The USPS has put out another book in their Irresistible Mail series. The Irresistible Mail website showcases new innovations for printing with the use of mobile technology. Together they create eye-catching memorable interactive experiences that are launched via a mobile device.
Each innovation category showcases a statistic and explanation about the innovation followed by a short video of a direct mail piece utilizing the new innovation. If you are looking for more direct mail ideas, the Irresistible mail gallery will be right up your alley. It has approximately 100 images and articles that will spark your creativity when designing your next direct mailing campaign.
For more information on the Irresistible mail book visit https://www.irresistiblemail.com/ and be sure to check back in next week when we do a review of the book itself.
Monitor your website traffic while running your print campaign. When looking over your analytics look for changes in website traffic, If there are spikes in traffic during your print campaign then it has effectively reached your consumers. However, you'll start to muddy your results if you direct your print campaign traffic to the same landing page that receives traffic from other digital marketing efforts. The best way to track traffic to your print campaign is to direct traffic to a specific page via a "vanity URL" that links to a landing page on your site. Set up the landing page with Google Analytics to track traffic from your print campaign so you can analyze it alongside other traffic sources.
Create a hashtag that customers can use on social media that is attached to your print campaign to track the success and increase of online engagement. By doing this you can encourage customers to share your print campaign hashtag if there is an offer or incentive attached to using it, such as a discount, special offer or a cause they care about. Some examples are: #NationalFriedChickenDay by KFC to promote a calendar event, #ShareACoke by Coca-Cola that is used year round, and #LetsDoLunch by Domino's Pizza. The most vital part of running a hashtag campaign is coming up with a hashtag that can easily go viral. A good rule of thumb is not to combine more than 3-4 words together and Don't make your hashtag entirely about your brand. Also Use trending topics, but don't solely rely on them.
Use a trackable promo code, they can be used during online and offline checkouts. Including a promo code in a print ad won't tell you how many offline impressions the campaign received, but you will be able to track sales that were a result of the ad campaign.
QR codes are very useful for tracking print campaign reach, and the best way to use them with print is to lead customers straight to a landing page. Trackable codes that take the customer to a landing page are trackable with Google Analytics and will give you insights to how effective your print campaign is at driving site traffic to the address linked to the QR code.
Ask your customers for feedback or send a survey to see if customers are seeing your campaigns. Customer feedback is always helpful, and it is important to hear a viewer's perspective. Surveys can give you graphable results when using quantitative questions to give you feedback for statistical analysis.
Why Work With A HIPAA Compliant Printer?
HIPAA is the acronym used for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act instituted in 1996. The act requires organizations that work with sensitive health-related information to adhere to national standards for code sets, unique identifiers, and data security. This act is in place to protect sensitive information (as related to health and identity) belonging to individuals.
How does HIPAA fit with printing? Statements, bills, id cards, welcome kits,EOB's and medical documents are all printed and mailed. Many medical organizations have thousands of patients and require a printing facilty to print and mail information sensitive documents. Being a HIPAA compliant printer means there are regulated processes to handle sensitive client information.
How can a Printer be HIPAA compliant?
Third-party certification is not recognized or mandated by the US government, but it is a way for businesses to make sure they are compliant with HIPAA procedures. Third party company's assess current data security and help make corrections to make the organization HIPAA compliant. It is a great way for non-medical industry organizations to show that they understand HIPAA regulations.
For handling documents with sensitive medical information, employee education is essential and most important. HIPAA training and testing guarantee that staff know and understand the correct ways to handle sensitive information.
The facility must also be secure for printing, assembly, and the mailing of sensitive medical information. The printing facility must also put an emphasis on keeping passwords, network access, and electronic files safe and secure.
Premier is HIPPA compliant and understands the importance of data compliance. No one wants to take risks with sensitive client information. You need to know and trust that your printer is able to securely print, assemble, and mail your client's information. By working with Premier, a HIPAA compliant printer, you know that we understand what it takes to handle your sensitive data correctly and safely.
Posted in Mailing, Printing | Comments Off on Why Work With A HIPAA Compliant Printer?
Product Review: Sappi – Act Now!
The Sappi article forecasted that digital advertising will only account for 46% of all advertising. It also noted that direct mail has the highest rate of success. This is a statement I am sure you have read in more than one of my blog posts on direct mail but it is true! Direct mail leaves more of an impression on the recipient receiving it than that of digital advertising clutter.
Inside the package itself, there is a book titled Act Now! A Better Response To Direct Mail. Inside there are 5 case studies. The one that stood out to me the most was Style & Error, Style Case Studies & Protocol.
This case study talked about making sure your format fits your overall message. The study describes various types of printing methods (Digital, Web Offset, Sheet-fed, Off-Line) There are even samples (folded and diecut) in the book.
They also provide a chart of print techniques and finishes that shows which techniques work well with each method of printing.
Ex: If you were looking to print a direct mailing piece digitally you would have to keep in mind that you cannot print with metallic inks and the finished piece cannot be UV coated. **This chart is extremely helpful to keep close at hand when designing for print.
The package also included a few direct mailing samples from a few companies that were mentioned in each of the case studies along with bound samples in the Act Now! Book.
For presentation, I give this Sappi case study pack a 4 out of 5 stars (I may be a little biased as I do really like the way that Sappi packages and designs their media kits). I would have given the package design a 10 but it was a little roughed up and the pull tab opening was a little confusing at first, I didn't want to tear apart the very well put together package.
As far as the information provided about direct mail marketing and design I give Sappi 5 stars. There is a wealth of information within the pages of the Act Now! book that every direct mail marketer should keep close by.
Donna Moulton is the Sales & Marketing Associate at Premier Graphics. A designer at heart, she uses her design skills to develop creative content, in-house marketing materials and client design work. In her role, she manages all aspects of marketing and advertising, from website updates, blog content and Premier events.
Posted in Creative Ideas, Design, Mailing | Comments Off on Product Review: Sappi – Act Now!


text:
Buffalo breaks record streak of 70-degree-plus days
By Staff|Published Sat, Sep 24, 2016
The high temperature at Buffalo Niagara International Airport Saturday was 65 degrees, which snapped a record stretch of 102 consecutive days with a high of 70 degrees or more.
The last day with a high of less than 70 was June 13. National Weather Service meteorologist Shawn Smith said the 102-day streak broke the previous record of 95 such days in 2005.
Asked if the streak of warm days can be offered as proof of climate change, Smith said, "I wouldn't say that it's proof of anything. Year to year, we see these different changes."
He noted that in 2012, Buffalo had 94 consecutive days over 70, the third-longest streak ever, but 2014 and 2013 didn't crack the top 10.
This year featured consistent high pressure over the area and led to a hot summer, Smith said. But as temperatures dropped Friday and led to a cool but sunny Saturday, it was clear that the seasons were changing.
"We're definitely cool for the weekend, a nice fall feel to the air. After the summer we've had, it's a relief for some," Smith said.
Sunday's high is forecast to be 66 degrees, with Monday in the low 70s in advance of a cold front that could bring showers and possible thundershowers late Monday and early Tuesday. The cold front will bring highs in the low 60s Tuesday and Wednesday, Smith said, and a risk of lake-effect rain late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
"After Wednesday, temperatures start to come up again," Smith said. The normal reading for the end of September is about 68, and that is the forecast high Thursday, with readings about 70 Friday and in the low 70s next weekend.
email: tprohaska@buffnews.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Myadran.Info
Home skateboard From The Wavy Race To The Story Of Skate Longboard
From The Wavy Race To The Story Of Skate Longboard
The footbridge was a combination of surfing and skateboarding. It has the same rolling motion and mimics the undulating waves of the ocean.
Internet users could still practice. The famous Bürgersteigpromenade has become a skateboard. Like Hawaii, skating was quickly popular in California with surfers and teens. More than 50 million skateboards were sold in 1963.
The journey of longboards
After citizenship/skateboarding has become popular among America's youth, skateboards have developed over the years and are becoming more and more important for the towers. The first skateboard was designed as a toy for children, but when children grew up, the toy version became very small.
Long lengths were often made of a wooden board with old wheeled shoes or metal wheels. It was not very strong, soft and safe. As a result, sports and skateboarding dropped dramatically because people thought it was very dangerous.
But over the years, a small core of skaters was looking for a better and safer way to skateboard and the metal wheels were replaced with improved wheels and trucks. Then, the modern skate and longboard in 1973, also known as the second wave of sports, began when the urethane wheels appeared.
Wheels, wheels, wheels ... these are wheels
These wheels were smoother, safer, stronger, faster and had more grip. It was crazy but in advance ...
The sport has become more versatile and popularity has increased further. Instead of just flat, they also see freestyle, downhill and slalom.
Bahne Cadillac was the first company to manufacture urethane wheels that were suitable for longboards and skates. Then the trucks were designed for longboard only. They call them Kingpin reversed trucks. The most popular were (and still) tracker, Gullwing and Bennett.
Popular Tony ...
The actual explosion occurred when Tony Hawk and other famous consultants gained media attention through tricks and competition. This has revived the popularity of the Longboard.
Has anyone evacuated the pool?
Another style was also swimming pool skating or surfing. Many surfers began practising longboard and skateboarding in the back garden ponds. A drought in California occurred.
Jay Adams, Tony Alva and Bruce Logan have been featured in numerous magazines and have helped shape the sport. These pools were the precursors of modern skate parks.
The first skate park was built in Florida. Longboard and skateboarding went downhill. Longboards and skateboards can be found on campus, citizen hikers, beach walks and major competitions.
The equipment is improved, more durable and safer. Modern CNC machines (computer controlled machines) help push the limits. Ecological materials such as bamboo and composite materials such as vinyl begin to affect the endless change in longboard gear.
From The Wavy Race To The Story Of Skate Longboard myadran info 2017-09-28T15:55:00+07:00 5.0 stars based on 35 reviews The footbridge was a combination of surfing and skateboarding. It has the same rolling motion and mimics the undulating waves of the ocean....
Load disqus comments
Copyright © Myadran.Info All Right Reserved
Invision Responsive Blogger Template


