Dryer duct cleaning

A few weeks ago, I did the job of cleaning out our dryer duct. I had ordered one several months ago from ebay, but had never used it. It's one of those "AS SEEN ON TV" kits I got on ebay for about $11.00 (includes shipping).

I watched this video recently and decided it was a necessary chore. Take a look: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=3272d5d9-69cd-4846-bab9-6f135d161b89&fg=rss&from=34

It scared me enough to finally take action. It was Tom's mission of the week on flylady.net , so I was all the more motivated to do it. The link to the video was part of their reminder email. It was simple enough to do, though moving the dryer is a bit difficult, mostly because the space is a bit cramped. But I did it myself, while my DH was working and it took me about 1 hour 30 minutes to do, from start to finish. Instructions are in the box, and can easily be found on the internet, but basically all you're doing is vacuuming up all the lint that collects in the duct from the lint filter opening in the machine, around and under the dryer, through the tube and to the opening that blows the hot air out of the house. One tip... wear a dust mask or wrap a damp lightweight towel around your nose and mouth. And have your tool box ready to remove the duct tube attached to the dryer.

According to my internet research, the job (including travel time), can cost between $65- 199.00. $65.00 would be if they were doing several in the same area on that day, and of course $199.00 would be what the manufacturer's technicians would charge you. Wow... that's a pretty hefty markup from $11.00.

Our duct was pretty dirty, and I'm glad it's done. The clothing was taking a little longer to dry and it definitely made a difference. Not to mention I feel much safer now.

Planning a REAL garden

I've finally decided that I have 2 actual, permanent homes. We don't plan on moving for years (if ever) and neither will my mother. I spend half my time at my mom's anyway, so I consider it my second home. And someday I expect we will have to move back there to help take care of her as she gets older. Soooo.... It's time to settle in to some real serious gardening.

The goal here is to use mostly organic techniques and create a garden that will suit our needs and requires as little care as possible. We need a minimal care, high pleasure garden to relax and play in. Kids of all ages, from 6 months (my brother's littlest child) to 46 years old like to spend time in the garden, though we can never enlist much help from any of them. We have lazy, non-gardeners living with us... I think they're allergic to physical labor.

Mom's garden will have to serve the following purposes:

• Play area large enough to set up a small swimming pool for the kids.
• Grilling and chillin'
• Providing an escape from the heat of the day during summer months.
• Fshpond for guppies.
• flowers for leimaking

My garden's purpose:

• Play area again.
• experimental garden (for trying out plants I like before committing... kinda like relationships)
• Growing veggies/fruits
• Herb Garden
• Cutting flowers (just cuz I like em)
• child's garden to grow stuff in
• Grillin' and chillin' again
  

Gosh...I sound so organized. Don't let this post fool you.

Some stats:

• Zone 11 (yes there really is such a thing!)
  
• Most areas are hot, sunny and dry. A few pockets of dry shade.
  
• Red Dirt hard soil. Needs amendments to grow the stuff we like.
  
• Womanpower: 2 weekend gardeners. No real muscle power, just smarts and persistence. Possibly able to enlist a slave or two with a bit of bribery. (Child labor- the laws don't apply to family members.)
  
• Not much money to spend on a garden. Let's budget $10.00/month (or $120.00/year) per garden.
  

Resources we can tap:

• Occasional brute strength (if we feed The Man).
• A big heap of mulch, located at a nearby Community College. (Haul your own, but it's free.)
• A pickup truckload of compost. We have to wait till uncle is available, but the wait is worth it!
• The library of course... for ideas, inspiration and knowledge.
• An empty, undeveloped space in the back for extra filler (soil, just as bad as ours). Will have to explore to see if there are usable rocks there.
• Mom's gravel pile.
• Plants from friends and family... (probably have to make our own cuttings.)
• Bunny poo from the family pet.

Things we can NOT do to the garden (I have to remember this because my big ideas are too costly and we haven't enough strong slaves to help with the heavy work):

• Tear up the sidewalk to replace it with a flowing path around the house.
• Replace the old shed.
• Building rock wall terraces

I think I will have to start a gardening blog... so future posts will be on my gardening blog.

