This is my MIL who is director of social services at the Salvation Army in our hometown.  The local paper wrote an article about her.  Tried to scan that in but didn’t come out well.  May try again soon.  It’s worth reading.

My personal style could never be described as “Jackie O”.  My hair tends to look windblown at best, and my dressy clothes are, these days, gathering dust in my closet.   Park days, piano lessons, gymnastics lessons, and speech therapy sessions don’t usually demand pumps and a slip.  More likely, you’ll see me in jeans or yoga pants with some oversized shirt.  Glamorous!   My mother is tall with narrow shoulders and a slim face and wears the styles I never could–full skirts, fussy tops, vests.   She could never understand  why her 5′1″ daughter with the big, full face and broad shoulders couldn’t float through the room in a circle skirt like June Cleaver.   Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to tolerate the clothes I wanted to wear–empire waist dresses, wrap sweaters, and straight skirts.  There was a compromise here and there, but she could be a bit of a bully about it all.  The one thing she couldn’t stand was the one thing she could do nothing about–my hair.  She would have loved it had I adopted a Grace Kelly do, but it just wasn’t in the cards.  Classic good looks were NOT mine, and my style, though stifled for many years directly by my well-meaning mother and even after by my desire to please her as an adult, was actually more boho.  You could read in her eyes the one thing she was thinking but wouldn’t say–TACKY!

So, at this stage of the game, why am I obsessed with 60s suits?   (I’m a 70s girl!) Is it the desperate need to  break out of my rut?  Could the yoga pants and oversized t-shirts of my husband’s finally have caused some sort of meltdown?  Am I secretly planning to shock the yoga pants off everyone else?  Am I just missing my mom and wanting to please her?

One extremely appealing characteristic of these suits is how streamlined they are.   Not many bells and whistles here.  The extravagance would be in the choice of fabric and in lining.  No embroidery, no ruffles, no crochet and NO SHOULDER PADS!  I used to rip them out of my clothes, even in the 80s.  Those of us with broad shoulders don’t need them!  Never did!

Something else has me hypnotized, though.  When one lays off the distracting embellishments, one gives oneself the opportunity to LAY ON THE JEWELRY!!!!  Back up, people!  I’ll need some room for the next post!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz…

You Are a Marilyn!

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

My sister had this pattern back in the day.  I thought it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen and wanted it for myself.  You can find this at http://www.lanetzliving.net/

I’m a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you’re up-to-date with the latest technology. You’re ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige – you’re one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.
]]> http://thewannabecraftster.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/take-the-sports-car-test/feed/ 2 The Wanna-be Craftster http://thewannabecraftster.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/find-of-the-day/ http://thewannabecraftster.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/find-of-the-day/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:32:54 +0000 odumnobles http://thewannabecraftster.wordpress.com/?p=188 ]]>

I am not even sure what to say about this.  The name of these unfortunate sandals….  I don’t allow anyone to say it near me (different spelling), because it just creeps me out.  This, however, had to be shared.  Found it while surfing for 70s fashions.

]]> http://thewannabecraftster.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/find-of-the-day/feed/ 4 The Wanna-be Craftster http://www.inthe70s.com/clothes/images/user-image-1201193971_thumb.jpg http://thewannabecraftster.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/score/ http://thewannabecraftster.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/score/#comments Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:03:19 +0000 odumnobles http://thewannabecraftster.wordpress.com/?p=185 ]]>

There are water marks all through my $1 a yard Walmart fabric.  Sigh.  (Swear)  Since you can only see them if you hold them up to the light, I’m forging ahead.  Hey, I just need the practice, people.

Step 1:  DARTS!!  I’m off to grab a little coffee and some studyin’ materials.  I decided to watch THIS a few hundred times, first.

(Off subject, it appears this lady has the Pfaff machine I was shown with the built-in walking foot.  It seems to move along smooth as buttah.)

Can’t wait for Project Runway tonight!  Go, Kenley!  Go Korto!  Go Jerrel!

It just beat me down.  I’d never done pleats before and struggled with THAT.  I really needed to mark symbols and tried it but they disappeared!  (Maybe too much time between sewing sessions?)  I’d never put in a zipper before and attempted it and thought I did a B to C grade job until I tried to apply interfacing and realized I’d put the zipper in way TOO high and it wouldn’t accommodate the facings.

