Time4Learning Review

DD and I took a summer test drive with Time4Learning.  I have admired the concept of this program and wanted to try it for a long time.  I was thrilled to find that they have a blogger review program.  Through this program I was able to try Time4Learning with DD for a month in return for this review.

DD missed her friends from her Kindergarten class as well as it's daily routine so much that we started her on Time4Learning right away.  I really liked the single sound letter reviews targeted for those starting 1st grade.  They include the review of 3 or 4 letters at a time and I was delighted by how much she already knew.  It's so hard to know the depth your child's progress in school.  After all what does Enthusiastic about Math really tell you about their knowledge?  Time4Learning offers the following subjects Math, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Language Arts Extensions.

Now I had a big misunderstanding about the way Time4Learning works.  I'd read it was self motivated and children can run the software program after the first day of you sitting with them.  I did not find this to be true.  DD needed me sitting with her for the entire first two weeks.  If I needed to leave the room she would make little to no progress while I was gone.  After those first two weeks it was better, but I still had to be in the room and directly help and motivate with certain skills.

In spite of my daughter's love of Math, she didn't delight in the math section of Time4Learning at in fact she preferred not to work in that section at all.  She did like their limited sciences and I think if I asked her, I'm certain she would still recall whom Jane Goodall is.  After it became obvious she would move through that quickly I bumped her into 2nd grade science.  This was a nice feature as your child can be in one level for one thing and another for a different subject.  What does that mean exactly?  Well in DD's case she was in 1st grade reading, but by selecting the corresponding grade at the beginning of each subject we could shift up to 2nd grade and down to Kindergarten as needed for review.

As DD was enrolled in 2nd grade science she could work on 1st grade science, 2nd grade, and 3rd, had we had the program longer I'm certain she would have made swift progress through those.  The default level you enter upon opening the subject the grade your child is enrolled in.

My goal for this as a summer program was to keep her skills sharp and allow her to gain a more steady footing in her reading.  I don't know about you, but I recall learning to read like turning on a light switch, I didn't know and then all the sudden I did and could read anything.  I doubt that is how it happened, but it is how I remembered.  I greatly wanted Jessica's light to come on.  In this respect Time4Learning showed me just how complicated reading is.  Letter sounds aren't simple, they are complicated and the English language has so many words that break the rules.  Their first grade "language arts" program is very good providing a single set of  lessons to explain "sh" and in another "ck".  What I found lacking was a short vowel sounds.  I went back to the Kindergarten level, but that is so different, in that it blends a bit of history with reading, science, and play that it didn't help DD, not even after I found the Kindergarten letter reviews.  The entire Kindergarten segment seemed like it was "teaching down" after the straightforward fun learning of the 1st grade program.

The Language Arts Extensions was the bane of my efforts.  This takes a story, and reads it to the child.  That seems fine and teaches a lesson with the story, but then the child has to read it alone, unlike the Language Arts review which uses words the student has learned to sound out and words they know and has the ability to click on any given word to hear it read.  Not so with Language Arts Extensions; after the child reads it through once by themselves (this should have been the time of the program "reading together" but our computer didn't do that) they then have to read it through two more times and answer questions about the story.  Shoot by the end of all those readings what is left to retain - I had it memorized!  These lessons do not have any bearing on letter sounds the child has already covered and it is a big struggle, these stories also lack the cadence you expect in beginning reader books.  I wouldn't even start those until the child has a solid reading foundation, and then I'd skip the repeated re-readings.  Twice alone is surely enough.  I found this in the Parents Forum so clearly I'm not the only one dealing with these issues.  Perhaps taking Extensions away and sticking them to the end of Language Arts would be helpful.

Time4Learning has a parent support forum, which sounds great and maybe it is for some people but I found it very odd that my question had to be moderated before they would allow it to post.  So instead of getting a answer as quickly as possible, my question couldn't even be seen until a moderator looked at it.  Eventually a reply came two days later, but it was directing me out of the program and off site to other places, which I found very odd for a paid program.  Perhaps a backdoor to the parent forum, which I had to register for separately from the parent login would help with this.

