So I've slacked on the blog, or rather, I lost interest in it for a time. It's been super nice weather here in my area so I've been bike riding, gardening and crafting. This is going to be a longer post than usual, so if you have time, I hope you can stay. :)
This weekend I will be participating in my first fundraiser "race" run/walk 5K. I'm a little excited!
Two weeks ago I biked 40 miles (total) to one of the neighboring cities that has a Quilt shop. It was one of the most pleasant and beautiful bike rides I have ever taken, and the longest. I've only done 20 in one day. I was very ambitious that day. I did hurt some the next day, but I was not as sore as I had expected to be which was a real bonus. Everyone along the route, which seems to be a popular one for local bicyclists, said Hi to me. Every. Single. One. You don't get that kind of interaction in the city where everyone is GRR-GRRR GET OUT OF THE WAY MOFO!
Bike ride booty!
I dunno if I will be doing it again this year, but you never know. I did bring home five fall themed fat quarters from the quilt shop and stopped by a shop called "Believe" . I noticed the store front window had incense and I ran out of Frankinmyrrh some time ago. So despite the fact that I was famished and needed to get my sugars up, I stopped in. I had a nice chat with the store owner who told me they do metaphysical consignment (wands, tarot cards, runes, incense, etc-etc). That's neat!! So I mentioned that I do intuitive paintings. She seemed really interested so I just emailed photos to her of the ones I have. I really need to get some more made. I still have a hard time parting with my creations. It sometimes feels like a betrayal of sorts. I brought you into existence and now I give you away, not because I don't want you but because I want to make money. It's really a lesson in letting go...it's taken a while to let go of my previous relationship and even though now and again I think about it, it no longer triggers an ache in my heart. I have to let it go in order to allow something new, and better, into my life. Right? That's what they say, anyways. When I asked her where was good to eat that wasn't fast food, she referred me to the Koffee Kup down the road. I had a delicious bacon cheeezboogar.
Waffle Time!
Here is a Waffle Time pattern done with the pumpkin print I bought at the quilt shop I bicycled to. It's really pretty! This is just the top, haven't quilted it yet.
Summer in the Park
Remember that top I was working on that caused such a stir in one of the facebook quilting groups because I mentioned how mmisogynistic Hobby Lobby has become?
Well here is that top all done. They did help me pick the borders, which are mitered (pain in the ass that was).
I've also been canning up some garden produce, beans and 8 pounds of cherries delivered by Sun-Ripe Fruits. I've gotten peaches from them as well and their produce is always top notch for less than grocery store prices.
So this week, I am thankful for the ability to take off on a random adventure. Not everyone is able. So I am very grateful to be able.
What are you grateful for this week?
Until next time...
***All content is Copyright year and date of posting, and are the sole property of C4G/CCW unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this website (text, photo's, etc)is strictly prohibited (linking to the post is OK). I've had to revert to moderating all comments due to spammers.***
I made this over the July 4th weekend since there was really nothing else to do over the weekend. It was fun to do and could theoretically be done in a day. But after sewing for nearly 5 hours on the strips, my back was hurting so I could not go any further.
So I shared it with a quilting group on facebook and made a one word comment as to where the jelly roll was acquired.
The shenanigans that ensued from that ONE negative word was quite unbelievable. Never-mind the awesome pattern that the post was for...no, let's focus on that comment about...HOBBY LOBBY.
I called them misogynistic. The exact wording was "sadly, the jelly roll was purchased from Hobby Lobby years before I knew they were misogynistic"
That was IT. That's all I said. And it is my opinion of the source of the fabric and that was all. It was not meant to start a shit storm.
Here's a bit of FACT on this bit of SHIT.
Facts, yo.
So you are not BLINDED by the lies
Now I don't normally get all political on this here blog, because there is plenty of that elsewhere to find and read. I could not get over that some near sighted wimmin are actually FOR this. It's so SAD. You can't claim religious freedom just to limit the freedoms of others!! What kind of backwards country is this?? We are so backwards here in the USA. Yes, yes we are.
