Yay Saints!!

Okay, I don't normally root for other teams than the Patriots, but who could not root for New Orleans? I think even Archie Manning had to root for his old team.

The Saints? They came marching in! Good for them and I hope my boys the Pats get to meet up wtih them soon. New Orleans? Love you and I am so glad you won.

Stupid Criminal Tricks, Part Deux

From today's Boston Globe:
"Law enforcement officials say a safe deposit box they searched today at an Eastern Bank branch in Saugus held a glittering, ill-gotten treasure: 27 New York Giants Super Bowl rings, valued at more than $170,000, that were allegedly stolen in June from an Attleboro jewelry company."

Read the whole story Here

Now, you may recall that I was chuckling last year at the Theft of the Giants' Superbowl Rings. I apologize for being less than gracious, especially since I actually kind of like the Giants (when the Pats aren't playing them, anyway). But the irony was incredibly thick, right?

Well, speaking of thick, Can you believe those thieves? I want to find out what tipped the police off to them. I'm sure it was something pretty boneheaded. After all, if you want to steal and fence something, the LAST thing you want to steal and fence is a full set of Superbowl Champion Rings.

Not like I know from personal experience...

Back to sewing for a moment - I got Tatiana's measurements today. No wonder the latin dress was so big. She's lost two inches off her waist since I started it! Remind me to do more dancing. So I'll be starting on the ballroom dress tomorrow during the massive blizzard they are forecasting for the Boston area. I am so done with winter. Stick a fork in me, I'm done!

Happy sewing!

What I've Been Up To

What an incredibly busy week this has been! Between Gorgeous Fabrics, the kids being out of school and needing transportation everywhere, out-of-town friends staying with us, cranking out an article and life, in general, I have had no time to blog! But I did get to have a couple of fun little adventures. On Thursday, my sister and I went to the Patriots' pre-season opener. What fun! What a rip! Geez - parking two miles away is (brace yourself) $40. $40 to walk two miles! We looked at each other, said, "Screw that!" and pulled into the lot right across the street from the stadium, which cost $50. Hey, if I'm going to spend stupid amounts of money, I am going to at least get convenience. Besides, the tickets were a gift from my neighbor, Rosemary. She's been a season ticket holder for years, and only recently found out that I'm a big fan. I have a standing offer to her that if she ever can't use her tickets, I'll pay a premium for them. And she knows I'm well behaved. Well, sort of. Most of the time. Um, hmmmmm....

Anyway, we had a great time at the game. None of the first stringers were playing of course, but we got to see some of the rookies, and there is some promise in the up and comers. Alas, Tank Williams went out for the season with a knee injury in the 3rd quarter. I hate to see any player get hurt. And Williams was looking mighty good up until then. The Pats lost to the Ravens. Oh well - DSis and I went to Davios at Patriot Place and had appetizers. Then when we got out and started driving home, we hit one of the worst thunderstorms I've driven through in ages. You couldn't see more than 2 feet in front of the hood. Yikes!

Did I tell you DS the eldest got sick of the politics of local Pop Warner Football and decided not to play this year? Let me just say that I have been enjoying August for the first time in 5 years. Except for the weather. What the heck is up with weather in the Northeast this year, anyway? As I said to DH, if I wanted to live in this climate, I would move to Florida! We've been having big (and I do mean BIG) thunderboomers every afternoon for over a week. And it shows no sign of letting up. My tomatoes love it. My cucumbers are not happy. Poor Hoover has been parking himself under my desk every day. The weather makes it difficult for the kids to do their outdoor camp activities too. Well, I suppose at some point I'll miss this weather. Most likely when the temperature is hovering around 20 deg. F and oil is $5.00 per gallon.

Hopefully next week will be a little less crazed. As it is I did make time to do some sewing. More about that in the next post.

Happy sewing!

I Didn't Do It, I Swear

Giants' Superbowl Rings Stolen in Heist in North Attleboro

Okay, I have to ask, what Einstein came up with the idea to have the Giants' Superbowl rings manufactured in the next town over from Gillette Stadium??? Are there no manufacturers in, say New York? Say around 48th?

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Bwhahahahahahhahahahaha! Snort!

Sorry, I promise I'll try to be gracious, but I'll be chortling about this one all day.

Be Still My Beating Heart

It's halftime. Tom Petty is playing. What the f*** is with the offensive line??? Okay, coaches better make adjustments. Get to Eli. Arrrgghhh!!! I hate close games. No I love them. I'm so conflicted.

