Fleece Stocking and Machine Embroidery

Christmas is coming up fast! Are you guys getting ready and doing all your Christmas sewing yet? I always plan on doing a bizillion things, and then I only get part of my list done lol. Oh well, I guess the people who do receive handmade things from me should appreciate the fact that they were at the top of the list hahaha.

I found a great tutorial on making fleece stockings, with some tips on how to machine embroider on fleece so that the stitches don't get lost in the fluffiness. Click here for the complete post and pattern.

New Blog Header

Eh, it just seemed like time for a change - the seasons are changing now, the elections are over, the new year is coming up... so I gathered up some bits and bobs from my sewing room and took a photo. See the cute pug?? Melissa from Pugnotes gave him to me. I just LOVE that little guy!!! He is my sewing room mascot :)

Have a great and happy weekend, you guys! Be safe!

A Couple Of Super Cool Links

Since I'm pretty new to the ATC thing, I've been looking for examples of what other people have done for some inspiration. I came across these 2 awesome sites that I just had to share:

This site has a free program you can download to print templates for tags and ATCs. You just tell it what size and shape.

Trish Bee has some great tutorials on different techniques. I think it would take weeks to get through all the stuff she has posted here. Very cool!!

Thoughts About The Future... And Responsibility

Last year, I decided to make an honest effort to contribute to the future of our planet and our government. A lot of people have their own opinions about global warming and the causes, but after seeing Al Gore's video "An Inconvenient Truth", I traded my Ford Escape for a Toyota Prius. I've been recycling more and avoiding plastic bags as much as possible. I also registered to vote for the first time ever. (I was raised in a religion that did not allow voting.)

Some people who know me have gotten outright agitaged (LOL!) at how much I talk about the government and how we are losing our rights everyday and no one seems to care. Most people don't even seem to make an effort to question what the government does anymore. However, that is our **responsibility** as Americans. Our first allegiance should be to our *country* and not to our government. I feel sometimes like screaming, "If you're not angry, then you're not paying attention!!!"

One of the blogs I love to read is called the Crunchy Chicken. I admire the lady who writes it. She is very enlightened, grows her own food and speaks up about important issues. She wrote a very inteligent post for July 4th, which you can read here. This is a snippet from her post:

When you think back to the blood, sweat and death that generations before us have endured to create a sovereign nation based on equality, freedom from religious persecution, and the right to achieve what is within our own abilities, it is a shame that our generation sits on our hands and, honestly, doesn't give a crap anymore as to whether or not these foundations are preserved.

Check out her blog at Crunchy Chicken if you can.

stepping off my soapbox now :)

Darn! I missed the peeing outdoors event!

With all the pollution nowadays that is killing our planet, I have been making a conscientious effort to waste less and recycle more. I came across this site today which I admit I like, but some of the stuff I just have to shake my head and wonder...

Like this (click to see the blog)-


Now I'm not a gardener, but I believe this might just be going a bit far... I found it a bit late, anyways. Guys might really appreciate an event like this, though... seems that 99% of them have a fascination with peeing outdoors. I think they occasionally regress to their caveman days, but that's JMHO.

Gorgeous Photos

One of my favorite blogs is All Sorts. Jenny's blog is just a *truckload* of eyecandy. Today she posted a link to a photoshoot that is just gorgeous. I love Mexican embroidery and these little girls are so cute. Be sure to hop over and take a look - All Sorts



I have a beautiful little girl in mind that I'm going to photograph like this!

Happy Friday!

It's finally Friday!!! Woohoo!!!

Thought for the day:



Here are a couple of cool blogs I found today-

Free Machine Embroidery Designs
So Sketchy Scrapbook Sketches

Have a great weekend everyone!

Software Development Styles

My profile says that my occupation is "nerd"... specifically, I'm a computer programmer (a rose by any other name yadda, yadda...) This blog has the funniest and most true descriptions about software development styles. A-hole Driven Development

My favorites are:

Cover Your Ass Engineering (CYAE) - The driving force behind most individual efforts is to make sure than when the shit hits the fan, they are not to blame.

Decapitated Chicken Process - A time honored micromanagement technique where each day managers identify a drastic emergency and require developers drop what they are doing (and whatever process they are using) and immediately attend to the latest conflagration. Since this does the double duty of creating new bugs and making other tasks fall behind, fires become easier and easier for managers to spot and then freak out about. Practically a standard in the games industry.

Blog Finds and Movies

So my back is finally better and I got rid of the strep throat (!) so I'm back at work now. It really stunk that I was in total pain the entire Memorial Day Weekend!!! My wonderful BF took me to the drive-in movies, though, where I could lay the seat back and get semi-comfy with my pillows lol. We saw Ironman which was pretty good. Here are a few other movie reviews:

(Out of 5 stars)
New-
Sex and the City *** was ok, but I thought the shows were MUCH better. Mr. Big was luscious to look at, as usual, and Samantha's neighbor was delightful as well ;)

Not so new-
August Rush (dvd) *** cute story, Robin Williams is always good to watch. Story was kinda "out there".

Employee of the Month (with Matt Dillon and Christina Applegate) *** He appears to be Mr. Wonderful, but turns out to be a surprise. The ending was like "DOH!"

My Life As A House (Kevin Kline) **** I really liked this movie. Makes you think about what you would do if you only had a few months to live. Overall it was more of a comedy even though he was terminally ill. I love Kevin Kline anyways.

Well that's it for movies for now. Here are a couple of good sewing/crafting blogs I found today, too -

Sorta Frugal

Polka Dot Pineapple

Word Book With George Cartridge

This is a great tutorial on how to make a word book with Cricut Design Studio. I only have the trial version, but I am definitely going to try this!

Susan's Word Book Tutorial

Great Vintage Photos and Cards

I found a wonderful link to some great vintage photo shares... would be great on those cards or heritage layouts!

Vintage Photo Freebies

I love the cards Jay made here - Indigo Inklings

Great inspiration!

I made a bunch of cards over the weekend, but this week has been a little crazy, so I haven't gotten to post them yet... This weekend is a holiday, though... 3 day weekend - woohoo!!!

Awesome Blogs I Found Today

So I'm goofing off and reading other people's blogs... Here are some really nice ones I found:

Buttonberry has some nice tutorials here... I really like that gift bag!

A great car litter bag.

Regina has some beautiful cards here.