Personalized Baby Items

If you are expecting a baby or you have friend that expecting a baby you certainly want to see this site. You can order baby products like baby blanket, baby bib, onesie, or burp cloth with your future baby name embroidered on them. A personalized baby gifts are easy to create with Threadsmith.com. All of their personalized baby products are made from high-quality materials, and there are never minimums or set-up fees. They have customizable clothing for newborns and infants, all of which can be personalized in an infinite number or ways. Make your own or design your own baby clothes today!

Cross Stitch on Crochet

Who says that crochet and cross stitch don't get along? This pot holder is crocheted using white yarn and then cross stitched to create the lovely decorative on otherwise plain pot holder.


This lovely Heart Pot Holder is a great project for crocheters who are not familiar with working cross stitch on crochet. You can practice the technique and create a lovely gift at the same time! Discover how much fun doing cross stitch on crochet can be. It will open up a whole new world of decorative possibilities in your crochet projects!

Raising Smart Girls

There are special challenges to raising girls. We have to teach our daughters to be safe, while encouraging their independence and self-confidence. We want our daughter to be a smart girl and know how to handle every situation confidently. There are several things that you as a parent can do in order to help your daughter to achieve that. You can empower your daughter by making her feel capable and confident to manage the world around her by demonstrate that you value her opinions and prove that you are willing to consider them, encourage your daughter to express her strong feelings and take positive social action in the face of perceived wrongs, encourage and help her learn to make good decisions for herself, do some serious confidence building by praising her for a job well done. On the other hand we also must strict and set the boundary on what she can or can not do. Don't back down or be afraid to fight necessary battles that can affect her health, well-being, or future happiness.

Recently, I come across a very good video. In this video Amy Poehler interviewed several smart teenage girls. I think this widget not only useful for teenage girls, but also useful for mothers in order to understand what their girl wants at that age.

See below video yourself, and if you like what you see, you can get your own widget here and embed it on your blogs, myspace and friendster account, and other media sites.

Do You Know That.....

The American Civil War caused devastating shortages of all types of supplies used in normal day-to-day life before the war. The lack of Southern cotton and other textile products from the North created a nationwide shortage of dress and household goods of all types. There were often severe shortages of adequate clothing, warm blankets and even bandages, especially in the South.

Southern women searched out and used up every piece of textile they could find. They tore up their silk dresses, petticoats, extra curtains and bed linens to make simple, serviceable clothes for their families. They unraveled wool blankets or worn clothing to knit or crochet warm mittens, socks and hats.

These industrious women transformed items such as animal skins, blanket scraps and pieces of canvas into shoes. They also learned how to weave and spin, even using the cotton stuffing from their mattresses to spin into yarn, which, low grade and poor quality though it was, became knitted or crocheted items that helped their families survive.

During the same period, decorative trims such as braid and tape were not available, and women found it difficult to weave these types of trim narrow enough to be suitable for clothing. They discovered that long, crocheted chains of thread worked well for braid, applying it in a variety of ways from single chains to wider "tapes" made by sewing several chains of the same or different colors together.

Don't Waste Money on Overpriced Flowers for Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is approaching. What do you plan to give to your love one? Earlier on our marrieage, I always got flowers from my husband on Valentine’s Day. However, later on I told him not to buy anymore since I always thought that buying flowers on Valentines’s day is a waste of money. Let face it, Valentines is just like the significant other holiday and it can be hard on the pocket. Flower stores make a killing by increasing their prices during Valentines week. I don’t want my husband to waste our hard earn money on overpriced flowers for Valentine's Day. I would much rather be loved all year long than waste $50 - $75 on one stupid day a year!

With that money I can buy Ceiva digital photo frames. CEIVA Digital Photo frame is very different from the other digital photo frames. You can receive photo from your friends or family members from everywhere around the world. No PC or internet is required. You just have to plug and connect the digital frame to the phone line and you are ready to enjoy all the photos without have to print them.

Now you can buy the frame for only $29.99 with purchase of year subscription to picture plan and if you order it now, you will get FREE ground shipping. This offer is valid until 13 February only.

Floral Crocheted Heart

What do you plan to give to your love one on Valentine's day? If you're in need of a quick gift for someone special, this Floral Heart Motif is just the thing to stitch up as a lovely coaster. Give it along with a pretty mug and a few packets of the recipient's favorite tea, coffee or cocoa mix for an extra-special, heartfelt gift. It's sure to be much appreciated!