I also found it odd that to preview the lessons I had to work through them myself first.  If you do that and complete the lesson it flags it as completed and if you you merely start the lesson it shows you on your child's records.  I saw on DD's screens that lessons could be assigned but that is a feature designed only for classroom settings and isn't available at all to individual home families.

Did DD like the program?  Well that's a question I would like an answer to as well.  It was like pulling teeth to get her to sit down at the computer to do her school work.  At first I made it so she had to do that before she did anything else online and that was somewhat motivating for her.  As I felt her moving out of her depth with the compound consonants my desire to push her diminished in my own frustrations to review short vowel sounds with her to aid in her reading efforts.  Truthfully, and contrary to my efforts getting her there, as soon as she would start the program she seemed to delight in the familiar characters and the learning format.

Time4Learning has an educational playground for the students to use when they are done with their class time.  After DD figured out where the best games where she wanted to leave her class window small so she could watch the countdown timer.  I found that to be counter productive and insisted she maximize the classroom window during class time.  The program allows a up to 59 minutes of playground time after (0-59 minutes) of classroom time have been completed.  These amounts are controlled by the parent account and I found them annoying.  We did all of our class time and then DD could have playground time, I didn't care if she played it all afternoon.  After all it's educational, fun, and safe what more could you want in an online program?  But if she played for 59 minutes it would kick her out and I'd have to change it to lesson time required 0 so it would open the playground time back up.

We did most of our lessons in the morning, leaving the afternoon open for lunch and then play.  But the timers don't like that and will log you out if you leave them for lunch, which is fine, but when DD would return for her playground time guess what?  The countdown timer for her schooling requirement was insisting it was time for work again.

Above I mentioned the program was moving faster that my daughter's retention and ability to learn and I truly believe that.  They say you can repeat the lessons as many times as you want, but I ask you:  If they didn't want to do it in the first place, what makes anyone think a child would do it a second time?

This program is not a stand alone teaching tool and they tell you that - sort of by calling it a foundation.  I thought it would be okay as a stand alone program for the summer months but it really doesn't work as a stand alone at all.  Without a complete program some things slip, such as handwriting at the lower levels.  They do have a handwriting program and a spelling program, but each one is it's own website with it's own billing.

I really wanted Time4Learning to be a good match for us, I just don't think it's quite right for where and who we are right now.  I am handicapped and stress drives my pain through the roof, which in turn makes it extremely difficult for me to repeat the same concepts over and over to my daughter one on one.  Trust me I hate that fact about myself, but it doesn't change the fact.  I thought the self motivated potential of Time4Learning would help us, perhaps a tutor would have been better, right when we win that lottery we don't play...

All images within this post are merely linked URLs from the Time4Learning website and they reserve and retain all rights to their own stuff. 

Not Thrilled... Fusible Batting Review

In my last post I told you I'd review the batting I'd purchased for My Tennessee Waltz Patisserie Quilt.  Now let me preface this:  I contacted the company and they told me it's defective batting.  Now while that may be true I thought I'd post a quick note.

This was Fusible Batting, the directions say to layer together all three layers and then iron them together.  Simple right?  While fighting this product my DH said "if it sounds easy; it's to good to be true" and surely in this case he's right.  I would highly recommend anyone wanting to try Fusible Batting, to buy the smallest amount possible and use it with a small project.  I don't mean a twin sized quilt like Patisserie, I mean itsy bitsy, like a tiny wall hanging.  If it works for you okay, then try it in a slightly larger size. Work your way up to a crib size.  This product was so bad that my heart goes out to anyone using this product on their first quilt thinking they'll try the easy way first.  

Now that my quilt is fused - sort of.  I have no choice but to continue with it.  So as I blunder, complain, and cry I know you'll be here to get me through it.  Because we know it's going to be a beautiful quilt when it's done...

As always I welcome those with an alternative viewpoint to post a response, after all perhaps you've found a source that wasn't defective...

DK5 Review

One of the online stores I love to buy from submitted a request for  product reviews, articles, and how to projects.  Well I couldn't help myself and jumped right in.  Here is my review for DK5:

Get back to the Cheaper, Easier Way of Doing things

Did you give up on spray adhesive?  Or perhaps you avoid using it because you don’t want to have to clean up over spray?  I understand exactly.  I first found DK5 at Allstitch.net and I’m so glad I did.  It’s easy to use on many surfaces and I have even have found an excuse to use it away from my sewing room.