Oh yeah, Well, I Won't Back Down!

Awesome.

Let's hope they stand their ground...

Because They Can

I read three things religiously: the Wall Street Journal, the funnies, and the sports pages. They reflect, I hope, the various parts of my personality, but that's not what this post is about. It's about the Patriots.

Let me say right now, I'm sick to death of all the hatin' that's going down the Patriot way these days. They're good, it's true. Possibly the best ever. Only time will tell - after all there are six more games in the regular season. But one cheap shot from a defender? It's 1986 all over again. I lived through that season, and I'm delighting in this one. Anyone who follows football knows that one hit on the right person can kill the season for a whole team. Every football fan goes into a game with fingers crossed and prayers humming that no one gets Joe Theisman-ed.

Everyone is getting all down on the Pats for running up the score. Even Belichick is becoming some sort of an apologist for his team's points. You know what I say? Get used to it. Deal with it. Let's suppose, just for an instant, that things go the way Bob Kraft hopes they will (and there are no guarantees). You know what happens after this? Changeroo. Next year, the team is likely, no, is destined, to look completely different. Will Brady have the receiving corps he has now? Um, no. Moss has a one year contract. We all hope he'll stay, but we all thought they would work out a deal with Deion Branch, and now he's playing for my sister-in-law's team. The NFL is set up so that once in a long while, your team will be the greatest. Last year it was the Colts. This year, hopefully, it's the Pats. Next year it may be Houston. Dynasties? Hah. Luck is more like it. Three championships in 6 years is more a sign of Pioli's ability to hire well and the coaching staff's ability to work the corps than it is of a 1970s era empire-building.

So I'm going to enjoy the run while it lasts. I hope they go all the way and make the 72 Dolphins choke on the champagne they send to the teams who almost, but not quite, break their undefeated record. But mostly, I want to see the Pats continue to play, and play well. And run up the score.

Here's hoping they win tomorrow.

ETA 11/29/07 Whew!! What a nail-biter indeed. Good on Philly for bringing their game. And Feely was impressive! But it's a full 60 minutes of football, and both teams played a full game.

Kwik Sew Spring Patterns

We went skiing today. It was fantastic. DS the Eldest is becoming quite the black diamond hound, and DS the Younger is having a ball going back and forth between snowboarding and skiing. I'm exhausted. Keeping up with both of them, not to mention riding herd on getting them and the gear to and from, is getting harder and harder. When the oldest starts skiing moguls, I'll send him off alone.

But in the meanwhile, the Keystone Kops are playing football in the background (hint, 1st quarter of SuperBowl 41 is fugly, very, very fugly), and Kwik Sew has put their early spring collection on the site.

Overall, there is nothing that excites me. Alas, that is my usual reaction to Kwik Sew. I know they have some good patterns. But you have to wade through so much that looks mediocre, even on the human models, that I don't bother with them very often. This collection isn't going to change that.

The Good
Well, it should be really called "The Okay"


3497 is a decent, basic top. It looks like it would work up well, and it's got good bones. The problem is that every single pattern company, it seems, has already done this. Maybe there's a real "wow" factor in the pattern itself, but neither the illustration nor the photo gives any indication.

3490:

is a reworking of the Jackie Kennedy style jacket that has already been done by Vogue, McCall and others.

3489:

Is a re-do of the ubiquitous DVF wrap dress. Again, it's okay, but it doesn't shake my tree. And it's two seasons after all the rest.

The Bad

3478:

Well, it's no Patty Reed design, thank goodness, but it's not good!

3493:

The pocket is interesting, but it reminds me of an article on bellows pockets in Threads Magazine more than 10 years ago. And the jumper? Meh.

3495:

Isn't bad, it's just already out. The tiered skirt is gone from the runways, folks. This look is very last year.

The Ugly
You know, it's not even fair. Believe it or not, I actually like Kwik Sew on principle, and I have sewn several of their patterns successfully. But this collection is just meh, meh, meh. Kind of like the Superbowl. Hey Indy! Aren't you glad you paid top dollar for Vinatieri? Mr. Clutch lost his touch in the first half. Okay, the first snap was bad, and he's no running back, but that kick at the end of the half? What the heck was that?

Well, I'm going to watch Prince try to perform on an electrified stage in a Miami thunderstorm. Then I'm going to bed. G'night all!

