Sodafone

It is a pleasure to eat chocolates that are shiny, smooth and crisp. But you should remember that these are not natural qualities of chocolates. They are imparted into them by a process called tempering. Tempering is carried out by melting the chocolates at a definite temperature and cooling them to another particular temperature.

Undesirable blooming is also averted by tempering. Dull sheen, grainy and crumbly nature are the results of blooming. Chocolates affected by blooming will look like old supply and customers will loathe to buy them.

Though all the chocolatiers were tempering chocolates by hand prior to the invention of tempering machines, there’s a niche of chocolatiers who have not shifted to the machine yet. In their eyes, the chocolates do not have the fineness that come with manual tempering if they are tempered with an appliance. They continue to temper their chocolates manually, though the task is a tough one.

If you temper chocolates to its desired state, type V crystals are produced in large quantities to impart shine, snap and smoothness to chocolates. Tempering that induces production of more of type V crystals improves the shelf life of chocolates as well. But tempering by hand is hampered by the behavior of the fatty acids of cocoa butter as they can crystallize into six structures. These six types of crystals exhibit the singular behavior of being dominant at six unique temperatures. This must not be allowed to happen.

If you maintain specific temperatures during tempering, the five other crystal structures are not given scope for being dominant and only type V crystals will be produced at that specific temperature. If you miss on this specific temperature, you will be compelled to repeat tempering till you temper the chocolates rightly. You need an accurate thermometer for maintaining this specific temperature.

Manual tempering is done in two methods. The first method, tabliering, should be done by melting the chocolates at the right temperature and melting them on a heat-absorbing surface like a marble slab again to a pre-determined temperature.

The second method, “seeding”, involves triggering tempering of your melted chocolate with already tempered chocolate bits used as “seeds”. You need to maintain specific temperatures in both these methods.

But tempering by hand may not be useful for large chocolate candy making operations for the sake of gifting or selling purposes. You cannot get uniform quality in your chocolates in tempering by hand.

A tempering machine is fully automated and has a computer chip that will monitor and maintain specific temperatures. Type V crystals are also produced in sufficient quantities to make the chocolates shiny, crisp and smooth. Your chocolates will also have a consistent quality.

Using a tempering machine relieves you of much pressure and work so you’ll will be enjoying a lot of free time that’ll be useful for planning your business expansion strategically and also to find out ways to enhance the quality of your chocolates.

For as long as I can recall, I have been a massive Bruce Lee fan. I cannot count the number of hours I have spent watching his movies, nor the number of hours spent trying to emulate his amazing martial arts maneuvers. There is one scene in particular that will be with me until the end of my days; the scene from Enter the Dragon where Bruce kicks some serious bad guy ass with his trusty Nunchakus.

A generation of wanna-be Bruce Lee’s was spawned by that very scene. How many of you went out and haphazardly manufactured your own ‘chucks after seeing this flick? I was certainly inspired to do so, and so were most of my friends. Most of us used wooden handles, and after some experimentation decided to switch to something softer. Twenty years later, I still have a bump on my head.

After introducing my son to the magic of Bruce Lee, I decided to manufacture a pair of Nunchakus for him to play with. Having learned from my rather painful mistakes, I constructed them from those disposable glow sticks that all the Raver kid’s use. Here’s how you can make some, too:

• Acquire a supply of glow sticks and some nylon rope.
• Cut a length of rope approximately 5 inches long.
• Attach two glow sticks together with the nylon rope.
• Start swinging.

Admittedly, it is a simple design. My first set was constructed in record time, which must have seemed like a lifetime to my son as he waited patiently. I made a second set and we spent the afternoon playing fun ninja games. After that, we had a Power Rangers movie marathon. My son is particularly keen on the Red Ranger. I prefer the Blue one.

Later on that evening, we decided to have one more ninja battle before bed. It’s amazing how inspiring Bruce Lee can be. The wonderful thing about our new nunchakus is that they glow in the dark. I dimmed the lights and performed my best Bruce Lee impression. My son was completely awestruck, as he watched the twirling glowstick nunchakus. I only hit myself in the head once. Only this time, it didn’t hurt.

Jill Nelson has been practicing her ninja moves for over twenty years. When she is not practicing with her new glow-in-the-dark nunchakus, she writes for glowsticksdirect.com - an excellent site with information about glow stick tricks, glow stick dancing, body lights and more.

You’d think that the term “battle ready sword” would be pretty much self explanatory wouldn’t you?

