I'm so glad you enjoyed those "through the ages" photos. It's hilarious to see how we age, especially under the harsh requirements of those pictures - no smiling!
What a wild day yesterday. OK -- so it wasn't that wild, but I was married to those two embroidery machines.
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| Two embroidery machines - hard at work |
They are on opposite sides of those two work tables, and it seemed that I went around in circles all day as I fed them thread. Except for two broken needles, everything went as planned.
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| ACK - -a broken needle |
I have a funny feeling that I wasn't tightening the needle screww tight enough. Once I caught onto that, no more broken needles. Thankfully, my projects were unharmed.
All my thread colors are lined up. I never use the colors recommended by the design. I open my boxes and pick what works for me. I could never understand why you would want to paint your picture exactly like everyone else. But then I roll to a different drum, as do many others.
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| Threads for this project |
It's becoming increasingly difficult to find a local source for machine embroidery thread, and I'm considering placing an order online from a Canadian supplier. I'll deal with that after my crazy week. But I am going to be visiting a store that sells thread, so I need to take stock of what I'm missing and buy there.
In preparation for my Facebook Live on Thursday, I need to tidy up this area. That is not one of my favorite jobs - prep the studio area. It's a disaster, and I really need some time to get things organized and done, and then put away. Wouldn't it be nice to have a studio already set up, and it stayed that way? I would love that. I have a room where I could make that happen, but the internet sucks, so I broadcast from a corner of Studio B.
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| My "broadcast" booth |
So while the machines were busy working away, I got to work, and within a few minutes, I had empty space. I even cleaned the floor.
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| Empty space!!!! |
Of course, I've since messed it up as I pulled out my Singer Momento (digital cutter) and have stuff strewn all over the space. No worries --- I need that stuff for my presentation. Now here's the thing -- I hear over and over again that people aren't getting enough training. They need lessons. Believe it or not, we don't get lessons on how our tools work. That is up to us to figure it out. Oh - I pick up tidbits here and there, but the onus is on us to learn.
One thing I will say about the Momento is that it is so easy. All you do is follow the directions on the computer. You need to use the software on your tablet or computer. Let's say you want to create a card with writing from the vault (storage area). Bring the card into the software, then select OUTPUT. Then, insert the pen, scoring tool, or cutter as instructed, and voilà - you have a card.
I'm amazed at how easy it is to operate. Of course, it can get very complex if you wish to create your own designs, but there are so many to choose from that it's super easy. And you tell the machine what you are cutting, so it sets all the settings for you! I go in and modify (simple modifications), and it's so easy. What I love is that ANY line (or almost any line) can become a cut line, a scoring line, a pen line, or whatever you want! And you can cut the images from cardstock, fabric, paper, or anything else you heart desires.
Anyway, I had to make an "emergency" trip to Michaels last night to get some supplies. And you know what that means? I need to tidy up even further. I have cardstock in the house, but where is it all? Thankfully, the few items I needed were all 50% off, so I lucked out. Yikes - I haven't been to Michael's in eons, and to think I used to go there weekly! Or so it seemed.
And what's with this giant ball of yarn? I should have put my hand in the picture to show the scale, but this thing is massive!!!
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| A GIANT ball of yarn |
There is an entire aisle of T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other wearable items. Those were all 50% off as well. Darn it, I should have bought a neutral sweatshirt to make a sweatshirt jacket. I don't have time to go back, but maybe on Sunday, and let's hope they are still 50% off. Or if I'm too tired to work tonight, I could make another trip.
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| The T-shirt aisle at Michaels |
I know when I'm in production mode when the drawers are open. One is for bobbins, as I'm going through bobbins like crazy. I finished stitching three of the designs I made while at the meeting. And one more is half stitched. The four of them total about 300,000 stitches. I love machine embroidery, and I'm looking forward to having a bit more time so I don't have to work that intensely in one day. But it was fun.
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| The supply drawers are open! |
The cutting table, which thankfully was pretty clear, is getting used for hooping fabric and holding thread bins. Today, I must get all the Momento stuff cut and then set up those cameras so I can test them. It's going to be another long day.
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| The cutting table is being put to good use |
But by 6 PM, I was done. My back was tired and I was exhausted, so that's when I went to Michaels. I even went there wearing my black socks and white sandals, which I usually wear around the house. Too tired to change my shoes. I don't care - I'm on a mission. And seriously? The store wasn't busy, but there were still a fair number of people shopping. Others were making emergency supply trips for craft items as well.
I didn't get started as early as I would have liked because I had two tasks to accomplish that had nothing to do with sewing. Remember when I had the router replaced? That was several months ago, at DH's request. We needed a new modem. But WAIT -- it wasn't the modem he wanted replaced, but the receiver! ACK!!! Ours is very old, and he wants a 4K box - whatever that means. Better signals, I suppose.
So after 40 minutes on the phone with the provider, I finally got everything settled. 40 minutes? They certainly don't have time limits on clearing calls. I spoke to three different departments before I could get the right person. And even then, I ended up in the loyalty department. Why? I just want to switch out the box.
I don't know if the call center people only have scripts to follow or what. But seriously? How hard it is to look at my account, place an order, and then be done. No --- that requires multiple confirmations of what I want done. They give me a date for an appointment to make it happen. Then about ten minutes later, the guy says, OK, let's book the appointment. Didn't you do that? No -- it was just a date he gave me, not setting an appointment. I don't get it! But apparently, I have an appointment on October 6 to get the new receiver installed. I never even asked how much it would cost - I couldn't bear to deal with them longer.
But it seems that every time I call about something, it takes forever. Fast service is not their priority. Perhaps they need to start implementing call duration metrics. I bet they could clear calls much quicker, although I didn't have to wait to get into the call. More and more, I think I'm going to check the website FIRST before I call them.
So that task got done. Of course, DH asks why the installation is so far away. Well, if you wanted it sooner, you could have called. I called and I picked a date that was convenient for ME. Sheesh!!!! I am NOT his secretary, but since the account is under my name, it makes sense that I do the calling.
Then I had one more call to deal with. Miss Murphy needed to get a renewal on her medication - Propaline for her bladder incontinence. I had thrown the box away with the sticker on - who needs to keep the box? And our vet retired this summer, so the files were sent to the new vet. I called the new vet, and they do not see a prescription in the file. So I called the old vet office, left a message because they are no longer answering the phones, and then she called me back, while I was on the other call.
No prescription in the file, and no doctor to write one. So guess what? Yep -- Murphy and I had to go to the new vet because they would not just fill the prescription without the vet seeing her. Just like humans!
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| MOM -- I don't like waiting!!!! |
It was about a 20-minute walk, and you know Murphy. She likes to walk fast, which was good because there was no time for sniffing. We needed to get there on time, which we did. We arrived exactly on time. But of course, it was warm and she was panting and hot, and I bet her heart rate was up.
The new veterinarian comes in and takes her heart rate. I forgot to mention that we had just walked in the heat. But he was concerned about this medication - it can cause panting and high blood pressure. Had we ever had it checked? No. So now we have to go back for that (OK -- a second appointment to fill my October!). But I checked online and didn't see any red flags for Propaline for dogs. Whatever! But that was an expensive visit. $84 for a BRIEF visit. Oh, Murphy -- thank goodness you are cute.
As I was sitting in the room waiting - at least they have chairs, other vet didn't have chairs in the rooms, I was looking around and spotted this. Good grief - AI is everywhere.
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| AI is everywhere! |
Now, I need to go back because I want to see how this works.
And not to leave Miss Lexy out, but this dog loves to trudge through bushes and flower beds. And of course, she gets debris on her all the time. She is in her glory when this happens.
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| MOM -- look at me - I'm beautiful! |
I have to drag her out of the neighbor's flower beds. It's not enough to step up to them and sniff, but she literally has to step INTO the flowers and onto the plants. I don't know what it is about her.
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