Frustrated and venting

Why do the internet services keep "updating" the sites and making them harder to use. Blogger has a mandatory "upgrade" that is so difficult to read and navigate that I can't even locate the blogs I follow. I despise this!!! Do ytou use Blogger? Have you gotten used to the "new and better" version?

And while I am complaining about Google, I don't care for the G-Mail updates and I really loathe the FB timeline!!! OK, now, yelling is all done so I will try to reset and go check on the burgers on the grill:)

Thanks for listening to me vent my frustrations:) Have a beautiful Sunday:)

Home Alone

Jesse started her senior year last week and Nathan started to college today.  I have the whole house to myself!!!!!  It is so quiet and I am loving it.  Today, I am doing nothing but reading a book!  Tomorrow, I will rejoin the living and productive:)

What you forget...(an incoherant monologue of sorts)

It is amazing to me that one can forget how to think when you don't use your brain for certain activities for extended periods of time:)  For a very, very long time, I have not been able to sew.  I once loved it more than breathing, but just stop caring altogether several years ago after life circumstances changed my outlook on everything.  Once your life prioritizes itself for you, some of the activities you once cherished just don't seem to matter anymore.    So, for years, I have had my machine on a table, just collecting dust.  Fabric, however, is an entirely different issue:)  Go figure!!!

Fabric is still something that makes me drool- even if I don't use it- even if it begins to collect dust- even if I already have tons of it!!!  Simply put: One can never have too much fabric:)  Not ever!!!  This is a fact- just ask anyone that loves creating.

So, we come to the past few weeks....

Stash Manicure is hosting a major giveaway event for wantobe-quilters.  Essentially, those that are interested in quilting can win, due to some very generous sponsors, the items and supplies necessary to begin quilting.  For me this seems to be ideal.  I want to be able to make and appreciate beautiful quilts.  Quilts are so amazing!!!  I have basic sewing knowledge and a love for quilts but don't have the patience to try to teach myself to be more patient with my sewing and alignment, which is quite necessary for making pieced works that don't look like a unskilled child made them.  Circular reasoning, huh?  Since, I taught myself to sew, I don't tend to do some of the basics that other sewists do.  For instance, I have never used a 5/8 inch seam allowance.  When sewing apparel, my first love, I just used the edge of my presser foot as a loose guide.  Since I require instant gratification, I sew quickly and don't tend to reverse sew my mistakes.  I figure it will either work or it won't!  If it doesn't, I chalk it up to being something else for the scrap bucket.  Then, I cut it up for something else.  Quilting is not as forgiving as general sewing and I need all the help I can get:)

... and my machine did not come with a 1/4 inch foot, so that seam allowance was just plain foreign to me...

So, several months ago, I finally called Singer and ordered a 1/4 inch foot.  When it arrived, I was terribly disappointed.  Not only is it plastic rather than metal, but it is not uniformly 1/4 inch.  It actually is only 1/4 inch at the very front of the foot and is closer to 1/2 at the area beside the needle.  Really???  I paid for this???  Not happy!!!  The whole reason I bought the 1/4 inch foot was to avoid having to concentrate so intently on accuracy.  I guess that Singer assumes I have more skill than I actually do.  I see photos of other's machines with idiot proof 1/4" feet, so why does Singer have to be so different???  So, the new foot is now set aside, without being used to help me to create pieced loveliness:)

Blurry- but you get the idea...

