Sisters Sewing Weekend

While most weekends are good simply because they are weekends, last weekend was something really special. Paul drove me to Menasha, Wisconsin on Friday morning (approx 85 miles from here) to meet my sisters. Jane and family were visiting from California and we sisters had cooked up a great plan. Jane's husband and sons went up to Rhinelander with our brother Jon's family while she stayed behind to join Jeannine and me in a great sewing weekend. Jeannine and Jane drove up from Racine and we all gathered at the Primitive Gatherings Quilt Shop in Menasha (on Racine St, coincidentally).

What a lovely place. All three of us sew, but have slightly different interests. I am almost exclusively a quilter. Jeannine does not enjoy quilting but does almost every other type of sewing you can imagine from garment sewing to draperies; she especially enjoys the handwork of wool applique. Jane also loves all things sewing. With her training as an interior designer, she has a practiced eye for beautiful fabrics and designs. And Primitive Gatherings offered something for us all. Naturally, we showed our appreciation by buying a few things.


After a nice lunch in Menasha accompanied by some good old sisterly hilarity, we headed toward Jeannine's home in Racine. But first we stopped at this great place on Watertown Plank Road. (It was supposed to be my job to document our weekend, but I was too busy touching all the beautiful fabrics to remember to ask permission to take pictures.) Jeannine was right. This is a great store. Once again, a few things were purchased by all.
Then to Racine where we began working in earnest to complete two projects that Jane could take home with her. Jane and I worked on cutting the fat quarters she purchased in Menasha into five inch squares so they could be incorporated into a quilt made from the charm pack she also bought. We all worked on making silk yo-yo's for a purse Jane wanted. She had purchased the book and fabrics back home in California and really wanted to make this project. I've made yo-yo's before. Quite of few of them actually. But I had never made silk extra large yo-yo's with beaded centers. And I didn't make all that many this time. My fair share, I think, but not one more than that. At any rate, in no short order, we had Jeannine's otherwise lovely dining room looking like this. (By the way, that is French Lemonade from Aldi's in the glasses --not G&T -- and it is delicious!)
On Saturday morning we made a quick run to Sew N Save in Racine -- another great store -- to find backing for Jane's little quilt. Luck was on our side as we found a piece in the sale section that was absolutely perfect.

During all this production, there were breaks aplenty to peruse our little stack of inspiration nearby. It's probably no surprise that we sisters share the same enthusiasm for gathering ideas for future projects. (Yes, I am showing off some of Jeannine's fine work here. Not just the wool pillow folks, she also upholstered the sofa!)
By Sunday afternoon, the silk purse was well underway. Jeannine worked to complete that before Jane and Roger and boys left for home on Wednesday. I know it was beautiful because all the pieces for it were, and because our mom called to tell me it was absolutely gorgeous!
Paul came to Racine to pick me up at brother Greg's house where we were treated to a great Sunday afternoon picnic and the chance to meet little Gracie. Love at first sight for one and all.

Here are Jane and Jeannine with the finished quilt. (Yes, I did cut myself out of the photo. Bad hair and closed eyes and it is my blog.)


Jane was so pleased with her quilt. It was such fun for her from shopping to pairing squares to helping with the binding. She is her most relaxed and satisfied self with fabric and needle. We all signed a label for the back of the quilt as a reminder of our weekend together.

Jeannine and I are so grateful for our time together. We thank Roger and the boys for allowing us to have our little sister all to ourselves for three days of their week-long visit. And we will keep praying that Alzheimers' hold on Jane will slow down enough to allow us another wonderful Sisters Sewing Weekend.

Handwork

If you do handwork of any sort, you know very well that the value of the work is not usually monetary; the value is the work -- the creation of something with your own hands.

For some of the hardest days of my life, I let knitting keep my hands and mind occupied. I started this vest for Alyssa while staying in her apartment when Evan was recovering from his first stem cell transplant. That was two and half years ago. For some reason I just couldn't get going on it again. Even during the second transplant -- the successful one -- I just couldn't return to this. In the last couple of weeks, however, I realized that the successful transplant was nearly two years ago. Evan is doing just fine. It's time to finish the sweater.
The knitting was finished nearly to the neckline in front. The rest of the front went very quickly. At 5:30 this morning I put the stitches for the back on my needles and counted and counted and counted and realized that I had made the wrong size right from the start. After a quick and unsuccessful mental review of every female I know who might possibly be a perfect fit for the vest, reality quickly settled in.

Here's the sweater now. All set to be made all over again using the same pattern (from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel) in the right size.
If I start again tonight, it will be finished in plenty of time for Alyssa to spend some good fall days in it. Maybe she'll even wear it on the second anniversary of her brother's successful stem cell transplant.