Wrap a bowl...

Wrap Bowl Before

Last Friday, I took a wrap bowl class a fairly new local quilt shop (Cinnamon's Quilt Shoppe).    The shop itself is lovely, the teaching space is clean and spacious, and the teacher was terrific.   I will definitely be taking more classes here.    The only problem was my sewing machine.   Although is quite old (got it as a gift while preggers with my 14yo), it has only started giving my problems recently.    I had put a new one on my birthday list and was content to wait, until I spent the first hour of this three hour class trying to get it the tensioner to stop eating the thread.   Due to this delay, and the fact that I wanted a bigger bowl then the class was meant for, this is what I  went home with (pretty even in its unfinished state).

Wrap Bowl During

The first thing I did when I got home was to order my new machine from Amazon.   Now I was not looking for something awesome here, just a good, reliable, workhorse that I can take to classes and use at home when I don't have the stamina for my bigger, more complicated machine.   After looking at prices and reviews, I ordered the Brother CS6000i.    It got great reviews and the price was killer on Amazon.

Wrap Bowl After

My new machine arrived on Wednesday but I was not able to take the time to get to know it (and finish my bowl) until today.   So here it is, my first wrap bowl.   This project was fun and easy.   I can't wait to make more.

If you are interested in wrap bowls, It's a Wrap: Sewing Fabric Purses, Baskets, And Bowls and It's a Wrap II: Sewing New Shapes, Exploring New Techniques were recommended by the person who signed me up for the class.    I have them both but did not need them for class and have not made any of the projects in them.   Over time, I probably will, though.    I am really intrigued by the tote bags made using this method.

Don't mess with my....

Have you heard that MacMillan publishing is trying to force up the price of ebooks (read more here)?  In response Amazon has temporarily pulled MacMillan’s books (digital & other from their site).   No doubt, there is more than a one side to this story.   As a reader, here is mine:

A couple of months ago I got tired of waiting to have enough money to buy an eReader.   In a fit of pique, I sold off the last of my ex-husband’s jewelry, cashed in my coin jar (for real!), sold a thing or two on Ebay, and bought myself a Nook (disappointing) which I almost immediately exchanged for a Kindle2 (which I love).

I am an avid (sometimes book-a-day) reader.   I read in bed, while I wait for my boys, while I knit (and wait for my boys), in public, and at home.   Books have been my cave for as long as I can remember.   I worried that I might not like the eReader format (too sterile?), but I was wrong.   I love, love, love, my Kindle.  A big part of this love/love relationship is being able to carry lots of books (there are knitting books!) with me sans back/shoulder pain.   

Like so many, I am on a budget, with a set amount put aside for books each pay check.    Accordingly, the lower price of Kindle books allows me to buy more books.  I had hoped that Amazon would stand firm, thus preventing MacMillan from forcing up eBook prices, but apparently that is not to be (read more here).    

MacMillan has prevailed at our, the readers, expense (literally),  but the ultimate outcome will be up to us, their customers.   Businesses, and publishing is a business, run with what works for them.   If we shrug our shoulders and pay their needlessly high prices, we will make MacMillan and others like them very happy.    If we give preference to the publishers that are charging reasonable ($10 or less) prices (there are quite a few), and buy the higher price books only when necessary (i.e text books), we will make those same publishers unhappy, thereby discouraging them from making it harder for those of us who must watch our pennies, to continue feeding our minds.

Think about it….

All's well that ends well...

After much thought, I decided to return the B&N Nook. It is likely that most of it's problems will be resolved via software patches, but, honestly, I did not pay that much money for something that will likely work someday.

Yesterday, I ordered a Kindle2. Today, I went to my local Barnes & Noble and returned the Nook. At first the manager thought he would have to charge me a $26 re-stocking fee. I pointed out that the return policy calls for the fee on "non-defective" units and that since mine required a software "fix" to work properly that made it de-facto "defective". I was ready to fight but I did not have to. He relented quickly and gracefully. Not only did he not charge the re-stocking fee but he refunded the maintenance plan too. There was a moment when it seemed like the computer would only issue a store credit (rather than a credit to my charge card) but he quickly found a way around that and all was well.

Once home, my Kindle was waiting (I went for overnight shipping). It was good to go right out of the box. It was even already registered to my account so the books I bought last night were already loaded and ready to read. I have already cast on for a felted sleeve for it, which I am going to go knit now (while I read my book, of course). :-)