Jumping to several days back and the title about forgetting... Jesse has to take BPE to graduate this year.  Three days each week will be physical education and the remaining two will be health.  She needs a gym bag for her shorts and shirt to change into each day.  Years ago, I bought these great, Nike gym bags.  The boys both lost or destroyed theirs pretty quickly, but Jesse has been using hers for about 6-7 years now.  It finally gave up its ghost!  So, I told Jess that I would use it as a pattern and just make her another one since I haven't seen them in the stores to buy one.  Good heavens, what was I thinking???  Something that should have been VERY simple and quick turned out to take a couple of hours.  After much deliberating and petting of my fabric, she finally chose the original print I had purchased for her bag:)  What should have been simple construction turned out to be a bit confusing for me.  I have not sewn is so long, that I seemed to have forgotten how to think through the steps adequately and implement them effortlessly.  Since I was using quilting weight fabric rather than home dec weight, I decided to line the bag for added durability.  Then, I decided to make a casing for the draw strings that was a separate component to the overall bag rather than making the casing out of the front fabric.   Oh, and let us not forget that I decided that it needed a zippered interior pocket.  How hard could it be, right???  Zippers are just not for me and I will spend inordinate amounts of time reworking a pattern to convert zippers to buttons.  Buttons are a breeze comparably. 

...and so on...

Why do I have to make things harder on myself?

So, as of about 0130 this morning, Jesse has a new, string-style gym bag that she is super thrilled with and now wants more of them to use for every occasion:)  She has gone through her own fabric collection to choose the next fabric already.  This bag has an interior, zippered, pocket for her phone or keys and has a black band for contrast and interest.  ...and, of course, the additional casing for the drawstrings:)

We haven't finalized the string length yet but will get the ends clipped and burnt soon:)

So, I learned to be more accepting of my "forgotten" skills and also learned that I need much more practice:)  I genuinely hope to be able to find love in the sewing process again.

If you have continued reading to this point, thanks for staying with me:)  Today, I kinda' feel stream-of-consciousness rather than planned and well executed:)  Today I feel old- my baby boy is 20 today:)

Another sore point for me...

Grammar Matters again!!!

trying not to vent... but really????

Extra Book

I somehow ended up with 2 copies of Cool Girls Quilt by Linda Lun DeBono.  If you would like the additional copy, let me know:)  It has been sitting on my desk reminding me to do something with it for about a year now- sad, but true!  If you can give this book a new home without the dust catching duties, please let me know:)  I will send it to the first person that requests it via comments.  Please remember to send me your mailing address, as well. 

Thanks:)

Grammar does matter.

Disclosure:  I am a bit testy and don't feel very accommodating lately.  I do not profess to be a grammar expert, but some things are so basic, they should not be written incorrectly, IMHO.  

I was blog surfing and reading some recent posts at various sites and ran across a grating misuse of the French word, voila.  The blogger incorrectly spelled it as "walla" numerous times throughout her blog, which leads me to believe that she doesn't know that she is wrong.  I considered emailing her to let her know, but don't really know how to tell her the appropriate spelling without offending her.  To ensure that I am, in fact, correct, I located this definition:

"Walla is a word used by retarded Americans who don't know any foreign languages and barely know their own. The correct word they are looking for is "voila", which loosely translates as "here it is", "there you go", or similar meanings."  (UrbanDictionary.com).  This is a bit more caustic than I would prefer but does get the point across. 

I find that I am increasingly less tolerant as I age.  

My best friend recently posted on his FB page:

"Grammar is important. Capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse & helping your uncle jack off a horse."

I wholeheartedly agree with this.  I truly believe that, as a whole, we, especially our youth, are not taught to be mindful and careful in our grammar, or in other areas of importance.   In school, I lost points for errors such as run on sentences, misspelled words, incorrect punctuation, and the like.  These same errors have been ignored by more recent educators as my children have brought home papers from school with the grammatical errors completely ignored and graded an "A."  Then, my children are aggravated with me for showing them the correction and insisting that it does matter although it clearly doesn't matter to their respective teachers.  My daughter has actually been known to leave her work at school just so I did not have ready access to it for correction.  In their worlds, commonplace and incorrect gets them good grades so why should they strive for better since society clearly doesn't expect or demand it.  I have found this to be true in both the government schools as well as the private schools my kids have been enrolled in.  

 When did we get so complacent and non-caring?   Why do people not care about correctness anymore?  Why is it that I am considered to be anal-retentive and/or rude for applying proper grammar and correcting grammatical errors?  Have we really set your standards so low that we don't even notice?  I strive very hard to mean what I say and say what I mean.  We seem to have become a nation of sheeple that idly follow the path of least resistance without utilizing our innate gift of being unique and having opinions.  God, help us all! 

I do try to be accurate; if there is an error, please point it out to me so that I can correct it and avoid making the same mistake at a later time.  Please try to ignore my rant if you find it offensive.  This was intended to be a way of venting, not to insult or instigate.

 

Customer Service:

Shawna at 1choice4quilting is just awesome!  I found her blog via another blog ad for a giveaway.  I really like being sent to various blogs because I always see something neat, cool or inspiring when I hop from site to site.  For me, blogging is more about looking at the sites and posts of others more than about writing on my own blog.  Backwards, to be sure, but I really am liking it.

Back on track:)  I found 1 choice 4 quilting and placed an order for some items that were on sale.  OMGoodness!!!!!  Shawna sent me an email and got the order out immediately.  It arrived within just a few days- priority mail.  AND: each item was in its own sealed baggie with a label on it telling me how much yardage and what fabric was in the bag.  How cool is that???  AND: she sent me a handful of extra goodies---just because she could:)  

Seriously, if there is anything you need, check out her site; you won't regret it!!!

...I need to get better with the photos, huh?  Who wants to read posts without photos???!!!

Nathan likes watching Chloe:)  Senior Prom 2011.

Clearly, Jesse and I weren't prepared for photos:)  But, it is really nice to have one of us together!  We don't have any family pics since Jesse was 2-3 and she is now 16.

My other Baby Boy turned 22 yesterday.  I swear to you, they were babies yesterday!!!  Honest:)

I won a couple of giveaways lately:)

Animal Party Too by Amy Schimler

Ryan recently sent me these fabulous prints from a giveaway I won from his site:)  These prints are fun and bright and I can't wait to figure out how to best use them.  For now, I am not cutting into them because I want to save them for a perfect project:)  I am a wimp about cutting into my fabulous fabrics!

I also won this FABULOUS candle mat from Wanda!!!  She made this with 4+ layers of felt and each individual layer is hand sewn with a blanket stitch.  Personally, I don't know what Wanda was thinking when she claimed that this is a candle mat because seriously, it is way to pretty to chance messing it up with candle wax:)  It currently resides on my end table next to my couch.  I am amazed by Wanda's talent, patience and generosity.  I am glad to be a blogging buddy of hers:)

Wanda also sent me a great book.  It has so many patterns in it and I have loved looking through it .  I think that my favorite block so far is the Buttercup Block.  You see, Buttercups are my very favorite flower.  I love the brightness of their blooms but mostly just love that they are a symbol of Springtime's arrival.  When I was little, my Granny always had tons of buttercups lining her property.  She planted them, interspersed with spider grass, as a border of her yard right at the street.  Under the dogwood tree, she has a couple of Easter Lilies planted, too.  Every year at Easter, she would let me pick one of her Lilies and place it in water colored with food dyes to change the beautiful white Lily to purple or blue or pink or whatever else I came up with:)  I sure do miss my Granny!

I think that maybe I should buy lottery tickets since I have had such good fortune with giveaways lately:)  I have been richly Blessed!

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a fabulous Spring day filled with Buttercups:)

Sunkissed

Sunkissed is simply fabulous.  Until Monday, QuiltHome.com has the entire line at 20% off.  The coupon code is QHSW20.  I am pretty sure that I need some of each print:)  Oh, to be independently wealthy.....

I wish my computer skills were better honed so that I could post a picture of the yummy fabrics...

Samantha Walker's Enchanted Garden

A couple of weeks ago, I entered a blog giveaway for a bundle of Samantha Walker's  new line Enchanted Garden.  I actually won!!!   She sent me a 1/2 yard cut of each of the coordinates in the turquoise colorway. 

