DOL Jacket and Another Thing

Here is the jacket I started at DOL. It's made with lavender hand dyed denim. P G-B at Piecemakers asked "Where in the world did you get hand dyed denim?" It's going pretty slowly, but I have taken out a lot and re-sewn it to get it the way I want it. I still have sewing to do. The buttons are next. I found them on ETSY. I think it needs some beads.


Here is another thing. In progress, but not as much progress. The orange is more hand dyed denim. The other two fabrics will be machine appliqued onto the denim in a kind of mola design. It will be a saddlepad.

No Phish On Friday

I'm sad to say that I have to put a spam protection on my comments. You can still leave comments, but you will have to type some hard to see code letters to post it.

The reason for this is the recent comments that are not really comments, they are phish. I phish is a way of getting information about you from your computer, or of getting you to type some password to get into something that looks official but is fako. Then they get your password and they can pretend to be you. You can get things uploaded to your hard drive that will attract pop up adds and spam. They shop as you and have the stuff sent to their house.

These are usually computer generated so they can send out hundreds or thousands without sitting at the keyboard all day and all night.

When you see the distorted characters that you have to type into the box, that prevents the computer generated phish and spam from using it. Computers have a much harder time recognizing characters that don't look quite right.

I'm sorry to have to do it, but....... I don't like phish.

And if you see a comment that is odd AND has a link, DON'T KLIK ON IT!!


Here is my ETSY Mini:

sea shore

This only makes sense to the person it is intended for. That's OK.















.

Quote of the day

"I don't care what Alex has."
----Mom

produce science and the fence

Well, is has been awhile....but I have an excuse. Not a good one, but it IS an excuse. "I couldn't log in." I couldn't figure out why, then I remembered, I changed my Google password when I got in to eCrater. So I figured it out, finally!

This is what was happening while I was trying to log on. Dave and our neighbor decided to replace an aging fence, so they bought the wood and geared up. Then it rained. A lot. Well, they finally got clear skies on a weekend they could both work on it.


Here are the pictures Joseph and I took of the science experiment he did for the upcoming science fair. We actually took about 50 pictures, but we didn't print them all and only used 10 of the ones we printed. He was supposed to inhibit the enzyme that makes apples and potatoes discolor be using lemon juice and record the time it took for each to turn brown. It took a long time. We watched them for 5 hours!









It was very boring.
The experiment that he received called for each apple and each potato to be done individually, but I decided it would be easier if we ran them all together at the same time and simply took photos to record the data.
I helped him make a very simple poster about the experiment. Simplicity won out, he was in the roughly 1/2 of students who didn't have to bring theirs home to fix up.

I will take pictures at the science fair when we go.

And finally, don't click on links in comments unless the comments are signed. There are spam and phish comments that I can't delete. I can prevent them by making you type some stupid distorted letters before you comment, but do you want to do that?

Science Fair

Joseph is currently working on his science fair project and using the cameraq to document his results. So, I am not taking pics until he is done. That way my pics won't mix up in his pics and cause any confusion.

It's an odd science project involving enzymes and pH. Easy to do the experimant at home, and to wrtie up a display.......but.......

Enzymes and pH, in 6th grade? Can they even comprehend what these are? PH especially, is a hard concept.

Whatever.

I am also pondering a letter that came home from the school. It doesn't make sense, involves punitive actions, and was sent home with the entire 6th grade. It kind of has a nasty "we have power to wreck your life, or else" feel. It uses lots of accromyms and buzzwords which, I am sure, the principle uses every day in her job. I, however, do not use them and I so am not familiar. The letter does not define them. I am required to sign that I have read and understood this letter so that Joseph can take it back to school this morning.

hair bun

I found this article(local even)
Alameda News

in this blog:
myhouserabbit.com

Since the finding of the lost bun on Thanksgiving, and the impossible reuniting with her family, and then adopting Silver here, Oakland animal services
I am having fun with rabbits.