Just a little spritz on a clean cloth and another spray on whatever needs cleaning and then wipe them both together.  Rarely will you need to wipe more than once.  Long gone are my days of a sticky workspace.  Do you sometimes set up the roll of stabilizer as a shield to protect your work area so you don’t have to clean that part too?  I know, I’ve done it.  My hoops had so much build up they would leave adhesive on my embroidery machine as they would move, but not anymore.  DK5 is so quick and effective, I am able to easily remove all of the accumulated gunk off my sewing things with only a couple of wipes.  I found myself with nearly full can looking forward to an excuse to use it. 

I spray baste all of my quilts on the floor and use newspaper to keep the spray from getting on the hardwood, but sometimes a bit of spray ends off the edge of the newspaper in spite of my best efforts.  So I just reach for a clean cloth and my DK5 and it’s clean.

Whenever I see a bit of lint accumulating on my sewing machine needles I remove the needle and give it a spray of DK5.  I let it sit on there for about a minute and then I rinse the needle under running water and allow it to dry.  I have prolonged the life of many needles by doing this.

I have also been known to spray my templates with a bit of spray adhesive to prevent shifting.  I have found this is especially helpful on new templates.  When I’ve finished cutting my fabric, the template is covered in fabric lint.  DK5 cleans my templates so beautifully that I can put them away mess free.

DK5 is a great product to have around the house, in fact when air conditioner installers came to my house they used spray adhesive during the installation and got it on the paneling as well as my door.  I was really concerned at first but then I remembered my DK5.  I did a little spot check in a corner and when that was fine I used it on the messy over spray.  The entire mess came right off.  Perhaps they should be taking DK5 to job sites with them.

If you’re concerned about the smell it is completely negligible as there is a slight fragrance at first but it clears quickly; certainly faster and much less intense than the actual spray adhesive.  So why not be done with the mess? Grab your adhesive, tear away stabilizer, and pick up a can of DK5.

Textile Medium Update - Review Part 1

Not one to sacrifice a project to a product I know nothing about, I tried my Fabric Medium by Americana before subjecting DH's art work to it.  The results where not at all what I'd hoped.

After three days of drying a heat set and one hand washing.

I scanned the image so that you could really see the color change between the painted and the unpainted areas.  From this scan alone I would be thrilled with the results.  But what you don't see is that the side painted with Textile Medium feels like vinyl there is no better way to explain it.  Also look along the edge of the black on the left had side.  See how the fabric was changed simply by having the paint on it? 

Another troublesome issue that you can't see but I can is that the colors have all taken on a yellowish hue.  The medium appears white in the bottle, so I am uncertain if this problem is that the colored pencils ran a bit as the medium was applied or just what.

Original, attempts made to use different pressures and angles to see overall results.  All colors are Prismacolor.

The original post said to apply lightly which I found completely impossible with the Americana brand.  Firstly it pooled on the surface and then soaked in drenching all areas it touched.  I am hoping by diluting the Fabric Medium it will reduce all of my issues.  As each step takes a while, it will be around a week before you'll be able to see a follow up on my dilution samples.

Right after painting with Medium.

Color tinged mess left behind under the fabric, all attempts to apply thinly failed with this product.

As far as clean up, this product cleans up in hot water and a bit of soap and for my table a bit of elbow grease so at least that was okay.  I wouldn't leave it though as that first washing of the sample did not change the feel of the painted sample at all.

This was an update to my Textile Medium Gives New Life to Old WIP post click the link to read.  To see any images bigger simply click on them.  Some will even allow you to zoom on the resulting image after that simply by clicking it again when the magnifing glass appears with a plus sign.

The Quilts of The Great American Teach-In

Yesterday I finished up the second quilt for the second teacher in Jessica's class.  Both panels were printed by Spoonflower.  The first was my radial gradient attempt.  That didn't work out so well and the gradient was lost in a sea of dark navy and purple.  They agreed to reprint it with a solid background for me which while I was terribly disappointed I was grateful to them.  The first was such a mess I was certain I couldn't use it, but the waste not want no person in me decided I should try to salvage the first for the teacher's aid.  That way no matter what happened to the second panel in shipping at least I would have one quilt as I promised the children.

