Cars in the closet

Growing up in Noble County, Indiana I didn't get the chance to see too many classy cars. That said, the cars of my past came to mean much more to me than a status symbol- they now represent entire pockets of memories. My first car was a black, four-speed, 1989 Dodge Shadow ES. It had sweet burgundy velour interior, cassette player, and was a hatchback. My dad and I saw this car for sale on St. Rd. 33 in someone's front yard. It was $1,500 in 1995. I remember one night at a volleyball game, with my parents in the bleachers, I was about to serve the ball and looked at my dad. He dangled the keys so I could see them from afar and had a huge smile on his face.

But, this car in my mind, was a bit of a downgrade. That spring I had gone to prom in a 1995 Ford Mustang convertible. I wore a green velvet dress, bright red lipstick, fake jewelry from Claire's and cruised downtown Albion, IN like a princess. Of course, we put the top down! The following year, I went to prom with a different guy, and a different car. It was 1996, and I wore a bright sunflower-yellow dress with matching shoes. My boyfriend at the time had a 1990 Chevrolet Beretta. THIS was a classic car- similar to my Dodge Shadow, this car also had burgundy velour interior but was complete with fuzzy dice in the window and kick ass speakers and a subwoofer. At one point, he had underbody lights for this ride, but he broke them one night while trying to jump the railroad tracks in town.

Right now, most of these cars look the same. It's weird- at the time, they were very, very different. But, next up is a very different car. It was the car I pined for, even when I had never seen one before that fateful night. A bunch of my friends and I were staying at another friend's house. At the time, I was working at a printing press in the neighboring town and had tried my hand at making myself a fake ID. Well, I succeeded in changing the background of the license photo from the "under 21" red to the "21 and over" blue.

But, changing my birthdate was a bit too difficult for me to master at this point in my career of forgeries. So, I took the makeshift fake ID to the sleepover and my friend's friend showed up- in the car of my dreams! The Merkur XR4TI! See, the Merkur XR4TI not only had a really cool name, it also had a double spoiler and a moon roof. Since I was driving my stickshift Shadow at the time, I asked him if I could drive his car to the liquor store to try out the new ID. We took off for the store. In the liquor store I soon realized I was disoriented- what in the world do I want? I grabbed a bottle of Purple Passion and a 6-pack of Zima's, threw them on the counter like I knew what was what, and got out my wallet to pay. "Can I see some ID?" The cashier asked. "Oh sure..." I said as I showed him the ID through the plastic window in my wallet. "Can you take it out of that?" he asked. As I took it out of the wallet, my eyes scanned the store looking for the exit and trying to remember if that was a PUSH or a PULL door. "That says '79." he exclaimed. "No it doesn't- it says '74." I replied. "Nope. That says '79." he said, stubbornly standing his ground. I said the first thing that came to mind as I looked at my friend: "Did you bring your wallet?" "No, she replied- you drove." Wow, way to think on the fly. We calmly walked out of the store, frantically got in the car and I sped off. But even though I didn't get the booze, the night wasn't a total loss- at least I got to drive the Merkur XR4TI!

Simple things Pt 1

My supervisor at work started a conversation today about simple things that we realize after years of "dealing" with not knowing them. The first one he mentioned was the little arrow on the gas gauge of your car. We have all gotten into a rental or borrowed a friend's car and pulled up to the gas station not knowing which side of the car the fuel door is on. Well... there is a small arrow beside the gauge which tells you!

That one I did actually know before today, but the second one he mentioned I didn't. He has been dealing with leaky paper cups from Starbucks or Caribou and just simply thought "Well, you get a leaky one every now and then." It took him 40 years to realize that if the seam of the paper cup lines up with the opening of the plastic lid, your cup leaks!

Then, I started thinking. This is actually an interesting topic- what simple things have I "discovered"? The one that just came to mind has to do with bed sheets. For a long time, I put the fitted sheet on as usual, then put the flat sheet on top- right side of the fabric up. This way, along the side of the bed, you could see the pretty side. I was always annoyed when I got into bed by feeling the semi-scratchy wrong side of the fabric. Turns out, I learned from my Grandmother a few years ago (while helping her make her bed!), that the right side of the fabric is supposed to face down and the top hem of the sheet gets turned back!

Ok, I know there are more. I'm on a mission.

Just wait until...

First, it was my new landlord who, for some reason, called me at 7:10am and I, for some reason, answered:

"Oh, you're a morning person!" he says instead of the plain and simple "Hello, this is Chris."
"Well, I'm getting around for work, gotta be there at 8:00."
"I've been up for 2 hours!" he gloats
"Wow" I say, not amused. "You got me beat there!" laying on the sarcasm.
"Well, just wait until you have kids- no more sleeping in!"

Since when was 7:10 sleeping in? And why do I have to wait until I have kids to get up at 5:00am?