I ordered a rabbit rescue button here: Dog Coat Lady and it gets a lot of attention.

If you want to get a rabbit for Easter, wait until the sugar wears off, then adopt a rescue rabbit for yourself. They are refreshingly quiet company after the kids go off to school.

Oh, and there is a big guy with a beard who works at Orchard Supply Hardware. He has fantastic advice for the best things to buy for bunny toys!

(Lots of men are secret bunny lovers)

Tuxedo Cats are Taking Over the World!

I received pictures in my email of yet another tuxedo cat.
This is Cookie Monster.

The impact of pet ownership on our economy has been expressed as dollars spent on pet food and vet care and pet toys. I've never heard any mention of the pet owners' contribution in terms of cameras and software for recording their pets.

For example: This is Silver, AKA Newman. She is difficult to photograph because she is pretty quick. Also the size of her eyes! My red-eye removal software isn't able to recognize this much red-eye. According to Photoshop, nothing I could take pictures of has this much eye space.
Silver has also enlightened me concerning the Easter Bunny Myth. It can't be true. No self respecting bunny would deliver baskets intact. Each bun takes personal responsibilty and pride in ridding the world of baskets. It's a lot of work, but buns are dedicated.


Today, I have signed up for Retreat Lite from Piecemakers Quilt Guild, Community Quilts. It's a two day sew in, but close by(Newark) and inexpensive. No teachers or classes. Overnight hotel accomodations are an option since we will be able to go home easily. So I can visit Janow and see Dave and Joseph, but have a place to sew this weekend where I will not be interupted every few minutes.

This is called ETSY Mini, I'm not sure how it works, this is a test:

The Cute Ones Get The Food

Here is some denim that I dyed yesterday.The variegation's in dye will be more apparent after I iron it. Haven't done that yet. Will that take a long time? No, it won't. The real time will come in clearing off my table so I can lay down the ironing surface.

The cute ones get the food. Whiskers knows this. I wish she were as smart at using her litterbox! Silver, AKA Newman, is better. When the rabbit is better at something.......

Monkey Travel Club

I'm starting off today's entry with these:

Cup cosies to keep your coffee warmer, and reusable so you don't have to get those cardboard ones and then throw them out. Environmentally friendly! I want one, they are SO COOL!

They are on ETSY, a selling website for artists and cafters. The link to MonkeyTravelClub, the store with these is: here.

I have finished the binding on all those quilted coasters and now am in the process of snipping the thread ends. That is very boring! It is SO boring the boredom itself is exciting.

So, in the process of avoiding the boredom, I have gone to the bookstore with a gift card from Christmas. It was hard to choose. In the end, I got two. A big picture book of Gothic architecture sculpture and painting, and The Collage Source Book. I'm not planning on doing collages, at least not as they are in the book, but it has good pictures and I can get ideas from it, or just the feeling that I want to make something. Good for those days when I feel uninspired. I didn't really feel like book shopping when I went in, but in the end it was hard to choose just two.

Joseph comes home today. He has been in Nevada all week, visiting his grandparents and having a good time. We thought we would get a chance to watch some movies without talking through them, and even some that are rated R that we would not watch as a family. With Monday as a mail holiday, Netflix was slower and we didn't plan ahead well enough. Then, two movies actually came, but they were both broken. Three years of Netflix, three or four DVDs at a time, 10 to 20 DVDs a month, and a total of four have been broken. Two of those this week!

We had Fantasy Island, and we slept through a two hour episode, then a one hour episode. We went to the library and got Fahrenheit 451 and Blind Horizon, both of which we slept through. Then I rented Chocolat from a store. I stayed awake through that. Dave also stayed awake, but wishes otherwise---chick flick! So, I would say, we slept very well in Joseph's week away.

