legitimate!

~@~

all my i's are dotted,

and

my t's are crossed!

i'm a legitimate business now;)

~@~

it's crazy sometimes

how things come to be...

five months ago,

i wasn't even thinking

about going into business

for myself.

i was in my third month

of a six month,

contracted position

in marketing and sales

for a business

owned by

dear friends.

all i was thinking about

was

getting their name out there

and promoting their 

product.

~@~

then in mid-february,

 a hobby-intended,

Christmas gift

(embroidery machine)

took on a life of its own!

and now...

i'm getting orders

right and left for my work,

which i happen to love,

just a few of which...

from people

whom i happen to love... 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

("big happy smiley face!")

sew,

welcome to Lane Originals...

home of

Lane Originals:D

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

oh, brother...

as i wrote in a previous post,

i was thrilled when, for Christmas, 
meester berrong gifted me 
with a brother pe770, 

embroidery machine 

i'd been eyeing.

it was a proverbial breeze
to set up and start using.
however,
not so long after doing so, 

i started experiencing 
a few kinks.

(immediately, john told me 
to take it back

and get a bernina,

which his sister has 

and loves.

he went on to say 

he was going to get me 
the bernina for Christmas 

but wasn't sure 

how serious i was about 

embroidering.)

anyway, i worked through 
those first kinks 

with the help of youtube's 

vince arcuri,
who retired from the military 
and took up embroidering 
as a hobby.

if not for vince 
and his experience 
with the brother pe770,

i would have been totally lost 

when i started experiencing issues 

with my machine.

~@~

i embroidered and sewed 

pillows for my front porch 
and monogrammed
a couple of scarves  

experiencing only a glitch 
or two. 
however,

the third scarf was a totally 

different experience.

doing everything the same 

as i'd been doing, 

i hooped my fabric, 

lowered my presser foot, 

and pressed the button 

to start embroiderying.

when it started it seemed fine, 

but about 20 stitches in,

i noticed my embroidery arm 

wasn't moving...

hence, i stopped the process 

and found my machine 

had pulled my fabric 

down into the bobbin

chamber.

my machine was eating 

my scarf!

further, the only way

to get the scarf

(and wad of thread)

out of the chamber

was to cut it:(

hoping it was an isolated 

incident, i took in

a deep breath, 

re-hooped the fabric,

cleaned the machine, 

and

tried again on the other 

end of the scarf.

the same thing happened.

i thought maybe it was 

a fabric issue...

(like, maybe the fabric was too 

delicate or something)

~@~

unfortunately, 
that was not the case.

on friday night

my machine ate

3 of the next 4 

projects i attempted.

so, first thing saturday morning,
i called

to see if i could still 

return it.

the customer service representative 

told me i could...
as i was still under 90 days.

so, that's what i did.

afterwards, john and i went 

to evansville to the bernina store

and ordered a new machine.

~@~

i'm sharing this because 

several of my readers 
and fellow facebook'ers

messaged me about the type 

of machine i was using

and if i was pleased with 

the machine.

the bottom line is 

i would not recommend

the brother pe770!

(when it works,

it's great;

but,

the other 30%

of the time...

not so much:/)

after losing several items 
i had purchased 
to embroider,

i knew it was time to 

invest in a better machine.

~@~

so, stay tuned.

i am supposed to receive 

my bernina

on tuesday.

i hope to report 

a much more positive experience!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

sew awesome!

so, when meester berrong

asked me what i wanted

for Christmas,

i didn't hesitate,

me: i want garth brooks' new cd box-set

and a new set of pots and pans...

red or turquoise.

with that,

my boy rolled his eyes at me.

(like all the way back-

i was lookin' at nothin' but whites.)

john:

iamnotgettingyoupotsandpansforChristmas!

me: ugh, why? that's what i want!

john: not doin' it...

he went on about whatever

it was he was doing.

katherine (putting in her two cents from another room):

she wants a monogramming machine,

dad!

(my girl has ears like an elephant.)

i looked at john.

me: seriously, i really want pots and pans...

some pretty ones.

~@~

about a week-and-a-half

before Christmas,

katherine came to me

and told me john was in a real

dilemma.

(last minute dilemma...

that's how john rolls.)

katherine: mom, he really 

doesn't know what to get you?

me: i told him what i want.

katherine: mom, he's not getting you

pots and pans.

it's not going to happen.

so, what else do you want?

me: i don't know.

katherine: well, what about

a monogramming machine?

me: the one i want is too expensive.

katherine: all i've got to say is,

if you don't tell him something,

there's no telling what he'll

get you. 

she had a point.

me: tell him,

 the monogramming machine.

but, if he thinks it's too expensive,

tell him,

a set of red or turquoise

pots and pans

and the garth brooks set.

~@~

you know,

i would understand

pots and pans not being

the ideal present for a husband

to go out and purchase for his wife

for Christmas...

if she hadn't asked for them.

but, i really wanted a set.

that's different.

that being said,

i really, really, really

wanted a monogramming machine.

the only reason i hadn't bought for myself

was the price.

i couldn't justify spending that much

for a toy.

~@~

apparently, meester berrong

did though

because on Christmas eve morning

(when we always exchange with each other

on the lane)

i came into the room to find

him sitting in his chair next

to something BIG all covered

with blankets.

(gotta love his wrapping!)

john: well, are you going to come

over here and see what you got?

me: well, yeah!

i pulled off the blankets

to reveal the monogramming machine

i wanted

and atop...

the new garth brooks collection!!!

all i could think...

my boy is sew awesome!!!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx