subsribing to MADE and other questions answered

Happy Friday everyone!
Hope your weekend is off to a good start. It’s 72 and sunny here so I have nothing to complain about.

Some of you have emailed about subscribing to the new site, saying you can’t get it to show up in your google reader etc. I think we worked out the kinks!

Here are answers and options…
* If you’re still subscribing to the old site (dana-made-it.com) make sure you delete it from your RSS feeds, readers, etc. For the past week I’ve been posting on the old site just to say that a new post is up. But that’s gonna come to an end.

* Add the new domain to your RSS feeds/readers. There are a few ways to do this.
– use: danamadeit.com/feed in Google Reader and it should show up.
OR….
– If you click the RSS button at the top of the blog I have Feedburner set up to give you many options (google, yahoo, etc). Just click on the button and it will lay out the choices out for you:

– subscribe via EMAIL! yay! Many of you asked for this in the past and I finally have it. Scroll down on the right-hand column, type your email address into the box and you’ll receive a notification when a new post goes up:
* Subscribe via Facebook and Twitter. I have both accounts set-up to receive instant notifications every time I post. You can subscribe to them with the buttons up top or here:
Facebook
Twitter

* Some of you have asked, “why do I only get snippets of your posts in Google reader? I’d like to read the whole post there.” Yes, I do have a shortened blog feed. And I know that’s a bit frustrating when you’re catching up on blogs. Sorry. I totally get it. However, I feel that it’s only fair to my paying sponsors and other advertisers to have blog posts read directly on my site, since they (and you!) make it possible for me to keep sewing and blogging as often as I do. I love really love blogging and that’s why I do it. But it’s also nice to have funds on the side to replenish my fabric supply.

Hopefully that sums up all the questions about subscribing!
If you’re still having problems with the feeds please let me know. I want you to enjoy coming here!

And on a final note (since I didn’t get my Alt Design recap post ready for today as I had hoped. Next week. Definitely next week), how about some PR jibber jabber?

The All Stars season is growing on me. I really loved the theme of last night’s episode: Design a look based on a gelato flavor. Fun!
But I didn’t agree with the judges decision. I actually liked the Chocolate with Cayenne dress. The layers and colors were beautiful together. Yes, maybe a bit too poofy and “pregnant” (maybe that’s why I liked it). Probably better as a girl’s dress but overall it was fun. As was Kennley’s Passion Fruit dress. That whimsy yellow bow was a cute touch.
– Michael’s Grapefruit dress (below left) was beautiful in an old Hollywood way. But it just wasn’t me.
– Mondo’s Cantaloupe dress really looked like it….from the rind to the green to the colorful fruit. But I hated that belt! Anyone else think it looked tacky and so non-Mondo like?
– April deserved to go home for the Blueberry dress. SO short in the back and well, not that cute.
– But seriously, I can’t believe the Kiwi dress (far right) wasn’t in the bottom. That thing is hideous and messy. I love me a good polka dot but not when it looks like cheap decor from Party City.
Thoughts?

  1. 1) Jamie

    Mondo has not been his same self on this one. Actually a lot of them haven’t and I felt this who episode was kind of like one big advertisement. They cut to one of the designers just so she can say “I had to send my model to the “whatever” salon they are using this season” What was up with that. It felt like they were having a hard time filling time. Some thing just seemed off with this episode for me.

  2. Totaly agree with the blueberry dress and the kiwi one for that matter. But I did LOVE the Mondo dress—maybe because I want to wear something like that on my post baby body.

  3. 3) Madalyn

    Yay it’s working in google reader for me! šŸ˜€ Thanks for taking the time to figure it out and linking to the new posts in the meantime!

  4. 4) Beth

    I might be the only one with this issue, but the new site doesn’t seem to be displaying properly in Firefox. It works fine in Safari, but all the beautiful formatting and menus turn into word-menu-salad on my screen when I view the site in Firefox. I’m able to read the posts just fine, it’s just the menus that are funky.

    Btw, good luck with the end of your pregnancy! I’m currently cooking our third kid, too, but I’m only in the 2nd trimester šŸ™‚

  5. 5) Shannon

    Thanks for explaining about the snippets in google reader, I completely understand that you benefit more from our seeing your site (which is always very pretty to look at anyways to see whats changed). But I’ll be honest I only actually skip over to your site every few months unless the snippet really catches my attention. I know some bloggers will post a couple sentences and a photo, which draws me in a lot more. Of course, I’m not huge into sewing just like to get ideas for the some day when I have time… and I love your design sense and colors and any none sewing related tutorials (love playing with paper mostly). Just thought I’d let you know in case it helps you any, of course I will continue to follow and update my feeds.
    Cheers!