Unfortunately, many of the swords being described as “battle ready” are anything but. And to quote Adrian Ko from Sword Forum International, “a lot of these swords I wouldn’t want to take into battle even if they were strapped to a M-16. And even then I’d be worried!”

Don’t let that put you off though. You’ll find that there are actually some pretty good swords to be found in this broad category, IF you know what to look for.

The first thing you need to look for in a truly “functional” sword is the type of steel it is made from. To keep it simple, 99% of all real battle ready swords are made from properly heat treated high carbon steel.

Stainless steel swords are a big no no. Why? Well basically, stainless steel is great for making knives. But any stainless steel blade over 12″ in length tends to become brittle, which is clearly not the kind of thing you want for a “battle ready sword.” So steer well away from sales pitches that describe “fully functional stainless steel blade”!

There really is no such thing…

The second thing to look out for is the swords handle, or more specifically the tang (the bit of metal which attaches the sword to the handle).

Most cheap “wall hanger” swords have what is known as a rat tail tang, in other words the tang is just a thin bit of metal welded to the sword blade. Rat tail tangs are a major cause of a sword breaking when swung through the air, and can be extremely dangerous, creating what sword enthusiasts refer to as a “helicopter”. (very scary stuff when this happens, trust me!)

What you should be looking for is a sword that has a “full tang”, in other words a tang that has been forged as part of the sword, not tacked on afterwards…

Finally, it’s also important to consider a swords overall weight and balance.

Contrary to popular belief, a heavy sword is NOT a good sword. Historically, nearly all swords weighed under 3lbs, and this was because to reach maximum speed and deliver the most powerful blow, they needed to be relatively light and well balanced. So swords over 3lbs should be viewed with a very cautious and suspicious eye.

Of course, it’s not always possible to see immediately in a swords description if it has all these essential characteristics. So if you see a sword being described as “battle ready” or functional, but aren’t sure if it really has all the above characteristics - either ASK the seller what kind of steel the sword is made from, how it has been heat treated, what kind of tang it has or how much it weighs, or look for another listing that does.

Otherwise, you’ll probably end up with a sword that snaps in half the first time you swing it really hard, or worse still, shatters into shards of steel when you try and hack up a cardboard box…

For more information on choosing a good battle ready sword, as well as some easy ways to find them, including reviews and tests of some of the most affordable yet high quality blades on the market, check out my website http://sword-buyers-guide.com

Cold are the massive ramparts of deep Hell
Demonic beasts stand waiting by their posts:
Agaliarept, the Henchman of the host
He, guards the unholy profound supreme:

Eternity waitsthine war-abyss eyes:
Here the cosmic demons pace and lye;
Underneath the oceans surface, and its tides,
Waiting to take control, of contending skies.

Down Hell’s corridors: flames sweep the deep
Blood hath wet, the devouring trodden walls:
Thunder, unbigoted, unresting, orbits;
Immeasurable nights, fume the halls.

Here, ye eternal gates (for fates) lift up
For humankinds, induce unnumbered tears
Here, yethe mammoth disc, of the vast sun
Beams realms of blood-red dark tow’rs of death!

O dim bowls of fire, with faint unrest
Thine silence now rules the ghostly deep
Held by the pyres of the spectral past:
“Be patient,” says Satan; we’ll rule the weak!

Day shall soon befall this ungraceful abyss
Time shall unwind, darken dungeons: put off
And the legions of Hell, serve God’s will;
The near doom of mankind: Hell’s spawning.

#1366 6/3/2006

Commentary: we as humans hold no truce with death, nor a peace treaty with hell, it is the calls of the unchosen, unworthily, the degrade of beauty that knocks at our front door, yes, they come up all the way up from hell’s corridors, to minister honey, to the divided hearts of earth, likened to a hungry bear. Reluctant we may be, but so are they.

Finally getting settled in life, the townhouse needing little in the way of repairs and the maintenance men taking care of the outside, I was free to pursue my hobbies. My favorite thing was to get on a bicycle, pedaling to unknown neighborhoods looking for likely subjects for my trusty camera. There was just one hitch, I didn’t have a bicycle. Not that I couldn’t afford one, but the ones I could afford were poorly made consisting of rubbery-feeling gears, intermittent anemic brakes and uncomfortable seats. What I wanted was a fast hybrid bike with eighteen precisely engaging gears and brakes that would slow my one hundred eighty pounds down a steep hill without smoking. Of course there are custom bikes assembled from top-of-the-line European components that cost thousands of dollars. I’m not talking about those. Just a decent quality bike that would last ten years with TLC and a little luck.