Sometimes, things just have to be shelved.  I have learned that just because a pattern is labeled EASY doesn’t mean that it’s for beginners.  And that’s what I am—a beginner.  And really, when you’re homeschooling, housecleaning, etc, etc, being a beginner may last a little longer than what you’d like.  Okay.  Lesson learned.

SO…………I am working on a new blanket for my mom.  (Pictures later.)  AND……I’ve decided to try something simpler and smaller.

Top right will be made up (WILL be made up) in pale green $1 a yard Walmart fabric.  Certainly, I shouldn’t be too disappointed no matter what the outcome.  WISH ME LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Visited Sissie this weekend and had a marvelous time.    She took me out to eat and out shopping–all her treat.  We were talking about sewing and decorating.  She has made her apartment look like something fit for a design magazine with mostly items from Big Lots.   That’s right.  You read correctly.  She makes everything look beautiful.  I don’t think I saw one thing she made herself or even painted.  Very unusual.  BUT, she’s got a much more demanding job now and is enjoying some instant gratification here and there.

Shopping for clothes!  Yes!  We went to Ross and a few other places that had super-cute blouses (because I just can’t find pants to fit anymore) at ridiculous prices.  She was thinking that sewing to save money is an idea long past, and I had to agree.  I want to sew for the fun of it and the control of design and fabric.  Problem–when you’ve gained a good bit of weight, it’s much harder to find clothes that fit and look nice.  So, discovering that a finished piece of your own sewing just doesn’t fit the bill, then what?  Tears?

Sissie turned  me on to I Can Make You Thin’s Paul McKenna.  Now, this is the same Sissie who “encouraged” me many years ago to join Weight Watchers.  I blew her off for at least a year.  But, when I finally went to Weight Watchers, I lost 20 pounds and stayed skinny for years.  So, although I was skeptical of Paul McKenna, I watched.  Well, she also told me to watch, so I was scared not to.  It’s a sister thing.

http://www.mckenna.com/

Well, I watched two of his videos that she had recorded, and I have to say…it makes sense.  It makes a whole lotta sense.  And, frankly?  After listening  with a semi-open mind, I’m not thinking about my day in terms of food and how to fit my day around eating.  Part of his technique is something like aversion therapy.  He asked people to imagine some gross things associated with food.  What yucks most people out doesn’t do much for me, but to tell you what I pictured might make you never want to eat again.  For those of you who are curious, I may reveal my image in another post.  But, boy, it is super-sick.

What does this have to do with the title of my post?  Back when I was thin and took a great deal more pride in my appearance…..let’s just say it–BEFORE CHILDREN…..I remember reminding myself to pull back from the table and leave food on my plate.  I actually did.  Now that I’ve let my weight stay on for so long, I’ve forgotten the mind-set.  While Sissie and I were out, we saw a couple of ladies behind us with their children.  They absolutely defined CUTE.  Darling.  And, they were all slim and well-dressed.  Hard not to sigh and think of yesteryear, you know?  One of the women was wearing a printed blouse with a rather unique though not unfamiliar trim, and I couldn’t help pointing it out to Sissie.

Today, I’m back at home in front of my computer perusing my favorite sewing blogs and what do I find?  The same trim on a little girl’s dress.  The red pom poms.  Ta da.

http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/images/2008/08/20/dress.jpg

But, it was the post that stopped me in my tracks today.  The author’s mother is in ICU and not doing well at all.  Judging from the number of people who responded, it shook more than a few other people up as well.  It certainly put things in perspective for me.  My own mother called me just a little while ago to see how I was doing.  She, herself, has been very ill for a while now.  I’ve never thought crafting or pretty clothes were frivolous any more than images of nature that please the eye, but I am always aware, especially on days like today, that beauty doesn’t exist in a vacuum.   It is ever-present in the people we see it in and the people we share it with.

I truly hope Jennifer’s mother recovers, and I am so thankful that my own mother was able to call me today and laugh about my children’s latest shenanigans.  She may not know it or believe it, but she is truly beautiful.