BulgingButtons

Not bad for a fat girl


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The Dangers of Procrastination and Amazon One Click

I am now the proud new owner of several novels that I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to read. It’s all one click’s fault. Well, no, maybe it isn’t. It’s all Twitter’s fault. Nope. Not it either. Oh my gosh, it’s all my own fault.

You see, I was happily working on my latest novel for NaNoWriMo when I felt the need to look at my phone. I know. I shouldn’t have done it, however, I did.

twitterThere, by the little Twitter bird was a red circle, meaning that I just HAD to click on it to see what was new in the Twit-o-sphere. Well, reading Twitter is like eating potato chips. You can’t read just one tweet, you have to scroll down and read 47 of them, at least. And in that 47, if you’re actually following people who are of interest to you, there are several clicks that take you other places. Places like novelists’ websites, where they gush about other novelists’ new books, and tell you things like, “hey, read this book, it’s on sale for just $1.99 and it’s fabulous!”

Well, how can I NOT read this fabulous book endorsed by this fabulous author when it’s only $1.99? I do read a lot on Overdrive, which makes MOST of my reading free, but I also can’t resist a deal, and authors still get something when I buy a $1.99 book, so there’s that.images

Well, one click leads to another click which then leads to another click, and before you know it I have several new books downloaded. Swell.

Now I’m not unhappy about this. I didn’t spend a ton of money, and as I said, I’m not opposed to authors earning a little something from their writing, not at all. I’m just saying that those evil geniuses over at Amazon know what they’re doing. Sigh. I just hope that someday they’ll be doing the same thing for me and my books.

 


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The Itch to Stitch

Taking out my autumn quilts has awoken in me a desire to sew. I know, I know… I have enough going on right now, what with blogging everyday for NaBloPoMo and working on a novel for NaNoWriMo, but I really want to stitch!

The table I write at is also the table I sew at. It’s situated perfectly for both activities. I can easily see who’s coming in the room since the table sticks out from the wall. That was a requirement so the fabric has somewhere to do once it’s gone through the sewing machine. Sewing at a table pushed against a wall is impractical and frustrating.

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I made this several years ago from my fabric stash.

Behind my table is my stash of fabric. Most of it, anyway. I have  a low wall of cubbies under the window (so sunlight can’t fade the fabric) and it is full of flat-folds of fabric. They’re sorted primarily by color, but also to a smaller extent by type. The hand-dyed fabrics are together as are the plaids, for example. This colorful assortment greets me each time I enter the room, and it makes me happy.

Long ago I was a cross-stitcher. I created many lovely projects, and I had some of them professionally framed at a small cross-stitch shop that I loved dearly. Each time I was in the shop I would pick up more patterns, knowing full well that I already had more than I would ever stitch in a dozen lifetimes. I lamented this fact one day as I was paying, and the kindly woman who owned the shop said, “It’s as much about collecting as it is about stitching.” How wise she was. Permission granted to keep on collecting.

I’m a collector of fabrics, of patterns, and books. I may never use them all. In fact I’m sure I won’t, but it doesn’t matter. I enjoy my collection, and adding to it from time to time. But really, I’d like to dust off my machine and take a few stitches. Maybe come December.


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Autumn Decor

Time to put away the Halloween decorations (they’re piled on the dining room table) and get out the Thanksgiving decor. The autumn sign is above the fireplace, a ceramic pumpkin light on the kitchen table, and a few little wooden turkeys are about to take their places. And the quilts are out.

I have two that I use in the fall, both of them my creations. The tiny pumpkin quilt comes out for Halloween and stays out until the Christmas decorations go up. The turkey quilt came out today. I love the fall colors, and the turkey is quirky and unusual. It goes well with my son’s school project turkey from long ago.

I’ll enjoy these decorations for a short time, then it will be time to exchange them for the Christmas decorations. Now THAT’s a job!