Bikes at this level of quality cost from four to five hundred
dollars - an amount not even in my wildest moment could I rationalize. Occasionally on my trips to the local dumpsters, someone would discard an old bike for pick- up. These relics of twenty years ago were the rusted remains of now-college-age spoiled children who left them out in the rain one too many times. They never adjusted the brakes or gears and probably only rode them one year before relegating them to the garage rafters. Mostly sporting ten speeds and riding on skinny bump-sensitive tires, these cheap Japanese imports flooded the market in the seventies. I would walk them home, flat tires thumping on the pavement, trailing spider webs and loose brake cables.

In a week, I would have them straightened, polished to a show room gloss and working as well as they did when new. A flyer in the local super market would result in a call from a beleaguered father of four pre-teens looking for the cheap alternative bike. His kids would ruin them in a few months anyway, so these out-or-date but looking-like-new bikes fit the bill perfectly. In one month I recycled four ten-speeds for one hundred dollars. A trip to Sears garnered me a heavy looking cruiser bike with fat tires, only six speed gears and handlebars that swept back for upright pedaling.

The quality, or lack of it, was a trade off for the low price of seventy nine dollars.For five years, I enjoyed the Sears bike, putting up with the rubbery feeling gears and the constant adjustments to the brakes. It, of course still looked like new with the constant polishing and attention, but I was unhappy with the performance. Then one day I visited the dumpster behind a large bicycle shop. There were parts of bikes all over the ground, run over bikes, bikes with no wheels, rusted hulks of bikes and bikes with no parts at all. But there on the top of the heap was a beautiful jade green Diamond Back hybrid bike. The front wheel was pretzel shaped, but the rest was in pretty good shape. I examined the gears and was surprised to see Shimano gears of the eighteen speed variety. Evidentially a trade in for a newer model, this discard was just what I wanted.

Back home in the cellar, I found an almost identical wheel for the front end and proceeded to restore the Diamond Back to its former glory. I had been saving an expensive lightweight solid aluminum rear carrier that fit perfectly. Twenty hours of intense labor and two coats of gloss lacquer later I tenderly carried the result of my efforts upstairs. The sun sparkled off polished spokes as I wheeled it to the road. Settling on my new gel-soft seat, I took off slowly, the gears snicking like a Swiss watch into the higher gears.

Compared to my Sears clunker, this bike wanted to go. It floated above the road on its ball bearings, a secret hidden motor seeming to propel it without effort. Back at my front step, I braked firmly to a fast stop, without the usual vibration and squeak of complaint. I was now in bicycle heaven and it didn’t cost me a dime.

Retired portrait photographer. Hobbies include graphic arts, photography, singing and fixing things.

Out of the eight poems provided here [all previously unpublished], four are Poetic Prose, a few Visionary [what I call Vsionary anyhow], a few Free Verse, and a few with more form and structure, more closely to the Auden style of: stanza, metrical rhythm, and rhyme. In saying that, I do believe all the poems are conveying a rich network of meaning, some of them painfully close bond between pleasure and destruction. They should appeal to the senses and create images in our minds, for poetry is just that kind of language that most complexly and effectively qualifies.

Escape

Let me flee from
My vision, my world
My melancholia
My subjectivity;
My world which is
Now a prison.

I shall change
My poetic harmony
From flesh to spirit
I shall be… a…
I shall be a poem
Yes, O yes a poem
…eternally!…

Moon-Path

As the fire goes out
And the moon comes in!
The flickering skies darken,
Makes a ghostly moon-path…

With the moon upon my face
A skull-like grin takes place
I choke the roaring dark,
To save the flickering moon-path.

Life on a Finger

If this is life on a finger
Why do I feel so dead?
Why does my soul whisper?
Life is more than this.

What has my life been plotting?
While the world cringes and reeks
Humanity clinging so tightly
As it hides and silently weeps.

differences

I love fruit
and she loves candy
he loves beer
and she loves brandy

everyone makes such
a fuss…
everyone wants
to please

and toothless
and hairless…
are most people,

I just want
To leave!…

Prose Poetry
[A view]

Poetic Prose: can be musical, without rhythm or rhyme, and still rugged enough to adjust to the impulses of the soul or conscience; or so I believe, and so saying, here are a few I think may qualify for such a test, four in particular:

First of all, I do not claim to be a critic or scholar of Prose Poetry, but I like writing Prose Poetry when I like to wipe fantasy to the side, for some reason it seems less essential for me during this stage. I’m also allowedor, so it seemsto be a bit more moralistic, in the brief; my imagination can comb my travels more, people morespontaneity is fresher with Prose Poetry for me. I’m even a bit reckless or eminently, or vividly uninsightful in the sense of hanging on toor trying to make a point. Thus, my prose might be called a critical essay, but it is not.

