How to Sew with Knit Round-UP

It is a proud, proud day here in my home.

After only one year of purchasing this knit material..

Simple?  yes.

Basic?  yes.

Story?  

Well, you see I bought this this royal purple knit material almost exactly a year ago.  Summer was ending and I wanted a new skirt for the fall.  So I promptly picked up some material.

And there it sat for the next year.

WHY??

I was scared of that knit material.  I had made one other attempt at knit and it turned out disastrously and ended up in the trash.  Silly me, I didn't know there were rules to follow when using knit.

I was too nervous to pick it back up, until I noticed this influx of "How to Sew with Knit" tutorials and helpful hints.

Loaded with all this great information-- a couple days ago I felt brave enough to try again.

I followed these instructions for my maxi skirt from Elle Apparel.

Results?  So happy/comfy/easy.

FYI-- Yes, I'm pregnant with another baby girl.  Hooray and the skirt can now grow with me!

Anyways, I didn't want all that useful "How to Sew with Knit" posts go to waste-- so I rounded 'em up here.

 1. Up First a favorite from MADE.  

Her post literally gave me the courage to tackle this project.  She doesn't use a serger or a double needle?  Well, shoot that's right up my alley.

2. Up next, Prudent Baby. 

She explains everything you want to know about sewing with Jersey fabric.

3. I loved this one from Me Sew Crazy.

I literally sewed every single stitch using a piece of tissue paper under my fabric and it totally worked.

4. Lovin the Mommyhood has tips and tricks and a round up of her own.

5. Have you seen the gorgeous patterns from the Oliver + S site?

Well, they have tips for sewing with knits, too. 

6. Up next is SewaHolic

She has a huge list of tips for sewing with knits.

7. And Lastly Gertie's new blog for better sewing.

She has a guest blogger explain all kinds of helpful hints.

Well, that's my round-up.  Do you feel inspired?  Or have you been sewing with knits for years?  Either way, I'm happy to be entering the knit fabric sewing world.

How to Call your Missing Cell Phone from Gmail

If you're like me, you've ditched the land line and are now the sole owner of a cell phone to be used for all calling needs.  This works really great since I'm often on the go.

My only complaint of only using a cell phone is on those occasions when husband's gone(with his cell phone) and I'm now home, needing to leave...cell phone-less.

Where did I put that CELL PHONE??!

So I give you...

 

After hours minutes of searching I usually want to get grumpy.  Who wouldn't?  But worry not, dear friends.  I've got a fool-proof way to call your phone, from your gmail account so you can Find that phone.

Your first question might be, "But, What if I don't have a gmail account?"

And to that I say, "Go get one, it's free."

Okay, now, how to make a call from your newly acquired gmail account.

1st go to this website from Google and click on the Try it now button to get ya started.

Log into your gmail account.

Then on the side of your email you'll see this button at the very bottom, left.

This button enables you to chat-- which I never do.  But after you click on it, you can click on the phone icon.

Over on the very right, bottom side of your screen should pop up a little phone.  Before you can make a call you have to download the voice plugin-- so you can talk.

Before you can make a call you'll receive a call from Google Voice to make sure everything works.

If this is your first attempt at finding your phone, this is a great time to listen-- as google's calling you.

After that first time, then you just dial your numbers and listen for your phone.

I suppose this is also a great resource for calling people in the US and Canada for free.  So when those cell phone minutes are getting low, what a great place to go to talk for free.

Now, If you'll excuse me, I gotta go. 

WHERE'S MY CELL PHONE??

The HP Ultrabook Luxury Slouch Bag

I got an email yesterday that among other things read, " Who doesn't love an opportunity to express their creative side... And win cash and great exposure for it? ".

I was instantly curious. I'm always trying to express my creative side-- and win money for it?  That just sounds like a huge bonus.  I'm usually paying money for expressing my creative side.

The email described a contest to design a new bag for the new stylish HP Ultrabook.  Go to this website if you'd like to read more about it.

I had a few hours free last night and quickly the wheels started turning.  I've actually designed two bags before.  They both started with ideas in my head and then I sewed them up-- skipping the actual drawing out part. I really like designing bags and wish I could actually make the bag I designed last night.

Would you like to see it?

ps-- I made these drawings using Paint.  Have I expressed how this is my only favorite option for design?

I started with this bag first-- for my female model.

The second bag I made was a bit more manly, so I drew in a manly mannequin to hang it from. 

Here's my ideas for how the inside should look.