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition came in yesterday's mail. Dave said
"This came! Don't tell Joseph." Then he gave me the Entertainment Weekly and said
"Here's your version!" It has Will Ferrell on the cover. I told him that Will Ferrell was not the women's version of the Swimsiut Edition! Then he perused the Swimsuits and found a picture of Will Ferrell with one of the models.
"This proves my point."

I bought the fabric I need to line my DOL Retreat jacket. I also signed up for Retreat Light, hosted by Piecemakers Quilt Guild Community Quilts. They are getting a big room in a Newark hotel so we can all set up and sew for the entire weekend at the beginning of March. I have sent in my money, and plan to finish my jacket them. Rooms are available for a pretty good discount, but I will come home at night and also care for Janow on Sunday Morning.

pictures as promised

Here are the coasters I have been working on. I like doing it, but it takes a long time.






Michie Ettrick of My Kids And I Made It drew the original design. I just copied it. Thanks Michie!









Click on this banner for
Mykai Creations

What's New?

This is what's new here. The new washer and dryer is installed in the laundry closet. This closet is right next to the kitchen, not the in the garage or cellar. It's right where you are most of the time.

These are the new energy and water efficient ones, and Dave put them up on a shelf instead of buying the pedastals that go with them. There are drawers under the shelf for the laundry and the laundry products. The pedestals that you can buy are not big enough for much, and having the washer and dryer at THIS height makes it SO easy to use. When you are not doing laundry, you can close the doors and they are invisible.

Dave wanted me to post them so his mom could see. So, Mrs. Mom, here they are.

I have been working on coasters here. Kind of boring. I have two kinds; quilted ones with labels for promo items, 75 of those, and prim folk art stitched ones. The quilted ones are nearly finished. there are 25 that still need labels sewn on, and then all need to checked and have the thread ends cut off. THe proim ones are something that I sort of started a long time ago. I didnt want them around but I didn't want to throw them out, so I am trying to finish them up so I can move them on.

I'll take pictures later.

I have decided that my paypal shopping cart is not very good at all. It can't do very good shipping calculations. In fact, it can't calculate much at all. It can base the shipping on a percent of the sales total, or it can give a flat rate. What I might do is go with Google Checkout. I need a shopping cart for that, which is eother another major learning curve. Alternately, I can pay a web designer to do it for me. If I did that, I could pay for them from my profits.......wait. One thing you cant do is increase operating costs to exceed you capacity for production. I cant produce enough to make enough profit to pay for a web designer.

I have looked at other options and spent some time in thought. I may be able to open a store on eCrater.com and link my store to it. ECrater.com uses Google Checkout, but has dismal store fronts with room for only one pic per item. I can take advantage of the better shipping options offered by Google Checkout if I integrate my site to there.

But when? Very good question.

Cutsy Pootsy

Look what I saw on ETSY. Isn't this great? It reminds me of Whiskers. Whiskers will steal blueberry muffins, donuts, tortillas, brocolli......
This is Whiskers. She came from Tri-City Animal Shelter in Fremont. Tremendous cat, except for the constant food search.



To actually get this bag for yourself, or see more stuff like it, visit Jelene on ETSY.

winter pics

My BTAE friends started a group post of winter pictures. They all went out and took picutres of their yards covered in snow or just dead with cold. I think they wanted to comiserate. I don't think I can comiserate. This is my yard on Wednesday.
Nova Scotians, up to their butts in snow, will have to comiserate with each other.

And this is Mary Shelley wishing she were in the yard on Wednesday.

After returning from the Design Outside The Lines retreat, I was enthusiastic to sew more. However, I have not really had the opportunity. Rats. Piecemakers Quilting Guild Community Quilts Project is hosting what they call Retreat Lite on the first weekend in March. It's local, in Newark, so getting a room is possible but not necessary. Arranging care for Janow et al is can also be skipped, so I signed up for that. Retreat Lite will not have teachers and classes or projects, just opportunity to set up machines and sew for 48 hours straight.

