After plugging LibraryThing twice this weekend and mentioning that it would be even more awesome when Collections was released, I was excited to find out today that it was rolled out to all members yesterday.
LibraryThing is, by its own description, "a home for your books." It's a book cataloging site that makes it possible for you to keep track of the books you own, the books you want to own, the books you have read, and the books you want to read. Essentially, any kind of list or grouping of books you can imagine, you can track using LibraryThing. In fact, the site is so great at what it does that it's been adopted by, guess what, libraries!
It also has a social networking aspect, allowing you to browse the catalogues of members who have public libraries, and showing you what books you have in common. There are even efforts underway to catalog the books of famous individuals, so you can find out what books you have in common with C.S. Lewis or John Adams.
I suggested it to my mom as a way her sewing guild members could let each other know what craft books they have. I think it would be great for a church library (my church runs a school, so I think they're set...). I also think sharing your catalog with friends or family could be a great opportunity to obtain some of the books you're looking for. It's like a less crass version of sharing your Amazon wishlist, at least for those of us whose wishes are shelves and shelves of books.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Idea the First
During college, I developed the two-pocket pat. My ID went in my back pocket, my keys went in my front pocket. That was all I needed.
Then I graduated and got married, and I needed something more grown up than the wrapping paper wallet I made to keep my driver's license and whatever cash I had on hand. I got a grown-up wallet like I remember my mother carrying--one big enough for a checkbook.
But then we opened another checking account, and suddenly I needed a checkbook cover. Especially since it was confusing my husband when I used the vinyl cover from another bank.
So...the checkbook cover. I used the tutorial from CrazyMomQuilts. This requires a sample 7"x13." These were just large enough! There are a couple of larger pieces of this fabric, so maybe I'll end up with a bag and matching checkbook!
Then I graduated and got married, and I needed something more grown up than the wrapping paper wallet I made to keep my driver's license and whatever cash I had on hand. I got a grown-up wallet like I remember my mother carrying--one big enough for a checkbook.
But then we opened another checking account, and suddenly I needed a checkbook cover. Especially since it was confusing my husband when I used the vinyl cover from another bank.
So...the checkbook cover. I used the tutorial from CrazyMomQuilts. This requires a sample 7"x13." These were just large enough! There are a couple of larger pieces of this fabric, so maybe I'll end up with a bag and matching checkbook!
Upholstery Samples: The Deluge Begins
As mentioned in a previous post, I have a stack of upholstery samples to turn into whatever I can dream up. So over the next couple of weeks you'll be seeing where those dreams take me.
The sizes range from several inches square to several feet square. There are some lists out there on the Internet making some suggestions about potential uses for samples, but most of them don't move beyond the basic tote bag and pillow ideas. So I'm going to see what I can come up with. Hold on to your hat!
The sizes range from several inches square to several feet square. There are some lists out there on the Internet making some suggestions about potential uses for samples, but most of them don't move beyond the basic tote bag and pillow ideas. So I'm going to see what I can come up with. Hold on to your hat!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Too many plastic bags
My husband doesn't think we have too many plastic bags. Granted, this is the accumulation of almost two years now (crazy), and we now have some cloth bags to take to the grocery store, when we remember. But like a lot of people, we often forget. So they've been stuffed in various corners of our house (mostly under our kitchen sink), and I think they must breed down there.
So I sent him out this weekend and gathered the bags. And sent them to live in the plastic bag recycling bin at the grocery store. We still have a supply under the sink for all the wastebaskets around the house, and I'm sure we'll still forget to take bags to the grocery store from time to time, so I think we'll be okay.
But maybe with fewer plastic bags, I'll be inclined to use real, cloth bags when I need something to stash my dance clothes in on my way to work. Or to put lunch in when it won't fit in those little insulated lunch bags that both of our families saved for us from graduation. And that's probably a good thing. Because carrying real bags makes me feel like a grown up.
And it helps me justify the pile of upholstery samples that I brought home last weekend with the intent of turning them into tote bags....
So I sent him out this weekend and gathered the bags. And sent them to live in the plastic bag recycling bin at the grocery store. We still have a supply under the sink for all the wastebaskets around the house, and I'm sure we'll still forget to take bags to the grocery store from time to time, so I think we'll be okay.
But maybe with fewer plastic bags, I'll be inclined to use real, cloth bags when I need something to stash my dance clothes in on my way to work. Or to put lunch in when it won't fit in those little insulated lunch bags that both of our families saved for us from graduation. And that's probably a good thing. Because carrying real bags makes me feel like a grown up.
And it helps me justify the pile of upholstery samples that I brought home last weekend with the intent of turning them into tote bags....
Sunday, May 3, 2009
What's a girl to do?
What's a girl to do when her husband tells her that his college roommates want to get together? Offer to host, of course.
What's a girl to do when they take the girl up on her offer and she finds herself contemplating feeding 6 just-out-of-college age males? Get out her folding table and her biggest tablecloth, of course.
What's a girl to do when the only tablecloth she has that fits is a pretty dark red one that she got on Christmas clearance. She can envision such a tablecloth as a good Christmas or Valentine's Day, or Fourth of July staple, but it doesn't say "It's spring! Happy May!" to her. Go shopping for some fabric to make a table runner, of course.
And what's a girl to do when she's finishing the edge of the table runner and wants a little something extra? Sew a swoopy squiggle, of course.
And what's a girl to do when grocery shopping for this great adventure? Buy a bunch of flowers ostensibly for her guests, but also partly because she likes having flowers, of course!
-----
We're having a great time, and we're so glad that all of the guys were able to make it down to Nashville for a get-together. And I'm glad that they let me tag along (even if I did find myself confronted with more toilet seats up than I've had in a while).
What's a girl to do when they take the girl up on her offer and she finds herself contemplating feeding 6 just-out-of-college age males? Get out her folding table and her biggest tablecloth, of course.
What's a girl to do when the only tablecloth she has that fits is a pretty dark red one that she got on Christmas clearance. She can envision such a tablecloth as a good Christmas or Valentine's Day, or Fourth of July staple, but it doesn't say "It's spring! Happy May!" to her. Go shopping for some fabric to make a table runner, of course.
And what's a girl to do when she's finishing the edge of the table runner and wants a little something extra? Sew a swoopy squiggle, of course.
And what's a girl to do when grocery shopping for this great adventure? Buy a bunch of flowers ostensibly for her guests, but also partly because she likes having flowers, of course!
-----
We're having a great time, and we're so glad that all of the guys were able to make it down to Nashville for a get-together. And I'm glad that they let me tag along (even if I did find myself confronted with more toilet seats up than I've had in a while).
Monday, April 20, 2009
Bedroom Makeover
They say that if you don't like the weather in Nashville, wait five minutes. As a matter of fact, I think I've heard that same adage said about pretty much everywhere I've ever lived. Oh well. Suffice it to say, spring in particular is a time of great variability and unpredictability. Which is why pulling out our "let's try to not spend the inheritance of our firstborn on air-conditioning" quilt in March might not have been the best plan. But I do believe the worst is behind us. And in celebration, a picture of our spring/summer setup.
To compare--here's what it's like in the winter*:
*I really wanted to do one of those nice rollover effects, where you put your mouse over the picture and it displays a new picture. But trying to figure that out took me down a whole wormhole of JavaScript and/or CSS, and at this point I know too much of these things to just follow instructions blindly, and too little to really implement it well. Maybe later.
To compare--here's what it's like in the winter*:
*I really wanted to do one of those nice rollover effects, where you put your mouse over the picture and it displays a new picture. But trying to figure that out took me down a whole wormhole of JavaScript and/or CSS, and at this point I know too much of these things to just follow instructions blindly, and too little to really implement it well. Maybe later.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Rain, Rain, Go Away *(or A Near Miss)
Today, I stepped out of the door and it looked kind of funny outside. It was bright, but there was no direct light, almost like it looks right before the sun rises. Only this was 8:50, so it was definitely not sunrise lighting. Then I heard the rumble of distant thunder.
I went back inside but quickly remembered that I had left my trenchcoat at work earlier in the week. I'd just have to walk quickly. It takes me 20 minutes to walk from my front door to my office. Well, technically my back door. My front door is impassable due to the bikes and pile of coats that seem to be a permanent fixture there. I set out and at about one-quarter of the way, felt my first sprinkle. Awesome. It was at that moment that I realized the inappropriateness of my attire. Pants (for the first time in probably 2 months), a white t-shirt, and, um, colored undergarments.** Even more awesome.
But it was just sprinkles. I upped my pace, half hoping that one of the cars driving by would realize my plight and offer to drop me off at the bottom of the hill. Alas. Half-way, it started to get a little heavier. I would walk five paces, then do a little jog/leap for a couple mor epaces, then walk again. Started seeing lightening. Did my elementary-school best to estimate the distance of the storm, trying to remember how quickly storms move, and how much further it was to my office.
I arrived at an intersection at the 3/4 mark right as the pedestrian light changed to "Don't walk." I jay-walk across this street regularly, but today I was going to do it with purpose. I looked at the line of cars. Cop car at the end. "Sorry, Mr. Policeman, but I'm going to have to cross this street."
Seriously powerwalked the rest of the way to the office. Got inside, and by the time I got into my 8th floor office and got a drink, it was pouring. Sheets and sheets. I am a lucky, lucky girl. And I have resolved to keep a change of clothes at the office.
*As a final note, in the time it has taken me to write this story, the rain has completely stopped. Sigh.
**I didn't even know it was possible to wear colored garments under white t-shirts without being obscene until I received some that didn't come from Wal-Mart or Target, and that actually cost more than $5.
I went back inside but quickly remembered that I had left my trenchcoat at work earlier in the week. I'd just have to walk quickly. It takes me 20 minutes to walk from my front door to my office. Well, technically my back door. My front door is impassable due to the bikes and pile of coats that seem to be a permanent fixture there. I set out and at about one-quarter of the way, felt my first sprinkle. Awesome. It was at that moment that I realized the inappropriateness of my attire. Pants (for the first time in probably 2 months), a white t-shirt, and, um, colored undergarments.** Even more awesome.
But it was just sprinkles. I upped my pace, half hoping that one of the cars driving by would realize my plight and offer to drop me off at the bottom of the hill. Alas. Half-way, it started to get a little heavier. I would walk five paces, then do a little jog/leap for a couple mor epaces, then walk again. Started seeing lightening. Did my elementary-school best to estimate the distance of the storm, trying to remember how quickly storms move, and how much further it was to my office.
I arrived at an intersection at the 3/4 mark right as the pedestrian light changed to "Don't walk." I jay-walk across this street regularly, but today I was going to do it with purpose. I looked at the line of cars. Cop car at the end. "Sorry, Mr. Policeman, but I'm going to have to cross this street."
Seriously powerwalked the rest of the way to the office. Got inside, and by the time I got into my 8th floor office and got a drink, it was pouring. Sheets and sheets. I am a lucky, lucky girl. And I have resolved to keep a change of clothes at the office.
*As a final note, in the time it has taken me to write this story, the rain has completely stopped. Sigh.
**I didn't even know it was possible to wear colored garments under white t-shirts without being obscene until I received some that didn't come from Wal-Mart or Target, and that actually cost more than $5.
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