Abortion - Is it Right For YOU

Mother Teresa said, "There are TWO victims in every abortion!" With that quote, I will tell you my story....

This week, I have been working on sewing a T-shirt quilt for Princess Three. (Click here to see a post about that.) While I have been working on the quilt, I threw in a few movies I had collected from second hand stores that I haven't seen and started watching them. I rarely ever sit and watch a movie. The only time is when I have company, I am giving the girls a pedicure or manicure or when I am working on a sewing project. 

This week, I have been working LOTS on sewing projects trying to get things finished for Christmas. With that, I have watched about 5 movies I have never seen before. It is easier for me to buy them second hand for a few dollars than to rent them and not get them watched and pay the same few dollars to a rental place. Buy purchasing them, I can watch them when I have time. 

One of the movies I bought was one with a "twist" ending. Now, I don't want to ruin the movie for you if you want to watch it but here is a trailer for the movie called, "Meant To Be" by a Christian group. I knew NOTHING about the movie before I put it in only that it was decently rated and that it was something I hadn't seen. I will watch just about anything while working on projects as they keep my mind busy while working. 

It was an "OK" movie, nothing to write home about as it was a low budget movie. The twist at the end was that the main character was not actually alive. He was aborted by his parents. He doesn't realize this the entire movie until the end as he is on a quest to "find" his birth mother thinking he was adopted. 

This movie took me back to many different moments in my life. I used to judge somewhat my friends that had had abortions or those who contemplated getting abortions even though I loved them and understood where they were in their lives, I think somewhere down in my gut I judged them thinking it was murder so how can they be forgiven of that. 

Flash to a very difficult time in my life. I was married with several small children. I was in a VERY unhappy and abusive marriage. I was working as a nurse. I was struggling with my spouse and how to deal with keeping the kids safe and happy and his very up and down mood swings. He wouldn't stay on meds and when he was doing better and we told him, he would stop taking what made him better. I truly NEVER knew what to expect and was living on pins every second of every day and night. There had been some physical abuse. There was LOTS of emotional and verbal abuse and I had contemplated leaving so many times but kept going back to my demented thinking that I was "saving" my kids from having to be alone with him. At this point, he was gone often traveling with work and we only had to deal with him some of the time so in my abused thinking, I was better off dealing with him where I could "protect" the girls rather than have them ever be alone with him.

I went to work at the hospital one night as doing the night shift, they would be sleeping and not left with him much, I was super tired and dropped things over and over. That is NEVER a good sign in my world. That usually meant that I was pregnant. I asked the lab if I could get a pregnancy test. They gave me one and when I arrived home after my night shift, I took the test. I had such mixed emotions. I WANTED a large family, I just didn't want it with my current spouse. I was TERRIFIED how he would react. I thought to myself, "How can I keep myself safe while telling him?" I thought if I had a video camera on when I told him, that would keep me safe. So, I wrapped the test in a little box with a bow, took the video camera with me into the bedroom when I heard the alarm go off and handed him the box WITH THE VIDEO ON! 
 
He opened the box and told me in a very cold and stern voice to "TURN OFF THE VIDEO CAMERA!" I was scared and he proceeded to yell at me about "how come I couldn't use the pill and it was my fault!" and many other hurtful things a newly pregnant woman doesn't want or need to ever hear." I left the room and went down into one of the other bedrooms and sat crying when the thought came into my mind, "I can't bring this sweet baby angel into this HELL!" Just for a moment, I considered abortion. It was a flicker in my thought process. I never really considered it but God has a way of putting us in situations that we may have judged others for in the past. At that moment, I asked for forgiveness for ever judging a woman who has had or thought about an abortion! WE NEVER know the situation someone is in when they make that choice. 

From then on, my attitude about abortion has been one of BOTH the baby and the mother being victims. I loved when I found the quote at the top of the post from Mother Teresa. Now, I have had many situations dealing with adoption, premarital pregnancy and friends contemplating and friends having abortions. I have a very close family member that "had" to get married and is still very happily married today. I have another very close family member who gave a baby up for adoption when she was 16. 

I have a best friend who had three small children and got pregnant after her divorce and considered and had an appointment for an abortion but changed her mind and later remarried and her new husband adopted the child and he is now a teen and driving.... I KNOW they are VERY happy she made that choice. 

