Hi Lindy Lu Who ... ... well, a WA-HO-O-O (not a boo-hoo) about that one! Thank you for making such a wonderful addition to this discussion! I have some Hanes ... and they're blue, too! But ... I've never seen them configured like that! Or ... so occupied, either, for that matter. Also, with elastic still intact - so they're not available for this purpose. Yet. Isn't this a wonderful idea? No more worries about the shortcomings (or, more accurately, long goings) of the elastic: in fact, if it were even somewhat tight, it might cause a problem. If any of you would like to use my old undies in such a fashion, I'd be glad to spring for the postage, even trans-border, to help the ancient briefs find some useful things to do throughout their retirement! Or, more accurately, delay their retirement! I can guaratee that I'll not send holey ones ... and you don't need to worry about the "baggy" that someone referred to, as the only part that's stretched is the elastic (possibly due to not having large body parts to ride herd on). And no stained or dirty ones, either ... solely ones that look to be only in slightly used condition. Then, with these still-useful things having their remaining useful life taken care of, I can go buy new ones with a happy heart!! Adding it as an extra errand when going to town to take care of several needs at a time ... ... and turning off the engine and coasting downhill, and as approaching signal lights when they turn yellow, half a block away ... to be passed by people pushing the gas pedal ... then hitting the brakes about a hundred feet before the "Stop" line. I staked a couple of rows of peas and picked some of the regular and of the edible pod kind. Took them to a nighbour who treats me well, and their daughter and SIL were there, playing cards. Daughter loves peas, I gave her several of the edible pod kind ... and she shelled them and ate them. En route home, I thought that I should have taken the edible pod ones back and given her some of the regular kind ... if she was going to shell them, anyway. Had some of each kind for supper - second picking - delicious! I hope that you had an enjoyable weekend ... and are looking forward to the coming week with anticipation. ole joyful

Try something like this: -Make your major living spaces one room deep through the center of the house, which will give you panoramic views to the north and the opportunity to have a wall of windows to the south. These southern facing windows ( both upstairs and down) are critical to making your living spaces bright and comfortable, plus they provide essential light and warmth during the winter. -By stretching the house out east to west, this gives all your major rooms river views, including each of the upstairs bedrooms and your husband's office. No compromising on which rooms get to enjoy the view - you really do have plenty of room to spread out. The guest suite is pushed towards the front so even your entry hall/sitting/piano room would enjoy great views out the back. -To preserve the views in the backyard, two or three of the garage stalls will probably have to be towards the front of the house, but that doesn't mean they have to be the focus of the facade. Carefully planning your driveway would give your guests a place to park and a clear path through the courtyard to the front porch. Making two stalls detached is also important for allowing as much light as possible into the house and helps the exterior seem less massive. This is just one example of a direction you could go with the design. With a property like this, your options are endless. Hope this helps!

mjconti I confess that I also like W2W carpet, I have fond memories growing up with it in the 70s (shag!!). Not necessarily in every room (growing up we had carpet in the bathroom and that was gross). In our place we have hardwood everywhere but carpet in the bedrooms. Not shag. Low pile, high quality wool. The master even has a fun pattern. The master is huge and I don't think we'd have been able to find an area rug to fit. We are a shoe-free house and we run the Roomba every other day. That said I'm going to defend gray: our place is decorated in sophisticated shades of warm and cool grays and beiges, with navy and chocolate brown and accent colors including soft yellow, green, orange, and white walls. We stained the yellow oak floors a medium grey that has blue/green undertones and is very pretty. For us the decision was easy: we'd lived with beiges/warm colors/golds for so many years in the 80s/90s. Then switched to a "riot of colors" -- bold rich jewel tones, red sofa, etc. That was fun for awhile, but we were tired of it!!! Maybe we were ahead of the trends? We were ready to go back to quiet neutrals, but not the beige/orange/gold/yellow oak again. What's more, the sunlight our new place gets just doesn't work with too many warm colors --- which is how it was decorated when we bought it--- the place ends up looking like it's literally on fire! Toning it down with a grey palette works, and does not look cold at all.

