Saturday, February 22, 2014

Must be semi-contagious...

In 2010 my son, Matt, attended his first pop culture convention, the ScareFest Horror and Paranormal Convention, at the Lexington Convention Center.  Matt had so much fun he wanted to go to the next one in 2011, and wanted me to go along so I could experience what he was talking about.  After that, we both have attended every ScareFest convention since then.  Not only that, we have attended 2 conventions in Louisville, and both of the Lexington ComicCons, which is the newest convention to "hit" Lexington.

I am not a fan of the horror movies represented at ScareFest, nor am I a believer in the paranormal, but I must say it is so much fun to attend ScareFest.  The Lexington ComicCon has grown from having just the original stars of the Power Rangers show their first year in 2012 (which was a 1 day convention) to such big names as William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, and George Takei of the original Star Trek tv show and the original Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, coming to their 3rd convention, says a lot on how popular it has become.

Attending these conventions in Lexington has become rather contagious.  Both Matt and I look forward each year to see just what stars we will get to meet, as well as getting to spend some quality time together.  I've always tried to keep up with what both of my children are interested in so that I could have a better understanding of what they were talking about.

NOTE:  The 2014 Lexington ComicCon will be March 14-16.  The 2014 ScareFest will be September 12-14.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

All Aboard the Embroidery Train...

Brother PE500
Don't know about where you live, but in my neck of the woods embroidery and monogramming has really taken off over the last year or so.  Seems everyone is buying either a single-needle or a multi-needle machine, and they are really doing a great job with the crafts they have made, most of which have been monogramming items such as scarves, purses, shirts, etc.  

Not to be outdone, I too have jumped onboard the embroidery train with not one but two single-needle machines.  :-)  The first one I bought was a Brother PE500 from Amazon.  The maximum size it will do is 4"x4", and does embroidery and monogramming only.  Last fall I purchased a used Babylock Esante ESe from a dealer in Lexington, KY, and it is both an embroidery machine and a sewing machine.  The hoop I have with it is 5"X7".  Though I use the Brother PE500 most of the time, the Babylock comes in handy for embroidering names and/or phrases on items that are too long for a 4"x4" hoop.

Pocket T-Shirt
So far some of the items I've done are monogrammed pockets on t-shirts, totes, burp rags, and key fobs.  The internet contains great sites (such as Pinterest & Etsy) which offer great ideas and tutorials, several of which I have either bookmarked or downloaded.  YouTube is another great site that has lots of video tutorials.

While researching embroidery/monogramming ideas, I also looked up sites containing supplies needed for my *craft room.  I hope to, over time, share some of these sites with you.

*Craft Room - A room in the corner of our garage that my husband had built just for me.  :-)  It houses both my embroidery machines, as well as my Singer sewing machine, Singer serger, Cricut, and quilting frame.  A laptop in the craft room contains software for designing monograms and other embroidery designs, and a couple of shelving units hold essentials such as material, finished products, and other supplies.  I will always be grateful to my wonderful husband for giving me this room. 

I will be back to share tips, links, and other crafty items with you as I find them.  If you come across anything you think I might like, please share.  Thanks, and have a great day.