Friday, June 19, 2015

Gale's Gallery XVIV: No Sew Quilt Blocks!

Hello everyone!

Wow!  I didn't realize it had been so long since the last post.  Summer is flying by, following another Ohio non-existent Spring.  It's rained everyday for a couple weeks and boy does my yard look like it!

Audra and I painted this last week to celebrate the 4th.  The side is trimmed in blue and even though there are boo-boos, we like it!
I am always on the lookout for ways to quilt without sewing and paint without being an artist, so this is the perfect project for me!  It is a bit time-consuming, but only because you have to wait for paint to dry before taping next phase.  So, it's a good project to work on in short bursts of time.

I was first inspired to paint a barn quilt after riding through nearby Champaign County and discovering they have a "Quilt Barn Trail."   Unfortunately, I live in a semi-residential neighborhood and my "barn" is really a new-ish white metal pole barn.  Hmmmm... what to do, what to do?

Of course!  The "Chick Inn" hen house would be perfect for a diminutive version!  The "ladies" love to decorate.  (So much, in fact, that I don't decorate my house for holidays anymore.  It's quicker and cheaper to do theirs.)

My first attempt was the Ohio Star pattern and was 18" x 18."  It lives in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains now.  It was on plywood.

How to:

Though I started off using plywood, the gessoed frames from Dick Blick give more dimension and are smooth.  However, it is really important to have a true square and I have yet to get one that was perfect.  It doesn't matter the size as long as it's square, but bigger is easier.

You need really good painter's tape (I like the Frog tape the best, but I used the blue for this and only had a few touch ups.)  You want to press hard on the edges so paint doesn't get under the tape!  I also avoid running the brush into the tape, but rather away from it.

I just use plain old acrylics that I am trying to use up.  I have used patio paint, but I find if you use regular and seal it with polyurethane, it's just fine.  Don't spray the poly in high heat or it may turn yellow...

My blocks hang on the side of the "Chick Inn" that rarely sees rain and direct sunlight, so they last pretty well.  Here is another one...

I've been using this one for a few years.  It's appropriately called the "Hens 'N Chicks" pattern.
Well, must get ready for another showing!  I hope you will try this as it's super easy!

Until next time,

Gale









Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Help! I'm In WP Purgatory!

Hi!

So much for rejuvenating...  Just to catch you up:  Audra graduated from college, house is on the market, worked the whole holiday weekend short staffed... if it weren't for my amazing kids, I would surely have gone off the deep end!

But I digress...

A few days before Audra's graduation, my exactly two-year-old washer suddenly stopped running.  It "wanted" to run, but it couldn't fill.  After all the usual attempts, the unplugging and plugging back in, trying different cycles, dragging it out of it's closet and cleaning out hoses, filters, etc., I gave in and called a repairman, kinda thinking it was the pump.

Since I was mostly on a 10-7 p.m. work schedule, I had to wait several days to get someone out.  I washed 3 loads (not drying) at a local laundromat and it cost $12.00!  How can anyone afford not to own a washer and dryer???  But the laundry was piling up and I had no choice.

So, the repairman comes ($65 service call), makes some comments about how this model is a piece of "work" (list price was $999!) and runs diagnostics.  Turns out it is the mother board, the worst case scenario in my book. (The direct drive motor and wash basket have a 10 year warranty, but nobody warrants their mother board more than a year.)  To replace it is $279, plus another $65 trip to install it.  I have no idea why it broke because it worked just a few minutes before and there weren't any power outages or anything.

Lest we forget, I have sold un-tolled thousands/hundreds of thousands of dollars of WP-owned product thinking it's reasonably reliable in a market where really all makes/models have problems of some sort.  And maybe they still are, but I am not a happy camper!

I call WP's Customer's Care Line ( I called it the Customer "Scare" Line now...) and politely let them know the situation.  I didn't get the extended warranty because I figured a washer that nice would last and though I got a good deal, it was still a stretch for me to buy.  There is no way a mother board should go out this soon.  Now anytime I buy something involving water and electric I am getting one.

Anyway, they told me to call the store complaint line and go through those channels.  Well, I would never do that because that gets the store dinged for a complaint that they had no part in causing.  We don't make products, we only sell them.  I explained that the very least they could do was send me the part and was basically told "sorry for your luck."

Anyone that knows me knows that I would be cringing at this point, but I was still polite.  I explained that I am disappointed in their service and now I don't feel particularly comfortable selling their products if they don't back them any better than this.  The guy said "OK, Let me see what I can do"  and took all of the washer's info, serial number (he said so he could register it--my Aunt Fannie!) yada yada, then my contact info.  He of course led me to believe he was trying to help, but...

Then he proceeds to tell me that they don't appreciate being threatened?  Which I didn't technically do and that I wasn't getting the part and they were going to "escalate" the situation, whatever that means.  I was upset (exactly what WP intended), but my managers just brushed it off and said there isn't anything WPcan do to me or the store and to forget it.  Of course, that's true, but I don't have to promote their stuff and I don't.  I especially didn't appreciate their trickery.  If someone asks for these products, then I sell them.  If they want opinions, without saying anything derogatory, I show them other brands.  They shot themselves in the foot!

So, I ordered the part and eventually it arrives.  I decided for fun to Google "how to replace a mother board" and it looked pretty straightforward.  So, completely out of my comfort zone, (and realizing I should've taken a photo of the wiring first LOL!) I replaced that sucker in maybe 20 minutes and IT WORKED!

I temporarily felt like Queen of the World, but am still annoyed about the situation.   I will never take for granted the sound of a working washer....

Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

Gale