A Visit to Ely's Fabric Warehouse

Well, I ALMOST met someone from patternreview.com today! Nancy2001 lives here, which is mind-boggling because I just visited her blog last week after reading a comment on patternreview. Her blog had me laughing, but her last post was almost a year ago - I think she needs to start it up again. Anyway, she commented under that last Mad Cow post about possibly standing behind me in line at Hancock's today, and that I looked much younger in person (Nancy, if you see me for real in Hancock's you'll be saying, "Really? ONLY 42?"). Unfortunately, I was still at work, but I BET we'll run into each other at Hancock's sometime - you know there's a sale next week on Simplicity patterns!


Anyway, a belated welcome to Mobile, Nancy, and I was going to review Ely's on patternreview when I get a chance. If you haven't been there, it's in the Crichton area on Springhill Avenue. It takes almost the whole block but parking is a nightmare right on the street - be careful backing up!



You can probably see that this is a big old store - I mean really old - with bolts of fabric just thrown higgledy-piggeldy (wonder how you really spell that) all over the place. There is some organization to it at times - they're stacked up on the floor or hung on the wall - but you'll see when you walk in that the bolts are blocking the walkways - you have to step over them to let people pass right inside the front door.



This is Mardi Gras and wedding headquarters, apparently, because the 2 huge rooms of apparel fabric are mostly filled with specialty stuff. I did NOT find a plain cotton knit to make more shirts today. She did have a beautiful red stretch wool, but you'd have to bury me in that what with our humidity. This is where I'll be shopping when I'm ready to make that bathing suit and my next Mardi Gras dress. I'm liking that sequined gray leopardy print below - what do you think? Perfect for a Cougar.



Now if you're allergic to cats, stay away, because a cat followed me around for the first 5 minutes. But I didn't smell cat pee or see any shredded fabric, so it must be well-behaved. Just adds to the character of the place.



That, and the fact that the owner lady answered a phone call from someone as I was leaving and started yelling into the phone that "I TOLD you this was the wrong number, now DON'T CALL HERE AGAIN!" Now you have a good day and come again - bu-bye!

Momentary Mad Cow...Or Is It?

Yesterday I took Lucas to karate at the YMCA. I sat in the car checking emails for a few minutes then went in and walked on a treadmill for 32 minutes. I said I WALKED ON A TREADMILL for 32 minutes! I did not drop him off then run up to the fabric store to peruse the clearance fabrics. I'm trying to turn the leaf back over (it's not a new leaf) of exercising there like I was doing religiously before the skiing trip.

Anyway, after karate we walked into the parking lot...and my car was gone. There were 2 empty spaces in the shade where I parked, and a row of white cars, but none were mine. My mouth dropped open. How could this happen? (Especially since one of those white cars was an unmarked police car.) I stopped and thought this really can't be happening, the car has an alarm on it - somebody would've done something. Then I thought, my wallet is in the car (in a safe place hidden from sight!). Then I thought maybe Dean came and switched cars with me for some reason. I looked around for his car.

I finally pulled my phone out to call Dean and see what was going on, when I thought, hey, let's look around the parking lot. Sure enough, my car was one row over, facing the same direction, in the shade. DOH!

Well, I got a glimpse of my future today when I visited a friend of my mother's. She has Alzheimer's but has known about it for a long time and is well aware of what's going on. She sent me 2 cards in the mail over the past 3 weeks, but when I walked in today she didn't know who I was. I said, "I'm Lynn - Sherry's daughter." Maybe a little flicker of recognition, then we started talking about my kids and she seemed to remember me. When I asked how she was doing, she said, "Well, I don't know what's going on, but otherwise I'm fine. I can sit here and talk to you like this fine but when you leave I'll forget you were here in 5 minutes." She's told many people that if they ever need to confide in someone about sensitive subjects to call her because she'll counsel and pray with them, then forget the whole conversation. (Good to know your sense of humor remains intact with Alzheimer's!)

I'll share with you the 2 main things on my mind today - 1) would I rather have Alzheimer's or cancer, and 2) if I'm in a wreck today who will pick up the kids, since my mom and Dean are both out of town. Now I'm vaklempt, so discuss amongst ya-selves...

Some Real Slick Britches!

Hmm, what's this? Just the first attempt of mine to do something really different to a pattern. I haven't ever tried French seams or flat-felled seams (I still can't remember the difference) or anything that the pattern doesn't tell me to do, although I did line that glittery shirt and was mighty proud of it. But my first pair of Jalie 2909's showed bumps and bulges at the hip in addition to fierce panty-lines, so I decided to try and line this second pair with a Betzina method. (If that woman said she liked cat turds I'd probably try 'em.) Now of course she recommends this little half-lining for the front so if you sit all day you can stand up without wrinkles, but who the hell cares about wrinkles when your pants are hanging up on your cotton panties (knickers for my UK peeps). So I applied it to the rear....a half-ass attempt if you will.