Replacing screens

Sorry... no pictures this time. I inherited a new camera and am still learning how to use it.

Time it took: Me? I spent over an hour doing 1 window screen. Then my son took over and finished the job. It took him maybe 20 minutes per window. Note below why it took me so long...

My mother needs to have several screens replaced. This one's a very doable job and I've done it before. When my kids were very small, they poked holes in the screen door (several times) and garden mice occasionally chewed through her fiberglass screens.
This time, I'm using the metal screens to keep those mice out. Of course, the kids can still poke holes, but now they're old enough NOT to do it.

So... Starting with the list of supplies, you'll need:

• Window screen - comes in fiberglass or aluminum at Home Depot.


• screen tool - Don't try to use a screwdriver or something else... This is worth the investment and only cost a couple bucks.


• GLOVES if you're doing the aluminum screen, unless you're very careful and adept with home repairs (which we all know I'm NOT).


• x-acto knife or very sharp tool for cutting the excess screen.


• Rubbery Screen Spline - Bring a bit of your old screen spline so you can pick the correct size.


• Tape

If you read the back of the Spline packageyou'll find the instructions for replacing the screen. It's a rather simple proccess, basically remove the spline/screen. Cut a new screen piece abou 2" larger than the frame. Secure the frame by taping it to a table or something so it doesn't warp while you... um..."spline" it. Place the new screen on the frame, and push the spline in using the tool. Simple right?

Note: This job is not for weak hands. My fingers were tired and achy from doing lots of handsewing and gardening over the past weekend and the spline was a bear to push in. Eventually my son took over, but I did manage to get 1 screen done quite neatly. If you use fiberglass screen, the job is much easier. Metal screen'll fight back.... with teeth and claws, so use your gloves.

Working again at last

Up and running again!

I've been busy working on work things lately, not much time for the sloper adventure since I've had some work to do. But I'm happy to say I can get back to my blogging. We bought a new computer and are now free of breakdowns and crashes.

I just realized what an unorganized mess my blog is becoming, and will start a new section for my sewing adventures. It's the biggest part of my blog life and deserves it's own little address, so future entries will be at http://justsewit.blogspot.com/

The computer's down...

I'm sad. My computer is down and we can't get it working. So I just have a quick minute to update my blog while visiting my mom.

We hope to be up and running again soon.

Stay tuned for more adventures in fitting. I found my old patternmaking/drafting info from the classes I attended at Fashion Center Sewing School. It's run by an older Japanese lady who still does everything the old way... paper and pencil. I'll have to try that one again later. The old sloper fit great when I went several years ago and may I can make a new one now...

Next time (soon I hope): Moulage fitting adventures.

Bonfit Fitted Shirt #2: The last Bonfit Bodice Adventure

Nothing worthwhile comes easy... This proves it. I'm getting closer to a nice fitted shirt. Here's pics of the changes I made to the last pattern. You can see I've overlayed the new pattern over it and used a red pencil to make changes. On the front piece, I've done the following:

1. Added to the front hem.
2. Moved the bust point down about 1/4"
3. Removed 1/4" from the shoulder slope.
4. Cut in the front armhole about 1/4"
5. Reshaped the dart.
6. In addition, after I tried it on, I reshaped the dart making it straight from the waist down to the hem.
7. Took in about 1/4" from the area below the dart. I reshaped the side seam a little and tapered it back out at the hip.

On the back piece, I made the following adjustments:

1. Made the upper part of the dart almost 2" longer.
2. Added a tiny bit to the across back width.
3. Removed 1/4" from the shoulder slope.
4. Did a sway back adjustment, thus added a bit more to the bottom hem as well. (might be a little too much).
5. Added 1/2" extra back hip space at the side seams.
6. Also took in an additional 1/2" at the center back. Give it a little more shape.