Someone in GThreads Group posted about the demise of another independant fabric store in her town. These are falling by the wayside, in favor of megastores that sell all kinds of stuff from prestretched canvas to playdough. This is a lot more walking for those that find that difficult. A sterile mega environment is harder to feel inspired for fabric choice. Quality is lower, in general. So my weekend plans include a visit to Sisters 'n' Stitches in Fremont. Support local independant stores.

Joseph is flying to Reno to visit his Grandparents for "Ski Break" next week. He leaves on Monday and he is SO excited he can't stand to be with himself. Flying as an 'unaccompanied minor' adds to the excitement. A non-stop flight lasting less than 1 hour, along with airport security, makes it comfortable for us to put him on the plane.

Back

I have returned form my big adventure, my first Retreat. I picked a good one to go to: Design Outside The Lines with Marcy Tilton and .Diane Ericson. There were 18 of us there, and it was a beautiful retreat center in Santa Barbara. I drove, so I had lots of time alone, by myself, without questions. I also had Cat Scratch Disease, thanks to Mary Shelley.

I went without expectations. Well, maybe I had them, but I didn't know what they were. I made a jacket, but it isn't finished, I had a little trouble figuring out how to do the front. Yesterday I decided that the problems would go away if I lined it. So I have to go back to the store and get fabric. The jacket is good enough, I think, to go in the quilt show that Peacemakers Quilt Guild is having in May. Now I don't have to worry about that entry anymore. It will be done it time, no problem.

I didn't take the camera so I dont have pictures. I didn't want to have to think about that too.

I atarted with such an idealess brain. It was very strange. Usually I have more ideas than I can think through and organize, and I have difficulty picking out the good ones. To be empty is a very odd feeling. I wondered it there were people who felt like that all the time and that it was normal for them. But I started in on something anyway, Marcy got me going. And then I made a simple mistake and I couldn't just re-do it right. I had to think how I could do it differently and make it work. So I did.... and then I had lots of ideas.

When I finish my jacket, I will take a picture so you can see. I'm sure I will finish it(she wrote, hoping that writing it and publishing to the web would make it come true). Then I have lots more ideas!

Santa Claus and the Crap Fairy

Here is some of the work of Carrie Lyons.These are all 8"x11" pencil on art board, and they are availble on ETSY for $50.
You can also buy hand touched prints and note cards and artist trading cards an very reasonable prices. You shouold check her out by clicking on this banner link.
The best part is, she can make custom portraits of your pet. She has four house rabbits and understands the importance of catching the essence of your pet.

Tomorrow, I leave for a four day retreat in Santa Barbra with Marcie Tilton and Diane Ericson. I hope everything here doesn't fall apart. Not badly anyway.

Silver is now working on her third newspaper log. I make them out of newspaper rolled up and tied with jute twine. It keeps her happy, but Dave doesn't like the mess. I remind him it is better than chewing on the sofa.

This past Christmas, it was surprising how Joseph, at eleven, is still holding on to his belief in Santa Clause. The reason became obvious when we sat down to write thank you notes. See, you have to write notes to all the people who give you gifts, except Santa Claus. Anybody who believes in Santa Clause has fewer notes to write.

The Crap Fairy is another story. Its easy to see why he still believes. The Crap Fairy goes around the house picking up all your crap and leaving prizes. The more prizes you want, the more crap you leave around. There has never been any evidence of Crap Fairy prizes, yet millions of children still believe.

Banners for Brian

My cousin Brian asked about banners. Less than an expert myself, I provided him with some info, and here, he can see some examples. They should all click through to that place.




Gomilpitas banner


btae ebay search


cedaras blog

Hi Ho Silver!

