Show + Tell :: Pillow Case

November 24 2015,

I did it! In my last post, I was griping about not knowing how to finish the edges of a pillow case without a serger. Thus a reader suggested I do french seams. Ta-dah. I did it. I looked up a tutorial on how to make a pillow case and came up with one that did it "burrito" style and with french seams. Below are the results.

The first one (I made two of these), our nephew wanted black, gray, white and a splash of red. I had a lot of gray fabric, so all I needed to buy was the black / white/ gray fabric on the "cuff" (Yes, I do need to iron it).

The two below is for our first cousin once removed who was born in the year of the monkey - which makes him 11 years old. His mother (my cousin) said that he loves monkeys - thus the theme. I did not have enough of the white fabric, so I decided to make one white and one black.

I think I'm done with making stuff - oh yeah, I even finished the draft stopper which I filled with kitty litter. The kitty litter was the cheapest in terms of cost (under $6.00 for a big bag at Wal-mart), and my sister-in-law has a cat, so that's also going to her. Two gifts in one. Yay!

As far as shopping goes, that's easy - mostly we're just giving cash, it's easy, eco friendly, and that's what most people want anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Quilt & Bitch

Stick This Up Your Behind

December 13 2014,

Just came back from the grocery store after picking up some ham and bread.

As I walked down the bread aisle, I noticed a guy with a cart had a bottle of orange juice that was jutting partly out of the bottom part of the shopping cart. When I say the bottom part - it's the part where you put heavy or bulky stuff like water bottles or toilet paper.

I asked him if I could push the orange juice into his cart so that it was not sticking out.

He's response was, "If it's bothering you... sure."

I pushed the bottle of orange juice and walked on.

The reason for my interference was that I had imagined somebody walking and not noticing the orange juice and kicking it and hurting their shins and making a mess if the orange juice bottle were to spill all over.

I expected a "Thank you" or a "Good idea" from the guy, but instead it was a "Whatever" reaction.

What I really wanted to do was shove that bottle of orange juice up his you know what.

Quilt & Bitch

IMHO :: Smart 'Stickers'

February 28 2013,

OMG, OMG I want this new thing which is called Smart Stickers.

Read the article here. Smart Stickers Let You Find Things By Phone

So you get these round things that you would attach it to the things that you lose often. Then when you lose the thing, you can use your phone to find it. From the article, the Stick-N-Find is $50.00 for two of these stickers / discs.

For $50.00 I would get it, because the time I waste finding my god damn keys is worth the money. Believe it or not, I have misplaced my keys and found them in the fridge.

If I bought this, and it was compatible with my phone, I would put them on my keys and my head.

Quilt & Bitch

IMHO :: Toys R Us Hot Toys List

September 19 2012,

So today Toys R Us came out with the 50 hottest toys for the 2012 holiday season.

First, aren't we starting this holiday stuff just a tad bit early? In one of the big box hardware store, I saw artificial Christmas trees and Christmas stuff already on the shelves. Come on, it's only September, we haven't even gotten to Halloween yet?

What I really want to know is, who makes this list? Is it some bunch of toy executives in the conference room figuring out which toys they can get for the biggest bang for the buck, or is it really kids who are playing them and telling adults which toys they love?

If you look at the terms and conditions list, you have to put down a "non-refundable deposit of 20% of total price...". It also states, "If, when you make your final payment, we are unable to provide you with the merchandise specified in this Hot Toy contract, you will receive a full refund of your deposit and all subsequent payments made under this contract except as provided by law."

So what Toys R Us is really doing is taking your 20% down payment till the holiday time, where they use your money for other things, and when it is time for you to get the toy, they have the right to say that they are sorry that they don't have the goods, and they'll be more than happy to refund your moeny back. But what they didn't tell you is that if you don't have the toy, you'll have a couple of mad kids crying because Santa didn't bring what they wanted.

Now, instead of being the "holiday hero" you'll be the holiday grinch, and you'll only have a week or so to find that toy that your kids want for the holidays.

Bah Hambug,
Quilt & Bitch

IMHO :: Tracking Devices

September 18 2012,

In recent news, you may have heard that Progressive is offering drivers a unit that gets plugged into the car so that the insurance company can track your driving habits. Read the full article here.

