Banging your head on the kitchen table elicits a response

I have been having a bad week or more. My 4D software stopped acknowledging my dongle. (the cute little red thing you have to have to make the software run) . I called Tech Support twice and my dealer three times, not in that order. I even joined the Yahoo group for 4D.

*** Have you every noticed that the Caps of 4 is $ ****

Anyway. Last week my desktop stopped but I was not in a total panic, because my laptop worked. But I called Tech Support. They only give you one free call. Because my problem was so unusual, he gave me a another free call. We ran, he held while I ran the updates, I already ran months ago. No fix. Next suggestion, to run the HASP runtime fix, the dongle is made by Aladdin called a HASP USB. Nope, didn't fix it. SO on to uninstalling the whole thing and reinstalling the software, PS don't forget to delete the folder on the c:/ called 4D, otherwise it won't install properly. Check! Nope didn't work either. On Saturday, I worked on 2 of the 4 digitizing designs for a friend, needs to be done and stitched by Thursday. Sat, I finished 2 and saved, then made dinner and got distracted by a movie with the Daughter. Sunday after church and lunch I thought I would work on the other two. NO such luck, my dongle would not work. Banging your head on the kitchen table elicits a response. In my house, my teenagers run and hide in their rooms.

First thing Monday (yesterday) call Tech Support back. She walks me through more things to try, then she suggests, that I run to my dealer and try my dongle in her computer, to see if I need a new dongle, or if it is my computers, yes plural. Okay, I ran over there and my dongle works fine in the dealers computer. I had to convince her my dongle would not kill her computer too!

Anyway I was to drive to Grand Rapids yesterday and I turned the problem over and over in my head on the 1 hour plus drive. I got home at 5 pm, fixed dinner and crashed out on the couch. Hubby is sick with the flu and I didn't get a lot of sleep. This morning after running errands, I decided to Restore my computer to before the problem happened.

Eureka. It worked. On both computers. I finished design number 3. Turns out the a Windows update caused the problem. Now I'll skip this update.

On the good news side, I picked up my Magna Hoop Patch Kit and I'm going to work on that for the rest of the afternoon, while the Motrin kicks in.

Hats

I just finished a dozen hats for my favorite customer. He's really funny, he changes his mind 3 times while you are talking to him, then he calls later and changes it again.

He wanted his name on his hats, but not just his name, he wanted Kitchen Designer. He is funny, but he had a point, if you have someone work with you and you know he is the boss. He's got his name on his shirt and hat, then you call that guy direct every time.

So 1/2 of the Hats with Logo only and 1/2 half with kitchen designer on the back. I made a template and then used it to hoops the hats in seconds.

I'm smarter than the average bear, my Husband says so.

When I drop off the hats I have another order waiting for me. I just know it, because every time I go in that happens.

On my own news. I finished a baptism towel for a friend, whose niece was being baptized. Turned out nice, but I need to make the font bigger next time. When I washed out the topping and stablizer the lettering sank into the towel. Maybe I'll use a background of hearts or something first. Sort of like a monogram with tight stippling.

I cleaned out my Etsy store and am renovating with new pictures, new focus and new items. So I'm off to make deliveries, and to take new orders. I need to stop by Ben Franklin and get a few items.

New Camera and roaming around town

I Love my new camera I was looking at the slim, click and go ones, because I also use it when we travel. But because it was a birthday present, the hubby got a say. He wanted a bigger one. but I told him that I would not want to carry a $600 big camera around Disney World. He picked out a Sony version but when I went back to Target to pick it up (it was a good price without shipping), it was gone. So I played with this one and the Canon version, wrote down the information and got on the computer again. The Canon had poor battery life.

Paul and Babe downtown Bemidji MN

So today I played hooky, no sewing, just shopping and playing with my camera. I went downtown to take pictures of Paul and Babe, our city is famous for the 18 foot tall statue of Paul. The statues were orginally made by the American Legion for parades in 1937. They were placed in the park in 1939.




Lake Bemidji, behind Paul and Babe. Bemidji, is Ojibewe (Local Native American Tribal Language of the Chipeawa Indians). means "river runs through it". The Mississippi River runs through the lake, from the south west side to the north east side. We are on a continental divide so the Mississippi starts out heading north and east, then turns south, east of here. While I was down town I picked up some maps the the River for canoeing, and camping. The headwaters of the river is 57 miles (river miles) from here in Lake Itasca Park. You can straddle the river at the headwaters.

Then I headed home and decided to take pictures, but the best one is of the lake at the end of our road, Lake Alice does not have a public access to the lake, which means the land all the way around the lake is privately owned. I was on the dirt road to take the pictures.






















I will show you the shopping stuff tomorrow. I bought a nice demin shirt, a night gown, a tap pant set and a dress for our trip to Disney World in October. I can't wait.

Serger Book reviews

Serging. what a wonderful thing. I got my serger off the bookshelf, tuned up and ready to go. I like the first book, Simple Serger sewing, it got 50 projects to make and I marked about 10 projects to get me started. There is a great placemat project. maybe for Christmas presents. Everybody is using Linen, but I find that it doesn't wash and dry without major ironing. I'm a wash and go girl.

The second book not so much, good thing it was free. Quick and Easy Sewing with your serger, had some great pictures of the mechanics of the serger. It has 15 projects, some recyling or refashioning clothes. I got one tip out of the first transformation from a sheath dress to a tunic. I'm going to refashion a hoodie sweatshirt into a non-hoodie something. I can't decide whether to add a zipper or to leave it a pullover. I'm going to embroider it, but I have a hard time deciding on designs.

I dropped off the polo shirts and first thing each of the guys asked was "Hats?" I guess I need to hoop some hats. I laid out the business logo for hats, but the boss had not yet ordered hats, his daughter told me to go for it and asked for a dozen. She pays the bills. I loaned her my favorite catalog, boss man wanted to look at jackets for winter. A customer of theirs was checking out the shirts. I need to print more business cards. Pronto.

Pretty good birthday so far. I got my new camera, but the hubby won't let me open the package until after cake and ice cream. It's been very hard not to pop open the package as its been sitting on the dresser for a week. Tonight I will be playing with the new camera. My cheap old HP 5.0 megepixel Photosmart M425 is going to a new home. The new home doesn't know it yet, I love surprises, especially since I get to spring one on someone. She had her camera out at a cookout over the weekend and I asked if it was hard to get film for her camera. She signed and said it was really hard and that maybe she might have to break down and come into the 21st Century. I need to find all the parts (Cables) etc for the HP camera to package.