Reruns are Good

Bonus fat quarter

First of all, thank you for your kind comments on my new ironing board cover.  Texan, you wanted to know the source of that fabric and trust me, I tried to remember, too.  I could recall that it was an online purchase and checked my Ebay account but no luck whatsoever.  Thought I was losing my memory for good.  Then I did my afternoon walk yesterday, in the rain, and eureka!  I had the first letter right...E...tsy.  Yes, it was my first and only Etsy purchase, from Grandmasfabrics  grandmasfabrics  Gorgeous selection and they even threw in this adorable fat quarter which I'm going to use for a quilted camera case in the future. 


I've done some small sewing projects in the last week or two, in between the yet-to-be finally installed curtain project, repeats of previous garments.  I loved my black and fuchsia lace skirt  Lace Skirt and Missoni sweater  so much that it will go to Florida with me in November but I wanted one to stay here in Baltimore.  

lightened so you can see the charmeuse lining

This one is lined with a stretch silk charmeuse from Fabric Mart which perfectly coordinates with this RTW cotton lycra blouse by Finley Finley Shirts  which I bought at a clearance sale at Dillards two years ago.  This is a brand which I am not familiar with, not surprising since I shop retail so much more infrequently now that I am retired.  But I'm not even sure they are still in business.  Too bad if they are not.  Another American made apparel company that can't make it against those cheap imports.   These more subdued colors fit Baltimore a bit more as well where light is subdued by trees and rolling hills while Florida has the stark bright sunshine that can definitely handle brighter colors.  

Second re-run was a pair of silk chiffon ruched scarves, one for me, one for a gift.  OK, I've used up this technique for a while and am ready to move onto something new.  But there are plenty more of those pencil skirts in my future.  
 I'll really show my age and say that I used to hate rerun season on television back when there were only three networks to watch.  Now we joke that we have a DVR to record shows we'd like to see...but if we don't have the time this eek, what makes think next week will be any different?  Pattern reruns however work just fine for me.

Lastly, a book recommendation.  I mentioned earlier the retail apparel business.  My only direct retail experience was spent the summer after I graduated working at a local dress shop in my hometown.  Very congenial, very local older customer vibe.  Boring but it was a paycheck until I got my teaching job and moved out of state at the end of the summer.  Caitlin Kelly's experience is absolutely nothing like mine.  She lost her reporting job at the New York Daily News, when reporters around the country were being let go in droves.  (Don't get me started on the awful decline in the once proud Baltimore Sun or the terrible state of journalism in America.)   She needs an income and starts, at age 50, working for The North Face at  a new store in a chic NYC suburb.  I definitely enjoyed reading this book since I have several friends who have had similar recent life experiences.  According to her statistics, 90% of our purchases at still ones in person and yet we basically only get to interact with the lowest paid, most disposable (100% employee turnover each year) employees while corporations, even in this recession, bring in billions in sales.  This is definitely not an expose nor did Caitlin Kelly have to survive on her wages, which makes reading Nickled and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenrich a stronger, richer more disturbing alternative.  But one of the less obvious themes here, one that I have personally experienced, is the loss of identity and financial anxiety when you do lose a lucrative and personally challenging job.  I lost my favorite job when my employer of 11 1/2 years was purchased and the headquarters transferred to Texas in 1990.  I wasn't willing to move to San Antonio and so I ended up on unemployment for 8 months.  I  did, however, work part time for about 6 or 8 hours each week which gave me a reason to get up, get dressed and kept my job search in high gear.  Those part time wages were applied against my unemployment which was fine with me since it ended up extending my benefits to 8 months, just exactly how long it took me to find my next full time job.  Whether it's part time work or even a volunteer position, I think there's a lot to be said for showing up and getting a job done for keeping your mind active and involved.  I think that's much of what those 2 1/2 retail years did for Caitlin Kelly.