42 Years - The Moon Landing and Me

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the first landing on the moon by Apollo 11.  I know this fact well, because yesterday was my 42nd birthday.  I was born on July 19, 1969, the day Apollo 11 went into orbit around the moon.  The next day it landed, and Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon.  My mom watched it happening from a hospital television back on planet Earth in Seattle, Washington.

Here are some other things that were going on at the time:  Richard Nixon was president of the United States, gas was $0.35 a gallon, a U.S. first class stamp was $0.06, and minimum wage was $1.60 per hour.  Silly String, Barrel of Monkeys, the Nerf Ball, and Weebles were all new toys that were introduced that year.  John Wayne received the Academy Award for best actor in True Grit.  Some top songs of that year were Crimson and Clover, Sugar Sugar, and I Heard it Through the Grapevine. The video cassette was invented. 

Wow, 42 years ago seems like ancient history!   Here's a video of the first moon landing.  A little bit of what my mom would have watched on the hospital TV.

Fast forward to yesterday, and here is a photo of a beautiful necklace and earrings my husband gave me for my birthday.  He bought them in a little shop called "Vintage Lady" in Harpers Ferry, WV, when we were there a couple of weeks ago.  I love them!

What I Made for Ellie: The Handmade Gift Exchange

The Handmade Gift Exchange at Craftaholics Anonymous looked like so much fun, that I decided to sign up to participate.  This is what I sent to my partner, Ellie.  Ellie loves to sew, and she also has an adorable little daughter, so I made her a set of beanbag pattern weights that can double as toys to keep little hands busy while mommy sews.  I love pattern weights.  You can cut out your pattern without spending time pinning it down to the fabric, and they look cute, too. Here they are all stacked up:

And here they are in action:

I really need to make some of these for myself!  I was also going to make her some cute pincushions, but those were an epic failure, so I did what I know best and made her a little tote just the right size to hold the pattern weights.  I hope she likes her handmade gifts! 

Denim Skirt Re-Do for the Summer of No Pants

About a week ago I finally finished my last project for the Summer of No Pants, even though the challenge was to make four new things to wear before the summer actually started.  A camping trip and miscellaneous other things got in the way of finishing the sewing part of the challenge on time, but I have been successful doing the wearing part of it.  Since we returned from our camping trip, I've worn a skirt or a dress every day!

So, for this last project I decided to give a denim skirt a makeover. I bought this skirt for 85 cents at a thrift shop. I bought it with the intent to use the fabric for making tote bags, but I wanted a new denim skirt and I thought it had possibility. Here's the result:

Before, it was way too big, and WAY too long.  This thing reached my ankles, and I am 5'9"! 

Now it falls just above the knee.  I love the unfinished edges, the pockets, and the flower detail.



I also modified my t-shirt dress a little bit.  The neckline was choking me, and just didn't look right, so I made it into a scoop neck and added matching trim to the neckline and sleeves.  I made my own bias tape for the first time.  Making bias tape was so easy, I'm not sure why I haven't done it before! 

I think it's even cuter now!

Harpers Ferry

This weekend we visited the historic town of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  Harpers Ferry is located near the convergence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, where the states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet.  The town is best know for John Brown's raid in 1859, which had a role in the beginnings of the Civil War.  Part of the town is part of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and throughout the town are museums, informational signs, and "living history" exhibits.  There are also hiking and biking trails throughout the park.  We rode a shuttle from the visitor's center to the town, and we spent the afternoon there.  It was fun and interesting to learn about a little part of history that I didn't know much about before.  You can see from the pictures below that the area is absolutely beautiful!