iPhone Games

Hmm... there's been an awful lot of posts about sewing, but nothing about gaming.  Must change that!  

I love my iPhone.  I do.  I don't like Mac computers at all, but I do love me my iPhone. One of the things I like most about it are the games.  Who knew that games on a cell phone could be so much fun?

There are four games that I play on what I consider a regular basis.  First is Kingdoms Live. 

This game, honestly, I play out of habit more than anything else.  Luckily, I only check it a couple of times a day and then don't have to think about it.  Though I am looking forward to getting to level sixty.  Apparently, that's where the real fun begins.  

Next is Tiny Tower.  I just discovered this game a few weeks ago and I was hooked almost immediately.  

I did read one review that mentions this isn't really a game, it's more like a toy.  And I would definitely agree with that.  This is another game that I can just check a few times a day and not have to think about it too much.

Then there are the story games.  At one point, I did try to juggle a few of them at once.  Bakery Story, Restaurant Story, Treasure Story, etc.  But it just got to be too much.  So I cut back and only follow Bakery Story now.

I do enjoy this game a great deal.  I'm not sure why.  I like decorating my bakery, trying to master all the recipes.  I especially enjoy the goals that they've added for holidays.  This is the type of game I think my mother would like.  I should get it on her phone. 

And last but not least is my new obsession.  Order Up!

I just found this for my phone on Friday.  My sister has the wii version.  I know she had a lot of fun with it, but I was always a little frightened of it.  But I took a chance and I was immediately hooked.  In fact, I've stopped writing this post twice now to play more of it...  I'm not so sure why I like it so much.  Part of it is getting all the orders right, I'm sure.  But more likely is that I'm a completionist when it comes to games.  And this is all about completing things.  Like spices, specials, restaurants.  I have a feeling I'm going to have fun with this game for a long time.  Just wish it didn't suck the life out of my battery.

Old Irons

When I went away to college, one of the things my mother insisted I buy was a small travel iron.  Honestly, I rarely iron my shirts, but I did occasionally need to iron fabric once I learned how to quilt.  So the little travel iron was quite useful.  Not to mention small and cute.  See?

It's been several years since this iron has been used.  And when I brought it out to start pressing my t-shirts for the t-shirt quilt, I noticed something wasn't quite right.  I decided that it was time to retire the iron.  Then I was in a quandry.  Cause I needed to iron, darnit!  Well, actually that's not true.  As I learned in my sewing class on Saturday, I needed to press.  Thankfully, my mother came to the rescue.

By letting me use her iron.  Which is older than I am.  I was skeptical at first.  But it seems to work.  I personally like the pea green color.  So now I can press, press away!

new set up!

My original sewing area simply had a sewing machine on a card table.  Then in my first sewing class, my teacher goes, "Never ever sew on a card table.  They're too unstable."

Oops.

My mom and I then brainstormed what to do.  We thought perhaps a desk.  I found some pamphlets for arrow sewing cabinets and fell in love.  Then checked the prices online and discovered they were far far far out of my budget.  So I started scouring craigslist.  And within a day found someone offering a brand new sewing cabinet that hadn't even been taken out of the box yet.  Yay!

I picked it up and spent close to four hours putting it together.  (It was a beast!)  I'm absolutely thrilled with the finished product.

I took it out for a test drive this evening and it works great.  Only downfall is that when I extend the arm fully, I have to keep my door closed, but that's not the end of the world.  Sort of makes me feel like a real sewer!

Sewing Classes

I've had two of the three classes and I have to say I'm quite pleased.  The other students are quite nice and the instructor makes things easy to understand.  I've learned a lot about patterns and now I know how to transfer markings and all that jazz.  Next time I try to make something with a pattern will be much easier, that's for sure!

In other crafting news, I actually finished something on my craft to do list.  I know, I couldn't believe it either.  Ages ago my mom asked me to make a baby blanket for a friend.  I started it, but never had the chance to finish it.  But now it's finally done.  (Sorry Mom!)

This is my go to baby blanket pattern.  It works great for either a boy or girl or neutral.  All you need to choose is the colors.  I especially adore the detail along the border.

What's a Few Years Between Friends?

Way back in high school, I heard of someone taking all of their high school t-shirts (from band, plays, etc.) and having it made into a quilt.  I thought that was the coolest idea ever, and even though I didn't know how to make a quilt back then, I immediately resolved that I would do the same.

15 years later...

I have these two plastic storage dressers.  I bought these dressers in college, and decided to put all my high school t-shirts and various musical t-shirts in them.  That way, when I decided I finally had the time, I'd make that quilt.  Well, these dressers became the bane of my existence.

They were with me for a total of 3 apartments and the stint living with my parents.  I drew the line at moving them to California, when I lived there.  At some point, I did actually start the quilt.  I bought fabric and drew lines where I wanted the t-shirts cut.  (My present crafter me wants to smack past crafter me.  I must have been very impatient).  I even cut out a few t-shirts.  But then I stopped.  And even more years passed.

Until tonight.  I have a number of unfinished projects that I've decided I have to finish.  I swear, it's like I have crafting ADD sometimes.  But this quilt has been the biggest weight dragging my crafting spirit down for the longest time and I'm ready to kick it to the curb!

Here's where I'm at.  All the shirts have been cut into squares.  I highly doubt that they are all the same size.  So tomorrow I'm going to iron all of the shirts.  (Cause past crafter me was apparently too good to iron them before I started marking and cutting them...)  Then I'm going to take my tape measure and start measuring.  Get them to all the same size.  Then I can start figuring out the boarder fabric.  Wonder where my rotary cutter is?

And better than all of this?  Those plastic dressers are empty!  They're getting donated to good will tomorrow.

Not Accepting Failure!

The other day I sat down at my sewing machine, thinking that making doll clothes would be an absolute breeze after making Fred.  I cut out the pattern and the fabric and I was ready to go!  Then I started reading the instructions.  And realized I might be a bit over my head.  

I know how to sew.  I've made a king sized quilt years ago and a number of baby blankets.  But I've never made a piece of clothing before.  The markings on the pattern confuse me a bit to be perfectly honest.  Being so excited about starting this sewing adventure that I am, I don't want to self teach myself into horrible habits that will need to be broken later.

So what to do?

I enrolled in a sewing workshop.  I'm incredibly excited about it.  After a number of attempts of using the internet to find a sewing school, I finally found The Harlem Avenue Sewing Center.  Most of the other places are to close to downtown Chicago for my taste, or way out in the suburbs.  This place is in a perfect location for me.  

The workshop is three two hour sessions, once a week.  It starts next week and I can hardly wait.