Okay, now here's the worst part. After I did all this redrafting, I decided to use the instruction sheets from a drafting class I took several years ago. It was taught by an older Japanese lady famous for her skills. The sloper I made then fit very well and I designed quite a few things from it. Then I had another baby and it got lost at my mother's house, only to be recovered this past week.

Anyway, I took the instructions for the sleeve (I was terribly disappointed with Bonfit's version and could not see how I could improve it) and drafted the sleeve from that. I got a comfortable fit, and only slight problems. The puckering is my fault, there is just enough ease in the cap, but I wanted to get this done so I quickly sewed it in. The twist in the front? I'm not sure yet, but it's not too bad and I'm sure I can figure it out. Any suggestions?

The back has a few wrinkles and I'm not sure if it's just caught up on my jeans or if more work needs to be done. But I'm a bit fed up with this shirt and would like to move on already.

So... Bonfit's bodice patterner works well enough for a loosely fitted garment, but I will never again use it for anything fitted. It's just way too much work to make all the adjustments for a decent fit.

I'm giving up on Bonfit Bodice and will return to the good old fashion dressmaker's rule, big sheets of paper, and a good sharp pencil. Oh... I have to make at least ONE shirt from this mess. Just so I have something to show for all this work.

The dress that inspires

Simplicity 3904: That's so Raven dress/top

Fabrics used: Lightweight aloha print cotton/ Polyester georgette

Sorry about the mugshot. I asked her to strike a pose and this was the best she could do. She was however, very happy about her new dress and wants to learn how to sew again. "I want to make pretty dresses for me and my friends!" I quote her exact words... Wow... I hope she's serious.

She needed a dress for her band concert this weekend, the requirements for 7th graders were aloha print shirt or dress, shoes or sandals. I found the dressweight green aloha print fabric and the georgette at WalMart for a total of about $9.00 (including thread). Can't beat that price.

The front bands, ties and hem band has an overlay of the georgette. I was thinking of doing it over a solid color green, but found my stash green didn't have enough. It was also too heavy for this dress. This, however, looks great.

The pattern is simple to sew, but I changed the way the facings were done in order to make the inside edges look more polished. One tip to remember when sewing facings, Always understitch. It helps pull the facing to the inside and prevents it from showing. Here's a picture of the neckline.

I'm very pleased with the results. This is the style I remember seeing in my elementary school years. It was a favorite muumuu design for pregnant moms. Now, only the skinny kids wear it, and the pregnant moms are wearing tight shirts that show off their bellies! Funny how times change.

Bonfit Fitted Shirt #1

Do I look somewhat annoyed? Thanks to Bonfit... The fit is not too bad, but it certainly is not all that great. I made the fitted shirt, and tried to fix the problems I had with the basic shirt while doing this one. It helped some, but I see there's still alot of work to be done. Here's the muslin.

1. Those bust points should be about 1" further out on each side. The recommended 3/4" ease is not enough.
2. The waist darts need to be shifted out to the sides a bit more. I'm considering making two very slim darts instead of one big one.
3. The collar is still too big.
4. Hip line does not have quite enough ease to be worn over my jeans. I like a bit more space.
5. I shifted the sleeve towards the back, which solved the twisting problem. But now theBack of the sleeve at the armhole needs to have a bit removed, front too. Guess I will have to reshape the sleeve seam.
6. My side seam shifts towards the back at the hip.
7. The back is still very baggy above the waist. Since the hip is too tight, it poofs out between the shoulder blades to the top of the hip.
8. But the length will be fine once hemmed. I fixed the front by adding about 1 1/2" tapering to the side seam.
9. Also added 1" to the bicep for space.
10. Practiced a little sleeve detail at the back of the sleeve. I think I'll move it to the side and make it longer, it's about 3" now... maybe cut the sleeves to 3/4 length too. I plan on making the same gathered detail at the bust along the center front when I get this shirt perfected.

Okay... that's it for today, it's time to do the mommy thing again and pick up kids.