Even Shakespeare tried his version of Blank Verse with Prose. Victor Hugo, whom I visited his house while in Paris one afternoon, and whom is a great poet, as is Baudelairein my eyes, used metrical innovations to create prose, where I use very little. But hope to get the same effect. But I have learned in poetry, and perhaps the hard way, it is what occurs to you, that makes it all worth while, and obviously to the reader, who marks its worth; not what occurs to the other person; we have too much of the copycat crap. So here are a few new, freshly out of the oven poems in prose:

Co merchant Wisdom
[End of a life, cut upsl997]

“…to glance at me…fine carpets on walls…Fish Fly around the room…the fart…water pills…funerals…age often keeps quiet…order a plate of bratwursts…pass out in the vomitorium…we got old…(and he shit in his pants)…water pills (ease heart stress)…boxer shorts…who is God? (he heard his voice once, it sounded like his)…Ah war bigness addiction…the poet aging on the stool…LSD…MTV…Jackson…Dylan…Elvis…Sushi…FBI… (the poet dies ((l997))…Beethoven…is about one man…Genocide…Skeleton…” In the beginning…:

The Brooklyn Bridge
[3/2000] Prose Poetry

The Brooklyn Bridge: she’s on a bike, I’m walking. She screams:

“Get out of my way! Get on your own side! Read the damn Sign!”
I say: “Fuck you!”
(A pause)

It was a burp (kind of)first words out of my mouth, out of anger…. Then
I moved slowly to the proper side of the bridge, its street like walk; and enjoyed
the rest of the March skies

3/21/05 [#573]

A Tired Kiss
Poetic Prose

A kiss of a tired woman: lips of soapsuds, no lip pressure; tired so long her mind forgot how to tell her lips to form a kiss…. Now soapsuds dance on her lips: form bubblesdepart like ships on voyages. Her kiss forms into a flabby kiss… then more like a hand-shake. Her husband (firm and frank) no longer looks at them; to him they are like dark-clouds about to rain. At one time her husband said: “You were the best!”

#571 [3/19/05]

Benevolent Furniture
Prose Poetry

I own furniture that dreamyou know,
like it has a life of its own; they speak
their own language; like everything else
that circles the sun.

There is no soul involved though, only
some, some awareness, with windows and
doors; the cascading of rain and snow;
assignment to a certain room, things like
that.

I don’t know what infuriates them,
other than the impudent man. So,
idol they remain, each to its own, I
suppose; waiting for curiosity or
admiration to bloom, anything!…

#578 [3/22/05]

Poems to come:

Girl and the Ox
The Cab
Curse of the Toucan Bird
The Lost Ant
The Baggage Room
Staggering

Dennis Siluk lives in the Midwest with his wife Rosa, and in Lima, Peru where he spends a few months out of the year. He has been writing poetry for over 40-years, and has had his poetry published in a number of newspapers, magaziens,books and in about every corner of the world. In l981, his first book was published, “The Other Door: Poetic Exhortations” now worth several times its original value, as seen recently on Ebay, and abe.books, launched a love afair with poetry. His website is: http;//dennisiluk.tripod.com

The art of poetry is a long and lonely road, it is best not to give your life to it, unless it is your lifeand unavoidable (or so I feel). The soul of it is a hard taskmaster. You must be faithful to it, like a woman, or you will be cheated. You must first have her over for dinner, and make sure she doesn’t think you have forgotten her; in such a case, make peace with her quick, she will haunt you with her launching of whatever comes to her mind.

She does call me quite frequently, in my sleep, waking hours, here and there, and everywhere:

“Don’t let my calls disturb you,” she says.

I really don’t know how I get anything doneI am surprised when I find a spare moment for my own pleasure. She turns her expressions inside of me, upside down: slowly spins on her heels (with her young curves and slippers). And then she opens her wardrobe, and says:

“Let’s go!” (I suppose it means shopping?)

You see, she is quite busy with me!

[Poetic Prose: #1100; 1/25/06]

Ode to the: Lurking Ripples

Here, ripples the wind

Did the song of hell pass?

