My granddaughter is 7 weeks old today! Wow, that’s almost 2 months and it seems like she was born only yesterday. She’s adorable and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to pass by the baby section in a store without buying something completely irresistible. I remember sewing, crocheting and even knitting clothes for Jen when she was born. I loved to sew and even hand smocked one of her first little dresses. I hadn’t been in the US long before I was hooked on Ann Person’s Stretch & Sew method and churned out clothing for the whole family for at least a couple of years. Most memorable was a blue leisure suit and shirt I made for my husband – hey, that was the 70’s and he looked very dashing in it. I even used the same jacket pattern and made him a “faux leather” jacket, which survived until a few years ago. Literally history in the making………. As I write, PBS is airing “The British Beat”, all the great music I grew up with in the 60’s. As I watched Peter & Gordon sing “World without Love” and saw how OLD they look, it suddenly dawned on me that I have grown somewhat older too – I’m a grandmother for goodness sake! How scary is that!!!! My grandmother used to say she was as old as her tongue and a little bit older than her teeth. I prefer to think that I’m just a day older than I was yesterday and we’ll leave it at that. Age is relevant, or should I say irrelevant, it’s all about what we do each day and the lives we touch.
I went to the CHA (Craft & Hobby) trade show last month in Chicago. It’s moving to Orlando next year, so it was kind of sad to think that it won’t be in Chicago any more. I’ve been going to the trade shows for almost 20 years now and the summer show had become routine. They say a change is as good as a rest and I love going to Disney World, so I’m sure next year will be fun. It was a surprisingly busy show, but nothing really new. Manufacturers usually wait to present their new items at the Winter show. I did see that a few companies had a new line of acetate shapes with screen printed designs and Quickutz and Ellison (Sizzix) were featuring their new “motorized” die cutting machines.
The British Beat is calling, so I need to jump back into my time capsule. It’s amazing how music can bring back old memories. I can even remember all the words of the songs. If only I could remember what I had for lunch today…
Yours truly,
Julie 