Bridal T-Shirts

Getting married is exciting, but if you plan to have a proper ceremony and proper wedding party, it can take months to plan. Luckily when I got married last time, I had a wedding organizer that take care everything. Not only she organized everything, she even paid for everything. I think you can guess who she was, My Mom! All I had to do was just to show up on the rehearsal and the wedding. I was very impressed on how she managed to handle everything. Too bad that she didn’t know about this crystal-decorated Bride t-shirts at Wedding ParTees.com, otherwise she would buy them and make sure everybody wear it on rehersal time.
These bridal shirts are very cute and pretty. The colors choice is all nice (I especially like the pink one) and you can choose whether you want short or long sleeves. I think these bridal shirts perfect to wear on engagement announcement, wedding shower, shopping for wedding vendors, or wedding rehearsal.

At this moment they have “after Christmast sale”. If you buy 5 or more shirts, they will give you 10% discount for your entire order. So, if you are getting married soon, go ahead and hop to Wedding ParTees.com.

Crochet Samplers

In the 19th century, before printed crochet patterns were widely available, a valuable teaching tool and source of creative inspiration were crochet samplers. These decorative pieces were handed down through the generations to become not only treasured family heirlooms, but important sources of crochet instruction. They were often added to, joined together into impressive collages or simply preserved in family albums.

Young girls of this time period were taught to sew, knit and crochet. Needle cases were often the first item they made, as they were small, simple projects to complete and they made appropriate gifts for family and friends.

Will Power

My godmother had breast cancer. The doctor already told her that she only had 2 more months although she already had both breasts removed. Even though the doctor vonis was very bleak, she always managed to be cheerful and very optimistic. She always told me that she would not give up hope easily. She always focused to go on living just for another day. True enough she manage to live passed the two months that the doctor predicted. She even managed to live another 5 years, which was a miracle.

She reminds me to Lance Amstrong, who also had determination to persevere regardless of circumstances. His experience recovering from testicular cancer had a huge impact upon him. So much so that he won the Tour de France a record breaking 7 times from 1999 to 2005.

Sometimes you have to look beyond the impossible and seek answers in a new and exciting realm of possibilities. This is what the new movie, What If? The Movie featuring Ken Cavanaugh talking about. "What If?" features unique and fascinating interviews with many of today's most intrepid doctors, scientists, visionaries and philanthropists combined with stunning international cinematography and visual effects, will encourage you to look beyond the impossible and seek answers in a new and exciting realm of possibilities!

Watch What If? The Movie Trailer here:

Shelburne Museum

The Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vt., has a fantastic quilt collection. The exhibits change throughout the year, so chances are, even if you have been there before, you won't see the same quilts again. From May 17 to Oct. 25, the museum exhibit, Piecing Together the Past: The Quilts of Florence Peto, will feature some of the finest examples of Peto's quilts from both the museum's collection and on loan from a direct descendant.

Florence Peto was an influential collector and quiltmaker, born in 1881 and died in 1970. She worked tirelessly to bring attention to quilts as an important and integral part of our heritage. Curator Jean Burks, who is organizing the exhibit, says Peto's "goal was to show that this true form of folk art was as historically meaningful as the written word."

In the 1950s, Florence Peto had an influence on the museum founder Electra Havemeyer Webb, encouraging her to include quilts as an essential part of the museum's collection. The Shelburne Museum was among the first to exhibit quilts as works of textile art. The museum's textiles collection, one of the largest in the country, includes some 800 quilts, coverlets, blankets and rugs.

Piecing Together the Past is the first exhibition to bring together 10 Peto quilts on loan from a direct descendant. The exhibit also includes a selection of eight historic examples she collected that were acquired specifically for Shelburne Museum. During the 1940s and 1950s Peto designed and created an amazing body of quilt work using her extensive collection of Centennial and traditional fabrics. She developed a distinctive style using antique copperplate and roller-printed calicos, chintzes and toiles over a homespun background. Her signature artistic technique is distinguished by floral-vine appliquéd borders, elaborate broderie-perse work and fussy-cut flowers.

Calico Garden Crib Quilt, circa 1950, by Florence Peto (1881-1970). Pieced, appliquéd and quilted cotton. Collection of Shelburne Museum. Image courtesy Shelburne Museum.