Happy sewing!

Gawd, I love/hate this game!

My super-triple-secret project is done, for now. The Pats are playing Indy in a gut-wrenching game, and I'm taking a break from screaming at the TV. It's bad for the pipes, don't you know.

So on to musings about things that have gone on in my little world this week.
There's been a thread on PatternReview about stars. Here's the back story. There's a popularity contest over there that lets folks rate reviews and reviewers, and the ratings garner stars for the reviewer. Let me be up front. I have 4 stars. I got them when it was easier to get them. It's like stock options if you are a single digit employee. You get rich faster. As the site has grown, it's gotten harder to earn the stars, just thanks to the math. I've advocated, and some might say agitated, for a departure from this star system. But they remain. Fine, I can live with that.

But there are those who are, shall we say, obsessed with these stars.

We interrupt this program to say, Woo Hoo!!!!!! Go Pats! OMG, I'm not able to eat. If only the playoffs lasted all year. I'd be a size 4.

Anyway, I was saying. There are those who are, shall we say, obsessed with these stars. Why? Does it make you Queen For A Day? Or King For A Day? No. Does it improve your skills? No. Now, many of these folks- lots of them, deserve stars. Heck, I'd dole out stars for just showing up. But for many, it's a popularity contest. I don't like popularity contests. They propagate high school behaviors that I didn't like then. And I was the yearbook photographer in high school for a reason, folks.

The thing that is bothering me is that no one is allowed to say that they don't like the star system. Those of us who offer this opinion get shouted down, loudly. "You don't really know me if you think I'm taking this "star" thing so seriously," says one (very) frequent poster on this thread. Sure. Another says "Off with their heads." Okay! Now, this thread was 16 pages long when I last looked. 16 pages! The shouters are all claiming that it's tongue in cheek, but it sure didn't sound that way for the first 14. Actually, it sounded like a pea-hen party, and that's something that drives me crazy and propagates other stereotypes.

But let me interrupt this broadcast to say, Hey Peyton, where's the end zone? Jiminy Christmas! I like the Colts. Not as much as the Pats of course, but let's start playing football in the second half, can we?

BTW, Pats, for god's sake, keep playing the way you are playing!!!

Okay, I'm off my soapbox. My pulse is back down to only very high from outrageous. But please, someone smack Deion Sanders for me, would you?

I asked for a better second half, right? Well, be careful what you ask for!

Oh, Kee-rist, my stomach is in knots!!!

Congratulations to the Colts! The bad news? The obvious. My boys lost. But what a freaking game!!!! Good on Indy, and good luck in the Super Bowl. Speaking of the Super Bowl, and thank you to "Scrubs" for this bit of inspiration, what has two thumbs and doesn't give a damn?



Happy football!

LaDainian, You Can Go Home Now

From today's Boston Globe:
Tomlinson's mouth still running
Charger reiterates postgame remarks
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff | January 16, 2007
SAN DIEGO -- Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson reiterated comments he made after Sunday's game, saying yesterday that he felt the Patriots didn't act with class after their victory.

"When you're a three-time Super Bowl champion, I just wouldn't think you would need to act that way," said Tomlinson, when asked if his feelings had changed. "But obviously that's the way they reacted to it and there's nothing we can do about it. My whole thing is just, you won the game and that was great. And we were obviously just going to congratulate them on going on, but when you start to further disrespect us, in my mind, you just don't do that."

Look, I don't think that the Pats should have behaved that way, but for LT to go on like that more than 24 hours after his team lost just makes him sound like a sore loser. If one of my kids pulls a stunt like that, I tell him to cut it out. It's just whining at this point.

LT, go take it out on some poor golf ball. Oh yeah, and have fun at the Pro Bowl.

On to Indy!

WOO HOO!!!!!!

Ohmygawd, my heart is still pounding! That was one hell of a football game. Good on the Chargers for putting up such a tough defense, but my boys did it again!!!!

In case you didn't already know, I'm a big Pats fan. I have been since the 80s, so I'm not a Janey come lately with the championships. But I think this was the best game of the playoffs, any of them, so far this year. And to the pundits who put a grand total of one Patriot (Richard Seymour, God bless him!) in the Pro Bowl, and none (!!!) in the All Pro Roster? Neener neener neener! And what was with LT going after the Pats after losing? Get a life LaDainien. I'm sure your mom brought you up better than that.

On to Indy!

Happy playing!