And lastly, some other bag designs.  With all the National Conventions going on lately, I had "I Love America" on my mind, so I had to make a Stars and Stripes bag.

Here's what I wrote up about my bag:

The Luxury Slouch Bag

This over-the-shoulder bag was designed to perfectly compliment the HP Ultrabook, while looking stylish and being comfortable. This bag has a zip-top closer and is made of soft, sustainable leather on the outside and a fabric lining on the inside. The inside includes cell phone and multifunction pockets. The hand has an adjustable 10" drop. The bag measures 10"-Length x 16"-Height

Easy DIY Framing of National Parks

Before summer officially started we took a family vacation down to The Grand Canyon.  It was a first for all of us.  It was....grand for sure.  We traveled all over the park for a week and really enjoyed the spectacular views.

On our last day there, my husband and oldest son went into a small museum/gift shop to look around, while I stayed in the cool car with the two sleeping little ones.

I was surprised when they returned with a small brown envelope.

Inside the envelope were five postcards of the five National Parks we had been to as a family.

I love these postcards.  They are such beautiful, colorful, works of art and are a perfect reminder for my family of the wonderful fun we've had visiting each National Park.

Once we were home I did a little research to try to read up on why these posters were created and what the background was.  I learned that after the great depression, as part of President FDR's New Deal-- trying to put America back to work-- He commissioned the Works Progress Administration and part of the budget was put towards art projects.  And some of that was put towards printing over two million posters meant to excite people to want to travel and for education, however today only 2,000 posters have survived.  

It says a bit on each postcard's back-- most of the artists were unknown:

If you'd like to read more visit Ranger Doug.com there you can read about the posters and view other posters that are available . 

As you know we've been moving across the country and these things take time.  Well, finally a couple days ago I was able to finally put these postcards into a frame. 

 We already had the frame-- so this was a no expense project. I took out the photos I originally had in the frame. I was excited to switch things up, and get these vibrant postcards inside. 

I really love the pop of color they add and their art deco look.

Currently they're residing on a shelf above our TV, but they are going to be moved soon as our home continues to be put together.  I've got other plans for that shelf. But for now, I'm enjoying them there.

What your Server wishes you Knew, while dining out.

Did you know I used to be a waitress? 

(The p.c. term is server-- so I'll refer to it as thus).

I've been a server at four different restaurants.

Actually my first job ever was being a hostess/cashier..which eventually lead me to being trained to be a server.  It's a good/stressful/fast past job...but I did gain a little insight while working at those four different restaurants.

I was thinking about my time there and decided to come up with a list of 15 things, that I thought most people didn't know about servers.

And now without further ado, I give you...

   

Disclaimer: All these opinions are solely mine, but I've got a lot of experience, so hear me out.

15. Your server is hungry.

 More often than not, I was hungry.  We would arrive at the restaurant at 4:50pm, ready to start serving—no time for dinner.  Being around the smells of food all night makes you more hungry!  Of course, I don’t expect you to buy me food, just thought you’d like to know.

14. Leave your phone in your pocket.

 Is that possible?  I was always moving phones out of the way just so I could put the drinks and food down.  And along those lines, being on the phone is rude to all—your guests and the server.

13. Arriving 10 minutes before closing is allowed.

 But everyone will be annoyed at you.  You are single handedly holding up the cooks, the bussers, the server, the manager, the dishwashers—everyone.  Try to eat fast, and tip well and people will be slightly less annoyed.

12. Go ahead, share your food.

 Before I was a waitress I remember leaning over to share my husband’s salad, but as soon as the server returned I would quickly go back to my side of the table.   As a server I liked it when people shared, that means they’re having a good time and enjoying their food together. 

11. Enjoy the free stuff.

 Free bread is free the 1^st time and the 2^nd, and 3^rd, etc.  If you’re not sure if it comes with a salad—just ask.  Enjoy the kid’s free crayons (they’re just going to be tossed) and the plastic cup, if you want it.

10. Servers LOVE eye contact.

Hello, yes, here I am trying to talk to you. Just give me a second before returning to that menu.

9. Servers are given sections with between 1 to 5 tables making up those sections-- typically 3 tables are in each section.

 Don't sit at your table after dinner and chat for the next five fours.  You would be litereally costing that server a chance to make money.  Even an extra $5 on the tip will not make up for the money you're losing them by not leaving.

8. Communication is the best way to get what you need. 

If you’re wishing for more water and we don’t see your cup, just speak up—we’ll get it.  Don’t get annoyed at your dish not being made right, let the server know and they’ll take it back and try to make it to your desire.