Then it was my supervisor.

"So you signed your lease?" he asks when I got back with keys to my new apartment.
"Yeah, and having a bit of buyers remorse."
"Really? Just wait until you buy a house! Talk about buyers remorse!" he replies.
Ignoring what he just said, "Well, it's a nice place, lots of room and really close to work. I'd like to do some painting, but other than that, it's just fine for me."

Am I not qualified as a measley old renter to feel buyers remorse? Do I have to somehow reach a level in my habitat status to feel this sense of guilt?

Finally it was one of my best friends... who happens to be pregnant. "Just wait until you get married and get pregnant... you don't have time to keep up with friends or exercise."

Sounds like what I'm "waiting for" really stinks... so why should I be waiting for it?

Where is baby Jesus?

Completely ironic.

I saw this sign a few weeks ago at a church by my parents' farm and I had to go back and take a photo.

This local church has had a nativity out front every Christmas for years. This year was different as some hooligan stole the baby Jesus.

Needless to say, Jesus never returned.

It reminds me of this time my friend Emily and I were at Harry's in Brookline, MA.

We were sitting at the bar, drinking Harpoon, watching the Red Sox game and mourning our loss after our friend Mike (Jesus) Marshall who left Boston and started school at the University of Miami, FL. (I met Mike in Israel as a part of a group of friends with two Mikes: one Jewish and the other- this one- Irish Catholic. Therefore, one was "Jew," and the other "Jesus").

A few weeks prior to the evening at Harry's, Mike had been calling us and letting us know that he didn't fit in in Florida and was thinking about coming back to Boston. However, more recently, he was changing his mind and Emily chimed in and said in a matter-of-fact tone "You realize Jesus isn't coming back, right?"

The North Shore bartender who was filling us two more pints got wide-eyed, looked to the side, and said "ooooookkkay."

1930s Double Wedding Ring

I love feedsack quilts from the 1930s. As their name suggests, feedsacks were used for flour and other grains and the patterns on them are colorful, happy and whimsical. I've restored two such quilts already. The first one was purchased at an estate auction by my sister. A close friend of the family died and after spending hours in the heat at the auction, I decided to head home. My sister stayed and ended up getting me a 1930s tied (yarn used to tie the backing, batting and top together) quilt for $5. It needed a lot of repair, new batting, and new backing. This took me awhile, but it was a cheap way to get into this era of quilting. I did, however, develop a significant collection of vintage and reproduction 30s fabric.

The second quilt I restored was a bit closer to home. I found it in my dad's old construction van. It was full of holes, but I could tell it was from this same era. I washed it and showed it to my mom who said it was made by my grandmother. This quilt was also tied, but I knew this time I wanted a quilted quilt. It was virtually the same pattern as my first quilt. I repaired it, but then, whimped out and had the quilting completed by a family friend who has a professional quilting sewing machine.

Now I'm on to my third quilt. The top was given to my by my sister-in-law. Her grandmother, Pearl, made it and after her grandfather, Shorty, died this fall, everything was up for sale in an estate auction. This 1930s feedsack quilt top is a Double Wedding Ring pattern (see above photo) and she bought the top for $5o.

The first step to finishing this quilt was tracing on the quilting pattern. I plan to personally hand quilt this one! So, I designed my own quilt pattern, and with the laminated pattern under the white parts of the quilt, I used a water-soluble quilt pencil and simply traced the pattern on the fabric.

Because the quilt was a perfect square (80"x80") with scalloped edges, I had to add a border to it to extend the length of the quilt and create a finished size of 90"x108" (queen size). This sounded relatively simple, well, actually it didn't. I knew it was going to give me some problems. I made four strips, sewed them together, and my measurements were a disaster. The border (imagine a frame around a painting) was way way way too long and too narrow in the width. What did I do wrong? I took it all apart and remeasured. I figured I needed to cut 10" off each strip. So I did that. First major error. Now the width strips were too short and for some reason, I was even shorter on the length strips. I call my father- not wanting to admit defeat, but wanting this thing to be right. He did some crazy calculations, pushed the living room furniture out of the way, and several pieces of masking tape later we had the whole thing on the floor laid out. Soon we realized I needed to cut two totally new strips. Ok, I did that. I should mention that because this fabric is 100% cotton, I cut the strips, and washed, bleached, and dried them. I laid the strips on the floor with the other two and they are about 8" short. What the hell? They shrank.

I ended up sewing the old and new strips together and trimming off the ends. I had an additional seam now, but oh well. I taped the entire fabric border to the floor and pinned the quilt top on it. Then it was on to the sewing machine. I used a chevron stitch (error proof) to applique the quilt top onto the pre-assembled border.

I will post more photos when I get the backing, batting and top basted together and begin to actually quilt this thing!