Good Taste

Alicia and I have a pact that if we find a screamin' deal on something really special, we need to buy two. This rule has been in place for some time and has produced a few 97 cent dresses and this shirt (it has pockets!) among other treasures. But why the long, skinny picture if I just need to show you a shirt? Keep reading.

On Saturday Noah took me shopping and we found my yearly two pairs of comfy, no, sneaker comfy sandals. (See one of the last pairs at left.) They were a fair price, so I, being the thoughtful sister I am, called and asked if she wanted some. "What do they look like?" Jammy, take it away...

So as I'm describing these sandals, Alicia is entertaining the baby and cat. She's quietly giggling. Me: "Are you listening to me?" Her: "I got the same two pairs in Vegas!" Now considering all the shoes at our outlet mall and all the shoes in Vegas, I'd say that makes for an interesting blog post.

She went on to explain the "Ivory Coast" paint story. When we finally got our own rooms growing up, we got to pick paint colors, Dad went to the store with my choice and said, "I need a gallon of Ivory Coast and a gallon of whatever she chooses."

I know what you're thinking, "I can see where this is going, but it's impossible. Surely... no..."

Alicia thoughtfully peruses the thousands of paint chips, chooses just the right one, and tells the guy. The dude checks with dad, "You want two gallons of Ivory Coast." "No, I want one and then one of what she chose." Confusion continues. Guy clarifies, "They chose the same color."

I think that upon finding out that she stole my color, I changed mine to Dover White. Totally different.

This is one example of many, but Dad loves that story because Alicia and I tried our whole lives to get rid of the pink twin/blue twin labels. Now we realize it's too much work.

Baby Sling

"Make a sling-- it's the easiest project you'll ever sew!!" If you said that to me, and a few of you did, I probably wanted to give you a cachetada while I was making my latest project. But I really did it to myself. First of all, I'm cheap. I bought 1 2/3 yards of the print fabric instead of the 2 yards needed. I'm not sure about my reasoning, but I'm sure it's rooted in me trying to save a dime. Second, I'm not good with looking at black-and-gray diagram instructions. They really don't show me one side of fabric from another. And finally, I have limited experience with baby slings. I didn't have one to look, so I was even more skeptical as I made the cuts.

Do you like my big baby? This is Yina-- the hippo that my level three class gave me for my birthday. I thought the mommy waiting for the sling and both of my cats would appreciate it if Yina was my fake baby rather than the other, more obvious choices.

The sling is the "Juicy" print from Jo-ann and lined with orange broadcloth (the mommy's choice). It's got my first flat felted seam (very pleased) and a wrinkle (sad).

So after I finished, I realized how easy it was. If you're looking for an easy project... make a sling. It's the easiest project you'll ever sew!