Isn't it pretty?

 

 

I think that I am going to need more of the brown circles print to use as a background piece and want to play with the Wave Pattern that I seem to have fallen in love with recently.  I am supposed to be hemming pants today but just would rather have a lethargic day of doing exactly what I want:)  I think I will do just that!

So, today I would like to have new pajama pants and a start on an Enchanted Wave Throw:)

Have a Blessed Weekend:)

Flickr for the PIF

Kelly was kind enough to send me to the Flickr group for the Handmade Pay It Forward so I wanted to share the link with you in case you are interested in checking it out.

Handmade PIF

Hope to see you there:)

Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward

As I am very new to blogging, I do not, yet, know how to add the cute little button that is on Wanda's blog.  Once I figure it out, I will correct this entry:)  Promise:)

It works like this:

1. Be one of the first 3 bloggers to reply to this post.  You don't have to be a follower, but please, make sure that I have a way of contacting you.
2. I will make each of you something sometime this year. It will be hand made by me.
3.You need to let your friends in blogland know that you are doing a Pay It Forward.
4. Then you will make and send something to the first 3 of your friends that reply sometime in the next year.
5. Then they will continue on the Pay It Forward fun and so on.  

Most of this, I shamelessly copied from Wanda's blog.  She made it so simple to understand and I really like simplicity:)  Forgive me for not asking you first???

Now, I am so new- and bad- at blogging that I only have a couple of followers but hope that the response will be enough that I can play along.  I have done many PIF and RAK in the past on other swapping sites and find that they are tons of fun.  Come play along with us- you won't regret it!!!

Robyn Randolph Sale

QuiltHome  is having a 50% off sale of all in-stock Robyn Randolph fabrics.  I just placed an order for some basic prints that should readily incorporate into most any project.  I love this site; the customer service is fantastic, they get the orders out to you promptly, and the selections and quality are wonderful as well.  The coupon code is:  QHRPF50 at QuiltHome.  Let me know what you find there...

Sick baby girl...

Jesse has been feeling sickly for a couple of weeks now.  She missed her final exams prior to the Christmas Break due to elevated fever and bronchitis.  On Christmas Eve, we ended up in the ER with a perforated eardrum in addition to the respiratory infection.  She hasn't been this sick since she was about 5 years old- it was in December then, too.  This poor baby is coughing so deeply and consistently that she is unable to rest without medication.

So, for Christmas this year, we have been camping out in my bed and watching movies.  While I wish she weren't sick, it has been really great to be able to just be lethargic and watch movies in between her naps.  

Nathan actually had plans with a friend's family this year.  All in all, it worked out well.  Nathan kept checking on his sister but was still able to go out and be festive, too.  When he got in early this morning, he came to check on her again and make sure she was warm enough.  Somehow, he has developed a fondness for his little sister--- but he probably won't admit to it:)

Overall, Christmas was not what I had envisioned this year, but it was good nonetheless!!!  I like it when things work out as they should. 

Creative Talent

Today, I am still a bit testy so I have been surfing around to various blogs just to look around and see what is out there.  I am amazed at the talent and creativity that I have run across.  I ran across Ryan Walsh and his quilting over a year ago and just happened upon his site again today.  Today, what struck me about Ryan's work is that I am just too afraid... period- full stop!!!  I have all of these lovely fabrics from fantabulous designers but I am afraid to cut into them for fear of messing up my beautiful fabrics.  In looking at a tutorial for a Dresden Mug Rug, I realized----- light bulb moment--- that I can use scraps to create fabulous projects.  Now, I am sure that I could have gleaned this insight from any number of sites, but it just happened to occur to me while at Ryan's.

Are any of you hoarders, too?  Do you just keep building your supply of fabrics 'cause they are so lovely and then you are afraid to cut into them?  Please tell me I am not alone in this:)  Perhaps I need a support group:)

For now, I need to go wrap a few gifts and then check out my scrap box:)  My Mom will surely appreciate a mug rug!

