I considered going all dyson today and complaining about my horrible sucky (or non-sucky really) vacuum cleaner. It’s 5pm now. I’ve been hoovering since dawn and my house is still a giant tumbleweed of fuzz and legos. I can totally see why that guy freaked out and invented his own. Actually I could write a really long post about how much I hate cleaning of all kinds. What I’d rather do is show some cute fun project that I’ve finished but all I’ve got to show for this week’s efforts is a still-not-that-clean house so instead how about some works in progress pics. I really hope I can get to one of these buggers soon.
Shut. UP!! PUPPETS!!?!?
Yeah, I really am shouting in my brain. You are awesome.
oh do I hear the vacuum cleaner blues! I currently have three semi-working models that discourage me immensely from any sort of cleanliness. ay!
I am excited to see what comes from that stack of books you have there, especially the Betsy and Tacy! I loved those books so much – my friends and I used to act them out. I was Tacy. Such silly memories!
I love puppets (or did when I was little anyway, I don’t have any right now) – can’t wait to see the finished product 🙂
Love my Dyson! Totally worth it. It was scary to see how much came out of our carpets the first time we used it. And every time we use it… Love the ideas! 🙂
Oh man. I have heard one or two people claim to enjoy cleaning, and I think they should get their heads checked. Personally, I will clean stuff because it’s gross or necessary, and I enjoy the clean result, but I HATE house cleaning.
I just got a Dyson for christmas and OH MY GOSH!!!! I’ll NEVER go back!
Thanks for all the cute ideas.
I second Michelle- we LOVE our Dyson. Yes, they’re expensive but they never lose suction. It’s amazing what they pick up, and the filter is incredible. No dust “kick back”!
You embroidery is inspiring me…
sorry about the fuzz. but you’re not trying to vacuum up the legos, are you? 🙂 they’re a constant at our house, watch your step.
i’m LOVING the hair on that embroidery peek!
I’m seconding all the Dyson lovers. I have “the animal” and love it. I also love your craftiness – you come up with such great stuff!
I do not like my DYSON! I gave up and figured I would buy a $100 cheapo and buy a new one every 5 years. My DYSON only lasted 3 years. IT was a lemon I guess.
My Dyson changed my life.
Oh, I love the whole Betsy-Tacy series! Esp. the original illustrator – Lois Lenski!!! What fun things you are working on….love the pictures.
oooh. looks like some awesome progress. can’t wait to see more.
You’ve got some of my favorite books in that stack, so I am intrigued by your research project.
Sorry about the vacuum cleaner/cleaning blues. Been there. Usually multiple times in one day. When do we have time to clean? When our children are asleep (which hasn’t happened nearly often enough in my house this week!). But that catch is that that’s the only time we have to do ANYTHING! Sigh.
Betsy-Tacy! Oh my!
Get a canister vac for the best suction, and never never never get a bagless.
I splurged and got a Miele this year and I now enjoy vacuuming…..well, I don’t HATE it anymore.
Good luck
Loved seeing Betsy Tacy in your stack of books. My mom read all of them when she was a child – and then introduced them to me. Such a great series!
Ooh oooh! More embroidery – hooray! 🙂
Betsy-Tacy was one of my FAVORITE books when I was a kid. I actually went as Maud Hart Lovelace for halloween in the 4th grade. (I guess I was a weird child.) Gotta read Bestsy Tacy & Tib as well!
I hate cleaning too. Now that my little one is crawling he “tells” me that I am not using our Dyson enough. Blah!
I wasn’t going to comment on the Dyson thing but Rainbow puts them to shame… just invite a Rainbow guy over to demonstrate… it’s not all about the suction because Dyson’s leave plenty behind. (Now I sound like a salesman!!!) I love the glimpses of your new projects. Sometimes having the time to ponder them before you totally jump in is a good thing. I think I rush through them too often and they’d be better with more time.
Betsy-Tacy! And I think I spy Go Over the Big Hill, too!
Paperdolls!
I feel your sucky pain! My vacuum cleaner is a Sears Magic Blue. It has a loose connection in the handle that my husband has fixed twice, but it is on the fritz again. If you hold it at just the right (awkward!) angle, it makes contact and allows the powerhead to run. So frustrating. They discontinued this model, and I have a stash of bags in the closet. When those are gone, out goes the vacuum cleaner. You’d think that would give me incentive to sweep and use them up, but that chore is so obnoxious with this machine that it is taking an eternity! The dust elephants are not hiding in fear.
Cleaning is a thankless task. I try to avoid those. Then again — that could be why my house has dust elephants rather than dust bunnies. Can’t wait to see the embroidery and other works in progress goodies!