If you fall into one of these categories, definitely DO NOT sign up for this "service"

• If you drive more than 12,000 miles a year
• If you average 80+ mph on the highway, and sometimes hit 110 mph when you know the car in front of you is doing the same because they have this gadget call the radar
• If you are cheating on your spouse
• If you have a bad driving record and cars tend to hit you or you tend to hit cars

Basically, if you are a careful driver, and you do not drive around that much, and you drive at the posted speed limit, then this device can save you money on your insurance bill.

Even if I fell into the category of "safe" driver, which I do by the insurance definition, which I think is good driving record, I would not have this thingy a jig installed. It's an invasion of privacy. Even if the car just sits in the garage 24 x 7, why would I want the insurance company knowing that it just sits there?

But money talks. If it can save me 70% or more on my car insurance bill, maybe I'll put this tracking device in the car. But until then, no way Jose.

If you think about it more, if you do get into an accident, this device will probably be able to tell the insurance company more than you want them to know. For example, it will be able to exactly say what speed you were driving at and the exact location, and maybe other facts that you might not want them to know. Those white lies may no longer work, and you no longer can squeeze yourself out of a bad situation.

Would you have this tracking device installed in your car?

What would you do if the insurance company mandates that you install this device in your car?

Quilt & Bitch

Fall Is Upon Us

October 6, 2009

Fall in New England has always been beautiful. Here in Massachusetts, the leaves are starting to turn.

Nine years ago, hubby and I went leaf picking in our neighborhood. The banner for this blog was from the leaf picking expedition.

Below are some of my favorites. Yes I did photoshop them a bit to make bit more vibrant.



Instructions on how to make these images.

1. Pick leaves that are vibrant in color, yet you might want a few that are brown. Pick different colors, red, orange, green.
2. Arrange leaves in scanner, this can range from many leaves to just one leaf.
3. Scan the object at the highest resolution possible.
4. To obtain the white background, close the cover of your scanner. To obtain the black background, leave your scanner open when scanning.

It's that easy. You can print them out and stick them onto cards or frame them up as gifts and give them out as Christmas / holiday presents.

Can you think of any other artsy fartsy stuff that could be done with these leaves?

Quilt & Bitch

Excuse Sir, But I don't Think That'll Fit

September 22, 2009

Hubby and I were coming home and as we were driving, a tractor trailer, one of those really big ones, was on the same road that we were on.

I told hubby, that trailer is not going to fit under that bridge. I looked at the posted warning sign which said that the bridge was 11' 3", and I said out loud, that ain't gonna fit.

We were right behind the truck driving slowly when the truck went underneath the bridge. At this point, I said, "Oh maybe it fits!". As the truck driver sped through the bridge, the top of his trailer got ripped right off.

It was surreal.

I panicked and said, "We need to cal 911".

Hubby said, we don't need to.

I said, "Why?"

He said, "Because there is a cop right there".

The police car was sitting 10 feet away from the accident, and it took him about 30 seconds to react.

We sat in the car waiting not knowing what to do. We stopped and turned our blinkers on and waited. When the cop finally reacted, he pulled right behind the trailer and in front of us like he was chasing somebody at full speed. Remember, he was right there. He got out of the police car and waved us through.

That is what I call front row seats!

Fall TV Line Up

September 14, 2009

I love watching T.V., because it is brainless. I can quilt while I watch T.V.

The fall's season premier is fast approaching, including The Jay Leno Show which is premiering tonight at 10:00 PM on NBC.

I can't wait for Heroes and House, M.D. to start up again.

Being a T.V. nut, I try to watch at least one episode of every show to get an idea of what the show is about. I even watch two episodes of Jon & Kate + 8 when the news about Jon having an affair broke this past summer. My conclusion after watching the show was, "carry on, carry on".

What shows are you looking forward to this fall? What are the shows that you secretly love that you wouldn't share with your co-workers?

Quilt & Bitch

Is A Library Without Books Still a Library?

September 12, 2009

This week, Cushing Academy in Massachusetts donated all their library books. As their website says, "The Fisher-Watkins Library is currently undergoing a digital transformation. The Academy is replacing the majority of the library's printed books with electronic sources as a natural and integral outgrowth of the school's strategic commitment to becoming the national leader in 21st-century secondary education."(1)

As far as I can remember I loved the library. These were places where I borrowed all the Nancy Drew collection, the Narnia collection by C.S. Lewis, Judy Blume's "Are You there God, It's Me, Margaret?"