One close friend had an abortion when younger and then wasn't able to have children after getting married and I know the guilt has caused her much grief in her life as she has tried to numb the guilt with prescription drugs and has had many trials due to that including losing several spouses and adopted children. 

Another girl I know, was raised in an abusive situation and got pregnant very young and had an abortion and the guilt and grief were so great that when we finally got to what was causing all the depression and guilt in her life, she couldn't not even utter the words but actually wrote them down for me to read as she was so ashamed she couldn't even say the words.   

I am not writing this to make anyone feel guilty but I want everyone to know how grateful I am that I did not stop having kids even though my situation was horrible. There have been at least 20 times in the past two months I have given gratitude for my younger children. NOT ONCE since having them did I regret it. I know my friend that kept her son feels the same way. 

HOWEVER, I DO know that my friends that did have the abortions, regret it OFTEN! There is no judgement from me for either choice but just know that if you ever find yourself in the situation where you or someone is contemplating abortion, just speak to someone from both sides. I think you will OFTEN find those that had an abortion think, "Where would that baby be now, or what would it be doing now?" Also, sometimes they have difficulty feeling "worthy" to have another baby because they feel like they "killed" one but like I said, we never know the nightmares of others. 

I did some searching online and found a couple who actually started the process to abort their baby because they were young and unmarried and then were so sick about it that they called and found out that they could reverse the first abortion pill. I linked their story here. Thank heavens their little girl was born healthy and I loved that they shared their story and contact information so those in similar situation could contact them. 

I also linked above to a story about three women who work in an abortion clinic telling how many times babies are born alive and are killed after they deliver and how they know that the babies can feel what is happening. 

The next video is a woman who was a failed abortion and was only alive because the abortion Dr. wasn't in the building yet or he would have killed her when she came out burned from the chemicals used to cause the abortion. She was testifying before congress. Her name is Gianna Jessen. She has an interesting story. 

The next video is Dr.Anthony Levatino who is also testifying before a congressional hearing. He preformed over 1,200 abortions and has come to realize what he did was wrong and asked them to not allow them. He actually adopted a child as well. 

I left the uplifting story of their healthy baby for last as I think it is such a sweet story. They are such cute parents and are so happy and grateful their baby lived after the started abortion.

If you are in this situation or know someone in this situation, just love them. If I hadn't been raised the way I was, I know I could have gone through having an abortion because my life was a living hell! I would have thought I was saving my baby from joining me in that hell I was already in and it would have been another mouth to feed and someone else who needed me when I was already so stressed and overwhelmed. 

I am SO grateful for my girls. I have NEVER regretted having them. The rough times pass and life moves on and I have been SO much happier single than I ever was married and my girls are the JOY of my life. I asked the Princess that this story is about if it was "OK" to share this and she said that it was. We have had a special joke between us for years now, "I LOVE you and I WANT you!" as she has often felt that she wasn't wanted. I tell her, I ALWAYS want YOU, I was just in a BAD place. She has come to accept and forgive me for those thoughts I had and understands what I was going through. I long since deleted the video I took that night not ever wanting her to see it. I can't say that I am sad that I went through this experience though as it gave me understanding of those women who have gone through abortion and I truly have realized that Mother Teresa's quote is true. There ARE TWO victims in every abortion!

Being at HOME Wherever You Are in Life

I had a weird experience the other day. Our local high school has undergone a remodel and new build. They kept some of the external buildings and knocked down the original school but kept some rooms of the old school.

It was barely habitable the first day and they planned on letting the kids start at three local buildings rather than at the school. They have been finishing rooms, offices and gyms as the kids take the long way to classes and get to know the knew school. Because of having to incorporate old rooms and building, it is somewhat of a maze and snakes around the block.

I am sure the architects weren't thrilled having to make it "fit" into the spaces available but due to that situation, the school does have a bit of a "rats maze" feel to it. Since the first visit a while ago, I felt that it reminded me of a prison I once visited. We took a tour once with legislators etc and got to see all areas of the prison including maximum security. This experience made me NEVER want to commit a crime. The people in those cells made me cringe and all I could see was there eyes. Minimum security was still sad and I thought every school child should take a tour. I think it would make them think before committing a crime!