I too was going to avoid any Dyson comments but after reading others – I cannot resist. I am disappointed in ours, especially for the price. It’s pretty heavy. The tank is too big to quickly negotiate cleaning under a chair or any raised furniture. You must use the wand. The wand hose is attached to the vacuum but it doesn’t stretch out easily – even after a few years of use. If you tug on the hose, the whole vacuum falls over. (Watch out for your toes.) If you use the wand with one hand and hold the hose with the other, then there’s not a third hand to negotiate the tank. (Again, watch your toes.) if you don’t hold the hose while you are using the wand – then the hose kinks (like a watering hose) and then there is no suction. Also, after a while, (every six months is recommended by Dyson) you have to disassemble the vacuum to clean it, the filter and the tank parts or the suction isn’t that great. (That part is an outdoor job.) More than once I have had to use scissors to clear all the thread scraps from the bottom of the vacuum too or the whole thing makes a terrible racket. Mr Dyson should have spent more time designing the whole vacuum instead of just the suction system. Before the Dyson, we had a 30-year-old Hoover that was heavy but a true workhorse. The handle on it broke. I should have tried to get it fixed!!!
oh, it all looks very fun! I hate cleaning too, I think a lot of crafters do. it is much more fun to craft than clean!
How soon for a puppet?! Paperdolls, too? Yay! I’m making my son a puppet theater for Easter and puppets would be awesome.
Cleaning. Ugh. I don’t mind the cleaning so much as the putting away. I got a new vacuum for my birthday last year (my idea – new house, not so much cash). I got a Sears Kenmore canister. I love it as much as I can love a vacuum.
We have a Dyson. Love it! It looks like you’ve been busy. I am exctied for what is coming. I love puppets!!! Will you have some that open their mouths?
Carpets or hardwoods? Because if you only have hardwoods, you need a Miele with a wood floor brush attachment. I LOVE to vacuum now that I have mine (and I’ve had it for about 7 years). Love, love, love. Fantastic for tricky things like window casings and picture mouldings, too. It saves soooooo much time (except that you may want to clean things that you previously ignored!)
we’ve had our compact Dyson for three years now and it is still in perfect working order. We got the one for animal hairs (even though we don’t own an animal)so that is can suck up all my meesy sewing and knitting threads…Highly recommend it although Miele is a very good make too!
Dear Hillary,
Happy birthday.
Have you ever wondered how many people from all over the world read you daily? I do and I live in Barcelona, and have found people talking about you in other blogs in Spain.
You make my day very often. Thank you
LOL, yeah I remember the same frustration with my vacuum. Dysons are good, but the Silver King brand is the king of them all : D I LOOOOOVE mine. Granted it so expensive you practically have to hire a security guard to protect it, but its well worth it! That baby SUCKS!
Hillary…it all looks so exciting. Can’t wait to see what comes next. Your projects are so fun..and inspiring too.
I’m a Kenmore girl myself. I can’t stand uprights (I think it’s a genetic disorder). My “chili” colored vac which I named “pepper” is fabulous, and quiet, and has a cheesy little sensor that tells you when an area is clean (e.g., when it doesn’t detect any more stuff going into the hose).
I love the puppets idea. Puppets are way too under-rated.
I find with vacuums that it’s not so much the amount of suction, it’s more how the brush is designed. Eventually I start noticing our vacuum not getting all the animal hair up, and turn it over only to discover that the brush is completely covered in MY hair! I have to cut this off and “comb” out the brushes. And then there’s the wetvac with random plastic bristles sticking out of the side… far to high to do anything to carpet. Who knows.
Get a Dyson! You won’t regret it. I love all the projects you have in the works.
have just found your blog and it has made me very happy. v excited about the puppets and with you 100% with cleaninghatecleaninghatecleaning x
Betsy-Tacy! I love BT-my sister and I even went to Deep Valley (IRL Mankato MN). If you make those kinda dolls I’m in!
One word for you…ROOMBA.
Splurge on the high end one. It will change your life. There is not much better than working at the dining room table on your latest project while your kitchen is being vacuumed by a little robot. And you guys LOVE Robots!
One word for you…ROOMBA.
Splurge on the high end one. It will change your life. There is not much better than working at the dining room table on your latest project while your kitchen is being vacuumed by a little robot. And you guys LOVE Robots!
our Dyson is pretty cool…
I’ll come clean your house for you if I can see more of what is to come… 🙂
We bought the Dyson when we moved into a house with wall-to-wall carpeting. Best purchase ever. Yes, it’s heavy, yes, the carpet brush needs to be cleaned of hair–all vacuums with those roller brushes get hair rolled around them. And yes, you need to take it apart and clean the filters–it’s those filters that block all the kickback dust (just like the filter in your car and in your furnace. You have to replace those periodically, why is it so alien to replace/clean the one in your vac that does the same thing?). I like being able to take the Dyson apart and clean it out than be forced to buy a new one because the manufacturer made it impossible for me to clean on my own.
All vacs, regardless of brand, need to be serviced periodically–like your car. Take care of it and it will take care of you.
I will add my amen to the Dyson love – just got mine after my old one died and really, it’s so worth the money (on sale, with a coupon – god bless Kohl’s). We are endlessly entertained by what is going into the canister and how gross it is when we dump it. I hope to be indoctrinating my girls into the cleaning corps so I can retire.
ooh, I love seeing all your sketches of things to come! My favorite is those paper doll feet, cute.
Love the new posting. All echo the others – the Dyson is so worth the money. We broke down and bought one when our old vacuum finally quit working. Yes a Dyson is a fortune but so worth it. As someone else mentioned – the first time we used so much gunk came out of the rug. It works well on hardwoods too. If you have Bed Bath & Beyond in your area, get a 20% off coupon.
