Kudos to Alltel!

First - a word from our sponsor with my Experiment Results.

Which were mixed. I dyed two pieces of fabric with the identical dye in different amounts of water. The results didn't support my hypothesis. The length of fabric dyed with more water had more texture than the other piece. Why doesn't more liquid = more even color? Hmmm. I'm surprised. I'll have to repeat the experiment before I accept these results.

Kudos to Alltel!
After using the modern day equivalent of chewing gum & baling wire (hot glue) to "fix" my phone, I wasn't really optimistic about using it. The flip phone was glued in the open position, which made it impossible to fit in my pocket, my purse, or anywhere else. So I was pleased to get both an email and a phone call from Alltel after I contacted Scott Ford & a couple other Alltel Big Guns. The end result was exactly what I wanted - I got a replacement phone. I was willing to pay for a new phone, but got a freebie. A used freebie, but hey - my sad sack broken phone is permanently retired.

I am pleased! I can return to bragging about my wireless phone service, which works when Verizon & my On-Star phone don't. I can carry my phone in my pocket! Thank you Alltel! And thanks to Peggy Seals, Executive Customer Relations, whose efforts made it happen.

Dyeing Experiment du Jour

I dyed gradations today. Boring work. Not only do I dye the same color over & over again, but instead of getting the multiple shades and the wonderful textures that make hand dyed fabric so... well, so wonderful(!), I have to work to keep each length of fabric mostly the same shade. I know that beautiful quilts have been made using gradations. Quilts that are stunning & eye-catching. And those designs appeal to a huge group of quilters who want those gradations.

Personally, I would rather use two oranges and a yellow than a gradation. Or five different pinks plus a couple more pinks with hints of yellow & orange. But, since I'm dyeing this fabric to sell, I need to dye what my customers want, so I'm dyeing gradations. (FYI: I also dye & sell "for me" fabrics!)

I experimented with purple today. I *think* that it is going to be fabulous. It looks that way in the dye bath. I'm hoping the color holds through rinsing and drying, since both processes lighten the color. Fingers are crossed! That, however, was not my Experiment du Jour.

My experiment was done with the leftover purple dye. I've been wondering how the amount of water used affects the color, so today, I decided to find out. I measured two identical amounts of dye stock (3 T each). To one, I added water to get a very generous almost 2 cups of liquid. To the 2nd dye stock, I added water to give me a very scant 1 cup of liquid. I dyed two 1-yd lengths of Kona cotton. I added the dye to the fabric and manipulated both pieces quite a bit. I wanted to eliminate some of the shading & texture so I could see just color. My hypothesis is that I will get the same color in both lengths, but the fabric with more liquid will have more even color over the entire 1-yd length.

Tune in tomorrow for the results!

SSDD at Alltel

All this because I wanted to be a safe driver. Heading out to a friend's house, I knew I would be driving through the Dodge-144th St Construction Zone. My cell phone was in the pocket of my shorts. I *knew* I would get a call just as I got to 132nd Street. And I also *knew* that I would never be able to get the phone out of my pocket and answer it, while simultaneously checking out construction progress, keeping under the 35 mph speed limit, and staying safely within the confines of the one-weavy-open-eastbound lane. So before I got into my truck, I took the phone OUT of my pocket to put it with my purse on the passenger seat. It slipped out of my hand, but was not able to stick the landing on the concrete garage floor. A small bounce and small pieces sailed off. My phone was now in two pieces held together by the connecting wires, instead of the usual hinges.

No really big deal, I thought. I'll go down to Alltel tomorrow & pick up a new phone. Maybe a Blackberry, or a Palm Treo, or even better, a RAZR just to irritate my teenager. But no!

Now, I've been an Alltel wireless customer since 1995, before they were Alltel. And every time I want to upgrade a phone or my calling plan, I have (with only minor complaints to the salesperson) signed a new contract. BTW, that would be a take-it-or-leave-it contract, not open for negotiation. Today, when I went in with my sad story and my broken phone, I got this BS: "You are not eligible for any of our phone specials because your current contract doesn't expire until October." I'm willing to sign a new contract, I just don't want to pay their inflated "retail" price for a phone!

I'm going to try either the hot glue gun or super-glue to make my phone somewhat usable while I figure out a way around Alltel's STUPID & INFLEXIBLE policies. Anyone know Scott Ford's (Alltel Prez & CEO) email or phone number?