My personal belief is that there is room enough on this planet of ours for every religion from every culture, however...there is NO tolerance for one that wants to hold power over people and claim it's their "religious freedom" to do so. BULLSHIT. It's not religious freedom when you force your doctrines onto people who may, or may not, believe the same way and in turn this effects their own freedom of choice. It's complete idiocy!
Anyways, I took no part in the discussions that ensued on my post, and as time went on (12 hours) the posts got more and more hostile. Finally the group "administrator" ORDERED me to amend my post or remove it then proceeded to lecture me on how the group was not for posting of political agendas.
Mind you, there was NOTHING political about the post other than my one word description about where I obtained my fabric some years ago before I learned of that places agenda against wimmin. *I* was not the one fueling the comments on the post. *I* was not encouraging anyone to say anything. People saw that one word and went CRAZY.
Needless to say I don't think I will be posting there anymore.
Here is a capture of the conversation that went on. And no, I did not blot out the names. It's an open group and they made the choice to turn MY POST into a political discussion. Read from right to left. The right column was the first comments. Mostly positive. AND THEN, someone had to go there. They HAD to put in their two cents about the whole HL bull-shittery. They made that choice all on their own. And I swear these people have some impulse control issues. Once one person said something, THEY ALL had to say something.
Crazy town
I am very saddened by how people chose to react to my post. I am also so very saddened by the blinders some of them have on. Sheep.
So I removed the line of opinion from my post and the group "administrator" removed all the comments that contained opinions on HL.
I'm going to try to get it all pieced together tonight and cut a border. I would like the border to have mitered corners. I have the PERFECT floral fabric for the border that I got from JOANNS clearance fabrics that were half off the half offs. Now THAT is always a great deal to take advantage of.
Until next time...
***All content is Copyright year and date of posting, and are the sole property of C4G/CCW unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this website(text, photo's, etc)is strictly prohibited(linking to the post is OK).***
They babies have all left the nest. The youngest one I kept for about a week longer because she was such a weak flyer and was still a demanding little baby. Feed me! FEED ME!! Click through to youtube for the a larger, HD version.
They were coming back every day when I called for them. Since they grew up listening to Mieka, my cockatiel, they came at a whistle or two along with tinking the glass with the stick I was using to feed them the thicker forumla with.
But slowly, they started not showing up when called.
We had some hefty storms move through where three tornados touched down locally, thankfully none near me but there was plenty of wind damage around the village. One morning I got up as another line of strong storms started to make their way through and I checked the cage to see if anyone had come home to roost. Sure enough, the middle Sparrowling was huddled in a corner at the bottom of the cage, sopping wet. I rushed outside, closed the door and brought him in. He was not happy about it, but I just couldn't leave him outside in that weather since he had come home to safety. The night before the sirens went off twice, which is highly unusual. There was very little sleep that night as the wind was kickin something fierce and my apartment was making noises I had not heard before. Groaning and tinking and popping...I truly thought a 'nader was gonna plow through. And I was ready for it. All the animals were safely tucked away to the inner most corner of my place and I had hunkered down in the bathtub with a 5 gallon container of water, a sleeping bag and pillows. I was ready to have my domestic life torn apart and forced to start over. I have renters insurance, so while I laid in the bathtub and listened to the odd sounds coming from everywhere, I pondered about what I would do if I was forced to start over.
Luckily, no 'nader came through my area, just high powered winds that toppled a lot of trees. I put the cage back outside and opened up the door and out the Sparrowling flew. The youngest comes back now and again which is nice. I've had a lot more sparrows in my little area since raising these.
I've been forced to look for another job as the job I thought I was going to have with the company that won the school transportation contract, told me they could not give me a home vehicle. I don't have a reliable way into work, other than biking (and everyday is not going to be a nice day to bike), so if I can't have a home vehicle, then I can't work there. I don't even live ten minutes away. I could carpool with a friends hubby who lives in the same neighborhood as me, but what would I do when the regular school year starts and I have to be there before 6am?