Four-Squared Quilt

The Four-Squared Quilt by Jean Ann Wright is in the February 2009 issue of Quilter's World.

One of my favorite projects in the February issue of Quilter's World is the Four-Squared Quilt by Jean Ann Wright that appears on the cover. I really like the mixture of fabrics and the black-and-white animal print used in the sashing and borders. This quilt looks easy to stitch and is sure to add pizzazz to any room.

Personalized Poems

Need idea for birthday gifts? How about personalized poems? You can actually give personalized poem for any occasion. One poem costs $15 USD and this includes couples poems and 2 names for one poem. Framing is available but there will be shipping charges, depend where your location is.

Blocking Board

How do you block your knitting? I normally use my bed, but sometimes the project not easy to dry and I need to sleep at night. So, this is my solution: Buy those children’s rubber mats that look like jigsaw puzzle pieces, hook them together and use them for blocking. It’s solved my problem and they are sort of inexpensive.

Wedding in Cyprus

Elite Weddings Cyprus are an established wedding holiday company based in Paphos Cyprus. They have a vast amount of experience in the wedding industry, and can provide a wide range of holidays and services to suit all budgets, or they can tailor make a wedding package to suit your dreams and desires. Offering all the Cyprus wedding & marriage services, they can arrange every detail, leaving you to enjoy every unique aspect of what really is your special day. From the moment you choose your wedding date and venue for your Dream Weddings In Cyprus, Elite weddings will work with you to ensure your every need is catered for.

Red Yarn

This is another Miami Four Season Yarn that I have. It's red color and I only have 5 balls. Not sure what to make of them. I wish that I bought 10 balls.

I love this yarn because it has the nice silky feels to it.

Nutrisystem

Nutrisystem’s plan delivers a month’s worth of prepackaged meals and snacks to your door. You simply go to their website or call their customer service to order and chose your meals. NutriSystem’s popularity seems to be the result of its convenience and ease of use since there is no measuring or calorie-counting involved.

Pima Melange Cascade Yarns

Pima Melange Cascade Yarns

100% Pima Cotton

Made in Peru

50 gram = 115 yards

Color C300

Lot 2654

Price USD 2.99

I bought this yarn from online yarn shop called One Fine Yarn. It's a discontinued yarn, that was why I got it very cheap. This was my first experienced to use pima cotton. Very soft.

Are You a Drug Addict?

When we thought about drug addiction, we immediately thought about people that got addiction with coccain, heroin or meth and eliminate the possibility that we can become a drug addict. However, do you know that we can also become a drug addict if we eat too many pain killers? Yes, pain killer like Xanax, Valium, Librium, etc, can also make you to become a drug addict.
Pain killer pills normally have active ingredient called Benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are a class of minor tranquilizers used to provide sedation, muscle-relaxation and anti-anxiety effects. Also known as "benzos" or "benzies", benzodiazepines are ingestible in pill form or injected. Benzodiazepines can be found in many prescription tranquilizer medications, including the one I mentioned above.

Because of their targeted nature, benzodiazepine medications have few long term effects other than physical and/or psychological addiction. Benzodiazepines typically become less effective after between 2 weeks and 4 months, depending upon their desired effect. As an individual continues to use benzodiazepines, increasing amounts must be taken to produce the same calming or sedating effects. Many users find themselves unable to sleep properly without benzodiazepine medication.

So if you or your love one consistently using pain killer, and can not pass the day without eating some, then becareful, as most likely that you develop an addiction to drugs and drug treatment is needed.

Where To Keep Your Projects

I have too many works in progress going on. Some are knitting and some are crocheting. For bigger projects I normally put them each inside a bag. However, for smaller projects, I put each project inside this jar. You can buy this jar in IKEA (called SLOM). With 4” height and 4” in diameter, they are perfect to keep small projects.

Become An Olympic Torchbearer

The host for the next Olympic 2010 is Canada. The Olympic Flame will pass through every province and territory in Canada, a journey of over 35,000 kilometres in our nation alone.
If you are a Canadian teenager age between 13 to 19 years old, you could be selected by Coca-Cola to become one of Torchbearer for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay! All you have to do is register yourself on SOGO active and get active physically. It is possible because Sogo Active partners with community organizations that provide young people with the grounds and facilities, equipment, expertise or other supports to make physical activity as simple as possible.

SOGO Active is actually a program that design by by Coca-Cola Ltd., ParticipACTION, and an Advisory Committee of youth and organizations to help young Canadians between 13 and 19 to become more active by creating a physical activity movement by and for youth. Their main idea is to get the the Canadian youth to become active, build their teamwork and leadership skills and at the same time having fun doing it and making new friends. With this program hopefully all the Canadian youth get inspired and change their lazy and pasive lifestyle to become an active lifestyle.

Debbie Bliss Stella

This cardigan is simple and classic. Made using aran weight Debbie Bliss Stella yarn. Fibre Content is 60% Silk/20% Rayon/20% Cotton. I saw in Elann the price is only USD 3.75 per 50 gram. Since 60% is silk, I imagine the yarn must be very soft and silky. The one that make me tempted to buy is that the fact this yarn is machine washable! So many temptation and so little money. LOL!

Become An Active Youth

A teenager who is physically active and takes part in any physical activities is less likely to become overweight as a young adult, compared to teenagers who are not physically active during their adolescence.

For maximum health benefits, your teenagers need at least one hour of moderate intensity activity each day. The most important thing to remember when encouraging your teenagers to get active is that they need to enjoy the activities they do and have fun. That is why I think SOGO Active is very good site in encouraging the youth to spend more time doing physical activities on their own or with friends. SOGO Active is unlike any other youth fitness initiative because it gives young Canadians the tools to design, change and control their own individual get active plan.

Sometimes you may not know about all the activities available to you. That's why Sogo Active partners with community organizations, and allows you to hook up with them as hosts if you want. Community hosts are organizations that have registered for sogo that provide young people with the grounds and facilities, equipment, expertise or other supports to make physical activity as simple as possible. For example, this might include swimming pools, basketball courts, parks, a hip hop instructor, or Ultimate Frisbee equipment.

Addi Click

I am so happy to learn that addi Click is here!

The addi Click system provides 10 different sizes of addi Turbo™ tips (size 4,6,7,8,9,10,10.75,11,13,15), three different lengths of extremely pliable blue cord (24”, 32” and 40”), and one connector piece which helps to either store stitches or combine your cords. It will eventually come with other sizes of cord, extra tips, add-ons, etc. The Click tips require no tools to change; simply insert the cord deep into the tip, twist and release. The tips will remain secure until you change them, thanks to the Click’s revolutionary locking mechanism! Price is USD 149,- per set.

A lot of people complain why size 5 is not included in the set. I also use that size very often. Although I am Addi lover, I think I will wait how is the overall response first before I bought it.

Yellow Leaf Financial

Many people find themselves in a tight financial situation at some point in their life. It’s not about whether you are bad or good in managing your money because you can not predict when emergencies hit. Probably you just use all your cast to pay your new car down payment and suddenly you need money to see the doctor or you have another financial emergency. This may have you at your wits end trying to figure out where to get the money you need. However, it is possible to get a short term loan that you can pay back when you get your next paycheck.

At Yellow Leaf Financial, they are a different type of cash advance service provider. Their lending partners are here to help you in those times when you need cash between regular paydays. You can quickly, safely and easily apply for cash advance or payday loan services from the comfort of your own home. The application is done online and it’s very easy and simple. It only takes 5 minutes or less. Even you have poor or bad credit history, you still can apply. The best of all, you will know whether your application is approved or not within minutes.

Quilting

These quilts won the first, second and third prize in in the Group Quilt category at the International Quilt Festival. Don’t you think there are fantastic? It’s almost like painting. I think this kind of quilting is like artwork and I can not imagine how many hours of works put into it. I have done only one quilt before, and It took me forever to finish it.

Sale in Little Knits

Today I got email from Little Knits online yarn shop. They have a good sale. Some of the products are on sale up to 80% off. I am tempted to buy Debbie Bliss Cathy yarn. It’s a silky & beautiful cotton/viscose/silk blend that is also machine washable. For 10 skeins you only have to pay $35!! I bought this yarn before from them, and I really like this yarn. It’s silky and drapey. I have to hurry before all the nice colors are gone.