The air conditioner was always on at the library, and you could find a corner of the library where it was just yours, and no one would bother you while you flip through a magazine or a book.

Even today, we don't own a lot of books, instead I go to my local public library and check out mystery / detective books for my husband, quilting books for me, and movies.

Imagine not being able to browse the shelves, and touch the books?

I am one of those technologically savvy people, I embrace technology, I make technology work for me everyday. But, I think removing books from the library is going just a tad bit far.

In my humble opinion, it might just be a conspiracy with a technology firm where students will need to start carrying these things (whatever it is) where they can borrow books through these little hardware that they carry around. No more overdue library fines, because when they borrow a book they don't need to return it because it simply expires.

It's a fine idea, but where will our history go? When everything is digital, and when we have another ice age or a global eruption, there will not be any traces of paper left, but instead little fragments of chips and hard drives that are too brittle for the next homosapien species to figure out who we are and whatever happened to us?

What are your thoughts? Should we embrace this new concept of digital library? Should we start campaigning to save the books from digital destruction?

Quilt & Bitch

Footnotes:
(1) Cushing Academy, Academics, Transforming Our Library <http://www.cushing.org/academics/library.shtml>

Two Creative Studios - Giveaway Event

July 16, 2009

Want to win one of three exciting prizes? Two Creative Studios is offering three exciting prices.

• Prize #1: A free online class of your choice. Choose any online or class on demand class we offer at Two Creative Studios.
• Prize #2: A goody package of Terri and Sue's hand dyed fabrics.
• Prize #3: A goody package of a book from Sue and a Giclee Art print from Terri

All we have to do is sign up for their newsletter.

It's really that easy.

Good luck to all who participates.

Quilt & Bitch

Cats and Dogs...

July 2, 2009

It's 8:45 AM, the sky looks like it is 6:00 PM, and it's pouring cats and dogs. It's a good day to spend the day quilting and dodging client phone calls. Kidding... we still got to eat. Wow... thunder and lightning.

I hate thunder. Brings me back to memories of a dog my family had called, "Baby". She was a pure Keeshond. Everytime there was thunder, she would hide under the pillow that you were sleeping on and go nuts. The going nuts part was annoying. She would want to go out of whoever's room she was and go to another person's room. This would go on until the thunder stopped, sometimes for hours in the middle of the night. It would usually be between my room and my mother's room.

Quilt & Bitch

Free What?

April 5, 2009

Freecycle.org. I recently joined this network. For those who don't know about Freecycle, it is an organization that provides a network for people who need / want something and getting paired up with somebody who have or want to get rid of the items.

When you sign up to your particular city, you receive emails from people who need or who have something to give. If you want the item that somebody posts, you email them and set up a time for pick up.

So far I have received two items, a metal dish rack and a bunch of tupperware, and I have given away one item, a folding tri-fold screen.

I found this to be very anonymous. People would leave items on their back porch, and you just come by and pick it up. There is no personal interaction, just email exchanges, which is pretty cool. Quick and easy.

A friend of mine who introduced me to Freecycle almost furnished her whole apartment through this method.

So if you have a lot of stuff to get rid of, or need something, join the network, it's worth it.

Quilt & Bitch

Um...

March 21, 2009

Went to Ted's Montana Grill today for lunch. Found these straws on the table. They are call, "Earth Friendly Straw". It's pretty cool actually.

Instead of plastic, the straw is made out of paper.

(Above: "Earth Friendly Straw")

Paper, plastic, or your own bag? Do you go to the grocery store and bring your own bags? My local grocery store use to pay 5 cents for every bag you bring. They stopped doing that, and I asked why. They said that not too many people were bringing in their own bags, so corporate decided to funnel the money into giving out reusable bags. I guess that's a good excuse, but now there is no real incentive (5 cents) to bring your own bags to the store. Bad decision I think.

I make my own bags. I started making bags 3 years ago. I still have the very first one that I made, and that's my primary shopping bag. It's made out of remnant upholstery fabric, and has a cotton webbing handle. If you do plan to make your own, make sure you buy cotton webbing and not the poly webbing. The cotton webbing feels better and doesn't cut through your shoulders.

Quilt & Bitch