Crafters August 12 through August 18 | Weight Watchers Message Boards (2025)

All crafters are welcome here as we discuss crafting, life and our weight loss journey. Crafting includes actual hands on crafting, such as crochetting, knitting, sewing, quilting, needlepoint, painting, jewelry making, etc.....plus reading craft catalogs, craft blogs, watching craft you tubes or other crafting videos, chatting here about crafting,chatting with another person about crafting, playing a musical instrument,reading craft emails, thinking about crafting, organizing crafting supplies, going into craft stores or the craft aisle in a store ,researching a new quilt shop, attending craft fairs,or any other activity that inspires or directs your mind toward a crafting activity- even visiting us here to join in our posts!! There are plenty of days in which the closest we get to crafting is a visit here, so even if you have no time to craft, we would love to hear from you. And one of us is never going to buy a fat quarter bundle again!

All are welcome to join our friendly and supportive discussion.

Ruth, Happy Birthday to Dh! Did you make him a full sized carrot cake- which he seems to really enjoy. You must make an awesome carrot cake! There is plenty of time to have that sweater done by January. My mistake, I forgot that DGD had 2 children already, for some reason I thought she was carrying her second. Prayers that the little one is healthy and that the pregnancy goes well for DGD.

Got a few errands to run today, and then I do hope to get to my machine for awhile…

CJ- hope you slept well and that your fabric arrives soon.

I didn't make dh a real carrot cake just the crochet one. He told me that he was thinking of getting carrots to make one but it's too hot to bake. I told him I'd make him one anyway but he said no. Then, though, he turned around and told me I could make him a banana cake. I've actually never made a banana cake and he doesn't like banana bread. I don't even have a banana cake recipe. I'm sure I could look one up online

I hope you get all your errands taken care of quickly and safely and get back home and work on your quilt or whatever else you would like to do

CJ, I hope all is well with you and that you're having a good day and finding quilt projects you like

Hello

Ruth - I hope your DH has a happy birthday and I'm interested to hear what he thinks about the "cake" you made for him I hope the ribbing crocheting is going well.

Ginny - Hope your errands went well and you do get to use your machine today. What month are you in with your Temperature quilt?

I still haven't done any actual quilting, but I've been reading lots of blogs and looking at quilts online. I'm going to try an experiment with a different machine foot on my machine to see if I can get a better 1/4 inch seam. I also hope I can do some actual piecing for some projects this week.

I had an appointment this morning to get my car serviced, maintenance type service. They said everything looked fine with the car, but I want to check the oil to make sure they did fill it up. I've read horror stories about not getting the oil filled when the car was serviced.

I was surprised to get charged a 3% fee for using a credit card to pay. They did accept cash, but only the exact amount. I could have done that if I knew how much I'd be paying. This was at the dealership, since I wanted to get this first "big" service done there, but I won't have to go back there for a long time. I'll go to a local oil change place for normal changes.

It seems like they want to force people to use their debit card, and I refuse to use debit cards anywhere. I think there is a much greater chance of being hacked by using a debit card - just my opinion.

Take care

Thank you both for the happy birthday wishes for my dh. I'll tell him.

CJ, did you buy a new car? I think you bought one shortly after I bought mine which was six years ago this coming September. I only have three thousand miles on mine. The only place that charges a fee for credit card use here is the place you get your car registration. I usually renew it online and there's a fee for that but better than driving downtown. I happily pay the fee.Debit cards are a high risk thing. With a credit card the most you supposedly are required to pay if someone hacks your card is $50, so I've heard anyway, but debit cards you are risking having them empty out your bank account and cannot get that money back. I quit using mine as soon as I heard that and haven't used it since.

Good morning!!
Sorry I did not get back here yesterday…just a busy day of sorts.

