Friday, June 29, 2007

Sewing

One of my good friends came over to sew with me today. Normally, two friends and I sew together each week, but the other friend is in Switzerland right now (lucky her!). We always do a lot more talking and laughing than sewing, but we always have a good time. Today, I started on a new project (why not - I only have TONS of unfinished projects as it is). But this is a jacket for myself. I rarely make clothes, because they don't usually fit right. But I was actually able to try on a garment made from this pattern a few weeks ago and see that it would fit me, so I'm going to enjoy making this. Here is the pattern I'm working on - and I'm doing it with several different fabrics (I am a quilter, after all). You know - the fronts will be one fabric, the sleeves another, etc. I didn't get very far with it today - but at least I got it all cut out. I'm using a rayon batik for the fronts, back, and sleeves, so it should be really soft and drapey. I don't think it will be very hard to make, and once it's finished, I'll be sure to post a picture.

I also bought this pattern and some silk dupioni to make it. It doesn't look like much from the picture, but I tried on the actual garment here too, and it's really lovely.

And then I bought this pattern too, but I didn't buy any fabric for it - maybe because they had to order the pattern and send it to me later (which they did). And then I also remembered that I had this pattern along with fabrics in my stash. So I think I've got enough clothing projects to keep me busy for quite awhile!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Books

I'm reading a good series of books right now - the Guenevere novels by Rosalind Miles. I finished book 2 (The Knight of the Sacred Lake) last night, so I wanted to start book 3 (The Child of the Holy Grail) today. Problem was, our local Hastings didn't have it. I went to the library, and it didn't have it either. They had book 1 and book 2, but not book 3. And I don't mean that book 3 was checked out - they don't have it in their collection. And this isn't a new book - the current edition was published in 2002. So someone tell me please, why would you have books 1 and 2 and not have book 3 in your library? I ordered it on Amazon today, but I won't get it for a week or more. So now I have to decide whether to start another book instead. I think the answer is yes - I love to read and I always like to have a book to read (plus I'm caught up on my magazines). But I'd really rather continue with the series.

More car stuff

I think I mentioned that we had the lumbar support added to our new car last week. They were great - I told them where I wanted it, and they installed it, then asked me to check if it was where I wanted it. It wasn't quite, so they moved it - put it right where I told them to. Well, guess what - I had them put it too high. I didn't want to admit it to my DH, and I didn't want to drive 80 miles (one way) to have them fix it. So I asked the dealer if they could adjust it. They weren't sure, but agreed to look at it. I was supposed to bring the car in this morning. I realized if I didn't want to wait for it, I had to admit it to DH. He just commented to get an estimate before I left it with them. I told him I was going to call the place that installed it and ask them about it, and he suggested we ask them if we could adjust it ourselves. I called them yesterday morning, and at first they said it would be better to bring it to them. But when I explained how far away we were, he put on the installer. He explained to my DH how to adjust it - and we did! And it was so easy, that if I decide it needs to be moved a little more, we can do that too. YAY! I'm gradually getting this car to the point that I'm happy with it - which is important, since we usually keep a car for many many years!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Faux Batik

I took a class on Faux Batik today. It was really cool. The fabric pieces I made didn't turn out all that great, but learning the process was awesome. Real batik uses wax as a resist, and then the wax has to be boiled out after the fabric is dyed. We used a couple of water soluble resists, so once the dying was done, we just had to rinse the fabric to remove the resist. We used paint and dye - the paint had to be heat set and the dye just had to soak into the fabric for several hours. I bought some of the resist and a book to do more of this at home - I already have the paint.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Photo Shoot

I'm taking another online photography course right now - this one is on Composition and Design. This week, we're learning about circles, so this morning I went out and took some more pictures of circles (I had taken some a few days ago and wasn't happy with any of them). Here is my best shot from this morning's photo shoot:





I'm still working on transfering files from my old laptop to my new one. I have so many big files (pictures are huge files) that it takes a long time to move even one file. When I get to moving my embroidery designs, I think I'll burn them to CD first (then I'll have a back up too).

