Shaklee Expo

Yesterday Goddaughter Maria was here for a sewing day. She finally finished the ribbon bag from Made  by Me (See previous blogs for bibliographical info.) She was thrilled to have her own purse, "not Grace's", and something which was homemade. We adapted the pattern to add a flap with a button so she is less likely to loose things. She could not find her cross stitch project, known as "MPO" for her initials, or, as Godfather thought, "Main Post Office".  She had two yards of a beautiful blue and purple floral print challis fabric with her, however, so we rummaged through my patterns and cut out a skirt. I even had an appropriately colored zipper in the right length in my stash, so we are ready to sew next time she comes over.

Last evening we also had a Shaklee Expo. It was the first time I tried the Enfuselle Calming Complex, and I have to say that I looked like a different person this morning. My skin looked so young and fresh. I am so tempted to keep a bottle on hand for special ocassions. I also won two bags of the new Cinch Crisps. I had one today as my lunch. The crisps are about the thickness of Fritos, and I have to say they have kept me well satisfied. I am now keeping a box of Cinch Meal Bars in my car for meals on the run. I heard several interesting testimonies. One of our "users" has improved so much in the heart health department that she no longer needs her pacemaker! Another woman from the Cities was able to reverse her macular degeneration, which had gone from dry to wet, by using Vivix and Omegas. I also heard of a couple more two year olds who swallow their vitamins and supplements as Ariana does. Another wonderful story told about MRSA reversal with high doses of the Shaklee Garlic. I do not think I knew Heidi when she was at her heaviest weight,  but she said last evening that she has lost 110 pounds on Cinch. It must be over the course of three or four years, which is incredible, since most people will have been on several diets in that amount of time, and will have experienced the yo-yo diet effect, lose, gain back even more, lose, gain  back even more.  Impressive. She still has a few pounds to go to get to her wedding weight. I have work to do to improve my health with more exercise and less food, but I know I am on the right track with the right nutritional supplements, and the right company.

Human Trafficking in Central Minnesota

     I often pick up copies of the complimentary magazine, Central Minnesota Women to see what is new in our area. The October/November 2012 raised my eyebrows a bit. I would like to share a few statistics from the cover story, "Trendsetters Boutique: Battling the Oldest Oppression". First note the title words: "oppression", not,"profession", indicating that prostitution is not really a profession of choice. That is certainly a change from the attitude most of us have held about prostitution in the past. Then look at the statistic on the following page that says 95% of prostitutes use drugs or alcohol, because they are more easily controlled by their pimps if they are addicted. Hardly a matter of choice. Further down you see the estimate that a girl entering into prostitution at the age of 13 will probably only live five to seven more years. According to the article, the FBI says Minnesota sells about 10,000 women and girls into sex slavery every year, with the metropolitan area accounting for the 13th largest center for child prostitution in the country. Further yet, a 16 year old woman had been prostituting out of an unnamed St. Cloud hotel 80 times in one year. That's St. Cloud, folks.

     The article hit home with me as the mother of a foster child who attempted to run away. Said child had been sexually abused in her birth home. Her counselor revealed that she had undergone "grooming" with one of birth mom's boyfriends. At the time that she reappeared at our door after running (Looked like she had made a path in the snow out to the road, then retreated to hide in a car in the garage) the police officer at our home warned her of the dangers that await girls out on the street. After three disrupted adoptions, at the age of 18 this young woman moved into her own apartment. Within days she had moved out of the apartment and in with a young man. When she broke up with him she immediately moved in with another man who had a prison record and a pornographic photography business.  She is a mother now, but sees pornography  and exotic dancing as perfectly acceptable occupations. Last we heard her three youngest children had all been removed from her home. She had already surrendered her first child. How does one begin to penetrate the years of abuse to re-educate her on what a real relationship, and a real family, look like?

      Stop the johns, and prostitution necessarily stops. But how does a person convince men that prostitution is immoral? The  same can be said for pornography. If no one bought it, no one would produce it.

     The sexual revolution and the Pill have done nothing to diminish the problems of sexual abuse and prostitution,  not even replacing them with masterbation, homosexuality (We'll not even address homosexual prostitution here!), adultery, or fornication, which one might assume would happen now that anything goes. Why not? Could it be that feeding the appetite really makes it stronger and more difficult to control, rather than easier to manage?

     Dear Lord, help us to know You, love You, and serve You. St. Michael, pray for us.

Sew Simple

     My latest project book purchase was Sew Simple (Gooseberry Patch, Delaware, OH, 2008). I found it at Jo Ann's, and went back and purchased a second copy, their last, for my Goddaughter. I was captivated by the cute pictures, simple projects, and recipes. So far I have tried two of the recipes, and four of the projects.