Well, maybe that's the whole problem I'm having with the wrinkles on the back legs and the pucker at the waistband that I ended up with last night, but I gotta tell ya' - these things slide off and on like buttah! There will be NO panty lines. That's right - nothing to distract you from the hip indentations that I still didn't get rid of...or the leg wrinkles. And I hate that I'm burning out on these because I did spend one whole afternoon working out that lining...about a month ago. (And you can see a month's worth of basting lines on the legs - I tried about 4 different stitching lines to get rid of the wrinkles.)

Anyway, I WILL finish these pants. As God is my witness, they're NOT gonna lick me! As God is my witness, I'll never be pantsless again! (Paraphrasing from Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, of course.)

Weekend Update

Jakey had a pretty good weekend except for the terrible storms that rolled through on Saturday. He saw the bird on the pole in the background and raced through the grass into the water before he remembered that he didn't like to swim, despite being a labrador mix. He said, "I could get that bird if I wanted to, Mommy. I just don't want to." Some geese showed up Sunday morning and he tore after them, then realized they weren't leaving and were honking at him loudly, at which time he hollered, "Oh, uh, never mind. Just wanted to say hello." He was running out on the dock with Dean when a huge bolt of lightning struck over the water and he froze in his tracks, then turned tail and hot-footed it back up to the house in a panic. And every clap of thunder Saturday made him yell, "Hey Mommy, I didn't know if you knew the devil was out here - can you let me in? Hey Mommy? Daddy?"

When we got home I started cutting out Drew's shorts and reading over the instructions. This Simplicity pattern has the most messed up way of putting in a zipper, so I'm adding the fly pattern piece to the center front and just cutting it out as one piece so I can do the usual Betzina way. Does anybody actually follow these instructions for fly-front zippers? I'm curious!

And sorry, no SNL links - we went to bed early and I didn't see anything funny enough to link in the first 30 minutes. If I Hulu it and find something worthwhile I'll let'cha know. But put next Saturday on your calendars because BETTY WHITE is hosting - oh MY!

Pattern Orgy

Hancock was having a 99-cent McCall's pattern sale - no need for a coupon which is never the right date you need it! So of course I had to swing by and check it out. Well I was deciding between 2 shirt patterns when it hit me - they're 99 cents apiece (normally $15)! Thus began the orgy of pattern buying. I've got six new ones for shirts, cargo shorts in 3 lengths, 2 different swimsuits, and even a man's shirt (Dean is trembling with, what is it... excitement and anticipation? Oh... no, it's fear and dread.).

So Dean called me a pattern nerd for reading through instructions last night while watching TV, but I gave it right back by pointing out that I sat with him through 3 hours of the NFL draft the night before (Who knew Tebow would go in the first round as the second quarterback, ahead of Jimmy Clawsen??)

I'm Sick of Idol

These people are so Bo-ring! Everybody should've gone home except Lee, Mike, and Mama Cass....I mean Janis Joplin....you know who I'm talking about, I forgot her name. Their ensemble songs are boring, their Ford commercials are boring, and I finally made poor little Lucas go to bed at 9:05 when it was obvious they weren't going to give the results till really late. (Drew ran into Lucas's room screaming with joy when Tim got the boot - they'd agreed they'd scream together if he left.).

Two Lucas syntax errors this week - walking in a building with two entrance signs, Lucas says, "Mom, I think we entrance over there." Cute. Then regarding corndogs (or as I think of them, puke on a stick), he says, "Have you ever noticed how they taste horrible when you get close to the stick? Wood plus dog equals horrible." (Clever and good at math, too!)

I'm also sick of trying to fit the Jalie 2909 pants - I stitched them up for good and basted the waistband on, which nearly reached my shoulder blades in the back, so I shall move it lower and try again tomorrow if I have time. These should be long enough the fabric is fabulous, and as long as I'm moving my legs nobody'll notice the wrinkles on the back. I'll just dance constantly - nothing new for me.

That reminds me that at a company party a couple of years ago, an administrator commented to my nurse about my supposed...uh...lack of sobriety, to which my nurse replied, "Oh no, she's not drunk. She acts like that at work all the time." (We have fun at work.)

Iron-On Info

Sheila and my sister asked about the iron-on T-shirts. I found the "Iron-on Transfers Inkjet" paper at Office Depot in the paper section (with the journals for some reason). It's about $15 for 6 sheets that work on light shirts, or a dollar more if you're using a dark T-shirt. You load one sheet at a time in your printer and then print whatever you want - images from the web, pictures you draw on Paint, etc. Don't forget to reverse what you're printing first - we forgot to do that for Drew so it came out backwards the first time - he just put it on the front of the shirt and put the correct one on the back - haha. You iron the shirt first to dry it out completely, then iron on the picture for about a minute and a half - instructions are in there. After it cools peel it carefully and don't wash it for 72 hours. Voila!