The main thing I remember about the prison was that there were NO windows. They had lots of LONG tunnels with just cinder-block and nothing. The floors are cement smooth and just lights. That was all that was in these long halls with doors at both ends.

In the high school. There are long halls, no windows, the walls are grey block / brick and the floors are all the smooth cement. The class rooms are all located off these long halls. Each hall holds a different area of study and once your turn another corner, there is another long hall with more rooms.

This is nice in the fact that the class rooms all have windows as the hall is in the center of the two rows of classrooms. However, unless you are paying attention, every hall looks the same! There are no defining factors in the halls. In the center of the school is the cafeteria which is also brick and block which makes it VERY loud.

They had an open house there a few weeks back. Princess Five, being a student body officer, was asked to give tours of the new building.

I had bunko that night but wanted to support her in her "touring" so I went and I joined in as she was finishing a tour. As I had been there for another meeting, I had an idea where things were but not all the rooms were finished then.

We did our tour and I visited with a few people as the entire town was there for the "unveiling" and several surrounding towns also came as they are all busing gifted kids to attend classes at the new high school.

When I hugged her "bye" to head to my dinner, I was looking at my phone and saw a door on the right side of the hall which looked like the one I came in. I quickly found myself on the outside of two LOCKED doors in complete darkness staring at a closed fence with not many options of where to go.

I quickly turned back around and started banging on the door. Remember, I said that the cafeteria was very LOUD, I forgot to mention that they were having the band play their fall concert in the cafeteria that is all cement/ brick. YES, it was hurting peoples ears but how to do you not stay to support your child? SO, NO ONE COULD HEAR me banging on the outside of two doors and I was IN THE DARK!!!

Ok, my first thought is "You are a complete idiot!" But secondly, why the heck are they having an open house with doors open to construction zones?! So, I turned my flashlight on my phone and there was a thin area between two buildings but I didn't know how many spiders or hazards would be between those buildings. I then thought I could climb the fence but it has sharp tops and I don't have emergency insurance so cutting myself on a fence didn't seem like the best idea. I had already tried to call and text Princess Five but once again, remember, she is giving tours and the band is echoing down all the hallways VERY loudly! She couldn't hear her phone.

So, I begin to panic as you can see from the photos, it is DARK out there. You can see from the pictures I took with my flash on, there are hazards everywhere. There are piles of dirt etc. I could see nothing but what was in front of me. Most of my friends were at bunko so I knew they wouldn't be inside the building..... I didn't know what to do.

I said a little prayer and returned to the door I had exited. Just about then, I saw a family I know from church slowing walking past. I used my phone with the light, banged on the door waving my arms and one of them saw me and I pointed to the door and they let me in. It seems so silly but I was so embarrassed that I joked about my stupidity going out the wrong door and rushed off.

It wasn't until church a few weeks later when someone was discussing how we are all sinners and are lost and alone that the memory of that night came back with a large impact and deeper understanding. I realized that at times, we are all busy with life and get distracted and make bad choices and it isn't always intentional but we may find ourselves out the "outside" of the light of Christ and the gospel. I thought about how many people are living in darkness scared and alone and may not know how to get back into the light without hazards.

I realized that sometimes all it takes is a seemingly small act of "opening" a door for that person to come back into the "light" of Christ. The family that opened my door felt they didn't do anything big. They just opened the door. However, I had been trying for some time to get someone to open the door. I was alone, in the dark with hazards all around and I felt like I had "no other way out."

They, through that one small act of opening a door, gave me such a big blessing. I was able to return to the lighted path (hallway) and return home safe. Sometimes, I think people find themselves alone and in the dark and don't know where to go and even though they know that there may be hazards, may be too embarrassed by what they did to get into that dark spot that they won't ask for help back into the safety and light. So, in that case, we can just open the door, not go and find them in the dark or delve into how they got into the dark but just open the door. I didn't really want to discuss how stupid I was to get locked out and rushed off and sometimes, that is how sinners may feel not wanting everyone to know about how stupid they were to get lost in the first place.

After I had those thoughts at church, I thought how cool it would be to take pictures of the school all lit up and the fenced area etc. A few days later, I was driving by the school and it was dark and the school was all lit up and I thought, "Oh, I wish I had my camera" and then remembered I had it as I was at a 4-H dinner for Princess Five giving a presentation and took some pictures. I pulled over and took these photos. While I was doing it, the song, "Home" by Phillip Phillips came on.

I started to cry as the words sank in as I took pictures of that dark fenced in area of the school. The video at the top left is him singing this song. The next picture is the door I should have come out that has a parking lot and some lights.

The top picture and the other pictures are of the construction area, piles of dirt, junk etc. The last pictures is the lighted "storage" area on the next block. Apparently, they care about the stuff people may take but the other areas are DARK!

I pondered on the song and lyrics as I drove home. "Hold on to me as we go." Christ. I was alone but wasn't alone with Christ. He knew where I was. "As we roll down this unfamiliar road." Now in my life, and that night, both are unfamiliar roads. Still working on the parasite thing, I am in unfamiliar territory for me and science. But, at all times, I had and have Christ with me.

"Settle down, it'll all be clear. Don't pay no mind to the demons they fill you with fear." Things like not wanting to look like a fool, embarrassed at not paying attention to where I was going, in a hurry to get to my bunko group, etc. we all hear demons in our heads trying to keep us from asking for help or moving forward. In asking for help, I needed to put down those embarrassment feelings. Demons are in all our lives. We have them in our heads and others voices can be the demon voices when they make fun of our choices, blogs, decisions.

"The trouble it might drag you down, If you get lost, you can always be found. Just know you're not alone." I think we all have troubles that drag us down. At times, we all get lost in our jobs, towns, choices, or at schools! But, we can always be found because we are NOT alone.

HE wants us home. He wants us to be at home in our life! My home isn't your home but we each need to be comfortable in our struggles and life and make the place where we are a HOME. I realized that I DON'T feel at "HOME" in my life. I am struggling for health, for peace, for joy, for finances, for my future, for life!!! I am NOT at "HOME" in my life. Even though I have a "HOME" I am NOT at "home."

I think sometimes we are all struggling to get home. I make choices that I think are taking me closer to being at "home" with HIM! Closer to home with God, closer to home with Christ, closer to home with myself. Other times, I make choices that take me further from home and Him.

I love that this song talks about the paths, you are NOT alone, HE will make us at Home because HE is on the path with us. We will never be alone on the path but may not realize HE is with us on this path.

I was grateful for that experience that helped me realize that I need to "open more doors" for those in my life who may be locked out and in the dark. I need to realize that I am NEVER alone and He knows exactly where I am. I will make wrong turns, open doors I should have left closed and get lost, but with Him, I can find my way out and with others help, those doors can be opened and I pray that we each can return "HOME" and be with Him in the end. I also pray that we can all be at "HOME" in our lives just as they are knowing He is with us and that we are where we are and it can be HOME.

 "Home" lyrics by Phillip Phillips

Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm going to make this place your home

Hemming Pants LEAVING ORIGINAL STITCHING - Brilliant

As you know if you follow my blog, I have had lots of health problems the last few years, one of which is gaining weight. Some months I would go up a size in clothes. Instead of paying lots for clothes I may only wear for a month or two, I have been purchasing used clothes as I will sometimes only wear them a few times before I can't wear them anymore. It has slowed some now that we know what was causing it but as I am still trying treatments, it hasn't gone away but at least I have been stable for 6 months or more as I am now on Thyroid medication and trying treatments. 
 
With that, I wore through some pants I was wearing often as I only purchase one or two as I never know what size I will be in a month. I worked so much in them in the yard etc that I got two holes in them and needed new pants. I found two pair at at different second hand stores. 

One was perfect in height and size and the other was long in the legs which is odd because I have long legs and usually don't have to hem any of my pants. 

I washed the pair that seemed to fit well and then noticed all these little threads coming out of the hem which wouldn't happen with a normal pair of pants and upon closer examination, I noticed that they had been hemmed in a way I had never seen before. 
 
Someone had cut off the original stitching of the original hem about 1/2 inch above the stitching and then took off what they needed to on the length of the pants and then sewed the original hem back onto the bottom of the pants!!!! 

It was positively BRILLIANT!!! I have never even thought of doing that. I guess since I haven't had to hem my pants ever, that it wouldn't have occurred to me but I thought you could easily do the same thing and when you make "cut off" shorts, just take the hem from the bottom of the jeans and sew it to the bottom of the shorts and alter how long it is if needed. 