Bonfit basic shirt - attempt #1

And now I've decided that in order to get to REALLY know the Bonfit patterners, I'll have to go through the whole process and do each of their basic garments. Today, I drafted the basic shirt pieces. This one has no darts and is not fitted at all. It is simply a shirt and I don't really like a lot of things about this pattern.


First, here's a picture:



I followed the directions and here's what I found:

1. There are vague areas that could've been improved by adding pages to refer to. Example: the drafting of the placket placement should be done when the sleeve is drawn. It has no reference as to where to put it, but the info can be found elsewhere in the book. I think it was on page b40.


2. The instruction manual needs to be edited. Directions refering to the sleeve cap widening/narrowing on page b31 are misprinted. "If you want less blousing at the sleeve cap or have changed the shoulder width so that you need a wider sleeve cap:" should read Narrower instead of wider.


3. The button stand is way too wide. I realized this when I drafted, but continued on anyway so that I'd have a shirt to show using the method. It should be half of what it is.


4. The front length is too short, but this might be just my body/and preference.


5. The collar is too big. I did adjust it to make the top edge straight instead of curved, but I think it would still be too big and pointy for me.


6. The cuffs fall too low. I adjusted the shirt sleeve pattern as it states in the directions, and removed the extra for the cuff, but I think it would look even better with a bit more removed.


7. The sleeve twists forward. This is usually true of most basic straight sleeved patterns. I don't like this and usually make an adjustment by shifting the whole sleeve piece about 1/4"-1/2" towards the back. It helps eliminate that twist wrinkle. I didn't do it here.


8. Across the front is too wide. I'll need to cut about 1/2" into the front bodice in order to get rid of the wrinkle.


9. It hangs... but then, I expected this because I didn't make a fitted blouse. I like it darted and fitted at the waist and will do another one with those adjustments.


10. The back... same thing. I'd like it fitted, but this is the way this one should be, and it almost fits okay across the shoulders and upper back. I think it might need just a tiny bit more space across the shoulders.

Alrighty, I'm off to redo the shirt in a more fitted version, with all those corrections listed above. Hopefully I'll be back with a well-fitting garment using the Bonfit. Wish me luck!

I'm also working on Kenneth King's Moulage CD book with hopes of having something even better... let's see what works.

Bonfit vs. Kenneth King's Moulage CD

After starting a SewAlong for the Bonfit Bodice on PatternReview.com, I decided it would be neat to compare the results of a basic bodice sloper with Kenneth King's Moulage. Here's the first post on the progress of that comparison.

Bonfit is a plastic patterner with sliding panels and knobs that tighten to hold them in place. It's supposedly a basic pattern that can be used to make nearly anything you want. This one is for the Bodice and can be used for tops, shirts, and uh.... bottomless dresses? It says you need the skirt patterner in order to make a dress. IMHO, probably not... though I have that one too. It provides you with a ready made framework of a pattern that you can just draft out and add your design details to.

Kenneth King's Moulage serves a different purpose. It's like having a 2D frame of your own body that you use to create your designs from. Kinda like a 2D dress form. You'd have to add your own ease and design details, but the basic placements of the bulges and bumps should be in the right places so you'll know where to skim over them.

Below is the Bonfit bodice draft I made for a basic fitted shirt. Using the basic measurements as directed by the book, I drafted out the basic bodice pattern. There is ease calculated into the pattern, it's made to be a "ready made" shirt pattern once drafted. Here's my basic bodice for the basic fitted shirt BEFORE I did any fittings and made any adjustments other than what was stated in the book. For my body, that was the narrow shoulder. Remember, it does NOT serve the same purpose as the moulage, but it should follow the shape of it.

Then I tried making a pattern using Kenneth King's CD for the Basic Bodice. Here's what it looks like before I made any alterations to that one. Funny shaped armholes, and the shoulder slope looks very different, but we'll have to see a muslin before we decide which one fits best.

Bonfit

Pros:
Basic sloper just needs transferring to paper and can be used for any body within a given range.

Cons: There are some mistakes and omissions in the book. Since this system is meant to be used by a range of learning levels, nothing should be left out.

