Paintbrush Holder

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If you have seen some of my previous posts, you know that I paint little plaster houses. While I was painting a new set of houses, I decided it would be nice if I had a paintbrush holder. Yes, I could have purchased one on Amazon, but what is the fun in that. I decided to design a paintbrush holder that looked like a house. The size was not important as long as I could print the design on my 3D printer. The base is 120 mm or 4.724 inches x 120 mm x 8 mm. It provided the design with enough weight and support to prevent it from tipping over. This is the final version of the design in Tinkercad. It was tweaked several times for printing. Paintbrush Holder – Tinkercad

If I printed the design as shown in the picture, it would require a lot of support. My first attempt to print, I split the design into two pieces; roof and building. The roof I selected the Support Type of Tree. There is a lot that can go wrong with printing something for hours and hours, however the roof printed beautifully, and the supports detached easily.

The next print was the bottom piece. Again, a lot can go wrong when something prints for hours and hours and hours. First, after 12 hours the printer would not allow me to pause the print. Second, when the print finished the build plate did on return to its lower position, so extra filament built up on its final print location. Third, the support around the railing was impossible to remove without damaging the railing, which was 2mm in diameter. I went back to Tinkercad and tweaked the design.

For the second attempt, I made the railing detachable. With detachable railing, I could lay it flat on the print bed and not use any supports. After it was printed, I could assemble the design.

Front and Back Railing – I printed two copies. Note, I went from round to square railing.

Front Railing Printed Two

Side Railing – I printed two copies.

Structure – I printed one copy with Normal Supports.

The STL files for this design are available on Thingiverse: House Shaped Paintbrush Holder

Below is the printed version of my new paintbrush holder. It was printed in two different colors because I ran out of the pink filament. The design was easy to assemble, and gluing was not required.

Rivery Park

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Another park in Georgetown, TX. This was behind the hotel I was staying in. It was a gloomy day and I capture these photos between sprinkles of rain. The area where the park resides was owned by the Shell family in the 1800’s. On the outskirts of the park, there is a large condominium development, with decent architecture. Tree limbs were down around Georgetown and the Austin area, because a week before an ice storm hit that area breaking limbs and powerlines.

Amarillo Zoo

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The Amarillo Zoo is probably the best small zoo I have ever visited. It has a wide variety of animals for being small. Don’t expect to get a lot of exercise walking around, but there is a lot to see.

Wildcat Bluff Nature Center

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Wildcat Bluff Nature Center in located in Amarillo, Texas. It has three main nature trails that are under a mile to the windmill. There are other trails, paths, that you can take around the area. It is open year around, and what a difference 3 months makes.

No matter what time of year it is, it is well worth the hike to see this view.

The windmill is the meeting point for the three main trails.

Such a beautiful area.

The Dress

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After spending a lot of time making drapes, I wanted to see if I could sew something that wasn’t rectangle. So, I attempted to sew a dress, using an idea that was in my head. This isn’t the first dress I’ve attempted; it is the second one. I was in high school, and I got so frustrated with the first dress, my sister ended up finishing it for me.

To make a dress: First, I found pretty denim fabric. It was on sale for 70% off, a definite plus. I purchased 1.5 yards of denim fabric. Had no clue how much I needed. A pattern for another dress I looked at said it needed 1.5 yards.

Professional seamstress recommends washing the material first. I did not, I thought even if I stitch the edges of the fabric, it would unravel in the wash. I did iron the material. I have learned that ironing is a key component to sewing.

For the top of the dress width, I took my measurements, hips, waist, and chest to determine which was the largest. I wanted to be able to pull the dress over my largest body part, I added a couple of inches to the largest of these measurements for the seams. I divided this measurement by 2 to get the cut width for the top of the dress.

Determining the length of the dress was next. I took a measurement from my arm pit to the floor. Subtracted a couple of inches so it would be above my ankles. Keeping in mind, the dress would have at least a 3/4″ hem at top and bottom.

It occurred to me at this point if I wanted to move in the dress, the dress would need to have some flare to it. Or else, I would not be able to sit, bend over, kneel down, or walk normally. To add the flare, the bottom needed to be wider than the top. I added 8″ inches to the top width measurement for the bottom of the dress measurement. I then divided that measure by 2 to get the cut width for the bottom of the dress.

Here is the pattern I had in my head for the dress.

The length of the dress with seams was shorter than the length of the material. My first cut to the fabric was for the length of the dress. I wanted to make a belt for the dress, and I could use the extra fabric for the belt.

I folded the material in half and tried to match the pattern. Okay, I am not that good of a seamstress. That endeavor was quick abandoned.

I marked the top and bottom of dress measurements onto the center of the fabric and drew a chalk line from the top of the fabric to the bottom of the fabric on both sides. I pinned both sides, checked that the top and bottom measurements were correct, and cut the material.

I sewed the hem on the bottoms of both pieces of fabric.

I needed some shoulder straps to hold the dress up. I am not flexible enough to determine the exact length of the shoulder straps I would need, so I decided to make straps I could ties. I cut eight pieces from the fabric scraps about 18″ long and 3″ wide. After sewing the fabric together, I had four 2″ straps.

How do I determine where to place the straps on the dress? I could Google is, but every woman is a different size. Then I realized; I had the measurement on me, I would measure the distance between my bra straps. I took this measurement, center the measurement on the top of the dress and marked the location for the straps on both pieces of fabric. I pinned the straps into the top seam of the dress, then I sewed the seams at the top on both pieces of fabric, which sewed the straps into the seam.

I then sewed the sides of the dress together. I officially, had a dress.

However, my last task was to sew the belt. The belt finished width was 2.5″ wide and 54″ long. Yes, I used the entire width of the fabric, plus some to make the belt. I wanted to be able to wrap the belt around the waist multiple times.

The Dress:

Spam, Spam and More Spam

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No not the luncheon meat, but hackers. People wanting to get a hold of your data to cause you harm.

Occasionally, I looked through my junk mail and report the spammer. Today, there was one spammer that announced from the very first word they were a spammer. Here is the heading of the email.

Do you see the problem with it? Okay, I did highlight it. Amazon never ever refers to anyone as “Dear”. They are always blunt and to the point. Also, that red exclamation mark is another indicator. I did open the email (shame on me) to see how many times the spammer announced they were a spammer.

  1. My name is not SARAHCATH.
  2. What is “Command n & deg”? – probably something they forgot to program.
  3. Appears they can not type in Mixed Case.
  4. Oh, what is up with that date “Today , 2023.04.02 -“
  5. “Your commands” – missed something else in the program.

This was my giggle for the day. Giggle, giggle, giggle.

Seriously, the majority of my junk mail is from spammers. A small percent is actually from businesses I have contacted in the past. Below are just a few of the emails I have received from spammers.

How do I know they are spam without even opening the emails?

  1. Most of the companies listed I have never done business with.
  2. Again, my name is not SarahCath
  3. If is highlighted it is spam.
  4. If it has a cute little character or text, treat it like spam.
  5. Ad Partner – spam – someone pretending to be someone else.

You may wonder why I consider the apparent email from Paypal and Microsoft Account Team to be spam. Simple explanation; Paypal is not affiliated with this account. Now, the Microsoft look legit, however…

I have two-factor identification setup on my Microsoft account. But, I wanted more security on this account, so I set up the Microsoft Authenticator. It will notify me anytime someone tries to log onto my account, and I can deny their access. I can approve my access, if I am trying to log into the account from a different device. I no longer receive these emails from Microsoft, and if I did it would go directly to my inbox.

During the last week, there has been 14 attempts, from all over the world, to sign into my Microsoft account. They were all stopped from the start because they were attempting to use a very, very old password.

Drapery

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In October, I moved into a new house. The house faces east, so the morning sun coming through the windows (or cracks in the blinds) was blinding. Especially the windows over and along the front door let in a lot of light, I couldn’t look east or watch TV without dashing sun rays. In the bedrooms, I wanted drapes for the added privacy. I have a sewing machine and I can almost sew a straight line, so making them myself was an option.

The problem, working with material exceeding 80 inches long and almost as wide is difficult. I visited Joann’s Fabric Store and Hobby Lobby, but none of their fabric said, “buy me.” None of the drapes at stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond, J.C. Penney’s, Kohls… fit my windows. Remember the front door, to cover those windows I would have to make them.

After weeks and weeks of internet searching and looking at fabric, I found a solution. It was https://bestfabricstore.com/. They sold a wide variety of fabric, and they would also make the drapes out of the fabric I select. This would be perfect if the drapes were well made.

First, I order about 15 fabric samples from Best Fabric Store out of Winfield, Al. The samples arrived in a timely manner and looking them over, I had a good picture of the color, design, weight and quality of the fabric.

Now for the test: I order one set (two panels) for the “weight room” window. They said it would take about three weeks, and the drapes arrived before their estimate. Below is the first drapery I ordered from Best Fabric Store. Yes, I did want a rod pocket drape.

The drapery looked good, it was package well, nicely folded, and the blackout material was of high quality and did its job.

Next, I ordered drapes for the Master Bedroom, Breakfast Nook, and the other bedroom. The house has windows in most of the doors and because it is an “open concept house”, the living room, breakfast nook, and entry are not separated by walls. Getting all the drapes to match in this area was important to me. Along with ordering the drapes, I ordered about 15 yards of fabric to make the drapes for the five doors that had windows. The blackout material I picked up at JoAnn’s and the white fabric came from Hobby Lobby.

The Closet:

It is freezing cold in the closet. I haven’t figured out why. The temperature in the closet is about 10 degrees colder than the other rooms in the house. It also has 3 small windows in the closet. Maybe adding some shades, would help stabilize the temperature. While I was waiting for the drapes and fabric to come in, I made some shades. Plus, I needed to practice sewing.

The Other Bedroom

Drapes Made by Best Fabric: The window is the tallest in the house.

Master Bedroom:

Drapes by Best Fabric:

Door Window Cover by Sarahcath: Note – the matching material. I considered making the curtain straight, but I decided instead to use the entire fabric width.

Breakfast Nook:

Drapes by Best Fabric:

Front Door:

Window Covering by Sarahcath: The fabric matches the Breakfast Nook, since they are on the same wall.

I wanted the hourglass shape to the drapes on the side windows. So I made a straight panel to cover the window with blackout, then I sewed the curtains to the panel. The drapes are twice as wide and the panel.

For the upper window, also known as an eyebrow window (it is not a half oval window), I attached wire clips around the window approximately 6 to 8 inches apart. I purchased a rubber coated galvanized wire to hang the drapes on. I did not believe a plastic tubing will hold the weight. I sewed Roman Shade Tape to back, both top and bottom, of the window treatment. I feed the wire through the hops on the top and snap it into the wire clips. I feed a cord through the hops on the bottom of the window treatment to gather the fabric in the center.

Family Room:

Window Covering by Sarahcath: The fabric matches the Breakfast Nook, since they are on the same wall. Note that fabric matches the front door.

Kitchen Door:

Window Covering by Sarahcath: Same design as the other doors.

Office:

Window Covering by Sarahcath: I wanted them flat. I did not want them touching the wires under the desk.

Now on to my next project.