I appliqued a pieced block of the school right over the owl.  It took rather a lot of time to get it just right, including but not limited to the hand stitched playground you see above, so this has a children's novelty backing.

The second one arrived just before I could affix the binding on the first, sadly I was rather burned out at that point so all I could think was UGH more work!  The solid background was darker than I thought it would be.  I had been shooting for a light blueish teal and ended up with more of a primary blue.  I'm so glad I kept it light so the owl would be clear.  I hand quilted around the outlines of the owl which gives him a bit of a fuzzy look.

As I only had one yard of the flannel I'd hoped to use as backing I went ahead and did a diamond on the back.  While neither of the quilts from Spoonflower were what I was looking for the children's crayon art work came out beautifully and I love that it's completely washable.  If I find myself making another quilt of this type I will certainly refer Spoonflower.  Multi color gradients could print quite nicely but a range of a single color I would not recommend.  The owl's eyes are a brown black radial gradient and those turned out just fine.

I'm all done shopping and nearly finished wrapping, and the cold front has just made it's way here, so I'm ready to settle in with a cup of hot coco.  From our home to yours, we wish you a joyous and peaceful holiday.

Spoonflower Order Placed

Yesterday I sent off my first order for Spoonflower, a custom fabric manufacturer.  Perhaps some of you may remember I was making the quilt from the children's artwork, and I decided to have it custom printed on fabric?

Well let me start by saying the world of custom fabric is amazing in how freeing it is.  Sashing?  It can be random, tilted, multicolored, you dream it you can have it!  Once I got past the tracks of my own metal blocks to realize making your own fabric is like flying.  Okay, maybe walking instead of being stuck on a train.

The owl contained hereon is made up of all the children's names, I transformed the lines I drew of the owl to make them that way.  ALL copyrights for original artwork belong exclusively to the children, but that owl is mine.  Don't you just love him?  I kicked down the resolution as well as blacking out the children's names for privacy but you can still see the overall appearance.

Turn around time is about 10 days so I'll be posting later on how everything printed out.

Money Can't Buy Happiness

But it sure can buy tranquility and relaxation!

My sister, daughter, husband and I just returned from a short trip to Walt Disney World, where we stayed two nights at Disney's Boardwalk Inn Resort. All of my planning paid off as I found a deal on a concierge room that we couldn't pass up.

We arrived about 2 pm, upon pulling in for valet parking, we were greeted with a smile. The valet checked on our room (which wasn't ready) helped us unload the car and found someone to take us directly up to the Club Level.

The club level has wonderful things. The Innkeepers Lounge for one as well as the concierge desk where my husband checked us in. The ladies in our party were whisked off directly to the Lounge, where we sipped on the best tea my lips have ever touched as well as light snacks. I had read about crowds in the reviews (we never encountered them) as well as the tv - which was off every time I was there, except on morning visits. It was not at all loud, being merely the morning news I didn't feel the pull to distract Jessica from watching it.

While I could have spent my entire vacation there with the peacefully, happy, and helpful CM's, we had plans. My sister was off to Muscles and Bustles Health Club for an aromatherapy massage my husband and I planned for her (which she enjoyed so much she dozed off).

...Meanwhile my family and I played down by the Luna Park Pool. It is the big pool on the Villas side. It was loud and enjoyable. The Luna Park Crazy Play Area is right next to the kiddie pool. I sat in the shade and could easily watch Jessica and her daddy play in both areas. Jessica dearly wanted to go down the water slide, but it was clearly labeled as swimmers only, so keep that in mind if you're planning a trip.