  6. I actually like that you only have snippets in the Google Reader – I like being able to read a little, see if it is something I am interested in (almost every time it is!) and click on the link to read more on your site.

    I am growing more to enjoy the PR All Stars as well, it took me a while though. I didn’t love the Miss Piggy episode but I did think this week’s gelato theme was fun!

  7. 7) Ariana

    I thought Michael’s “dress” looked like a fancy bathrobe with the front sewn shut. If they were supposed to be going for ‘good taste’, MAN he missed. Mondo’s was my favorite, because of the way it moved while going down the runway.

    • 8) Michelle

      I agree that Michael’s dress looked like a bathrobe…and not one I would wear. There was way too much fabric, and it was shiny, and it was boring. My husband, who was in the room while it was on, said it looked like he took a pair of heavy drapes off a window and wrapped them around the model. I agree…and I never want drapes like that in my living room.

  8. I agree with everything you said and I would add that Michael’s dress wasn’t anything new, we have seen this so many times, from him and others. I also didn’t like the lime, I didn’t think the bottom and top matched, not so much the color, more the style. I’m waiting for Mondo to something amazing!!!

  9. I haven’t been watching this season but I do like that chocolate cayenne dress. So pretty.

    So…I have been going through some of your tutorials to help me sew some other things for the baby šŸ™‚ and some of the links don’t work. I wasn’t sure if you were aware of that.

  10. 12) Valerie Nelson

    YES!!! Loving the e-mail subscription option now!!! Thank youuuuuuuu!! šŸ™‚

  11. I follow in a reader, but have been using google’s “next” button (found under “goodies”) and I LOVE blog reading so much better this way! It’s on my tool bar and I click “next” and it brings me to the site of each new post in my reader. It’s great because I can still quickly and easily keep up to date on my favorite blogs AND I get to see everything the site has to offer (including new blog designs, which I would otherwise miss!). And added benefit is that I don’t have to go to my reader – I can just move on from whatever else I’m doing and catch a few new posts here and there when I have time.

  12. 14) Jessica

    Yay! It worked!

  13. 15) April

    I totally agree with you on Michael’s dress. To me the dress looked heavy where as Mondo’s was light and bright. I really thought Mondo should have won. I did not like the chocolate cayenne dress. It should have had more chocolate than the white on the top. My other favorite was the milk with sour cherries. Anyways, good show this week. I want to see that Scarlett guy step it up.

  14. 16) Kelly

    Thanks for the info on how to subscribe! I love your blog and wouldn’t want to miss you. Also, I had no idea that Project Runway had already started – without you posting about it, I would have missed more than the first episode! (Episodes 2-4 are still online, and I watched them all tonight, yay.) Thanks! And good luck with the baby. šŸ™‚ ~Kelly

  15. Dana, have you heard of feedburner? It’s a Google program (now) that you run your RSS feed through. It allows you to get tracking information on your feed and a ton of other things, but most importantly, it stops you from losing subscribers if you ever change your feed, because people subscribe using a the feedburner URL that you set up, not your site’s URL. If your site URL changes, you update it in feedburner and the new posts will automatically go to the feedburner URL people are subscribed to. (Hope than makes sense.) You should check it out.

  16. Dana, I love your new look, especially the font. Can you tell me what it is?

    • 19) Alissa

      Looks like Century Gothic.

  17. 20) Tammy

    Hi Dana, I was just wondering what happend with that baby blanket you were knitting for your new little girl? I hope we get to see pics of it soon šŸ™‚

    • 21) Dana

      I’m almost done! I’ve been slacking on it at the end šŸ™‚
      But I plan to share it after the baby is here.
      Thanks for asking!

  18. 22) Laura

    And I was thinking you had that baby this weekend. That is one Finished project that I am super eager to see!

  19. I too, just LOVED Kara’s ruffly creation. The colors and layers were so girly and sweet! I did not like Micheal’s dress at all…it looked sloppy and there was just w-a-y too much fabric there! I always enjoy hearing your thoughts on Project Runway, in fact, I started watching it after reading your reviews here! Thanks! ~Jen

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