The last couple of weeks have been dedicated mostly to
a project that has taken place in the sewing room…
Kelsey Ryan our sixteen year old niece is the drum
major(ette?)
this next year in Hanceville, Al
She and her parents asked that I make her an outfit…
O.K., then we got together and talked over what she liked…
and then I set about trying to figure out how to get all these different requirements into one outfit.
Over the next few days quite a bit of “Googling” ,pondering and head scratching
took place.
A couple of patterns were ordered…
with the thought..
“I could take this from that pattern and some of that from this one , wiggle it together like this,
pull it up like that, add that lace here and that pearl there..
Michael and I discussed it..
the serger I had wanted off and on through the years would be a definite needed machine , with this kind of fabric…
and it was my birthday after all.
So, Michael bought me a serger,
two patterns were ordered…
(Oh, my gosh… they were coming from
Canada !!!
Would they be in English?)
Fabric…I could not find the right kind of fabric in this area!
What was I to do !?!
Finally , one day on the phone with a gentleman
who’s answer was…
”I am sorry ma’am…
We only sell drapery & upholstery fabric…”
tears welled in my eyes and must have wrapped their wet fingers around my throat
for I sniffed and asked
“Do you have any idea where I could find this kind of fabric?”
and without hesitation that wonderful man said
“Why , Mary Jo’s in Gastonia
ought to have anything you would need.”
End of statement, end of search!
The patterns arrived…
they were in English
although
it was the second language
and seemed to be an after thought..
at least I could figure out most of it…
Fabric and notions were procured
then the next week was spent in the sewing room…
Needless to say I had
an abundance of help!
Miss Bo-Bo held down one of two spots and seemed to like me at the serger more than anywhere else…
“We” put a pillow
on the table
in front of the window
and
this seemed to suit her to a tee!
The pups stayed close…
because ,
they always do!
Miss Chloe enjoying the luxury of long naps…
When Thibby would allow her
a moments rest…
and Thibby…
well , let’s just say he stayed busy and kept the rest of us busy too!
No, no I promise you he did not need to take
any of those trims or anything else he happened to
“snatch”
down stairs!
(who would need the added expense of a stair stepper
when you have a
Thibby to chase ?
This past weekend Russ and Kelsey made a trip over to see the SC Ryan clan and check on the progress of the outfit…
Hoping to have it done so as to surprise her I worked many hours and Michael brought in supper several nights…
Long story short..
some alterations needed.
While at the fabric shop the first time, we bought not only the fabric needed for the planned outfit
but also some
for a second..
as a surprise.
This fabric seemed to really tickle them..
however, instead of more gold with it..they thought
black would be great.
(a color we did not know was in the band uniforms..)
Okie-dokie then..we needed to go back to Mary Jo’s
in Gastonia, NC…
just about 70ish miles north…
But Wait!
I think Charlotte, NC
(Home to the new Nascar Hall of Fame and several other Nascar museums and attractions)
is very close to that indeed.
Michael, Russ and Kelsey
being the Nascar fans they are
we decided to make it a day of
procurement of fabric and site seeing!
I think a good time was had by all…
Saturday morning,
we stopped off at “Mabel’s” for breakfast…
It was the perfect start
to a day with the promise of a new adventure. 
Pictures taken from the front door…
I really love this place…
If left to it on my own..
I’d venture to say
hour upon hour would possibly slip by without my notice!
As for the outfits,
pictures will have to wait till after their official debut.
We have been asked not to ruin the surprise.
Maybe we will be able to get pictures from the first ballgames half time!
As for now its time to head a little further north...
Just north of Charlotte you'll find a sleepy little community where
way back over a country mile you'll find,
out amongst the pastures and corn fields a large building
housing the
Dale Earnhart Inc.
Museum and store.
Back around the bend ,
past some tire stores,
past a Publixs
and past a race track you
come upon
Papa Joe Hendrick Blvd.
and out that road
you will find the
Hendricks Motor Sports
Racing Complex.
A 100 acre complex:
Historic race cars, Display exhibits, souvenir sales and race shop viewing.
Come along and take a peak
in the museum/sales building.
Next we head on into Charlotte
To the new
Nascar Hall of fame!
Just click on the site text above and see the slide!
We had a wonderful time visiting
with Miss Kelsey and Russell Jay
I am a wee bit afraid the puppies wore them out!
But, hey who could blame them…
all that petting was there just for the asking…
and believe me they weren’t shy..
they asked!
They went back home on Sunday,
and everyone is back to our normal routine…
Now, it’s time to get back to the sewing room…
get that outfit finished
and be ready for
a marching band show!