Thanks for stopping by- Merry Christmas!!!

Missing sewing...

Due to life circumstances, I have not been in my sewing room or crafting room for about a year now.  I did get a handful of cards made a couple of weeks ago, but other than that, nothing.  Creating was once therapy for me but it does not seem to hold the appeal it once did. 

Sew, Mama, Sew recently hosted a blog hop with tons of prizes to be given away from various artists and I won a reusable bag and a bag kit from the Green Bag Lady.  So, without doubt, I will be sewing up that kit once it arrives.  I need to pay it forward and make sure others have reusable bags available to them:) 

Chronic illness has really taken its toll on me and I am just plain tired of it and would very much like to have my life back again.  I want to feel good and have energy as I see that others do.  I want to be in a good mood on a daily basis.  I want to be able to do more activities with my kids, although my kids are older and those activities will consist of playing pool and going to the mall- just for the record, I am allergic to malls:)  Eeewwww!!!  Additionally, I really am awful at pool but have fun with it when we go as a family and just knock around the balls for a while.  I just want to be better...

I feel like whining today and really do not care for the feeling in the least.  I don't like being crabby.  So, I am gonna' go hibernate in my room with a movie or three and try to reset. 

In typing this, I have been reminded that it could be worse.  I have a new friend that is pregnant.  While she and her peanut are both doing well, she has been told to limit her activities and will have frequent check-ins with her doctor for the remainder of her pregnancy.  I can only imagine how difficult that will be for her as she already has little ones and a husband to care for.  Please say an extra prayer for my friend that is having a rough time right now.

Thanks for "listening" to my whining.  Next time, I will be in a better frame of mind- with no whining allowed:)

QuiltHome.com

...is having a great 30% off sale for the in-stock Free Spirit fabrics.  The coupon code is: QHFSF30.  Go on over and check it out.  This is my favorite place to shop for my fabrics:)  They will send you weekly sale codes when you sigh up for the newsletter.

QuiltHome

Wow

It is hard to believe that it has been an entire year since my last birthday.  Some days, it seems as if time creeps by at a snail's pace and other days, it seems that the time flies right on by.  Even at this early hour, a couple of my online friends have already posted birthday wishes on FB.  It is so nice to be cared about and remembered by friends and family.

I hope that we all have a great, warm, and safe Friday:)

Sew, Mama, Sew

For the past several days, I have been to bunches of blogs.  I am amazed at all of the talent I have run across in the world of blogging.  For each of you that hosted giveaways, thanks from the bottom of my heart.  Not only do I have the opportunity to win some great stuff but, more importantly, I have glimpsed the lives of some fantastic people.  It doesn't hurt that I am getting a great number of ideas of how I would like my own space to be. 

...it's late- night y'all...

Be careful what you ask for....

Computer illiterate that I am, I asked my other half to help with my blog as he is practically a computer genius.  Over the past several days, I have visited hundreds of blogs for the Sew, Mama, Sew event.  In doing so, I have gotten scores of ideas for my own blog and asked Greg to help expedite the process.  Now, thanks to his generosity, I have a whole page that I can dedicate to my imaginary chinchillas:)  Aren't they kinda' like rodents?  Certainly not my cup of tea!!!  

Wasn't that nice of him to be so incredibly helpful?  While I do know how to delete the comments, I suspect that there is someone out there that might get a good laugh out of his antics, so, for now, at least, I have chosen to leave them.  This will likely surprise him speechless- and that will make it worth it!!!

Now, having gotten that bit of a disclaimer out of the way, Greg did get some of the "stuff" implemented that I had requested.  My time stamp now seems to be set for EST- YAY!  I have additional pages with the promise of more when desired.  I cannot even remember all that I asked for... guess there might be more surprises in store for me later today, huh?

Until then, have a Blessed day and stay warm:)  I think I might need some snowflakes on my home page.....  Oh, Greg......