Handmade Clothes

I miss my mom really all the time but it goes in waves. Recently I bought a second hand pair of  Loft jeans because I liked the fit and style. The only problem is they are too long for me. My mom used to help me out with this issue by cutting a chunk out and attaching the hem/bottom of the pants back on. I don't know how she did it exactly but I was happy with the end result.  I have asked a friend with a sewing machine to help me but I miss having my mom to do this simple task for me. She'd ask me to stand up on a chair with a back so I could hold on and not fall. I treasure the memory of her sewing my clothes or fixing them. 

Of course she was sick for a long time and didn't sew even before that but in my childhood/teens and into my 30's she sewed. I have a few school photos that feature me in handmade Judy dresses and peasant tops. In high school she cut triangles in the sides of a pair of jeans and added in flowery panels to make them flare with flair. She made me a gorgeous velvet dress for Christmas. 

I once saw her bring a dress home from Dillard's and lay that dress down on a bolt of similar fabric and then draw the outline with small ticks of chalk. In this way she made her own pattern and then returned the dress to Dillard's!  Later in life she took on needlepoint and knitting. Her mother/my grandmother was a major knitter throughout her life. That craftiness skill skipped right over me. I've tried to sew and knit and neither comes easy to me. Think big holes and uneven seams. 

I wish my mom was here today to help me with my jeans but also to talk about every day topics. She would be fired up about politics right now. I know my son Tristan misses talking Vikings football with her and she would be just as happy as he is on their fabulous season so far. Somedays I think of something and totally forget she's not on the other end of the phone. In fact my nephew has her phone which always makes me smile. All the above photos show me in handmade clothes. I had to go on a photo hunt to locate these gems.

I hope I can get my jeans hemmed and that I’m asked to stand on a chair to get them at the right angle! 

Photo 1: orange polka dot midi-dress that I wore for my school photo and a play at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre

Photo 2: Floral velvet dress but I know you are just focused on that out-of-control pixie cut! 

Photo 3: high school maybe junior year peasant  top that I loved and often paired with bell bottom jeans of course!

Photo 4: Red Christmas jumper with same pixie cut and my brother Mike smiling behind me. This is in Fairmont, MN with the family room fireplace. Above the fireplace is an oil painting of the three of us done by Jack Bender, a local Cedar Falls painter at the time.  

Book Challenge 2024

 I'm so excited to share that I've already completed my 2024 Goodreads Challenge. I've read 68 out of 65 books. I feel so accomplished but along with that I realize it's because I didn't do some of the work projects around my house-I read instead! By the way the projects are still waiting. I spent my summer reading a lot of good elementary fiction for school and then in August I read a few great adult books as I was eating my way around Italy. 

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (2024): What a fun concept! Lauren returns to her London apartment to be greeted at the door by her husband, Michael, except she knows she is not really married. A strange cast of characters and the revolving door of her attic keeps this debut novel popping! 

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams (2024): Single mom Mallory Dunne gets the dreaded phone call that her young son has eaten a poisonous mushroom at summer camp and her world turns upside down as she cares for her child. Interwoven in alternating chapters is the story of Hannah Ainsworth, a Hungarian refugee, married to a cold-hearted British diplomat.  As Hannah and Mallory's stories collide we learn the truth about the choices both women made to keep themselves safe. 

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (2015): A little wedding mystery to shake things up. Mystery writer Leonora is invited to a girl's getaway in the English countryside. Her invite comes from an old university friend and Leonora cannot figure out why she's actually been invited to this particular bridal shower. This kept me reading late into the night to figure out what was going on!

I read all three of these books on my Kindle app through Libby. I'm not been the biggest fan of reading on my phone because it just keeps me on my phone more and it is easy to get distracted but in this case it worked and I didn't have to lug books around in my bags plus I could literally pull it out every time we were on the train, in an Uber, or at dinner one night when the conversation was beyond me. 

The end of August brought a few more great reading choices and that is what's pushed me over my final challenge numbers.

The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold (2021): My brother-in-law/SIL sent this to me for my birthday. It is a favorite of theirs and they'd shared about it on our family trip to Asheville. I loved that they just sent me their copy, dog-eared and loved. I loved Station Eleven and this one had similar vibes as a post-apocalyptic world set in New England. 20 years ago after infected flies have taken out most of the population.  The young cast of characters left behind are charming survivors who know far too much about the world and are on hopeful quests to find more of what is possible in this new world. 

Yellowface by R.F Kuang (2023): This story is a twisted tale of lies and let's us in on the world of publishing. I read this after Japhy recommended it; she listens to a lot of books through Libby. June and Athena both want to be world-famous authors but Athena is the only one with a rising star. When June gets her chance she snags what, she feels, is rightfully hers. So well done-I loved it. I want to go back and read Kuang's previous novel Babel. 

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld (2023): This is one of my BOTM club picks that languished on my to-be-read shelf and then one day in September I just picked it up and started it. I love a really good meet-cute and this one was well-done. Based on the whole Saturday Night Live comedy scene with Sally as an older writer on the show and Noah Brewster, a world famous singer/songwriter who happens to guest on the show.  I loved learning about this comedy world and laughed throughout this book. It also touched me with it's raw emotion about women as we age and how we are viewed by others. 

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (2023): This is a riveting mystery set in 1970's Boston's Irish south side with a cranky, tough as nails narrator Mary Pat Fennessey as she searches for her missing daughter. The busing crisis to integrate schools  takes center stage as Mary Pat tries to figure out what has happened to her daughter as well  as questioning her own decisions and choices. Excellent writing. 

Truly Devious series #1 & #2 by Maureen Johnson (2018/2019): Japhy recommended this series to me as well. This mystery, set in an exclusive Vermont school, flips between present with Stevie as our budding true crime detective trying to solve a kidnapping gone awry back in 1936. This young adult series is a quick and adventurous read and I'm looking forward to book 3. 

Funny Story by Emily Henry (2024): Another romantic comedy set in Michigan with a cute twist on who is marrying who...? I like Henry's writing and this story revolves around Daphne's broken engagement to Peter and Daphne happens to be a children's librarian! Fantastic and fun with some definite sexy moments; the sexy librarian rules!

What I'm reading now: Mosquitoland by David Arnold (bc of Electric Kingdom) and The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare. It's also a great time to. pick up a banned book and give it a read.