I had the other pair of jeans I purchased that did need a hem and was going to just hem it my normal way but decided I would try the "new" method of hemming. I at first, tried them on and just tucked up what I needed taken off inside and left the original hem hanging lower as you can see in the video but that can get confusing and I think just cutting off the bottom hem 1/2 inch above the stitching is the easiest and fastest way. 

Once you have the hem cut off, try the pants on and mark them exactly where you want them to hit on the bottom of the pant leg. Usually, it is somewhere sitting just on the top of your shoe. 

Once you determine exactly how long you want them, cut 1/2 inch LOWER than that on the pant leg cutting off any excess length you don't want. You NEED to allow for the seam. I found 1/2 in seam was a bit longer than I wanted after I stitched it the first time but I would rather error on the side of too long rather than too short. 

If you find that once you sew the hem back on, it is too long, just sew in closer to the original hem and it will take it up just a bit. 

I show in the picture above the normal way to hem it if you don't care about any decorative stitching. I just cut the pants 1 1/2 inch longer than I want them and roll the hem over twice. Roll or fold it in 1/2 inch
and then flip it over one more time to hide the raw edge which would fray if you didn't do it this way. 

This is the way you hem other pants so that they don't fray. With jeans and dark pants, you can usually just use a blind stitch on the sewing machine or if they are a nice pair of slacks or trousers for a uniform or something, I will hem them by hand using a blind-hem stitch. 

To get back to the original stitch showing hemming, you take the hem you cut off and place it RIGHT sides together so you are looking at the BACK side of the fabric and both "nice" sides are facing each other. 

PIN everything FIRST and then flip it out to make sure you have the hem pinned on right. I found that I could have easily sewn the back hem on the front side and the wear on the back is usually more than on the front so make sure that the more worn side goes to the BACK of the pants. 

Once you have right sides together pinned just how you want them, try them on and make sure that it is the right length. Wear the shoes you normally wear so that you can make sure the hem looks good that way. If you need to take more length off, do it a 1/2 inch or less at a time so that you don't take too much off. 

Once it is pinned and at the right length, you use a straight stitch and stitch the hem back on. Make sure that you don't catch any of the jean fabric under into the stitch. Lay it out flat and keep checking as you sew that it doesn't get folded or rolled onto itself and you don't stitch something that doesn't belong. I did this myself while sewing. It happens to the best of us. 

Once you have it stitched all the way around, try them on again and if you need to make it any shorter, just sew in the seam a bit more and closer to the decorative hem. You don't want it obvious that you sewed the hem back on so the closer to the hem you can stitch, the more original it will look. 

Once you have them on and they look good. I do a second round of stitching and then switch the dial to zig-zag stitch and go around the entire inside seam where you sewed. 

If the inside seam is big, you can trim it up and make it smaller or cut the excess closer to the stitching before doing the zig-zag. You want the inside seam to be small so it doesn't irritate your skin. 

DON'T skip the step of surging or zig-zagging the inside seam. If you do, when you wash your pants, they will start to fray as you can see the pants I purchased above did. They can continue to fray and then affect the integrity of the seam. I use the zig-zag stitch on EVERYTHING I sew if it isn't surged so that there isn't any fraying causing problems later. 

If you have any questions on this, feel free to ask. You can also comment on the video on youtube on my channel of the same name: thesecretisgratude channel on youtube. 

Hopefully the pictures and description will clear up any questions you may have. I think whoever thought this up was Brilliant but maybe I am slow and missed the bus on this as perhaps you already thought of this yourself! 

Either way, I am always happy to come up with a new and better way to do things and this is one of those things for me!       

111 Subscribers On 11-11

Today wasn't me best day. I woke to snow on the ground, sleet and rain going all day and if you read this blog much, you know that means HEADACHE!

If you don't know the history of my head and its storm headaches, here is a link to my post about being a human barometer. 

I had some extended family stuff come up which didn't help my head. I also haven't been sleeping much as the parasites are worse than ever.

With all that, I open my youtube account to upload a video and what do I see......

I had to smile as I KNOW God did this just for me. Yesterday, I had 109 subscribes and today on 11-11, I have 111 subscribers.