The Moulage CD by Kenneth King

Pros: I like that this CD provides a more personalized fit. He also offers many explanations regarding why we do certain strange adjustments... like subracting a 1/4" for bias. You don't get that explanation in most drafting books. It also has a video clip on the proper way to measure your model. It would be great if measuring could be done alone, but this is great info for your not-so-adept-at-sewing helper, like DH.

CONS: Hmmmmm.... wait... I'm thinking.... Maybe you need to be able to do basic math? Is that a con? I don't think so, it keeps my brain from going soggy. Ah... one thing, an solution is provided for adjusting most deviations you might find while drafting, but I did not see one for my situation. My shoulder point was higher than the one on the framework. There is a solution stated in the book regarding lowering it, but not raising it. It could be that it's the same process though. I did the alteration as he stated in the book, but it did make my shoulder slope look a little weird.

To be continued...

Next chapter: The Muslins

First Post... what's it all about?

So what's this blog about? Everything and anything related to home. It's what I do, everyday. As a beginning homeowner, I have so many projects going on to make our place livable and comfortable. I thought I'd document it here.

We paid so much for our house, that we have few funds left for those little repairs and renovations to make it a "home." So I improvise, I DIY, I reconstruct, and get a little dirty... okay, a lot dirty doing it. Recently I fixed a dripping toilet, and I KNOW there's a lot folks paying someone else big bucks when it can be done by an absolute beginner (like me) for about $10.00 and a couple hours. If you're a little more experienced in fixing stuff, you could get it done in just 30 minutes.

Just for comparison, here's what the average handyman will charge you:

Rates:
- $60 for first hour (1 hour minimum)
- $40 for subsequent hours that day
- $15 for subsequent 1/4 hours (as opposed to rounding up to the next hour)
- $80/hour for night & holiday

Most handymen will have a 1 hour minimum fee.

Hmmm... I have 4 children to send to college, and am saving some bucks on these repairs. I think I'll stick it into the college saving funds... or maybe start a vacation fund... What we could do with the money!

Bonfit Basic Top

Need to sew... need to sew... need to sew a top or something... Anybody else understand that feeling? I've been sewing journal covers and curtains for the past week and need to do something garment related really quick before I go nuts! So I take out the Bonfit patterner and have a quick fix... ahhh.

Bonfit starts everyone off with a simple basic top consisting of a front piece and back piece. It helps familiarize you with the way the patterner works. I've used the patterner several times before and am currently working on making a properly fitted shirt pattern. It still needs lots of work to get it to fit properly. I'm finding there are lots of adjustments necessary and am thinking that it would be easier to start from scratch. In the meantime, I wanted a quick sewing fix to curb my cravings for a decently sewn top, so I drafted and sewed up the basic top pattern.

The basic design features are cut on sleeves, front slit opening, side slits at the hem. I cut it on the bias to take advantage of the stripes.

Initially, the back piece fit poorly. I found this to be true of the shirt pattern I drafted as well. It's extremely baggy and I needed to remove a couple inches from the CB at the small of my back. I tapered it back up to the shoulder blades and that helped a bit. I suppose the basic shirt pattern is meant to be baggy, but adding the CB seam shaping made a big difference in the way the shirt fits. If I could take out a pinch from the waistline, it might improve the way it hangs at the hip. Here's a picture of the alterations I made. The red line shows how much I took it in, the black line is the original sewing line.

And here is the back AFTER I removed most of the excess bagginess. Imagine how bad it was before...

BUT, the withdrawal symptoms have subsided and I am content to get back to my work things.

Bike assembly. $10.00 or a child's feeling of accomplishment?

Mom and sis built me a bike! And I helped!
Time it took: 2 1/2 hours

Time it should've taken: 0 if you buy it already assembled ($10.00 more), or maybe 45 minutes.

I'm sitting here, having my celebratory glass of wine after spending the evening with my 4 year old son and my 19 year old daughter assembling a bike. Yes, we did it together, amazingly without killing anyone... much less breaking anything.

