Maine Sewing Adventures

Yardwork

 Spring actually came to Maine early this year, but "Gardener Gary" wasn't ready for it.  He managed to get in one mow around before the equipment failed.  After a week or more of tinkering with John Deere, and being told he could no longer get parts, he purchased a new riding long mower on Saturday.  (Well, it really is new, but we have never owned one before, so it is pretty exciting.  The John Deere actually belonged to his father.)

 The surprising thing about the new mower, which he bought from Putt Patten at Ellsworth Chain Saw (which is actually in Trenton), is that it is a Husqvarna!  You know, the guys who make  Viking sewing machines!  Now, I am a Supreme Pfaff Dealer which means I agreed  to have no other brands.  I hope the big guys don't find out I have a Husqvarna in the door yard!

  Well, Gary got the mower going and finally trimmed the yard and whacked the weeds .. we actually look like we are open for business!  I was so inspired that I planted the 'xploded tires and the pots by the fence.  One thing led to another, so I filled the potholes out by the road.  Now if Dennis (Mary Jane's husband) and the UPS guys would stop spinning their tires when they burn onto Route 3....

  I've got lots of photos of our work, before and after, and some other poses.  I also included the one Gary took of in the store because I thought it looks so inviting.

Visiting Baltimore

I have been told by family and friends that I am not keeping my blog up-to-date, and it is so true!  But in case you're wondering if I am sitting around "polishing my tush", I am not.  We have just returned from Baltimore where we (Hubby, older brother Tyler, older sister Maggie, Aunt Gail, and Uncle Carroll) attended our "baby's" senior recital at Peabody Conservatory of Music.  It was beyond memorable!               

    

I, of course, had not finished her gown, so I carried the pieces and patterns and pins onto the plane and fit and finished it in the comfort of her apartment on Cathedral Street.  We had to shop for shoes before it could be hemmed and I didn't put the finishing touches on it until the morning of the recital. I must say I was under a bit of stress as I hemmed it the evening before after a full dinner at  the Thai restaurant (Mai Tais and all).

At the recital, she performed a range of pieces including concertos for trumpet as well as jazz numbers.  Although maybe not the most challenging piece, my favorite was her ending jazz performance of Over the Rainbow.  I can't wait until we get a CD of the performance.

The photo album chronicles a bit of our adventure.

Belts, Scarves, and Beyond

  I recently had the opportunity to work with a group of young girls at our church to "kick start" their sewing adventures.  What a delightful, enthusiastic group  of 11 it turned out to be!  They also turned out to be the children of some of my former first grade students!  Now how old does that make me feel?

  Most of them had little sewing experience, but they dove in with the attitude of "how hard could it be?"  I had two adult assistants and 6 sewing machines.  Some of the girls got to test drive our computerized Pfaffs and that was an experience in itself.  They also were fascinated with the Fasturn tube for turning.  (Most adults are amazed with this tool the first time they see it in use.)

  Most of them chose to make fashionable belts.  They were delighted with the "cool" fabrics I had brought and picked one or 2 colors for their project.  They pinned and cut and stitched and turned and modeled!  Some even got their first experience with a seam ripper!  One astute young lady asked "If I press the reverse button, does it take out the stitches I just did?" Now wouldn't that be great!  I think there is a budding engineer there!

  The afternoon was a wonderful adventure for me and I hope for the girls.  Click on the adjacent photo album for pics (I did not put in any names in case someone "unsavory" is reading this!)

Blogging! The newest adventure!

It is hard to believe, but I learned of blogging a mere two weeks ago.  My friend suggested  that I write a blog about our sewing adventures with my two stores: Sewing by the Sea in Trenton, Maine and Sew Portland in Portland, Maine.  I was intrigued enough to go home and check out blogs that evening.  After reading a few, I realized "OMG! I can do this!" 

The next step was to choose a company to host the blog.  I searched around, and selected typepad.com when I found that summer neighbor and fellow sewer, Martha Stewart, used them.  I checked out Martha's blog today and found that she, like I, had a boating adventure in the waters off Mount Desert Island on Memorial Weekend. This could be my first topic!  While Martha was prepared enough to have her camera on board (or camera crew), I was not .. oh to have "people".. wouldn't it be wonderful! Alas, no photos for my first blog!

Here goes......

My Captain, husband Gary and I took the dog (not-my-dog-Rover) out in our picnic boat (a 12 foot aluminum two seater) for a little spin up the Jordan River (a salt water river).  We putted across the river to deliver a cold beverage to Captain Steve who was rearranging the rocks on his shore. The Captains discussed the work and the upcoming lobster-trapping potential before we motored on to check out the eagle's nest on the point.  Papa eagle was standing guard on a high branch ..no mama or babes were visible.  It was a gorgeous May Day in Maine and the tide was running softy against the boat.  Not-my-dog was content to stand lookout in the bow while we cruised around the river before heading back to our dock where the mosquitoes greeted us.  A true sign that summer is indeed coming!

Okay, not a exciting as having the cute Coasties boarding your boat, but my Captain was once a cute Coastie! Does that count?