I'm miffed about it. I've done this job for 12 years, 3 of those years was with this very company who, last time, had no issues giving me a home vehicle. I have always had a home vehicle because I have no vehicle of my own. So they have absolutely no concerns about their employees...only the bottom line. That's okay. I didn't want to work for them anyways as my last experience with them was not a good one. I was not happy working there and it was the longest three years ever. I kind of had a feeling things were not going to work in my favor.
So I've looked into mail delivery and hooking up with the city public transportation, which unfortunately is not hiring right now. Of course not. I do have a phone interview in a couple of weeks for the mail delivery position. There is a Jobride service here that I could use to get to either of those jobs until I can afford a car, but it would cost me around $80 a month. Great, another bill to cover. But if I can get a good paying transportation job, because it's what I know and what I do, then I would be able to afford a car eventually. I would hope.
In the mean time, I am unemployed with lots of time on my hands. I've caught up on the housework, sleep and now I am starting to get busy with quilting. I have unemployment insurance to keep me afloat and Food Share (food stamps) to keep me fed in the meantime. It's not a glamorous way to live, as it's slim pickings all around, but I have plenty to keep me busy at home, and in the gardens. I have been going to the coffee house almost on a daily basis but this is not a sustainable habit on $300 a week. And here, for some god-forsaken reason, they keep the first check of the new year. Thanks so much cause that's NOT HELPFUL to the unemployed!! I am gonna have to borrow money to pay rent this month, just what I don't need right now.
Crazy Patchwork Card
I have considered selling some of my artistic creations. I made this card for my Mum the other day. I dunno if anyone would be interested in this. It's pretty darn easy to do, honestly. I wouldn't charge more than maybe $6 for it.
Well anyways, I'm working on finishing he denim quilt, which I have decided that quilting it as I go would not be such a bad idea.
And I have two jelly rolls that are very springy that I want to do something with. I've concidered the jelly roll race but that's so meh-meh to me. I have stumbled across several patterns that I really like, one from the Missouri Quilting company using the "tube" method.
Then there is this one, using a lot of HST's...
Then there is the "Windmills At Night" pattern that wouldn't really be at night because the JR is bright and springy.
I also have a Batik charm pack that I want to do a D9P with black sashing.
Inbetween quilting and gardening then there is camping with a dear friend of mine. We are doing some white watering in upper Wisconsin this weekend. I had already put money back for that, so at least that is covered. Then in a couple more weeks a trip to the Ren Fair in Illinois is planned, although I don't know how much money I will be able to take with me for that.
Wow this is turning into a long post!
I'll stop here and leave it for another day.
BloOOOOoop!
Until next time...
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So I signed up for a monthly quilt block doobedoo at a not so local quilt shop about 30 minutes away. I shall keep them unnamed, for the time being. The deal is, you sign up for a flat $10 for 12 months of block kits which you take home and assemble. That blew my mind since they provide the fabric bits, all precut and neatly packaged into a zip-lock bag with printed instructions for assembly. If you miss a month, or you don't get the block made in time to show off at the next month's "meeting", then the next months block will be $5 instead of free. Seemed like a good deal at the time, and I always buy something when I visit because I'm a good customer like that.
A friend and I both signed up for this, and unfortunately we had to miss last months block due to other obligations.
So we made it out there yesterday. The thing is, they ran out of background fabric that they had put with the batik blocks and so they did some substituting. When they got the original background fabric back in stock, instead of replacing the sub fabric, they instead were charging $3 extra for a fat quarter.
Now I didn't think anything of it at the time because I was so elated to even be there. I even bought a scrap bag of fabric that was SO pretty.
But as the day wore on I began to wonder why they would charge for something that is supposed to be INCLUDED with the block and the $5 late block fee. So this month's block ended up costing me $8 instead.
