Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Ruby Slippers.."There They Are and There They'll Stay"

Hello friends, first a huge shout out to all my new followers...Welcome! 
This last weekend turned out to be quite a whirlwind of activity. I originally had plans to hang out in my studio (to avoid the extreme heat) and play with all my fabric. Then I received a text message from my sister-in-law Celia saying she needed to find a distraction for her daughter Kelly. You see Kelly's boyfriend of over a year unexpectedly(totally) decided they had nothing in common and wanted to move on. Really?....it took him over a year to figure that out! So last minute, a trip to see Aunt Janet and the Ruby Slippers was very much what the relationship Dr. ordered. By the way...Kelly is the beautiful model in my Etsy shop and a die hard Judy Garland fan. 
Isn't Kelly a cutie?
This is an audio of Kelly singing 'ZING' one of Judy's classic hits..treat yourself and listen to the end...Judy would be proud.
The Ruby Slippers are on display in the Museum of American History here in Washington, DC. If you come to DC it is a wonderful place to see all the icons of American history and pop culture.Best of all..it's FREE!
This is the museum that houses Archie Bunker's chair, Fonzie's leather jacket and much more Americana.
We got there right after they opened and headed immediately to the Wizard of Oz display.
red felt soles indicated these were used in a dance scene
she looks happier already!
And here they are!
Glad we got there early because I stopped back just before we left and the Oz display was packed with tourists.We never would have gotten this close.
Yup....this was just what this Judy fan needed to make her smile again!
I loved the exhibit on Sewing machines. They have some fabulous oldies on display.
One of the original Kermit puppets from Sesame Street (might be THE original). To this day I enjoy Sesame Street, it never gets old to me.
This was in the museum gift shop. A display of vintage looking embroidered dish towels which I thought was very cool until I saw this...............
Really???? Made in India!! Come on folks...surely somewhere in America there is a textile factory that can manufacture dish towels that can be sold as a true representative of our textile industry. This totally depressed and disgusted me.  I for one would gladly pay a little more for the fact of knowing I helped put an American to work. When will this 'outsourcing' end.  God...don't get me started!
As we were leaving the museum we spotted this squirrel being fed french fries by some Japanese tourists. Judging by the size of him, he eats lot's of fries. He would eat right out of your hand.
He was very adorable....................
Until you ran out of french fries.  Then he looked down right scary!

So while only here for a short 28 hours we managed to visit my Salvation Macy's, have Sat lunch at Wegman's, dine on grilled Filet Mignon and Ceasar salad on the back deck, sip on pink lemonade coolers and peach rum smoothies, catch a glimpse of my baby bambi's, watch hummingbirds fight over the feeder (think star wars battle scene), enjoy homemade dried cranberry scones and fresh strawberry jam for Sun breakfast, drive to DC, see the Ruby Slippers, enjoy a great restaurant lunch and pack Kelly and Celia into their car with mapquest directions and hugged them goodbye! Sheesh...I'm tired all over again just saying that!
I did still manage to get in some studio time. I have been sewing up oodles of cute zippered pouches. Just think..I used to be afraid of zippers, now look at me!
Yeah...I think I conquered my Ziphobia. 
 The fun part is embellishing these bags.
 Ruching, ruffles, yo-yo's and lace
 Different sizes and shapes
 Cute fabrics
Each with a pretty lining. This is a great way to use up small scraps of fabric that you hate to toss out.
I think I need more fabric  ;-)
Well that's a post wrap up...hope you enjoyed your quick visit to the museum and that you come back to say hello again.

PS.....one last update. I sold my Billy Idol 'White Wedding' bridal apron to a lovely lady in Sydney, Australia. I love knowing my creations are traveling around the world...it makes me smile :-)
I hope she loves it as much as I do.
Until next time....be kind and stay creative.

12 comments:

the rikrak studio said...

oh these are so great!
i wish i could have been there with you - so many fun things to see!

hugs to your beautiful talented, kelly!

i know there are great great days ahead.

thanks for being part of the summertime blog hop, janet!

Kathleen Grace said...

Gorgeous, talented,...ex-boyfriends loss! Your niece is a doll:>) I love your pouches and that beautiful apron, and isn't Kelly lucky to have a sweet Aunt who is there for her to cheer her up?

Kelly Ann said...

what an amazing voice...

Anonymous said...

loved this post...but what a downer to have that towel made in a foreign country!!!!!
cute bags too :D

Wanda..... said...

Kelly has a lovely voice, Janet and I bet there's even more fabric on the other side of the room! :)

Atelier Conti said...

You've got lots going on, Janet! Great and newsy post. Fabulous little purses, cute animals and gorgeous niece. Plus ruby slippers! Keep cool over there.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to have to keep re-reading the same stuff so I can listen to Zing! a few more times. Hope you guys had a beautiful weekend.

Amy said...

Hi Janet,
I love seeing those ruby slippers at the Museum of American History. It's hard to believe that Judy was only 16 years old when she made that movie!
Amy

The LadyBugs Garden said...

I love going to DC to all the Museums. Kelly Ann is a beauty. I know you had a great girl day!

Anonymous said...

Yes, Kelly is a cutie very much so. Going back to the tea towels, it's just the same here. "We" buy in products that could quite easily be made in this country giving valuable work to those who need it. It's such a shame.

CJ xx

Anonymous said...

With a voice like that, Kelly will go far. Who needs a crummy boyfriend to tag along on her apron strings which will no doubt be famous ones some day. I applaud you, Kelly! Please tell her that for me. :-))

Love D.C. It's one of my very favorite places to visit.

Di

Aprons and More said...

What a great post! Thanks for cheering me up too..and I didn't even know I needed it!!

Katy :)