Of course, he started out with the easy job, unwrapping and showing us each part. I did the second easiest thing, taking pictures and trying to figure out and remove whatever looked like plastic or rubber bits of protective pieces... of which there were many.

And my daughter basically figured out how to put it together and did much of it herself. We tried using the instructions, but they were rather useless. The instructions were written for a whole line of bikes, not specifically this one. None of it really matched up too well. So the brain took over, and this time, I was just an assistant.

Here we go:
1) Take out all the parts, unwrap and make sure you've removed all the extraneous stuff. Some of it can fool you, until you try to figure out why it doesn't fit with the piece it's supposed to. (Yes, I did, and here's the one I almost missed.)

2) Now, for the first part, tell your 4 year old to go watch tv or have a snack so you can figure out how to get that front wheel squeezed into the fork. Yes it seemed impossible, until my daughter decided to remove one of the nuts and just shoved the darn thing together. Well, it worked, and it holds together. And logically, it should be safe to ride. I don't think we could've gotten it together the way it was... Of course all the nuts and necessary parts were on and it's solid, or we would've gone back to the store and paid the $10.00.

3) Put on the training wheels. My son actually did one side, while my daughter did the other one. This was easy. Put the pieces together like this, and make sure the part that sticks out on the silver piece is in the slot so it won't slip around. Think logically.... My 4 year old did this part with minimal assistance.

4) Adjust the seat. Easy enough, stick the seat in and tighten the screw. Ours has a quick release lever, so once it's adjusted properly, you can flip the lever and make any other adjustments when your child grows taller.

5) Put the handlebars in. Remove the little cap on the end (if it has one), it might be covering the mechanisms to hold the bars in place. Yes, this is where I had a brainfart... BUT after the lights went back on, I figured it out. Line them up and tighten the nut. It REALLY helps to have a competent assistant to help hold the front wheel in place while you keep the handlebars from moving.

6) Pedals were easiest to put on. They are labeled R and L. Must I explain what that is? Hmmmm... even I figured that one out. My 4 year old did one side, tightening with a wrench and did a better job than my 19 year old. She had a bit of problem with the wrench.

7,8,9,10... yes, it should take a while) It's almost done! The brakes were not too hard, here's a quick look at how the cable fits into the hand brake. There is a little knob in the end that slides into a little groove cut precisely for it. The cable slides into another groove, and the end piece should easily fit into the end of the hand brake... you know., uh. ahem..... male-female like. Okay, uh... now the male part naturally screws into the female part. Make sure nothing slips out (get your mind outta the gutter!) as you pull the cable to tighten the brakes. Squeeze the brake pads together while you tighten the cable and screw it tighter to hold it on. (SHAME ON YOU!) Okay... well, you get the picture... NO, NO, NOT THAT ONE! Here are a few real ones to help you visualize the actual process.

Cable end goes into the hole.

Slide cable through the slit.

Male-Female connections, uh..yeah... screw it in.

Cable end is like another male-female connection. It should just, um... slide right in. This one is sticking out and not doing the job. Oh my....

And lastly, pull cable and tighten up the screw to hold it in place. Whew... a job well done. You deserve a smoke... uh... a glass of wine. ;)

Honestly... we all went to sleep feeling happy and very competent. The job was done and now, my daughter, who can't coordinate her fingers to play a video game, is feeling a bit more capable in the world of tools. And of course, 4 year old little boys always feel capable amongst nuts and bolts. So was just $10.00 savings worth it? Yes... and then some.

Journal Covers

I carry around a composition book filled with my ideas and plans. It's with me wherever I go so I can jot down all those ideas that pop into my mind while I'm waiting for kids. But it's sooo ugly and makes me feel like a kindergartener. So I made a cover for it. Then I made a few more as gifts for my niece and my daughters. Of course they wanted some for friends too, so I kept making them.

Instructions for making a Journal Cover (for a standard composition book):

Create the following pattern pieces by tracing around the open composition book, allowing 1/2" seam allowances for the outer edges, and 1/4" seam allowances for all other pieces. Don't forget to add a little bit of extra width for the book to close. I added about 3/8."