When our room #4222 was ready we called to have our luggage brought up. We booked a Standard Club Level Room. The balcony overlooks the Courtyard and relaxing pool. Off to your left is a direct line to Epcot's France. While the outer most edge of the fireworks view is obstructed, it was simply divine watching them with the "Eiffel tower" in the foreground. This is an East facing room, and the summer morning sun doesn't beam through the heavy curtains, but anyone stepping out there to enjoy the morning view is sure to gain murmurs of discontent from anyone still in bed. While the 4th floor does not require a room key to get to, our room was behind the locked door where the concierge desk is located just past the Innkeeper's Lounge. Also not all club level rooms are on the aforementioned "club level". The Club Level of Boardwalk Inn is the 4th floor.

Mum's the Word Wrap Up

Wow! We had a great time at mom's party. Our turnout was a bit lower than I expected. But that was perfectly alright because we had a great time. Shelly at Shadee's Inspire and Fire was great. I would highly recommend her location for a party. Super easy to find location, friendly, bright. You get the picture. We went on ladies night, which meant half price studio fees, those my sister and I picked up the tab on. From there everyone was allowed to pick whatever they wanted to paint from the plethora of bisque around the shop. Items we painted included a fairy (mine), a square plate, a tea light, a welcome sign, a pot, a photo frame of a bustier, and so on. After I was a good ways into painting I saw a beautiful butterfly, and very nearly selected a sea serpent for DH. It's well worth walking around the store several times, as there are many bisque items around on the walls, and the samples are great for getting ideas.

The Food:

I made a revised version of the 40 Garlic Chicken I found on For the Love of Cooking in my case I changed up the cream sauce and made way more to cover my penne pasta. I was cornered for the recipe, which was nice. I kept it hot by cooking the noodles al dente and then keeping them warm in the crockpot. Leftovers DH ate with relish after adding a bit of butter.

My fruit salad in the carved watermelon basket received rave reviews from everyone, but of course I forgot my camera. Trick: Pineapple Juice will prevent your apples from turning brown, so after you cut the apples bag them up with your cut pineapple and they will stay beautiful. Four days after the party the apples in the leftover fruit salad still look freshly cut. My ratio of pineapples to apples was one "cut and cored" pineapple from the grocery store to five or six apples and I did add the tiny bit of juice from the bottom of the pineapple container in with the apples.

Which leads me to the Sangria. I spend nearly a month trying to track down a good Sangria recipe, and now I have made two different ones - two different ways and I can say the way to make a Sangria is to get the general idea of what's in it and then improvise! A bottle of wine, my favorite was the one we made with Blackberry Wine as it took less orange juice to make it fruity. Half a cup of OJ more to taste if needed (I think we put in about 3 cups to the two bottles of Rene Barbier for the party, which certainly took the alcohol level down). Then add whatever fruit you'd like. For the party the strawberries, the watermelon, and the Mandarin oranges all were gushed over as they absorb the wine nicely. I also had added pineapple and apples. No need to worry about those turning brown, the wine puts a stop to that.

The "grown up fruit" in the punch bowl was much preferred to the regular fruit salad, but I did see my sister cutting her Sangria down with fruit from the watermelon bowl. We also had someone who could not consume red wine (if only I'd known...) she enjoyed the plain fruit salad as well.

I made fresh steamed broccoli on site in my steamer. I didn't start that quite early enough, as it takes 12 minutes or so and most people had started loading their plates about 7 or 8 minutes after I turned the steamer on.

I also made mozzarella caprice, but instead of traditional add ins, I used fresh cut Sage (I would have preferred Basil, but I thought fresh Sage would be better than dried Basil), and sprinkled just a touch of salt and pepper. No more, no less. I did buy the high dollar mozzarella from the deli. One pound was around $10, but it was so worth it. With 4 tomatoes it filled my serving dish up and tasted as good as it looked. While I didn't hear any raves about that, both my husband and my sister reported they'd heard the raves. Personally I'd have been happy to just sit down and eat the caprice. Which is exactly what I did with the tiny bit of leftovers.

I topped the whole shebang off with a fresh loaf of tomato garlic bread from Publix and the Land O Lakes Canola Spreadable Butter, which is always just the right size for butter and taste for butter at parties.