The excitement isn't the number of subscribers as that is a VERY low number but if you follow my blog, you will know that the number 111 is usually a sign to me that my Father in Heaven is getting my attention. I have a whole bunch of 111 posts. Here is a link to the first post that tells about it.  

Here is a link to a more current post about it. I just see 111 LOTS.

To see all my posts about it, you can type "111" in the search box or go to my "Posts" section and click on the 111 posts. Either way, you can see how blessed I am.  

So, that was just the perfect ending to a long day. I love it when Heavenly Father can put a smile on my face even on a hard day. I am blessed!

The Avenging T Shirt Quilt For My Super Hero Princess

Princess Three is sometimes a bit of a tomboy. She likes t shirts more than dress shirts. She has one or two simple necklaces that she wears all the time rather than wearing larger pieces of jewelry.... I know what you are thinking, "How did I end up with several that wear large pieces of jewelry of MANY styles and have hundreds of pieces of jewelry and then Princess Three who wears only simple jewelry?"

I can only say that I wonder that myself! Five girls and they are all so different. I took them all to dance, piano, cheer, choirs etc and yet, they all have such varied likes and personalities. I for one, am glad, as I LOVE each one as they all bring something that the others don't and I was thinking the other day how grateful I am that I didn't stop at only one or two children!

With that, back to Princess Three's love of most things male! She "gets" our one Prince better than the rest of us and they have their own "speak" when they are talking about "Lord of the Ring", "Star Wars," "Zelda" etc. She just seems to think and act more like a guy that way. She doesn't like girl "Drama" and even when some of her sister "get into it" she won't.

With that, she is also into comic stuff. She isn't really "into" it but just enjoys it. She went on a date to "comic con" but she didn't buy a ticket. She gets all the "male" stuff above, she "gets" the whole "superhero" thing. I can take it or leave it but one day a few months ago, she dropped a "hint."

She said something like, "Wouldn't it be cool if someone made a T shirt quilt out of superheros shirts." Now, I kinda missed the first hint until I was shopping at a second hand store in another city while visiting. I found three "superhero" t shirt's cut into squares lined with backing like someone was going to use them for a T shirt quilt. Somewhere in my subconscious I remembered "someone" saying how cool that would be.

In another spot in the store, I found some "Superman" and "Thor" fabric pieces of cotton fabric about a yard in size for $1 as well. Princess Three happened to be with me at that store and I told her that "Someone" said how "cool" it would be to make a quilt out of the super hero stuff and she said, "Um... That was me." like I was VERY slow.

I laughed at myself and said, "Would that be something you would like?" There was an emphatic "yes" (or as emphatic as Princess Three gets which is about half volume of the other girls) with that and the idea was born. From then on, I checked the clearance racks at Walmart and other stores as well as several different second hand stores in several cities when I was passing through. I found my biggest gold mine at Walmart where they had large shirts on clearance for $3 each. I did pay up to $5 for a few shirts but on those, I could use the back and fronts of the shirt so I got two panels or squares for the $5.

I had my most luck for "different" shirts in the boys section as that is a popular theme for boys clothing so that was nice and for some reason, at that store, boys shirts were cheaper than adults which isn't the case at our local second hand store.

In all, the quilt will probably cost me $100 for the batting, all the shirts and the backing fabric. However, Princess Three RARELY if EVER asks for anything!!! She is the one that will give up something for peace and doesn't really care much for "things" and lives the most "simplistic" when it comes to clothes, belongings etc.

With all that history and back ground, I present to you, "Superhero!" by Queen Mom for Princess Three! It will only have a limited showing as it will be going into a "private" collection after the Christmas Holiday. I was happy to be able to include some new "Superman" pajama bottoms and a very cute Red matching Superman Retro type shirt which she can wear when showing off her Superhero T-shirt "Cape" on cold evenings.

If she doesn't like the "Superman" option, she can "WOW" all the other superheros in her life be sporting this lovely "Wonder Woman" footie pajama ensemble as she is a "Wonder Woman" in my eyes.

I am not going into details on how to make the quilt as I have SO many other t-shirt quilts and this one wasn't difficult as nearly every square is just that, a square. Whereas on many of the other t shirt quilts I have posted about, I have had to take apart hats, boxers, jackets, shirts etc.