      I loved the Tickled Pink Drink made from strawberries and yogurt.   It is a great way to use the frozen strawberries we have from our spring garden,  much more appealing and appetizing than our usual frozen strawberries and ice cream. I throw in whatever amount of strawberries we have in one bag, so I usually get about six cups in a batch. I am the only one drinking it unless we have company, so I freeze the leftovers in glasses and pull them out for breakfast or breaks as desired.

     The Chewy Chocolate-Caramel Bars were entirely too sweet for me. If I use that recipe again I will make changes. I am thinking of trying it first in a 9"x13"  pan. Other options are cutting the chips down by half, and using only white sugar for the crumb mixture. 

     The Sling Bag was the first project I tried. I decided to add a lightweight interfacing for extra body, and this might have been the cause of my difficulties. I found it very awkward getting to the seam at the bottom of the bag. I had rumples in the seam when I was finished. I had planned and purchased supplies for two bags before I even started, so to be fair, I will do the next one without the interfacing. If that does not go well, I will give up on that pattern.

    The Drawstring Bag from the tea towel turned out well. I skipped the felt flowers on the handle, and instead added the fabric flower from the Gift Bags onto the front of the bag. I made a second bag with an old cloth napkin using fancy buttons on the tie. I added rick rack to the top of that bag, but I thought it looked a bit odd. I left both my tea towel and napkin whole, instead of cutting them, as the book recommended. The bags could be used as gift bags, panty hose bags, rag bags, knitting bags, anything that needs containing.

     I made several of the potholders, using leftover heat reistant fabric and quilt batting for the insides and backs. I added expensive buttons, but the buttons and ties gave the potholders added cuteness.  For a practical person they could be omitted.

     I have fabric, trims and twill tape to complete the Knitting Needle Roll and Tote Bag, so I will do those projects next.

Made by Me, Take 2

I wrote about the book, Made by Me (Jane Bull, Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2009) when I first purchased copies for myself and my Goddaughter. Maria's assignment for our next sewing date is to complete sewing the ribbons on her purse (Bags of Ribbon, p. 34 ff.) She is having a bit of difficulty sewing the ribbons on evenly, my guess is because some of them have a suede nap. She has been using a combination of machine and hand sewing. She also started a cross stitch design (pp. 20 ff.), but I was unable to find a fabric larger than 16 point, so that also is a challenge. I, on the other hand, am going to town on the Hanging Softies ( pp. 30 ff.)! These are so cute that I had to try one, and one has turned into several now that I have purchased felt in many colors. I have been letting my 91 year old mother help with cutting pieces and picking colors as she is able, so that she has some sort of diversion. I am using acrylic felt to economize, but if I were to do a large gift item, I would love to try wool felt. The felt is easy to sew, and I am  getting the hang of starting and ending blanket stitch once again. I have done the hearts with flowers, the chick ornament in a couple of different colors, and hearts with buttons. I had circles cut,  but decided I wanted more traditional designs, rather than mod. A couple small bags come next. Oh, Maria, you've got to try these!

My stash busting continues in the basement. That blue latticed quilt meant for Catholic Charities will now be enlarged to go to Quilt Bingo at St. Anthony's. A few hotpads to go, and I will be finished with as much as I can get done for the Prolife Kids Club bake sale this Sunday. The hotpads have used very little fabric, but I got to try the coordinating pieces I got from a stash someone gave to St. Anthony's, and colors from my stash that will not be usable for anything else that I can imagine.

Alfalfa

     My daughter and granddaughter were here for an hour this morning. My granddaughter, who is 21 months, spotted my bottle of Shaklee Alfalfa on the table again. She HAD to have some! Once in awhile she spits it out, but most of the time she eats several tablets. Her mom thinks it the weirdest thing. Grandma is pleased, since I know it is good for her allergies. Only thing is, she is using up my supply. After skimping for several weeks, I know I have to maintain my regular usage of about 30 a day for my own sinuses. Otherwise I feel pain. Alfalfa has been my Sudafed replacement for the past three years. 
    
     I am on a roll with my blue scrappy quilt. This top will be given away, but I am very pleased with how well my lattice stripping is turning out. I ripped out the first few rows and trimmed my squares, and am very happy that I did. The seams match perfectly now. After this I get to finish the four patch to practice corner triangles. I must confess that I did add three yards of Mills End fabrics to my stash last Friday, but three yards for $5 is a great bargain, and two of the fabrics were solids. Otherwise I progress towards my one project policy. The excesses have got to be used up so that when I die, I will not leave boxes and  boxes of fabric behind for my poor husband to have to distribute. I am learning.