text:
Posted in | Biomimetic Robotics
Robotic Fish Helps Expose Collective Patterns of Animal Groups
Since the beginning of time, humans have been fascinated by the remarkable and complex visual patterns created by animal groups moving together. Individuals can imagine the circular motion of a school of barracudas or the extremely synchronized movements of a flock of starlings.
The Robofish with real guppies. Image Credit: David Bierbach.
Using advanced robotics, a research group from the University of Konstanz, Science of Intelligence, and Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) has demonstrated that the speed of animals is essential for collective behavioral patterns, and that eventually, it is the faster creatures that have the strongest impact on group-level behavior.
Published in the Biology Letters of the Royal Society, the study sheds new light on multifaceted collective behavioral patterns in nature and gives knowledge that could help build robotic systems that move in a group, such as drones, robot swarms, and autonomous cars.
For a long time, scientists have focused on finding the emergence of collective patterns. With a combination of computer simulations, behavioral experiments, and field observations, it is evident that many apparently complex patterns can be explained by comparatively basic rules—that is, speed up toward others if they get too far away, move away from others if they get too close, and otherwise move at the same speed and line up with group mates.
Besides understanding the rules that individuals follow when interacting with others, we need to consider the behaviors and characteristics of those individuals that make up the group and determine their influence for collective outcomes. Across the animal kingdom, it has been found again and again that animals tend to differ considerably from one another in their behavior such as in terms of their activity, risk-taking, and social behavior.
Dr Jolle Jolles, Study Lead Author and Scientist, Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz
What are the significances of this behavioral heterogeneity with regard to collective behavior? How can a researcher test for its social significance?
The Robofish is Recognized as a Conspecific
Biomimetic Fish-Like Robots Provide Insight into How Fish can Save Energy
Biomimetic Robot Reveals Swimming Techniques Used by Fish
Robo-Turtles in Fish Farms Reduce Fish Stress
To unravel the role of individual differences in collective behavior and the mechanisms behind this type of behavior, the researchers built "Robofish," a robotic fish that realistically looks and acts like a guppy—a tiny tropical freshwater fish—and also interacts with the live fish in a natural manner.
The researchers paired the robotic fish with a guppy and tuned it to invariably follow its partner and imitate its movements, but lacking any movement choices of its own. The researchers then used a closed-loop feedback system and high-definition video monitoring to allow the robotic fish to react to the actions of the live fish in real-time.
One of Robofish's simple interaction rules was to keep a constant distance to its shoal mate.
Dr David Bierbach, Study Senior Author, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries
Dr Bierbach works within the Berlin-Based Excellence Cluster "Science of Intelligence" at the HU Berlin and the IGB.
He added, "Using this rule, our Robofish tried to keep the same distance to the live fish by accelerating and decelerating whenever the live fish did. Also, programming the robotic fish without any own movement preferences gave us the unique opportunity to investigate how individual differences in the behavior of the live fish led to group-level differences. In short, with our unique approach, we could isolate the effect of the fish's movement speed on the pair's collective behavior."
Fast Guppies Become Stronger Leaders
The team initially measured the guppies' natural movement speed by noticing their movements when alone in an open surrounding and observed that there were considerable individual differences in how fast guppies were inclined to move. When the fish were later tested with Robofish, both the fish and Robofish were inclined to swim naturally together in pairs.
However, the team noticed that there were large differences in the social behaviors between the fish and Robofish: pairs in which the guppy had a faster movement speed were inclined to be relatively more coordinated, more aligned, and less cohesive, and the guppy emerged as a stronger leader.
Since Robofish acted according to the same identical rules with all the guppies, it is the guppies' individual speed that must have resulted in these differences in group-level properties.
By employing advanced robotics, this study demonstrates that individual speed is an important factor in the emergence of collective behavioral patterns. Considering that individual variances in speed are related to a wide range of phenotypic traits among grouping animals, such as their age, size, and hunger level, the study results may help comprehend the role of such heterogeneity in animal groups.
Upcoming studies using the interactive Robofish will target other aspects of collective behavior. For instance, how can animals behave in synchrony if they simply react to the actions of their neighbors?
We want to improve Robofish's software so that it can predict and anticipate the live fish's next steps, which is assumed to be how animals do it.
A deeper insight into these mechanisms is not only essentially important as it discloses information about the mechanisms underlying collective behavior and decisions, but also because this understanding can be used in artificial systems and applied to build machines that move as a group, such as driverless cars, robot swarms, and drones.
Jolles, J. W., et al. (2020) Group-level patterns emerge from individual speed as revealed by an extremely social robotic fish. Biology Letters of the Royal Society. doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0436.
Source: https://www.igb-berlin.de/en


and electric instruments starting as low as $50.
Every instrument is professionally set up and tested before ever hitting the sales floor.
as much as a $60 value for FREE!
Open G, Half Step Down, Full Step Down, Open E or Admiral.


Performant solutions come with mainstreamed processes. Here is a good one for composite quality control!
Nowadays, the composite material is being used widely, namely because of its unique characteristics. QA of parts and laminates made of the composite is a challenge. Nevertheless, using UT techniques to perform NDT inspection of such parts provides equally reliable and repeatable results for both in-line and maintenance examination.


#WeDo: Fall Fashion - This One's for The Moms!
#WeDo: Fall Fashion – This One's for The Moms (& Moms-To-Be)!
The Fall has arrived! Here's a mom-friendly edit of the must-haves to help you update your cool weather look. With these key pieces not only will you be ready for that school run in no time but you'll be stylishly on trend for Autumn, sticky fingerprints and all!
Follow up on Angie's Fall-y awesomely stylish yet comfy picks for moms on her post, The Fall Fashion Edit for Moms.
Every day this week TRL (i.e., yours truly) and my bestie Amy from The Charming will guide you, blog-crawl style, to inspirational and informative posts brought on by some of the best fashionistas–and fashion fanatics–this side of blogland!
Also, follow along via my tag We Do: Fall Fasion AND on Twitter (#WeDo) to make sure you're catching ALL the action.
Enter the giveaway below (or here in case you can't see it below) for $25 PayPal cash! Some of the entries function as sort of a scavenger hunt, so as the posts appear on the blogs this week then you can comment on the posts and gain that entry!
NEXT UP… 'TIS THE SEASON–ALMOST!
We Do: the Holidays will happen the first. week. of. December. If you know you have unparalleled experience with holidays and celebrations, and family traditions/brawls :P and pumpkin everything, AND would like to sign up for that series or any other one (BECAUSE WHY WOULDN'T YOU, OUR UPCOMING WE DO CHAPTERS ARE THE BOMB?!), click here and fill out the form.
Enjoy Angie's post and good luck on that giveaway!!
#WeDo: Fall Fashion – The Roundup + The Cash Giveaway!


Less bands are working with a producer today, but great bands know a producer can add this little extra to your work. Olaf Wollschläger is one of the most respected contemporary producers. He produced bands like Melotron, Beborn Beton, Neuroticfish, In Strict Confidence, Psyche, Seabound, Edge Of Dawn and others. He also produced the last 3 Mesg albums. I thought it was essential to get his opinion about the new Mesh album (cf. Looking Skyward" released on Dependent).
The new 13-track Mesh album "Looking skyward" will be released in no less than 4 formats including a normal CD (available right here), a 2LP set (available right here) and a 2CD set (available right here) which comes with a hardcover book. But next to that there is also a super deluxe boxset (available right here) including the 2CD hardcover book, the gatefold 2LP, and an additional LP with bonus tracks of the bonus CD and a numbered certificate.
Q: How did you get in touch with Mesh and what did they expect from your 'job' as producer?
Olaf: I knew the music of Mesh long before I got in touch with them. I have seen them live on festivals and heard their songs in clubs.
The record company got in touch with me and asked me if I could help them by mixing their album. That was the album "A Perfect Solution" in 2009. In the end it was a bit more than just mixing. To make it sound right for me I changed some sounds and made some suggestions about the arrangements. But we had a limit in time, because there was already a tour booked. I think I had 4 weeks for the entire album.
As we talked afterwards I told Rich and Mark that I had loved to work out things more in detail and we said we could try that on the next album. That happened on "Automation Baby". "A Perfect Solution" is a great album though, there are some great songs on that.
Q: How long did it take to produce the new album "Looking Skyward" and what's your way of working together?
Olaf: Rich told me about starting a new album in November 2014 on a festval in Krefeld. Then it was March 2015 when I heard the first demo-song entitled "Tactile" and I thought it was brilliant. From then on I got some more stuff from the guys but did not work on it yet.
Most of the time we worked online, but this time Rich was here with me in the studio much longer than on the other albums. It was good to have him around, to have this direct communication.
Q: Can you reveal the different aspects of your work regarding the Mesh-releases?
Olaf: This is the third album I made with Mesh. I think even though "Automation Baby" was a big success and everybody said 'you can't do it better' with "Looking Skyward" we made our best work so far. The reason is that we know each other much better now.
When we made "A Perfect Solution" there was not only time-pressure. We didn't really know that much about each other. I think it is really important to understand the artist in what they want to achieve, what their favorite bands, films, books etc. are. Now with the third album we got a real good relationship in creativity. I know much better what they like, but more important what they don't like. And they know me much better, the way I work.
Q: What kind of band is Mesh and what makes the chemistry between you and them?
Olaf: Mesh is a great band to work with. They got a lot of experience in making records and know exactly what they want. That makes things much easier when we are working.
My role is to make it sound right. It is not only the mixing. The whole thing starts with the recording. So we made all the vocals here in the studio with the most accurate equipment you can buy for money. The same with the guitars.
Then there are the synths. We are all sound addicts. And the band has got some really good instruments and software to work with. Rich is the guy working with some classic synths like the Pro-One and SH-101 but also the NORD Lead and the Virus. He is getting some real good sounding stuff out of this machines and you can say that is the typical Mesh-sound.
Q: You've produced a lot of bands and productions, but what makes Mesh maybe 'different' from other to work with?
Olaf: As I said before, it is the experience that makes the difference. I have a lot of bands here that have great songs and great voices but some of them don't really know how it should sound like. Nowadays a lot of artists work in a box, on their laptops with softsynths. But they rarely change the sounds or even know how to do it. I think that is a generation thing.
Mesh and myself come from a time where you had to connect everything with MIDI and with your desk and had to know your equipment that costs thousands of Euros. Today it doesn't matter if you don't really know or use the app for just a few Euros.
Another big thing about Mesh is the voice of Mark. He is a brilliant singer and has such a unique timbre of voice. It is pure fun to work with audio-material like that. You can't really make that much wrong with it.
Q: Do you have a favorite Mesh-song you produced and why?