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Shopping

We went to Tulsa to get the lumbar support put in the car today. I have a good friend who lives there, but she was busy in the morning - she sells bread that she bakes at a farmer's market. And she didn't have room in her work car for both of us, so this is what we did. First we went to a camera store, where I bought a micro fiber cloth and a lens pen. Next we went to her house to get her other car. We each drove to the place that was to put in the lumbar support. We called my friend from there and agreed to meet at Panera for lunch. We left our car and drove her car to Panera. Then we went to another camera store where we bought a new tripod with a ball head and a backpack. Finally, we picked up our car and both drove to my friend's house to return her car. We visited awhile, then we drove home. Whew! But it was a good day - I've been wanting all this camera stuff for awhile now, but I really wanted to try out a tripod and backpack. I'm really glad I did too, because we didn't get the first one of either that we looked at.

So, here's the tripod we got: http://www.giottos.com/MT-2.htm - it's the 9251.

The ball head: http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/cache/offonce/pid/2302?livid=8081&lsf=81&child=2.

And the backpack: http://www.promaster.com/products/products.asp?CatID=40&CatSM=&SubCatID=2&CatName=Bags%20And%20Cases&SubCatName=Backpacks&sm=sm2_402&dir=&page=PROD&product=8773

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

New stuff

I got my new notebook yesterday, and I've been installing software ever since (and I'm still not finished)! But I think I'm really gonna love it. Much faster, and it has a widescreen display. Plus the display is much brighter than on my old notebook.

On the new car front, sometimes the littlest things can really bug you. This car doesn't have any place to put the garage door opener. I mean really - who doesn't have a garage door opener these days? And we took the clips off our old ones ages ago (when we got cars that did have places to put them). So yesterday, I had to get a new clip for my opener, just so I could clip it to the sun visor. I KNOW something like that isn't worth the additional $6,000 that the Camry cost, but I really wanted that Camry. So I have to get all these little things settled so I can finally put the Camry out of my mind and enjoy my new car. I SAID it was a little thing! :)

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Bachelorette Party Revisited


Page 1


Page 2

I finished this 2 page layout awhile ago and never posted it for some reason. I think I wasn't sure if it was finished, but it is. LOL! Another of my DIL and her friends at her bachelorette party. I really wish they would fit side by side, but the only way to do that would be to make them so small you couldn't see them. But the quarter circles line up and really look good when the pages are side by side. In fact, here's a small version just so you can get the overall effect:



Credits: Shabby Sundress Collection - the elements, Aqua Vita and Linen Basket papers by Eve Recinella of Sweet Shoppe Designs
Simple Sayings by Eve Recinella of Sweet Shoppe Designs
Digital Sketch by Jen Caputo of Scrapbook Graphics

From Our Blog To Yours

The Sweet Shoppe Blog has a feature each week called "From Our Blog To Yours" where we are given a topic to write about. I'm a little late on this one, but here is the topic from June 1st:


This week, I want to hear about your favorite designer, kit, product, etc (not necessarily affiliated with ssd of course)!


I have lots and lots of "favorite" designers and have kits from them all. But I guess my number one favorite would have to be Eve Recinella. I've followed Eve around for a long time - ever since she was at 3 Scrapateers. That is why I feel so lucky to be on her creative team. And she just keeps getting better - I really don't know how she does it.

If I had to pick just one favorite kit, I think it would be Fancy Free (which is new enough that I haven't even used it yet, but I just love the colors). It is available here.



Then favorite product is the hardest of all, since there are SO many products I love. In fact, I'm going to cheat a little bit and list 2 favorites. First is Karah Fredricks Easy-Peasy Folded Corner Templates. I have several of them, and they are really slick. This one is probably my favorite (available here):




And my other favorite product is Cardboard Flip and Tear Overlay by Linda Gil Billdal (available here):




Ok, I guess that's enough for now.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

What I Did Today

I spent a LONG time choosing thread colors for a big embroidery project I wanted to start on today. Problem was, I spent so much time choosing the threads that I didn't get any embroidering done. Hopefully tomorrow I can actually start to embroider the designs. It is the summer version of the Japanese wall hangings I've been doing. I have winter and spring done (I posted pictures of them here and here). The designs come with a thread chart, but they use a brand that I don't have, so I have to convert the colors.


And I actually helped cook dinner tonight. That is very unusual for me - DH does most of the cooking around here. But I wanted a specific recipe that he doesn't make, so it was up to me. It's a swiss fruit pie (not sweet - it's a main dish sort of like a quiche), and I got the recipe from my Swiss friend. Of course, she uses real cream in her recipe, and I use soy milk, since I'm lactose intolerant. But it works, and it's almost as good as hers.