I'm pretty miffed about this. It would not have taken much to lay the fat quarter out and measure out what is supposed to be in the block kit, and swapped the two fabrics out. Next time I will not be buying the extra fat quarter for the additional cost. It's simply ridiculous to me.
Not only this but they had a really cute demo piece in the window with fabric that I dearly wanted to take some home with me. When I couldn't find it and asked...oh, they are out of that fabric. Sooooo, why is the demo still in the window?? When I asked if they were getting more in, they didn't know. When I asked if there was an online source I could look into, they were "not sure". Well, that's so helpful. NOT.
I ended up spending $20 there, but I was treated like an undervalued customer because I didn't drop hundreds in one stop. My other quilter friend has said that her local quilt shop also has this mentality towards small time shoppers and treats the ones who drop hundreds in one stop like royalty, doing just about anything to please them.
This mentality will lose future business from miffed customers like myself. Take note shop owners. EVERY customer should be treated as a valuable source of shop income, even the small time shoppers who only spend $20 at a time. That's $20 more coming in that you would have had that day. That's also my hard earned money that I can very easily go elsewhere with.
You never know when a small time shopper will come into some money, and let me tell you....after yesterdays experience I may just take it elsewhere or shop online instead. I would think that shopping in a physical store, vs online, would prove to be a more positive experience. I love to walk around, see all the beautiful fabric and dream about owning some of it some day or taking some with me the very day I visit. They have a beautiful and HUGE selection of batiks...more than I have ever seen before in one shop. I love taking home a fat quarter of it, or more, when I visit that one time a month.
But, if you treat me like I don't matter because my purchase is small...I will STOP buying ANYTHING. If I have this experience again with them, I will surely reveal the store name and take my business elsewhere.
Don't treat your customers like they don't matter because they don't spend hundreds at one time.
This is BAD.
This will get you bad reviews.
That will lead to a loss in business and profits.
And that, sucks ass.
Until next time...
***All content is Copyright year and date of posting, and are the sole property of C4G/CCW unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this website(text, photo's, etc)is strictly prohibited(linking to the post is OK).***
Here is the second one! I've tried to make conversation with my swap partner, but either they are too busy or they don't get around to checking email much. Right, well, nothing new there. Oh well. We did get a couple emails exchanged. I sure hope she appreciates this one. It took me all day Saturday to complete the paper pieced tree. LOTS of little pieces and a few mistakes later, there it was. It's gorgeous! I used a "hand stitch" setting on the sewing machine to do the quilting on this one. It looks really nice in my humble opinion, but it is one hell of a bitch to rip out...so note to self...don't make mistakes while using the "hand stitch" mode on the sewing machine.
And I dunno about you, but I've been getting a lot of google errors telling me there was an error in saving/publishing. Anyone else experiencing this?
And the label I made on the computer and printed out on a piece of fabric that was temp glued to some card stock and ran through the printer. Heat set with an iron and a test wash later, I had my own labels! Both rugs have one now.
I have to say, these have been a great bit of fun to put together and a great bit of practice for binding and quilting. I might just have to make a couple more. I don't know that I would gift any to my nearby friends. I could just hear one of them say "A Mug what? Like, what the hell am I going to do with that? Pshhhhh!" I don't much know what to think of that one. /shrug
Got the plant stand and lights all ready to receive the plants that are living outside right now. The night temps are slowly making their way down to the upper 30's. Even now, in the mid 40's it's too chilly for the Hibiscus so that has been coming in on a nightly basis. I hate bringing the plants back inside...they always have hitch hikers hiding in them. *shiver-jeebie* and I have to deal with them on my own so it's always fun. The other day I found one sitting on my kitchen counter...and I squealed and jumped back as if a flippin mouse had crossed my path.
It was a short stand off as I waited with baited breath wondering if it was gonna scurry off before I had a chance to dispatch it. I just happen to have a plastic dish in my hand and quickly slammed it atop the creepy crawly. It was very Bruce Lee/Matrix like.... /snort!! It was one of those white ones too....goddess they are creepy!!! Can't stand them!