The abyss-door was open

Something trampled in the

Grass!

A shape, a shapeI see,

Vivid as the veins in me;

Evil lurks (sublimity)!…

Note: The poem: “Ode to the: Lurking Ripples,” is dedicated to (both): Clark A. Smith for opening the vaults of hell with poetry, and George Sterling, for decontaminating them; both whiz kid’ in their own right. Each reading one another (the old and the new), and both providing great poetry, if not phenomenal. [#1099 1/25/06]

See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

Can you imagine what the world would be like we were all deprived of art and craft supplies? Imagine how boring summer camps would be for children! Think of how school lessons would drag on for kids if there was no break to play with arts and crafts supplies!

Luckily, we do not live in such a world. If we did, it would not just be the kids who would suffer, either. We adults would certainly suffer, as well. What would we do if someone took away all of our acrylic paints, oil paints, leather craft supplies, wood supplies, and other craft supplies? I, for one, would cry.

In a sense, I did grow up in a world that lacked art and craft supplies. How so? Well, to put it simply, my parents thought that “art” was a waste of time. They preferred that all of my free time be spent reading and learning. In fact, they were so dead-set on this idea that they decided to homeschool me!

As a homeschooled child with no access to crayons and other craft supplies, I feel that I really missed out on something great. I did not get a chance to try out my artistic skills until I was in my teens! Let me first say that my premier arts and crafts projects were not pretty. That being said, let me tell you that from the very first moment I held a paint brush in my hand, I was hooked.

I love art! I love crafts! I can think of no better way to spend my time than grabbing a few paintbrushes and some acrylic paint or oil paint and having at it. I love to paint! Of course, I also love paper craft supplies and wood craft supplies and leather craft supplies. To put it simply, I just cannot have enough.

My parents would roll over in their graves if they saw my closet full of art and craft supplies! Of course, to their credit, I still do love learning and reading and all of those other things that they deemed “important.” Nonetheless, I do feel that I missed out on an important part of childhood by not being allowed to practice the art of art.

I believe that is very important that all children get very well-rounded educations - this means that they should be surrounded not just by books, but craft supplies, sports supplies, music, and other such things. Children should be given a chance to be creative.

Of course, I believe that the same is true of adults. Adults should most definitely surround themselves with scrapbooking supplies, leather craft supplies, paper craft supplies, and other arts and crafts supplies. It is amazing how soothing it can be to work on a craft project after a long day of work. It is good to use a different part of the brain, for a change, too.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on arts and crafts supplies, please visit Craft Supplies.

6) The Mad Earth
(In Lima, Peru 11:45 PM)

I was looking for a book to read
In my library, 11:45 PMThursday,
When the mad earth, like a train

Came, camea little roar: the
Earth trembled, then trembled more.
It was, was my first earthquake!
It came like a train, then was gone;
Like the end, very end of a song

and I stood in the archway of my
Library: amazed ((with my wife)), that
Something, someplace, fathoms below,
Made the earth shake: shake its
Foundations, right through the sea,
The planet crustto us!…

#895 Note: at the time of the Earthquake, I was looking for a book by ERB, The Mad King” and the first roar of the quake, was light, the second was a bit thicker, and the third was a roar, with a shakeamazing. Dennis

Spanish Version
Translated by Rosa Pealoza

La Tierra Loca
(En Lima, Per 11:45 de la noche)

Estaba buscando un libro para leer
En mi biblioteca, 11:45 de la nocheera jueves,
Cuando la tierra loca, como un tren

Vino, vinoun rugido pequeo: la
Tierra tembl, después tembl ms.
Fue, fue mi primer temblor!
Este vino como un tren, luego se fue;
Como el final, el final de una cancin

y yo estuve de pie en el arco de la puerta mi
Biblioteca: asombrado ((con mi esposa)), que
Algo, en algn sitio, brazas subterrneas,
Hicieron temblar a la tierra: sacudir sus
Fundaciones: directamente por la Corteza del
Planeta, el mara nosotros!…

# 895 Nota: en el momento del temblor, estaba buscando un libro por ERB, “El Rey Loco” y el primer rugido del temblor, fue ligero, suave, el segundo fue un poco ms fuerte, y el tercio fue un rugido, con una a sacudida– asombroso. Dennis.

7) My Favorite Café
(October, Guinea Pig))Downtown Lima, Peru))

The coffee is great at the Favorite Café,

And Juan has just shown me two guinea pigs!
Two fat ones to eat next week:
“I have 3,000,” he says

(some place) I wonder
if he wants me to eat them every day,
in every wayfor the rest of my vacation?

