REAL TIME: LATE WINTER UPDATE

Late winter in the Valley: the days have been beautiful – bright and sunny with temps in the 50s. The last couple of nights our lows have been in the mid to low 20s. Mike's tax prep work is now less intense than it was for the first couple of weeks. Sometimes he steals away from the office for a bike ride, and this weekend he is devoting his spare time to servicing his bicycles. Our evenings are spent watching the Olympics. While others complain about late broadcasts keeping them up, we record them and are further behind with each passing day. We'll still be watching Olympic events into the third week.

I had a lot of fun the day I went to Jo-Ann's and bought patterns for $1.00 each. Knowing that the sale was coming up, I marked my calendar two weeks in advance and had the list of patterns ready, mostly craft items. Last year I came to grips with the fact that I am a collector of patterns and allow myself the privilege of buying them when they are on super-sale. I also check Jo-Ann's frequently for remnants, usually cottons and muslins but also pieces of taffeta, tulle, and satin -- the kinds of fabrics I used to find in my mother's basement. That's the way I'm developing my stash.

Thursday I drove to Moscow for the embroidery club session. The club meets once a month and my childhood pal, known affectionately to my children as Aunt Chris, is the leader. Actually, I have loved learning the ins and outs of machine embroidery in this way, as opposed to a hurried "mastering" session. We work through just one application per three-hour session and take home a finished project. Since I've been going, I've made a Christmas ornament, a valentine banner, a potholder, and embroidered a towel – all of which taught me some embroidery technique.

While I was at embroidery club, I showed off my latest vintage sewing volume, titled The Sew-It Book. Originally published in 1929, it's a compilation of sewing projects for children. It was then that Aunt Chris confessed about the sewing volumes Uncle Dan had picked up for me. You might remember that in the fall of 2008, I was looking for a pattern to make a "frumpy frock," a housedress or housecoat, such as my Grandma Ina might have worn. I wanted to make myself such a dress for a presentation I was to make at the P.E.O. Christmas luncheon. Chris had tried to help me find a pattern and Uncle Dan (her husband) was aware of the search and picked up on my interest in vintage patterns and applications. Well, in the same timeframe, Dan happened to make a trip to the landfill, and there he spied a twelve-volume set of sewing encyclopedia from the 1920s. Thinking of me and my quest for the frumpy frock, he selected five volumes he thought would be of interest. (I just have to say – what a guy!) Arriving home, he announced to Chris. "Look what I got for Kathy!" "No! She can't have them!" was Chris' immediate response. "And you go right back and get the rest of them." So back he went to the landfill, the better part of an hour round trip, but they were already gone. I have to say again – what a guy! Actually, Dan came into the shop while I was there, and I thanked him for thinking of me. I'm so glad Chris has them, but I think it's okay for me to say that if it hadn't been for me, Dan might well have overlooked those old books.

Well, that was Thursday. On Friday I decided to take a step back in time at The Hangar, a local co-op of antique and collectible dealers. It's an old airport hangar where wares are displayed in booths, and I love to spend time there. I wanted to make a rag doll so I was actually looking for silk stockings or something I could substitute. I found a stack of nylons new in the package from the 1950s but no silk stockings. Still, it's always fun to look around there. I bought a Holly Hobbie Christmas ornament (2002) and several books: Sunset's Western Hostess Guide (1938); Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel (1982); Patchwork & Applique (1980); and Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing (1976); plus a Butterick pattern for stuffed animals (1970s – or whenever the envelope price was $2.00). Perhaps I won't keep all these books, but the beauty of it is that for little more than the cost of a magazine, I have some reading material I will enjoy and can keep if I want.

I had decided that on Saturday I would make a sock doll -- yes, regardless of all those unfinished things on the bed. However, in the middle of the night I awoke with a start remembering a scheduled luncheon I committed to attend. (I guess I need to start using my engagement calendar.) It would have been embarrassing had I forgotten to go, especially since I'm one of the "young" members. And at the luncheon I had a great visit with Mary Lou, especially noteworthy because she is Aunt Chris's mother – in other words, an adult with whom I interacted as a child. There aren't many of those folks around. KW