It truly is a "One of a kind" Christmas present for Princess Three. The gift is more in the time as I have already spent probably 15 hours cutting squares, deciding placement, sewing and I have probably at least 10 more hours to finish, back it, tie it and bind it. Maybe even more than ten now that I write it all out. ha ha Every minute I spend on it is a minute I wish I were with Princess Three. I know at college, the nights are cold and that she will be wrapped in her "Snoopy" quilt or this "Superhero" quilt feeling the love!

I truly do LOVE Princess Three and am so PROUD of who she is!! ;-) 

I figured I would put links to all the different quilts I have made and some of the different items I have put on the quilts over the years and how I put those items on the quilts. It wasn't until I started putting up links that I realized how many things I have actually put onto quilts. It sure was fun looking at all the different quilts I've made for friends and family. I am grateful for the talent of sewing. It is something I got from my grandmother for sure. She could make anything.
 
Princess 1 quilt 1 link.

Putting a baseball hat on a quilt square. 

Putting zip up hoodie on quilt and baby outfit on quilt.

Putting boxers and short on a quilt

Putting "hood" of hoodie, sleeve and tank top on quilt.

Sewing part of back onto front for one panel and putting tie on quilt.

Jean overalls on quilt, sweatshirts and clothes you wore Pooh quilt.

Using pockets from jeans, overalls, pant side pockets on quilts Tweety Warner Bros quilt.

Charity quilt from donated clothes given back to family  that donated them as a quilt.

Memory quilt of life Princess Two.

The "B" quilt teaching others to make a t shirt quilt

Favorite square - Using the inside tags off the shirts to make a square.

Using Pillow fronts on quilts.

Removing snaps from baby clothes you want to put on the quilt. 

Sewing smaller shirts over the corners of several squares.  

Printing your own shirts for a quilt.

Camp t shirt quilt for camp leader.

Binding and finishing tying quilts. Snoopy.

Tips on Binding and Tying quilts

"Collection" theme quilts.

Painting hand prints from family for memory quilts.

First of FIVE quilts with cousin, aunts and uncles, grandparents, & siblings painted and stitched hand prints.

Finished "hand print" quilt one (there are three posts between the link above and this one. 

 Apparently, I didn't blog about finishing Princess Two's hand print quilt, must have been a busy time.

Hand print quilt number three finished. 

Hand print quilt number four finished product. 

Hand print quilt number five finished product.

Fixing a Stand Up Frame Back - Standing Flap

Princess Five and I were cleaning up our Halloween decoration and I bumped the end table and this frame tumbled off onto the floor and the plastic back flap that held the frame to stand it up, broke as the little plastic nubs that were on each side broke off.

I tried to put some fun tack and some tape and some loose wire to hold it up but it didn't work and if any of them came off, they could be a choke item or hazard for grand-children or other kids that come around. I thought about going to a second hand store and purchasing a frame just for the back piece but that would be another dollar or two and I really like this frame as I have a matching frame on my wall.

With nothing to lose, I figured why not try and drill a hole through the little side flaps using a small dremel bit to make the holes. I used a rounded tip rather than a real drill bit but I am guessing that would have worked just fine as well and using a regular drill would have probably worked also.

I usually do my work like this over the sink as I can use a damp paper towel to pick up any larger pieces and then just rinse the rest down the disposal.

I went through the slim sides of the plastic flap where the little plastic tabs used to be. Once I had a hole drilled in both sides, I took a paper clip thickness of wire and fed it through the sides, into the holding tube and through the other drilled hole and used pliers to pull it through and then wind it around itself as tight and firmly as I could. 

I took a close up of the hole I drilled with the wire coming out so you can get an idea how I did this. I think this could work with the thicker wood pressed cardboard and compressed wood backs that come on these type of frames. Depending on the thickness and way it is attached, it would maybe need to be altered some but the main idea is the same using the small drill bit.

I can't tell you how grateful I am for my dremel. It has come in so handy for plumbing, sprinkler, crafting and other projects around the house.

Here are the top four of my "Dremel" blog posts. There are quite a few where I used it in the things mentioned above but these were the big winners as far as views so I put a link where you could view them easily if any of them are something you are interested in learning more about. 

Fixing a broken dowel on anything.

Quick and easy way to distress edges.

Cutting Blinds Shorter than Recommended.

Making your own inexpensive Diffuser. 