When it comes to making a corporate video, one thing is certain, and you'd be of the same mind with it, that you need plenty of time and most essentially forbearance as it's no less a monotonous work. Also, you might perceive of performing it yourself as you have a good video camera. But the million dollar query is can you produce a high standard digital video? The reply to this query actually relies on whether you have that capacity and experience to provide an expert touch to the video. If you have, well consent, but if you don't then better go for a professional video production company.
Skilfulness through Expertise: Working connectedly with a video production company will assist you to create a product that's high in standard, content, attractive and a video that goes with your private business objectives. Producing a corporate video requires numerous various individuals that engage as professional companies already own a team that works interconnected together to produce the best video for your business.
A well versed team including some of the topmost corporate filmmakers who can assist you to call on the most real concepts build on the most effectual procedure to remain associated with your marketing strategy. They have gone through of many years in this field that have made them modify to the needs of others and aware what will work superb in the industry. The outcome is that you acquire an unbelievable product in the form of digital marketing video that assists you to encourage your brand to the utmost.
Oneness: The concepts and inventiveness of video production companies won't become motionless and would offer actually what you are searching for, as the video production company's work with many other clients. The professional companies require staying motionless on all the recent trends going on in the industry, so they are well placed to produce eyesight that would implore to your aimed audience. Experts are well proficient in producing oneness videos that would obtain an emotional response from your possible audience, and that is exactly everything about accurate storytelling.
Budget: The reality cannot be neglected that working with an expert company that's into corporate video production, plenty of money can be secured in the long run. Additionally, they can provide you a product that can be used for many marketing campaigns. The company pursuing in video production can work with you and produce a video that's exactly what you're searching for and that too while remaining within your budget.
It's always suggested to hire video production company that has an expertise and educated staff in producing oneness corporate videos rather than frittering away your time and money in producing a video that might not be of high standard. After all, it's your brand that you desire to encourage and you must have zero forbearance towards anything below the highest standard.
After all creating a high standard digital video is what you'd like to encourage your product/service. Producing real and standard content through video is what would capture your audience and keep them stick to your brand, so hiring a famous film maker would advantage your brand in a big way.


Your warehouse starts at your dock; and the equipment you use is imperative to how your warehouse operates. At Lift Truck Specialists, we sell, design and install all kinds of dock equipment to suit a variety of applications.
To find out more about our dock equipment, contact us at LTS today.


text:
Home » Get Inspired » Local News » News » You are reading »
To be Gay or not be Gay : Same Sex Marriage in the Indian Society
Rajat Pandey May 19, 2017 To be Gay or not be Gay : Same Sex Marriage in the Indian Society2017-05-20T00:24:10+00:00 Get Inspired, Local News, News No Comment
Jalandhar: April 22 – a day of celebration for Jalandhar based Sub-Inspector of Punjab Police, Manjit Kaur and his long-time same-sex partner, as they finally tied the knot in an auspicious ceremony accompanied by family and friends. Yes, same-sex marriage. Now, the very first thoughts that most of the people will get after reading this article is – How do they do it?(Yes 'it' here means Sex). Because that is how our developed human brain works, it has a huge repository for imagination yet in today's society the smallest of issues somehow turns-up being related to sex.
However, some other minds which are not filled with such garbage would also ponder over some other issues which I will be raising here such as – Is it legal? Is the spectrum of same-sex marriage acceptable here in India? What should we know?
So let's begin, In the month of April 44-yr-old, Manjit Kaur finally decided that she should take the step ahead and so got married to her lover, a 27-yr-old girl from Jalandhar. What made their marriage so remarkable, was the fact that although being a same-sex marriage in India, both the bride and groom's families and friends were quite happy and excited about the whole affair. Not only was this a jubilant event for the newlyweds rather a more joyous venture for the whole LGBTQ community(Yeah there exists a community out there people).
LGBT netizens from around the world and India not only congratulated the pair but also praised them for their courage. And why shouldn't they be praised, it requires a lot of grit to step up against the society and atrocities which are unfortunately yet to follow the lives of these two.
Manjit Kaur with her bride. (Photo: HT)
But, this is not the first time such a love story ended in finally a marriage. Same-Sex marriage dates back to the 2002, when Mala Nagarajan and Vega Subramaniam, two women of Indian-origin, got married in a well-honored Hindu marriage ceremony in Maryland. Such a marriage, according to them, during that time was not legal in the eyes of law.
So what made them do such "Illegal" activities? When asked both of them replied, "It was love and a celebration to let everyone know our lifetime commitment to each other". Yes Love – a four letter word which somehow people here have forgotten about. Love which has merely become a "timepass" according to some people who think they are obliged to have some form of entertainment in the form of love in their life. As we all know the perfect definition of marriage given by all elder people is – "Marriage is an institution formed by love, companionship, trust and understanding". But I don't think any of us really do understand the meaning of any of these words.
Lately the Indian Supreme Court made a decision to re-instate the ban on gay sex or Section 377. The Section-377 of the IPC (introduced by the British rule), criminalizes sexual activities "against order of nature"– including "homosexual". Firstly, I mean c'mon people it's a law which was introduced in the dinosaur ages and secondly, why is lovemaking being considered here as unnatural when two people are in mutual understanding of what's going on. Love knows no boundaries, no definitions no explanations for its feelings.
Similarly, it does not define its existence, whether it happens between a man and woman, between two men or women, or love between a human and a animal. Love is just love.
As soon as the pictures of the lovely Punjabi couple (Manjit Kaur and her wife) became viral on social media, while the couple were applauded by a large number of people from around the globe, they faced some strong criticism and disregard from the socio-cultural torch bearers of the Indian society with comments such as "this is illegal", "such people pollute our Indian culture and society".
My question here is How? By getting married or is it by falling in love?
Whenever such incidents come to into light these people start behaving like vicious vipers ready to splurt out poisonous venom in the name of religion, culture, rights and laws. People which admit to the fact that they are lesbians or gays are either mocked or scorned for being so, while others which do not admit, bow-down to the pressures of family and either decide to end their lives on just live on like life-less bodies-putting in danger not only their lives rather the people involved with them.
Have we forgotten the concept of love, trust and all humanly feelings or has this whole plethora become just a political and social agenda?
Recently, Prime minister Modi said that we need to provide more laws and rights for the transgender. Then why not these people? Are they not humans? Do they not require normal human rights and laws which are given to any normal citizen of a country?
Although, I do not entirely blame the government for these loop-holes, instead of calling such incidents as impure, or unnatural and branding the couples as diseased, it's time we help them, by at least allowing them to have normal lives like any Indian family. In July 2011, a court in Gurgoan legalized the same-sex marriage of a lesbian couple Beena and Savita, first of its kind to be accepted in law. Also, of late, the First Same-Sex Marriage Bureau of India was established by Benhur Samson, who is working with an NGO for people of the LGBTQ community.
Sometime ago, the famous Bollywood Director Mr. Karan Johar has adopted twin children- a boy and a girl, and as we all know (and have accepted) that Mr. Johar is gay. All these incidents are just stepping stones for the LGBTQ community in India, still there is a long-battle which needs to be fought by couples like Beena and Savita.
Alright maybe all cultural saviors of our society might make it hard for us to accept them but no people like us, people like you and me need to come to terms with the fact that such people exist-there are gays and lesbians. Some of you might even think that I am a lesbian as well, since I am writing about it , but that's not it, however, I am definitely a human and yes I consider these people as humans also. I think it is time for us to address the elephant in the room. Just like Manjit Kaur has decided to step-up, it is time for us to step-up, shun the stupidity and give love a chance.
Note: Article by Bernadine Soman
Tags: Jalandhar, Manjit Kaur, LGBTQ, Lesbian, Gay, Same-sex Marriage, Mala Nagarajan,Vega Subramaniam, Punjabi gay couple, Section 377, Beena and Savita, Gurgaon, Benhur Samson, Karan Johar
https://thebeepingbell.com/to-be-gay-or-not-be-gay-same-sex-marriage-in-the-indian-society/https://thebeepingbell.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Featured-image-1024x583.jpghttps://thebeepingbell.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Featured-image-150x150.jpg 2017-05-19T17:38:00+00:00 Rajat PandeyGet InspiredLocal NewsNewsJalandhar: April 22 – a day of celebration for Jalandhar based Sub-Inspector of Punjab Police, Manjit Kaur and his long-time same-sex partner, as they finally tied the knot in an auspicious ceremony accompanied by family and friends. Yes, same-sex marriage. Now, the very first thoughts that most of the...Rajat PandeyRajat Pandeyrajatrexton.cs@gmail.comAdministratorThe Beeping Bell
Step by Step Guide to Start Your Own Recruiting Agency
« Jennifer Lawrence's drunken pole dance video leaked; She remains unapologetic said 'I had fun'
GST rates finalised for services: Education, Healthcare liberated, watching movies gets cheaper »


Herbal Pet Remedy − Goodbye Demodectic Mange!
The game plan for this mite would be to burrow three to five tiers deep and even assault the hair follicles resulting to demodectic mange. Pets having demodetic mites will go through main hair thinning as well as reduced immune systems. The microscopic mange mite typically shows up in all young puppies, but largely puppies from about six weeks to around one year old.
The minute eight legged bloodsuckers will appear in the pores triggering localized invasion while in the beginning (if not dealt with, these areas could quickly turn out to be "generalized" making it a far more significant ailment to treat). Veterinarian as well as medical remedies are really expensive and even require many months to cure with toxins plus pesticides.
With Demodetic mange, there's usually a characteristic smell – kind of a "wet puppy dog" smell. Veterinarians can normally diagnose demodex just by searching, although a skin scraping will provide a even more clear diagnosis. The itch, although not very as severe as that caused by the poisons from sarcastic mites, may be severe (or there might be no irritation in any way), and a lot of times, demodex can cause severe secondary bacterial contamination, not merely from the afflicted pores, but from the mistreated skin on the pet marring itself.
In contrast to the mites who bite and live up from the blood from the dog, the mites that cause demodex do not bite and they don't eat blood from your animal. They reside in follicles not to mention follicles of hair and then literally feast upon the skin as well as hair oil they find there.
Mites are similar in character to Narcotic Mange mites. Notoedres cati will be the primary trigger of mange in cats. It'll likewise contaminate dogs, but won't live a full life cycle on human beings, but will certainly trigger itching as well as achievable rash. Also known as 'face mange', the problem generally starts at the tips of the ears, moves along across the face then, if untreated, on the body. If the cat suffers from severe itching or even hair loss on the head and neck you must think about getting her analyzed for the neoteric mange mite.
The female mite burrows into the skin then lays eggs a number of times as she continues digging. A lot of these channels can truly get to the length of a number of centimeters. Following she deposits the eggs, the female mite passes away. In three to eight days the eggs hatch into larvae, that have six legs. The larvae grow into nymphs, that have eight legs. The nymph then molts straight into an adult even though it can be still inside the burrow. The adult's mate, along with the process continue. The entire life cycle calls for 2-3 weeks.
The signs and symptoms generally start with baldness as well as itching on the ears distributing quickly to the face, eyelids and neck. The mites may also spread to the feet and lower abdomen. This characteristic spread possibly occurs from the cat's practice of pet grooming, and sleeping curled up in a ball. As the illness progresses the skin will turn into thickened, wrinkled and covered with grayish/yellow crusts. Due to the fact of the intense itching the infected cat will typically scuff and then irritate the skin leading to secondary infections to build up. The encompassing lymph nodes may well also grow to be bigger as the difficulty worsens. Understanding these can certainly prevent demodectic mange.
Tagged and categorized as: Uncategorized Comments Off on Goodbye Demodectic Mange!


What Is Job Sharing? Jan 18 workshop 50% off thru New Year's Day!
"My love letter to my working mom friends went viral and women from Africa to Chile wish they could somehow make it to Austin for the What Is Job Sharing? workshop, but Austin, Texas, you can!
Register today for 60% off for your Early bird special through Jan 15, 2017!
* Wolfgang Career Coaching clients, reserve your ticket with promotional code "wolfgangeexclusive".
Not in Austin, but would like to take the course? We've got you covered. Reserve your tickets to the online course today! Available early 2017.
* Wolfgang Career Coaching clients, reserve your tickets with promotional code "wolfgangonlineexclusive".


text:
Dubai to build Dh1 billion library shaped like a book
New cultural centre to open in 2017 at Al Jaddaf
Published: February 01, 2016 19:15 Noor Nazzal, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Dubai will build a Dh1 billion library which will house millions of books and will be the largest cultural centre in the region, it was announced on Monday.
The Mohammad Bin Rashid Library will benefit 42 million people around the world and will be designed in the shape of an open book. It will open in 2017 and will be the largest cultural centre in the region, with an investment of approximately Dh1 billion.
Unveiling the project, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the Arab world is facing a learning gap, which shows the need for projects the size of this historic cultural challenge.
"We are the leaders of civilisation, duty and culture, and so we need to revive the spirit of learning and curiosity within our culture through innovative initiatives that push our boundaries. This is why we decided to start the Year of Reading by launching this state-of-the-art library and to let everyone know that we will transform the UAE into an Arab and global cultural and learning centre while strongly establishing reading as a societal norm. We want a dynamic library which will reach you before you reach it, visit you before you visit it, and which encourages you to start reading from childhood, while supporting you as a scientist, researcher or specialist, when older. The library will be a compound for books, a community for readers and writers, and an association for content, culture and thought owners," he said.
Located in Al Jaddaf, in the heart of Dubai and close to Dubai Culture Village, the seven-storey, one million square foot facility will house more than 4.5 million books, including 1.5 million printed books, two million electronic books and one million audio books.
The library will also have several areas for interaction, events, activities as well as educational and cultural festivals.
There will also be venues for arts and literary exhibitions, heritage preservation initiatives and a 500-seat theatre for lectures, seminars and presentations on best practices. The library will also serve as a platform for hosting and launching the most significant intellectual and cultural initiatives regionally and globally.
"The human mind is the centre of development and the book is the tool used to renew the mind. A nation can never grow without a renewed mind and a lively, knowledgeable spirit," he added.
The Mohammad Bin Rashid Library goes beyond the limits of a typical public library and acts as the centre of cultural initiatives, such as the Dh2.4 million 'Arabic Language Award', launched by Shaikh Mohammad to help people embrace their Arab identity.
The library will also have a museum to celebrate heritage and the history of human civilisation, in addition to being the largest book warehouse in the region, welcoming students, authors, translators, scholars and academics who share a passion for knowledge and wisdom.
The museum will act as a specialised centre for the conservation and restoration of historical manuscripts. It will also display rare artefacts from the Al Maktoum family collection
Equipped with 2,600 seats and the most advanced technologies and smart applications, it is expected to receive nine million visitors annually.
The library is based on six pillars: the first is the main library, which includes eight specialised libraries: for Children, Youth, Family, Business, Arabic, International, Popular and Multimedia.
The second pillar is spreading content; the library will include an e-library with over two million titles, and one million audio books. The library will also print and distribute 10 million books in the next few years, which will be distributed to people in need.
The third pillar will focus on supporting authoring and translation, through its initiative, which aims to translate 25,000 titles into Arabic.
The fourth pillar will focus on protecting the Arabic language. This will be done by hosting the main headquarters of The International Council for the Arabic Language and publishing the Mohammad Bin Rashid Contemporary Arabic Language Dictionary.
The fifth pillar will include preserving cultural heritage, while the sixth aims at encouraging reading as it will be home to the Arab Reading Challenge which includes 2.5 million students from 20,000 schools within the Arab world. It will also host over 100 annual cultural events.
The library encapsulates the intellectual and cultural vision of Shaikh Mohammad, and reflects the crucial role of knowledge in fostering intellectual excellence, confronting regional challenges and paving the way for a new golden era for the Arab nation. "It's our destiny as a region to be the centre of the world, and our destiny also is to be a convergence point of nations and a junction for all civilisations and cultures," Shaikh Mohammad added.
Shaikh Mohammad at a ceremony to unveil the Mohammad Bin Rashid Library on Monday. Image Credit: Zarina Fernandes/Gulf News
View gallery as list


text:
Partly cloudy and windy early then becoming cloudy with a mix of rain and snow late. Some sleet may mix in. Low 34F. SW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 80%..
Partly cloudy and windy early then becoming cloudy with a mix of rain and snow late. Some sleet may mix in. Low 34F. SW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 80%.
Portrait sketch of Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston.
Bianca Oppedisano / Mass Media Staff
Michelle Wu's Boston Green New Deal
Sean Liddy
50 At 50Local NewsNational NewsPolice BlotterTrending NewsUMass Boston NewsUMass System NewsWorld News
Michelle Wu has recently made history by becoming the first woman, as well as the first person of color, to win a Boston mayoral election. Her representation of change and of the wants of the new generation doesn't end there, however; at the forefront of Wu's agenda is a Green New Deal for the city of Boston.
The Boston Green New Deal has five key issues: climate justice, transportation, public health, economic justice and workers' rights, and closing the racial wealth gap.
Setting her sights on the future, Wu's plan aims to deliver structural changes she believes Boston needs in order to "provide our kids a future built on sustainable energy, good jobs, and healthy, connected communities."
Her plan arose from the economic problems that have resulted from the coronavirus pandemic and a will to take down racial barriers that threaten the environmental future.
In terms of climate justice, Wu focuses on the disparities in terms of environmental security for communities of color, low-income and working class families, and immigrant communities.
These groups are more likely to face environmental hazards and exposure to pollution, urban heat island effect, flooding and more.
Fighting environmental racism, according to Wu, requires clear policies with an emphasis on community stabilization which ensures the benefit of members of the community, rather than displacement, in a new age of environmental gentrification which threatens to leave these groups at a disadvantage. Wu emphasizes the need for Boston policy makers to create a "procedural justice framework" which lifts up voices of historically overlooked people and communities.
Wu has also presented the idea of a fare-free MBTA system; her main issues come together in this regard as she argues that a free T service intersects with racial and economic justice, and that it is a useful and beneficial climate and transportation policy.
"Safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable" transportation is necessary for the health and growth of the city as a whole in Wu's opinion. Boston has the worst traffic in the country and a fractured public transportation system; in Wu's eyes it has become an issue of economic, climate and racial justice that must lead to reform.
A study completed in August 2020 confirmed clear racial disparities in terms of infection rates of coronavirus across communities of color in Massachusetts. Wu views this as a revelation and an added layer to the disparities of health in communities of color and furthers the struggles of these communities. To address this, Wu is arguing for the increase in access to resources to strengthen Boston's public health infrastructure.
Wu's vision of economic justice and workers' rights intersects heavily on solid and environmentally friendly jobs.
One specific aspect of the Green New Deal proposal focuses on "Urban Climate Corps." This would include a paid training program for young residents to focus on the "green infrastructure installation, climate resilient design, the restoration of natural spaces, and community engagement," according to Wu's website.
Her final key focus revolves around closing the racial wealth gap.
Currently in Boston the median net worth of a white family is $247,500 and the median net worth of a black family is $8; the coronavirus pandemic and its unequal disparagement on communities of color only furthers this gap. Wu views climate justice as racial and economic justice; in her eyes, addressing the racial wealth gap is necessary in order to ease issues for communities of color in the coming climate crisis.