7. It is not appropriate to let children wander around the restaurant--ever. 

It is dangerous when servers are literally stepping over your children with arms full of food. If your children have the wiggles, take them outside with you until it is time to eat.

6.  If you had a great experience eating out, let the manager know.

--or at the very least write something down on the tip—it’ll make your server smile.

5. You were given a server, to take care of your dining. 

He or She should return to your table often.  Don’t ask another server to get something for you, I promise they’re busy too and will be annoyed at this.  But, of course, if your server has been gone for ten minutes + it is okay to start bugging other people.

4.  If you want more attention or you don’t want to wait, don’t go out during popular times or on busy days.

 Weekdays are better than weekends.

Holidays are busy for everyone.

 Eating before 5:30 or After 8 pm, will mean more attention for you and quicker food.

If you are eating out on Saturday at 6:30, it’ll be great, but everything will take longer.

3. Servers have to tip out from their gross sales and they declare their tips each night and get taxed accordingly.

If on a given night I sold $500 dollars of food and received $75 in tips (15%, which is an okay night) I would have to pay 1% to the bartender, 1.5% to the food runner, and 3% to the bussers.  That is off gross sales on my tips. So that would be $5 to the bartender, $7.50 to the food runner, and $15 to the bussers. Suddenly my take-home pay was down to $47.50. And that does not include taxes that I had to declare to the government. 

2. Minimum wage for a server is $2.13 an hour in most states.

Of course that number varies way up to $8 an hour in California and $7 in Hawaii, but somehow everywhere I’ve worked has been $2.13.  That is so teeny. Does the general public know that?

1. Tipping below 15% is incredibly insulting.  20% or more is appropriate for a job well done.

Being a server is generally exhausting, hard work.  You’re on your feet the entire time.  I once served at a place that included stairs, everything I needed was downstairs, except for the tables—so I was up and down the stairs 100 times a night. Add that on top of no dinner, I always came home exhausted at the end of the night. Be kind to your server, I suppose there are exceptions, but I’d like to hope that servers are trying their best with each table.  Their job is to serve your food, so you’ll have an enjoyable night out of the kitchen.  Be kind to your server.

Linked in!

Hello.

Hi, I'm back.

I'm done moving across the country now.  It took time, lots and lots of time.  But now I'm calming down and I can't wait to get started on all these projects I've been putting off.

I even made it over to Hobby Lobby today to pick out some really darling material so I can start sewing (as soon as I get my machine out of it's box).

But until that gets done I've got a quick post to share with you.

I sold a magnet yesterday in the shop and was excited to ship it out today.

Then I realized I needed new "stickers".  I make my own stickers that I like to tape on my wrapping before I send my gifts out.  My old ones had my old shop name, so new stickers were required.

Thus a quick project for me to work on today.

I uploaded four different images from my paintings, into PicMonkey and messed around with the size and look of each.  I especially enjoyed the "posterize" button, which can be found under the Effects tab.  With that button I was able to play with the number of colors and details and make each of my paintings look real unique.

When I was done I had made four stickers that looked like this.

I lined them all up and printed them through Microsoft Publisher.

They should have looked like this.

But I got this...apparently my printer is out of blue ink.  Red and yellow still seem to be going strong, however.

Well, I wasn't going to waste them.  So I pressed forward.

I cut my sticker out and wrote on top of it with permanent marker.

I prepared my magnet for a journey to Florida-- (I'm just now realizing I forgot to sign my magnet-- darn it!)

I wrapped it up and off it went.  Hope she likes it! 

Hello?

Hello, Dear Readers.

Sorry I've been extremely Absent lately.

You see, I've been busy and regretfully have had no free time to create/paint/sew/blog/mess around.  All the fun things that I love to do have taken a backseat to this:

Going through everything my family owns and putting it into 1 of 3 piles.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

It mostly isn't.

But it must be done. We are quite Literally going through EVERYTHING we currently posses.  It's crazy.

But, to be honest I'm thrilled that I have a lot less items to be carting around.

We'll be moving in the near future to a new home-- far, far away and that means packing up and getting rid of the unnecessary.

Got plans for Saturday?

We'll be outside all day having a...

FYI-- I can't imagine my blogging will be returning any time soon, what with packing, moving, settling, squeezing in a vacation, unpacking, and trying to adjust to a brand new home.  BUT, when I do have time to make fun things, rest assured I'll be back and will be happy to be blogging again.