CJ- do you have an actual 1/4 seam? They do sell those for most machines, and I love mine. Another option that some use is to attach a rectangular magnet to the throat of the machine- positioned for a perfect 1/4 inch seam. I have also heard of just running a line of painters tape on the throat plate, again marking 1/4 inch seam. Hope you find something that works for you. Gotta say 1/4 seam is not my forte. Do you still have checks? Wonder if the car place still takes those (which is what I use when I get my car serviced)

Ruth, I have a great recipe for a banana cake with an orange glaze…let me know if you would like me to post it. Hope that DH liked his crochetted carrot cake- a great way to enjoy the cake with no calories or spikes in blood sugar!!!

I trained yesterday am- the last day for those two who have their road test today. Then the idiot light came back on in my car- so I ended up at the mechanic having it looked at. It’s the same sensor, so we will replace it in 2 weeks (he has to order the part and the sensor is just not switching quickly enough). I hope to spend some time sewing a bit later…got some stuff to take care of this am.

Hello Hope you are doing well and having nice weather. It's a bit cooler here - in the 80s, and nice with no rain.

Ruth - That car should last you a long time with the low mileage. I only have 15,000 on my car that I bought in 2019 - I haven't bought a new one. I'd probably have 2,000 less if I hadn't done all that driving up and down the road from December through the end of June.

It's nice to have someone share my thoughts on using debit cards. Most of my family think they are great and I just see my checking account being drained of money once someone gets ahold of my account information.

Ginny - I'm sorry your car light came on again, but I'm glad it's an easy fix. Hope the bus drivers do well on their tests. I also hope you get some sewing time in. I don't think they dealership accepted checks. It's no big deal, if I ever have to go there again, I'll take cash with me.

I have tried a lot of things you suggested to get an accurate 1/4 inch seam and most of them don't work for me. I'll probably just keep doing what I've been doing and most of my blocks come out just a bit larger and I can trim them down.

I went out for more errands this morning - Costco and JoAnns. I went to a different JoAnns and they had more fabric there then the other store. Pretty much all of it was on sale so I bought some novelty prints, some cream background fabrics and some Fall fabrics. That might be the extent of my crafting today I do need to start my August temperature quilt block though.

I was surprised to see a sign at the fabric cutting counter at JoAnns that said "the counter may close down for 15 minutes at a time to allow employees to restock". I guess they are really getting short of staff if they would make a customer wait while they are restocking. I had to wait at the checkout counter for several minutes before someone came to check me out. I don't really mind either of these since I don't shop there that often, but I sure hope they will keep their stores open.

Take care

Ginny, I hope your trainees pass their tests. I sure wouldn't want to take a driving test in a big bus. Sorry about your alert light in your car going on yet again. At least you have a good mechanic. I would love to have your recipe. I looked up some but I didn't see any that looked like I would like to make them. Dh wants one with glaze so your's will be perfect.No hurry though. I know you're busy.

CJ, yes I'm definitely with you on that debit card use. We haven't had a Joann's here in years but I did hear that many of their stores would be closing. I guess too many people order online. I'm glad you found a sale and a store that had more fabric.. If I had to make 1/4 inch seams I'd be in bad shape. When I did go to those quilt lessons back in 2003 the shop owner sold us a small piece of transparent cling plastic to put on our machines to make the quarter inch line. You all prob don't remember but back when I posted pictures of some of my blocks you could definitely see that my machine got away from me and seams weren't straight...not even close. I did have a good time trying though.

Good morning!!!

Ruth, I know it’s not something that you want to do, but driving a bus is not all that difficult. Like many professions (including being a nurse) it’s all about training and using that training in a practical matter. Not so sure I would want to be a nurse….but have total respect for those who are nurses or retired nurses! Later on I will get the recipe out for the banana cake with an orange glaze..if I remember it’s made in a Bundt pan, and it does make a lovely cake. At least a glaze has less fat and sugar than a cake with a full icing on it.

