Tuesdays Tips N Tricks - Sewing with Knits

I have had problems in the past with my sewing machine 'eating' knits. I use my serger mostly while sewing knits, but sometimes (like with topstitching) then you need to use the sewing machine.
These are some things I've found that have helped me...

• Use a new stretch needle
• Use the foot that is completley flat and smooth on the bottom
• Use a little embroidery stabilizer under the fabric will help (tear away works best)
  

OK...here's another trick. Take a piece of woven cotton fabric, fold it in half and start sewing on it. Butt your knit right up to it and sew off onto the knit. You can even back tack now on the knit or stitch in place. I do this with light weight cotton too and my serger when using the chain stitch, if I have trouble with them dragging down.
It's rare that I do but some fabrics just want to be contentious!

This is me working on the Farbenmix Olivia pattern for B.

Butt knit up against cotton..



Sew through...



no snagging or bunching...clip off the scrap

Tuesdays Tips N Tricks - Summer Sizzlin

Todays Tip comes from me watching waaaayy to much Weather Channel. Its my background noise during the day when I am home. I just happened to be actually watching it this morning and was reminded of my summer days in Louisiana. WOW talk about HOT!

The first day of summer this year is June 21st. We all know it gets uuber hot outside long before that day. Heck, its 90 degrees here in VA as I type this!
The girls and I LOVE to swim in the backyard pool or beach it and play in the sand. Hanging out there a few hours then packing up to go indoors, I realize that I'm getting tired very quickly. I chalk it up to having 2 very active girls to chase and play with the entire day. Yes that may be a small part of it but I couldnt be more wrong!
This would be one of the signs for dehydration and heat related illness (heat exhaustion and heat stroke). These are very serious especially when it comes to small children.
This is where you say..."Oh I'm used to the heat, it doesnt effect me".

Is your body acclimatized to the heat? Did you know it takes your body 12-14 days to adjust to the overwhelmingly hot summer heat? Once it does, your body increases the need for fluids. If its not accommodated, will put you in a higher risk category for heat related illness.
Its best to drink fluids before you get the feeling of being thirsty...once you get that urge, its too late. Your body is already dehydrated.

Six signs or symptoms of dehydration:

• Dry lips and tongue
• Headache
• Weakness, Dizziness or extreme fatigue
• Concentrated urine that is darker than normal
• Nausea
• Muscle Cramps
• Thirst (duh!)
• Chills
  

What do you do to prevent heat related illness? I'm glad you asked!!
Wear light colored, loose fitting clothing. Take a break in the shade or bring your umbrella with you to the beach! I've had some weird looks thrown my way when I bring my "rain" umbrella to the beach. We do have a "beach" umbrella but it refuses to stay upright in the sand and could you see me strollin up and down the beach carrying it? What a sight!
Most important of all DRINK DRINK DRINK! Sweet...lets break open that frosty adult beverage!! Uh huh and that will dehydrate you faster than sitting in the sun for 4 hours!
Drink fluids 2-3 hours prior to going out and again 2 hours or so after being in the sun. Water, Gatorade (we drink G2, 1/2 the sugar) are the best but any liquid without caffeine or alcohol is good. Try putting some Gatorade in your toddler/childs water bottle instead of fruit juice. Dont like plain water or Gatorade? Most grocery stores have those little packets of flavoring like Crystal Light you can add to your pre-purchased water bottle.

Lastly, while we are on topic of sun damage, slather it up!

Just so you know... this will not reduce your chances of getting heat stroke.

Get yourself a good sunscreen with Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide in the ingredients. These are the only ingredients that will protect you from UVA and UVB sun rays. The others will prevent you from burning but thats only half the battle. Some good brands are Neutrogena or Baby Blanket. Just make sure to read the ingredients!
Before I had my gorgeous girls, I was an office assistant at a rather large dermatologist/plastic surgeons clinic in Chicagoland.
I saw many elderly people come and go that needed treatment on their skin, faces, noses, foreheads, hands. Chunks of cancerous skin removed and unsightly stitches and scarring left in its place. God bless them, they didnt have the means we do now to protect themselves but it left a lasting impression on me.
I would post pictures of what sun damage can do to you and look like 20 years from now but I would hate to have you vomiting all over your keyboard. ;)

Now that I have thoroughly grossed you out...grab your towels, flip-flops and bathing suits and have "safe" fun in the sun. I know I sound like my grandmother, "be careful deary, you'll hurt yourself".
Well you will thank me in 20 years.

Tuesday Tips N Tricks: Blogging Basics

Wow is today Tuesday already? With yesterday being Memorial day and the hubster having the day off I feel like I missed a day somewhere!

Well here is the tip for the day. Actually its more like a lifesaver for the newbies (ME!) in the blogging world. I really just jumped into blogging not knowing anything and having to teach myself. I have to admit, even tho its takes me longer to get from A to Z, I normally like figuring things out for myself. With blogging there are so many "how the heck to I do that's" I needed to look for one place I could get all the answers. Its perfect for beginners or even intermediate bloggers.
Some of you may already know about this website but like I said, I'm mostly a newbie and just found it like 2 days ago.

The name of it is (drum roll please!)

Blogging Basics 101

They have topics such as:

• Where to Start
• Blog Maintenance
• Buttons and Graphics
• Etiquette
• How to do HTML
• and tons more!!

Its been a life saver for me so if you need some help blogging go check it out, I'm pretty sure the site has most, if not all, the questions to your answers!
Come back and leave me a comment, if you go, and tell me what you think!

Tuesdays Tips N Tricks: Kick The Junk Mail Out!

This afternoon, I dug out the many papers in my mailbox and start walking up the driveway back to the house. Wouldn't you know it, I dropped them all on the pavement. Talk about a klutz with a capital K. I started to pick them up and noticed about 10 fliers/advertisements/coupons I have no idea where they came from/more mailers from who knows where and no REAL mail to speak of (not that I get much other than bills). I turned right back around and dropped them in the recycle bin.
Every day is like this! The junk mail gods look kindly upon me, heaven knows why. I'm thinking, on my way back into the house (and the kiddos pouncing on me asking for said junk mail), that there has to be a way to remove myself from whatever mailing list I'm on. You know, like the phone number you call to have all your phone numbers put on the "do not call" list. If any of you watch Dirty Jobs w/Mike Row, have you seen that episode with him at the recycle factory? One of the workers tells him the junk mail Americans receive in just one day could produce enough energy to heat a quarter of a million homes. WOW! Time for action.
Here I am, Ms. "Famous for finding everything online", punching in "reduce junk mail" into my google search engine and this is what I came up with...

PrivacyRights.org

In a nutshell it explains how we get on the mailing lists and how to remove our names/addresses from them.
The website has all this info...

• An address to mail a form (or do it online) to get off national mailing lists
• Information how to get off mailing lists to flyers and ad suppliments such as VAL-PAK coupons (I get this at LEAST once a week) and its pretty easy
• An address/website to remove yourself from catalogs, mail order lists and magazines
• PreApproved offers of credit (this is another big catagory we get, like I want 800 credit cards!)
• Stop getting phone books and reverse directories
• Charities, non profit, sweepstakes.....
• and the list goes on!

In all I found the website really helpful so I decided share it with y'all and help you get rid of some junk! I think it took me about 30 minutes to hit most of the websites to have my name and address removed. We all know that unfortunately it wont happen right away and honestly, I'm a little skeptical it will help at all but I have no issues about giving it a shot!
GO check it out! C'mon back here and share your thoughts.

Hmmmmm, if I post the privacy rights act on the door when using the restroom, will my kiddos stay out? What website do I go to for bathroom privacy?

Tuesdays Tips and Tricks - 4 Simple Steps To Picture Hanging

PICTURE THIS!

How about a great way to hang pictures on your walls? A way to avoid nailing and renailing your wall so you end up with several different holes and none of them are in the right spot?
My grams and I were talking the other day and I mentioned to her I was putting up new pictures in the house. My Aunt (who is a painter) shared this tip with her. Here are the steps, its really quite easy!

1. Trace each picture frame onto paper (construction or plain printer paper works too) and cut them out.
2. Tape the paper onto the wall where you want to put the picture. Use blue painting tape, as it won't cause your paint to peel when you remove it.
3. Once all of the papers are up onto the wall where you want, step back and take a look. Need to rearrange? No problem, the blue tape makes it easy to peel the paper down and hang it back up again.
4. When you are satisfied with the placement, simply hammer your nail into the wall straight through your paper then remove the paper.

Yes, its that simple and your pictures will end up perfect every time!

Tuesday Tips and Tricks...

THE BATTLE OF THE ANTS!!

This time of year is always the worst for those pesky little creatures. We've lived in our house for the last 4 years and every year at the same time here come the ants. The 6 legged little guys have a nose for every crumb my kiddos drop while eating lunch. It takes only a matter of minutes for them to disintegrate a tasty morsel. Go ahead, ask me how many times I vacuum in one given day.
Well I've opted out of the harsh chemical spray and decided to go green this year. I've heard about using the plug in bug repellent, the kind that you PLUG into the OUTLETS. Can you imagine E getting her hands on that!? It may work wonders, its not for our house at this particular time so on with the search.
A girlfriend of mine mentioned using pepper, yes the common household cooking spice. I thought, what the heck wont hurt to try it. I sprinkled a bit around the baseboards in my dinette and haven't seen one since!
Does this mean I can get away with only vacuuming once a day?? The true test will be when it rains and they all decide they want to share my roof.
So if you have an ant parade in your home and decide you want to go green this year, go get some pepper!
Come back and let me know if it works for you or what green trick you use!