Here she is! She sure is busy!
She likes to make confetti, so if I provide raw materials, she doesn't have to resort to whatever is on hand. We have replaced the cords on our lamps and encased them in plastic tubing.
She is friendly and likes to be petted, but not picked up. She likes to play. She seems to be learning to tell the difference between fun black cat and nasto black cat.
Rabbitese is a new language for us. I have consulted with other rabbit owners only to find the language varies greatly from bun to bun and evolves according to individual rabbit whims faster than a translation can be compiled and published. We are lost at sea. Good thing we packed carrots.

Binding

It has been way too long since my last update. Silver has settled in and is nothing like I thought rabbits were. She is more fun. Dave thinks she is messy. I point out that she is more reliable at litter box use than his favorite cat Whiskers.

I have enrolled in a Design Outside the Lines retreat with Marcie Tilton and Diane Ericson in Santa Barbara. A big scary step. Now I have to prepare. Fast. It is February 3rd thru 7th.

Part of why I have not posted is because I wanted to show you pictures of Silver and I didn't want to scare her with a flash. I took pictures this morning and she took the flash in stride. Possible because it was never a problem, possibly because I waited until she was more at-home here.

Another bigger one was that I promised to post pictures of putting two-fold binding on a quilt. I took the pictures a long time ago, but did not feel like editing the photos or writing directions. I finally did.

Blogger has reduced the file size, so if you want the bigger files, I can email them to you in an attachment. Just leave a comment.

entropy

Silver the rabbit is doing well. She is adjusting to our home and getting into a routine. Beside the occasional lamp cord chewing, her chewing has been random and casual and easily dissuaded.

and then she began to feel more at-home.

She went behind the sofa and chewed on the corner. I stuffed a phone book between wall and sofa. It took a couple days, but she went behind the sofa from the other end and there was more chewing on the sofa. I gently chased her out and gave he a cardboard egg carton. She went back behind the sofa and there was more chewing. So I got a rolled up newspaper and stuffed that between wall and sofa. I was no problem for her to pull it out, though it had been an effort to stuff it in.

But the newspaper, the NEWSPAPER, it was fantastic! So great for chewing! She made confetti. Lots of confetti. She was so busy. Fiendishly busy.

Destructo Bunny was born!

Storm

We are having a storm. Compared to lots of places, it's pretty mild. We just aren't used to it and our lives aren't designed to handle it well. If it rained and blew like this frequently the we would have the stuff that makes it easier to live with. As it is, it's hard to justify the expense of installing it if you are only going to really need it for one storm every few years.

I didn't put a blanket on Janow last night because he has a lot of hair, and if he could stay dry, his hair would keep him warmer that a blanket. A blanket would just squish the hair down and reduce it's ability to insulate. If he could stay dry. He got wet. the wind gusted and swirled around, leaving only a very small dry part in his stall. He probably stayed dry until breakfast when he had to leave the small spot to eat.

When I got there, he was standing right up against the wall. He turned his head around to look at me and his head was all tilted. Right away I feared a neurological condition! No, he was just tilting it away from the wind. He was miserable. So I got a lightweight wool blanket and put it on. I walked him down to the arena barn, a soaking journey in itself. He was already wet. I walked him up and down the aisle a bunch, and scratched his face. He was very itchy. Then I took the blanket off and let him roll in the arena.

Re blanketed for the walk home, where I changed the blanket for a dry one with heavier wool and gave him lost of hay. He seemed just fine when I left.

Do horses live in the wild without this care? All the time. Usually not to the age of 19. A big part of why we have animals we don't need for survival is because we enjoy making them comfy. They can't say "But Mom!!!! Bucky gets too!"

Block of the Month

Lover's Knot blocks, 12 inches square.

Here is the Block of the Month for Piecemakers Guild. The pattern is published in the newsletter. Everyone who wants to can make one, or two, or so. At the general meeting, we pin them up and each person who makes on is entered in a drawing. The winner takes them all.

I like to make them, but the last thing I need is another unfinished project! So I enter mine as "Community Quilts" which is our charity group. Since I am not winning them, I don't feel constrained by the limit on the number of entries by one person. I don't even know what it is!