And, the flannel selection may be one of the best things in the store, so, what does that tell you about the rest of it? I, too. was in there a couple of days ago. It has been some time since my last walk in and it has gotten even more awful. The holiday display as you come in certainly sets the tone for the rest of the store. Really? I keep seeing the ads for all the 100s of bolts of cotton fabrics but the reality of that is pretty sad. And, the store is still a huge jumbled mess of stuff sitting in carts and piles everywhere! I bought a length of ridiculously brightly colored floral cotton to make a pair of pj pants. I will be able to "glow" my way to the dark bathroom at night wearing these. I am dismayed by the lack of sophisticated prints. You can find kids prints, novelties, lots of florals but very rarely a nice sophisticated abstract or a fine overall texture print. It is all so ugly , unless you want to look like you are dressed in a shabby chic pillowcase from the 90s. Yes, pretty prints but I dont want a dress made from them. I understand how you were hoping to find something different from all the usual suspects that haunt the kids fabrics. The world of garment sewing has passed, for the most part. It is now for those with disposable income and those who are adventurous enough to buy online. The young un's are sewing costumes, preferrably those that allow for lots of cleavage exposure or cover only the most naughty of bits, barely, or they may be trying to imitate AI images that defy the laws of physics, and are looking for a pattern that will do that really wierd thing like in the image. And, for some reason that I cant quite wrap my old sewing head around, they want machines that can sew through two layers of steel, or eight layers of heavy bull denim, whatever! In days of yore sewing machines were touted as being able to go from sewing chiffon to heavy drapery fabric. Now some expect to have the strength of an industrial machine in a $100 machine from Walmart. Who is sewing so many layers of bullishly heavy fabric? That is what industrial factory machines are for. It is a different world now. There is no going back. There rarely is. There is a reason why refashioning of second hand garments has become popular. Some resell things can yeild some nice fabrics. . And, we know all too well how many mountains of discarded textiles there are around the world. I dont think that a week goes by but what I see images in the media of these things happening or see "tips" from fluff articles about how to save the planet by making 20 little unneeded things that you never imagined wanting, and still dont want, from a pair of old pants. Or, how to be a Cinderella and make a fabulous evening gown from an old table cloth or duvet cover or 60s era bed sheets. Sometimes it does work out, and they deserve mention and sometimes I cant unsee those old bed sheets, in orange and pink or "southwest" colors of the early 90s, often with a howling wolf somewhere in that motif. I wonder what do some you who sew see as the future of the sewing world? What do you think will happen to the pattern publishing industry? Do you think that the nice natural fibers that used to be will come back? Why do we not have the ability to do a whole body scan and have a basic sloper pattern generate off of it? And, why would that not be something that could be accessible to many? There are so many ways things could evolve. The easiest path to follow is downwards towards the lowest common denominator, of course. But, maybe there is something better to come. What do you fellow sewists see as the future? What would the young ones want to see? I think that would be a fun discussion to have. I am old and full of lament about what has gone away, but the future is for the young and what kind of future for sewing do they see for it? I am tired of lamenting the past and ready to see a new path that leads to a future, what ever that might be. I think that the refashioning of second hand will flourish and will become a fashion statement. I saw in Kohls the other day that they are selling short jeans skirts that have the look of refashioned jeans. The big difference is that these were intended to imitate that look but they were cut with fabric that accommodates this, whereas many that are made from old jeans are short of the fabric in the right places that is needed to do it right. And, of course they are NOT made from repurposed jeans. I see that remaking as something that will become more popular. There is added appreciation for some of the older mechanical machines and sturdy models from yesteryears, for good reason. Older machines in working order are sought after. Maybe there will come to be retail outlets that only deal in older refurbished machines. Maybe? I dont see 60s bed sheets of psychedelic orange and pink as becoming hot imitated items on the racks at the department store, but , who knows? It could happen. It could be the next hotteest thing! Let the future happen! Time to move on, where ever.