(all 45′days)
I think I’ll have one, and
The coffee will dothe Guinea Pig, ‘barbecued…!’

#893 10/13/2005 (dedicated to Juan at the ‘Favorite Café,’ Lima, Peru)

Versin en espaol
Traducido por Rosa Pealoza

Mi Café Favorito
(Octubre, Cuy))Centro de Lima, Per))

El café es grande en el café “La Favorita”,
y justo Juan acaba de mostrarme doscuyes!
Dos gordos para comer la prxima semana:
“Tengo 3,000″, él dice

(en algn lugar) me pregunto
si él quiere que yo los coma cada da,
de cada modopor el resto de mis vacaciones?

(todos los 45 das)
pienso que tendré una, y
el café har”barbacoa de cuy …”!

# 893 13 de octubre del 2005 (dedicado a Juan en el café “La Favorita,” en Lima, Per)

The Tale of an Ole Pachacamac Ghoul
(In Lima, Peru)

Once before, and under the sun
I was handsome, and oh so young
It was not gold that made me a ghoul
Nor riches of a city, that made me despair…

It was, it was the dark nurture from the deep,
Who glimpsed upon me during sleep,
Asleep upon my dream-shaped bed,
Leonardo, the demon came and fed….

The spirits, shadows, shapes and ghouls,
The ancient gods from near and far
Gigantic forms, far and near;
All, they alltrampled like goats to be here.

(To celebrate my transformation.)

“Dear, oh dear!here they are!
I’m afraid…afraid to whisper now
They dwell around me, make no sound
It is that, they have eaten melike a cow!”

They come in swarms, from far and near
They gnaw upon my every flaccid limb
And shatter my bones, like loose wooden twigs
The ghosts and ghouls from ole Pachacamac

(and here now is where I live).

Note: Pachacamac is an archeological site inside the south of Lima, Peru; the city is spread out like the wings of a condor: long and wide. It is an Inca site, from 15th century. #895 10/12/2005

See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

Here is a sewing tip to add to your sewing techniques book.

Learn how to sew more professional looking top-stitching at the sewing machine using your regular sewing thread.

Use the same thread that you used to sew your garment for a matching top-stitching. Or, use a contrasting thread for more definition.

When you top-stitch with a single thread, it seems to sink into your fabric and is not very noticeable.

For more professional looking top-stitching, try using three threads on the top of the sewing machine.

You don’t need to buy three spools of thread to do this.

Just wind three bobbins of sewing thread and place them on the spindle at the top of the sewing machine where you normally place your single spool of thread.

Try to have your bobbins full to begin top-stitching.

Fill one bobbin as you normally do for the bobbin case.

Thread the bottom bobbin as usual.

Hold the end of each of the top three bobbin threads together in your hand and thread them as one thread through your sewing machine and needle. Moistening the threads first seems to help.

You may need a needle threader to help you do this. You can find a needle threader in the notions department of your favorite sewing or fabric store or you may already have one in your sewing case.

Set your sewing machine stitch for a longer stitch (about 6 to 8 stitches per inch).

Stitch very slowly and straight. Use a stitching guide or tape to help you if you need it.

This makes a very elegant top-stitch. Try it!

Stitch multiple rows about 1/8 inch apart for a high quality look.

Contrasting thread adds more definition. Try using white or a metallic gold or silver thread on a dark fabric or a darker shade of thread on a light fabric. Experiment on scraps to get the look you want.

Check out the finest ready-to-wear boutiques for more top-stitching ideas.

You are the designer! Have fun with top-stitching.

Three threads are better than one!

It just makes sense!

©2006 Marian Lewis - All Rights Reserved 1st Step To Sewing Success

Marian Lewis is a sewing instructor and the creator of an amazing new fitting method for hard-to-fit sewing folks. In her ebook, “Common Sense Fitting Method For Hard-To-Fit Sewing Folks Who Want Great Fitting Skirts And Pants”, find out step-by-step WHAT you really need, WHERE you really need it and HOW to apply that to a commercial sewing pattern.

For more information, go to http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com/fitting.html

Marian is also the author of other eBooks related to sewing including, “Sew A Tee Pee And Accessories For Your Tribe Of Kids” and “Classy Designer Straight Skirt” where she teaches basic and advanced sewing techniques.

To learn more, go to http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com/sewing.html

To discover sewing and fitting secrets to achieve sewing success, follow the link http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com