text:
package org.asynchttpclient;

import static org.asynchttpclient.Dsl.*;
import static org.asynchttpclient.test.TestUtils.*;
import static org.testng.Assert.fail;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;

import org.eclipse.jetty.server.Request;
import org.eclipse.jetty.server.handler.AbstractHandler;
import org.testng.annotations.BeforeClass;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;

public class IdleStateHandlerTest extends AbstractBasicTest {

    private class IdleStateHandler extends AbstractHandler {

        public void handle(String s, Request r, HttpServletRequest httpRequest, HttpServletResponse httpResponse) throws IOException, ServletException {

            try {
                Thread.sleep(20 * 1000);
            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
            httpResponse.setStatus(200);
            httpResponse.getOutputStream().flush();
            httpResponse.getOutputStream().close();
        }
    }

    @BeforeClass(alwaysRun = true)
    public void setUpGlobal() throws Exception {
        port1 = findFreePort();
        server = newJettyHttpServer(port1);
        server.setHandler(new IdleStateHandler());
        server.start();
        logger.info("Local HTTP server started successfully");
    }

    @Test(groups = "standalone")
    public void idleStateTest() throws Exception {
        try (AsyncHttpClient c = asyncHttpClient(config().setPooledConnectionIdleTimeout(10 * 1000))) {
            c.prepareGet(getTargetUrl()).execute().get();
        } catch (ExecutionException e) {
            fail("Should allow to finish processing request.", e);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


In appreciation of the easy on the eye male celebrity, we bring you man candy such as Sam Heughan, Jonathan Bennett, Shawn Mendes, Taron Egerton and more!
Sam Heughan pays homage to the King.
Aww. Jonathan Bennett and a puppy!
A very colorful Jeremy Irvine.
Shawn Mendes' arms are on point.
Lining 'em up with Sam Heughan.
A toast with Stephen Amell and Jared Padalecki.
What ya grabbing there, Nick Jonas?
Dressing up is fun. Right Taron Egerton?
Striking a pose with Antoni Porowski.
Rodin but with clothes on.
What a year it's been… Fun fact: this t-shirt was a series finale gift I made for the cast & crew of Glee. One of my better gift ideas. Love this thing. Shoutout to Iqbal Theba #FIGGINS!


Kennedy Flooring stock a range of Altro Nuvola Cirrus Safety Flooring, with its acoustic and resilient properties, this range supports the design of a contemporary environment in schools, the health care sector, public buildings and offices. Why not contact Kennedy Flooring on 01-4568060 for Samples or Sales information.
Altro Nuvola Cirrus offers a wide range of 13 chipped designs with subtle, background colors. The palette has been designed to offer you the scope to co-ordinate with the various Altro Safety flooring ranges.
With its acoustic and resilient properties, this range supports the design of a contemporary environment in schools, the health care sector, public buildings and offices. Altro Nuvola Cirrus has a smooth finish and is in sheet form to provide a hygienic, seamless surface.


Fun, food, fruit beers, and sheesha- enjoy a modern and urban dating set up with your love.
Spend some quality time as you party like a rockstar with shisha, fruit beer/champagne and great food! Pull up clouds of vapour from that crystalline Sheesha and do all the tricks and styles you can do. Along with that you will definitely fall in love with the signature Fruit beers for 2 or Fruit champagnes. Treat yourself with an amazingly delicious food feast comprising of 2 mocktails, 2+2 starters, 1+1 main course dishes, and 1+1 desserts in an astounding setup of flowers and candles.
A beautiful decorated table setup with flowers and glowing candles will melt your heart. With eargasmic music being played in the background, binge on sizzling starters and delicious shakes. Later, the dinner includes 1+1 main course and unlimited breads with toothsome desserts for the marvellous ending. A private butler will assist you in full regards. It will be an outing worth remembering. You can heighten the effect of this experience by choosing from our unique and thoughtful customisations. Sweeten the occasion with a yummy chocolate cake and surprise your near and dear one with a lovely bouquet of flowers. Just check out our cute and adorable add-ons below!
The venue closes at 2 am. You can place your order at most by 1:30 am.


Dedicated to stay with clients every step of the way.
The power of attorney should be given to a person that will do what is best for you.
Adding other types of health insurance to your Medicare coverage will help to cushion your out-of-pocket fees.
Or, Melissa can come to you (in Maryland and DC Metro areas).


You can return to our homepage by clicking here. Alternatively, get in touch by emailing, calling or visiting us using our details shown here.
Image courtesy of Catherine MacGregor Photography.
Thank you for contacting the Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society. We'll be in touch very soon.


The UNISETTER is a tool that is easily adjusted to fit a wide variety of man-made as well as natural stones, steps or stair treads.
The LONG ARM is designed to fit a wide variety of large scale man-made as well as natural stones, steps or stair treads with the Unisetter.
The HOOK ARM is specifically designed for lifting Rosetta® Outcropping units with the Unisetter.
The ROSETTA® OUTCROPPING LIFTER is designed to lift Rosetta® Outcropping.
The MULTI-LIFTER is specifically designed for lifting and placing up to three Versa-Lok® or Versa-Lok® Square Foot Block at a time.
The VERSA-LIFTER is designer to lift Versa-Lok® Block by hand.
The SQ. FT. LIFTER is designed to lift Versa-Lok® Sq. Ft. Block by hand.


Interior Design ~ Great Ideas Laundry Basket Storage Best Interior Design Baby Gift Shower On Laundry Basket Ideas. Baby Laundry Basket Ideas. Laundry Basket Ideas On Pinterest. Pinterest Laundry Basket Ideas.


BitMEX market manipulation, the Bitcoin psychic, new crypto scam, Siacoin drama, WeChat bands crypto accounts, Dash aims for Venezuela, crypto news and.The cryptocurrency without an ICO, learn about Siacoin (SC) here.
Cryptocurrency Forecast, Bitcoin & Altcoin, ICO (initial coin offering) Predictions with Estimated Daily USD Prices.Invest In Blockchain is one of the fastest growing websites in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. Invest in.
I am not telling you how much you can expect to earn doing this vs. Siacoin,.
The decentralized cloud Siacoin will have its own mining hardware by July 2018.In his Reddit post, Vorick broached the possibility that the Siacoin community could implement a change to the mining code so that the Bitmain ASICs would be unusable.Create an account on Bittrex, and then locate the deposit addresses for the currency you purchased in the first step.Reddit. Facebook. Instagram. YouTube. The Obelisk is an ASIC miner for Siacoin. Obelisks are promised to ship by June 2018,.


text:
Q: Centering nth element when using grids at the beginning of a row in css   margin: 20px 20px 90px;
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
  grid-gap: 20px;
  justify-items: center;

When using grid, how do you make sure that the fourth item is in the center instead of the left side?
Example:
I want this:
[ ] [ ] [ ]

    [ ]

instead of:
[ ] [ ] [ ]

[ ]

[ ] represents a div element like a Card.

A: You can make with set grid-column: span 3; for 4th child.

.container {
  margin: 50px 40px 100px;
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
  grid-gap: 40px;
  justify-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
}

.container div {
  background: red;
  height: 100px;
  width: 100px;
}

.container div:nth-child(4) {
  grid-column: span 3;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Acquired by NGA in 1997 directly from Crown Point Press.
Thirty-five Years at Crown Point Press, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997, no. 66*.
Thirty-five Years at Crown Point Press. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1997-1998: no. 66*.


Posted on February 4, 2017 - 11:37am.
I Love You Poems for Him.
Remain true and my love for you would wax stronger.
And for that, I remain your Earth.
I need you and love you, today and forever.
It won't tomorrow, and forever.
I Would Love Whatever You Are!
I would yet fight for you.
And for all these I love you.


text:
'Coronation Street' Actress Kate Ford Calls Police To Her Home After 10pm Blazing Street Row
Daniel Welsh— The Huffington Post UK
27/10/2014 06:02am GMT | Updated October 27, 2014
The police were reportedly called after a fight broke out at 'Coronation Street' actress Kate Ford's home on Friday night.
MORE 'CORRIE':
Look Who's Coming Back To The Cobbles
'Corrie' Stars In Pay Dispute?
Hunky 'Corrie' Newbie To Stir Up Trouble For Kylie
According to The Sun, a male friend of the star, Paul, had arrived at her house to collect his child, who had been playing with Kate's son, when she invited him in for a drink.
However, half an hour later, the actress - who plays Tracy Barlow in the ITV soap - and her friend were disturbed by the arrival of his girlfriend, banging on her front door and asking why he was so late getting home.
'Coronation Street' actress Kate Ford
As the dispute went from the house to the street, the police were called at around 9.30pm, shortly after which Paul's ex-girlfriend arrived on the scene too, insisting that she wanted to take their son home with her.
Things came to a head when he was led away in handcuffs, after allegedly assaulting his current girlfriend.
Kate explained to the newspaper: "There was a domestic at my house but it was nothing to do with me.
"Paul was picking up his boy and had been at my home half an hour when this woman turned up and refused to leave.
"Their relationship problems are their problems. There is nothing going on between me and Paul and never has been."
She also defended herself for getting so caught up in the row, adding: "Wouldn't you say 'F*** off you b**ch, get out of my house, you've been here for hours?' How would you feel if the ex-wife then turns up at your house with the police?"
Kate's character, Tracy, is currently involved in one of the biggest 'Corrie' storylines of the year, and is about to walk down the aisle with Rob Donovan, who she doesn't know was behind the murder of Tina McIntyre earlier this year.
Coronation Street - Where Are They Now?
uk celebrityuktvuktvsoapuksoaps uk soaps
Latest Covid Rules: How Will Restrictions Change Next Week?


text: dream almost faded. In the mid-seventies nearly half the trail crossed private land, and development plans threatened to sever it into separate chunks. The route changed frequently to circumvent tract housing and public roads, and the margins of escape were growing thin. "Back then I was told, 'Better hike the trail now, because in ten years it may be too late,'" said Dave Sherman, a trail enthusi ast and 2,000-miler. He works for the Na tional Park Service, which today holds title to much of the trail property. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter signed a bill authorizing 90 million dollars to buy an A. T. corridor averaging 1,000 feet in width, leaving less than 225 miles to be drawn under the protection of public land. Future hikers are virtually assured that they can pull on sneakers for a short jaunt, or throw kitchen and bedroom on their backs and follow the white blazes of the world's longest continuously marked footpath. ODDLY Georgia's Springer Moun tain is called the terminus (though more hikes begin than end there), perhaps because the trail's originator was a New Englander. When his idea of a lengthy eastern trail was published in an architectural journal in 1921, it is doubtful that Benton MacKaye expected anyone to walk it all. The author, forester, philosopher, and New Deal activ ist envisioned a path connecting a series of community camps for city dwellers to use for the study and appreciation of nature. The route was not even connected until 1937 and the camps never materialized, but a string of three-sided shelters offer marathon back packers a dry haven in storms. An agony of spring bugs in the North makes Georgia the logical starting point. A walk begun here as spring explodes with life can end when summer dies aflame in Maine. Although the corridor falls within a vari ety of holdings both public and private, the trail is sometimes called along, thin national park. If so, it is the only one managed mainly by private citizens. In an unprecedented move, in 1984 the Department of the Interior signed over re sponsibility for managing part of the A. T.'s public land to a private organization-the Appalachian Trail Conference, headquar tered in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The conference serves as an umbrella organiza tion for the 31 A. T. clubs. Working mostly on weekends and vacations, volunteers from these clubs swing picks, move dirt, muscle boulders around, and clear away blown down trees to maintain a pleasant pathway for hikers they may never see. They may rep resent the largest volunteer effort in the world for operating a recreational facility. "With federal budgets what they are these days, I'd like to see citizen participation like that in the whole park system," National Park Service Director William Penn Mott, Jr., said to me. Though the pathway is usually clear, veg etation alongside is at times dense. You can see weeds and brush if you wish. Or, as the student of nature that MacKaye intended, you can learn to recognize pipsissewa, tooth wort, Michaux's saxifrage, and mountain laurel. Some vegetation is nearly impossible to forget, such as Indian pipe, which pokes through rotting leaves and curls into a little alabaster peace pipe. Jack-in-the-pulpit preaches so solemnly that every sighting brings a smile, as do Dutchman's-breeches, tiny puffed pants hanging out to dry. In North Carolina and Tennessee one has both flowers and panoramic views on moun tains called balds. A heaven conceived by hikers might look like this. The lofty path cuts through grasses and sedges that ripple in the wind and are quilted with color from hawkweed, buttercups, wild strawberry, and flame azalea. To either side are views of farmlands and toy houses, wooded valleys and hills and more mountains beyond. Far ther north, acres of rhododendron drape Roan Mountain in a pink blanket, and a roadside grocer just off the trail remarked, "In June, some say, it's the most beautiful place on earth." With a few notable exceptions grades of the far South are gentle compared with the steep pitches of New Hampshire and Maine, butahillisahill .. isahill.Days,even weeks of backpacking are required before the body adjusts to a burden that pulls at the shoulders, strains the back, and teaches the legs the true meaning of gravity. If the Appalachian Trail is a school, a ma jor test in vegetation and endurance is the National Geographic,February1987 222


text:
Harry Styles has finally confirmed the NSFW meaning behind Watermelon Sugar
Harry Styles is bringing us yet more, erm, pleasure with a much-awaited reveal as to what his 2019 hit single Watermelon Sugar is really about.
During a Nashville date on his world tour – which has been filled with off-piste ad libbing while he isn't singing, including some iconic lines of dating advice and a surprise gender reveal for an expecting mum in the audience – he cheekily confirmed what we always suspected.
"It doesn't really matter what it's about," he said as the intro to the track began. "It's about the sweetness of life." He then leaned into his teasing reveal: "It's also about the female orgasm – but that's totally different, it's not really relevant."
We would argue it most certainly IS. After all, according to recent research by sexual wellness brand LELO, 4% of women say they have never orgasmed with a sexual partner and men were found to be 20% more likely than women to orgasm during sex.
So we thank Mr Styles for bringing attention to this important issue. There has been much discussion about the meaning behind certain lyrics on the track (Tastes like strawberries / On a summer evenin' / And it sounds just like a song), with Urban Dictionary also listing "watermelon sugar" as a phrase used to refer to illegal drugs.
During an interview with Zane Lowe after the release of the track and his album Fine Line, Harry coyly sidestepped the question when the DJ asked if Watermelon Sugar was written about oral sexual pleasure. Now, we finally know.
Harry's announcement of dating advice caused a similar uproar, when he reacted to a fan holding a sign "Should I text him?".
After outlining the very familiar and relatable trials and tribulations of modern dating, including the agony many of us feel about how, when and what to text a person we fancy, the singer dispensed some sage advice as to what it means if you feel like you have to play games.
"My personal opinion is that if there's any sort of games, trash, trash, trash, not for you," he said to tumultuous applause and a huge freak out on social media, due to the line being plucked straight from romantic classic The Notebook.
We'd like to thank Harry Styles once again for standing for non-toxic dating and the female orgasm. We salute you.
TaggedEntertainmentGlamour
23 gift sets for men that are just as stylish as he is
How to Plan For Shipping Delays During the 2021 Holiday Season
NYX Is Releasing a Raunchy New Collection Inspired by Netflix's Sex Education
Here's how I finally learnt to embrace my sexuality, without fear or apology
Anya Taylor-Joy Got to Keep Beth's Costumes, and Can We Please Be Her?


I can tell that I've become middle-aged, because I'm really looking forward to the emergency budget tomorrow*.
Even though it's probably going to hurt in some way, but I shall doubtless get lots of vicarious pleasure from knowing that its going to hurt other people (BTLs esp.) a lot more!
*the slippers and the cardigan are other give-aways.
Now this is something I don't get. Why take pleasure in the misery of others?
Its really not a nice trait.
Should be fun listening to all the whining afterwards.
If those others are BTLers then all bets are off, God hates BTLers.
Plus, we've been bailing out their mistakes without being asked, so I'll take enormous pleasure if they get shafted hard in their arses tomorrow.
The Budget looks set to be overkill, too much pain spread too wide, with of course, some exceptions.
One such exception is rumoured to be a manipulation of Council Tax. Government will give more money to Councils to avoid increases. But Council Tax tends to fall most heavily on the prosperous, so it is th rich who will benefit from such a 'freeze'.
Did you mean "schadenfreude"? Taking pleasure from the misery of others.
Babel fish translates this as "singing pigs joy"
I look forward to the singing pigs.
When does Ozzy rise to his feet?
Its going to be better more exciting than watching England go down 0-1 on Wednesday! I wish I had placed a Betfair now as I forecast England would be out after 3 matches. Not that I am anti- or anything just fed up with the boasting that goes on in this country as if HPI was something laudable.
How can you be excited?
Benefits to stay the same.
I quite like my inlaws. There's always plenty to drink.
I'm excited about it because I think this will be a historic budget that will be talked about for many years to come.
Yes, it is going to be hard, but at least the government is going to attempt to cut back the monstrous giant hogweed that is the state.
We've all been living in HPI-induced la-la land for far too long and reality is a big troll that is about to start clubbing the door down.
What time does knob nose kick off?
We spend £1.33 for every £1 we collect in tax.
I'd love to see how you define overkill, because we need to swing the budget by 33% just to break even.
I am looking forward to it not because it will hurt others, but to see how I can best plan my life to avoid as much of it as possible...just trying to adapt to new circumstances.
For me the past 2 years of uncertainty and Brown/King throwing QE at everything has caused so much uncertainty and fear financially for HPCers I think... Your worry about buying a house fearing a crash as soon as you buy... and then you watch the lunancy of UK prices increasing whilst the rest of the Western World crashes... you are petrified of inflation eating your savings but you are scared of the stock market and all the other stuff, gold included, so what I am looking for is some certainty to plan ahead.
That's what we all would like TMT...some stability and certainty back into life.
You're looking in the wrong place TMT.
The only certainty in life is that there is no certainty.
Have to admit, if there is a big rise in CGT that brings a rush of property to the market I will be buying.
Fingers crossed that HPCers are not let down.
No? Perhaps even more ironic tomorrow ...?


