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Greetings
Quilters! VISIT
MY SEWING ROOM http://www.judymartin.com/Sewing-Room-Judy.cfm HOW TO
MAKE AN IRONING TABLE Buy Metro shelving components as follows: four 33" legs and three 18" x 48" shelves. (These are available at many storage stores and catalogues.) Assemble with one shelf close to the floor, one at the top level, and one in the middle. This makes a very sturdy table. Cut a piece of 3/4" plywood (It doesn't need to be clear; knots are okay.) to measure 30" by 72". (30" was about as far as I could reach, and I didn't want to lose stability by exceeding the shelf dimensions by too much.) Cut three or four layers of 100% cotton batting (I used Hobbs batting without scrim.) about 6-8" longer and wider than the plywood. Cut a piece of smooth, sturdy cotton fabric 6-8" longer and wider than the plywood. Center the batting, then the fabric, over the plywood. Pull it taut and use a staple gun to tack the batting and fabric to the bottom side of the plywood. Lay the covered plywood, centered, on top of the shelf unit. Its weight will hold it in place. Outfit the shelves with Rubbermaid keepers boxes. I hung wire grids from the sides of the shelf unit and hung rulers from wire shower curtain rings. This is actually my third ironing table. The first one I framed from CVC pipes. I didn't glue them, and the whole thing collapsed after a while. Then I placed the same plywood top over two bookcases. This was stable and worked well. However, I discovered that this table, at 37" high, was too tall for me, and it made my arms tired. The 33" shelves plus the plywood top make a perfect height for me. (I am 5" 6".) For a cheaper, less stable unit, you can put the plywood unit over your ironing board. In this case, you will need to screw on 2" x 2" boards to hug the ironing board in order to keep the plywood from tipping. I haven't tried this, and I don't know if you can make the top as wide using an ironing board. CLASSIFIEDS
Free puppies. ½ Cocker Spaniel, ½ sneaky neighbor's dog. Free puppies. Part German Shepherd, part stupid dog. Found: dirty white dog… looks like a rat… been out a while… better be reward. 1 man, 7 woman hot tub…$850/offer Snow blower for sale… Only used on snowy days. Cows, calves never bred… Also 1 gay bull for sale. Full-size mattress. 20 yr warranty. Like new. Slight urine smell. Nordic Track. $300 hardly used, call Chubby. Hummers - Largest selection ever - "If it's in stock, we have it." Georgia peaches - California grown - 89 cents lb. Nice parachute: never opened - used once. Tired of working for only $9.75 per hour? We offer profit sharing and flexible hours. Starting pay: $7-9 per hour. Joining nudist colony! Must sell washer & dryer. $300. Open house: Body Shapers Toning Salon - free coffee & donuts. For sale by owner: Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. 45 volumes, excellent condition. $1000 or best offer. No longer needed. Got married last weekend. Wife knows everything. IT'S NOT
ALWAYS ABOUT THE MONEY "I currently work from my home making sample quilts (mostly piecing) for a local quilt shop. Like you said in the article, the pay is low for the amount of time that goes into it, but there is much more value in it than just the money, at least for me. "First, working at home allows me to be here for my children. It's flexible work. I can stop whenever I want and work around their schedules, even get them involved! I was going crazy at home wondering how I could contribute to the household income as well as earn a little 'fun' money to support my quilting 'habit' but still be home for the kids; and keep myself busy other than housework (I hate housework) "This work is perfect; it feeds my 'need' to quilt and, at the same time, gives me an excuse to forgo the housework 'I get paid to quilt.' Is there a better answer for a messy house!? But secondly, and worth more than the money to me, is the experience I gain by doing these quilts. I only began quilting 2 years ago, but I have pieced more than 20 quilts tops, binding and machine quilting many of them since I started working for the shop a year ago. "Whenever anyone asks me what I get paid and I tell them, they are taken aback that I earn 'so little' for all the time I spend on a top. Yet, when I explain to them the experience I've gained and tell them how long I've been quilting, then they understand. My work is much improved from the beginning quilter I was a year ago. Many people are shocked when I tell them I've been quilting for only 2 years. I had never machine quilted before and probably would not have tried it on my own quilts for a while. But with the urging of the shop owners that 'they're just samples' and 'go for it'...I tried it and love it! (And fortunately for them, I learn fast and I didn't ruin any of their quilts! hehe) "Also I've been able to do quilts, especially those that require a lot of fabric, that I would not have been able to do because of low funds and the high cost of fabrics! (Remember: a stay at home mom's pay is even lower than piece workers!!) "AND I get lessons for free. Many of the samples I sew require the use of a particular ruler or technique. (I get to try them out!) If I ever have a question about a particular block, use of a ruler, or technique, I can ask my 'bosses' and they are more than happy to sit down with me and we work through it! I have learned so much and not had to attend a class (which are difficult for me to get to with my kids and husband's working schedule) or purchase one 'tool' until I've had the chance to use it to make a whole quilt! (And found some nifty and some not-so-nifty new techniques and tools in the process!) "Another benefit was getting out of my 'comfort zone'. I was not a scrap quilt fan. It was very difficult for me to 'relax' and just be scrappy, and when I tried, all my fabrics had a tendency to 'mush' together. Now after a few scrap quilts, I love them! When I first began doing the quilts, the owners picked out all the fabrics for me and helped with the colors. Now I can go in and pick my own colors and they work! (usually!) "To me, the pay is just a 'perk.' I get paid to do what I love to do! Who could ask for more?" BETTINA
HAVIG www.bettinahavig.com JUST CURIOUS
"Just wanted to ask if vegetarians can eat animal crackers? Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?" FORWARD THIS
NEWSLETTER http://www.judymartin.com/newsletter.cfm STELLA
UNMASKED "I howled at the 'Stella' awards, but being a somewhat suspicious character, went looking for the originators. Turns out they're an urban legend. They're often credited to Joseph Perkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune. While there is such a newspaper, and Mr. Perkins is indeed a columnist there, I couldn't find any listing for the 'Stella Awards' in the Union-Trib archives. However, Barbara Mikkelson gives us some verifiable outrageous lawsuits: http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/outrage/lawsuits.htm "The difference? These lawsuits weren't successful, except the one involving the library cat in Escondido, which is still wending its way through the courts. (Given the pace of the California legal system, by the time it gets to trial, both the cat and the dog will have gone to their eternal rest.) "Not a big deal, but I wouldn't want anyone to think that there's precedence for his/her own outrageous lawsuit after reading some of those 'Stella Awards' cases cited." NEW BOOK
IDEAS "I can see it now: 'Meatloaf 'n' Quilts'; 'Bok Choy 'n' Quilts'; 'Tuna Fish 'n' Quilts'. The possibilities are endless." If I ever do work on Tuna Fish 'n' Quilts, he's going to have to test all the recipes for me. A GREAT
GIFT IDEA Your online letters are a hoot! As for the Cookies 'n' Quilts book, it is great, and I have been selling and giving as gifts quite a few....always received with pleasure by the recipient. For my sons' girlfriends, both of whom are quilters, I made up gift boxes for Christmas with the following 'ingredients:' Cookies
'n' Quilts book I have decided this would also make a really nice wedding shower gift for a quilter or quilter to be. I told the girls that if I had a theme I could come up with anything! PAINTING
THAT OLD BARN "While we may no longer be impressed with the arguments to get dressed and made up in order to impress the neighbors or our spouses, we may sometimes need to rethink our personal habits in light of how they make us feel about ourselves. My mother didn't put on a dress and makeup every day, but she did get up and get dressed and put on shoes every day. Why? Because she felt that she and what she did was important, and she made sure that she was ready for business every morning. (She was a stay at home Mom.) I'm sure your readers are familiar with The Fly Lady (http://www.flylady.net/index.asp). She is the latest thing in getting yourself and your life and your house organized--only this time via the internet. The very first thing in her system is that every morning you get up, groom yourself, dress, and PUT ON SHOES. Why? Because how you are dressed not only says something about you, but if affects how you behave, how you think of yourself, and how you conduct yourself. So while we might not want to do heels, dresses and makeup, how we dress and prepare for the day IS important. Those ladies in the 40s knew a few things that we have thrown out, perhaps to our own detriment, in our casual culture. Oh, and one more thought about make-up. Here in the south the saying is that even an old barn can be made to look better with a little paint." THINGS
I LEARNED FROM WATCHING THE MOVIES Large, loft-style apartments in New York City are well within the price range of most people-whether they are employed or not. At least one of a pair of identical twins is born evil. Should you decide to defuse a bomb, don't worry which wire to cut. You will always choose the right one. Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communications system of any invading alien society. It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts: your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors. When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in your bedroom will still be clearly visible, just slightly bluish. If you are blonde and pretty, it is possible to become a world expert on nuclear fission at the age of 22. Rather than wasting bullets, megalomaniacs prefer to kill their archenemies using complicated machinery involving fuses, pulley systems, deadly gasses, lasers and man-eating sharks, which will allow their captives at least 20 minutes to escape. All beds have special L-shaped cover sheets that reach the armpit level on a woman, but only to waist level on the man lying beside her. All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread. It's easy for anyone to land a plane, providing there is someone in the control tower to talk you down. You're very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German or Russian officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language. A German or Russian accent will do. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris. A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating, but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds. If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long. If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear. Word processors never display a cursor on screen but will always say: "Enter Password Now." All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off. A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty. Police departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite. When they are alone, all foreign military officers prefer to speak to each other in English. If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you meet will know all the steps. Here's hoping everyone you meet knows all your steps! Let's dance again next month. Judy Martin
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