but last night I ran in the house to use the bathroom and my long flowy shirt got stuck in my zipper.  And I was stuck.  And I REALLY had to pee.

What was I to do?

Rip a hole in my shirt, apparently.

At least I didn’t pee my pants.

Tutorials Page

I got an email last week alerting me to the fact that it is GONE-zo.  It was a linky and I apparently did not renew my subscription (didn’t get an email alerting me that it was about to run out, so…).  It’s gone for reals.  I’m exploring other options (leave a comment if you’ve got a suggestion) and will let you know when that page is back up and functional.  In the mean time, many of my tutorials/projects can be found on my Crap I’ve Made pinboard over on Pinterest.  You can browse and click through to the pages even if you don’t have a Pinterest account.

Google Friend Connect

Google Friend Connect is going away as of March 1st for all non Blogger blogs.  I’m not sure what this means exactly.  Will it just mean that new people can’t “follow”?  Will you quit getting blog updates completely if that’s the way you’ve subscribed?  I do know this:  I am not a Blogger blog.  So, if you’ve followed or subscribed solely through GFC, you’ll need to subscribe another way.

You can find my RSS feed here.

You can have new posts emailed to you by going here.

Or, you can sit and and reload my page obsessively.

The 6th graders at my kids’ school have a Valentine’s Day dance.  They’re expected to dress up, and somewhere in the communicating of this information, someone said that the girls needed to wear dresses.  Because sometimes 11 year olds aren’t rational, it is easier to just go with this as opposed to trying to explain that a skirt is probably just fine as well…or so you think.  Then you start shopping.  And shopping.  And shopping.  And pretty soon you’ve been to every store in 2 malls and discovered that Juniors dresses are shorter than kid sized ones (some bordering on obscene) and that even tiny women’s sizes are way too big in the bust for a 5’3” 98lb 11 year old (as well they should be).

Enter eShakti.

I’ve seen them reviewed around blog land (my friend and neighbor Tam at Sew Dang Cute reviewed them recently), and wanted to know if they lived up to the hype, especially if you were paying for the product instead of getting a freebie.

It should be noted that there’s a $20 off for new customers on the eShakti homepage and that customizations are normally $7.50, but those were free for first timers, too.  So, I paid about $40 for what would normally be $67.50-ish.

We settled on the ruffle front poplin dress in coral.  (Random weird thing alert:  Macy wanted the turquoise one, which she had seen a few days before.  It was not there they day we ordered.  It has been back since, but it’s MIA again today.)  We ordered a size zero (based on the sizing chart measurements) and then had sleeves added and the neckline raised.  We also entered a bra size for custom sizing in that area.

We ordered on a Sunday afternoon and the dress arrived on the Monday the next week, so about 8 days later.

The result?

(The actual dress color is probably a combination of the two, maybe closer to the one on the left…not my best true color photography, for sure.)

Long enough, high enough, and age/school appropriate.  Plus, pockets!

Would I order from them again?  Absolutely.  I see us becoming eShakti regulars.

What didn’t I love?  The “Live Chat” wasn’t live.  I got a response about 2 days later.  I did get a response, though. 

Are you all familiar with Riley Blake Designs?

We’ve given away some of their fabric before, and based on the number of entries, I think you loved them. 

Short version:  Riley Blake is a delightful new fabric company.  And, they’ve asked me to be a part of their Project Design Team.  (Go here to check out the rest of the delightful ladies involved.)  What does this mean for you?  It means that every Wednesday, you will find a fabulous project from one of us over on the Riley Blake Designs blog.

I had the opportunity to check out their warehouse and their offices on Friday…I want to move in.

And I’m feeling inspired, for the first time in ages.

Pom pom trim can do that to a girl.

Now if I could just settle on a paint color…

I shared this post originally as part of the ONE WORD series over on Less Cake {more frosting}.  I’m re-posting here, in case you missed it.

I’ve had this word selected for quite a while, even before I posted a few weeks back about quitting the business of blogging.  In fact, this word may have been what drove me to it….

mend

1.  to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing.

2.  to remove or correct defects or errors in.

3.  to set right; make better;

Mend also has a sew-y connotation for me, which I love (I’m a sewing dork at heart).  I like the idea that mending is not “replacing with bigger and better and flashier”, it’s fixing what you’ve got and making it whole, sound, and usable again.  It’s admitting that what you have and who you are is good enough.  It’s a process of improvement and correction.

And so, I’m beginning to mend.

I’m beginning to mend relationships.

I’m beginning to mend habits.

I’m beginning to mend life.

If we’re keeping it real (‘cause that’s the only way I know how to be), we ALL have something that needs mending…something we want to “make better”, right?  Maybe you handled something badly with your kids or your spouse.  Maybe you haven’t called a friend you really should have.  Maybe you said something unkind.  Maybe you thought about doing a good deed and didn’t.

Now’s your chance.

Mend something.

(for good reason)