Yay for Betsy~Tacy! Betsy, Tacy & Tib were early informers of my young-girl mind. It is lovely to see someone else inspired by these delightful girls. I heart Maud Hart Lovelace & Lois Lenski.
I’m so excited to see a Betsy-Tacy book in your stack. I’ve never actually commented on your blog, which I read faithfully, but a Betsy-Tacy reference will get me every time. I thought if I ever had a girl I’d name her Tacy. Alas, I’ve had three boys. I love them, of course, but will they ever really appreciate the Big Hill?
Yay! I love Betsy, Tacy & Tib! (I first found your site because I’d googled “betsy” and found your doll.)
i completely agree about the pure hatred of cleaning and the vast amount of things i could do instead. so, i broke down and bought a dyson, if i have to clean then…well, it has changed my life! i love, love, loove it! and,it works,every single time. so, if i have to clean, which my husband says is a must (with his help)at least let it be with a dyson…
Miele. It’s the vacuum that will make you want to clean. I kid you not. Looking forward to the puppets. I’m a bfbunny & make-a-long veteran. Two Archies were made and gifted to my son and his friend for xmas. Big hits. My son calls his “Funny Legs” and his friend named his “Nate II”. Nate II has evicted all other toys from the bed. It’s very sweet. Thank you for the great patterns.
Kirstin: Which Miele do you have? Is it a canister or an upright? I am saving my pennies to buy one some day! We have hardwood floors and low area rugs, as well as a fair amount of moulding that would some day like to be dusted! Oh … and we have four hairy cats… Thanks!
Bah, Dyson’s are overpriced. We just bought a new vac and after researching Consumer Reports went with the top-rated Kenmore Progressive at Sears. We chose the bag rather than canister for better containment of dust as well. *Several* hundred dollars cheaper than Dyson and, according to Consumer’s, is much better.
Best of luck! ^_^
I have a Riccar and now sort of enjoy cleaning. I went to an old-fashioned vacuum “dealership” and tried out many kinds, and the Riccar was nice and compact (but there are larger modes) and built for heavy use. Sure, it doesn’t have a well-advertised name like Dyson or Miele, but I found in my tests at the store that it was easier to handle, seemed tougher, and sucked up more stuff.
Cleaning…it’s only great when someone does it for you. Maybe in another life. Spent some time looking at your quilts in flickr (instead of cleaning!!!) WOW. You are amazing and the quilts are fabulous. Thanks for sharing!
I just have to comment that we got a Miele about three years ago, and it’s unbelievable. It’s light, and quiet, and cleans like a dream. I did a lot of research beforehand too.
I don’t know much about the Dysons but I felt like emptying out a bagless vac would be annoying.
Most importantly, everyone should see Vacuums in the same way they do any big appliance, washer/dryers ect. Most people don’t want to spend the money, but unless you like buying new ones every year, it’s best to go with a brand that has repair people and warranties.
Whoa, that was long winded, but my search a few years ago caused me to become pretty impassioned about the subject!
That puppet sketch is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. SOLD! Can’t wait to see the finished results of your experiments!
I have to say that I was gifted a Dyson by my parents a couple years ago as a Christmas gift. Oh glory, that is probably one of the best gifts I have received. When I first got it, I came straight home and vacuumed my whole house. since I had recently vacuumed right before doing this, I didn’t expect to see all the junk that got picked up and fine particles of dust. Now, I think it is fun to vacuum and watch how much crap gets picked up. The whole vacuum is so easy to use and switches so easily from one funtion to the other. Sorry, this is probably way more than you wanted to know about a Dyson, but seriously, if you ever need to purchase a new one, put it at the top of your list of ones to try!! Emptying out the bagless canister is a breeze. click it out of the vacuum, hold over the garbage can, push the button to open the bottom, shake it a couple times into your garbage can, use the edge of the garbage can or the floor to swing the bottom back up, click back into your vacuum. if you have to shake a little vigorously into the garbage can, some of the dust will fly up, but not nearly as much as what used to go flying around my house with my old vacuum that seemed to just blow dirt around. At least, when I am emptying, the dust is flying around in my garage rather than inside the house.
We LOVE Betsy-Tacy!!! And Lois Lenski!!! In fact I named our kittens Betsy and Tacy (with the kids’ blessings).
I named my soon-to-be one year old daughter Betsy in honor of two of my favorite childhood book characters- Betsy, of Betsy, Tacy, and Tib, and Betsy, of Carolyn Haywood’s books (Betsy’s first day of School, Betsy and Billy).
We are a family of Dyson Despisers. Three of the useless heaps of plastic and junk have died here. They weren’t asked to do extraordinary things..just suck up dust but it was obviously TOO much. One hose broke, one would only work if you held it upright and one would spew dust back out. Cheap vacuums for us now and if they need replacing then ok. Funny though how after 19months the cheap one is still going strong..even sucking socks off toddler feet!!!
how fun to see what’s coming. I’m partial to the puppets and specially the paper dolls! 🙂