{Post 1.402} Trimmy Trim Trim

Gave myself the tiniest trimmy trim trim.  Saved $10!!

{Post 1,351} Haircut Tweaking

Got my hair cut again yesterday.  That's twice in two weeks after years and years w/o a cut.  It needed a little tweaking.  I like it much better.  Above is me, just washed and dried, no hair products or curling iron work.  Ah, simplicity--the way life was meant to be!

{Post 1,345} I'm Still in Shock

9:00 AM:  

10:30 AM:

All I can say is that once I make a decision, I don't waste time!  How do you like the "new me"?

View and 'Do

Above is a picture Rachel took out our windshield Saturday. We were driving through the great Smokey Mountains. It was a lovely trip. Rachel and I enjoyed some mommy/daughter time together.

Now for the picture below. I got a haircut today. I asked her to just trim 1/4" and make the sides a little shorter. I had my glasses off while it was being cut. When she turned me around and asked me if I liked it, I immediately had 4 thoughts...

1. "Do I like it?" That depends on who it is!

2. What does 1/4" trim mean to YOU?

3. Think of the money I'll save on shampoo.

4. It will grow.

It is much shorter than I would have liked. Enough said!

Went to Curves again. I haven't missed a day yet (except Sunday...they are closed on Sundays). Thanks to my family for pitching in a little more so I can have the time to go.

See ya.

Happy birthday, Mom!!

~Joan

Haircut: Before, During, and After

This boy needs a haircut. He and his next-older brother have the same hair type...it just gets thicker and thicker, but doesn't hang down. It kind of poofs out. The need for a cut kind of sneaks up on them, happening very gradually.

I've cut my WH's hair since before we were married. Only once has someone else cut his hair in our nearly 20 years of marriage...I was pregnant and on bed rest in a hospital.

As the children came along, I cut their hair, too. My WH will occasionally cut the boys' hair, but mostly it falls to me.

As gas prices have risen, I've been even more thankful for being able to do so much for ourselves at home. Think of the zillions of dollars we've saved by simply cutting hair! Well, maybe not zillions, but hundreds and hundreds at least!! Nine people every 6 weeks. I'm the only one that gets haircuts that are done out of house.

Here Isaac is before the haircut. He has a couple loose baby teeth--only adding to his charm.

We use a pair of clippers that have snap-on guides of several sizes. We've used the same pair all these years, only replacing the blades once--last year. For Isaac, I cut the top with a 3/8" guide, and use 1/4" for the sides and back. It's not unlike shearing a sheep, I'd imagine.
Here I am cutting from right to left in the picture. See the hair rolling up as I cut? With my two oldest boys and WH, it just falls to the floor as I cut. Not with Isaac and the next oldest boy, Benjamin. It just rolls and rolls as I cut, only falling (ending with a *boing* on the floor) when I reach the end of their hairline.
Voila! Here he is...freshly shorn. I made my WH the cape from parachute fabric when we were engaged. The hair just flies off of it. I took a big square, cut a seam up the back, finished the seam and neck (which I cut freehand in a circle), and had his initials embroidered on it for added flair! I put black Velcro around the neck to hold it in place.

Over 20 years of use, and still doing a great job.

My goal today is to re-quilt a customer's quilt. This has been something I've been meaning to do for months now. I quilted it with a thread recommended by the local sewing shop. I didn't think it would work well, but they insisted. After using the quilt lightly for only a few months, the threads started wearing down and eventually away on the top of the quilt. So it had to be un-quilted and then re-quilted. An arduous process, let me tell you. I have it about 1/5 re-quilted. I did that much on my DSM. Today I loaded it on the Little Gracie frame. I should be able to knock it out in an hour or so if all goes well. I'll post some pics later if I still have my sanity.

I placed safety pins about every 6" as it was un-quilted to keep the batting from shifting. I will remove them as I re-quilt. I can hardly wait until this project is off the list of things to do.

~Joan

Smiles & Quilts (These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...)

Smile if you like your haircut!! Side view of Emily's new layered look. I realize we're about 25 years behind the times. That's the way we like it!

Oh, is this a blog about QUILTS? Well, looky, looky at what I finished today. It's now ready to welcome all comers in my foyer.
Thanks for stopping by!

~Joan

Snip, Snip!

One of the reasons I haven't been blogging as much the past few days is that I've been busy giving many of my 9 other family members hair cuts.

This AM I cut my youngest daughter's hair. It was all one length, poker straight. She's growing bangs out. Her hair was about 6" past her 10-year-old shoulders. I trimmed it about an inch and cut layers in the last 6". It must have looked good because shortly afterwards (as in moments), my 16-year-old asked me to cut hers the same way. Here I am about halfway through aforementioned 16-year-old's hair. It was only then that I thought, "Stink! I should have taken before and after pictures." Here is the side I haven't cut yet. It's nearly one length. The top layers were damaged from sun exposure, and they are a much lighter color than the rest of her hair. We can fix that (snip, snip). Emily's hair has some wave/curl to it, and it's very thick, so it's forgiving (and she is, too, so no chances of being sent to the nasty nursing home if she makes the decision later).
Here she is, half finished. Her left is not cut (YOUR right in the picture). And that's the hairdresser's forearm in the picture with the trusty scissors. She looks pretty happy for only having half a haircut. Think how ecstatic she'll be when I'm finished!! In this picture you can see the layers. I cut it dry, so it isn't showing the natural curl now. I'll post an after-hair-washing picture later tonight.
Bet you can hardly wait!

~Joan

Today Is the Big Day, Part I

Above are the before and after pictures of my haircut today. The first one is the before, where the model looks sad and doesn't have hope. The second one is the after, where the model looks young and vivacious. Since they are both me, there wasn't much chance of looking hopeless, young, or vivacious. I'm posting these for those of you who actually know me in person but have missed seeing me in person, LOL!

~Joan