I am grateful for my Dremel today and any day when I am doing a project. The other item I am grateful for and use often is a glue gun. Isn't modern day living wonderful!!! We are truly blessed to live where and when we do!

Disinfecting or Deodorizing Your Water Softener

Disinfecting or deodorizing your water softener may not be something you will ever need to do. However, every few years, you may want to let it run to empty and clean out the bottom as rocks, dirt and other weird items can end up in your softener due to contamination of the salt pellets or bags you use. 

Since we purchased our home 21 years ago, there has been a problem with mildew growing in the water softener salt drum if I let it get empty of salt. I don't know if this is a problem with everyone's or just because mine is an older unit.

Frankly, I am surprised that mine is still going strong considering how old it is. Over the years, I have had a few floods or things break on the softener but I can usually tell when it runs out of salt due to build up in the toilets, sinks and showers as the hard water leaves rings and mineral build up. 

For this reason, I really like having a water softener. I think I rinse cleaner and enjoy not having the harder water rings in the toilets to clean. 

At first, when I would smell the horrible mildew smell, I would just dump a few tablespoons of bleach into the water and let it sit and it would clean that mildew or mold right up. However, one day I came home to a spraying nightmare from near the top of the softener cylinder and the shut off valve was stuck and I didn't have the power to shut it off. 

Since I was stronger than my ex that way, and knew more about fixing things, I didn't think he would be the best person to help shut it off. My best friend lived a few houses away and her husbands nickname was "moose" for a reason. He was well over 6'4" something and was built like a moose. He came over and had it shut off in no time. 

Once it was shut off, I called the plumber and having a $75 bill just for them to show up, I asked if someone there would be able to talk me through what was mostly wrong and how to fix it. 

They told me there is a triangle shaped metal piece at the top of the cylinder and it has three screws on it. After I explained that I used bleach to clean it out, they knew exactly what was wrong. 

The bleach eats away a washer type triangle ring that sits inside that metal triangle and so you can't use anything caustic that way to clean out the water softener. 

I knew from having a whirlpool tub as well that you can't use any oil based products in it as they will also break down the rubber washers in the jets. So, with that information, I had to come up with another solution. 

Hydrogen peroxide that you can get from any grocery or drug store is 3 % peroxide and if you dump a cup in (or less if you took out any water) and let it sit, it will kill mold and mildew. 

It is easy to use and you shouldn't need to do it often if you keep up on keeping your salt storage tank full. I can tell when my salt is getting low as my clothes washer starts to make the clothes smell mildewy and that is my cue to getting more salt for the softener. 

I want to share a few other things. I have found black dirt in the bottom of the softener as it is in the salt pellets and will collect at the bottom of the barrel. Also, I have found a few odd plastic things in there as well so I think those came from the plant where they bag the salt. You can pull the little plastic shelf at the bottom of the tank up sliding it up the inside until you can clean it out. I use a shop vac or my carpet cleaner to suck all the water out which usually brings up the gunk and mud as well. I have then dumped buckets of clean water in to rinse it and then sucked that up as well starting fresh. 

Also, No one says the softener needs to be ugly and stand out. I cover mine with a table cloth for a round table and put decoration on it as it is in my laundry room. Usually, it is in some kind of utility room but since mine is in my laundry room, I decorated it with the red, white, and blue patriotic theme I have in there. 

Lastly, if you have spraying water out of the top, try shutting off the valve and unscrewing that triangle piece and seeing if it is that washer part as the part will be a few dollars at most where having a plumber come could cost you well over $100. 

Just a reminder, never use any oil substance like essential oils or any bleach product in cleaning out your water softener as it will cause damage at some point. 

I know lots of people that bypass their softener due to the stress of having to keep up on the salt and the cost as well but maybe someone just needs to start a "softener salt" company where they come once a month and fill up your softener for $10 a month. Could be a good business for someone needing a little extra cash! I told my sister she should have my nephews start it up. I think I would pay $10 a month not to have to carry those heavy bags down the stairs and dump them!

Lastly, I hope you never need this information but water softeners WILL take out nuclear particulates in your water!!! It will taste salty and you can then run it through a smaller filter to take out the salt or use it for cooking or filter it though some charcoal but I learned this from a nuclear specialist so it is a good thing to have around if that did happen.