Oh I nearly forgot. As some of you may know I don't eat seafood so it flies right out of my head. My sister and I sprung for a Shrimp Cocktail. Amazingly the medium ring was buy one get one free at Publix. Both rings were devoured, and there were more compliments on the shrimp sauce. I was personally just glad everyone liked it, and I didn't have to make it. Both rings were frozen. I bought them Wednesday and spoke at the counter about it. The gentleman assured me that if I put my shrimp in the fridge it would be perfect for the party Saturday and he was right. As a bonus for me no shrimp smells invaded my fridge.

The ceramics need a week at the studio before they are ready to pick up which will be this Saturday, so I'll have photos of at least mine next week.

Aloha!

The last evening of our getaway we visited 'Ohana. This was a great time. The steak was excellent, and later I will look and see if I can find the recipes for the pineapple bread and the lime salad dressing. Sounds odd doesn't it? I promise it's great. There were pork dumplings (yum), broccoli and carrots (more yum), wings (fall off the bone great), also from the huge grill area came chicken and pork, not so good, but it was easy to lose those two in the sea of great.

The entertainment wasn't what I'd expected as the kids only did one lap around with the coconuts. They also did one lap around collecting others to hula with them, two laps around with the maracas (Jessica had such amazing smiles), and two laps around for a limbo which everyone was a winner. It was really nice because as other diners came and left they could join in or not, and a child that didn't get up on the first go around could easily get up for the next. Oh and I nearly forgot they also taught basic beginning hula. Anyone that participated in any of the little "events" received a lei, Jessica and my sister earned two. If Jessica had gotten a lei for everything she did I doubt we could have seen her head at all. At 37" she was certainly one of the smaller children to join in, but by no means the only one of her size. Afterwards we rode the Monorail to the Grand Floridian to shop at Basin and White, if you haven't been there yet I highly recommend a quick visit. This time around I picked up a "Life's a Beach" soap bar for the bathroom. As well as 6 bath bombs. I'd thought for months that I would purchase the $20 tube they sell (you can pack it as full as you can with bath bombs just so long as they can get the lid on). But the sale they were running when you bought three of the same size turned out to be a much better deal. So instead of a tube for the bathroom I have a slew of little pretty tied baggies. LOL! Have you seen the Monorail lately? Even the monorails are celebrating you and your special days. The monorails are covered in balloons. I just had to take a photo to show.

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping, Keep those Shoppers Shopping Away

We visited the Premium Orlando Outlet but there are many other great ones in the area. We had amazing VIP coupons for Addias. Oshkosh was great, and the Stride Right set us up with shoes that will see Jessica through into VPK. No coupons for the last store though.

The Gymboree outlet was disappointing. They only had one pair of pants in my daughter's size in the entire store, it would have cost me more than their current sale prices (at a regular Gymboree) and it didn't have the adjustable waist band. Trust me, dd has a 19" waist I have to have those things! Unlike normal outlets where the items are overstocks or slightly imperfect. Gymboree makes a special line for their "outlet".

The Disney Outlet is oh my goodness amazing! A huge portion of the items are marked down from standard Disney rates, the standard markdown for "non-dated" items was 50% and more on "past dates". What do I mean by that? Certainly I'm not talking about food. I'm talking about the 2008 red mug I couldn't afford last trip was $3.99 this trip! I got a really cool blue 07 Disney t-shirt for $2.99, I could have had an '08 one in green but the blue one was prettier. The classic Mickey and Minnie shirt with no dates I paid $13, but I did see a Grand Floridian shirt that had been $80+ marked down to $30. All of the original tags are there so you can clearly see the deal you're getting. I couldn't find Jessica's name in the mickey bracelets, so I bought two to take apart and spell out her name. I thought for the money, it wasn't a bad arrangement. My only lament is they had a horse drawn Cinderella carriage that I really wish I'd picked up, but didn't know how to get it out of the store without her knowing (it was huge) or how to merely let her have something that big, even if it was only $15.

Oh and lastly I found these really pretty pink castle ribbons. I'm planning on using them to hang nylon butterflies from Jessica's canopy bed after her birthday.