Here's a pic of the pattern pieces for the journal cover shown above:

And this picture shows the cut pieces of the outer cover.
To sew:

1) After handstitching your sashiko block, trim it to the correct size and piece together the front cover section, using 1/4" seam allowances.

2) Sew the spine piece to the front cover and back cover pieces. I usually edgestitch along the spine seams too.

3) Apply interfacing to the outer cover piece.

4) Finish the edges for the sleeves.

This is what you should have so far:

5) Now, baste the sleeve to the cover pieces, right sides together.

6) Place the lining piece on top, right side down. Baste. At this point, I check fit for the composition book by matching the center back along the spine, and tracing the open composition book outline on the interfacing. I allow a scant 1/4" along the short edges of the book so it can close without distorting. I also sew just slightly outside the traced line along the long edges to allow for turn of cloth. Sew, leave an opening in the back cover to turn it right side out. Trim edges, clip corners, and finish edges.

7) Turn right side out, handstitch the opening closed and press. That's it!

Tada! What a beautiful way to keep your thoughts at hand. The best thing is you can reuse this cover for the next book when you fill up the first!

Bucilla for Christmas

Last Christmas, I wanted to have nice stockings for my kids. The year before that I wanted nice stockings for them.... and the year before that... and well, you get the idea.

When my first child was born, she's now 19 and in college, I made her a cute Bucilla felt applique stocking with all the glittery sequins and beads adorning it. She loved it then, and still loves it. 3 years later, when my second child was born, I bought another Bucilla stocking kit. He's now 17 and it's almost done, but I bought him a different kit this past year, along with one more kit for my 3rd child (now 12). And my littlest boy, now 4, will inherit the almost finished one. Considering it took me nearly 17 years to finish the second stocking, why did I buy more?! Oh well... I DID finish much of the second stocking in less than a month just after Christmas 2007.

Here's what I have for them so far:

I also started working on a beautiful tree skirt about 3 years ago when we moved into our new home.

It is my goal this year, 2008, to have all their stockings and the tree skirt finished for Christmas. Yes, Christmas 2008, not 2020. I've been working on the tree skirt for the past month. Nearly every night I spend about 30 minutes hand sewing, and here's what I have so far:

Occasionally, one of the kids will want to help work on it, so there are some odd bits. But it's a family project... and that's what I love most about it. It brings back fond memories of my mother and I working on a red Bucilla treeskirt with snowmen and white pompom trim around the edge. And I smile... what a nice way to end the evening.

Fixing the Pop up stopper

Time it should take: 20 minutes
Time it took me: 30 minutes


I don't know how he did it, but he broke the pop-up stopper in the bathroom sink. Okay, there's just a little cheapy plastic piece that holds it in, and Mr. Brute strength thinks he can make anything work so he pulled the darn thing out... manually.


After consulting my trusty "Plumbing 101" book, I set off to work. This job requires some prep before you can actually do it. Gather a bunch of rags, old toothbrush, 2 buckets, and the tool box. A flashlight might be helpful too. Clean out the area under the sink, yes, maybe even vacuum the cockaroach poop outta there. You might have to squeeze underneath the sink in order to see what you're doing.


Off to Home Depot I go again, and I discovered something new... Pop up stoppers DON'T come in blue. There's a little blue plastic protective covering over the stopper to keep it from getting scratched while you install it. DUH! (No, I'm a brunette.) I also discovered that you can take those pieces out of the package without breaking it open. The packaging is made in such a way that you can open it up, compare the piece with your original, and easily put it back together. Oh my... the world of home repairs... even us home repair DIY dodos can figure things out.

The stopper I bought looks somewhat different from the original one, but it seems they all work the same way. Here's my original stopper, without the broken off bottom part:

There was a small plastic shaft that had a hole on the bottom. It was way too gross for pictures. I dumped it with the rest of the slime.

Here's a picture of what you'll find at the store. I just matched the size of the stopper part assuming "Universal" meant it would fit nearly any sink drain. This one has the blue plastic covering removed.