FREE VoIP Calls

Goober Networks introduces callingamerica.com for unlimited FREE calls anywhere in the US. CallingAmerica.com is the first free, no-hassle, online destination that lets anyone with a broadband connection place an unlimited number of VoIP calls to any landline or mobile phone in the U.S. The completely Web-based offering is launching just in time to help friends and families save money while staying in touch during the holidays. Normally Web-based VoIP calls to landline or mobile numbers have required users to download applications, pay for minutes, or follow complicated call routines that are frustrating and time-intensive.

CallingAmerica.com provides superior call quality and a premium user experience without the drawbacks, finally making free online calls to friends or family anywhere in the country quick and easy. By registering for free at CallingAmerica.com, users can make an unlimited number of calls beginning today.

Callers who do not choose to register can still make an unlimited number of calls up to two minutes in duration each. No download is necessary and a caller’s computer microphone or headset is automatically configured. The free service is entirely supported by advertising sponsors. Before each call is conducted, callers view a brief advertisement of 15 seconds or less, after which the call is placed to any landline or mobile phone within the U.S. For more information, please visit CallingAmerica.com.

Patchwork Kit

My pillowcases for sitting room already look shabby. I am planning to make a new one. This time, I want to make a pachwork pillowcases. I went to ebay yesterday, and saw patchwork kit that caught my interest. This charm pack contains a selection of thirty-seven (37) 5" fabric squares from the collection. Professionally cut and packaged by Moda Fabrics. 100% cotton. Quilt/apparel weight. I want to combine this with white cotton. One thing that make me hesitate is the color. I think I will think it over.

Dating Info

Nowadays many people too busy working or building their career and do not have time to socialize anymore. These people believe that they'd rather start a family after they have a strong basis for supporting it when their career has been established. Before they know it, suddenly they realized that most of their friend already married and have children.

If you are under this category and don’t know where to start to find their other half, don’t worry, because there is such thing called dating site called 411 Dating Info. This site has put together the best collection of dating websites so that you can be sure to find the personalized dating experience that you have been looking for. With lists and links to all of our favorite nitch dating sites, 411 Dating Info is out to make online dating easier than it already is. Compare or just access all of these dating sites from one centralized place.

You can choose which dating site you want to join by age, region, religion or interest (for example: If you are an avid tennis player interested in finding that someone special that loves to play and be fit, give tennis personals a try).

To tell you the truth, at first before I went to their site, I expected cheesy looking site, but surprisingly the site looks professional and easy to navigate.

Gallery

When the first time I saw this cardigan in Interwave Knit magazine, I think that this cardigan looks too big on the model and doesn’t fit her nicely. However, I did not know for sure whether this cardigan will look nicer on bigger size body, until I found out that in the Knitting Daily, there is a section called Gallery, where they put the same sample cardigan to different sizes and different postures women. Like you can see the photos below:

Cosmetic Surgery

Do you ever wonder why all the movie stars have great figure? I even remember one particular actress that have flat chest, then after become famous, the next time I saw her in magazine, her chest not flat anymore. Well, I can understand her effort to improve her appearance. It’s needed to compete, I guess.

Anyway, cosmetic surgery is not only for actress, cosmetic surgery can be exactly what you need to enhance your self image. Having a positive self image can give you the self confidence that you need to get a better job, try new things and it will give you a general overall feeling of well being.

If you have decided to get any type of procedure, take a look at Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery. Their surgical facilities are built and run at the uppermost standards, to ensure the highest level of safety. Their Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeons are fully trained plastic surgeons who graduated from the finest universities and residencies in the country. Their anesthesiologists are medical doctors to ensure the highest level of comfort and safety during your procedures. Whether you want to do Los Angeles breast augmentation or Beverly Hills liposuction, they offer the latest approaches use cutting edge technology.

For all these reasons, the University of Southern California recently selected Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery facility as a teaching affiliate for its medical students.

Going Green Tote

Today, everything is about "going green" as we are more focused than ever on the environment and what we can all do to help protect our planet. Cutting down on the use of plastics that clog our landfills and paper that continues to strip our natural wood resources is a great way to help contribute to a better environment.

With that in mind, here is a really cool mesh Tuck-Away Tote that gives shoppers a great alternative to the question of "paper or plastic?" It conveniently folds up into a smaller carry-along piece that can easily be tucked into a purse or pocket. It's great for crafters and travelers -- or going to the beach, too!