CJ- I use a combo of many different forms of payment, and fall back on regular checks when possible. I do not go out to eat often- but do use cash for that, as I think a lot or restaurants are now charging more for payment by card. My sister in law and brother in law refuse to order anything online at all-and they are almost totally cash only. It does make it tough if they want to order something in a hurry - in the past I have ordered for them online and they reimburse me. That sure is an interesting story about the sign at Joanns- indicating that they might take 15 minute breaks from the cutting table to accomodate restocking. My Joann’s at times seems as though it’s only staffed by two people, and frequently the register is unmanned. Like you, I hope that they keep their stores open. Think we are much more prone to some impulse buys if we can go into the store and see seasonal items. I enjoy seeing what they put out for Fall, even if I do not buy it’s always nice to look. The other Joanns near me is a much larger.store, but I have not been there for 10 years. BTW, I well remember the large amount of miles put on my car when we were cleaning and readying my childhood house for sale. It was a nightmare time for sure….for your sake I am really glad that you sold the house and now can relax. Onto the 1/4 inch seam. Some machines offer a setting that allows the needle position to adjust to a 1/4 inch seam. Jane uses that and her piecing is very good.

Both trainees passed yesterday. And I taught the refresher class yesterday….so my summer has now officially begun. I do have to teach a class during the last week of August, but i have taught that class many times before and only need minimal preparation to do so. Guess I did a little too much yesterday, I am a bit achy. I cleaned the car (yuck) and did clean up a little bit outside. Thankfully the weather is good. I still need to vacuum the car, and will do so in an hour or so. A neat story- yesterday I was sitting outside with a pot of zinnias only a few feet from me. I was treated to a hummingbird feeding on one of the zinnias- less than 3 feet away.

I do hope to get to my machine today…think it is calling my name!

I don't remember the last time I used a check. It was probably at the place where you renew registration for vehicles. Last time I took cash. I use my credit cards for everything else and pay the balance off each month. That way I get rewards and the card I use depends on which card is giving special rewards that month.

I didn't put out hummingbird feeders this year. They might come to my flowers..petunias and the others..but I never sit outside anymore so I don't see them. I do love seeing them though. When we had the little fishing home in Arkansas there were a lot of hummers and they were mean ones. One would always sit on one particular tree and watch for others trying to use "his" flowers then would attack. I often sat on the stairs reading with my cup of tea and they would come right up to look closely at my glasses.Here the yellow jackets try to attack the hummers.

Going out today for a short trip to pick up pizza for dh. Now that he finally can swallow without much difficulty he can eat pizza.

See y'all later

Hello

Ginny - I'm glad your trainees passed the test and I hope the training you are doing later this month goes well. I remember my father doing training at the bus lots he supervised when he was working. All of my brothers drove buses for awhile, since my father owned a one. I never did since he had sold them by the time I was driving. How nice to see a hummingbird so close up

Ruth - I hope your DH enjoys the pizza, it's great that he can swallow better now. The hummingbirds I used to have at my house were very territorial and they would chase each other away from the feeder.

Sometimes I miss writing checks for everything, I think it was a good way to account for my money and watch my spending. I mostly use cash whenever I go out shopping and to eat. But I do still write checks for a few things.

I finally felt like doing some quilting today and I've made a bunch of half square triangles for my Temperature quilt and also for another table topper project I'm making. I hope I can keep working on those this week.

Take care

Ruth, that is wonderful that DH is able to swallow and enjoy a piece of pizza now! So happy to hear that,and that he seems to be healing and returning to normal. I wonder what hummingbird you get in your area, here its the ruby throated but really when you see one all you see is his green back. Like you I try to use credit cards when it makes sense. For things like the offering at church, I use a check for the accountability.I could pay using a credit card but they do charge a processing fee and I refuse to pay fees, so I pay by check.

CJ- glad you got back to working on your temperature quilt…hope that you made good progress on it. What table topper are you making? I agree with your statement about accountability for checks (one of the many reasons I write one for church, as I heard that the IRS does not like cash donations to churches, so a check documents that). Fortunately for you and me, the hurricane in the Atlantic will not cause either of us any issue. A big relief for this time of year.

So last night I was happily making my daily blocks for April (was actually sewing April blocks) and my sister called….so I got very little sewn.I had hoped to get the entire month made last night, but instead only got started on the first few days. Oh well….will get to that later on.