There's a whole lot of info on fixing the stopper on the net, and Lowes.com has a good diagram of how it all works. So I won't go into the details on how to fix it. Here are just a few thoughts and ideas to keep in mind. It is a gross job and you may want to wear rubber gloves. First, make sure the bucket fits under the drain when you remove the trap. You definitely don't want it to slip. What'll come out is incredibly uh... for lack of a better word, disgustingly gross...and it stinks. Be ready for a trail of hair and more slime to come slopping out of the pipe when you pull it open. Dump the rubbish into the bucket and clean out the drain with baking soda. It'll deodorize it and get rid of some of that stink.

And yes, I said you'd need two buckets. The other one is use to hold the parts and clean them in after you remove them. You won't want to put it down anywhere on your sink. Clean the parts and reinstall the new stopper. Now you've got two buckets of toxic waste... where to dump them? Okay... that's a good question. I used the toothbrush to pull the hair/slimeball out of the trap/drain and other parts, let it drip into the bucket a bit then just threw it into the trash. After scrubbing the drain with the toothbrush, I rinsed it out and had a bucketfull of stinky grey slimewater. That went down the toilet. I figured there was nothing solid that should block it and it's no worse than anything else we flush.

So Voila! A clean sink (with new pop-up stopper), and now I don't need to worry about having to fish DH's lost little things out of the drain anymore. Good job MOM!

Total Savings: $60.00

To the Library

Books are my greatest resource. They've taught me crochet, sewing, drafting, gardening, parenting and a whole bunch of other stuff... like cooking...ick. I love books. The library loves me too, I donate so much in late fees that I should have a membership there.

Included here are some of my most useful books. I'll keep adding to this list whenever I have nothing else to write about... hmmm... Hopefully not too often.


I saw it at the library, and liked it so much, that I added it to my meager collection of home care books. I have several shelves full of sewing/crafting books, another cabinet of cookbooks and magazines (hidden away so I don't see them till I get tired of my own cooking), but my home care books... I can count them on my fingers. Lets see... 4? But growing. Anyway, this book is the one I use for my plumbing jobs. The pics are clear and well done, the information is basic, and it starts from the very beginning... how the plumbing system works. Ahhh... such a good read. Even my 4 year old enjoyed that part.

On Fixing the Toilet

Time it SHOULD take: 30 minutes if you know what you're doing.
Time it actually took me: about 2 hours... Read on to see why it took me so long.

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Last time we called a plumber, it cost an arm and a leg. I only have one of each left, so I thought I'd better start learning to do it myself. Here we go...

First, I had to figure out what was wrong. That was easy enough. It was broken. The water from the tank was dripping from the cover onto the floor. I opened up the tank to take a peek inside, and stupidly flushed the toilet to see what was going on.
WOOOWEEE! I received a nice cold wake up call from the fill valve. Maybe a gasket or a washer was not working anymore, 'cuz it was squirting throught the sides of the top.
Which one is the fill valve? If there's a floating ball attached to it, it's the fill valve. Some newer mechanisms don't have the tank ball anymore. I just replaced mine with a fill valve that has a floaty thing that's attached to the shaft.

This is the leaky one I had in my toilet previously:

See that blue cap with the float ball attached to it?
The water squirts out the sides and top when I flush.

This is the one I have now, It's the Fluidmaster Whisper Fill Valve with Leak Sentry:

I picked it up at Home Depot for about $12.00. There are actually two kinds offered there, this one has a leak preventing feature that prevents the tank from refilling when there is a tank leak. You can still flush, but you'll have to push the flusher twice to have the tank refill.
The other one is a basic model without the Leak Sentry.

The instructions were easy to follow, with pretty decent pics. It's a very doable job for a beginner. I basically had no problems with installation. The hard part was adjusting the special leak preventer. It took me over an hour of fine tuning to get it to work properly. But after it was finished, I told everyone in my family, including grandma and my BIL that I had fixed the toilet myself. :) Pat myself on the back!

Total savings: $60.00