blue batik sack of a dress that I had banished to the back of the closet. Finally I measured, cut and hand hemmed it.  Once completed it I  slipped  the lightweight cotton dress over my head and immediately realized the attractions our mothers had for theses garments.  This dress is the most comfortable thing I own. It is cool and soft. Of course due to the heat I did the bare minimum of chores but when I did,  I did them with comfort and without constriction. Even in 90+ degrees I was able to catch the elusive breeze. No more sweaty tee shirts for me. No shorts riding up or too tight waistbands. No more back sweat...... I am free.

Taaaa Daaa

Happy Blog Anniversary!

Finally Finishing is 1 year Old

and I have finished numerous projects with

many more to go! 

Thanks you readers

 for all your support and kind words

 along the way!!

A Perfect Fit For A Perfect Baby!

Here is baby Kathleen the newest addition to our ever growing family modeling the handmade dress with knitted bodice that I made. I couldn't be happier with the end result. The proud parents were nice enough to snap this pic so we could all enjoy it.  Stay tuned little miss Kathleen there are a few more little dresses where this one came from and you seem to be the perfect size.

The Last Sweater

Thanks to my grandmother and my mother I have learned how to knit, sew and crochet, I think these skills are passed on genetically and I appreciate them. These activities have brought me great pleasure and have come in very handy over the years. Growing up it was a rare occurrence to see either one of them without a project in progress, but it was knitting  that was my mother's first love and she was not only good at it, she finished every single project she ever started. She claimed she just couldn't leave anything undone. I am mystified how this little genetic detail failed to find its way to me. Through the years, my mother kept her 6 children in mittens, hats, and sweaters. She even outfitted our Barbie dolls. She did the same for her 21 grand-children and continued on for her 31 great grand-children and finally her 1 great, great grand-child. Which is why this little white sweater feels so bitter sweet for me to see.

This is and will be the last knitting project my mom will complete. Sadly her fading memory makes it impossible for her to follow a pattern and her worsening macular  degeneration with her eyes makes it hard to see the stitches. The last sweater was a gift to her  31st great, great grand-daughter Kathleen.

At 86 years old my mother is for the most part healthy. She enjoys a wonderful life, full of many family gatherings and activities, just not knitting. She may be finally finishing knitting but she still has a lot more living to do!!

 

Dressed To Kill..

I've heard it said that "if you wait long enough, everything old will be new again". This dress, an oldie but goody is living proof that the old adage is true.  At least 15 ago a friend bought this dress for me as a souvenir from Hawaii. I love the fabric and the floral batik design. The problem though is, it is way too long for me, not to mention the ruffle flounce on the bottom. You see I've never been one to "rock the ruffle" if you know what I mean. Frumpy comes to mind here and I can't deny it looks a bit moo mooish.
Now understand,  I am not opposed to the MIDI  or for that matter the MAXI dress. God knows I've worn my share of them back in the 70's  along with other fashions that went with that era. i.e. hip huggers, bell bottoms, earth shoes, love beads, and granny glasses. Sometimes all at the same time. But that was then and this is now. Good Times for sure but I have grown beyond. I vowed that someday I would chop off the ruffle and hem the dress so that I could wear it "my way". Someday is here.....Away we go!!

Well, I may have chopped off a tad too much, I forgot to take into consideration "knee fat"

 

Peace, Love and Rock n Roll!

 

 

 

 

Sew What

The true color of this dress is really a softer
"peachy"color....not orange at all.

Hi All, Happy Spring! With most of the winter knitting completed and behind me I am cautiously entering my "sewing" phase. I love to sew but as you know by now I hate the pesky details of finishing. Last year in anticipation of this anti- procrastination project I bought a new sewing machine; hence the first obstacle. Things have changed since I first learned to sew on my grandmother's treadle machine, and then later on another of Grammy's "hand me down" machines. My new one, the Project Runway Model is computerized and much more involved. It does everything! The problem is I don't really know how to use it yet. It seems like I will need a PhD just to figure it out and SURPRISE I can't find the instruction manual. I'm sure I will unearth it soon. But I fear not, as I shall start slow and finish projects by degrees from easy to hard. This will give me time to "bone up" on the "ins and outs" of the machine.
The beautiful fabric and tiny infant dress pattern was intended for my second grandchild Grant... until I happily found out he was a boy that is, and put it away. Instead it will joyfully go to my brand new "great" niece. Please join me in welcoming little

Kathleen...aka Kat.

XOXOX