7.19.2012

7.19.12 ... new ironing board cover & vintage Made in America overalls

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it will come as no surprise to you that my ironing board came from a neighbor's trash day heap. nicest ironing board i've ever had. cannot believe people put perfectly good items for the trash truck and fill up our dumps. the flip side of that is people who have absolute rotting crap stored in their garages and homes. but, onward... i think ironing board covers are designed - and i use that term so loosely - by the same people who design linoleum, wallpaper and sofa fabrics. they have a problem, but not nearly as big a problem as the industry that supports this bizarre phenomenon. but, again, i digress. long story short, i make my own covers because environment is everything and ugly is just plain unacceptable. 

i love to iron. but even if i didn't i would need to in order to sew, which i also love. and life is way too short to look at one of those vile designs every day. i had a wonderful cover i'd made out of peanuts character baseball theme fabric. that was probably six years and five moves ago so you can imagine the state it was in. it was time to say goodbye. (although i do have it in my laundry pile just in case it will clean up well enough to work as a pile of cleaning rags or something.) this one is made from a wonderful heavy cotton shower curtain - the kind you'd use with a separate liner. i found it at a thrift store. brand new. 

this one is cheery and reminds me that this is the time in our life when we live by the zoo and visit it ridiculously often. i hope it lasts a long, long time. but i have a lot more of this fabric so i think i am set for my little glimpse of eternity here on our beautiful swirling blue planet.

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my first project was hemming three pairs of pants that i found, of course, at the thrift store. i was looking for overalls for my sweet cousin. i didn't find any for her - yet - but i found two pair for me. 

this pair blows me away because i had forgotten about these painter's overalls that were all the thing in the 1970/80s. this pair has never been worn and its trip to the laundromat with me was its first. i think these were 1.99 (before my 'senior' discount) and i can't wait until they wear in. 

i plan to start on that endeavor immediately.


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this is another view of my new cover. and what do you think of my sewing scissors? dusty gave them to me and they are one of my favorite treasures. i love scissors and collect them. this pair is at the top of my ron swanson-ish scissor pyramid. 

i am not sure using a pair of scissors should infuse one with the level of happiness these do but i have to be honest and say if you owned a pair of these your life happiness meter would jump off the chart. just saying sometimes i have an edge over my peers. 

this is one of those times.


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the other pair of overalls is seen here on top of the stack. it is also a wonderful find. it's a great cotton fabric with a favorite fine woven grid-like texture that i have only seen one other time, lightweight and soft as butter but will last me forever. it was a very lucky thrift day for me.

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i wish we would find this on most of the clothing in our stores. 

but. alas. 

all the more reason this is such a superior thrift find. and why i am drawn to the thrifting addiction. could be much worse. by the way, scout and i picked up 400 pieces of litter last week. that was a great feeling of accomplishment and good deed-ism. 

thanks for stopping by. until next time. happiness to you. from me. with heart. 

ox joon


7.10.2012

7.10.12 ... my giraffe buddy

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on a recent zoo visit i was talking to our resident giraffe couple and look what transpired...

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yes, that is me he is looking at....

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aren't they beautiful? how can i resist talking to them?

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and he came right over to visit me...

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and contentedly munched as i chatted him up.

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how sweet is this? i was one happy camper. so close! 
we do not have a zoom lens. he was this close.

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you can see he is listening to me.

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i like that he was fine with my conversation. ok, i love it. 
this is just one reason why we are addicted to our beautiful zoo.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. 
until next time. happiness to you. from me. with heart. 

ox joon