Try, try again

Have I really only posted 7 times in the last 8 months? That's just lame. My life got really crazy for a while and chickaboom just didn't make my flaming hot to-do list.

But life has settled down and I'm settling into my wings again. I really want to thank all of my sweet friends and family for your support, love and friendship. To all my groovy readers, thanks for your patience and loyalty. You are all 10 kinds of awesome!

This week I dusted off my sewing machine and started into some long overdue projects. Ideas I've had brewing in my mind for months, or longer, are finally taking shape. It feels so good to dive into these new projects. At the same time, I see that I've got some obstacles to overcome where my technical sewing skills are concerned. I'm thinking I would really benefit from a basic sewing class where I can relearn all the foundational stuff. Right now my ideas far outweigh my skillset which is making the things I want to do really challenging.

For example, let's have a look at Exhibit A, the white & black floral apron you see above. It's a refashion project I've had in mind for months: a thrift store skirt I envisioned as a sassy little apron. It looks cute right? Well it's not that cute up close, trust me. The picture is hiding a multitude of sewing sins. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong while making this apron. When I was ripping out the left side seam, the fabric tore - and not just a little - we're talking about a 6" horizontal tear. While trying to stitch that up, my sewing machine ate the fabric and the only way I could free it was by cutting it again. Then I decided I would round the bottom edges a bit, except that I don't remember how to do that. At least not properly. So I fudged it. It's also not lined so it's more a rough prototype than anything. I attribute the attractive photo to my daughter's general cuteness, visible even when she's photographed from the waist down. :) The natural folds in the fabric do hide the mistakes pretty well. The bottom line is it's fine for her to wear around the house but I could never sell something this flawed.

So why am I confessing a #sewingfail when I am about to launch my etsy shop where I'll be selling hand-sewn items? Because I want to encourage anyone who has a dream to stick with it. Don't be afraid to step out and try something new. If you are willing to humble yourself and learn, you can succeed at anything you put your mind and your heart into. Don't sweat your mistakes, learn from them. Do what you love and keep trying. 

I've got ideas in my head for aprons and all sorts of refashioned designs. The next step for me is to learn the skills to make them happen. How? By finding someone who has those skills that is willing to teach them to me. In the meantime, I'll stick with simpler projects while I'm building my skills. I plan to take you along on this journey, after all we're all in this together right?  *wink*

Hi Quark. BTW, you SUCK.

This is an actual chat conversation that took place a few minutes ago between myself and a Quark customer service representative. According to Quark's website they have headquarters in Denver, CO and India. My understanding is that this rep was located in India:

Quark Customer Support...You have been connected to Nimisha.

Nimisha: Welcome to our live chat service.

Leslie: Hi. Did you see my question?  I am wondering how to go about legally transferring the registration on my Quark Xpress software.

Nimisha: Yes, Leslie, as per company policy you can not save your license.

Nimisha: *Leslie, as per company policy you can not sell your license.

Leslie: What does that mean,"I cannot SAVE my license?"

Leslie: Oh you meant SELL not SAVE

Nimisha: I am sorry that was a typing error.  As per company policy you can not sell your license.

Leslie: Yes, I understand that. I'm curious as to why. I recently sold my adobe InDesign CS2 and adobe was great about helping me transfer the license, etc. They made it very simple. Why doesn't Quark have this type of customer support option?

Nimisha: Leslie. it is a company policy that you ca not sell your license.

Leslie: Okay. You keep repeating the SAME information. Can you please explain to me why this is the policy?  Clearly it's not illegal activity because other software companies allow registration to be transferred on their products from one customer to another. It would seem to me that the more people that use your product, the more exposure you get and marketshare you gain in the long run.

Nimisha: Leslie, every company has its own policy and this is mentioned in the license agreement that swelling the license is illegal.

Leslie: Swelling? I assume you meant SELLING. 

<  Connection closed due to network issues >

And that, my friends, is how the chat ended. For real.