Long time no see and Giveaway at Seasons of my Mind

Hello everyone. I am sorry I have been away for so long. I have been working on an exchange piece that I was unable to show. I finally finished it and will be mailing the package out this Monday. The next piece I will be working on is a butterfly and a mystery heart for Q4OCA. Both of these items need to be done quickly so that I can meet my deadlines. I want to work on my SL piece and my new My Garden Journal pieces but I need to work on these other two first.

If you don't want to hear me vent, please skip to the next paragraph where there will be more interesting news. I just have to say that those pet parents who do not take care of their animals and the home that they live in should not be pet parents. By not paying attention the their pet's needs and training them properly, they make it much harder for those of us who are responsible to rent homes. The previous tenants tore this place up. Every wall in my Dad's trailer either has a hole or torn up somehow. Every carpet smells like dog pee. So far we have ripped up carpet from one room, replaced one toilet (soon to be two). Why don't people take care of where they stay? I understand that it may not be yours but wouldn't you be embarrassed to have people come over if your house stinks? I don't understand it. What does this mean? I went from living in a nice place that I took care of to living in a place that needs so much work that I would be embarrassed to let anyone come in that did not have to come in. Even then I really do not even want to let the professionals in. It is very embarrassing. The upside of all this mess...I now know that I can lay laminate tile. By the time I am finished I will be able to lay tile and paint like a pro. And I have learned that you can sometimes save carpet. I don't remember where I heard or read this but it works. You will need a spray bottle full of vinegar, a box of baking soda and a vacuum. Remember Science class? If you put these ingredients together in the right amounts your volcano will erupt but in this case it will also eliminate odors and remove the scent markers that your animals try to use. First spray a generous amount of vinegar onto the area. (This method is best on carpet but you can use it for all surfaces. The only thing that will change is the time the mixture will stay.) Immediately sprinkle with baking soda. If you are trying to clean carpet leave the vinegar/baking soda mix on for about an hour. Then vacuum. The smell will be gone. You will probably need to steam clean the carpet due to other stains but the smell will be gone and there will no longer be a scent marker for your animals to remark. Sorry for the small rant. Onto better things.

Parsley is having a wonderful giveaway at Seasons Of My Mind. Please go and visit this wonderful lady. Even when she is not having a giveaway her posts are an inspiration.

Even with all the problems in my new home I have to admit that I am loving the new location. I have two quilt shops (I just learned about the second) in the area, a needlework shop and a yarn shop that also has stitching sessions twice a week. My little one saw the sign one day as we were driving to the grocery store. I figured I would go in and drool over admire the yarns. Then I got to talking to the owner and found out that he and his wife spin/knit/hold classes as well as host a gathering of other like minded people. I thought about it for a day and decided that it would be a great idea to go. I am so glad I did. Even though everyone there either was knitting or spinning (yes some people even had their spinning wheels with them...it was wonderful) they welcomed us crocheter's with open arms. I was even told at one point during the night that I could do everything the knitters did with crochet. I felt so welcome and will go back again soon. I decided to sign up for a knitting class. This is something I have thought about doing for some time now. Once my little one knew what I was doing she said she wanted to learn as well. How could I refuse that? Of course I couldn't resist so next month we will be taking a class together. I am betting that she will be telling me how to knit before it is all over (hehe). I am so thankful that she is interested in working with thread along side me. I am so blessed.

I know that there is more that I wanted to say but I can't remember right now. Oh well, when I do remember I will post again. I just wanted to thank all of you for sticking with me during this time of adjustment. I enjoy keeping up with everyone but I may not be posting very much for a little while.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela