Extra Extra!

Boy, are we excited around here! Like many Irish Dance enthusiasts, we are anxiously awaiting this year's World Championships in Philidelphia -- and also like many of our fellow IDers, we're not going to be able to make it ourselves.

Enter S.J. Velasquez, a journalism graduate student and retired Irish dancer -- she's been writing for The Syracuse Post-Standard and was also recently contracted by The Irish Times to travel to Worlds and provide coverage. Way to go, S.J.!

The extra good news for the stuck-at-home folks like us is that S.J. is going to be taking advantage of all this newfangled social media to send updates back from Philly! She's going to be on Twitter (more on that to follow) periodically throughout the competition AND making a daily blog post RIGHT HERE on the IHTD blog! Wheeee! We are beyond happy to welcome S.J. as a guest author here and hope our visitors will have a great time reading her posts.

So the blog part is easy, just come on back right here! But what about this Twitter business? I thought some people might find it useful to know how to use this unique (and crazy addictive) new site so they can follow S.J.'s updates. Also, I'm sure some people are understandably cautious about signing up for yet another internet site, so I'm going to try and hopefully answer some questions about Twitter and personal information. Here goes:

WHAT IS TWITTER?

Ask anyone this question and they'll tell you: Twitter is micro-blogging! But what the heck does THAT mean? Well, rather than taking the time to make a big rambly blog post (much like the one you are reading) on Twitter you can pop over to the website and type in 140 characters or less of anything you like to update people on what you are doing. For those familiar with Facebook, Twitter is much like the status line. You just type it in and off you go. In addition to typing in one of these "micro-blogs" yourself (called tweeting), you can also "follow" other people and their "tweets" will show up on your Twitter home page.

SIGNING UP

1) Head over to the Twitter signup page at https://twitter.com/signup.

2) Enter your name and a user name -- note that everyone will be able to see both of these, so if you would prefer not to use your real name, just don't enter it. For example, when I created the IHTD Twitter account I entered "iheartthatdance" in both of these fields. Then password and email -- your email will NOT be visible to the general public, so be sure to enter one that works. This is the email Twitter will use to notify you if you have direct messages or if someone follows you.

3) The next two screens allow you to find people to follow. First up you can sign into your Google/MSN/AIM etc to find out if your contacts from these places are on Twitter (Facebook does something similar to this as well). The second screen suggests some "celebrity" Twitter users you may wish to follow. I did neither of these things -- if you're like me, be sure to click "Skip this step" which is UNDER the big button that says "Continue", and unselect any of their suggestions. Otherwise you end up following a bunch of people you may not be interested in.

4) Click Finish. Here you are at your home page! From now on, you can find it again at http://www.twitter.com/home (you may be prompted to log in again) and other people can find you at http://www.twitter.com/yourusername.


USING TWITTER (and getting those Worlds updates)

1) To "tweet": Just type whatever you like into that box at the top of your home page that says "What are you doing?" Watch the number counter --it will tell you as you get to that 140-char limit.

2) To follow others: Go over to their Twitter profile and click the button that says "Follow" underneath their profile picture. S.J.'s profile is here:

http://twitter.com/sjvelasquez

and of course we'd love it if you'd follow IHTD here (don't worry, Ally is notoriously bad at promoting, so there are very few commercials :) ):

http://twitter.com/iheartthatdance

3) Protect your updates: Don't want your updates to be public? Click on "Settings" at the very top of any Twitter page while logged into your account. At the bottom of the "Account" tab is a little box called "Protect my updates" -- check this and any tweets you make are private and only viewable by those you have allowed to follow. S.J.'s account is like this -- when you click "Follow" on her profile page it sends her an email and she can either approve or decline the follow request. If you want to restrict the people reading your tweets, this is the way to do it.

4) Replying to someone's tweet: See something you just have to respond to? Hover your mouse pointer over the right hand side of the box containing their tweet and you'll see a little arrow pointing left. Click on that and it will put "@theirusername" in your tweet box -- type your message after this! Then when they click on "@Replies" on the right hand side of their Twitter home page they will see your message whether they are following you or not (provided your tweets are public). And of course, you can check to see if someone has replied to one of your tweets the same way.


SOME FAQ's

Twitter has a great FAQ list here that should answer most common questions:

http://help.twitter.com/portal

I think the key things to note for those concerned about privacy and internet security is that (a) nowhere do you have to identify yourself or give your real identity and (b) by protecting your updates you can prevent people you don't know from reading your tweets. If someone manages to follow you that you didn't approve (maybe you thought they were someone else) you can always choose to block them. And there's no rule that says you have to tweet yourself at all! So you can absolutely safely follow S.J.'s updates (and us too :) ) without fear that you are revealing anything about you or your family that you don't want to.

So, not strictly business related...

.... but too exciting for me to keep under wraps :) And since Nic forgave me for putting up that picture of Ivan last Mother's Day, I figure she'll probably forgive me using IHTD blog space to make this wee announcement!

Ahem.

(Drumroll).

I (Ally) am pregnant! Phil wants me to say "we" are pregnant, but after having been pregnant once already with The Peanut, I can conclusively say that's a load of, well, you know. I have double-checked, and it is definitely ME who is tired and sick and craving blueberry pie filling (yes, just the filling). It is also definitely ME who has popped like a jar of Orville Redenbacher. Mmmm, popcorn.


Anyhoo, now that you all know exactly who to feel sorry for ;) it looks like the Lil Sprout will be arriving sometime mid-August, with an "official" date of August 13th. In the meantime, Nic and I will be carrying on with business as usual, and now that the "morning" (albeit morning in multiple time zones) sickness is slowly subsiding I'm hoping to be back blogging and Twittering and updating our shops on ArtFire and Etsy more regularly.

But for now, I need to go make some popcorn :)

Hey Fabric Addicts!

I got yer justification right here :) Along with a picture of my sewing room closet (yes, I DID clean it prior to taking the picture!) so you don't feel so bad about your stash. I didn't get it all, my camera doesn't have a panoramic setting :P



Now back to the justification bit -- this list was posted on the Irish Dance forum of Dance.net by the lovely Jess Knight, one of the world's most talented Irish dance dressmakers, in my humble opinion! She tells me she got it from a ballroom dress-making auntie, which just goes to show you the longevity (and obvious usefulness) of such a list:

Ten Good Reasons to Buy Fabric

• It insulates the cupboard where it is kept.
• It keeps the economy moving. It is my duty to support cotton farmers, textile mills and fabric shops.
• It is less expensive and more fun than psychiatric care.
• I'm participating in a contest - she who dies with the most fabric wins.
• It keeps without refrigeration, you don't have to cook it to enjoy it, and you'll never have to feed it, change it, wipe it's nose or walk it.
• Because I'm worth it
• Like dust, it's good for protecting previously empty spaces in the house. Like the ironing board, the laundry basket.. the dining room table.
• It is not immoral, illegal or fattening. It calms the nerves, gratifies the soul and makes me feel good.
• Because it's on sale!
• Buy it now. Before your husband retires and accompanies you on all your shopping expeditions!

That last one's my fave :) The only reason I don't have to hide all of my purchases from my husband is because he thinks all fabric is $2/m. I don't like to think about what might happen when he learns otherwise ;).

Every Life Needs a Little Celebration :)

And IHTD has a big one this week :D This past Friday we snagged our first ever Etsy Front Page spot with our Dress Green Gilles open-top tote! We're easy to find on the page -- I'll take any money that that's the first time a pair of ghillies and a highland jacket has ever made the Etsy Front Page either!


So what do we do when we want to celebrate? Throw a party? (not often -- too lazy) Eat chocolate? (US??? never, we're all about the clean living :P) Typically, we go shopping, and this time was no exception. FABRIC shopping, that is! In addition to a bunch of fabrics I bought to make Christmas presents, and therefor can't show here, I got some great bag-making stuff -- first, some twills in funky colours (pumpkin and teal, my faves!)


And some gorgeous rich silk brocades --- the green especially had me salivating. And since they were on sale, I can use them for bag linings at regular price! I have enough for three bags a piece and experience shows they will go FAST!


Any other fabric addicts out there??

Pajama Pants and Ulterior Motives

So, PJ pants are something we've had on the to-do list for a while, but I think what finally moved it up the priority chain was realizing that EVERYONE gets to wear their Pjs to dance competitions except us when we're selling. So the only legit way for us to wear our PJs while we're vending is to sell them! AHA! Then we're not just being lazy, we're showcasing the product.

I know, I know, pure genius. Yes, we're very proud of ourselves :) Anyway, the finished product is shown above, modelled by the lovely Kirsten who was nice enough to make dance-y looking poses in the parking lot outside our Highland studio in between classes. These are WAY too big for her (I made them for me) so they aren't this baggy. Just big enough to be comfy :)

The other thing that prompted the PJ venture was this awesome flannelette -- lightweight, warm, super soft and hello, ARGYLE! This stuff comes in a bunch of matching patterns and colours -- you can see in the picture below that the back of these pants are actually a dots print which matches the argyle on the front.


And it wouldn't be an IHTD product without some applique -- I went with a trinity knot heart here in Dress Royal McKellar tartan and white cotton eyelet, but I could do it in just about any colour and pattern (initials? stars? flowers? shamrocks?) Limited only by your desire to keep them machine washable (which these are on cold and tumble dry low)!

I've got this flannelette in pink, lavender, sky blue and kelly green and the pants will be $25 plus shipping (and tax, if you're in Ontario). Stay tuned to the website, and thanks for looking! :)

Some More Ready-Made Products Available!

Well, we've been working hard coming up with new products, and have a bunch of great things to showcase over the next few days. For today I'd just like to show off some of the ready made products we've got in stock right now and ready to be shipped!


Pillows! Of course these can be personalized with your own initial in either our signature heart font (hearts can be replaced with shamrocks, flowers, stars, whatever you like!) or the block script. We've got some super soft minky fleece in stock to make the bases in a bunch of colours so just let us know what you're looking for.



Two more messenger bags -- that means we've got four in stock in total!

iPod/cell phone/camera cozies! Lots of great colours available.

For the latest in ready-made products you can always keep an eye on our Etsy shop as they usually get listed there first!

http://www.iheartthatdance.etsy.com

Happy shopping :)

Many Caffeinated Beverages Were Harmed In The Making Of This Feis Table

People's exhibit #1: Taken at Newmarket Feis, far too early in the day for that much Diet Pepsi to have been consumed.


But it turned out all purty! The lovely organizers gave us all the table space we desired, which was awesome because we had so many new products to premier.


Yes, the rumours are true -- the girls at IHTD are selling MAKEUP! Mineral makeup to be exact, handmade for us by a lovely seller in Wisconsin with a great track record for her fabulous concoctions. Can you say 140+ shades of eyeshadow?!? For you IDers who've been trying in vain to match your solo we've got your back :) We'll be adding the full price list and colour charts to our catalog and website shortly, but for now if you want to try it out we are offering 3 deluxe samples for $10 or $3.50 each -- a very inexpensive way to try out the latest and greatest trend in the world of makeup.


Also brand new for Newmarket were some gorgeous handmade cards made especially for us by a former Irish dancer -- everything from Thank You cards for your favourite teacher or dance parent, I'm Reel-y Proud of You cards to tell your number one dancer just how you feel and yes, Christmas cards! We still have a few left -- $3.50 each or 4 for $12, and if you want a bunch we can do even better on the price.


All of this should be appearing on the website soon but in the meantime if you want it right away just send us an email!