And then I realized I still needed to make DH a father's day card, so I did that tonight. Here is what I did:




I used Some Kind of Wonderful by Sweet Shoppe Designs (a limited edition father's day collaboration) and a card template by Jen Caputo.

Fun Test

Everyone has a personality of a cartoon character. Have you ever asked yourself what cartoon character you most resemble? I took the test and was surprised to find that I most resemble Charlie Brown. So play along by taking this test and post on your blog which cartoon character you most resemble.

A group of investigators got together and analyzed the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters. The information that was gathered was made into this test.

Answer all the questions (only 10) with what describes you best, add up all your points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end and look for your results.

Do not cheat by looking at the end before you are done!

1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts.)
b) Fun/Theme Park (2 pts.)
c) Painting in the park (5 pts.)
d) Rock concert (1 pt.)
e) Going to the movies (3 pts.)

2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll (2 pts)
b) Alternative (1 pt.)
c) Soft Rock (4 pts.)
d) Country (5 pts.)
e) Pop (3 pts.)

3. What type of movies do you prefer?
a) Comedy (2 pts.)
b) Horror (1 pt.)
c) Musical (3 pts.)
d) Romance (4 pts.)
e) Documentary (5 pts.)

4. Which one of these occupations would you choose if you only could choose one of these?
a) Waiter (4 pts.)
b) Professional Sports Player (5 pts.)
c) Teacher (3 pts.)
d) Police (2 pts.)
e) Cashier (1 pt.)

5. What do you do with your spare time?
a) Exercise (5 pts.)
b) Read (4 pts.)
c) Watch television (2 pts.)
d) Listen to music (1 pt.)
e) Sleep (3 pts.)

6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
a) Yellow (1 pt.)
b) White (5 pts.)
c) Sky Blue (3 pts.)
d) Dark blue (2 pts.)
e) Red (4 pts.)

7. What do you prefer to eat?
a) Snow (3 pts.)
b) Pizza (2 pts.)
c) Sushi (1 pt.)
d) Pasta (4 pts.)
e) Salad (5 pts.)

8. What is your favorite holiday?
a) Halloween (1 pt.)
b) Christmas (3 pts.)
c) New Year (2 pts.)
d) Valentine’s Day (4 pts.)
e) Thanksgiving (5 pts.)

9. If you could go to one of these places which one would it be?
a) Paris (4 pts)
b) Spain (5 pts)
c) Las Vegas (1 pt.)
d) Hawaii (4 pts)
e) Hollywood (3 pts)

10. With which of the following would you prefer to spend time with?
a) Someone smart (5 pts)
b) Someone attractive (2 pts)
c) Someone who likes to party (1 pt)
d) Someone who always has fun (3 pts)
e) Someone very sentimental (4 pts)

Now add up your points and find out the answer you have been waiting for!

(10 -16 points) You are Garfield:
You are very comfortable, easy going, and you definitely know how to have fun but sometimes you take it to an extreme. You always know what you are doing and you are always in control of your life. Others may not see things as you do, but that doesn’t mean that you always have to do what is right. Try to remember, your happy spirit may hurt you or others.

(17-23 points) You are Snoopy:
You are fun, you are very cool and popular. You always know what’s in and you are never out of style. You are good at knowing how to satisfy everyone else. You have probably disappeared for a few days. Being married and having children are important to you, but only after you have had your share of fun times.

(24-28 points) You are Elmo:
You have lots of friends and you are also popular, always willing to give advice and help out a person in need. You are very optimistic and you always see the bright side of things. Some good advice: try not to be too much of a dreamer. Dreaming too big could cause many conflicts in your life.

(29-35 points) You are Sponge Bob Square Pants:
You are the classic person that everyone loves. You are the best friend that anyone could ever have and never wants to lose. You never cause harm to anyone and they would never not understand your feelings. Life is a journey, it’s funny and calm for the most part. Stay away from traitors and jealous people, and you will be stress free.

(36-43 points) You are Charlie Brown:
You are tender, you fall in love quickly but you are also very serious about all relationships. You are a family person. You call your Mom every Sunday. You have many friends and may occasionally forget a few birthdays. Don’t let your passion confuse you with reality.

(44-50 points) You are Dexter:
You are smart and definitely a thinker. Every situation is fronted with a plan. You have a brilliant mind. You demonstrate very strong family principles. You maintain a stable routine but never ignore a bad situation when it comes. Try to do less over-thinking every once in a while to spice things up a bit with spontaneity!

I found this test on Sweet Shoppe Blog.

Friday, June 15, 2007

More Fabric Postcards

Here are two of the postcards I've finished in the past few days. This one is for a swap using angelina fibers. I started with the batik background, added the angelina fibers, then fused the fish on top. I free motion quilted the whole thing, then free motion stitched around the fish to finish the edges. I think it turned out pretty good.



This one is for a swap called Cats Cats Cats. I fused the two background fabrics onto the stiff interfacing and quilted it. Then I fused the cat face and free motion stitched the edges (like I did to the fish). I also used a decorative stitch between the two background fabrics where they come together. I also couched down a flat ultrasuede-type yarn around the edges. I'm pretty happy with this one too - I just hope my swap partners like them.



I didn't get my computer today. I was really hoping for it. I think I was almost as excited to get it as I have been over the new car. When I talked to the guy I ordered it from last week, he told me that after I put in the order on the internet, he would call me for my credit card number right away. When he didn't call the day I ordered it (last Friday), I thought about calling him, but then I thought that maybe he didn't call because he was going to get the number when the computer came in. Finally on Tuesday I called him, and at first he couldn't find the order! I told him that I'd gotten an email confirmation from him and gave him the order number. Turns out my order went to a folder in his email account and he hadn't checked that folder, so he didn't see the order when it came in. Now a copy of the order also went to Nobilis, so I asked him if that would delay the order. He said he didn't think so because they had started on the order and were waiting to hear from him. But he had also told me last week that it usually takes 4 business days to get, and it's now been 5 and it's still not here. So I think it probably did delay the order. And I'm really kicking myself for not calling him as soon as I placed the order! Oh well, I guess it will get here sometime next week.

At least my Amazon order came in today. And it's a good thing, since one of the things I ordered is a book for my DH for father's day. I just tracked the order this afternoon, and it said it was scheduled to arrive on the 21st, so I had a few minutes of panic. But it came today after all. The other things I got are the second book in the Guenevere trilogy by Rosalind Miles and a book called Creating Sketchbooks for Embroiderers and Textile Artists by Kay Greenlees. I've never used sketchbooks before, but this appealed to me for some reason. At first glance, it looks pretty good.

Our New Car

We finally got our new car today. And I made an appointment to have lumbar support added to the passenger seat. I've never understood why so many car makers think that only the driver needs lumbar support. I've used a special seat cushion with lumbar support in our old car for as long as we had it, and it worked for me, but I'm looking forward to not needing it anymore. We're having it done next Wednesday. Here's a picture of it in our driveway.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Better Blogger (I hope)

I've decided to try to update my blog on a more regular basis. Now notice I said TRY. I don't know how successful I'll be, but that's my goal. I realized yesterday when I was writing about our new car that it would have been much easier if I had posted each day rather than trying to recap the whole experience.

And speaking of new cars, we didn't get it today. We'll get it in the morning. They were picking it up this afternoon, but it wouldn't get here until too late for us to get it. I was disappointed of course, but it really didn't matter that much. I didn't go anywhere. Now once I get the car, I'll have to drive it all over town!

So instead, I actually finished up a set of postcards for a swap I'm in. I haven't scanned them yet, so I can't post a picture of them. There's a bit of a thunderstorm going on right now (again!!), so I don't want to turn on the desktop computer (which is what the scanner is connected to). I always use my laptop if I want to be on the computer during a storm - with the battery backup, I figure it's pretty safe. Anyway, I'll try to post a picture of the postcards tomorrow.