The Bold and the Beautiful

ORLANDO? Yep! We had a great time. We kicked off our mini vacation with dinner and Villa De Flora in Gaylord Palms. The food was good, all you can eat prime rib as well as a create your own pasta bowl. My group wasn't thrilled with the Alfredo at all but the prime rib gathered joy from every corner of our table. The tomato soup was not as good as I'd remembered, but the Sangria! Oh YUM! I'd never had Sangria before, but let me tell you what a nice blend. As one of the members of our party said "doesn't taste like wine and doesn't taste like a "girlie fru-fru drink".

The best shop by far is one selling Vera Bradley, Paradies Shops. They have an amazing collection including some I know for certain to be retired. Don't go here looking for Vera Bradley discount mark downs though you wont find them. The shopper in you will be thrilled to see that they do have a nice Clearance section for some of their other items.

Gaylord Palms now has gators. I don't remember that from before but they did have feeding times posted, while I'm certain some would really enjoy that Jessica tensed as soon as she saw them and didn't relax until we were on our way.

The top photo is the front door stright from valet, and as we left we made a point stop and take a look.
One last word before I leave you. If visiting for dinner merely for dinner use the valet. After using the valet you will be handed a ticket. If stamped at the resturant the price of valet (it's normally $20) with a dinner stamp it's dropped down to $8 (don't forget to leave a tip!) that's cheaper and easier than the self parking at $12. (rates as of April 2009)

Marker Love, Washable Love

For Christmas I took the plunge and gave Jessica markers. She would tell you Santa brought them, that's not the case as they were under the tree, but in her mind Santa brought EVERYTHING that came on that special day. She loves her markers. Even more than her past preferred arts. I'm sure it will swing back around but it hasn't yet. Woe to her preschool and kindergarten teachers if it doesn't, as she insists that crayons are "slow" and will only use markers in her work book. None of this really bothers me because about oh gee a year and a half at least now, we've been a washable household. Only washable paints, crayons, and markers. Nothing else. It costs a bit extra yes, but how much is your time worth to you? When she colored on the bedroom all the way down the hall to her bedroom back then...

While coloring on the walls has become a thing of the past with new loves comes a renewed desire to "mark" what's hers. Last night I went around the living room with a damp cloth and wiped away all those marks. That damp cloth was wet with nothing other than a bit of water. What a joy to remove! Call me crazy but one simple wipe of something as completely nontoxic as water is worth every penny.

Next time I'll be buying her the 12 pack!

Sewline Fabric Pencil - Rave

I would like to take a few minutes and write a review. Today I am reviewing the Sewline Fabric Pencil. I bought mine from fabric.com for around $12.

Mine is the Pencil color, also known as Black, but trust me this is no ordinary pencil. It has ceramic lead, which washes away with a bit of water, or can be erased with the built in eraser. These are all facts and I have found them to be completely true. I love the way this pencil feels in my hand. It fits like a high end pen would. The lines can be light or dark with very little effort and all vanish completely. The light lines do seem to fade a bit with handling, but easily remedied by running the lead down whatever template twice instead of once.

Unlike normal lead that you can never really trust on fabric, or other fabric pencils, the Sewline lead does not flake or crumble when you write. This fact together with the hardness of the lead means it lasts a while. The pencil comes with 6 replacement leads and I am on my 2nd quilt still using the lead that came inside the pencil itself.

The replacement leads can be found with a bit of Google searching for around $5, and come in a variety of colors so you are not at all limited. Replacement leads can of course easily be used, so there is no need to buy multiple pens. Unless of course you want one for the cutting table and one for near the sewing machine...

Now I must say, everyone in my house loves the look of this little red pen. I'm still keeping it put up with the original packaging to keep DD from running off with it. Because of this it seems like I can ALWAYS find this pencil. Even when I can't find a pen. It has taken effort not to grab it and use it whenever I need a pen. Part of me wishes it had a flipping end or some such to hold a normal pen or the like, but I completely understand why it doesn't.

I would recommend this pen to anyone working with fabrics. It is a joy to use. It is worth more than I paid, but I doubt I could have brought myself to splurge and try it - had it been more money. I will never go back to anything else. I have labeled it my pen and so it shall be.

I have used it to mark stitching lines, cutting lines, as well as to sketch quilting lines. In all these applications it has preformed flawlessly.

This review may not be copied, ripped, or otherwise used. This is for personal use only.