The attic spiders, however, are more than welcome. I dunno why they don't bother me but they don't bother me and they don't move around all that much. They just hang out in a corner here and there. It helps that I can't see any fangs...
*HIBBIE-JEEBIE*!!
So don't get me started on the damned wolf spiders.....GAH!!
There is a VERY LARGE common orb weaver living in the greenhouse outside, but she's kinda cool....and not close to my door and so not much of a bother. Her webs have gotten smaller and smaller over the last couple of weeks while she has grown and grown some more. It's probably getting a bit cold for her out there. As long as they are outside...I'm mostly ok. Don't get one in the car or bus though.....fsdbhfsafigb....guh!!! It takes a shit ton of effort not to flip out in the drivers seat....that....would be bad....
Heh...
Until next time...
***All content is Copyright year and date of posting, and are the sole property of C4G/CCW unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this website(text, photo's, etc)is strictly prohibited(linking to the post is OK).***
I never knew making a mug rug would be so effin fun!! This is not my first but second one. The first one was so sloppy looking that I saved it to use on my desk as a coaster. I actually have grown to love it.
The one pictured here is my first paper pieced project. That was fun!! Then, while quilting it, I had planned to make a straight cross hatch pattern but then one of my lines went wonky on me. As I was preparing to rip it out, I looked at it at arms length and decided "Hey! That looks awesome with that leaf print! It looks like wind lines!" And so I did rip out the stitching and replaced it with wavy lines that goes all to perfectly with the leaf print. It's gonna be hard to let this one go, for the Fall inspired Mug Rug Swap, but it will be a lesson in letting go me thinks. I have a photo, why do I need to keep it? I have another one to make for my swap partner that is also another paper pieced block (because they are fun!!) and then a million other projects to do like getting this months Calendar block made and finishing that quilt. BTW, I did take it with me to the Baby Shower even though it was not finished and even though it wasn't, it was loved by all in attendance. I still have quite a bit of quilting to get done on it and need to get the binding sewn on.
And I am pondering taking this Craftsy class on quilting big projects on a small machine. I have a coupon for ten dollars off but that will have to wait for another payday. Rent took all my money this week. Rent is too damn high!! If rent was more reasonable we wouldn't have poverty...but that is another rant for another day.
You know, I am finding that Blogger is not photo posting friendly, It's really quite a struggle to get all the photo's aligned with the text the way I want it. Blogger should really consider doing something about that before I move to a different platform, like wordpress.
I like having my words next to my photos. The next photo was an idea I saw out of a magazine I cannot check out yet at the library, the current issue "Love of Quilting". I might actually get a subscription to that one. I really love what they have offered over the last couple of editions. I thought the idea of using pillow cases to store finished quilts was a FANTASTIC idea! Why didn't I think of that!! The second hand stores always have a surplus of pillow cases, or I could make my own, but why would I when I can go get one for a fraction of the cost of the fabric I would use to make one?
This sunset photo was taken earlier this week. The camera did not pick up all the purples that where there. You should have seen it! I saw it from the checkout line at Party City (where I was buying some costume elements) and looked out the door to see this. I left the line to take a photo. LOLz!
And this week, since we are having some crazy warm temps for this time of year, I fired up the rocket stove for the first time and cooked me a bacon wrapped sirloin with red potatoes in a hobo packet. It was DELICIOUS! I added some liquid smoke to the packet along with some soy and pepper. Om nom nom!!
And while on a walk through one of my favorite stomping grounds, Leapold Nature Center, it looked like they had set up for a wedding. I thought to myself, this will be for me one of these days. This is what I want, a simple outdoor wedding, when that day comes.
Stick a pin in it!
Until next time...
***All content is Copyright year and date of posting, and are the sole property of C4G/CCW unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this website(text, photo's, etc)is strictly prohibited(linking to the post is OK).***