I also ordered a new laptop computer last Friday. I don't remember whether I posted about that already or not. Since I use Photoshop, my current laptop is just BARELY enough to handle it. It's really slow and occassionally even locks up, so I'm really excited about the new one. It might come in tomorrow too. I decided I really didn't want Windows Vista, I wanted Windows XP. That's not available many places anymore. I ordered it locally from a store I really trust. The brand is Nobilis, which I've never heard of before. But here's what I ordered:

INTEL CORE 2 DUO PROCESSOR T7200 (2.0GHz W/ 4MB CACHE - 667FSB)
N5014 BASE SYSTEM / 15.4'' WXGA DISPLAY / INTEL 945PM CHIPSET
100GB / 7,200 RPM SATA HARD DRIVE
2GB (1GB X 2) DDR2-667 SODIMM MEMORY MODULE
INTEL PRO WIRELESS 3945 802.11 a/b/g
DVD/RW DRIVE FOR N5014
GENUINE WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL WITH SP2 / FACTORY INSTALLED

So between a new car and a new laptop, I should be all set.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

New Car

We bought a new car today! We usually keep a car until we're having serious trouble with it. But our son totalled his car a few months back (not his fault, and thankfully no one was hurt). He drove a 1996 or so Isuzu Rodeo, and it wasn't worth much. When he and my DH went shopping for a replacement, there weren't any decent cars for the amount of his insurance settlement. So we offered him our car. We have a 2000 Chevy Impala with about 102,000 miles on it - so it's not new by any means, but it's still in good shape.


We've been shopping since Monday. We looked at an Impala first, because we've really liked the service that the dealer provided and we've not had a lot of trouble with it. It was ok. Then we looked at the Camry, and I fell in love with the XLE. Problem was, it was about $6000 more than the Impala! Then we looked at the Accord. It was ok too, but neither of us liked it as well as the Camry.


Then we went back to Toyota to look at a Prius hybrid. Fascinating car - very different. I liked some things about it, but it was very uncomfortable. There wasn't enough room for my knees - and I'm only 5'4". The problem is that I sit pretty close to the steering wheel, and the seat wasn't power, which means it wasn't adjustable in height. So when I moved the seat where I wanted it, my knee hit the steering column.


We talked it over, and there was no way DH wanted to spend the extra $6000 for the Camry XLE. So we started looking at the lower priced models. I have back trouble, so the comfort of the seat is pretty important to me. None of the models other than the XLE offered power passenger seats, and the angle of the seat in the other models was pretty uncomfortable for me. We even took an LE home with us last night, but it just wouldn't work.


Today, we returned the LE and realized if we wanted a Camry, it was going to have to be the XLE. We got a better price, but it was still way higher than the Impala. Then we went back to the Chevy dealer so I could check out the passenger seat again. I really thought it would be similar to the Camry LE, because it also wasn't a power seat (our current Impala has power seats on both driver and passenger side). But it was more comfortable than I thought it would be (darn it - I was really hoping it wouldn't be, because then we would have bought the XLE). I had to be honest about it though. We made a deal on an Impala LT1, which is a lower model than the one we've been driving.


Next time we buy a car, I'm going to shop first and not show DH any of the cheaper ones!!


Here's a picture of an Impala. This one isn't ours, which is white. Plus I don't even think it's the same model, but it looks pretty similar. Our dealer didn't have this one, they found it in their locater, so we don't have it yet. Hopefully tomorrow.


Friday, June 08, 2007

Trendy Trousers

Eve has another fabulous new kit out! I can't decide whether I like this one better or Shabby Sundress better - they're both so cool! Anyway, here it is:





It will be available at Sweet Shoppe Designs tomorrow (Saturday June 9).

Shower Layout

As expected, the 2-page layout I submitted for publication was not accepted. So that means I can share it now.



Credits: Papers from Breath of Fresh Air by Eve Recinella of Sweet Shoppe Designs
Flip Flops from Summer Celebration by Dianne Rigdon of Scrap Artist
Woven Corner Template by Jen Caputo at Scrapbook Graphics
Umbrella from Splash by Isabelle Cyr of ScrapArtist
Easy Peasy Folded Corner Template by Karah Fredricks of The Digi Chick
Page Template is Blueprint #48 for Layout Blueprints 2 by BlueMedia

The journaling on the second page reads: "Jessica's shower was at Freda's house, and it was so much fun. Freda and Jacey worked really hard at the decorating to give it a beach theme - Freda even sprinkled sand on her table! Jessica received lots of good words of advice for a long and happy marriage, and lots of great presents, too. The food was wonderful. A good time was had by all."

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Bachelorette Party page 1




My newest layout.

Credits: Sweet Cherry Lime by Eve Recinella at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Sketch #31 by Rachael Giallongo at The Digi Chick
Paper Tear by Steph Krush
Font - BoyzRGross