The concept Continental drift represents the subject, aboutness, idea or notion of resources found in University of San Diego Libraries.
Continents adrift; readings from Scientific American.
The origin of continents and oceans.


Sylvia Arthur is a British-Ghanaian narrative nonfiction writer whose work explores identity, diaspora, politics, and place. She lives in Accra where she has turned her vast collection of books into Ghana's only lending library, Libreria Ghana. Her writing has been published in The Guardian, the BBC, and The British Journalism Review and her essay, "Britain's Invisible Black Middle Class" appears in the anthology, Know Your Place: Essays by the Working Class for the Working Class. She has been awarded fellowships to Hedgebrook and Santa Fe Art Institute and received a grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation via 516 Arts to produce a publication on immigration and art produced in and about the US-Mexico border region.
Her short play, Haze, had a six-night run at The Vaults theatre in London and her one-woman show, Obama & Me, was performed in London, Brussels, and San Francisco to a sold-out audience. She holds an MA in Narrative Nonfiction Writing and, for four years, was a consultant to the European Commission on communicating Freedom of Movement. Much of this experience of living and working in mainland Europe informs her writing. She's currently working on a collection of interconnected narrative essays called African, & Other Curse Words. She is a passionate literacy advocate for those from low-income, marginalised, and vulnerable groups.
To find out more about Libreria Ghana, visit libreriagh.com/impact-projects/ or follow us on Instagram @libreriagh.


Actually, I'm a sick and distracted quilter who has been spending too much time on the internet! But look what I did! I'm learning an Illustrator-like program called Inkscape. I'm feeling very aware of how much there is to learn when it comes to computers, computer graphics, design and writing. Somehow that's dangerously close to feeling stupid! But I'm learning all kinds of new stuff so I've got to be doing something right, somehow.
If my brain can figure out how to do this, why can't it remember to buy toilet paper?
There's just not enough quilty goodness going on this week. I've got a cold and there's a ton of yard work to be done. I'm itching to stitch!!!!
One of my favorite tools for quilting and sewing is a pair of small curved bladed scissors along with a 'zinger' or retractable holder. I use the scissors for cutting threads and the zinger keeps me from losing them. Or at least if I am actually wearing it. With different classes, stitch nights and such, I can't find them but I recently found a replacement at a bargain!
I found these scissors and 'retractable badge holder' at Walmart! The zinger was in the jewelry section and the scissors were in the sewing department. The zinger was a mere $2.88!
The scissors say nothing on the package about having curved tips, but they caught my eye anyway. I made a fair spectacle of myself trying to look inside the packaging to see if they were in fact curved, damaged, or judge if the view was distorted by the packaging. They aren't curved as much as I would like, but for $3.97 (I think), they will do nicely! Much more budget friendly than the $20 or so I paid for my lost pair. The curved tips help cut the threads close to the top, but with less risk of cutting the fabric.
One of the best things about this combination though is that the kids have learned to see the combo on my shirt as a badge that says "Mom's working". Or at least that's the theory. It works better with the older two than with this cutie below!
What's he hiding under that container? It's not his beautiful golden curls....sob. He got a short summer cut and I'm still missing those curls a bit. He is still too stinkin' cute though!
You're all set up and ready to go, right? If you have questions about setting up, see the first post: How to Free Motion Quilt: The Set Up.
First you need something to practice on. Do yourself a favor and don't start quilting on a project that needs quilting. Use a practice piece. I keep several practice pieces to warm up on before doing good quilts. Don't skimp on this step, use material and batting similar to what you normally use for quilted projects. A top piece, backing and batting. This is a good time to use colors or prints that you are no longer crazy about. If the print is very wild, use the wrong side out so you can see your stitches better.
A word about batting; if you use a very thin batting, you will have more tension issues than if you use a slightly thicker batt with more room for the interlocking part of the stitch to stay inside the sandwich. I like an 80% cotton/20% polyester batting because it shows the quilting texture better without being too thick and puffy. For those who want to use 100% cotton, battings can be found in thicker lofts. Don't go too thick! The thicker and bigger the quilt sandwich, the harder to move it. For a practice piece though, you really only need somewhere between 12 to 24 inches square.
Use a middle weight thread, or even regular sewing thread to start out with. My favorite is Glide by Filtec, a trilobal polyester embroidery thread. It's available in a ton of colors, strong and truly lint free. It's a shiny thread, which I love for my fmq and decorative stitching. If you are a cotton purist, make sure you have a high quality thread like Aurifil or Filtec's Cairo Quilt for the best strength and less lint. Cotton breaks easier than poly, so you might want to start with poly. Pick a color that you can see clearly on your fabric but remember that when quilting for real, you most likely would use a matching thread so those bobbles that stand out so much in contrasting thread will be a lot harder to see.
Basic motion before tension: Since jerky movements can contribute to tension problems (and thread breaks), we're going to start with basic motion before perfecting the tension. If you have never done any (or very little) free motion quilting, do everything below except take the thread out of the machine!
You read that right. Set up your sandwich, foot, gloves, machine settings, etc. like you were going to quilt, but don't use any thread (bottom or top) and start quilting. Just get used to the motion of your hands in a circular motion, back and forth, smoothly. Listen to the sound of the machine and vary the speed. Using a topstitch 90/14 needle should let you see the holes a little bit and takes away some of the fear of tension settings, snarls, and mess ups.
Once you're comfortable moving about without thread, it's time to thread the machine.
Pull up the bobbin thread: Hold onto the top thread and lower the needle down and back up. Give the tail of the top thread a tug to pull a loop of the bobbin thread up and pull the loop to bring the tail of bobbin thread to the top. You may need to raise the presser foot in order to grab the thread; this is when a knee lift system is wonderful. Hold both tails as you begin to quilt so they don't get sucked back under the quilt and make a snarl.
If you have a needle down feature on your machine, go ahead and set it to be down.
With your tension settings on automatic (if you have an automatic tension) or pretty much where they'd be if piecing, place your hands on either side of the needle, with your thumbs and index fingers making a circular or triangular shape about 5 inches wide. Begin making circular motions with your hands while pressing slowly on the foot pedal. I do not recommend the 'pedal to the metal' fast quilting. It makes me panicky. Vary the speed of your hands and machine until your stitches are fairly even. Pay attention to the sound of your machine when in this 'sweet spot'. If you have a speed slider, you can slow the top speed down so that if you 'floor it', the machine won't go too fast for your hands. Make some swirls and loops.
Repositioning your hands: You will need to reposition your hands when the motion brings either hand close to the needle. Stop with the needle down before you move your hands. This will keep the piece from moving as much when you move your hands. Don't walk your hands to reposition while the machine is still running.
By now it's time to think about thread tension. Have you already had a snarl? Hopefully not. Pull the piece out of the machine and take a look at the top and bottom side. (You'll need to raise the needle and lift the presser foot.) Pick a spot near the stitching and using a marker, write the tension setting number down right on the fabric. Make sure the presser foot is up before adjusting the tension! Remember, when using similar weights of thread in the top and bobbin, and you're not using a specialty thread, you should only need to adjust the TOP tension.
You can also see in this photo some needle holes from stitching without thread.
Top thread is being pulled to the underside (Which is the most common tension issue.), tighten the top tension to a higher number.
Does your free-motion quilting pull in the curves? In the picture above, those little eyelashes on the loops are a perfect example of changes in speed or uneven movement of hands throwing off the tension. Especially in curves, the hands tend to go faster, causing just enough abrupt change in the tension on the thread to cause slight eye-lashing. Slow your hands down just a bit in curves. Don't whip them out.
Pretty close to perfect tension above and below.
Adjust the tension a little at a time and check frequently. I use my practice piece to record the tension adjustments, usually going from very loose (3 on my machine) to a setting that's too tight (a 6.5 or 7 for me) and then pick the best tensioned area and set my machine on that setting. See the video How To Free Motion Quilt; Tension Adjustments to see how I check my tension.
Vary your speed to see if it affects the tension. Iffy tension will show itself the most in curves. Some motions need more speed than others. I do not go very fast, but more speed is needed when doing curves to keep them smooth, because the hands tend to speed up. I find that if I am pulling my quilt directly towards myself, the needle can pierce the thread in mid-stitch formation causing it to shred or break. So I try to make sure I don't do that. Just a tiny angle to either side solves the issue.
Your tension may need adjusting with every different thread combination. Tension that works on regular quilting cottons might need to be adjusted when stitching on batiks.
Some newer, higher end machines have auto tension. I can't speak to other brands, but I find that the Janome auto tension adjusts pretty well. Some times it needs to be put to manual or adjusted in the settings if you are using a different thread in the top and bottom or if you still have abrupt changes in your hand motion.
Janome sells a special bobbin case for free motion quilting, sometimes refered to as the blue dot bobbin case. This has a lower tension to help avoid eyelashes on the back. Some people swear by it. I prefer to adjust my tension myself when needed instead of changing the bobbin case.
It takes time and practice to get your hands and foot control working together and learning how your machine responds. Every machine responds differently and of course, every single stitcher is as unique as the stars in the sky! You have to find what works for YOU!
Next in the series: Free Motion Quilting Designs. I'll show some designs that work in several different kinds of quilts. I hope you have found this series useful so far. Please leave a comment if you've got a question or a comment.
Welcome to my series on how to free motion quilt. This first post will cover the steps to take to set up your machine and work surface for great quilting.
The machine. It has been said that any machine that makes a good straight stitch can be used for free motion machine quilting. But I know quilters who will swear up and down that such and such machine is no good for free motion stitching. I think it comes down to knowing your machine and how much fiddling with it you need to do to get satisfactory results. Certainly the more harp-space/length of arm/throat/ or room to the right of the needle you have to work the better! But you can quilt smaller projects on a standard small sewing machine. I learned on a basic Kenmore machine, though I quickly wanted a bigger machine.
The surface: Above, you can see my main machine (Janome 6600P which has a 9 inch throat) is set flush with the counter top. This is especially nice as it gives a large flat, smooth area for the quilt to glide over. The wall behind (and off to the left of) the counter top keeps the quilt from falling off the edge or dragging on a corner. The best way to move your larger quilt sandwich is to 'puddle' it and keeping it on top of your surface is ideal. This can also be accomplished with a table set in a corner. I also have great lighting in this arrangement.
If you don't have your machine set into a table or counter top, there are extension tables available for many machines through their manufacturer or through a third party maker of extension tables. It is even possible to rig something up out of boxes or foam insulation board. The important point is to have a smooth area to glide the quilt over and as large as possible so the quilt doesn't get hung up on something and cause jerky movements while quilting. It is possible to FMQ without this surface, like on a regular sewing machine sitting on top of a table, but your left hand will risk falling off to the left side and your quilting will have to be very small movements. It is worth trying to get something set up to the the left of the machine.
The surface needs to be smooth and slick to make moving the quilt as easy as possible. I love my Supreme Sliders (Supreme Slider (original size) for my Janome 3160 and Queen Size for the larger Janome 6600) for how smooth it makes the area where my hands are when quilting, covering gaps between the machine and the table.
The pink bottom side stays put very well on my extension table, but the counter top is more textured, so I use painter's tape to keep it in place.
Grip: You need some extra grip when quilting and there are various ways to do this, but my tried and true way is with Machingers Gloves . Gloves can be a hassle sometimes, so I'll try something different from time to time, but I always come back to the Machingers, as seen below. I have fairly pudgy hands and I still like the fit of the small/medium gloves.
Feed dogs: Typically, the feed dogs need to be lowered for best results and the stitch length needs to be set to zero. When free motion quilting, the movement of your hands determine the stitch length, but setting the length to zero keeps the feed dogs from moving back and forth inside your machine, causing unnecessary wear. Some folks either can't lower the feed dogs or feel they get better results by leaving them up, so they set the stitch length to zero and cover the dogs with the supreme slider, index card, or special plate. The button or lever to lower the feed dogs is more easily accessible on some machines, others are very awkward to reach.
The foot: Next is the free motion foot which come in various styles. In the above photo are two basic common darning or FMQ feet styles above the ruler and below the ruler is my fabulous Janome convertible FMQ foot set. (Just to the right of it is the ruler toe that can be attached to it for ruler work like long armers do.) I love the convertible set and it is made in high and Low Shank versions so it will fit many other machines than just Janome. There is also a lower-priced and more basic FMQ foot like the convertible set with the adjustible height, but with only a fixed closed toe.
A basic darning foot can work of course and that's what I have for my smaller machine, below. When quilting, you want the foot to just barely push down on the top when the needle goes into the quilt sandwich, and rise above it when the needle is out. If it is set to low, it will cause drag on the movement of the quilt. Too high and you can cause needle deflection problems, skipped stitches, and risk breaking the needle. It is adjusted by changing the presser foot pressure on your machine or by adjusting the foot itself. On the convertible foot set, the spring can be tightened or loosened with a handy screw knob. On the basic darning foot, you can wrap a rubber band around the shaft above the spring to lift it higher.
The Needle: For the needle in your machine, a topstitching needle is best in my opinion (See edits below) and the 90/14 size works for most quilting thread. The top stitching needle has a nice long eye and a long, deep groove in the shaft to protect the thread as it moves through the top many times as each individual stitch is formed. It excels when using larger or specialty threads. I have used a size larger for my doodle stitching with heavier thread and a smaller for finer threads. Quilting, universal, and microtex needles have a place in your machine quilting toolbox as well. There is a fabulous article in the May/June issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited on all types of machine needles.
Edited to add: I no longer favor the top stitching needle more than other needles. It all depends on the combination of thread choice and thickness/density of your project. I've come to this conclusion after talking to my machine's dealer. He solved an issue I was having by explaining that one draw back to the top stitch needle is the larger eye, which can lead to sloppy stitch formation. If you are having thread shedding issues change the type of needle and see if that helps.
One thing to emphasize is that if you are having skipped stitches, increase the size of the needle.
The stitch plate: Edited to add: I forgot to mention the stitch plate! In the photo above you can see that the wide stitch plate is on this machine. Ideally, you want to put a straight stitch only stitch plate onto your machine as this helps with control of the top and backing, keeping the sandwich from tucking down into the hole with each stitch. It doesn't always happen, but it can really help to have that small hole for the needle to go into instead of a big slot.
Make sure you remember to switch back to a wide stitch plate before using anything other than a straight stitch! I use a large Post-It note over the stitch selection buttons when the straight stitch only plate is on the machine. I forgot to tell you about this because I don't always do this with my machine. The straight stitch only plate for my machine is still a wide oval so I don't always see a big difference, but it does add extra time to switch back to the wide plate. There are some newer, more expensive Janomes available which are much easier to switch out the plates or they go from wide to single hole with a touch of a button; I don't really want to change machines, but that ability would be handy!
Machine features: There are two handy features in a machine to be used for free motion quilting. One is a speed control slider (or other control) to adjust the top speed of your foot pedal.The other is a needle up/down function. That is the button with the two triangles on it on my machine. The needle down button makes the needle stop in the quilt sandwich when you stop stitching. This helps keep the quilt from shifting when you are moving your hands.
Extras: I use Little Genie Magic Bobbin Washers in my (drop in, top loading) bobbin case. I'm not entirely certain they're necessary, but they are easy enough to use and they are supposed to help the bobbin thread feed out more smoothly. They're cheap and seem to last forever.
The last thing for your free motion set up, and it's certainly not necessary, is a self-threading needle for burying threads (my post on it, also a video of mine), if you desire to bury them. I do. A spiral eye needle can work well too. Hopefully you can see the needle right in front of the yellow butterfly pin.
I hope you've found this extremely long post of use and let me know if I've missed anything or ask a question in the comments and I'll do my best to respond.
Somehow, I always thought that when I got good at free motion quilting, I wouldn't need the seam ripper much. This doesn't seem (I didn't go with the punny spelling, aren't you glad?) to be the case though.
The above image is posted on Pinterest. It is from the Stitch Lab in Austin TX and it sums up my feelings on the dreaded frog stitch (rip it, rip it). Turns out that I use my seam ripper quite often. There are just times that I know that if I leave those wonky stitches in, it will bother me too much. So ripping stitches gives me fewer regrets about a piece. Not that my work is perfect, but there are times I just need to stitch something over.
I do try to make sure I'm not being too much of a perfectionist. Some mistakes won't ever be noticed once the stitching is farther than 12 inches from your eyes.
But I've made peace with the dreaded seam ripper and keep it close. What's that saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? In the picture below, look for the dark dot just to the left of the light.
Now you do! That's my seam ripper, right where I need it. It's a cinch to reach up and to the left when my stitching's gone astray. I used a small set of Velcro dots to attach it to the ceiling of my quilting nook. It never gets lost now. If the stitches are going to bug me, it's easy enough to rip them out. No regrets.
I've been getting a lot of new readers here who are still learning the basics of free motion quilting so I thought I'd set up a page with tips. I really haven't done a whole lot of How-To posts before since I'm mostly sharing my free motion adventures, but I'm starting a little series on the basics and then these posts will be easily available on the Tips tab at the top of the main page.
The first post will be up in the next day or two and will be called, "How to Free Motion Quilt: The Set-Up"
I got quite a bit of quilting done this weekend and I hope you did too. Thanks to all who leave a comment and to all who have commented recently. I love reading each comment and email!
I finally forced myself to get a good start on a wedding gift for a young lady at our church. Her wedding shower was Disney's classic Robin Hood and the invitations had a tree with their initials on it. So I ran with that idea and am quilting a tree wall hanging with, of course their initials on it. It all starts with a drawing on paper. The hardest part was figuring out how to do the leaves.
Then it's time to draw some guidelines on the fabric. I rarely follow lines exactly, so I just need some general outlines and shapes to follow. I use air-soluble or disappearing marker. One those purple lines disappear, no one knows if I'm a little off.
This gives me a chance to adjust the drawing to scale on the fabric and makes it pretty fast. Below is some of the stitching in the root area of the tree. You can see how I did not follow those drawn lines. I love the "free" in free motion quilting!
I want the tree to have some dimensionality from the background, so I'm using a trapunto technique here. Stitching the top on one layer of batting, with no backing. Then I'll trim the batting before layering it onto the regular batting and the backing.
In the above picture, you can see I've trimmed much of the batting away. I still need to add more leaves to the top, so that horizontal wrinkle is where there's still batting for the top.
So far, so good. I think maybe I should have used a darker thread for this, and I may switch to a darker thread for the background. But overall, I'm pleased. I've only worked about 2 hours so far on this including a lot of blank staring design work.
Stay tuned and I'll show you the rest of it when I get it done. I even shot some video of it today, though with the gray thread on gray fabric, I'm not sure if you can really see much in the video. I'll have to see what Youtube magic I can find.
I'm sharing this on Leah Day's Free Motion Friday blog linky. See the Free Motion Quilting Project blog for more inspiration.
I'm also posting this over at Nina Marie's. If you haven't seen her blog, you should check it out! A very creative gal is she and she's also got a piece in the upcoming Sacred Threads exhibit.
Have you been having any free motion quilting adventures of your own this week? Please share in the comments. I love to hear from you!